📍Topic 9.7 Resistance to Globalization

📖 AMSCO p.688 - p.695

Main Idea

Key Timeline

Image Courtesy of Samhitha

Things to Know

The Roots of Globalization and Anti-Globalization

• Post-World War II Organizations:
  • After World War II, organizations like GATT, the European Economic Union, Mercosur, and ASEAN formed to foster global economic growth, strengthen economies, and promote prosperity.
• Tariff Reduction and Global Trade:
  • Falling tariff rates facilitated the movement of goods across national borders, contributing to the development of a global economy and fostering international trade relationships.
• World Trade Organization (WTO):
  • In 1995, the WTO succeeded GATT, becoming a central authority overseeing rules for over 90 percent of international trade.
  • The organization faced criticism for its perceived lack of concern for people's welfare.
• “Battle of Seattle”:
  • The Word Trade Conference planned a meeting to discuss new trade negotiations for the new millennium.
  • Over 40,000 protesters from groups such as labor unions, family farmers, student groups, and environmentalists.
  • Protests drew attention to the issues of the global economy and marked the start of the anti-globalization movement.

Why Resist Globalization?

• The primary reason for the anti-globalization movement is that consumers lack awareness of the producers and true costs behind easily accessible goods and services.
• Harsh Working Conditions:
  • In 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that more than 2 million children work in cocoa production as child laborers.
  • In 2019, Amazon workers describe that workers were fired if they were to take a bathroom break while fulfilling orders.
  • Rana Plaza Factory: The collapse of the 8 story building in Dhaka, Bangladesh led to the death of over 1,000 people and injured 2,500 people.
    • Majority of the casualties were female garment workers who made clothing for Western companies.
• Environmental Concerns:
  • The environmental damage caused by shipping products over long distances contributed to increasing greenhouse gas emissions
  • The clearing of thousands of square miles of rainforest in Brazil for cattle farms, a major export, is an environmental consequence.
• Brexit:
  • In 2016, 52 percent of British voters chose to leave the EU because EU interfered with Britain's self-governance and required acceptance of too many immigrants.
  • British prime minister Theresa May was unable to negotiate a deal and eventually resigned in 2019.
  • Critics believed leaving EU is economically disastrous for Britain as they are dependent on imports as an island nation.

Economic Resistance

• Small businesses and individuals face obstacles in crossing state lines or national borders, accessing natural resources, and utilizing diverse labor sources, unlike major corporations.
• Protests against the IMF and World Bank occurred in various countries, with a notable demonstration in West Berlin in 1988.
• Critics state that the world's wealthiest nations continue to exert control over the World Bank.

Anti-Globalization and Social Media

• Internet:
  • The internet is used as a tool for anti-globalization activism.
• Social Media Restrictions in China:
  • In 2009, social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook were blamed for social unrest in Urumqi, China, leading to their ban.
  • The social unrest resulted from tensions between members of the Han ethnicity and members of the Uighur ethnicity.
  • The government introduced Weibo as a substitute, allowing content tracking and blocking sensitive material.
• Government Influence on Social Media Content:
  • Some governments, like Saudi Arabia, permit social media platforms but exert control over their content.
    • Critics argue that the Saudi Arabian government uses social media to intimidate citizens.

Terms to Remember