GLOBALISATION

INTRODUCTION
What is globalisation ? The use of that word didnt start before the 1960s, & has various
meanings according to people :
- for some, this concept is the key idea by which we understand the transition of
human society into the third millennium it is an international concept, since many languages
have a word for it (mondialisation in French, globalizacion in Spanish, globalisierung in German,
etc.)
- Roland Robertson (a sociologist & theorist of globalisation, author of Globalization :
Social Theory & Global Culture, 1992) defined it in 1992 as a concept referring both to the
compression of the world & to the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole
- but for the Australian sociologist Malcolm Waters, this implies that a fully global
world would mean a single global society in which territoriality would disappear as an
organising principle for social & cultural life, maintaining however a high degree of tolerance
for diversity & individual choice (since flows of goods, people & ideas link together previously
homogeneous cultural groups, forcing each to put into perspective compare, contrast &
position itself to others) ; thus, it is a differentiating as well as homogenising process,
pluralising the world by recognising the value of cultural niches (different national cultures or
minority cultures within nations). So, for him (in Globalisation, 1995), globalisation is a social
process in which the constraints of geography on economic, social & cultural arrangements
recede, in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding, & in which people
act accordingly
- for the economist Philippe Legrain (Open World : The Truth about Globalisation,
2002), this ugly word is shorthand for how our lives are becoming increasingly intertwined
with those of distant people & places around the world economically, politically & culturally ;
these links are not always new, but they are more pervasive than ever before
- for the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, globalisation means world
inclusivity
- for former Microsofts President Bill Gates, it means that the world is united by the
Web
- etc.
At last, one can say that globalisation is the increasing interconnectedness of the world
economically, culturally & politically, the current phase developing out of internationalisation
(the extension of economic activities across national boundaries, leading to a more extensive
geographical pattern of economic activity phase proceeding globalisation) [cf. doc.1].
But not everyone agrees on the fact that the world is today undergoing globalisation [cf.
doc.2] : for some, it is merely an extension of internationalisation - for Alan Rugman, the
Oxford management scholar, globalisation is an exaggeration of what has taken place in the
1

international economy, with a regional nature, since there is a significant number of countries
largely isolated from the so-called global economy
- over 70% of the worlds GDP (total value of goods produced & services provided
within a country in a year, expressing the wealth of the country or its population) is produced
domestically, within national boundaries ; much of the change that has occurred is in
increased trade shares among the rich nations, but there has been very little increase in
trade shares for the non-industrialised economies ; most of what we consume cannot be
traded, especially services (hairdressers, shop assistants, gardeners, etc.) but such services
are the fastest growing sectors of MEDCs (More Economically Developed Countries also
called EMDCs, Economically More Developed Countries)
- internationalisation isnt a new phenomenon, but began with the voyages of discovery
of the European maritime powers in the XVth century, & was accelerated by the spread of
industrialisation so it is only the nature & scale of such changes that has justified the use
of this new term, globalisation. It has accelerated through time thanks to cheaper, easier &
faster transportation, but it involves more than just technological change : it is also a political
choice, that of consciously opening national borders to foreign influences

Globalisation, Paul Guinness, Hodder & Stoughton,

2003

I-AN INCREASINGLY INTERDEPENDENT

WORLD : THE PROCESS OF GLOBALISATION

AND

INTERCONNECTED

1 A new international division of labour

Ever since the 1990s, a new phase of globalisation contributes to the development of a
global assembly line (global production & sales systems developed by TNCs, in which goods &
services produced in one country are sold in world markets). This has been made possible
thanks to deep changes :
- improvements in transportation : they have reduced the costs & time involved in
moving large amounts of raw materials, goods & people over long distances
* sea trade has boomed : it accounts for about 75% of world commercial flows
today, thanks in particular to containerisation (transport of goods in containers, i.e. a
portable compartment/box in which freight is placed for convenience of movement
they have standard dimensions), but also to the development of container-ships,
tankers & supertankers, etc.) [cf. doc.3]. Big ports have thus become hubs (ports or
airports where all connections converge at all scale world, continental, national & local
thus forming spokes) [cf. doc.4] :
Doc.3 : Supertankers of up to 500 000
tonnes

Barry Brunt, Our Dynamic World 2, Gill &

Macmillan, 2004

Doc.4 : World port hubs

PORTS (in 2010)
Shanghai (China)
Singapore (Singapore)
Hong Kong (China)
Shenzhen (China)
Busan (South Korea)

CONTAINER TRADE (handled in TEUs, or 20-feet equivalent unit,

measure used for capacity in container transportation)
29 069 000
28 431 000
23 699 000
22 510 000
14 194 000
Marine Insight, 2011

* air travel : thanks to bulk/cargo planes (Boeing 747, Airbus A380) & low-cost
air companies (EasyJet...)
3

- advances in telecommunications : electronic mail (e-mail), communications satellites &

fax machines, mobile & smart phones, the Web, link people & places more efficiently & faster
than ever previously (the global telephone network has grown over tenfold in the past fifty
years : teledensity - the number of lines per 100 people - has quadrupled since 1960, even
though 25% of the worlds nations still have a teledensity below one ; there are today 30.2%
Internet users ; & 5.3 billion people with a mobile cellular subscription). Furthermore, the
internationalisation of television, such as CNN, Sky & MTV, allows images of other places,
events & cultures, to be transmitted worldwide this, added to the growth of global brands
such as Nike, Coca Cola & McDonalds, has contributed to mix & globalise world cultures by
providing common reference points (terms such as Americanisation & McDonaldisation are
often used to describe global consumer culture) [cf. doc.5]

