Topic: Understanding the Global Context

Globalization 101

Globalization101.org is dedicated to providing students with information and interdisciplinary learning opportunities on this complex phenomenon. The goal is to challenge you to think about many of the controversies surrounding globalization and to promote an understanding of the trade-offs and dilemmas facing policy-makers.

To find the right balance between benefits and costs associated with globalization, citizens of all nations need to understand how globalization works and the policy choices facing them and their societies. Globalization101.org tries to provide an accurate analysis of the issues and controversies regarding globalization, especially to high-school and college students, without the slogans or ideological biases generally found in discussions of the topics.

WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION? (Highlights)

Globalization- a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world.

*Globalization is NOT new (i.e. the Silk Road)

*Policy and technological developments of the past few decadeshave spurred increases in cross-border trade, investment, and migration so large that many observers believe the world has entered a qualitatively new phase in its economic development (i.e. after 1950s world trade increased by 20x)

*Wave of globalization has been driven by policies that have opened economies domestically and internationally and technology

*Globalization is deeply controversial

-proponents of globalization argue that it allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically and raise their standards of living

-opponents of globalization claim that the creation of an unfettered international free market has benefited multinational corporations in the Western world at the expense of local enterprises, local cultures, and common people

OTHER USEFUL LINKS ON THE SITE

Issue Briefs explain the fundamental issues and current controversies related to globalization. They offer in-depth discussions of the problems and policy decisions facing citizens, governments, international institutions, and non-governmental organizations in the interconnected world economy and society.

News Analyses are short analyses of recent events related to globalization. They give a balanced presentation of the facts, and explain the differing opinions of governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations on important developments.

Ask the Expertscontains downloadable video files of Globalization101.org interviews with experts from a variety of fields.

International Forum on Globalization

  • “The International Forum on Globalization (IFG) is an alliance of sixty leading activists, scholars, economists, researchers and writers formed to stimulate new thinking, joint activity, and public education in response to economic globalization”
  • Concerned about the speed with which globalization is occurring
  • One of the most important events in human history since the Industrial revolution, little disclosure of the implications
  • Greatest concerns are economic
  • Most international economic regulatory bodies are not democratic
  • Multinational corporations benefit more than the workers
  • Their work is closely related to social justice and environmental movements
  • Global citizen movement has benefited the few as opposed to the many
  • UN found the gap between rich and poor is growing in countries as well as between countries
  • Developed countries are reaping the benefits of globalization, while developing countries are being left behind
  • “All over the world, evidence points to the failure of globalization and the so-called "free trade" policies of the last decade - loss of jobs and livelihoods, displacement of indigenous peoples, massive immigration, rapid environmental devastation and loss of biodiversity, increases in poverty and hunger, and many additional negative effects.”
  • Programs and Activities
  • Living Democracy
  • Accountable and democratic regional governing bodies that do not undermine sovereign nation states
  • Subsidiarity-Favoring the Locals
  • Locals should control issues that have local consequences
  • Ecological Sustainability
  • Focusing on environmental protection, biodiversity, and sustainability
  • Common Heritage
  • Equitable sharing of common resources, protecting culture, and promoting the rights of everyone to have “modern” resources (e.g. healthcare)
  • Diversity
  • Diversity must be respected
  • Civil Rights
  • Governments must protect civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights
  • Jobs and Livelihood
  • Rights of workers must be respected and governments must address the livelihood rights of citizens
  • Food Security and Safety
  • Economies need to be self-reliant on local food sources
  • Current trade policies undermine this
  • Equity
  • Social justice and greater equality are cornerstones of sustainable societies
  • Precautionary Principle
  • “When a practice or product raises potentially significant threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary action should be taken to restrict or eliminate it.”
  • IFG very much distrusts and despises the WTO
  • WTO believes commercial interest should be ahead of all others
  • Working people, labor rights, environmental protection, human rights, consumer rights, social justice, local culture, and national sovereignty are all “obstacles” for the WTO

World Bank

A vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Made up of two development institutions owend by 185 countries-International Bank for Reconstruction (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).

