SOFIA HIGH SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS

Department of Foreign Languages.

English Language Section

GLOBALISATION

Prepared by:
Boris Goranoff * Daniel Ivanov * Denis Milanov
Dimitar Vasev * Iliyan Nikolov

Teacher: Mr Konstantin Dimitrov M. A.

Sofia, 2020
GLOBLE PROJECT
A book about Globalisation
Sofia High School of Mathematics
Department of Foreign Languages
English Language Section
Authors:
Boris Goranoff
Daniel Ivanov
Denis Milanov
Dimitar Vasev
Iliyan Nikolov
Teacher: Mr. Konstantin Dimitrov M. A.
Sofia, 2020
All rights reserved.
Contents
Globalisation /Introduction/ ......................................................... 4
Global Sociology ......................................................................... 6
Definition ................................................................................ 6
Historical development of globalization ................................. 7
Aspects ................................................................................. 10
Labor rights of the people ................................................. 10
Digital media and online communication .......................... 13
The impact of globalization on education ......................... 15
Impact of the coronavirus pandemic on mentality ............ 18
Negative sides of globalization ............................................ 22
Conclusion............................................................................ 25
Global Culture ........................................................................... 26
Culture .................................................................................. 27
Cultural globalisation ............................................................ 33
The consequences of cultural globalisation ......................... 40
Cultural preservation ............................................................ 46
Global Politics ........................................................................... 49
In Favour of The Political Globalization ............................... 49
Against The Political Globalization ...................................... 60
Global Mind ............................................................................... 68
The World Citizen ................................................................. 68
The Beginning ...................................................................... 79
World the modern motherland .......................................... 85
Global and Google times /Conclusion/ ..................................... 92
 GLOBALISATION 4

GLOBALISATION
Introduction
by Boris Goranoff

Over the past few decades and mainly because of the recent
developments of technology, people have become aware of the
importance of globalisation as a process and the significance of
its consequences. As a result, the true origins of this process, as
well as the ways to prevent it, have become rather controversial
issues these days.

Generally, although it is a commonly held view that globalisation

itself is something utterly disastrous for humanity, it does actually
have a number of positive effects on people s lives, including the
stimulation of the world economics and the simplification of the
communication between people all around the globe. Therefore,
this idea of a process also represents a tool and a side effect.
That is why the nature of globalisation is so complex and it is right
to think of it as an ambivalent concept, which is difficult to be
clearly defined.

The aim of this book is to look at globalisation from a fresh angle

and not only analyse the true nature of this process in a
meaningful way, but also elaborate on its consequences and the
5 GLOBALISATION

already existing, as well as the possible, ways for minimising the

negative effects it has on humanity in general.

In order to ensure the reader s complete understanding of the

given information, the concept of globalisation will be divided in
several parts, so that each of those parts is analysed
independently. As a result, the simplicity of the analysis of this
rather complex process will be guaranteed.
 GLOBALISATION 6

Global Sociology
by Iliyan Nikolov

Definition
Globalization has no exact definition because of its all-
encompassing influence on the people s lives around the world.
There are many definitions but here I will dwell on a few of the
more prominent ones:

1) Sociologists Martin Albrow and Elizabeth King define

globalization as "All those processes by which the people of the
world are incorporated into a single world society."

2) In The Consequences of Modernity, Anthony Giddens writes:

"Globalization can thus be defined as the intensification of
worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a
way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many
miles away and vice versa."

3) In 1992, Roland Robertson, professor of sociology at the

University of Aberdeen and an early writer in the field, described
globalization as "The compression of the world and the
intensification of the consciousness of the world as a whole."

4) Swedish journalist Thomas Larsson, in his book The Race to

the Top: The Real Story of Globalization, states that
globalization: "is the process of world shrinkage, of distances
7 Global Sociology

getting shorter, things moving closer. It pertains to the increasing

ease with which somebody on one side of the world can interact,
to mutual benefit, with somebody on the other side of the world"

There are many more definitions, but most sociologists unite

around the thesis that globalization is an ongoing process that
involves interconnected changes in the economic, cultural,
social, and political spheres of society. As a process, it involves
the ever-increasing integration of these aspects between
nations, regions, communities, and even seemingly isolated
places.

Forward in the project from time to time I will talk about the
economic side of globalization, but this is just to explain the
reasons for the changes in the social sphere of the problem.