Doc.5 : An Americanised world

Barry Brunt, Our Dynamic World 2, Gill & Macmillan, 2004

- the reorganisation of business : with the emergence of very large, international,

companies, called TNCs (transnational corporations) or MNCs (multinational companies) such
as Ford, Microsoft, Sony, Nike... They purchase inputs, produce goods & services, & sell them
at a global level [cf. doc.6]
Doc.6 : Purchasing & manufacturing globally, the e.g. of Toyota
Toyota Boshokus development, procurement & production systems are aligned to client needs worldwide,
with no time or geographical limitations. [...] We satisfy the strategic needs of automotive manufacturers, &
we do it on time. Motivated partly by the need for cost effectiveness, many manufacturers have built
factories overseas & are buying parts & manufacturing products locally. [...] It is very important that a global
manufacturer understand the cultures of the countries it operates in. Toyota Boshoku now has a network of
more than 50 overseas bases, & an overseas staff of more than 10 000. Our Japanese staff posted
overseas impart their skills & knowledge of quality control & business management to local personnel, & this
creates greater opportunities for success when developing new projects. [...]
www.toyota-boshoku.co.jp

- global banking & integrated financial markets : using new technologies to move capital
through the world, about $ 100 billion worth of currencies are traded daily. To control this
trade, international banking & financial institutions have emerged, with headquarters in world
cities such as London, NYC, Frankfurt & Tokyo, where Stock exchanges play a key role in
shaping global development trends (e.g. the City in London, NYSE in New York)
4

- a more liberal world trading system : it has been promoted by MEDCs, that have
encouraged the movement of free trade by removing/reducing trade barriers such as tariffs
& quota restrictions (e.g. with the GATT from 1947 to 1995, & now the WTO)
Lower production costs are possible thanks to the division of labour (process of labour
division between countries providing a low-cost labour force & developed countries, thus
making productivity rise & costs of production fall). It is closely linked to the concept of
spatial division of labour, which argues that further economic benefits can be gained if
specialisation of production occurs in different areas : it thus allows the workforce of such
areas to concentrate on the production of certain goods & services ; furthermore, land use &
infrastructures become closely linked with the specialised production (e.g. : in a city, the CBD
provides specialist facilities, while manufacturing activities are often located on industrial
estates, adjacent to ring roads around the edge of the city). At national level, the spatial
division of labour provides many benefits : economic development & productivity increase as a
country focuses on producing goods &/or services for which it has a comparative advantage
over other areas. This allows that country to export these goods/services it produces, &
thereby to import goods/services it does not produce from other countries that have
specialised in their production. This level of specialisation of labour is called international
division of labour (IDL) [cf. doc.7]. But the reality of this concept has changed over years,
due to the TNCs role & the growing internationalisation of trade : since the start of the
Industrial Revolution, the IDL has gone through 3 phases, & even a 4th, just beginning :
Doc.7 : The international division of labour

Barry Brunt, Our Dynamic

World 2, Gill & Macmillan,
2004

- phase 1 (1800s-1960s), the traditional IDL : based on large-scale industrial

development, it began with the Industrial Revolution & continued until the 1960s. It involved
the core economies of Western Europe, & later the USA, in exporting manufactured goods to
the global periphery whose countries specialised in producing food & raw materials they
exported to core countries (this phase was strongly influenced by colonialism). Core countries
thus specialised in the secondary sector, while the primary sector dominated in peripheral
countries
5

- phase 2 (1970s-1980s), the new IDL : based upon higher-value industries & services,
it began in the 1970s with the necessity to reduce production costs while remaining
competitive. It involved the TNCs relocating branch plants to countries in the global
periphery, & reducing their industrial workforces in core economies so as to concentrate on
higher-value goods & services, while peripheral countries specialised increasingly in branch
plant production of industrial goods. This led to an increase in world trade in merchandise
goods
- phase 3 (since the 1990s), the newer IDL : based on high-tech industries &
quaternary services, it developed in the 1990s when a growing range of (basic & low-cost)
specialised services were relocated from core to peripheral countries. Development of backoffice functions has thus created a new form of labour specialisation in the global periphery,
while core countries labour force specialises increasingly in high-tech industries & the
growing quaternary sector
- phase 4 (since the 2000s), the most recent IDL : based upon high-tech industries &
quaternary services, it tends to develop since the 2000s, & the importance of this new phase
is expected to grow. Indeed, TNCs are outsourcing or subcontracting an increasing number of
key functions from their high-cost locations in core countries to locations in the global
periphery, which involves a significant number of high-value & skill-demanding jobs (research,
chip design, financial analysis...). This explains by a combination of push & pull factors : costs
in core countries are very high, due mainly to high wages & salaries ; employees in peripheral
countries are becoming more educated thus skilled, & work for low wages (e.g. : in India, an
engineer with an MSc designs chips for $ 1 000/month, vs. $ 7 000/month in the USA). So
now, rather than well-educated workers in peripheral countries migrating to core countries, it
is work that is coming to the workers from core countries to peripheral countries : this
reverses the long-established pattern of a brain drain from LEDCs to MEDCs
The e.g. of a transnational product, Wimbledon tennis ball or the Smartphone (cf. case
study p.13-14) : the Dunlop Slazenger balls used at Wimbledon (48 000), & many other major
tennis instruments, are the product of materials & labour from at least 10 different
countries [cf. doc.8]. Slazenger provided its 1st hand-sewn, wool-coated balls to Wimbledon
in 1902 ; today, tennis balls account for around 1/5th of the 165 million annual turnover of
Dunlop Slazenger, which produces about 20% of the 240 million or more tennis balls
manufactured worldwide every year
- the Philippines is now the focal point of production : the Dunlop Slazenger factory is at
Bataan, on the island of Basilan, in the Southern Philippines. Apart from manufacturing, there
is also a laboratory dedicated to the development & testing of tennis balls, at Bataan. The
engineering department at the University of Loughborough, & professional tennis managers in
Cheltenham, are also involved in the development & testing process. In the 1970s, the
Philippine government set up the Bataan Economic Zone, in order to attract foreign
investment : however, the economic zone never attracted the amount of investment initially
hoped for, & today, much of it is derelict, as companies have left for locations such as China,
where labour is even cheaper

