SETTING THE STAGE:

FOUNDATIONS OF
GLOBALIZATION
Chapter Summary
Prepared by: Kenneth Paul J. Recaña
For GE 1211 (The Contemporary World)
OBJECTIVES OF THE CHAPTER
• Analyze the diffusion of the nation-state from the Treaty of Westphalia to the wave of
contemporary nation-state building
• Evaluate constitutions in relation to their conformity to global ideals of state structure, function, and
the rights of citizens
• Assess the role of colonialism in shaping a global political economic hierarchy of societies
• Evaluate the long-term impacts of colonialism and the Cold War on economic and political
development
• Understand the emergence of global culture related to sovereignty, nationhood, human rights,
constitutionalism, liberalism, and rationality
• Analyze the course of economic globalization from simple patterns of trade to early
interdependence in production and markets
• Evaluate the relationship between political and economic liberalization
• Identify the influence of convergence on specific state forms and values in constitution; and
• Assess early attempts of global governance related to the global system of states
REVIEW ON GLOBALIZATION
• Globalization is the integration and interdependence among people
across societies.
• In earlier times, there was exchange through trade and travel but this
did not constitute globalization
• WHY SO? Because the internal systems of a society were not
dependent to each other (although they were related)
• However, as we go through this chapter, you will realize that events
leading up to an interdependent system between countries constitutes
globalization
REVIEW ON GLOBALIZATION
• The global system of states if one system among many systems, but it is
the foundation of globalization.
• Based on the simple ideas of nation and sovereignty.
• The necessity and capacity of capitalism for expansion, and the
diffusion of ideas of liberalization, rationalization, and human rights
integrated the world more and more tightly
THE GERMINAL PHASE: THE TREATY OF
WESTPHALIA AND THE PRINCIPLE OF
SOVEREIGNTY
• A community is a group of people who have something in common
• As interactions among small communities increased, their
interdependence did as well – which enlarged the sense of community
and grew the concept of nation.
• Community became and still remains the basis of a “nation”
• The idea of a nation developed gradually as the way of identifying
an “us”.
THE GERMINAL PHASE: THE TREATY OF
WESTPHALIA AND THE PRINCIPLE OF
SOVEREIGNTY
• In some respects, nations and states grew out of warfare, especially in
the context of Europe
• Europe experienced near continual warfare, from the Hundred Years
War (between France and Britain in the 14 th century) and the Thirty
Years War (all of Europe in the 17 th century)
• Series of religious and political wars
• The Holy Roman Empire disintegrated as princely dominions fought
against it
• Through all of these chaos, the nation became the protector of its
people
THE GERMINAL PHASE: THE TREATY OF
WESTPHALIA AND THE PRINCIPLE OF
SOVEREIGNTY
• The idea of an empire – one rule or ruler for humankind faded
• On the other hand, the concept of nationalism – the right of a group
with a common heritage to govern itself ascended
• By 1648, most European princes and kings were bankrupt at the
expense of war, making them sign treaties with each other
• They met in the Westphalia region of Germany
PRINCIPLES OF THE TREATY OF WESTPHALIA
• Secular political power was stripped from religious authorities
• The Hapsburg and Roman Empires were diminished, and power was
decentralized to ruling or newly elected monarchs
• Rather than an empire dictating official religion, monarchies gained control
over religion within their borders
• France and Sweden gained disputed territories.
• Religious membership became voluntary but state membership became
mandatory
• Trade and commercial activities usurped power from all authorities
• Religious and political freedom from empire were established
PRINCIPLES OF THE TREATY OF WESTPHALIA
• BASICALLY, nations gained sovereignty. There was no longer any higher power on Earth.
• The Westphalian system was born. During this time, the following principles were followed:
• States were all free and equal.
• There was no temporal authority higher than the state.
• States had ultimate authority over the conduct of their internal and external affairs.
