Globalization

Globalization is manifested in the economy, socio-culture, environment and politics.

Economy

Globalization is equated with the rise of the neoliberal-capitalist global economy characterized by the transnationalization of capital and its increased mobility, the globalization of the labor market, economic liberalization, privatization and real trade.

Socio-culture

On one hand, globalization has brought about the homogenization of cultures into a one-world culture that is dominantly Western. A dominance that is being consolidated more and more by the centralization of cultural resources in the hands of a few big Western communication media and information technology companies. On the other hand, the globalization of communication media has also proven to be advantageous in that its democratizing character has engendered an increasing global social consciousness.

Environment

The consumerism of exponentially growing populations and the accompanying unabated economic production fueled by globalization have resulted in the progressive destruction of ecosystems. On a positive note, there has been growing universal recognition of the natural resource crisis as being a borderless phenomenon for which responsibility cannot be demarcated precisely among nations and regions.

Politics

The decreasing sovereignty of the nation-state, accompanied by the increasing role of regionalization, has been the most important political development in the era of globalization. More importantly, however, an equivalent trend has been the rising interest in, and role of, the expanding global civil society movement.