Doc.8 : The making of

Wimbledon
tennis
ball,
transnational process

a
a

Globalisation, Paul Guinness, Hodder

& Stoughton, 2003

- the main materials used at the Bataan plant are :

* the rubber, in the core of the ball : it comes from Malaysia, where it is
delivered to a processing plant in Prai, near Penang, from small rubber plantations in
the area
* in addition, rubber from Basilan is mixed with petroleum naphthalene, to make
glue for the balls
* the greenish yellow cloth covering (wool & synthetic mix) is made in the UK, at
Dursley in Gloucestershire
* the wool for the cloth is imported into the UK from New Zealand
* the tins into which the balls are packed are from Indonesia
* among the substances used to vulcanise the rubber & give it the right amount
of stretch & bounce, are found : clay from South Carolina, sulphur from Korea, silica
from Greece, magnesium carbonate from Japan & zinc oxide from Thailand
- from the 1940s until 2002, the company produced tennis balls in Barnsley, Yorkshire ;
however, all production was transferred to the Philippines in 2002, so as to reduce labour
costs yet another example of deindustrialisation & the filter-down of production from an
EMDC to an ELDC

2 A selective and unequal globalisation

The opening of national economies has brought about a real explosion of world wide trade,
but rich countries still monopolise it [cf. doc.9] :
- goods trade is made up principally of foodstuffs, energy & manufactured products,
but is very unequally distributed :
* many poor nations are primary product dependent, because relying on one or a
small number of primary products to obtain foreign currency through exports. The
world market price of primary commodities & products (e.g. raw materials) is generally
very low, & subject to very big variation from year to year, whereas the world market
price for manufactured goods & services is much higher, thus profitable to countries
producing such goods (essentially rich nations) it is referred to as the terms of trade.
7

Furthermore, manufacturing & service exports of the developed nations generally rise
in price. Finally, some countries & world regions still attract little FDIs, such as subSaharan Africa, which remains the least industrialised global region
* North America, Western Europe & Japan, i.e. the Triad (the 3 main economic
centres & great political centres of the world), account for about 4/5th of world
manufacturing production, 70% of the world total production, 90% of the world
financial transactions & operations, 80% of the world research & technological
innovation activities, & 75-80% of the world trade
* but the most dynamic Newly Industrialised Countries/NICs (nations that have
undergone rapid & successful industrialisation since the 1960s : South Korea, Taiwan,
Brazil, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mexico, Malaysia, etc.) have created large companies of
their own which are locating factories in developed nations
Doc.9 : A globalised world

History & Geography, Sections europennes, Hatier, 2007

8

- the phenomenal growth in Foreign Direct Investments/FDIs (overseas investments in

physical capital by transnational corporations) is the most obvious sign of the increasing
integration of the worlds economies :
* much of it is done by multinational firms in the developed world
* but NICs & emergent countries (developing countries that have a significant
economic growth thanks to economic liberalisation & foreign capitals, often resulting in
increasing social disparities China, India, etc.), also called BRICS (Brazil, Russia,
India, China & South Africa), play an ever-increasing role in that domain : the share of
developing countries in the global stock of inward direct investment is 32%. But this
share is unevenly distributed : 19% in Asia & 2.3% in Africa. FDI have also risen in
developing economies in the 1980s-1990s : the big 5, in order of importance, are China,
Brazil, Mexico, Singapore & Indonesia

II-KEY
ACTORS
CORPORATIONS

IN

GLOBALISATION

TRANSNATIONAL

1 Powerful and influential economic participants

Transnational Corporations/TNCs (firms that have the power to co-ordinate & control
operations in more than one country, even if they do not own them), also called MNCs
(multinational companies) or MNFs (multinational firms), are the driving force behind
economic globalisation : there are now few parts of the world where the direct or indirect
influence of TNCs is not important
- through direct ownership of productive activities, involving TNCs in a web of
collaborative relationships with other companies across the world (forming thus a sort of
transnational network)
- in the world trade : a quite important proportion of world trade (about 33%) is intrafirm, taking place within & between TNCs (e.g. : car giants have engines, gearboxes & other
key components produced in one country & exported for assembly elsewhere)
- there are more than 80 000, & they are present on world markets through some 850
000 affiliates ; they employ over 70 million people around the world
- the 10 largest control now 86% of the telecommunications sector, 85% of the
pesticides industry, 70% of the computer industry, & 35% of the pharmaceuticals industry.
Major companies control sectors such as (in order of importance) : petroleum (Exxon, BP,
Shell), cars (Toyota Motors, General Motors, Ford), consumer electronics (Sony, Toshiba,
Apple), pharmaceuticals (Roche, Novartis), tyres (Goodyear, Continental Corporation), tobacco
(Philip Morris), soft drinks (Coca Cola Company), fast food (MacDonalds, Starbuck),
agribusiness (Nestl, Unilever), financial consultancies (McKinsey & Co, Ernst & Young LLP),
retailing (Wal-Mart) & luxury hotels (Accor Hotel Group, Hilton International) plus emerging
9

multinational alliances in airlines (Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, British Airways),

telecommunications (Nokia, AT&T, Vodafone), & banking & insurance (Lloyds, Allianz)
TNCs produce about 20% of the wealth in the world, & some are economically more
powerful than some states, even developed countries [cf. doc.10]. They can also be very
present & influential in international organisations, to the point of determining their policies
& actions : for instance, UN agencies & bodies are very much exposed to manipulation &
infiltration by TNCs, as the case of the WHO illustrates [cf. doc.11].
Doc.10 : TNCs turnover compared with countries GNP
TNCs (2010)
Wal-Mart Stores : $ 408 billion
Royal Dutch Shell : $ 285 billion
Toyota Motors : $ 204 billion
AXA : $ 175 billion
Allianz : $ 126 billion

