Dynamics of Local and Global Culture

DYNAMICS OF LOCAL AND
GLOBAL CULTURE
• Global flows of culture today tend to move more easily around the globe than
before, especially through non-material digital forms. The discussion of these
global cultural flows (movements) has three perspectives. These are
differentialism, hybridization and convergence.
CULTURAL DIFFERENTIALISM
• This perspective emphasizes the fact that cultures are essentially different and are only
superficially affected by global flows. Since these cultures are different, the interaction of cultures
is deemed to contain the potential for the so-called “catastrophic collision”.
• Samuel Huntington explained in his theory of the Clash of Civilization (1996) that after Cold
War, political economic differences were overshadowed by new fault lines, which were primarily
cultural in nature. Increasing interaction among different “civilizations” (Sinic, Islamic, Orthodox,
and Western) would lead to intense clashes, especially the economic conflict between the Western
and Sinic Civilizations and bloody political conflict between the Western and Islamic civilizations.
However, this theory of Huntington has been criticized especially due to its portrayal of Muslims
as being “prone to violence”. (Huntington, 1996)
CULTURAL HYBRIDIZATION
• This approach emphasizes the integration of local and global cultures (Cvetkovich and Kellner, 1997).
Globalization has been seen as a creative process which paves the way of hybrid entities that are not
reducible to either global or local.
• A key concept to this approach is “glocalization”. It refers to the interpenetration of the global and local
cultures resulting in unique outcomes in different geographical areas (Giulianotti and Robertson, 2007).
• Another key concept is “scapes” by Arjun Apparadui (1996). This concept explains that global flows
involve people, technology, finance, political images, and media and the disjuncture between them leading
to the creation of cultural hybrids.
CULTURAL CONVERGENCE
• This approach stresses homogeneity since cultures are deemed to be radically altered by strong flows while
cultural imperialism happens when one culture imposes itself on and tends to destroy at least parts of
another culture. However, cultural imperialism is being criticized especially by John Tomlinson by
providing the idea of “deterritorialization” of culture.
• Deterritorialization means that it is much more difficult to tie culture to a specific geographic point of
origin.
GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION
• Globalization has played a very important role in providing a context for the
current revival and the resurgence of religion. Today, presence of religions are
not only limited to the countries where they began as it spread and scattered on
a global scale.
• “Accelerated globalization of recent times has enabled co-religionists across

the planet to have greater direct contact with one another. Global
communications, global organizations, global finance and the like have allowed
ideas of the Muslims and the universal Christian church to be given concrete
shape as never before.” (Scholte, 2005)
• Information technologies, transportation means, and the media are the ways on
which religionists rely on the dissemination of their religious ideas.
• In terms of information technologies, there are countless websites created that

provides information about religions. Internet also allows people to contact
each other worldwide and therefore hold forums and debates that allows
religious ideas to spread.
• Media also plays an important role in the dissemination of religious ideas.

Television channels, radio stations and print media are founded solely for
advocating religions.
• Modern transportation has also contributed to the emergence, revivalism and

fortification of religion. The case of Islamic revivalism in Asia which “is related
to the improvement in transportation that has allowed many Muslims to travel to
Mecca and return with reformist ideas”. (Turner, 2007)
• Religion has always been promoted by its practitioners so that it could reach the
level of globality and be embraced by as many people as possible. For instance,
Muslim, aspire to establish the Islamic Ummah, a community of believers.
• Globalization has brought different religions to a circle of competition and

conflicts by allowing these religions to come in contact with each other and
providing a context for them to flourish.
• Globalization is also associated with Westernization and Americanization. The

dominance exerted by these two processes, particularly on the less developed
countries, makes religion-related cultures and identities take defensive measures to
protect themselves. Extreme forms of resisting other cultural influence are being
done, sometimes such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
• The challenges of globalization to religion link automatically to the challenges of

religion to globalization. While religion take caution against the norms and the values
related to globalization, it challenges the latter as religion does not simply accepts
hybridizing effects. This idea is also approved by Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations.
GLOBALIZATION AND REGIONALIZATION
• Region according to Mansfield and Milner (1999) is “ a group of

countries, in the same geographically specified area”. Hurrell, on the
other hand, defined regionalization as the “societal integration and the
often undirected process of social and economic interaction” while
regionalism refers to the “formal process of intergovernmental
collaboration between two or more states”. (Ravenhill, 2008)
• Many policymakers and scholars think that globalization must be regulated

and managed. The threats of an “ungoverned globalization” can be countered
what Jacoby and Meunier called managed globalization which refers to “all
attempts to make globalization more palatable to citizens”.
• Due to this threat, states prefer regional organizations in order to reduce the
perceived negative effects of globalization. As a result, it weakens the potential
benefits coming out from liberalized global economy. Therefore, regionalism
is a sort of counter- globalization.
• Regionalization in one part of the world encourages regionalization elsewhere-

whether by imitation, like the success of the European Single Market or by defensive
reaction such as Mercosur’s establishment as response to the creation of NAFTA.
Regionalization and the development of interregionalism would indeed be global in
nature.
• In Hurrell’s (2007) “one (global) world/many (regional) worlds relationship”, he

argued that regional developments in one part of the world have affected and fueled
regionalization everywhere else in a sort of contagion or domino effect. The fact that
there is an increasing development in interregional cooperation shows that the regional
process is global in nature.
• One of the reasons behind regionalism is the concern for security, which is to
ensure peace and stability. Confidence building can be enhance through
economic cooperation within a region. The ASEAN and the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) are regional organizations that seek strong
security in Asia through cooperation.
• Culture and identity, on the other hand, were seen by Huntington (1996) as the
guide for regionalization. For him, culture and identity are civilizations
identifying the nine major civilizations such as Western, Latin America, African,
Islamic, Sinic, Hindu, Orthodox, Buddhist and Japanese. He argued that
organizations like EU or Mercosur share a common culture and identity and are
far more successful than NAFTA, whose members states belong to different
civilizations.
• Economic motivations are arguably the main motivation behind contemporary

regionalization. By entering into regional organizations, Asian states may
regain some control over flows of capital and enhance their bargaining power
against transnational economic actors such as investment groups or
transnational corporations/ TNCs (De Martino and Grabel, 2003).
• Non-state actors such as TNCs act as a driving force to regionalism. Since

these TNCs’ host countries may not be part of a specific regional agreement,
they may find themselves disadvantageous. Ravenhill (2008) argued that these
disadvantaged TNCs will have to lobby their national government to sign
similar trade agreements within their region in order to end their disadvantage
commercial situation.
SOURCE: “The Contemporary World” Book by Prince Kennex Reguyal Aldama

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DYNAMICS OF LOCAL AND

• “Accelerated globalization of recent times has enabled co-religionists across

• In terms of information technologies, there are countless websites created that

• Media also plays an important role in the dissemination of religious ideas.

• Modern transportation has also contributed to the emergence, revivalism and

• Globalization has brought different religions to a circle of competition and

• Globalization is also associated with Westernization and Americanization. The

• The challenges of globalization to religion link automatically to the challenges of

• Region according to Mansfield and Milner (1999) is “ a group of

• Many policymakers and scholars think that globalization must be regulated

• Regionalization in one part of the world encourages regionalization elsewhere-

• In Hurrell’s (2007) “one (global) world/many (regional) worlds relationship”, he

• Economic motivations are arguably the main motivation behind contemporary

• Non-state actors such as TNCs act as a driving force to regionalism. Since

SOURCE: “The Contemporary World” Book by Prince Kennex Reguyal Aldama

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