Historical development of globalization

Some of the hallmarks of modern globalization can be seen in
the great powers of the past, but mention must be made of the
first social system to spread despite long distances- the Hellenic
structure of policies extending throughout the Mediterranean.
The Greeks imposed the vertical structure of society, with the
slaves deprived of all rights at the bottom and the male citizens
of the polis who are at the top of the ladder can vote. During the
Middle Ages, man large states were created, but this didn t help
the development of globalization, on the contrary, it slowed it
down.
 GLOBALISATION 8

Globalization began to take on its modern sizes during the era of

the Great Geographical Discoveries. At this time, an intensified
exchange of goods, communities of people, culture and
infectious diseases began. This exchange reached a global scale
for the first time in history. In the 17th century, one of the main
features of modern globalization appeared - the first
transnational private companies- the British East India Company
and the Dutch East India Company, which received from their
national governments monopoly rights to trade with certain parts
of the world. In the 19th century, globalization gradually began to
take its modern forms. Industrialization allows for cheap
production of consumer goods, and rapid population growth
creates a growing demand for raw materials. This is also the time
when society is divided into classes entirely on how much money
you own, and not as before in whose home you were born. For
the first time the word "globalization", in the sense of "intensive
international trade" was used by Karl Marx, who in a letter to
Friedrich Engels in the late 1850s. writes: "Now the world market
really exists. With the entry of California and Japan into the world
market, globalization has occurred". The process of globalization
slowed down in the early 20th century due to the contraction of
international trade caused by the effects of the Great Depression
and the subsequent trend towards protectionist policies in
developed countries, but the process accelerated after the end
of World War II. At that time, the United Nations was established,
the process of European integration began and the idea of
9 Global Sociology

strengthening international contacts as a means of preventing a

new global military conflict became widespread. International
institutions are being set up to assist in the processes of
globalization - the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund. In the following decades, a series of international
agreements under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,
and later the World Trade Organization, significantly reduced
barriers to free trade between countries. Thus, from 1970 to
2001, the volume of world exports increased from 8.5% to 16.2%
of world gross domestic product. In the second half of the 20th
century, the intensification of international economic cooperation
led to the development of large multinational corporations,
usually based in developed countries. The exchange of new
scientific and technical developments, of cultural products such
as films, music and television programs is intensifying.

The factors for the rapid development of globalization in the world

in the 21st century are: extremely fast transport, which literally
shrinks the world - for example, from Sofia I can get to New York
in 9 hours by plane, and my great-grandfather needed a week to
get from the village of Blateshnitsa to the city of Sofia on foot (the
distance is about 75 km in a straight line); unhindered
international trade; and perhaps the strongest factor determining
globalization is the Internet, as it is the fastest, most convenient
and cheapest means of transferring information between people
from around the world.
 GLOBALISATION 10

Aspects
Labor rights of the people

The problem I will present stems from the problems in economics

and law, but it has a direct impact on people's lives. This problem
is given a place as a term in sociology and economics precariat.
The term is a combined word obtained by fusing precarious with
proletariat. Precariat refers to people who suffer from a life status
without predictability or security, which affects material and / or
psychological well-being. This, in a sense, distinguishes another
class in our modern society, namely the Precariat class. It can be
defined as the class of workers who do not have their own means
of production, sell their labor and are characterized by a lack of
job security, or in other words there are interruptions between the
individual jobs that are occupied or unemployment. The
difference between the proletariat and the precariat is that the
Proletariat of the 20th century also has no means of production,
sells its labor, but has permanent employment, while the
Precariat has no permanent employment and this can lead to
criminal activity or illegal labor. The British economist and
sociologist Professor Guy Standing identifies five labor-based
groups in modern Western society:

1) The elite is a limited number of super-rich people;

2) Salariat- upper middle class with stable full employment and

salaries (preferably executives);
11 Global Sociology

3) Professionals - people with a stable position due to their

knowledge and skills;

4) The core is the "old" working class;

5) The Precariat are socially disadvantaged people who do not

have full guaranteed employment.

For greater completeness, I will mention the social groups that

make up the Precariat, according to Russian sociologist
Professor Jean Toshchenko:

1) Permanently employed on a temporary basis (30-40% of the

working population);

2) Part-time work or interruption of seasonal and occasional

additional income;

3) Unemployed population;

4) Self-employed people in creative professions;

5) Some of the migrants who are often discriminated against

6) Trainees and some students who agree to work below their

means in the hope of gaining a stable position in society and the
profession.

