Globalization is a long-term process of transformation and integration of national economies and political relations between countries into a single geo-economic system with its own rules and a common financial, trade, and information space. Such a complex, multifaceted process can be maintained by large states that receive high incomes from participating in the global distribution of resources, production, trade, and profit – for example, such as USA, China, or Germany.
One of the major theories on perspectives of globalization is presented by Held and McGrew – it is called “the theory of trans-formationalism.” Globalization is seen here as an expansion, intensification, and deepening of the world’s interdependence and interconnectedness, manifested in all aspects of modern life. Held (2021) supplies that “globalization paradigm establishes that social and economic processes operate predominantly at a global level” (p. 59). According to this theory, there are three main directions in the conceptualization of globalization – hyperglobalists, skeptics, and transformists. Each of the concepts represents different yet related perspectives on globalization, which makes the whole theory more diverse and applicable to different situations.
Another relatable theory of globalization is the liberalism theory, proposed by Deudney and Ikenberry. According to Berg (2018), “liberalism is a philosophy of political economy that offers enduring principles about how humanity should seek to interact in groups and in society more generally” (p. 1). Liberalists see the market as the main driving and determining force of globalization, as market expansion leads to interconnection of societies and diversification of views. The strength of this theory is supported by the fact that the processes described by it find their reflection in real life: market and political relations, especially.
All in all, liberalism theory is a feasible framework for explaining and predicting the processes of world globalization. Indeed, the market economy supports the interpenetration of different societies, which in turn offers new perspectives and views, further sustaining the globalization. A good example of globalization in this framework is the movement of capital. Investors are looking for the best economic conditions within the global market, and do not seek to save money only in their own country. Another one is the emergence of global legal regulation of economic processes. The World Trade Organization (WTO) was created to develop and maintain the rules for the international interaction of economic entities.
References
Berg, C. (2018). Liberalism is enduring and urgent. SSRN Electronic Journal. Web.
Held, D. (2021). Chapter 3: Democracy and Globalization. In K. Mills & K. Stiles (Eds.), Understanding global cooperation: Twenty-five years of research on Global Governance. essay, Brill.