• The capacity to exercise rule over a territory bestowed the right to rule – might makes right
• Whoever gained or seized power had authority to act as the head of state and enter into
agreements on behalf of the people
• How a state maintained its power did not reflect on the state’s legitimacy in the view of the world
community
• The activity of a state outside of its own boundaries and the treatment of individuals who were not
citizens were not expected to conform to the same standards as a state’s activity within its borders
of the treatment of its own citizens
• Groups and other non-state actors had no right to contest territorial borders
IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF THE TREATY OF
WESTPHALIA TO EUROPE
• Established the principle of state sovereignty and the basis of global
governance for centuries to come
• Monarchs granted themselves and one another the authority to speak
for, make commitments for, and sign treaties on behalf of the people
they claim to represent
• They obligated themselves to care for the common good, protecting
people’s security, economy, and other interests
• The state assumed an anthropomorphic character – the primary actor
on domestic and international fronts
DILEMMA WITH SOVEREIGNTY
• Sovereignty was invented to bring peace to Europe.
• However, this also posed as a challenge to sovereignty itself
• Recognition as a sovereign depends on recognition by other sovereigns
• Minimally, “states are required to control their territory and be willing
to participate in a system of international law” – which became the
foundation of global governance and culture
EXPANDING THE SYSTEM OF STATES TO THE
AMERICAS
• The mechanical revolution in Europe gave European states a
competitive advantage to commit colonialism – the economic, political,
and social domination of the people with a territory by another
country.
• After the Treaty of Westphalia, the state model was transposed onto
colonized lands.
• During the First Wave of Colonization (the Age of Exploration), French,
English, Spanish, and Portuguese settles migrated primarily to the
Americas
EXPANDING THE SYSTEM OF STATES TO THE
AMERICAS
• England negotiated treaties with Native Americans in North America
but never granted equal benefits
• North of North America – small farms and industries
• South of North America – plantation systems based on slave labor
• For South and Central America, they were colonized primarily by
Spain. They were also settler colonies, used primarily for their mineral
and agricultural wealth
DISTANCE PROBLEM BETWEEN EUROPE AND
AMERICAS
• American colonists developed a life of their own and eventual
independence in the late 18th and early to mid-19th centuries
• For the United States, independence led to democratic republics
• In South and Central America, autocracy and oligarchy replaced
colonial governments
START OF ASIA’S COLONIZATION
• Colonization of Asia began during the Russian incursions in the 16th
century, followed by the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and French incursions
in the 17th century
• European posts in Asia was a meant of facilitating and controlling
trade, which made colonization concentrated along the coasts
• Competed for control of lucrative trade in Asian exotics (spices, silks,
tea, etc.)
AFRICAN COLONIZATION
• Real colonization of Africa did not happen until the 1870s, coinciding
with the colonial push inland into Asian countries
• As North and South American colonies gained independence,
competition for territory in Asia and Africa was fierce.
• The colonizers disregarded ethnic and religious identities which brought
out ethnic and religious disputes up until the present day
COLONIZATION CONTINUES
• In 1945, over 750 million people were living in colonial or occupied
territories
• After the 2nd World War, colonization in Africa and Southeast Asia was
not sustainable since Europe and Japan’s energies were occupied with
rebuilding their countries
• Furthermore, colonization violated the normative standards of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
DECOLONIZATION
• Independence did not follow immediately after the end of the war
• The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Granting of
Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 1960
• In 1962, the UN established the Special Committee on Decolonization,
accelerating the rate of decolonization
DECOLONIZATION
• Independence did not follow immediately after the end of the war
• The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Granting of
Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 1960
• In 1962, the UN established the Special Committee on Decolonization,
accelerating the rate of decolonization
• Although independence movements secured independence of most of
the colonies, the lasting imprint of colonialism made it possible for
continuing patterns of domination determined by the resource and
strategic needs of richer countries
LEGACY OF COLONIALISM
• Colonization created a politico-economic system that encircled the
globe but was based on forceful domination
• Established a legacy that forms the basis of the global economy by
positioning some countries as sources of resources, cheap labor, and
markets
• Left a political legacy of weak governments run by oligarchies,
monarchies, and dictators
EARLY WAVES OF ECONOMIC
GLOBALIZATION
• Trade among societies is ancient. The Silk Road encompassed nearly all
the world known to those who traveled it.
• From ancient times into the 16th century, it connected Asia, the Middle
East, and Europe first by land and later by land and sea.
• Some theorists date globalization to this era – however, societies that
traded along the Silk Road were not highly interdependent
EARLY WAVES OF ECONOMIC
GLOBALIZATION
• In the Middle Ages, trade expanded rapidly
• Nations signed treaties of commerce to make trade more secure
• Military exploits expanded feudal territories and enriched
aristocracies
• It was the unraveling of the feudal system and the growth of capitalism
that propelled economic globalization
• MONEY, rather than land, became the source of wealth.
