How have the boundaries and links between states been changing over the last fifty years? √
Christopher Neill Y312545X
TMA 04
How have the boundaries and links between states been changing over the last fifty years? v
In this essay I will be looking at how or if cultural boundaries between nation states have been changing over the last 50 years[S1]. I will look at whether there is a cultural globalization occurring in the world[S2]. v
The discussion on globalization is one hotly debated, where emotions run high and can create unlikely alliances, like between Marxists and feminists who believe globalization is akin to modern imperialism with a few rich dominating over the rest and political right wingers who fear the loss of national identity and the weakening of the sovereign state. [True!]
The world is divided into roughly 190 nation states with each one guarding its' moral right to auto-govern. This organization of people into exclusive nation states is known as the Westphalian system that was introduced in 1648 when Kings recognized each others' right to reign ( A globalizing world? Culture, economics and politics. Held. D, p.133, Open University), v
Globalization could be defined as a growing interconnectedness of regions and states, the organization and exercise of power at a global level[S3]. It is probably multi-faceted in that it manifests economically, politically and culturally, all are intertwined and difficult to separate, but for the sake of this essay I will be concentrating on cultural change.
I will use four vconcepts to debate cultural globalization i) stretched social relations, meaning the existence of a global cultural network. ii) intensification of flows, an increase in cultural exchange iii) increasing interpenetration, the way cultures come face to face, and iv) global infrastructure, the institutions needed for globalization to function. [clear enough!]
Globalists, v who view globalization as inevitable and above the agency of individuals or institutions, are divided as to whether cultural globalization is good or bad and base their argument heavily on quantative data.
From 1965-1997 the number of TV receivers in the world increased from 192 million to 1,396 million and it's hard to argue against the positive effects of this as more people own televisions and are able to access programs and cultures from other regions. But if we look at receivers per 1,000 inhabitants by regions we see that America has 429 receivers per 1,000 inhabitants, while Africa lags way behind with 60 receivers per 1,000 inhabitants.(UNESCO 1989-1999 cited in a globalizing world? Culture, economics and politics. Held. D, p.50, Open University). We can see that there exists a ...
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From 1965-1997 the number of TV receivers in the world increased from 192 million to 1,396 million and it's hard to argue against the positive effects of this as more people own televisions and are able to access programs and cultures from other regions. But if we look at receivers per 1,000 inhabitants by regions we see that America has 429 receivers per 1,000 inhabitants, while Africa lags way behind with 60 receivers per 1,000 inhabitants.(UNESCO 1989-1999 cited in a globalizing world? Culture, economics and politics. Held. D, p.50, Open University). We can see that there exists a huge inequality in distribution. v Also we can see that quantative data can be open to interpretation in the sense made of this information. v
Positive globalistsv, see[S4] the free flows of globalization in a positive enriching way, the increase in telecommunications, including the internet as a new public forum free of the constrains of place and support the liberal idea of deregulation, thus allowing consumer choice, whereas negative globalists would state that the distribution of the hardware is very unequal and the fact that the programs and news that we watch is produced and distributed by a very powerful few. This concentration of ownership is reflected in Rupert Murdochs' News Corporation, who operate nine different Medias in six continents, and his reluctance to criticize the Chinese government because of his
Christopher Neill Y312545X
business interests could be thought of as undemocratic.( a globalizing world? Culture, economics and politics, Held. D, p.57, Open University) v
Of the world wide T.V. exports, 40% come from the U.S. thus weakening the argument of positive globalists that there is an equal flow of culture across the globe. Negative globalists would argue that what is going on is cultural imperialism and we could talk about a global Americanizationv as it is mainly American culture such as Disney, MacDonald's etc.. that flows from the core to the periphery. Even the news which was once predominantly national or regional is now a powerful commodity to be used and sold as 80% of the world's news is controlled by five Western news agencies (a globalizing world? Culture, economics and politics, Held. D, p. 61, Open University). v
With so much cultural power in the hands of so few, where Disney and MTV are king and teenagers dress like the latest American rap star and eat MacDonalds it's understandable that regional and national cultures feel threatened.
