Introduction
Globalization has become a popular topic for discussion in a variety of fields including medicine, economics, politics, science, etc. The interrelation, co-existence, and mutual exchange of goods, services, and information among different countries is a complex phenomenon that needs in-depth examination. The effects of globalization in different spheres can be positive or negative. Due to the fact that globalization can either strengthen or impede the development of economic, secular, integration and democratic projects, it is paramount to review its effects to be ready for the possible consequences and develop tools to amend them.
Globalization and Economy
Most national economies have a history of trading with their neighbors. Globalization understood as the result of enhancements in the spheres of transportation, means of production and diversification of consumers’ needs, have simply sped up the processes of economic exchange. In other words, the world becomes more and more sophisticated, and the process of sophistication requires diverse skills, machinery, and operational frameworks. Due to the fact that countries all have a different amount of resources it sometimes becomes impossible to produce certain products, nations practically have to increase the network of their economic ties to others to survive. Therefore, globalization appears to be rather an inevitable consequence.
Despite the fact that it increases the speed of production, simplifies the search for resources, and saturates domestic markets with a variety of products, it also has negative consequences. Due to the uneven growth and development of certain countries’ wealthy nations, they have become a target for people whose political, economic, or religious situation in their own country is unstable. Various circumstances force them to seek shelter and/or employment in developed countries. The streams of foreign laborers started creating tensions among the population and government, which led to a series of unwise and reactional policies. According to Dimitriadi, Europe has attempted to close its borders to address the issue of illegal immigrants by means far from cooperative and effective (1). The situation is peculiar because, essentially, had it not been for globalization, such a problem could not arise.
Yet, on the other hand, globalization has only provided a means of labor force exchange and faster cross-border travel. The need of certain countries for foreign laborers and the economic situation in other countries is what is truly the underlying cause of issues. By far and large, globalization rather helps to develop and sophisticate the economy than to ruin it (Losonc, 2016). The problem of inequality and lack of balance in the world seem to have always persisted.
Globalization and Secularism
Secularism is commonly understood as a right of all people and entities to remain free of exercising and associating themselves with any of the existing religions. Globalization and its effect on the speed of information exchange have enhanced people’s capacity to access any kind of data. The internet has given people almost endless means to learn. According to Zounek, teachers and secular education contribute to increasing the population of religion-free individuals.
On the other hand, even before the internet, it could be possible to learn and access information, and the effects of globalization are not limited to information exchange. The enhanced possibilities for people to travel between the borders of different countries have also influenced the positions of secularists. Upon arrival in a different country, people of a certain culture tend to flock together and form diasporas which can also be religious. Provided the diaspora is big and influential enough it can influence the government’s decisions. They can increase their dominance and demand exclusive rights and freedoms. As such, given the prevalence of Muslim diaspora in European countries, the decision was made to build additional mosques and facilities to practice religion. In a way, this can be considered as fostering the spread of Islam and a step back from secularization because a government is forced to make decisions and spend resources to uphold the prevalence and popularity of a certain religion.
It is a universal fact that most of the nations in the civilized world are secular with all governmental organs separated from the influence of religious organizations. Yet certain nations still derive their political decisions from a religious context, which creates tensions between such countries (Hurd 235). Given the recent upheaval of Islam tensions and the terrorist attacks connected to ISIS, the prestige of this religion can be argued to have decreased. Therefore, secular world in this conflict as a victim of terrorist attacks can also be considered as more consolidated and strong. Given all the above, globalization seems to produce rather diverse effects on secularism and, in general, it seems to have produced more challenges than opportunities.
Globalization and National Integration
The development of strong ties between countries stemming from shared geopolitical and economic interests was witnessed more than once in world history. The ability of nations to collaborate to protect themselves against a common threat was demonstrated in the times of the Second World War. Yet integration and close mutual exchange of goods, values, people, and other items is something entirely different. As such, European Union is one of the structures that collectively develop a certain supernational entity that has a common currency, political, economic, and social goals.
The role of globalization in the process of its formation can arguably be called significant. Yet for arguing so, there is a need to prioritize another aspect of this phenomenon and use its primary definition. Thus, if we understand globalization as the process of organization, people, and nations operating on an international level, then the integration of nations into some larger entity is justified, provided common interests are present.
The issues arise, however, when other countries try to integrate into such a formation. Greece, for example, happened to initiate such a process with bitter consequences for its national economy. Culturally and otherwise, the county perhaps has no insurmountable barriers to integration with France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, and other countries. Yet, economically, Greece was rather diverse, and the structural economic requirements for integration put forward by the EU and its major executive organizations happened to be more than Greece could handle (Stiglitz). However, one example of poor integration does not undo the benefits of shared economic, political and social space created by the members of the European Union.
The Greece situation shows that a mere desire to integrate is not sufficient for the integration to happen. Given the history of unsuccessful integrations as exemplified also by Poland that during reforms witnessed a decrease of its GDP over the course of ten years of consecutive integration reforms (World Bank). The failures have arguably been a result of poor planning and lack of foresight, rather than globalization itself. Globalization is only a tool, an opportunity that is in itself a result of countries communicating with each other on different levels. Overall, it can be argued that with the development of communication frequency and shared values the integration became possible in the first place.
Globalization and Democracy
The development of democracy as a form of governing the nation does not seem to be positively influenced by globalization. Firstly, democracy has often opposed monarchic rule and served as an instrument to establish control over a nation legitimately giving the majority of citizens the right to exercise their political will. In that sense, it has developed as a purely domestic issue. It virtually has little to do with international relationships. Yet, democracy seems to have an essential flaw that can be utilized by foreign powers to their advantage. Other countries can instigate uprisings and mask their interests with the will of common people. They can materially support the leaders of the opposition and fuel tensions with propaganda. As a result of such perturbations, there is a chance that the new government may become loyal and obliged to the interested foreign party.
Globalization seems to have made possible the application of the term “export” to democracy. The experiences of the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan and their actions to create a united democratic government showed the adverse effect of this phenomenon. The image of democracy as a universally applicable framework proposed by the U.S. has been stained. Therefore, globalization used as a tool to assert control of other nations through the export of democracy produced only damaged the image of the latter.
Conclusion
All things considered, globalization seems to be a process that is neutral. It is the will of the countries that exploit the increased possibilities to interact with other nations to make the concept positive or negative as applied to different spheres. When economy and integration are concerned, the impact has rather been positive or, at least, neutral. Yet for democracy and secularism, globalization has brought more challenges than opportunities.
Works Cited
Dimitriadi, Angeliki. Deals without Borders: Europe’s Foreign Policy on Migration. 2018. Web.
Hurd, Elizabeth Shakman. “The Political Authority of Secularism in International Relations.” European Journal of International Relations, vol. 10, no. 2, 2004, pp. 235–62.
Losonc, Alpar. “Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization.” Panoeconomicus vol. 63, no. 4, 2016, pp. 493-501.
Stiglitz, Joseph. “Greece, the Sacrificial Lamb.” NY Times, 2015, Web.
World Bank. GDP Growth (Annual %). 2018. Web.
Zounek, Jiří, et al. “Primary School Teachers as a Tool of Secularisation of Society in Communist Czechoslovakia.” History of Education, vol. 46, no. 4, 2017, pp. 480–97.