The reasons for this phenomenon are the consequences of

globalization, characterized by the liberalization of trade and
capital flows and the intensification of international competition.
 GLOBALISATION 12

To win the competition, companies are beginning to require their

countries to simplify labor laws, arguing that too heavy labor laws
do not meet the requirements of globalization, which requires a
flexible labor market. This leads to the fact that workers' rights in
developed countries are becoming less and less protected. In
developed countries, there is a tendency to transform previously
guaranteed employment relationships into unjustified and
unprotected ones, which includes such types of work as a fixed-
term employment contract, part-time work with little or no social
guarantees, imaginary independent work, on-call work and etc.
This is how the Precariat is formed.

Here is a brief psychological description of a person belonging to

the Precariat: many people define themselves as "middle class",
in fact the can t be classified in this class due to the uncertaint
of employment contracts. The Precariat is often aware of its
unstable social situation, different behaviors are possible for
people from this social class: humility with the situation, attempts
to adapt, active actions (from actions against the ruling regime to
criminal activity). The representatives of the Precariat are
characterized by "personal position of non-participation and
mental non-belonging to the professional ethics, socially
accepted for the profession, internal classification of oneself as
morality of another environment, professional or non-
professional".
13 Global Sociology

Another problem arising from globalization in the social sphere is

the overeducation. It affects in particular the education system
and labor relations when the overproduction of highly educated
professionals doesn t meet the needs of the labor market. As a
result, graduates are forced to accept jobs that often do not
require higher education and qualifications. This in turn limits the
employment opportunities of people with secondary education.
Employment that is not related to the acquired specialty becomes
a clear problem, which leads young people to the group of
unstable workers.

Digital media and online communication

In this part I will talk about digital media, something that is

extremely important today, because we get information from
them, and nowadays it would not be an exaggeration to say that
information is often more important than the money. The advent
of Internet-based digital media has led to profound changes in
the nature and organization of modern communications. What is
new about digital media is that with them the connection is two-
way, unlike the "traditional" media (if there are still any), which
are essentially one-way, ie. their purpose is only to inform people
and the only form of feedback is to write a letter to the editor.
Some researchers in this field, such as Mark Balanves and
Stephanie Donald, believe that there are four revolutions in the
history of the media: the first is the creation of the alphabet in
ancient Greece, which led to the ability to write; followed by the
 GLOBALISATION 14

invention of the printing press; the development of radio and

television; and the advent of the computer and social media.
Some research shows that the Internet has successfully
introduced three revolutionary elements in communication. The
first is related to the electronic versions of the news products of
the print media, radio and television programs. The second- with
online databases with reliable information such as scientific
literature and other sources of information. The third - cheap
ways for users to publish content - in most cases comments and
analysis for news.

The new public space is characterized by open, spontaneous,

multifaceted, reasoned communication. It brings together many
points of view on various issues, allows criticism from consumers
and protection of their interests. Open media is another feature
of the new type of communication. Access to the media is open
- free of charge, without subscription, openness to comments and
feedback, openness to participation, openness to editing, as in
the case of Wikipedia and openness to own production and
control, as in YouTube. Today we live in a time when everyone
can write, share, check everything they are interested in with the
push of a few buttons. This fact is not new, but the entry of
consumers into the work process of communication specialists is
increasingly being discussed. A large percentage of people
search for the necessary information on the Internet, they seek
the opinions of people who are active in the online space, which
15 Global Sociology

puts the company in a changed environment, which in turn

changes the requirements for communications. One of the most
significant changes that has made companies think about what
is happening today is the loss of control over consumers. In the
past, they had the peace of mind that people remain passive
because of their inability to express their opinions publicly.
Following the emergence of new communication channels, it has
been publicly stated that control in the information age is no
longer only in the hands of companies, it is also in the hands of
consumers. There is talk of complete freedom for consumers in
the online environment, but in fact it has not yet reached its peak,
because companies, the state and everyone who is accustomed
to exercising control find it difficult to give it up and try to censor
what is said- by erasing criticism of them and leaving only
positive comments or by putting people in an information
blackout towards certain events. I think this is one of the reasons
why our country is in over a hundredth place in the rankings for
freedom of speech.

The impact of globalization on education

Of all the topics, I will pay particular attention to that of education,

as it directly affects me at this moment. I will present the concept
of global education and the reasons that will probably impose it
in the future. In the next few decades, the "traditional" education
I am currently studying will fall into a kind of hole from which it
will not be able to escape. The reason for this is that the main
 GLOBALISATION 16

idea in the structure of "traditional" education is the layering of

knowledge during the years of study, in order to get to know the
world, which unfortunately in the foreseeable future will change
at a very high pace and in unknown directions, so in the end it
will turn out that people were not prepared for the world in which
they live. Education faces a key problem - to prepare young
people for life in change without knowing exactly the outlines and
characteristics of the world for which it prepares. The model of
the open world without borders, with unclear perspectives and no
less clear risks can hardly be systematized in the traditional
educational schemes of education, of relations between teachers
and students, between educational theoretical models and
practice.