One interesting point to make is that MTV tried once to make a truly transnational programme for all, which was rejected by it's audiences. CNN is seen more as a regional programme providing Americans with international news and the BBC and ITV in Britain has a daily audience greater than the monthly audience of CNN throughout Europe. v
The idea of a cultural globalization is very much contested [true!] and that locally produced programmes are still the main sellers and that imported T.V. is just used to fill in the gaps as broadcasting time is increased.' Television is still a gloriously hybrid medium, with a plethora of programming of an inescapable and essentially local, untranslatable nature' (Sinclair et al, 1996, p.10, cited by Hugh Makay in a globalizing world? Culture, economics and politics, chapter 2, p.66, Open University). v This idea is backed by Inter-nationalists, they state that the claims of the globalists are excessive and nation states still have the power to control the flood of foreign culture for example France who impose heavy taxes on the import of American films, or in the U.K. where some European porn channels on the internet have been excluded. Even that global communication is nothing new and refer to the advent of the telegraph. v
But I feel missing from the Globalistv and inter-nationalistv argument is some quantative data[S5]. What is the significance of the consumption of imported culture? When watching American films do we automatically adopt American morals and values? Evidence has shown that watching imported T.V. has no impact or consequences. (globalizing world? Culture, economics and politics, Held. D, p.75, Open University). We use our own culture to essentially 'make sense' of what we watch. Cultures constrain[S6] us but they are also socially shaped, v if I walked down my local high street dressed like a rapper and speaking with an American accent I would probably be laughed at. v[S7]
I want to return to our four main concepts and use the qualitative and quantative data I have mentioned to see if there really has been a change in the cultural links and boundaries between states in the last 50 years. Has there been a stretching of social relations? I would say that there does exist a network that connects across the globe and that decisions taken by people like Rupert Murdoch can have global consequences, but the power they can exert may be exaggerated.
Intensification of flows exists, v the impacts of events in foreign countries are felt more strongly and I can express my solidarity with, for example Chinese students, even though I am thousands of miles away thanks to the internet.
The fact that my granddad would never have considered Indian food as typically 'British', but I do demonstrates an increasing interpenetrationv[S8] of cultures. I would as
easily listen to music from Senegal as from Britain or America. With the increase in telecommunications and internet we now have a truly global infrastructure by which cultural flows can pass. v
There can be no doubt that there have been changes in the cultural links and boundaries between states, the fact that I'm Scottish in origin, born in England, living in Spain and watching German MTV with English subtitles can go some way to demonstrate the huge cultural diversity that exists[S9]. What impact of these changes could be for me remains to be seen. Ok!
In this essay I have defined the Nation state and briefly described globalization and how it's effects have changed the cultural links between nations, but also how flows are in many cases unequal. I have used four main concepts to evaluate if change has happened and used arguments from positive and negative Globalists and Inter-nationalists in assessing quantative data. I have looked at how we interpret or 'make sense' of what we watch and that culture is socially shaped[S10]. v
Word count 1348v
References
v DD100 Block 4 Audio 7
v Sinclair et al 1996,p.10, cited by Makay. H, A Globalizing world? Culture, economics and politics, chapter 2, p.66, Open University
v A globalizing world? Culture, economics, politics, Held. D, Open University, 2004
[self evaluation?]
[S1]You will focus on culture - good!
[S2]This is a very brief introduction. To strengthen it you would have to expand it to include (mention) the main approaches to the study of globalization, which you will undertake to answer the question. In addition, it is here, in the introduction that it would have been necessary to mention that in this essay you will be evaluating competing theories in terms of the three tests, i.e. coherence, comprehensiveness and soundness of empirical base.
[S3]So, globalization is explained - OK
[S4]Correctly refer to one of the approaches to the understanding of globalization.
[S5]An element of evaluation - ok!
[S6]By the way, what is culture? Some kind of explanation is due! You could include something of the kind: i.e. the higher things of the mind, but primarily it concerns the way of life!
[S7]I agree, but why this would happen? Relating it to social shaping, as you have done, is certainly the way to go, but you need to complete your explanation by being more analytical!
[S8]I take the point, but note that you should avoid anecdotal examples or examples that are understood on the basis of 'common sense'. Give examples that of course are relevant, but which others may access too - i.e. from publicized sources!
[S9]Indeed!!
[S10]A clear summary - good!