Sociology. Anthony Giddens
the state-centred international system. Although the case for strengthening global governance appears sound, it is far from easy to achieve. Nation-states and large corporations compete with one another, while citizens’ affiliation to their imagined communities represented by ‘the nation’ is as much an emotional matter as a logical or rational one. Moving beyond nation-state-based thinking is implied in theories of globalization, but there is some evidence that globalization also produces a nationalist and populist backlash (discussed above) (Rodrik 2018). Some activists are also suspicious of the very idea of global governance, which they fear may be just a dangerous but acceptable term for an emergent and possibly tyrannical ‘world government’ by political and economic elites (Sinclair 2012: 6).
There is a discussion of global governance in chapter 20, ‘Politics, Government and Social Movements’.
It may seem optimistic, even unrealistic, to speak of global ethics or governance beyond the nation-state, but perhaps these goals are not quite as fanciful as at first they sound. The creation of new rules and norms and more effective regulatory institutions is certainly not misplaced when global interdependence and the rapid pace of change link all of us together more than ever before. Indeed, as the global issues of terrorism, pandemic control, environmental damage, climate change, transnational criminal networks, human trafficking and global financial crises show, better global governance is becoming ever more necessary.
1 What are the central characteristics of the following: hunting and gathering societies, pastoral societies and agrarian societies.
2 In what ways did cities in traditional states and civilizations differ from modern cities?
3 Why is the Global South/Global North classification scheme said to be an improvement on previous schemes by its advocates?
4 Outline Wallerstein’s world-systems theory. How would this theory account for the experience of newly industrializing countries (NICs)?
5 Provide some examples from the chapter which illustrate the significance of economic, socio-cultural and political factors in the production of social change.
6 What is meant by globalization? Using two examples, explain how the concept of glocalization differs from globalization.
7 List some of the factors contributing to the contemporary phase of globalization. Do economic factors underpin the socio-cultural or the political ones?
8 Outline the main arguments of hyperglobalizers, sceptics and transformationalists.
9 List some consequences of globalization. Are these likely to be mainly positive or negative for ‘development’ in the Global South?
10 What is global governance? List some contributory examples. Is global governance likely to be enough to tackle global warming effectively?
The Western biomedical model, rooted in scientific methods, is widely seen as the most effective form of medicine and forms the basis for most national healthcare systems. However, complementary and alternative therapies have grown in popularity in the developed societies, with some, such as acupuncture and homeopathy, partially integrated into biomedical health systems. Studying the globalization of medical knowledge and practices could provide useful insights into the debate between advocates of globalization and glocalization.
It seems obvious that successful biomedicine is an example of globalization spreading outwards from the ‘West’ to ‘the rest’. But is this correct? Are there medical success stories moving in the opposite direction? And, if there are, have they changed in the process or are they changing biomedical practice? The article below approaches this issue by exploring the travels of Indian ayurvedic medicine. Is there a ‘global ayurveda’? Read the paper and answer the questions that follow.
Sujatha, V. (2020) ‘The Universal and the Global: Contextualizing European Ayurvedic Practices’, Society and Culture in South Asia, 6(1): 52–73.
1 What methods were used in this research? Where was it carried out?
2 The author identifies three phases in the movement of ayurveda into European societies since the 1980s. What are they?
3 Which elements of ayurveda are said to have global potential? Why are some elements unlikely to be adopted in Europe?
4 Outline how ayurveda made its way into Europe. Why was the method of transmission particularly significant in relation to its reputation and take-up?
5 ‘The case of ayurvedic medicine in Europe is an example of glocalization.’ List some reasons for and against this proposition, drawing on this paper and the ideas of Roland Robertson (discussed in this chapter).
If globalization is real and effective, then academic research is not immune from its impact. For example, we might expect that social science publications in the first half of the twentieth century would be dominated by European and North American scholars, but, by the start of the twenty-first century, research from all around the world would be making an equal impact.
Read this article:
Mosbah-Natanson, S., and Gingras, Y. (2014) ‘The Globalization of Social Sciences? Evidence from a Quantitative Analysis of 30 Years of Production, Collaboration and Citations in the Social Sciences (1980–2009)’, Current Sociology, 62(5): 626–46.
Set out the paper’s main argument that Europe and North America remain the dominant forces in the production of social scientific journal articles and consider the following:
Why have other regions not made the kind of breakthrough we might expect?
What evidence do the authors introduce to show that researchers in ‘peripheral’ regions still show deference to those from the ‘centre’?
How successful is this model of ‘centre–periphery’?
What, if anything, do we learn about globalization from this paper?
Music is often the first art form to embody socio-economic change, in production methods, styles, content and geographical spread. We might expect to find that globalization is easier to see in musical trends than other forms and perhaps even more so in popular music, which more readily allows for mixing and blending of regional traditions and musical trends. One simple example is that songwriters, singers, bands, producers and distributors from around the world collaborate in ways that were previously more difficult.
Listen to a 2019 podcast debate on this subject here and address the questions below:
‘The 2010s: The Globalization of Music’, 31 October 2019, www.npr.org/2019/10/07/767904453/the-2010s-the-globalization-of-music?t=1582886387558.