Slow-growing global education, aimed at building global

awareness of the world and understanding the world by studying
its problems, is something that responds to new trends in
education. It can only be a knowledge-giving education that
brings together different subject areas to understand the world.
This education is about problems, about things that happen
around school, in the life of the young person, and in the world
as a whole. It is an education that explores the connections from
which the modern world is woven, as well as education that
teaches critical thinking and attitude to the world, education that
involves building attitudes for participation, for activism, for
inclusion in the world. It not only develops the young person's
17 Global Sociology

personality, but also connects him with the practice. It is an

education for experiencing one's own humanity by exploring and
understanding the conditions of one's own existence and at the
same time developing attitudes of solidarity, cooperation, helping
others.

In the current situation with distance learning, it is clear to

everyone that the effectiveness of the learning process has
decreased, at least because in most schools the programs are
very limited in terms of number and duration of hours. As a
student in SMG, I am pleased that we continue the program and
do not lag behind the material, which speaks of the exceptional
professionalism of teachers who are willing to give much of their
free time just so that their favorite students do not suffer from
measures such as extension of the school year during the
summer vacation or even announcing a zero year as it was said
in the public space. Distance learning has its advantages and
disadvantages over school. The advantages of distance learning
are: the work can be done from home, as long as there is a
computer or laptop connected to the Internet, which saves time
for transport to and from school; allows work with interactive
technologies during the learning process. Its disadvantages are:
distance learning is not as effective as in school, due to poorer
communication between teacher and students, as it has been
proven that in the process of communication people receive 10%;
30%; 60% of all information, respectively, through the spoken
 GLOBALISATION 18

sentences, the intonation of the voice and the non-verbal

communication (position of the body in space, facial expressions,
gestures, etc.); more difficult exams due to easier copying. In my
opinion, distance learning, except during an epidemiological
situation, can be used in more limited cases, for example:
children with disabilities, children living in a settlement without a
school and forced to travel to the nearest village to get an
education.

Impac of he corona ir s pandemic on people s

mental health
In the last months, after the outbreak of a new coronavirus
infection (COVID-19) on 31 December 2019 among humans in
Wuhan (China), an increasing amount of information and
concerns are impacting on global mental health. Global media,
local and international health organizations (including World
Health Organization), epidemiologists, virologists and opinion-
makers put out information, recommendations and minute-by-
minute updates on COVID-19 spreading and lethality.
Nevertheless, the burden of this infection on the global mental
health is currently neglected even if it may challenge patients,
general population, as well as policy makers and health
organizations and teams. Even if the impact of this epidemic on
global mental health is not registered and measured, similar
information may be derived by previous experiences with
coronavirus infections. During the 2003 SARS-CoV outbreak in
Taiwan, most of the staff in the emergency department and in the
19 Global Sociology

psychiatric ward developed post-traumatic stress disorder

(PTSD). Also, emergency department staff have shown more
severe PTSD symptoms than staff in the psychiatric ward.
Emergency professional, in fact, reported the feeling of
interpersonal isolation and the fear that they would transmit the
virus to their relatives. Medical staff also stated that the use of
heavy protective suits and N95 masks made communication
between staff members very difficult with related psychological
distress. Psychological adaptation was described among health
personnel who had access to well-equipped and structured
environment. During the 2015 Korean MERS-CoV outbreak, the
influences of stigma and hardiness had a direct impact on mental
health of health personnel working on public hospitals.

In the COVID-19 epidemic, medical workers all over the world

are working with high risk of infection and inadequate protection
against contamination, overwork, frustration, discrimination,
isolation, patients with negative emotions, a lack of contact with
their families and exhaustion. The current situation is causing
mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, depressive
symptoms, insomnia, denial, anger and fear. These mental
health problems not only affect attention, understanding and
decision-making capacity of medical workers, which could hinder
the fight against COVID-19, but they could also have a lasting
effect on their overall well-being. The prevalence in the general
population of PTSD has been ranging from 4% to 41%; the
 GLOBALISATION 20

prevalence of major depression increased by 7% after the

outbreak. There are some factors that may increase the risk of
developing such conditions as described: female sex, lower
socioeconomic status, interpersonal conflicts, frequent social
media use, lower resilience and lack of social support.