  • IBRD-focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries
  • IDA- focuses on the poorest countires in the world.
  • Together, provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes.
  • Do not operate for profit.
  • Use World Bank's high credit rating to pass the low interest the World Bank pays for the borrowers, the developing countries.
  • World Bank pays for its own operating costs, since it does not look to outside sources to furnish funds for overhead.

Mission:

To fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results. To help people help themselves and thier environments by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and foreign partnerships in the public and private sectors.

World Bank focuses on Millennium Development Goals that call for the elimination of poverty and sustained development. The goals provide us with targets and yardsticks for measuring results.

Last year, the World Bank provided $23.6 billion for 279 projects in developing countries worldwide, with its financial and/or technical expertise aimed at helping those countries reduce poverty.

The bank is currently involved in more than 1,800 projects in virtually every sector and developing country.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

An international organization of 185 member countries. Oversees the global financial system by monitoring exchange rates, balance of payments, and offers financial and technical assistance to member countries.

Main responsibilities:

  • promoting international monetary cooperation
  • facilitating the expansion and balanced growth of international trade;
  • promoting exchange stability;
  • assisting in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments; and
  • making its resources available (under adequate safeguards) to members experiencing balance of payments difficulties.

The “Fund”—was conceived at a United Nations conference in 1944. The 45 governments represented at that conference sought to build a framework for economic cooperation that would avoid a repetition of the disastrous economic policies that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The Fund seeks to promote economic stability and prevent crises; to help resolve crises when they do occur; and to promote growth and alleviate poverty. It employs three main functions to meet these objectives:

  1. Surveillance:On a regular basis—usually once each year, the Fund conducts in-depth appraisals of each member country's economic situation. It discusses whether the country's policies are conducive to external and domestic stability, including orderly growth, and advises on policy adjustments that may be desirable.
  2. Technical assistance:to help member countries strengthen their capacity to design and implement effective policies. Technical assistance is offered in several areas, including fiscal policy, monetary and exchange rate policies, banking and financial system supervision and regulation, and statistics.
  3. Lending:available to give member countries the breathing room they need to correct balance of payments problems.

The IMF's resources are provided by its member countries, primarily through quotes, which reflect each country's economic size. The total amount of quotas is the most important factor determining the IMF's lending capacity.

The IMF advises and assists member countries in implementing economic and financial policies that promote stability, reduce vulnerability to crisis, and encourage sustained growth and high living standards. It also promotes dialogue among member countries on the regional and international consequences of their economic and financial policies, and reviews global economic trends and developments that affect the health of the international monetary and financial system.

Has a joint IMF-World Bank initiative that looks to reduce to sustainable levels the external debt burdens of heavily indebted poor countries.

World Economic Forum

What is it?

·The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

·Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The World Economic Forum is under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Government.

·Motto is ‘entrepreneurship in the global public interest’. We believe that economic progress without social development is not sustainable, while social development without economic progress is not feasible.

Who attends?

·Business leaders (1,000 leading companies and 200 smaller businesses), political leaders, NGOs, trade unions

·High costs to be a member- both as an individual and as a coporation- and high costs to attend the meetings

oSometimes criticized as a club for the rich and the famou

·Journalists have access to most sessions at the Annual Meeting in Davos, the majority of which are webcast live so that the debates can be open to a wider public.

·Its highest governance body is the Foundation Board consisting of 20 members including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Ernesto Zedillo, and Michael Dell

·Heavily composed of representatives from Europe, the USA and industrialized Asia

·All men on big discission making bodies- the Forum Board of Directors and the Council Board of Directors

oIn 2001 the World Economic Forum started its 'Women Leaders Program' with the stated aim of increasing the participation of women in WEF activities and involving them as members in World Economic Forum communities

Is the World Economic Forum like the UN, IMF or World Bank?

The Forum shares the goal of these organizations which is to make our world a better place. Where the Forum differs from the World Bank or the IMF is that we do not provide capital to nations in need. While the UN’s members are state governments, ours come mostly from the field of business. Our members, in turn, meet leaders from other walks of life during Forum activities and events

What are its core initiatives?