Countries (2010)
Denmark : $ 349 billion
Portugal : $ 241 billion
New-Zealand : $ 169 billion
Vietnam : $ 121 billion
Libya : $ 71 billion

Doc.11 : TNCs influence, WHO infiltrated by food industry

A report by the WHO (World Health Organisation) stated that junk food & fizzy drinks are making children
obese, & that governments should clamp down on them. The rising tide of obesity is killing & impacting
severely on the quality of life of millions in the rich world, & is now edging into poor countries to co-exist with
malnutrition ; but large TNCs in the food & drink industry do not accept this claim & are using all their
influence to challenge conclusions of the WHO. The WHO has accused the tobacco TNCs of sabotaging
efforts to control tobacco consumption through pressure tactics against the agency & other international
organisations (by using numerous third-party organisations such as trade unions to try to influence the WHO
; by secretly funding independent experts to conduct research & publish papers that would challenge WHO
findings ; by setting up press conferences to draw attention away from events organised by the WHO
related to anti-smoking efforts).
The Guardian, January 2003

2 Spatial and economic strategies of TNCs

TNCs develop global marketing strategies in order to remain as competitive as possible :
becoming transnational by relocating, or outsourcing, off-shoring, filtering-down, production
plants outside the home country in order to reduce costs as much as possible [cf.doc.12 &
13] is a response to the seek for greater benefits. TNCs thereby find :
- cheaper labour force, especially in LEDCs (Less Economically Developed Countries, or
developing countries) : as mechanisation of production has reduced the importance of skilled
labour, TNCs search for locations which offer cheaper & more flexible sources of labour, &
many of the LEDCs have large numbers of people prepared to work long hours for low wages.
This has thus led to a new IDL
- new resource locations to exploit, with access to raw materials : historically, it was
the most important reason, when colonial powers such as GB & France invested massively in
their colonies. TNCs continue to invest strongly in securing supplies of critical raw materials
(oil & mineral ores) : they ship such materials to processing plants often located in MEDCs
(e.g. oil & iron shipped to refineries & steelworks along the coasts of Western Europe)
10

- market opportunities in other parts of the world : in todays world, 3 global markets
dominate, those of the Triad. To ensure access to these prosperous markets, most TNCs have
a strategy of locating major production & servicing facilities in each of these regions (e.g. the
Japanese Toyota Motors implementing a production plant in Valenciennes, Northern France, in
2000). They also adapt their local production to the countrys culture & traditions (e.g.
McDonalds with beefless hamburgers in India, or casher hamburgers in Israel)
- flexibility of location : by having economic activities located in a different number of
countries, TNCs are able to move production between plants, which is more profitable for
them (e.g. if labour costs rise too quickly in one location, the TNC might decide to remove
part or all if its production from that country to another cheaper location)
- more lax domestic & environmental regulations
- lower or no trade barriers
- etc.

Doc.12 : A world of outsourcing

Barry Brunt, Our Dynamic World 2,

Gill & Macmillan, 2004

Doc.13 : The new division of labour & its impact

Electrolux, the worlds leading domestic appliance maker, has put 27 plants on an "at risk" list, as it speeds
up moves to switch production to low-cost countries to maintain its global competitiveness. Its factory at
Spennymoor in Country Durham, which employs 600 people & makes conventional cookers, is among
plants in Australia, the US & Western Europe, that will be reviewed as the group moves more of its
manufacturing to Eastern Europe, Mexico & Asia. "It is the consumers who are doing this to us. They are not
willing to pay extra for products produced in specific countries. We need to move production to other
countries to be competitive", said a spokesman. "If you compare Sweden to Hungary, salaries are around
1/10th in Hungary. If you go to Asia, the figure is even lower." [...] Yesterday, Electrolux declined to
comment on how many jobs might be lost. [...]
The Guardian, February 16, 2005

TNCs operate both at a global & at national scale :

- economic core (space concentrating cities, population, economic & financial activities,
& communication & transportation networks) regions have long been vulnerable to the
migration of labour-intensive manufacturing to lower-wage areas of the periphery (space in
the immediate or further surroundings of the core, boosted & influenced by it, which
concentrates much less cities, population, economic activities & communication networks) : for
instance, in the USA, the historical drift of the textile & shoe industries from New England
(Northeast), & apparel manufacture from NY, to North & South Carolina (Southeast)
11

- the economic core has monopolised invention & innovation, so that large TNCs have
increasingly moved routine operations (activities of production) to the developing world since
the 1950s : this outsourcing has been made possible thanks to the revolution in transport &
communications (containerisation & the general increase in scale of shipping have cut off
costs in overseas distribution of goods, while advances in telecommunications have made
global management a reality) in some cases, whole industries have virtually migrated, such as
shipbuilding from Europe to Asia in the 1970s
So TNCs characterise (often) with a tripartite organisational level : headquarters,
research & development (R&D), & branch plants
- headquarters are usually located in the developed world city where the company is
established
- R&D is most likely located there too, or in other areas of this country
- branch plants (sites of production) are the 1st to be located overseas by 2000,
some 25% of the worlds manufacturing production was located in LEDCs (vs. under 10% until
the late 1960s) :
* branch plants can bring a variety of benefits to countries (provide jobs,
introduce new skills & technologies to local workforce, contribute to the economic
diversification & integration into the global economy...) : therefore, many governments offer
significant incentives (cash grants, tax benefits...) to encourage TNCs to locate branch plants
in their country
* branch plants can also bring about problems to host countries (low wage rates,
few re-distribution of the profits, contribute to destabilise the national economy if
relocation to more profitable locations...), particularly if dependency upon branch plants for
development is too high (it is then called a branch plant economy) : but the most significant
problem is linked to the loss of control over decision-making, because decisions are often
made at the headquarters of a TNC, with little or no consultation with the workforce &
government of the host country
But some of the largest & most successful TNCs have divided their industrial empires into
world regions, each with research & development facilities & a high level of decision making
(e.g. : a Japanese car-maker will produce locally in America rather than exporting there ;
European firms dollar sales from their American subsidiaries are now 4 times bigger than
their exports to America).
CCL : Cf. the case study on the Smartphone.

