Difference between Globalization and Politics!
While the term ‘globalization’ emerged in 1960s, as a tendency it existed in ancient and medieval times. Empires of great territorial reach have an ancient history in the world. Throughout history, trade, war and conquest have ensured that there has never been an isolated society. In its new or modem form it started in 16th century with the voyages of discovery.
What is new is the range, scale and intensity of global links which shrinks space and time through the widespread network of modern speedy communication and transportation systems. Global networks have brought about the supersession of the nation-states resulting in the formation of a ‘world society’. The world today is witnessing an intensification of circuits of economic, political, cultural and ecological interdependence.
Generally, the process of globalization is linked with economic transformation. But it cannot be tied with economic phenomenon. It is not only transforming economic life but it has also brought changes in non-economic life—in political sphere, in the family, in lifestyles and consumption patterns and even the very notions of individual identity.
Thus, it may be defined as ‘a social process in which the constraints of geography on social, political and cultural arrangements recede and slowly and gradually the political boundaries of nation-states become insignificant in a globalized world’.
Today, many of the economic, political, military and ideological powers that shape our lives work across nations—and increasingly they operate on a global scale. Multinational corporations and certain global and inter-governmental institutions developed a global power and presence.
This has given rise to what Daniel Bell (1987) has observed, ‘a crisis of the territorial nation-state’. He said that the nation-state is ‘too small for the big problems of life, and too big for the small problems of life’. One of the main champions of globalization of politics, David Held (1993) has argued that nation-states have ceded some sovereignty to larger entities in order that a range of ‘big’ problems may be dealt with more effectively.
Thus, WTO and IMF deal with trading and financial matters, NATO with military matters and in the case of Western countries, the European Union (EU) deals with a wide range of political, social and cultural issues.
It is important to add that the United Nations is also a key global organization with a wide remit. Besides political matters, it is active in humanitarian, health (WHO) and education (UNESCO) fields, ecological issues, problem of terrorism, pollution and peace-keeping activities.