7.1 Perspectives on Globalisation

2026 Syllabus Objectives

  1. Explore the ideas and issues central to globalisation and examine the impact of globalisation on identity, connecting to the key concepts of Social change and development, and Socialisation, culture and identity. Explore the impact of globalisation on power and politics, linking to the key concepts of Power, control and resistance and Social change and development.

  2. Understand key definitions and issues, including globalisation, glocalisation, global culture, and problems with defining globalisation.

  3. Examine different dimensions of globalisation including cultural, political and economic.

  4. Analyse perspectives on who benefits from globalisation, including the Marxist, feminist, postmodernist, globalist, sceptic and transformationalist perspectives.

Key Definitions and Concepts 🔑

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Globalisation

Globalisation refers to the speed with which connections can be made between people, goods, services, information and ideas across the globe. The term became a 'buzzword' in the 1990s and remains a contested concept with multiple interpretations.

Scholte (2000) identifies several consequences of globalisation:

  • Internationalisation of cross-border relations
  • Liberalisation of political and economic relationships
  • Universalisation of cultural forms
  • Modernisation across societies

Time-Space Compression

Giddens (1990) argues that a major feature of globalisation is 'distanciation' - the separation of time and space where communication happens in 'real time' regardless of physical distance. This fundamental shift has transformed how humans interact and perceive the world.

Key Concepts Related to Distanciation

Deterritorialisation - The loss of a clear relationship between cultural, political, and economic activities and specific geographical locations. Physical location becomes less relevant to social processes.

Disembedding - The idea that things are separated from their original surroundings and contexts. This manifests in three main ways:

  • Objects: Credit cards and electronic money represent value without physical substance (unlike gold or coins)
  • Processes: Electronic transfers occur instantly across borders without physical movement
  • People: Interactions happen in three forms:
    • Global communication in 'cyberspace' without physical presence
    • Physical disembedding where identity is defined in national or global rather than local terms
    • Cultural disembedding through the development of hybrid cultures

Simulacra (Baudrillard, 1998) - Representations that refer to other representations rather than an original reality. Money is now a simulation of value rather than a tangible object like gold.

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