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arguments that are for and against globalization and then delve into the arguments of the globalization-separatism debate and discuss some of the vital questions argued under this debate.
3.1 History of Globalization
There are five diverse ways of thinking about the origins of how globalization came to be.
Each school of thought differs in the way of how they believe the history of globalization is but, the end goal is always the same in that they believe globalization exists. They appear in the forms of: Hardwired; Cycles; Epochs; Events; and lastly, Broader, More Recent Developments.
3.1.1 Hardwired
The first case scenario is that scholars believe the evolvement of globalization is due to the innate needs and urges of humans. Nayan Chanda argues that “globalization stems, among other things, from a basic human urge to seek a better and more fulfilling life.”152 Chanda’s view of globalization is that since the people have a deep want for a better life such as in trade, religion, politics and warfare, it is only natural that globalization has stemmed from human needs and is hardwired into society.
3.1.2 Cycles
The second perspective into the origins of globalization is the belief that globalization comes in cycles. Globalization is a long-term cyclical process in the sense that the process might occur again after a few centuries, and it does not have a particular point of origin.153 However,
152 Chanda, N. (2007), Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalization, New Haven: Yale University Press, p. xiv
153 Scholte, J. A. (2005), Globalization: A Critical Introduction, Second Edition, New York: Palgrave
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with this theory, it would mean that it does not seem as if we live in a global age now, but that many global ages will occur or have transpired in the past which makes its credibility less than warranted.154
3.1.3 Epochs
Therborn argues that globalization comes in six epochs, or in other words, waves, which have ensued one after another, all with points of origin:155
1. The globalization of religions, such as Christianity and Islam, in the fourth to seventh centuries.
2. European colonial conquests in the late fifteenth century.
3. Globalization was the after-effect of various intra-European wars in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
4. European imperialism in the mid-nineteenth century.
5. Post-World War II period.
6. Post-Cold War period.156
Therborn believes that globalization has transpired before and is not unique to global society today. However, he places emphasis in that they are different from cycles because past epochs will not return again in the same form in the future.
3.1.4 Events
154 Ritzer, G. (2010), Globalization: A Basic Text, Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 37
155 Therborn, G. (2000), “Globalizations: Dimensions, Historical Waves, Regional Effects, Normative Governance,”
International Sociology, 15: 151-79
156 Ritzer, G. (2010), Globalization: A Basic Text, Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 37-38
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A fourth view is that globalization can be pinpointed as beginning from specific events, rather than from cycles or epochs.157 Some events which can be seen to establish globalization are: the two world wars in the first half of the twentieth century; trade in the Mediterranean area in the Middle Ages; when Christopher Columbus first discovered America; and the adventures and trade conducted by European traders like Marco Polo on the Silk Road in China, just to name a few.158
The most recent event which befell society that could have stimulated globalization was the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in 2001. “Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, internationalization has moved high on the agenda at most universities, to prepare students for a globalized world, and to help faculty members stay up-to-date in their disciplines.”159 The subsequent terrorist attacks on trains in Madrid (March 11th 2004) and London (July 7th 2005) could also be argued to further the effects of globalization.
3.1.5 Broader, More Recent Developments
Some scholars identify the origins of globalization to be on three recent changes which have occurred in the last half of the twentieth century. The first change noted is that the United States became the world’s superpower and hegemony after World War II, thus, solidifying globalization into global society since the United States was able to extend its diplomatic reach and influence through US media and Hollywood through Americanization.160 The second change is rooted in the emergence of multi-national corporations (MNCs). MNCs are inherent in the justification of the origins of globalization because the whole organization is surrounded by global flows considering parts, people and money all flow around the world since the corporation
157 James, H. (2001), The End of Globalization: Lessons from the Great Depression, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
158 Ritzer, G. (2010), Globalization: A Basic Text, Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 39
159 Lewin, T., “Universities Rush to Set Up Outposts Abroad,” New York Times, February 10th 2008,
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/education/10global.html?pagewanted=all [Last Accessed: December 14th 2015]
160 Ritzer, G. (2010), Globalization: A Basic Text, Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 41
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is multi-national. If we take the American automobile companies of Ford and General Motors, they have begun to move more of their production and factories to other countries despite being a predominantly American company. Lastly, the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War could be seen as a major change which introduced globalization to the world. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the world division of “capitalist” and “communist” spheres slowly disappeared and with that, numerous global flows opened up such as immigration, media, tourism, diplomacy, and economic transactions through MNCs and other businesses. While all the various perspectives above provide us with interesting aspects, they are all limited in geographic scope and are less extensive than the global processes which began in the twentieth century. Therefore, for this thesis, the globalization standpoint in which it will be taking is that globalization is a relatively recent development which began sometime after World War II.