12

13

14

III-MIGRATIONS, FLOWS AND NETWORKS

1 Increased international migrations
a-At world scale
Migration is a movement which involves a permanent or relatively long-term change in
residence, it is hence different from commuting & nomadic movements. Migrations can be
classified by distance (whether it is international or internal), by source & destination (rural
to urban, & urban to rural movements), & whether they are forced or voluntary. Migrations
have increased over the past 40 years, particularly thanks to the global air travel growth.
This growth of international migrations reduces perceived distance between places, increases
cultural mixing, allows workers to move cheaply to areas of demand, allows TNCs to move
personnel & goods between production & sales locations, etc.
There are today over 200 million migrants in the world today, i.e. 3% of the worlds
population : 75% come from Latin America, Africa, the Middle-East & Asia [cf. doc.14]. Even
though labour markets are far behind financial markets in the process of globalisation, largely
because of restrictions governments impose on immigration (which in turn contribute to
develop the phenomenon of illegal immigration 25 to 40 million), labour movement across
international borders is occurring at a previously unattained scale :

Doc.14 : World migration

flows

History
&
Sections
Hatier, 2005

Geography,
europennes,

- international flows of workers concern about 100 million each year :

* developed countries are still poles of attraction to poor countries populations
(e.g. : Africans in Europe) : between 1950 & 1990, about 50 million migrants to the USA
& about 10 million to Europe
* MEDCs also attract people from other industrial countries : it is the brain
drain phenomenon (emigration of highly skilled people, especially scientists & technical
workers, to a country offering better opportunities) for e.g. from Europe to the USA
15

* but the economic development of South countries also incites workers from
neighbouring states to migrate (e.g. : Kuwaitis in Saudi Arabia, etc.)
- refugee movements are also gaining strength (about 20 million a year), due to many
civil wars, or natural causes (disasters such as floods, earthquakes, etc.) or economic
disparities
- tourist flows are also increasing [cf. doc.15] :
* from 69 million in 1960 to 176 million in 1970, from 443 million in 1990 to 697
million in 2000, 850 million in 2007 & 1 billion or more today
* travel & tourism is now the largest industry in the world : it is estimated that
tourism sustains more than 1/10 jobs around the world
Doc.15 : International tourist flows between 1990 & 2005
International tourist flows
Regions of destination
Europe
Asia Pacific
Americas
Africa
Middle-East

1990 (in million)

441.2
263.9
60.2
99.2
9.9
8

2005 (in million)

808.3
443.9
156.2
133.1
36.7
38.4
UN World Tourism Organisation, 2006

- above all, such migrations reflect world inequalities : in South countries, population
growth, political instability & economic difficulties incite people to move, whereas population
mobility in industrialised/North countries contributes to spread the Western way of life
b-The case of the UK : from a net emigration country to a net immigration place
Historically, the UK is a country of net emigration (difference between immigration &
emigration in an area over a period of time). The UK has experienced waves of immigration,
giving it a society that has always been one of mixed races & cultures [cf. doc.16 & 17]. The
majority of British residents are historically descended from immigrants (Romans, Vikings,
Angles, Saxons & Normans). Then waves of Irish centuries ago, & other European migrants
since WWII, have further enlarged the British population ; in the 1950s & 1960s, the UK
encouraged colonial immigration from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh... Usually, emigration to
Australia, Canada & New Zealand exceeded the influx of new workers ; & the number of
immigrants was small enough to be easily assimilated into the existing population. However,
the immediate post-war years saw a much larger influx (about 3 million), many of whom had a
different origin, culture... It is this biological difference, much more than social or cultural
difference, that has led to racial tensions in parts of the UK (even though ethnic minorities
only make up 8.8% of the UK population) : immigration has become in the 21st century a
political hot potato for the government, particularly since immigration form the 8 new
Eastern European EU members has resulted in the largest mass immigration in British history

16

Doc.16 : Ethnic minorities in the UK

History
&
Geography,
europennes, Hatier, 2005

Sections

Doc.17 : Total migration to & from the UK, 1975-2008

Migration Policy Institute

- an uneven origin & concentration of ethnic groups :

* a small proportion of immigrants have come from the "old" Commonwealth
(Australia, New-Zealand & Canada), but the largest proportion are "new" Commonwealth
immigrants, from the Indian subcontinent (Indian, Pakistan, Bangladesh), Africa (Nigeria) &
the West Indies (Jamaica)
* they have migrated to the UK because Britain was looking for workforce after
WWII, so the government actively encouraged people to move there, turning the country into
a multicultural society ; immigrants were forced to leave their overcrowded & with
unemployment rates countries ; populations were escaping religious persecutions (Hindus,
Muslims & Sikhs during the partition of India in 1947-1948)... [cf. doc.18]
Doc.18 : The UK, Land of Hope
And where would we, in Britain, be without the commercial energy & professional skills of the Indian
diaspora ? There are nearly 10,000 working in the NHS alone that most civilising of British institutions. It
remains utterly dependent on overseas recruits.
According to Home Office figures, over 44,000 medical workers came to the UK last year. Migrants make up
about 8% of the British population, but contribute some 10% of our GDP.
(...) I am where I am because Ive been able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by a Britain at its
best a land of hope that is open & confident. To deny these chances to a new generation of migrants
would be an injustice to the individuals concerned but, more important, it would mark a profound loss of faith
in our nations place in this new century of globalisation.
BBC News Online, 2012
17