EXPANSION OF MERCANTILE CAPITALISM
• Multinational corporations appeared – Dutch and British East India
Companies
• The search for greater profits sent corporations all over the world –
which expanded the global capitalist system along with them
COLONIAL WAVE OF THE GLOBAL
ECONOMY: 1500s to 1860s
• Until the 18th century, every country was pretty much the same: poor and
agrarian – the turning point was the colonial wave
• Through development in technology and state support, colonizers were able
to find new fertile land to settle which had plentiful resources, cheap labor,
and new markets
• Patterns of settlement varied (read differences in North and South American
colonies)
• As stated in Slide 14, independence in the Americas sent Europeans on land
grabs in Africa and Asia
• The same variations of settlements was also observed in Africa, which
birthed land inequality (which is still observed now)
AFRICA’S CASE
• The elite class did not develop in the agricultural sector with powerful
landowners;
• Rather, it developed in the urban institutional bureaucracy.
• The urban class grew wealthy at the expense of the rural
COLONIZATION IN ASIA
• Europeans were joined in imperialism by Russia, Japan, and the United
States
• However, after independence, some achieved dramatic success in little
time
• Asian Tigers passed colonies of Latin America and Africa – Asian
societies are now among the most equal societies
• Can be explained by family structure, work values, and sense of
purpose
NEO-COLONIALISM AND COLD WAR
STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
• As colonization was winding down, the Cold War was heating up.
• Competition between the United States and the USSR (along with their allies)
shaped global geo-politics and economics
• Decolonization pitted the United States against the USSR in the contest for
the allegiance of the newly independent nations
• In exchange for an alliance, the leaders of a nation could expect to reap
economic and political benefit
• Benefits for US and USSR ranged from locations for military bases and
warheads, access to valuable raw materials and market for manufactured
goods, and allegiance to either a capitalist (US) or socialist (USSR) economy.
NEO-COLONIALISM AND COLD WAR
STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
• The Cold War was responsible for much of the onerous debt
accumulated by developing nations
• Third World debt grew to enormous proportions paying for ill-
conceived and poorly executed programs and enterprises, arms
purchases, and out-right cronyism.
COLD WAR
• Although called the “Cold” War, real wars were fought by proxy
throughout the world.
• Ideals and personal motivations of the US and USSR was the main
reason why these wars were fought
• These events highlight the development of the global economic and
political systems leading into the contemporary period of globalization
• The Westphalian ideal of equality of states and non-interference was
far removed from the political realities of hegemony and forceful
domination.
WAVES OF NATION BUILDING
• In each phase, the state system blanketed more of humanity.
• The global emphasis on human rights – rights owed to everyone on the
globe because they are part of humanity – conditions people to
demand greater autonomy and self-determination – a state for every
nation.
UNITED NATIONS
• Membership in the United Nations swelled from just 61 when it was
founded following the end of the 2nd World War to 192 in 2006.
• Wave of independence in the 1960s and 1970s
• The breakup of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia in the 1990s
added members
• Despite the concept of the nation-state diffusing globally, political
equality was never achieved
• Additionally, a sense of common interest and of belonging to a
common people within a bounded territory has also been difficulty to
achieve.
SHAPING THE MODERN STATE
• The need for states to act and interact on the international stage
influenced the development of similar state structures
• State affairs became increasingly bureaucratized and administered by
“professionals”.
• Recognition by the UN became the seal of approval after the 2 nd
World War
• Becoming a state required conforming to a set of structural norms:
constitution, head of state, departments, etc.
STATES AND HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS
• John Locke, a British philosopher, began to define the expectations of
the role of a state
• He argued that human rights are natural rights – rights that people
have as God’s creation regardless of their station in life, the country in
which they live, the creed they profess, or any other social factor.
• The duty of the government follows from this: to protect and enforce
natural rights
STATES AND HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS
• The recognition of human rights unfolded in phases influenced by local
culture and events of the times
• The first generation of rights established the protections of the
individual from the power of the state.
• The second generation rights assure protections to particular groups
such as women, minorities, and the elderly.
• Provided right to healthcare, social security, and education
• Many of these rights were institutionalized after the 2 nd World War,
but still remains elusive in many countries for many people.