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2.1 What is Globalization?
Globalization is often referred to by scholars as a process, a policy, a marketing strategy, or even an ideology (Heywood, 2002). In reality the notion of globalization as a force in international relations is difficult to reduce to a single theme, therefore labelling globalization with a clear definition can be problematic. However, what we can be sure of it that globalization and the forces that accompany it have drastically altered the world we live in, bringing consequences of crucial importance to the politics of inter-state relations. Globalization is a phrase often overused in international relations literature as well as in the mass media. The term has been so loosely thrown around in recent years that it has in fact become little more than a hollow buzzword. The next part of this literature review will therefore try to clearly define the term globalization in context to the effect it has had on the governance of nation states, and thus international security.
The globalization debate intensified in its significance to international relations in the 1980’s, and since then it has been a constant source of academic debate amongst scholars. One of the earliest attempts to define globalization was by Kenichi Ohmae (1990) in the publication ‘The Borderless World’. In his study on globalization, it is presented as a "borderless world" whereby economic distinctions between countries became increasingly blurred and open to influences outside traditional national boundaries. In The Borderless World, Ohmae asserts that “...national borders have effectively disappeared and, along with them, the economic logic that has made them useful lines of demarcation in the first place” (Ohmae, 1990: 172).
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As well as the economic implications of globalization, Ohmae also implied that divisions between people previously separated by time and space have become less significant in a globalized world and are sometimes completely irrelevant. Scholte (2001) also argues that globalization is linked to the growth of ‘super-territorial’
relations between people. He describes this as being a reconfiguration of social space in which territory matters less due to an increasing range of connections harbouring
‘transborder’ or ‘transworld’ characteristics. Scholte (2005: 602) also offers other brief definitions of globalization, defining it as the development of a global society, emphasizing other factors such as the increasing internationalization between product and capital and the international division of labour. Increasingly, after careful study of the literature we can see the dynamics of globalization as a central concern in international relations.
Such is the nature of globalization and the many contradictions that surround it; a clear, concise definition is thus hard to reach. However, one of the clearest definitions is offered by Held and McGrew (2003). According to their definition, globalization can be presented as a global process possessing many different domains that are challenging the traditional nature of social, economic, and political trends in international relations.
Their definition helps us better grasp the concept by recognizing several distinctive features of the globalization process. They are:
• Globalization facilitates various different kinds of political, economic and social activities across political boundaries.
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• Globalization sets the preconditions for global interconnectedness; this is done through flows of trade, capital, and people which are facilitated by different kinds of infrastructure such as trade rules, banking systems and the use of English as a lingua franca.
• Globalization sees societies become increasingly interlinked; as a result distant occurrences and developments can have serious domestic impacts, while local happenings can engender significant global repercussions (Held and McGrew, 2003).
• Globalization speeds up the world. The World Wide Web and round the clock trading has quickened the process of social and economic integration.
After careful analysis of the literature, it can be suggested that globalization is diluting the power of nation states by triggering an increase in social, economic, and political transnational activities. Thus, we are able to suggest that there are numerous realms of globalization which challenge states in different ways. Whilst the globalization of world politics involves an obvious globalization of economics; due to what Scholte (2005) labels "the inseparable nature of economics and politics" there are also consequences for the political sphere of international relations, which leads us on to analyse the impact globalization has had on the security of the state. One way in which globalization challenges the state is explained by Wunderlich (2003). He suggests that globalization goes much further than interdependence in that it generates “...the penetration of previously sovereign space” (2003: 123). Consequently, this has created a unique challenge to sovereign states by making them rethink the traditional style of governance on which they once functioned. Effectively, globalization can be seen as “...impinging
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upon the state from the outside and transforming the security environment within which they operate" (Held and McGrew, 2003: 177).
In creating a deeper understanding of the questions this thesis will ask, a definition of 'security' should also be considered alongside the term ‘globalization’. Traditionally, the field of international relations and international security was focused predominantly on understanding war, peace, and the international system that nations operated in. The security and survival of states and the power dynamics between them took centre-stage.
Today, the concept of security in international relations has expanded significantly to include a wider range of issues and actors some of which globalization has indeed influenced. This includes such issues as; climate change, migration, poverty, organised crime, and terrorism amongst others, next to long-standing traditional concerns with security from external military threats.
No theory of international politics emphasizes security more than neorealism, which assumes it as the primary motivation of states. Thus for the purpose of this thesis, it is useful to look at Waltz (1991), who defined states in terms of the functions they perform, including the making and enforcement of laws, as well as defence against external attack. In general, neorealist theory defines security as “...the preservation of the state’s territorial integrity and the physical safety of its inhabitants” (Walt, 1991). A state is thought to be secure if it can defend against or deter a hostile attack and prevent other states from compelling it to adjust its behaviour in significant ways or to sacrifice core political values. This notion of security may be contrasted with alternative definitions of security that focus on either the individual or the global level, or those that include
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nonviolent threats to human life (such as disease or environmental degradation), crime, economic hardship, or threats to cultural autonomy or identity (Buzan 1983; Booth 2007).
We can see that neorealists follow a relatively narrow concept of security. The central concept of security common to all modern versions of neorealism is that “...the presence of multiple states in anarchy renders the security of each of them problematic and encourages them to compete with each other for power and/or security” (Walt 2003).
In short, neorealism depicts the international system as a realm where “self-help” is the primary motivation. Accordingly, states must provide security for themselves because no other agency or actor can be counted on to do so. Taking all of the above into account, to summarise, this thesis will consider the term “security” to encompass the following:
Security is the preservation of the state’s territorial integrity and the physical safety of its inhabitants.
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