Political And Cultural Aspects Of Globalisation example essay topic

The following essay will outline some aspects of globalisation based on the question "Is it possible to be for or against globalisation?" The aim is to explain that it is not possible to paint globalisation in black or white and as a consequence simply being for or against it is not an option. To gain a realistic view rather than an overly pessimistic or optimistic one, a very brief outline of the two major opposing positions is necessary: On one side of the fence are the globalisation sceptics who see the process of globalisation as a threat or deny its impacts altogether. As Martin Griffith put it in the lecture they are of the opinion that the world is not becoming increasingly globalised, but is subject to a process of continuity rather than one of change. On the other side are the hyperglobalisers arguing that the processes of globalisation are changing more or less everything and that the nation-state is disappearing. Having stated these two extreme views let us now have a look at possible benefits and the risks of globalisation, starting with a general summary of possible areas of impact and then moving on to showing some effects of globalisation on tourism in Australia. There are various aspects of globalisation.

We can look at it from an economic, political, social and cultural angle. The one we probably think of first is economic globalisation as it is the most obvious with transnational companies known worldwide like Coca-Cola (Coke) or McDonalds. With regards to political globalisation, we are moving further towards global governance (international political cooperations like the United Nations or the World Trade Organisation) and to an extent erosion of the nation-state. To what degree this is happening is widely argued and further discussion would lead too far in this essay. The cultural and social aspect of globalisation is very often called Americanization or McDonaldisation and is strongly influenced by transnational companies and media.

The television and film industry are advertising the same lifestyle and ideas for everybody in the world, thus trying to turn the consumers worldwide into a homogeneous mass following the same ideals. Despite this rather negative view, the interconnectedness via television and the media like the WorldWide Web also brings people closer together and can aid mutual understanding of different cultures. A good example of showing the interactions and impacts of the process of globalisation is tourism. Until the year 2001 tourism was one of the fastest growing industries in the world and the most important source of income in many countries across the planet. In Australia for example, "Tourism share of GDP is now greater than that of mining or agriculture, and international tourism exceeds coal, wool, meat and wheat as an export earner for Australia". In the year 1993/1994 the expenditure by foreign visitors amounted to AUD 10.6 billion, in 2000/2001 foreign expenditure had reached AUD 17.1 billion.

In the year 2001 the number of visitors (and along with it at least partially the expenditure) dropped by 2%, remained steady during 2002 and is expected to grow by 3% in 2003. We can clearly see that tourism plays a significant role in the Australian economy. Although the largest number of travellers are still from the domestic market, the International arrivals have contributed greatly to the growth of the industry. International travel is enhanced by extensive worldwide economic growth, increased mobility and improved technology (e.g. in 1970 the first Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet was introduced by Panama).

Why has the number of international arrivals dropped in Australia? Let us have a look at global political events, bearing in mind the socio-cultural background for the latter (which cannot be further explored in a short essay). It is impossible to just put the blame on one factor, nevertheless the events of September 11th 2001 had an enormous impact on travel worldwide and international travel in Australia (The Ansett collapse was not linked to the terrorist attacks, it discontinued operation on September 10th 2001). Australia's relative remoteness and comparative safety with regards to other travel destinations has probably contributed to the fact that the Australian travel market was not hit as badly as other markets, namely the US as international travel destinations, The United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other Islamic countries. The relative safety of Australia became an object of question after the Bali attack on November 12th 2002 and Australia's current involvement in the war on Iraq. To show the economic impact of these political and cultural aspects of globalisation let us look at Qantas.

As a result of recent events, Qantas chief financial officer Peter Gregg and boss Geoff Dixon announced that the airline will cut down 1400 jobs. Another reason for the axing of jobs is the SARS outbreak in Asia. As shown in the statistics of the ATC, the Asian market was the one with the biggest prospected growth, e.g. an annual growth of 17% of arrivals from China until 2012. Of course it is to be expected that the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak will come under control in the not so distant future, but it will have an impact on the forecasted figures and hopes of the Australian tourism and aviation industry. The example of tourism shows us realistically how much the global economies are linked and interact with the global political, social and cultural aspects of globalisation. Globalisation certainly comes with benefits like improved communication, mobility and economic growth, but it is also a fragile concept that is susceptible to changes.

Globalisation will continue but is subject to temporary influences which may occur from time to time, such as resurgence of protectionism or world-wide recession which many commentators in newspapers and journals (e.g. Bulletin) are currently warning of. As long as the gap between the "winners" and the "losers" is continuously growing bigger, we will have to look at both sides more carefully to try and gain a better balance. Hence it is simply impossible to be for or against globalisation and a critical view of both sides is necessary.

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