* successive British governments have tried to restrict & control the number of
non-white immigrants, unless they were dependants of relatives already living in the UK, or
had specific jobs (especially skilled jobs in short supply in Britain : e.g. doctors), or were
British passport-holders evicted from their home country (e.g. Ugandan Asians due to a civil
war), or could prove themselves to be genuine refugees (e.g. Bosnian Muslims after the civil
war in former Yugoslavia) [cf. doc.19]
Doc.21 : Immigration policies
Policy
Border controls
Work permits
Refugees & asylum
seekers

Advantages
Physical borders, policing, passports &
visas allow government to count people
in & out (net migration)
Allow temporary workers to be
controlled & matched to skill shortages

Drawbacks
- Very costly system
- Tight regulations may put off some
migrants who are needed to fill skill gaps
They can be abused; Some migrants
dont leave when their time is up, &
become illegal migrants
Prestige is gained by accepting The public may perceive them as a cost
vulnerable groups & respecting basic with few benefits attached
human rights
David Waugh, The New Wider World, Nelson, 1998

* immigrants mostly go to large cities & conurbations where there are better job
opportunities : the greatest concentration of ethnic groups are in London, the West & East
Midlands, & West Yorkshire there is sometimes also the tendency for one ethnic group to
concentrate in a particular area (e.g. West Indians in Birmingham) [cf. doc.20 & 21]
Doc.20 : Ethnic groups in
the London boroughs,
1996

David Waugh, The New

Wider World, Nelson, 1998

Doc.21 : Britains growing ethnic diversity, various years

Platt, 2009

1991 & 2001 are decennial census data for England & Wales ; 2008 data are for England, Wales & Scotland
18

 Problems facing immigrants to GB are numerous :

- the majority of residents in Britain who have come directly from the "new"
Commonwealth, or who are descended from them, live in conurbations & tend to group
together (ethnic groups that have a similar religion, language, diet, social organisation &
culture) in inner city areas, although ghettos like those in New York have not developed in
Britain (e.g. Jamaicans in Brixton, Sikhs in Southall, Bengalis in East London) : the segregation
of various ethnic groups in British cities results from differences in wealth, colour of skin,
religion, education & the quality of the environment
E.g. : in London, there are more than 50 ethnic groups, representing 5 million
people or more (about 40% of the citys population is from an ethnic minority)
out of Britains total of 7 million or so foreign-born -, where they tend to live in
clusters & form ethnic "villages" (for instance, Brixton is Londons borough that
has the highest concentration of West Indians-black Caribbean community)
- the major problems confronting immigrants generally result from difficulties with the
English language, cultural differences & racial prejudices : many members of ethnic minorities
have to live in overcrowded, poor-quality housing, areas where unemployment often exceeds
70%, provide with lower education & services due to a lack of money & investment. While the
authorities speak of high rates of crime in such areas (violence, drug & muggings), residents
complain of police harassment : the resultant mistrust leads to further tension, as inner city
riots illustrate - e.g.
* the Brixton riot in 1981, in South London (local African-Caribbean community
was suffering particularly high unemployment, poor housing & a high crime rate, & there
had been growing unease between the police & the inhabitants in the preceding months.
The riots resulted in over 300 injuries, over 100 cars burned, almost 150 buildings
damaged, & 82 arrests reports suggested that up to 5 000 people were involved), but
also in Liverpool & Leeds that same year
* the Brixton riot in 1985 (it started after the shooting of a Jamaican resident
by police, looking for her son suspected of criminal activities she ended up paralysed :
the riot resulted in dozens of cars destroyed, several shops looted & a couple of
buildings destroyed, one death, & dozens of arrests)
* the 2011 summer riots in several London boroughs & districts of other British
cities such as Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool & Manchester (after a protester was shot
to death by police in London : it resulted in violent clashes with police, destruction of
cars & buildings, looting & arson attacks about 3 100 arrests, 5 deaths, 16 or more
injuries, an estimated 200 million worth of property damaged & local economic
activity significantly compromised)

2 Globalised exchanges
Since 1950, the volume of world trade has gone up 20-fold &, from 1997 to 1999, FDIs
nearly doubled (from $ 468 billion to $ 827 billion, & have exceeded in 2010 $ 1 000 billion).
19

Merchandise trade has grown rapidly (from $ 2 000 billion in 1980 to $ 7 000 billion in 2000
& about $ 13 000 billion in 2010 in value), as different countries specialise in producing goods
for which they have a comparative advantage. Today, manufactured represent about 60% of
world exchanges, whereas commodities flows have slowed down. Trade in services is also very
important, & has considerably increased in recent decades, but represents only 1/4th of the
value of merchandise trade.
The globalisation of industrial production & the growing importance of TNCs have increased
the demand for a wide range of services, particularly for quaternary services : these are
recognised as the global growth sector, & are responsible for a rising amount of employment
& wealth creation. As a result, the tertiary sector & trade in services has become an
increasingly important element in world development & trade :
- innovations in communication systems have been vital for the large-scale & rapid
developments in global services : the telephone, fax, satellite communication links, & the
Internet, allow large volumes of information to be transmitted around the world, while
efficient computer systems can store & process such data. This has allowed core world
regions to further extend their control over the world peripheral regions [cf. doc.22]
- service industries have internationalised their activities : just as for branch plants, a
growing number of service companies are relocating some of their back-office functions to
peripheral regions, taking advantage of lower labour costs (e.g. call centres in India for
American & British companies). Such advantaged countries are those that have invested in
upgrading their telecommunications & education systems (e.g. India, Ireland...)
Doc.22 : Communication flows between major
world regions

Barry Brunt, Our Dynamic World 2, Gill & Macmillan,

2004

Total annual traffic from one region to another in billions of minutes (arrows indicate direction of traffic
between regions, numbers in brackets indicate the total amount of international traffic for countries within
that global region)

- as part of globalisation, vast amounts of money circulate through the world economy :
the result has been the growth of offshore financial centres, so as to meet the growing
demand for secrecy &/or shelter from taxation & other forms of regulation they are usually
islands or microstates (e.g. the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, the 5th largest banking
centre in the world with some 600 banks & deposits estimated at approximately $ 1 500
billion, for a population of about 55 000) which have become specialised centres for trade in
international finance [cf. doc.23]
20

Doc.23 : Major centres of

international finance

Barry Brunt, Our Dynamic World

2, Gill & Macmillan, 2004

3 A world organised in networks

The globalised world can be described as an archipelago, composed of hubs & metropolises
connected by networks : this implies an increasingly borderless world. The largest
international cities have attracted a growing share of the services sector in particular,
especially higher-value services : they are geographical centres of control, & include the main
world cities, also called global cities.
A world city is a concept that postulates that global processes can be created, facilitated
& enacted & tangible effect on global affairs through more than just socio-economic means,
with influence in terms of culture, or politics. A global city is a concept elaborated by the
sociologist & economist Saskia Sassen (The Global City : New York, London, Tokyo, Princeton
University Press, 1991), referring to an urban centre that is integrated in the global economy
thanks to its technology, communication means with the rest of the world, highly specialised
& rare services (experts, international lawyers, etc.). To some, London, NYC, Tokyo & Paris
(which has been added to the top global cities) have been traditionally considered the "big 4"
world cities & also serve as symbols of global capitalism. But many lists differ, based on
cultural background, values & experience : indeed, the phenomenon of world-city building has
also been observed in Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, Mexico City, Montreal, Santiago, Sydney &
Toronto, each of these cities having emerged as large & influential.
General characteristics of a global city are [cf. doc.24] :
- a city's international recognition without the need for a political subdivision (for e.g.,
despite many entities with the name Paris, one would say "Paris", & not "Paris, France")
- active influence & participation in international events & world affairs (for e.g., the
UN headquarters is in NYC, which consequently contains a great number of permanent
missions to the UN)
- a fairly large population : the centre of a metropolitan area with a population of at
least 1 million, typically several million
- a major international airport, which is a hub for several international airlines
21

- an advanced transportation system, with several freeways &/or a large mass transit
network offering multiple modes of transportation (rapid transit, light rail, regional rail,
ferry or bus)
- a cosmopolitan area : in the West, several international cultures & communities (a
Chinatown, a Little Italy, etc.) ; in other parts of the world, cities which attract large foreign
businesses & related expatriate communities (for e.g., Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo
& Moscow)
- international financial institutions, law firms, corporate headquarters, international
conglomerates, & Stock exchanges (for e.g., the World Bank, the Tokyo Stock Exchange),
that have influence over the world economy
- an advanced communications infrastructure, on which modern trans-national
corporations rely (e.g. Wi-Fi networks, cellular phone services, fibre-optics, etc.)
- world-renowned cultural institutions, such as museums & universities (for e.g., the
Louvre Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC ; etc.)
- a lively cultural scene, including film festivals, premieres ; a thriving music or theatre
scene (for e.g. : West End Theatre, Broadway), an orchestra, an opera company, art galleries...
- several powerful & influential media outlets with an international reach (for e.g., the
BBC, Reuters, The New York Times, Agence France-Presse, etc.)
- a strong sporting community, including major sports facilities, home teams in major
league sports, & the ability & historical experience to host international sporting events such
as the Olympic Games, Football World Cup, etc.
Doc.24 : Megacities, world cities & global cities
[...] Global cities are centres for financial services (banking, insurance) & headquarters of major production
companies. [...] There is intense competition between global cities. [...] Both London & New York now had
more foreign than domestic banks. [...] We can summarise the economic structure of these cities in the
following way. These cities are divesting (depriving) themselves of very large areas of economic activity [...]
to relocate them to other cities, regions & countries. They are showing rapid growth in a relatively few
related sectors : financial & business services [...] ; command & control functions such as company
headquarters, national & international government agencies, & the whole web of activities that grows around
them ; cultural & creative industries including the live arts & the electronic & print media ; & tourism, both
leisure & business. [...] They cater simultaneously for local, national & international markets. [...] They offer a
wide range of job opportunities, but there is some tendency to polarisation.
Peter Hall (professor in Planning in London, specialised in metropolitan planning,
he can be considered the founder of the concept "Global Cities"),
February 2007, adapted from a lecture (www.megacities.nl/lectures.htm.)