·Business alliance against chronic hunger, climate change, corporate global citizenship, disaster resource network, energy challenges, energy poverty action, financing for development, global competitiveness, global education initiative, global governance, global health initiative, global risk network, humanitarian relief imitative, international monetary convention project, IT access for everyone, partnering against corruption, scenario planning, water, working towards wellness

Global Policy Forum

Mission

“Global Policy Forum’s mission is to monitor policy making at the United Nations, promote accountability of global decisions, educate and mobilize for global citizen participation, and advocate on vital issues of international peace and justice.”

Point of view

“GPF responds to a globalizing world, where officials, diplomats and corporate leaders take important policy decisions affecting all humanity, with little democratic oversight and accountability. GPF addresses this democratic deficit by monitoring the policy process, informing the public, analyzing the issues, and urging citizen action. GPF focuses on the United Nations – the most inclusive international institution, offering the best hope for a humane and sustainable future.”

Status

“GPF is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, with consultative status at the UN. Founded in 1993 by an international group of concerned citizens, GPF works to strengthen international law and create a more equitable and sustainable global society. It places a heavy emphasis on networking to build broad coalitions for research, action and advocacy. GPF’s main office is strategically located across the street from UN headquarters in New York. GPF also has a European office, located in Bonn, Germany.”

More details on GPF’s programs (UN Security Council, Social and Economic Policy, NGOs, Globalization, Empire?, Iraq, Nations & States, International Justice, UN Financial Crisis, UN Reform, International Internships) available at:

Globalization according to GPF

“Human societies across the globe have established progressively closer contacts over many centuries, but recently the pace has dramatically increased. Jet airplanes, cheap telephone service, email, computers, huge oceangoing vessels, instant capital flows, all these have made the world more interdependent than ever. Multinational corporations manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, technology and raw materials move ever more swiftly across national borders. Along with products and finances, ideas and cultures circulate more freely. As a result, laws, economies, and social movements are forming at the international level. Many politicians, academics, and journalists treat these trends as both inevitable and (on the whole) welcome. But for billions of the world’s people, business-driven globalization means uprooting old ways of life and threatening livelihoods and cultures. The global social justice movement, itself a product of globalization, proposes an alternative path, more responsive to public needs. Intense political disputes will continue over globalization’s meaning and its future direction.”

Yale Center for the Study of Globalization

Mission:

·Launched in the fall of 2001 to enrich the debate about globalization on campus and to promote the flow of ideas between Yale and the policy world.

·It strives to talk about problems that might not necessarily have the media spotlight, and it tries to include people from all backgrounds- both the rich and the poor- in discussion.CONNECT THEM

What do they do?

·Public lectures, international conferences, multidisciplinary roundtable discussions

·YCSG connects the academy and policy worlds by bringing scholars and experts from outside the University to interact with faculty and students in workshops, panel discussions and colloquia

·Organizes at least one major conference each year to explore an important aspect of globalization

·Brings key leaders in international affairs to campus to make a major public address.

·Initiated a program to bring distinguished visitors to Yale for periods of up to one year to complete a project or collaborate on a body of work.

·Director is Mexico’s former president, Ernesto Zedillo- now a Yale prof of econ and politics

What have they accomplished?

·Research papers for the Project- Global Trade and Financial Architecture:

oMeant to identify and analyze options for making the multilateral trading system more supportive of development

oAlso, follows up on the specific recommendations in the Task Force Report that called for expanded “aid for trade” to complement the Doha negotiations and the need for new approaches on special and differential treatment of developing countries in the WTO

·On February 15, the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization hosted a presentation and discussion of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change

oIt was the most comprehensive and rigorous discussion in the U.S. to date of the Stern Review and the only one pairing Sir Nicholas and his team with such an esteemed panel of experts

·Sponsor an online newsletter- YaleGroup- great resource!! FreeJ

What are their core issues?

·Global governance for peace and security

·Foreign policy role of key international players

·Global economic governance

·International cooperation for development

·Strengthening the multilateral trading system

·International cooperation for protecting shared environmental resources

·Global health

·Key factors for inclusion in globalization

·Extracting lessons from national or regional experiences