“What
is global about globalization?” an article written by Jan Art Scholte is a
perspective changer in the study of politics and economics. As a social studies
enthusiast, I find the article enlightening and fulfilling. The article enables
me to see social issues from a global perspective while reading it felt like I
was doing investigatory work thru reflections and linking ideas like a
puzzle. There are some key points in the article that I agree with and some
that I find controversial. The following topics will contain my insights on the
key idea that the article highlighted.
Supraterritorial
The first key idea that
captures my imagination while reading the article is the concept of
supraterritorial. Let us define what supraterritorial is, according to Oxford reference it is the erosion of bounded state legal jurisdictions and/or the
expansion of institutional legal authority across borders. In the twenty-first
century, the global political structure has changed, and being part of a state
doesn’t guarantee a sense of exclusivity. We can look back at history and
analyze the Japanese isolationism policy to have an idea of what the global
political structure is before the emergence of suppraterritorialism.
“Sakoku” the Japanese term for the
close country, is an isolationist foreign policy of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Though “sakoku” was enacted in response to the spread of Christianity in Japan it has some political motives to it. Japanese political leaders during the
mid-seventeenth century have this full sovereign control over their borders. The
blockade of Christian missionaries to Japan was primarily motivated by the idea
that religious indoctrination will lead to the occupation of foreign nationals.
The close country policy of Japan made it a non-colonized country in Asia.
Socially, Japan was able to evolve its identity as a nation and preserve its culture and heritage which will serve as a prime mover for Japanese
nationalism.
However,
by the turn of the nineteenth century, the Japanese closed-country policy has
ended. The end was not because they wanted to open their borders to foreign
influence but because they see the need to open while restricting what foreign
influence is worth welcoming. This move by the Japanese leaders is an effect of
how the world started to feel the effects of globalization. External forces or
influence forced the Japanese leaders to adjust and mitigate the effects of
globalization. Globalization during this era was highly motivated by the
economic factor with the help of militarization. The Japanese leaders were able
to cope with the foreign pressure by acting like a chameleon and displaying
themselves as co-equal with the foreign superpowers. Japan sent scholars mostly to Western countries to be trained and educated and in return bring with them the
ideas, culture, education, and technology of the West. As an effect, it allows
Japan to selectively develop key areas of their society to be on par with the
Western superpowers.
What
Japan did during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century shows that
globalization is felt on a global scale but countries still insist on the
territorialism concept of political structure. The insistence of ununified
countries on the power of globalization made them an easy target for colonization.
While Japan was able to evade colonization from the West, its neighboring
countries had slowly been taken by Western countries. The global political
structure of the first half of the twentieth century can be pictured based on
the number of colonized territories. Countries with more colonial territories
are seen as powerful over others. The way the world was structured during this
time is a threat to Japanese security and growth. For Japan to secure its
future is to behave like the West and started its expansion expedition.
The
Japanese expansionism gave them an idea of how powerful they are as a nation.
They were able to acquire resources and eventually got hooked up by the
never-ending expansionist mentality. While Japan was busy altering Western countries
and creating its version of globalization, the West was preparing to retaliate
and teach big-headed Japan a lesson that they’ll never forget. Then the Atom
bomb was dropped on Japan by the American forces that sealed the deal. The
bombing of Japan created a new era of globalization. Subdued Japan then become
part of the globalized nation with foreign cultures and ideas freely entering
its border and embracing a new society for Japanese society.
Historically,
supraterritorialism has its dark side to development and the Japanese
historical experience tells us how powerful globalization can be if you insist
on embracing it. Nowadays
supraterritorialism in Japan is evident with foreign media, technology, and
language. The Japanese alliance with other foreign countries and the emergence
of its transnational corporations which serves as a countermeasure to
globalization is a testament to how the Japanese government was able to
internalize globalization and the idea of supraterritorialism.
Globality
and Territoriality a Case for Social Research Reform
The second key idea that I find
interesting is the concept of globality and territoriality. The article gives
too much attention to the idea of globality versus territoriality. According to
the author that in the modern world there is a need to reform our perspective
on social research. The way we analyze social phenomena should not only be
grounded in territoriality but also from a global perspective. Yes, I do agree
with the author when it comes to broadening assumed knowledge about the world.
However, in the latter part of the article, the author admits that the study of
globality is not meant to overshadow the study of territoriality.
Territoriality is an important scope when it comes to social research because
it serves as the springboard in understanding social phenomena. Methodologically,
globality and territoriality can be intertwined in studying social phenomena or
they can be a means of understanding each other.
In the study of History where I
specialized, globality has become a trend in past. Back then historians analyze
the global effects of a certain social phenomenon. One example of a historical
study that focuses on a global scale is the study of Columbian exchange. The
Columbian exchange study concludes the effects of the intercontinental exchange
of flora, fauna, and human beings. The study started on a global scale and then
analyzes the territorial characteristics of the phenomena. This historical
research is just one of the many methodologies that shows globalization as an
approach to social research. When it comes to studies that focus on
territoriality we can see trends in Philippine historical research. Back then
researchers focus on national experience and conclude base on the experience of
certain ethnolinguistic groups. However, in twenty-first-century
historiography, territoriality is given focus thru the study of local history.
The study of local history strengthens the territorial idea of local
communities or societies. The focus on territoriality and the study of local
history created a conception of regionalization. The concept of regionalization
is only a by-product of the local consciousness about the global world.
Therefore we can say globality and
territoriality is an important dimensions in understanding our social world. As
a researcher, we must not limit our perspective to the territorial perspective
but also expound on the bigger picture of globality.
Global The consciousness of a Global Community
The third key idea that
I want to point out is the human consciousness of the world. The human consciousness of the world is an important aspect of globalization because it
is we human beings that create the existence of a global community. We can say
that the awareness of a global community was embedded in the mind thru external
influence. Education, media, advertisements, and crossborder migration affect
our perception of the world. This external influence enables us to form a
perception that the world is globalized.
The spread of different religions throughout the globe paved way for the use of
education as a means of globalization. In the twenty-first century, education
promotes global awareness thru the integration of foreign ideas in local
settings. In globalization, it is not simply the ties of economic exchange and
political agreement that bind nations and societies, but also the shared
consciousness of being part of a global system. That consciousness is conveyed
through ever-larger transnational movements of people and an array of different
media, but most systematically through formal education. The inexorable
transformation of consciousness brought on by globalization alters the content
and contours of education, as schools take on an increasingly important role in
the process.
Media
and advertisements played a vital role in shaping our consciousness of a global
community. Multinational corporations are the primary vehicle of media
globalization, and these corporations control global mass-media content and
distribution. It is true when looking at who controls which media outlets, that
there are fewer independent news sources as larger and larger conglomerates
develop. Multinational corporations invest heavily in the advertisement of
their product. These advertisements portray an image of the global community
consuming their product or services. Through the consumption of their
international product, consumers will get the feeling of being part of a global
community. The sense of belongingness is the by-product of media and
advertisement in promoting the perception of a global community.
The
capability to move around the globe shapes our perception of a global
community. Globalization has without a doubt led to increased travel and a boom
in the tourism industry. While the term “globalization” generally is used more
for discussion of trade and finance, the diffusion of people across borders is
a leading factor for increased interactions among cultures. Cultural
interactions are the colorful side of globalization. When cultures interact it
creates a form of consciousness of how interconnected the world is thus visualizing
a global community. Though it might have started as a visualization of a global
community, it will gradually turn into a political and economic bond among
nations.
The aforementioned topics and discussions are my personal insights based on the article. The article is highly recommendable to anyone interested in seeing the world and social phenomena through a different lens.
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