During each community crisis, people often seek out event-

related information to stay informed on what is happening.
However, when information from official channels is lacking or is
irregularly disseminated, people may be exposed to some social
and media misleading information. In a study conducted on a
University lockdown after a shooter incident in the United States,
those subjects receiving conflicting information about the
lockdown reported much higher levels of acute stress. Those
subjects who had direct contact via phone text messages and
used social media for critical updates during the lockdown were
exposed to more contradictory information and stress. Also,
higher acute stress was reported by heavy social media users in
the study. This report highlights the importance of releasing
substantive official updates at regular intervals during a crisis
event and monitoring social media to reduce exposure to
misleading information and distress. First, people s emotional
responses are likely to include extreme fear and uncertainty, and
negative social behaviors will often be driven by fear and
distorted perceptions of risk. Second, special efforts should be
directed to vulnerable populations, including (1) infected and sick
21 Global Sociology

patients, their families and colleagues, (2) individuals and their

relationships with the community, (3) individuals with preexisting
medical conditions (both physical and/or mental), (4) health care
providers, especially nurses and doctors who work directly with
sick or quarantined people. Finally, the degree of psychological
stress that health professionals and others might face and the
risks of vulnerable populations should be considered in the
decision-making of the crisis.

Although studies related to mental health in patients with COVID-

19 are scarce, several authors highlight that it is possible to
predict more or less the expected consequences in mental and
physical health of the most vulnerable parts of the population.
Community psychological interventions and support might have
some effects in reducing PTSD symptoms, depressive and
anxiety symptoms in adults during these stressful events. More
evidence-base research is needed, particularly on the impact of
these interventions in children and adolescents over longer
periods of follow-up. The current focus on the transmission of
COVID-19 infection all over the world may probably distract
public attention from psychosocial consequences of the outbreak
in the affected individuals and in the general population. The
emerging mental health issues related to this global event may
evolve into long-lasting health problems, isolation etc. Global
health measures should be employed to address psychosocial
stressors, particularly related to the use of isolation/quarantine,
 GLOBALISATION 22

fear and vulnerability among the general population. A worldwide

inclusive response should include a focus on mental health
impact of patients and general population. The information from
media and social network should be closely controlled and
community supportive psychological interventions globally
promoted.

Negative sides of globalization

Opponents of globalization reject the argument that globalization
is a source of prosperity and progress. They often talk about the
negative sides of this process and argue that globalization has
caused the most dramatic increase in global inequality and
poverty. According to them positive effects of globalization are
not evenly spread worldwide. Some parts of the world are
excluded, including a whole continent, namely Africa. African
countries, as well as many developing countries do not benefit
from the globalization process. On the contrary, the vast majority
of African people are marginalized and exploited by the West.
The exclusion of Africa from the benefits of the globalization
process and the social marginalization of the vast majority of its
peoples constitute a serious threat to global stability.
Globalization process has not brought prosperity in Africa but
rather greater and widespread poverty. International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and World Bank forced African countries to pursue
Open Market Policy which caused a dramatic increase in poverty
in Africa and widened the gap between rich and poor. The Open-
23 Global Sociology

up Market policy has caused enormous damage to the economic

infrastructure and the industrial basis of many African countries.
The continent which could feed itself twenty years ago, has now
become a net importer of food. Globalization has caused the
most dramatic increase in inequalities between countries of
North and the South, as costs of imports from the former have
continued to increase while prices for the products manufactured
by the latter have actually decreased. Opponents of globalization
argue that this process leads to the weakening of power and
influence of nation-states. Trade often transcends national
boundaries and most of the products are manufactured by
multinational corporations. These are companies that operate in
more than one country and have become very powerful
economic and political entities nowadays. The revenues of
multinational companies and transnational corporations very
often exceed the combined gross domestic product of several
developing countries. It has to be taken into account that more
than half of the world s largest economies toda are corporations,
not nation-states. According to statistical data of the World Bank
of the world s largest 150 economic entities, 95 are corporations
(63.3%). Wal-Mart is regarded as the largest multinational
corporation of the planet. With revenue of $287,989,000,000
($287.99 billion) it is 22nd largest economic entity. It has more
revenue than countries like Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Norway,
Denmark, Poland, South Africa, Greece, Finland, Ireland,
Portugal, etc. (Mongabay.com, 2005).Thus, state s economic
 GLOBALISATION 24

power has declined in the era of globalization. There has been a

shift in power away from the nation-state towards multinational
corporations. