One of the most important features of the 21st century is globalization—the increasing interconnectedness of people and places. Once-distant regions and cultures are now increasingly linked through commerce, communications, and travel. Although earlier forms of globalization existed, especially during Europe’s colonial period, the current degree of planetary integration is stronger than ever. In fact, many observers argue that contemporary globalization is the most fundamental reorganization of the world’s socioeconomic structure since the Industrial Revolution (see Exploring Global Connections: A Closer Look at Globalization).

Economic activities may be the major force behind globalization, but the consequences of globalization affect all aspects of land and life: Human settlement patterns, cultural attributes, political arrangements, and social development are all undergoing profound change. Because natural resources are viewed as global commodities, the planet’s physical environment is also affected by globalization. Financial decisions made thousands of miles away now affect local ecosystems and habitats, often with far-reaching consequences for Earth’s health and sustainability. For example, gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon is profitable for the corporations involved and even for individual miners, but it may ruin biologically diverse ecosystems and threaten indigenous communities.

The Environment and Globalization

The expansion of a globalized economy is creating and intensifying environmental problems throughout the world. Transnational firms conducting business through international subsidiaries disrupt ecosystems around the globe with their incessant search for natural resources and manufacturing sites. Landscapes and resources previously used by only small groups of local peoples are now considered global commodities to be exploited and traded in the world marketplace.

On a larger scale, globalization is aggravating worldwide environmental problems such as climate change, air pollution, water pollution, and deforestation. Consequently, it is only through global cooperation, such as the United Nations treaties on biodiversity protection or greenhouse gas reductions, that these problems can be addressed. Environmental degradation and efforts to address it are discussed further in Chapter 2.

Globalization and Changing Human Geographies

Globalization changes cultural practices. The spread of a global consumer culture, for example, often accompanies globalization and frequently hurts local economies. It sometimes creates deep and serious social tensions between traditional cultures and new, external global culture. Television shows and movies available via satellite, along with online videos and social media such as Facebook and Twitter, often implicitly promote Western values and culture that are then imitated by millions throughout the world (Figure 1.6).

Fast-food franchises are changing—some would say corrupting—traditional diets, with explosive growth in most of the world’s cities. Although these foods may seem harmless to North Americans because of their familiarity, they are an expression of deep cultural changes for many societies and are also generally unhealthy and environmentally destructive. Yet some observers contend that even multinational corporations have learned to pay attention to local contexts. Glocalization (which combines globalization with locale) is the process of modifying an introduced product or service to accommodate local tastes or cultural practices. For example, a McDonald’s in Japan may serve shrimp burgers along with Big Macs.

Although the media give much attention to the rapid spread of Western consumer culture, nonmaterial culture is also dispersed and homogenized through globalization. Language is an obvious example—American tourists in far-flung places are often startled to hear locals speaking an English made up primarily of movie or TV clichés. However, far more than speech is involved, as social values also are dispersed globally. Changing expectations about human rights, the role of women in society, and the intervention of nongovernmental organizations are also expressions of globalization that may have far-reaching effects on cultural change.

In return, cultural products and ideas from around the world greatly impact U.S. culture. The large and diverse immigrant population in the United States has contributed to heightened cultural diversity and exchange. The internationalization of American food and music, and the multiple languages spoken in American cities, are all expressions of globalization (Figure 1.7).

Globalization also clearly influences population movements. International migration is not new, but increasing numbers of people from all parts of the world are now crossing national boundaries, legally and illegally, temporarily and permanently. The United Nations (UN) estimates that there are over 250 million immigrants in the world (people who live in a country other than their country of birth). Figure 1.8 shows the major migration flows from regions of origin designated as Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and Oceania. One of the most striking aspects of the figure is that many of the largest international flows are intraregional (60 million within Asia, 40 million within Europe, and 18 million within Africa). Yet there are also substantial interregional flows, such as 26 million from Latin America and the Caribbean to North America, 20 million from Asia to Europe, and 17 million from Asia to North America. Attempts to control the movement of people are evident throughout the world—much more so, in fact, than control over the movement of goods or capital. Yet this growing flow of immigrants is propelled, in part, by the uneven economic development (discussed in more detail later in the chapter) and demographic changes in parts of the world with aging populations and shortages of labor.

Geopolitics and Globalization

Globalization also has important geopolitical components. To many, an essential dimension of globalization is that it is not restricted by territorial or national boundaries. For example, the creation of the United Nations (UN) following World War II was a step toward creating an international governmental structure in which all nations could find representation (Figure 1.9). The simultaneous emergence of the Soviet Union as a military and political superpower led to a rigid division into Cold War blocs that slowed further geopolitical integration. However, with the peaceful end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the former communist countries of eastern Europe and the Soviet Union were opened almost immediately to global trade and cultural exchange, changing those countries immensely.

