Online blog writing assignment 1 / What is globalization? / CHENG SHIYI

 Summary

Globalization is a largely contested concept with no agreed-upon definition. The article analyzes the historical evolution of the concept of globalization, including how it gradually entered academic and political discourse, and lists some famous scholars' thoughts on the concept of globalization. The article points out that the study of globalization is characterized by a vast convergence of disciplinary orientations, and that the resulting debate has been and still is taking place in a place of major disciplinary mutation, so that it may well be called interdisciplinary development.The article mentioned that understanding globalization can be simply understood from the anti-globalization movement. pointed out that as protests against capitalist globalization grew rapidly, people also realized that this movement itself was part of the globalization process. Thus, at the beginning of the 21st century, a distinction emerged between the concepts of globalization from above (the “enemy”) and internationalization from the bottom down (the “good guys”). The article further points out that in the context of the rise of globalization theory, it has been relatively simply observed that the world is increasingly becoming a "single place." This emphasis on the world becoming singular—characterized by singularity—had an important influence on the development of various social sciences. To the extent that it has greatly influenced the intellectual trajectory of the disciplines of sociology, political science, and anthropology.The article analyzes the parameters of the overall process of globalization and points out that political scientists, international relations experts and economists believe that connectivity is the defining feature of globalization, but anthropologists, sociologists and cultural historians study consciousness more many. The article mentions that with the supposed end of the Cold War, centered on the conflict between the United States and the (former) Soviet Union, from that point on the world's major conflicts will be less based on ideology and more focused on civilizational issues.The article also analyzes the four dimensions of globalization including culture, society, politics, and economy. These dimensions are intertwined and may focus more on one or two aspects at different times and places. The article emphasizes the importance of cultural and social dimensions as it relates to economic globalization. Ignoring them can be costly.When analyzing the forms of globalization, the article introduces the development and changes of the theory of world capitalist system established by Wallerstein. The author points out that we need to think about the form of globalization from a multi-dimensional perspective, which includes: issues in the international system, the concept of human beings, the whole of the individual self, and nation-states. The author emphasizes that globalization is a process challenged by nation-states. The author also mentions the complex relationship between globalization and locality, as well as historical issues of globalization, including the mapping and understanding of different stages of globalization. Today's era of globalization is shaping people's views on history, and historians and social scientists are increasingly paying attention to the antecedents of globalization and global consciousness.At the end of the article, the author concludes that globalization is not a simple buzzword. In order to conduct effective and reasonable critical analysis, a more complex framework needs to be established for the discussion of globalization.

Interesting aspect

When analyzing several dimensions of globalization, the article points out that McDonald's expansion in the world is actually a form of cultural globalization, or actually cultural imperialism. The spread of McDonald's culture is actually a combination of homogeneity and heterogeneity of globalization. The expansion of capitalism around the world seems to necessarily involve the promotion of cultural themes, as can be seen from the way McDonald's has adapted food in different countries, which is a good illustration of the complexity of multidimensional thinking about globalization.

Discussion

1. The anti-globalization movement emerged in the late 1990s, mainly but certainly not exclusively in Western societies. As the movement has grown, demonstrations at meetings of organizations such as the World Trade Organization and the Group of Seven have tended to be large and sometimes violent. Why do these anti-globalization movements frequently break out in Western countries? What is the root cause of the outbreak? What are the main demands of the demonstrators?
2. What beneficial effects has globalization had on your country? What positive role does the “Belt and Road Initiative” advocated by the Chinese government play in promoting globalization and jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind?
3. How to understand the point put forward by Huntington in the article - the real and most prominent clash of civilizations occurs between the "Judeo-Christian" West and the Islamic Middle East and most Muslims in South and Southeast Asia.
4. How to understand that the emergence of terrorism in recent years is just a product of the process of globalization?