Term Paper on "Global Cultural Politics"

Term Paper 6 pages (2003 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Global Cultural Politics

The process of globalization is no longer a new concept for the world we live in today. It represents, according to a large number of specialists, the current state of our society. It characterizes best the economic interconnections, the political consultations, as well as the cultural interdependence. However, in the beginning it manifested itself as merely an economic phenomenon which brought together the economies from all over the world into what is today the global market. Even so, it is rather hard to argue the fact that globalization is nowadays a simple complex interdependence; more precisely, it stands at the basis of all connections, whether they are at the level of the societies, of the cultural aspects, of the national identities or of the political dialogue.

Taking this aspect into consideration it can be said that indeed, there are several dimensions of the globalization process. In this sense, there is the general perception that globalization implies "building the global economy; formation of world opinion; democratization, or the creation of a global community; and the emergence of global political institutions." (Modelski, n.d.) Therefore, there is not only one dimension of globalization because the mere nature of the process implies a consideration of the development of relations at several levels of international engagement.

The creation of a global economy can be said to represent the process of evolution, or more precisely of revolution and transformation. There are certain structural changes which mark the passing from one era to another. In this sense, the modern era was marked by the industrial revolution whereas the 20th century represented an era of development which included the technological elements we could not live without in the 1970s. However, building a global economy was possible through the development of technology at a totally different level. Thus, the evolution of several key industrial sectors such as oil production or other leading sectors of the economy have created a state of economic dependency which in the end resulted in the slow creation of a global market.

A world opinion is rather hard to be formed particularly because there are different aspects to be taken into consideration such as the national identity of the individual as well as its cultural background. These are all elements which influence the way in which an individual perceives an event and determines the way in which it reacts to that event. In today's world, the emergence of a world opinion is greatly influenced by the Internet (Modelski, n.d.) as a powerful means of global communication.

Given this fact however, the Internet must comply to the preferences of each culture because in the end Internet users, despite the cosmopolite nature of the information provided or the openness of the users to acquire and distribute the information. From this perspective, although there is an obvious change in the way in which the world manifests itself globally, there are still differences between cultures derived, as Professor Inglehart argued, from the political systems which represent them. More precisely, he pointed out that "former communist countries have become slightly more traditional and have a greater tendency to value survival. Developing countries, on the other hand, demonstrate a certain progress towards values of self-expression, but they remain anchored, perhaps even more deeply, in traditional values. Finally, democratic and economically advanced countries display a progression towards individual self-expression and secular-rational values" (Forum Barcelona, 2004). Therefore, in this sense, a world opinion cannot be created to represent an uniform belief or stand on a particular subject because at the moment there is no singular cultural point of reference. Even so, it was concluded at the Forum Barcelona in 2004 that the premises for such a resolution are more or less visible.

The creation of a global community can be seen in the same context of a global culture. This can be argued from the perspective of the way in which the democratization of the world can be seen. In this sense, the idea of the creation of a global community means "the accumulation of conditions necessary for the possible emergence of a global community, a community of democracies, a global-level association of a democratic character.

By global community we mean a civil society that makes possible long-term cooperation at the global level; not only inter-governmental but also inter-organizational, social, and transnational in the broadest sense. For such a community to endure, it would have to be democratic. The underlying process is the spread of democracy over the globe, grounded in the superior advantages of its practices over all alternatives" (Modelski, n.d.). Nonetheless, recent events concerning the threat of terrorism however have pointed out the fact that cultural differences can be determinant factors for democracies to emerge and to constitute stable political systems. Therefore, the issue of a global community is still undetermined.

Finally, a system of global political institutions is well underway in the framework of the globalised world. The United Nations, the World Trade Organization, as well as regional institutions are extremely relevant for the way in which the world is being organized in terms of political cooperation.

The relationship between neo-liberalism and the "Anti-Globalization" movement is one of opposition taking into account the meaning of the two notions. However, their relationship offers the possibility for the increase of the connections at a transnational level. First and foremost, anti-globalization movements totally oppose neo-liberalist practices. Still, they achieve their goals of protests and manifestations at a global level particularly through the means used by the neo-liberals to conduct their own affairs. Therefore, it can be said that on the one hand, the two notions reject each other, but on the other hand, they are dependent from one another.

