In today’s world, globalization is a common phenomenon that is related to the interconnectedness of the world. This interdependence results from linked economies, shared cultures, and population flow. The phenomenon of globalization has been fueled over the years through the expansion of trade across borders, technological advancements, and the movement of people and information (PIIE, 2018). The term globalization emerged in the 1960s, and it has been referred to as “a process, a condition, a system, a force, and an age”. Globalization is defined as a social process that transforms the traditional concept of belonging to a nation into that of “globality”, which is a social condition of interconnectedness. Thus, one can assume that through strengthening planetary interdependence, the future world would be one without borders with people who are international citizens (Steger, 2003). The social aspect of globalization has four forms, namely, embodied, disembodied, object-extended, and organization-extended globalization.
Embodied Globalization
Embodied globalization is regarded as the oldest form of globalization, and it is characterized by the movement of people across borders. There are various examples of embodied globalization, the most common among which are tourism and immigration. The rate of immigration has accelerated over the past few decades, and migrants usually travel long distances to reach their destinations. Additionally, the origin of these migrants is diversifying over time. Migration is fueled by various reasons. People migrate within their country or across borders in search of better life opportunities or simply because they seek refuge from the unrest in their own country. Irrespective of the reason, the rate of migration is increasing in number and complexity. The term super-diversity was coined to describe the unprecedented variety of immigrants moving across countries. The idea of super-diversity entails that many “new, small and scattered, multiple-origin, transnationally connected, socio-economically differentiated and legally stratified immigrants” have become a part of new destination societies (Vertovec, 2007). This increased rate of immigration has resulted in embodied globalization, and today, societies across the world are a heterogeneous mix of cultures, beliefs, ideals, and origins. Embodied globalization has resulted in people having multiple nationalities, and countries across the globe have standardized laws to streamline the process of immigration.
Disembodied Globalization
Disembodied globalization is characterized by the flow of information across the globe. In today’s world, fast-paced communication systems have resulted in disembodied globalization, which is the most dominant form of universalization. Knowledge, information, ideas, and images are no longer limited to an individual, rather these are swiftly transmitted and actively shared. An example of disembodied globalization is the development of social networks and virtual environments. These social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., are a means of escaping the boundaries of one’s society and reconstructing social identities, becoming a part of the larger global community. These platforms also allow users to share information rapidly, present ideas, and generate discussions in various virtual chatrooms. Technological innovation, particularly related to communication systems, has unified the global population into a global village (Akter, 2013).
Additionally, the evolution of participatory culture encourages people to be actively involved in information sharing. News shared in one part of the world instantly becomes a global headline due to media convergence, which relies on the alliance of diverse technologies for information and resource sharing (Jenkins, 2008). Media sources have multiplied, and people have access to television, newspapers, magazines, smartphones, computers, and online news platforms. Thus, transmission is not limited to textual information; images, recorded videos, and live streams have become common. Similarly, trends that are in vogue in one part of the world are adopted by followers in other countries. Such shared culture that develops through disembodied globalization has brought the world population close to each other.
Object-Extended Globalization
Object-extended globalization is characterized by the mobility of goods and the exchange of commodities. International trade is an example of object-extended globalization, and it may be in the form of the movement of goods, commodities, or museum artefacts. There has been an expansion in world trade over the past century, which has completely transformed the global economy. More than a quarter of the world’s production is exported, generating revenue for countries and stabilizing the global market. In this context, it is important to note that a nation’s economy cannot thrive in isolation. The principles of business and economy are no longer limited to a single societal context, rather it is a global phenomenon that uses terms such as global economy, global market, international trade, competitive advantage, etc. Even the labour market relies on outsourcing specialized workers across the world.
The manufacturing process itself has become globalized. An excellent example of this would be the universalization of the automotive industry, which has resulted in a tremendous increase in exports. Major companies like Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler have made heavy investments in Mexico for their manufacturing. This offers them a low production cost, and once manufactured, the cars are shipped back to the USA and distributed across the world. Moreover, automobile parts are imported from countries such as Korea, Japan, and Germany and assembled in the USA.
Today, goods manufactured in one part of the world are readily available even in the remotest areas. Food chains such as McDonald’s, KFC, Papa John’s Pizza, etc., have become globalized, with a presence in more than a hundred countries. Their food is adapted to effectively appeal to the world population, offering Halal food for Muslim countries and vegetarian meals for countries like India. Object-extended globalization is not limited to mere import and export, rather companies have gone across borders to set up their product chains and meet the needs of the global consumers.
Organization-Extended Globalization
Organization-extended globalization pertains to political, social, and business organizations that rely on the global movement of their agents (James, 2014). Many intergovernmental organizations, such as the “United Nations (UN)”, “World Health Organization (WHO)” and “World Trade Organization (WTO)”, etc. are examples of organization-extended globalization. The role of all these organizations is to deal with the various issues that occur globally, such as the settlement of disputes, governing world health issues, and monitoring international trade. The role of WHO in the current COVID-19 pandemic can be analyzed as an example of organization-extended globalization. The WHO not only governs the world health practitioners but also engages in the dissemination of important health-related notifications. It maintains global data on the incidence of people infected by COVID-19, along with data on recoveries and mortalities. The organization does not operate remotely; rather, its members are a part of the health departments all over the world. Furthermore, the WHO facilitated the process of COVID-19 vaccination development, collected research data on its effectiveness and facilitated the distribution of vaccines across the globe. Through combined efforts of countries, the WHO is also maintaining data on the world population that has received vaccination for COVID-19. The role of the WHO is not limited to a single disease. Instead, it works towards the control of several communicable diseases by setting targets for the global population. Many other organizations work in a similar manner to monitor and control other world issues such as food shortage, poverty, environmental issues, political disputes, trade agreements, and humanitarian development.
References
Akter, T. (2013). Globalization of Localized Social Integration: Disembodied ‘Selves’, New Form of Social Interaction and Re-Identification of ‘Who We Are’ in a Virtual Environment. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 4, 261–268. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n1p261
James, P. (2014). Faces of globalization and the borders of states: From asylum seekers to citizens. Citizenship Studies, 18(2), 208–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2014.886440
Jenkins, H. (2008). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. NYU Press.
PIIE. (2018, October 29). What Is Globalization? PIIE. https://www.piie.com/microsites/globalization/what-is-globalization
Steger, M. (2003). Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. OUP Oxford.
Vertovec, S. (2007). Super-diversity and its implications. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 30(6), 1024–1054. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870701599465
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