Article on "Rethinking the Politics of Development in Developing"

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[EXCERPT] . . . .

Rethinking the Politics of Development in Developing Countries

This paper discusses developing countries and their politics, largely based on a speech at the Business as Usual Conference in Melbourne earlier this year. The speaker opens her commentary by saying, "The rise of public and scholarly interest in globalization and politics is a new phenomenon. Over the past decade, the liberalization of trade, finance, and investment across the world has opened vast new territories to dynamic economic actors" (Berger 2010, 40). This new dependence on global solutions gives rises to political and social changes that are only just being contemplated. As countries become more interdependent financially, how do they keep their politics separate from their business concerns?

For this author, the borderlines between countries are disappearing, and so is the integrity of the nation's governments, at least as viewed by the people. The author states that many of the most powerful nations show signs their citizens no longer trust their governments, and she believes this is largely in part due to globalization and the worldwide spread of business and industry, because it reduces the power of the politician, replacing it with the power of the businesspeople. New technologies and communication processes allow businesses to spread around the world and develop exponentially, changing the way both developing and developed nations connect and work with each other. Ultimately, many scholars cannot agree on whether changes in the current global economic environment are being caused by globalization, or by some other aspect of the global economy.

Next, the author questions whether globalization has the ability to change politics. After discussing globalization experts and their theories, the author maintains that eventually, political struggles over globalization in countries around the world will eventually evolve into struggles between labor and capital. She maintains that governments are more flexible in offering businesses incentives to locate in their areas, and as a result, labor will shoulder more of the tax burden, leading to more dissatisfaction with government. She also believes that neoliberal doctrines that have spread around the world have an effect on government's effectiveness in dealing with and controlling economic factors and product distribution. She cites China as an example of a country with a changing policy that has opened itself to capitalism, while still holding on to its Communist beliefs.

The growing ability of multinational corporations to supply goods and services may crowd out many local suppliers, and it will reduce the need for corporations to deal with local suppliers or train them to create their products. She also believes that as the global economy broadens, it could lead to the demise of the welfare state. In a "race to the bottom," low wages and few social programs in newly developing countries will drive prices and wages down worldwide, and with lower wages come lower taxes, bigger deficits, and the loss of social programs, which we see occurring in many countries around the world right now in reaction to the global recession. There are many different forms of capitalism practiced around the world, and each country reacts differently to financial crises and gains.

Finally, citizens fear that globalization will reduce the effectiveness and control of their governments to easily manage issues such as immigration, Internet pornography, outsourcing, and other social and economic issues, because of the ease that information flows between boarders. It is much more difficult to regulate and manage these issues when information travels at the speed of light and has no borders or boundaries. Because of this, globalization does affect politics, as the author's argument clearly indicates.

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the topic of developing countries. Specifically it will discuss the politics of development in these countries, through an article delivered at the Business as Usual Conference in Melbourne earlier this year. This speaker and other speakers discussed the global crises that countries face. Some are physical, such as the earthquakes and floods that have hit the world in recent years, or the devastating brush fires that hit our country last year. However, many more are human-based crises, like the global economy crisis facing the world today. We also face many other manmade threats, from nuclear war to climate change, as well. This affects how we deal politically with other countries, and what we will do to manage these risks in the future.

A developed country is one with an advanced economy, a stable government, and affords its citizens protection in an environment that fosters growth, productivity, and opportunity for advancement, such as Australia or the United States. A developing country is generally a Third World country that is attempting to recreate itself as a thriving, developed country. India is a good example of a country that is utilizing technology to reinvent itself, and eventually reach developed nation status for nearly all its residents. Specific measurements, such as population, life expectancy, and literacy are all measured when defining a developed or developing country, as well. A majority of countries in the world are considered to be developing countries, while developed countries are far fewer, and they include Australia and New Zealand, most of Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan.

Managing risks has changed as the world becomes more globalized, and that has affected everything from world economics to the world political situation. Speaker Berger notes, "In this new literature of the 1990s, there is a common understanding of globalization as a set of changes in the international economy that tend to produce a single world market for goods, services, capital, and labor" (Berger 2010, 44). This single world market is changing the way countries do business, how they engage politically, and even world power domination. For example, even ten years ago, many forecasters would not have predicted China would become such a dominant world power, engaging in lending that would shore up economic giants such as the United States. Speaker Berger notes, "The growing capabilities of developing countries have led to the rise in exports from low-wage to high-wage societies as well as to new possibilities for foreign direct investment and outsourcing from high-wage to low-wage economies: (Berger 2010, 47). China has become extremely dominant in the world economy, and has changed politically as a result. The country is much more modern today, and while still under Communist control, in many areas it looks much more like a western country than an Asian one. However, they still suffer many of the same risks the rest of the world does, as last year's earthquake indicates. In that area, no country has an advantage over another.

Politically, globalization poses many problems and issues. Another writer notes, "In often politically-charged international negotiations, developing countries have constructed themselves in contradistinction to developed countries, a divide which has become institutionalized in international climate change politics and policy" (Perkins 2008). Climate change is one area where countries simply cannot agree, and it has made meetings like the recent summit in Copenhagen emotionally and politically charged. It was difficult for countries to come to an agreement in Copenhagen, and while many experts say the summit created a clear course of action for the future, others call it a spectacular failure. This indicates how emotional and political simply agreeing on solutions can be, and that means crises like these will continue to plague the world.

One of the things that has allowed countries to grow exponentially into globalized powers is the spread of communications and technology. Two other writers note, "Third, major technological breakthroughs have made communications easier and affordable across the world, leading to a widespread uniformity in perceptions and understandings about financial and economic matters" (Hafsi and Farashahi 2005). This technology has set countries free in many ways, allowing them to explore areas that would never have been open to them even twenty years ago. It has also helped modernize many countries (China and India come to mind). Two writers note, "A growing number of developing-country multinationals also undertake direct investment in advanced countries, notably high technology Indian firms such as Wipro, Infosys, and Satyam, as well as many Korean enterprises" (Tarzi 2005). Yet, that modernization is helped to develop global crises like climate change that the world seems totally incapable of managing effectively. Some feel that will lead to the eventual destruction of the planet, while others believe us, as global residents, will eventually learn to manage this crisis, and many others that face the globe.

It seems logical that people have to recognize human-made crises are normal. Throughout world history, crises have occurred, and it has been humankind's job to manage them. That does not mean that we manage them effectively all the time, but we do manage them eventually. This conference and the speaker raise the issue of world wars. They have been human-made crises that changed the world, but eventually the people managed them and finally ended them. Many other situations, from climate change to water pollution have been effectively managed, even in developing countries. It seems… READ MORE

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