Although the Cold War ended nearly 30 years ago, the two largest arms exporters in the world are the United States and Russia, with China and France rounding out the top four. Figure 1.10 reveals distinct geopolitical relationships surrounding large arms sales (over $100 million) between 2011 and 2015. The United States ($46 billion in arms exports) supplies Southwest Asia (especially Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey); Russia ($35 billion) exports to India, China, and Vietnam; France largely exports arms to Morocco and China; and China is the top supplier of armaments to Pakistan and Bangladesh in South Asia. These maps suggest evolving geopolitical relations that may differ from more formal geopolitical or economic ties.

At the same time, there are globalized criminal networks that trade in weapons, drugs, prostitution, pornography, wildlife, money laundering, and forced labor. These illegal networks can incorporate often impoverished and remote places such as Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), or Zimbabwe into thoroughly integrated circuits of global exchange. Human trafficking is the illegal trade of humans for the purpose of forced labor, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation that is often integrated into these illegal networks. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that in 2014, trafficking of people was a $150 billion industry.

Ironically, many observers argue that globalization—almost by definition—has weakened the political power of individual states by strengthening regional economic and political organizations, such as the European Union (EU) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), an institution that deals with the global rules of trade among nations. In some world regions, a weakening of traditional state power has led to stronger local and separatist movements, as illustrated by the turmoil on Russia’s southern border. Yet even established regional blocs such as the EU may be contested, as witnessed by the surprising result of the 2016 referendum in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. Similarly, many view the election of U.S. President Donald J. Trump in 2016 as a vote against open trade and open borders, as he campaigned aggressively against such policies.

Economic Globalization and Uneven Development Outcomes

Most scholars agree that the major component of globalization is the economic reorganization of the world. Although different forms of a world economy have existed for centuries, a well-integrated and truly global economy is primarily the product of the past several decades. Attributes of this system, while familiar, bear repeating:

• Global communication systems and the digital flow of information that links all regions and most people instantaneously (Figure 1.11)

• Transportation systems that can quickly and inexpensively move goods by air, sea, and land

• Transnational business strategies that have created global corporations more powerful than many sovereign nations

• New and more flexible forms of capital accumulation and international financial institutions that make 24-hour trading possible

• Global and regional trade agreements that promote more free trade

• Market economies and private enterprises that have replaced state-controlled economies and services

• An emphasis on producing more goods, services, and data at lower costs to fulfill consumer demand for products and information (Figure 1.12)

• Growing income inequality between rich and poor, both within and between countries

This global reorganization has resulted in unprecedented economic growth in some areas of the world in recent years; China is a good example, with an average annual growth rate of 8.2 percent from 2009 to 2015. But not everyone profits from economic globalization, as continuing wage gaps within China indicate, nor have all world regions shared equally in the benefits. During the same time period (2009–2015), Latin America and the Caribbean averaged only 2.7 percent annual growth, while the financial troubles in Greece resulted in an annual average of −4.5 percent.

Thinking Critically About Globalization

Globalization, particularly its economic aspects, is one of today’s most contentious issues. Supporters believe that globalization creates greater economic efficiency that will eventually result in rising prosperity for the entire world. In contrast, critics claim that globalization largely benefits those who are already prosperous, leaving most of the world poorer than before as the rich and powerful exploit the less fortunate. Increasingly, scholars discuss the pros and cons of digital globalization, which is less about the movement of capital, goods, and people but instead describes the accelerated movement of data to facilitate daily demands for information, searches, financial transactions, communication, and video.

Pro-globalization Arguments 

Economic globalization is generally applauded by corporate leaders and economists, and underlies pro-market reforms and fiscal discipline as exemplified by policies put forward by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization. The primary function of the World Bank is to make loans to poor countries so that they can invest in infrastructure and build more modern economic foundations. The IMF makes short-term loans to countries in financial difficulty—those having trouble, for example, making interest payments on loans that they had previously taken. The WTO, a much smaller organization than the other two, works to reduce trade barriers between countries to enhance economic globalization. The WTO also tries to mediate between countries and trading blocs engaged in trade disputes.

Beyond North America, moderate and conservative politicians in most countries generally support free trade and other aspects of economic globalization. Advocates argue that globalization is a logical and inevitable expression of contemporary international capitalism that benefits all nations and all peoples. Economic globalization can work wonders, they contend, by enhancing competition, increasing the flow of capital and employment opportunities to poor areas, and encouraging the spread of beneficial new technologies and ideas. To support their claims, pro-globalizers argue that countries that have embraced the global economy generally enjoy more economic success than those that have sought economic self-sufficiency. The world’s most isolated country, North Korea, is an economic disaster with little growth and rampant poverty, whereas those that have opened themselves to global forces during the same period, such as Vietnam and Thailand, have seen rapid growth and substantial reductions in poverty.