The neo-liberalist practice is the result of a development of the economic practices. Thus, "responding to the global economic slowdown as well as increased international competitiveness for markets, which characterized the 1970s, political and business leaders in several key Northern developed states undertook dramatic political economic reforms designed to channel the globalization of the world's economy in a so-called neoliberal direction" (Ayres, 2004). Therefore, the most important aspect of the neo-liberal thought is the fact that it manages to create a framework for globalization.

In contrast to this tendency, the anti-globalization movements have been vividly against the neo-liberal practices. They have marched against globalization practices at a global level (Ayres, 2004). However, from this point-of-view it is fair to say that precisely the forces they are against allows them to practice their marches if one takes into consideration the communication needed between different individuals from around the world or the transportation needed for staging protests in all the corners of the world (Ayres, 2004). Therefore, it can be said that the relationship between the two sides is more or less of dependency. Thus, neo-liberals argue for globalization, while anti-globalization forces despite their protest, use globalization in order to exist.

The relationship between the global market and democracy and civil society is rather important for the way in which the world will eventually evolve. The global market has the effect of deconstructing the national state in the sense that it defies the border limits and the sovereign authority of the state. According to certain views, "in a globalised world transnational enterprise is queen and its increasing power in the kingdom of the market is in inverse proportion to the weakening of the State and other institutions in this fin de siecle society. Submission to the blind laws of the globalised market is a new form of barbarism" (Velleggia, 1999). In this sense, it is clear that in any future state of the world, national borders or internal regulations will be more and more limited in importance.

According to Velleggia the relationship between the global market and the society is one which implies the reconsideration of the democratic system in different terms. More precisely the existence of a global market demands in turn the existence of a society with similar values and norms. At the same time though the forces of globalization destroy the political system which in turn must be rebuilt according to different lines (1999). Therefore, it can be argued that indeed the relationship between the global market and the national society is one which takes into account the pressures of the globalization and the need of the individual, the society it is part of, as well of the political system to take a different perspective on the future in a global world.

The issue of globalization has had an important impact on the way in which cultures have developed. This is one of the reasons for which Samuel Huntington argued that the next wars would be led along the lines between the civilizations, rather than for the traditional reasons of the old type of wars. More precisely, he considers that these forces of globalization, therefore the neo-liberalist tendency, create certain economic discrepancies which are visible at the local level through the increase in the perception of the rich world vs.… READ MORE

How to Reference "Global Cultural Politics" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Global Governance Thesis

Global Governance

Global Civil Society: A Possible Ideal

Over the course of history, the organization of the world and its governance has taken many forms. One of the earliest forms,… read more

Thesis 8 pages (2415 words) Sources: 10 Style: APA Topic: Government / Politics

---

Global Consumer Buying Behavior Research Paper

Global Consumer Buying Behavior Research

When consumer behavior is analyzed in the context of global markets, much greater complexity, constraints from a cultural, legal and political standpoint, and uncertainty over… read more

Research Paper 6 pages (2303 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Advertising / Marketing / Sales

---

Politics of Estonia Foreign and Domestic Term Paper

Politics of Estonia: Foreign and Domestic

Brief Introduction/Overview.

Estonia is a small Baltic state with an area of roughly 45,228 sq km and a population of 1.3 million people. It… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1718 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Government / Politics

---

Politics in Postmodern America Term Paper

Politics in Post-Modern America

The only real change that has ever happened in American politics is the advent of political parties that came about between the presidencies of George Washington… read more

Term Paper 3 pages (793 words) Sources: 2 Style: MLA Topic: Government / Politics

---

Politics Term Paper

Politics can be defined both as "the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government" and as "the process by which groups of people make decisions."… read more

Term Paper 2 pages (628 words) Sources: 2 Style: APA Topic: Government / Politics

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>