Globalisation

5.1 Definition and Drivers

Globalisation is the increasing integration of economies, cultures, and governance across national borders. Key dimensions:

• Economic globalisation: Free trade (WTO), FDI, global supply chains.
• Cultural globalisation: Hollywood, K-pop, social media — homogenisation vs. hybridisation.
• Political globalisation: UN, IMF, World Bank, G20, multilateral agreements.
• Technological globalisation: Internet, mobile telephony, AI diffusion.

Key drivers:

1. 1991 India liberalisation: LPG reforms (Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation) — Narasimha Rao/Manmohan Singh.
2. WTO establishment (1995): Replaced GATT; enforces trade rules.
3. Internet (commercial, 1995): Made real-time global communication universal.
4. Container shipping revolution: Dramatically reduced trade costs.

5.2 Appadurai's 5 Global Scapes

Arjun Appadurai (Modernity at Large, 1996) — Indiana University anthropologist — proposed that global flows occur across five disjunctive dimensions:

Scape	Definition	Example
Ethnoscapes	Movement of people: tourists, migrants, refugees, exiles	Indian diaspora in USA (4.4 million)
Mediascapes	Distribution of media images and narratives	Bollywood reaching 100 countries
Technoscapes	Global flow of technology	Mobile phone penetration in rural India
Financescapes	Rapid movement of global capital	FPI investing in Indian stock markets
Ideoscapes	Flow of political ideologies and concepts	Democracy, human rights spreading globally

Disjuncture: These scapes do not flow in synchrony — technology may arrive without economic development; media images create desires that local economies cannot satisfy. This creates modernity at large — a fragmented, global, imagined world.

5.3 Globalisation — Debates

Pros of globalisation for India:

• IT/ITES sector employs 5.4 million; $226 billion revenue (NASSCOM 2022–23).
• FDI inflows: $83.6 billion (2021–22).
• Consumer goods quality and price competition improved.
• Access to global knowledge, education (online courses, MOOCs).

Cons / concerns:

• Cultural imperialism: English media, Western brands erode local cultures.
• Westoxication (Al-e-Ahmad): Uncritical adoption of Western consumerism.
• Labour displacement: Import competition hits domestic manufacturing; MSME sector fragile.
• Inequality: Globalisation benefits concentrated at top — India's top 1% holds 40.1% of national wealth (Oxfam 2023).
• Gig economy: Platforms create informal, insecure employment without social protections.

5.4 Cultural Globalisation — Homogenisation vs. Hybridisation

Homogenisation	Hybridisation
George Ritzer: McDonaldisation — rationalisation of global culture	Homi Bhabha: cultural hybridity — new forms emerge from colonial contact
Benjamin Barber: Jihad vs. McWorld — tribal fundamentalism vs. corporate globalisation	Indian example: Hinglish, fusion cuisine, Bollywood-Hollywood
Local cultures replaced by Western monoculture	Local cultures creatively adapt and absorb global influences

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