GLOBALIZATION

GLOBALIZATION

1. The process by which technological, economic, political, and cultural exchanges make the world a more interconnected and interdependent place.

   • The effects of globalization have been uneven, with some people, industries, and countries benefiting more than others.
     • humans have always engaged in cultural exchange, the dissemination of knowledge, and the trade of goods and services. However, important developments in the latter part of the twentieth century, particularly the 1990s, accelerated these processes.
       • Technological advances, including mobile phones and especially the internet, have contributed to globalization by connecting people all over the globe. Free trade agreements removed barriers to the free flow of people, goods, and services, thereby facilitating greater trade, investment, and migration across national borders.
   • Although the phenomenon of globalization is not new, political, economic, and technological developments in the 1990s accelerated the processes of globalization and contributed to the emergence of a public debate about its advantages and disadvantages.
     • Global terrorist networks have used the conditions created by globalization to enhance their own influence and to promote a culture of intolerance and hate.
       • Moreover, the increasing interconnectedness of the world economy and international finance has heightened the risk of global economic catastrophe because banking or financial failures in one country will lead to crises in other countries, and thus will become internationalized rather than remaining isolated.
   • In the business world, this includes increased trade and investment flows, currency exchange, and the rise of multinational corporations. Communication and transportation technologies are capable of linking people who are physically distant from one another, thereby facilitating the exchange of culture, knowledge, and ideas.