Globalization means an increase in the prevalence, deepening and acceleration of interdependence relations between states, economies, cultures and even individuals, especially since the 1980s. In our rapidly changing and transforming world, it is almost impossible to make sense of today's political, economic, cultural, individual developments and the concept of international relations without examining the concept of "globalization" on the basis of both its inherent and different dimensions.
The world we live in has always had a global character. From empires to world trade, from travelers to scientific exchange, from colonialism to imperialism, world history has always included a global dimension in the fields of politics, economy, culture, philosophy and art. However, when we talk about globalization today, we first describe the bipolar world that emerged after World War II, and then we refer to the post-Cold War era, which ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. Academically, the period that started in the 1990s and continued until today in the globalization studies and discussions stands out. it creates very serious transformations on regions, countries, local localities and even daily life. To put it differently, it is not possible to understand or manage the political, economic, social or cultural changes and transformations at local, national and regional levels without using the concept of globalization.
When the concept of globalization is examined, many different definitions and approaches are encountered. According to some, globalization is a phenomenon that we observe in different phases of history, and in this context, world history has also gone through different globalization phases. World history, especially in the field of trade, has always had a global character. As a matter of fact, the fact that the historical ruins and places we visit in the field of tourism, in different parts of the world and in our country, are also trade centers built in certain periods of history, shows us that globalization has been going on for a very long time. For example, places such as Side, Olympos and Cappadocia, which are frequently visited in our country, are also important trade or political-cultural centers of their periods. Similarly, as seen in the Roman or Ottoman Empires, empires themselves stand out as global empires that have established a political dominance on a global scale.
However, when talking about globalization, the change and transformation from the 1980s until today is mentioned, especially as a historical context. Beginning with the "Transition to Free Market Economy" in the 1980s, especially in the economies of developed and developing countries (eg America, Britain and Turkey); Reinforced with the "End of the Cold War" that emerged with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990; Deepening with the "September 11 Terrorist Attack" in 2001 and the "World Economic Crisis" that started in 2008; The "Arab Spring" that started in North Africa and the Middle East in 2010 and the political instability after it became widespread with coups and civil wars; The globalization wave and process, which created a "shock effect" in all areas of life, with the Corona Pandemic, which emerged with the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, which spread with the revolutionary changes in the field of informatics, communication, information and technology, and finally left its mark on the period of 2020 and beyond, It includes the most intense, multidimensional and multi-actor process of change and transformation ever seen in its history. Today, the statements that "our world is globalizing" and "we live in a global world" are widely accepted in a wide range of fields from the academic field to the political, economic and cultural fields.
The world we live in, from commerce to imperial experiences; to the efforts of the discovery of new continents and new economic areas in the 15th and 16th centuries; From the industrial revolutions that started in 1830 to the developments in the field of information and technology, it always had a global character. However, when we speak of a globalizing world today, we are talking about a life, a social reality, where interdependence relations become widespread and deepened, the speed of emergence and experience of historical processes, events, problems and challenges has increased, and our world is getting smaller and more digital despite the existence of geographical distances. Our globalizing world is a world where positive and negative developments, potentials and risks, change and transformation, uncertainty, insecurity and violence are experienced simultaneously and together.
Because the approach in which different stages of globalization are observed in world history gives us an important clue regarding globalization. Accordingly, although there are definitional and conceptual differences, globalization should be examined and examined as a process, not as a situation. In this context, while talking about globalization today, it should be emphasized that interdependence relations between countries are much more intense and completely intertwined. Concentration and interpenetration include the phenomena of expansion, deepening and, more importantly, acceleration, which we experience in the transformative effects of globalization as a social reality, a historical, political, economic and cultural process on countries.
Expansion means that a development in any part of the world has serious effects and consequences in other parts of the world. Accordingly, an economic crisis, political conflict or act of terrorism in one part of the world may emerge as unemployment, migration, insecurity or instability in another part of the world. The 2008 economic crisis, which started in the United States and spread to the whole world in a short time, is an explanatory example of the spread. Similarly, the problem we experience as global climate change and global warming affects not just a single country or region, but the whole world. As a result, countries no longer have the luxury and opportunity to stay out of the globalization process. Deepening means that the effects of this spreading process are strongly felt and experienced all over the world we live in. Globalization is a transformative and transformative process. Unless countries take globalization seriously and develop effective responses and policies against globalization processes and the problems created by these processes, they will be weak and fragile. Problems experienced in a wide range from economic crisis to terrorism, from diseases to natural disasters, from wars to violence, from poverty to unemployment, from decrease in natural resources such as water, food and soil to migration and refugee flows deeply affect all countries, economies, politics, culture and daily life. A problem that arises in one part of the world today affects other parts of the world widely and deeply, and as a result, no country has the luxury of staying out of globalization. Local problems are globalizing; The situation and necessity of finding solutions to global problems on a global scale emerges.
Acceleration, on the other hand, means that the effects of these processes are experienced very quickly with the processes of expansion and deepening. The globalizing world is a very fast world in terms of rhythm and movement. Particularly, the revolutionary developments in information and communication technologies are making our world smaller while at the same time accelerating it. To give an example, facebook®, twitter®, whatsapp, instagram, message etc. News made via social media tools or personal blogs and websites can reach the other end of the world in just seconds. The problems we experience related to climate change, the effects of a terrorist attack or an economic turmoil are rapidly felt all over the world. In the context of all these definitions, globalization should be considered academically as a "historical process" and "social reality" that gives meaning to change and transformation. However, globalization is not independent of "power and power relations" in the political, economic and cultural fields.
Globalization, on the one hand, is the transition from the bipolar world that characterized the Cold War to a multipolar world where the importance of different actors increased; On the other hand, it defines a process in which the income and welfare gap between the rich and the poor widens, poverty and unemployment become widespread around the world, country invasions, identity wars and violence increase, and the future of the world, from climate to epidemic, becomes uncertain. In this context, globalization is an "ideology" voiced by both those who defend globalization and those who resist globalization. Globalization, in this nature, is both historical process and reality, in the analysis of non-Western relations, the political, economic and moral crisis of the West, the reform needs of international organizations and the increasing effects of actors, including Turkey, considered as medium-sized powers, on a regional and global scale. used as an ideology. This dual structure or definition of globalization will be used together in the processes of analysis and management of the globalizing world we live in in the following periods.
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