Critics of Globalization 

Opponents of globalization, such as labor and environmental groups, as well as many social justice movements, often argue that globalization is not a “natural” process. Instead, it is the product of an explicit economic policy promoted by free-trade advocates, capitalist countries (mainly the United States, but also Japan and the countries of Europe), financial interests, international investors, and multinational firms that maximize profits by moving capital and seeking low-wage labor. Further, because the globalization of the world economy is creating greater inequity between rich and poor, the trickle-down model of developmental benefits for all people in all regions has yet to be validated. On a global scale, the richest 20 percent of the world’s people consume 86 percent of the world’s resources, whereas the poorest 80 percent use only 14 percent. Critics also worry that a globalized economic system—with its instantaneous transfers of vast sums of money over nearly the entire world on a daily basis—is inherently unstable. The worldwide recession of 2008–2010 demonstrated that global interconnectivity can also increase economic vulnerability, as illustrated by the collapse of financial institutions in Iceland or the decline of remittances from Mexicans working in the United States to their families in Mexico.

There are growing concerns that an emphasis on export-oriented economies at the expense of localized ones has led to overexploitation of resources. World forests, for example, are increasingly cut for export timber rather than serving local needs. As part of their economic structural adjustment package, the World Bank and the IMF often encourage developing countries to expand their resource exports to earn more hard currency to pay off their foreign debts. When commodity prices are high, this strategy can stimulate growth, but as commodity prices decline, as they did in 2014–2016, growth rates in developing countries slow. Moreover, the IMF often requires countries that receive loans to adopt programs of fiscal austerity that substantially reduce public spending for education, health, and food subsidies. Adopting such policies, critics warn, will further impoverish a country’s people (Figure 1.13).

A Middle Position 

Advocates of a middle-ground position argue that economic globalization is indeed unavoidable and that, despite its promises and pitfalls, globalization can be managed at both the national and the international levels to reduce economic inequalities and protect the natural environment. These experts stress the need for strong yet efficient national governments, supported by international institutions (such as the UN, World Bank, and IMF) and globalized networks of nongovernmental environmental, labor, and human rights groups. Moreover, the global movement of goods has flattened in the last few years, whereas the digital flow of information has soared, creating new opportunities and pitfalls that require further study.

Unquestionably, globalization is one of the most important issues of the day—and certainly one of the most complicated. While this book does not pretend to resolve the controversy, nor does it take a position, it does encourage readers to reflect on these critical points as they apply to each world region.

Diversity in a Globalizing World

As globalization progresses, many observers foresee a world far more uniform and homogeneous than today’s. The optimists among them imagine a universal global culture uniting all humankind into a single community untroubled by war, ethnic strife, or resource shortages—a global utopia of sorts.

A more common view is that the world is becoming blandly homogeneous as different places, peoples, and environments lose their distinctive character and become indistinguishable from their neighbors. Yet even as globalization generates a certain degree of homogenization, the world is still a highly diverse place (Figure 1.14). We can still find marked differences in culture (language, religion, architecture, foods, and other attributes of daily life), economies, and politics—as well as in the physical environment—from place to place. Such diversity is so vast that it cannot readily be extinguished, even by the most powerful forces of globalization. Diversity may be difficult for a society to live with, but it also may be dangerous to live without. Nationality, ethnicity, cultural distinctiveness—all are defining expressions of humanity that are nurtured in specific places.

In fact, globalization often provokes a strong reaction on the part of local people, making them all the more determined to maintain what is unique about their way of life. Thus, globalization is understandable only if we also examine the diversity that continues to characterize the world and, perhaps most important, the tension between these two forces: the homogenizing power of globalization and the reaction against it, often through demands for protecting cultural distinctiveness.

The politics of diversity demand increasing attention as we try to understand such concepts as global terrorism, ethnic identity, religious practices, and political independence. Groups of people throughout the world seek self-rule of territory they can call their own. Today most wars are fought within countries, not between them. As a result, our interest in geographic diversity takes many forms and goes far beyond simply celebrating traditional cultures and unique places. People have many ways of making a living throughout the world, and it is important to recognize this fact as the globalized economy becomes increasingly focused on mass-produced consumer goods. Furthermore, a stark reality of today’s economic landscape is uneven outcomes: While some people and places prosper, others suffer from unrelenting poverty (Figure 1.15). To analyze these patterns of unevenness and change, the next section considers the tools used by geographers to better know the world.