Globalization and the Study of International Security Essay

The essay is an in depth examination of globalization as well as how it can be a security issue in the globe. Globalization is a term that has been used frequently in the past ten to fifteen years¹. There is very little that cannot be linked with globalization when studying international politics

Globalization is a broad term that has been used to refer to free movement of people, goods and services and capital between and among countries made possible by the advent in technology information. As a result the world has no doubt turned into a global village fashioned by interconnectedness and interdependence.

Globalization has been thought of as various mechanisms or processes that aim at creating and consolidating a unified world in terms of economy and culture characterized by a complex link of information sharing that is world wide².

A typical example of how globalization can be a security issue is the September 11 2001 attack by Al Qaeda in U.S soils. The group was capable of utilize communication technology in the most efficient manner, monitor movement of people as well as the world economic links³.

It is no doubt that globalization with its several aspects have made it possible for such crime to be profound; drug trafficking, ethnic conflicts that escalate into wars, cyber attacks, spread of contagious diseases such as H1N1, environmental destruction and more seriously proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Economic globalization for instance impact one of the three fold of sovereignty which is operating and carrying out their affairs without external influences; the interdependence and interconnectedness brought about by globalization makes this unattainable fully. In the past, countries especially from western and Middle East had very little in common concerning economic interdependence.

However, the recent changes have seen to it a country like China being compelled to mend her relation with the western counterparts and vice versa. To be in a position to sell their goods and services, the relationship is vital which has a greater probability of making sovereign states to compromise one of the attributes of autonomy/sovereignty.

Through free market which is a product of globalization, goods and services have found their way to other countries where the same are not produced or do not meet the demand. There are instances that some goods or products are sold to these countries and without the knowledge of the recipient country, such goods are defective and can lead to serious health problems.

This can be exemplified by such products as milk, beef, fish and poultry that have in the recent years caused serious health complications in the Middle East⁴. Additionally, globalization has brought stiff competition and when countries try to impose protectionism by coddling and nurturing infant industries, they are blamed and sidelined in global business.

They are left with no option other than changing business as well as other laws to accommodate free market which in the long run has the potential of killing domestic industries as foreign ones thrives.

Similarly, it is a fact that there are a number of multinational corporations that have spread all over the world. In the recent past, despite the fact that the corporation offered employment to the local which is in line with the host government, the top positions are usually held by expatriates especially from the original country where the corporation comes from.

This has been possible through a number of corporation’s laws that override the interests of the host nation hence negatively impacting on laws and regulation that serve to make the hoist state autonomous⁵. Additionally, there are instances where multinational company have bought some of the factors of production such as land at higher prices leaving the local citizen either landless and squatters.

Nonetheless globalization has brought a number of positive changes in terms of politics and governance, culture, economics, environmentally as well socially. Particularly, with regards to economy, there are a number of jobs that have been created, wider business opportunities, synergy brought as a result of integration in curbing social ills, holding the states responsible and accountable for their actions⁶.

Bibliography

Brooks, Stephen. Producing Security: Multinational Corporations, Globalization, and the Changing Nature of Conflict. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007.

Guiguo, Wang. The Impact of Globalization on State Sovereignty, 2004. Web.

Lynn, Davis. “Globalization’s Security Implications” 2003. Web.

Moises, Naim, “Globalization.” Foreign Policy, 171(2009): 28-34.

Victor Cha, “Globalization and the Study of International Security,” Journal of Peace Research 37(2000): 391-403.

Wang, Guigo. “The impact of Globalization on State Sovereignty.” Chinese Journal of International Law 3(2004): 473-483.

Footnotes

1. Brooks, Stephen. Producing Security: Multinational Corporations, Globalization, and the Changing Nature of Conflict. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007.
2. Wang, Guigo. “The impact of Globalization on State Sovereignty.” Chinese Journal of International Law 3(2004): 473-483.
3. Guiguo, Wang. The Impact of Globalization on State Sovereignty, 2004.
4. Ibid.
5. Moises Naim, “Globalization.” Foreign Policy, 171(2009): 28-34.
6. Victor Cha, “Globalization and the Study of International Security,” Journal of Peace Research 37(2000): 391-403.