During the Stone Age period, communication between people was largely dependent on distance. Communication could only take place if two human beings were close enough to hear each other. Human beings progresses and started communicating using smoke signals to their relatives who were miles far away. Discovery of writing created a paradigm shift in communication. Written messages could be conveyed from one empire to the other via messengers. The concept of globalization grew as kingdoms interacted with each other through trade, migration, intermarriages and other social interaction. According to International Monetary Fund, globalization encapsulates four major components. The first one is a trade transaction between people, regions or countries. The next is the movement of capital and investments. Long distance Migration and movement of people from one place to another is a key component of globalization. The last one is the dissemination of knowledge and ideas.
Globalization started taking notable progress in the middle ages. In Europe, there was a renewed desire to discover new places. Explorers such as Christopher Columbus satisfied their curiosity by travelling to new places. In the early modern era, globalization began with the trade between the British, Portuguese, French and Spanish empires. The nation state is a political entity where a group of people who share similar customs, religious beliefs and culture live together under one government. In some cases, single or multiple nationalities exist under one political union. The nation state determines the national language, the culture, the currency and inspires the spirit of nationalism.
Nurullah Ardic argues that globalization has eroded the nation state. According to Ardic, nation states are undermined by the heavy financial output from the global economy. Globalization is driven by capitalism and most nations, including Turkey Have adopted capitalistic policies and integrated them into their political system. Ardic further argues that the autonomy and the sovereignty of nation states are under threat. The authority of nation states is undermined by various international institutions. As the authority of nation states wanes, supranational institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union have started to gain prominence in the global market.
Ardic argues that globalization involves trends that undermine the governance of nation-states. Globalization has eroded the culture of most of the nation states. The mass media has contributed towards the weakening of the nation state. The consumption of popular culture has eroded the society’s ability to protect itself from external influence. The popular culture and its subsequent integration into the society have led to a crisis of legitimacy. The new wave of social change is propelled by capitalism and industrialism. Turkey was announced as the capital of European culture in 2000. The government reacted by taking measures to protect its social institutions. The ministry of Culture was formed to protect the society from harsh market conditions.
Globalization has a negative effect on nation states especially developing states. The economic pressure generation by the global market has made some countries to collapse and some countries to be declared bankrupt. According to Conteh Morgan, African majority of African states are unable to protect themselves from the market pressures. The consequences of economic globalization are severe in developing countries. These countries in a bid to adjust to the ever changing trends of the global market, their social systems collapse. Countries such as Sierra Leone have been victims of globalization.
Social disintegration and decay are evident in developing countries. As countries draft policies that are made to free their electorate from underdevelopment. According to Conteh Morgan, IMF and World Bank have contributed in the collapse of many developing countries in Africa. Supra national organization such as the European Union appeared unconcerned during the collapse of the Federal Republic of Somali. Countries that are approaching state failure or are past state failure are at the risk of navigating to anarchy if the economy of the country is capitalistic. The risk of collapse is even higher when there are rebels which are which are fighting against the incumbent political regime.
Morgan argues that globalization started in 1980s. International organizations argued governments to allow private organizations to provide social welfare services. He further propounds that neoliberalism of the market is the source of globalization that is the reason many third world countries are still stuck in underdevelopment. Conteh Morgan postulates the characteristic of globalization that he claims that are responsible for the pathetic economic situation of most third world countries. The first one is the undisputed dominance and the infallibility off the economic landscape. Proponents of an infallible market argue that it provides the customer with the freedom choice. They prefer private market to national markets. There is intense competition among the companies. Players of these fields are both multinational companies and local companies. The consumers are exploited the warring titans as they struggle to edge each other out of the market.
The third characteristic is the commoditization of basics such as food, water, education and electricity. The economic liberalization has created human insecurities. The third tenet of globalization propounded by Conteh Morgan is responsible for the health crises and high rates of unemployment prevalent in developing countries.
Allessandro Bonanno argues that globalization has weakened the authority of the nation-state. The nation state has been assaulted by a plethora of forces emanating from the global market, and transformed into an agent of transnational capital. Nation states are crumbling because of their inability to regulate and control their positions in the global market. Allessandro Bonanno further argues that democracy is under attack. The tenets of democracy have little effect in light of globalization. Globalization has resulted to weakened labor. Class based political organizations are not spared from the effects of globalization. The exclusion of some sectors from decision making has resulted to inequality in food production. Economic growth is highly dependent on industrial production. Consequently, industrial production is affected by global market hence economic growth is influenced by the global market.
Danaphala is one of the few scholars who view globalization positively. Danaphala argues that the nation states have to be adjusted their internal operations to be responsive to the urgent human needs and meet expectations of the global community. Danaphala postulates that globalization has not brought world peace and saved the human race from war. According to Danaphala, five million people have died since the end of the cold war. Nuclear proliferation has not stalled with thirty thousand nuclear weapons available in the, in the world. The treaty of Versailles after the Second World War advocated for the preservation of the nation state. The treaty was to counter the growing trend of imposing global values to developing states. Quoting Hans Morgenthau, Danaphala argues that the modern technology has made nation states obsolete. The principle governing modern states cannot survive in the advent of modern technology.
In conclusion, globalization has come with innumerable benefits to people around the world. The invention of the internet by the Department of Defense eased communication and changed the way of life led by most people. People from distant regions of the world can communicate or trade within seconds. The nation state should adjust itself to the global values to maintain autonomy.
Works Cited
Ardic, Nurullah. "Friend or Foe?Globalization and Turkey at the Turn of the 21st Century." Journal of Economic and Social Research (2009): 17-42.
Bonanno, Alessandro. "Globalization, Transnational Corporations, the State and Democracy." International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food (2004): 37-49.
Conteh, Morgan. "Globalization, State Failure and Collective Violence: The Case of Sierra Leone." International Journal of Peace Studies (2006): 3-45.
Dhanapala, Jayantha. "Globalization and the Nation-State." The Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy (2001): 42-50.
