Unit 4 - Power places and networks Flashcards
Globalisation Indices definition
Globalisation = increasing interdependence of countries including economic systems, physical systems, sociocultural systems and political systems
Current form of globalisation = more global larger in scale and occurring at a much faster rate
3 main forms of globalisation
1) economic = accelerated growth of transnational corporations
2) social = impact of western culture art media and sport around the world
3) political = growth of western democracies and their influence on poor countries, and the opening up of centralised economies
KOF Index of globalisation
introduced in 2002 defines globalisation as “the process of creating networks of connections among actors at multi continental distances, mediated through a variety of flows including people, information and ideas, capital and goods”
KOF index covers the economic, social and political dimensions of globalisation
- economic dimension (long.distance flows of goods, capital services as well as foreign investment)
-social dimension (the spread of ideas, information, images and people, international tourism, and cultural proximity
- political dimension (number of embassies in a country and membership of international organisations)
Other development indices
EY globalisation index measures the 60 largest countries/territories by GDP according to level of globalisation - based on finance, trade and politics and social factors - measures the distance of goods traded and counts the number of refugees in a country
Global superpowers (superpowers and soft power)
superpowers are countries that influence policy on an international scale and often in different world regions at the same time - economic, cultural, military and geographical influence on a large scale
soft power = ability to change individuals communities and nations without using force or coercion - many countries achieve it through their culture, political values and foreign policies such as aid
Rising superpowers after 1991
after the collapse of the USSR - USA was left as only superpower but since USA may be loosing its superpower status - has lost economic strength
The USA - military-industrial complex
USA has the world’s largest and most technologically advanced fleet of warplanes , ships and tanks - gives them dominance over seas and land
US defence employs over 2 million people - one in six households in the USA have someone employed in the military-industrial complex - annual spending exceeds 100$ billion every year
The G7 and the G8
G7 = group of powerful HIC’s (USA, France, Italy, Germany, Uk, Japan and Canada) that meets annually to discuss matters such as the global economy and security. Joined by Russia in 1998 to form G8 but Russia was suspended following issues with ukraine.
g7 = not a formal institution but acts on advisory capacity -
G20
international group for the governments of the 20 major economies (1999)
G20 countries account for 80% of the worlds trade, and 65% of population
some critics argue that Africa is underrepresented in the g20
The OECD
organisation for European economic cooperation established after second world war
- need for cooperation between countries
- 2017 = 35 members
OPEC
established in 1960 to tackle oil price cuts by American and European oil companies - by 1979 : produced 65% of the worlds petroleum but by 2007 only 36% - concerns that opec members had little excess pumping capacity sparked speculation that their influence may begin to slip ( OPEC continues to have major share of world crude oil )
Important implications - controlled the price of oil and much of the production in 1970,1980 middle eastern countries able to gain economic and political power. countries must maintain favourable relationships with OPEC countries and that the Middle East will be involved in economic cooperation and development with industrialised countries.
The world bank
established in 1944, source of financial and technical assistance to LIC’s and NIC’s - fight poverty by providing resources sharing knowledge and building capacity - focuses on the SDG goals lending mainly to middle-income countries (Bank’s mission = aid countries and inhabitants to achieve development and reduce poverty)
Critics- free-market reform policies are harmful to economic development. Additional criticism that LICs cannot modernise without money and advice from abroad (run by small number of rich countries)
IMF
international organisation that oversees the global financial system - member states with balance of payment problems may request loans to help fill gaps when they earn or must borrow from other official lenders – in return countries must launch reforms such as structural adjustment programmes
Critics - SAP condition = government sell as much of their national assets as they can normally to western corporations at heavily discounted prices - also advocates “austerity programmes” = increasing taxes and reducing social spending even when economy is weak
New development bank
established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in 2014. supports private or public projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments
Main focus for lending will be infrastructure and sustainable development projects (clean energy)
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa initially contributed $10 billion to the fund