A classification of world cities has been drawn out in 1999, & identifies 3 levels of world
cities & several sub-ranks :
- existing world cities :
* with alpha world cities : they are the global cities of London, New York, Paris &
Tokyo [cf. doc.25]. They are the major nuclei of global industrial & financial command
functions, more & more detached from the local economies in which they are located &
embedded in a truly global set of economic relations - some of the world richest cities
(Berlin, Osaka, Philadelphia, etc.) are therefore not considered as global cities, since
22

not enough integrated into the global economic system. There are also 2nd-rank alpha
world cities : Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan, Singapore
* with beta world cities/major world cities : San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto,
Zrich, Brussels, Madrid, Mexico City, So Paulo, Moscow, Seoul
* with gamma world cities/minor world cities : Amsterdam, Boston, Caracas,
Dallas, Dsseldorf, Geneva, Houston, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Osaka, Prague,
Santiago, Taipei, Washington DC, Bangkok, Beijing, Montreal, Rome, Stockholm,
Warsaw, Atlanta, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Glasgow,
Hamburg, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Manchester, Manila, Miami, Minneapolis, Munich,
Shanghai
Doc.25 : New York City skyline, 2008

www.aerialphotosonj.com

- world cities in formation :

* with strong evidence : Athens, Auckland, Dublin, Helsinki, Luxembourg, Lyon,
Mumbai, New Delhi, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv, Vienna
* with some evidence : Abu Dhabi, Birmingham, Bogota, Bratislava, Brisbane,
Bucharest, Cairo, Cleveland, Cologne, Detroit, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, Kiev, Lima, Lisbon,
Montevideo, Oslo, Riyadh, Rotterdam, Seattle, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, The Hague,
Vancouver
* with minimal evidence : Adelaide, Antwerp, Aarhus, Baltimore, Bangalore,
Bologna, Brasilia, Calgary, Cape Town, Colombo, Columbus, Dresden, Edinburgh, Genoa,
Gothenburg, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Kansas City, Leeds, Lille, Marseille, Richmond, SaintPetersburg, Tashkent, Tehran, Tijuana, Turin, Utrecht, Wellington

CONCLUSION
A major issue about globalisation is whether it will or not continue developing :
- most people feel it will, but it cannot be taken for granted. As The Economist pointed
out in a special report (February 2, 2002), the lesson of the early XXth century, easily
forgotten during the boom years of the 1990s, is that globalisation is reversible it was
23

derailed by war (WWI) & by economic policy during recession (in the early 1930s) ; this time,
globalisation might stall if the risk & cost of doing business abroad rises (perhaps as a
consequence of heightened fears about security), or if governments once more turn their
backs on open trade & capital flows (the question is : will they ?)
- evidence of at least a temporary alteration in the globalisation process is :
* world trade fell by 4% in 2001 after growing at an annual rate of 5% for a
decade
* businesses have consequently reduced investments into new firms abroad
investors have been fleeing LEDCs stocks since the financial crises in Asia & Russia in
the late 1990s
* the growing concern that the international authorities (World Bank, IMF, US
Federal Reserve), which seemed so omnipotent in the boom years, are unable to prevent
an emerging crisis (cf. the 2008 crisis of the subprimes, & its present-day form in the
Euro zone)
So what will the global economy of the future be like ? There is little doubt that the
process of globalisation has some way to go but when it will be complete (if ever) is a source
of much debate. Pros & cons agree at least on the following consequences of advanced
globalisation :
- the elimination of geography as a controlling variable in the global economy
- the disappearance of the nation-state
- economic synchronisation across the globe
- companies with no specific territorial location or national identity
- the disappearance of the distinction between MEDCs & LEDCs, as structures of
wealth & poverty become detached from territory
- English as the common public language of the globalised system (globish)
But, even though there has been a strong movement towards a single system in recent
decades, the degree of disputes around the world emphasises that there is a lack of
agreement on what shape the global single system should take in the future since the
Seattle demonstrations in 1999, the level of concerned debate about the best way forward
has increased :
- fewer people are now prepared to leave it just to governments & international
economic organisations to decide
- many see the growing influence of global civil society as a major factor in countering
the negative aspects of globalisation so the fundamental point is to deeply change the way in
which global economy is organised : significant changes include
* the establishment of a global central bank ; a revamping of the IMF to make it
more democratic ; a Tobin Tax on international financial transactions to reduce
speculation ; the establishment of a Global Environmental Organisation to monitor &
reduce the impact of economic activity ; the control of capital for the public welfare
* the major overall objective is that the 2 prime movers of the global economy,
the economically powerful nation-states, & TNCs, become more accountable to people
24

of the planet, & that the benefits of globalisation are spread more widely, so that all
peoples feel included in the global improvement in the quality of life
* present levels of consumption create an unsustainable demand for many
resources &, as the world globalises, it affects societies economically, socially &
environmentally so developing policies of sustainability is the key issue for the future,
but it requires action across many sectors (water, energy, health, agriculture, biodiversity, etc.)
So globalisation brings about both positive & negative effects. Amongst the latter, it is
certainly the environmental issues that are the most worrying : between 1950 & 2000,
mankind has consumed more of the worlds natural capital than during the entire previous
history of man. According to the ecologist Robert Ayres, We may well be on the way to our
own extinction & cuts enforced by the IMF have reduced the spending on the environment
in a number of countries. The G8 summit of June 2007 has finally agreed on reducing the
release of greenhouse effect gases by half by 2050 - but such commitments in previous times
were not respected (cf. the Kyoto Protocol), & the recent world summits of Copenhagen
(2009) & Rio (2012) have demonstrated the illusion of worldwide compromise. However,
growing economic & social inequalities is another worry :
- a decade ago, the globalisation of commerce promised to be a boom to low-wage
workers in developing nations : economists predicted that low-skilled workers in Latin
America & Asia would benefit because there would be greater demand for their labour &
better wages ; but incomes of skilled workers rose a lot faster
- globalisation did help lift many millions out of poverty, & improved standards of living
of low-wage families ; in many developing countries around the world, life expectancies &
health care have improved, as have educational opportunities
- but many developing nations seem to be following in the footsteps of the USA, where
the income gap has grown sharply since the early 1970s. Consequences of widening income
inequalities are profound :
* low-skilled workers cannot afford health-care or pension benefits, which
boosts immigration to better-off domestic or international regions where antiimmigrant feelings surge
* it feeds the populist argument that globalisation is a sucker's game that
benefits only the elites : this has led to electoral victories of populist candidates (e.g.
Chavez in Venezuela)

25