Globalisation: The political dynamics

Abstract

Globalisation is a multidimensional phenomenon and should be conceptualised as a process rather than an outcome. Economic, political, cultural and societal elements are involved in the complex set of interactions we can-define as globalisation. However, a key factor, which is frequently ignored is the importance of politics in shaping and guiding this process. For example economic liberalisation and deregulation, the form which economic globalisation has thus far taken, did not emerge from impersonal market and technological forces. Governments, especially those of the United States and Great Britain, followed explicit policies of currency controls relaxation, the reduction in trade barriers, and the retreat in the role of the state in the economy generally. Despite the power of the economic forces thus released, politics remains a key potential player and globalisation is not necessarily irreversible. Given the indeterminacy of the outcomes of globalisation, four alternative theories of the future are presented and analysed.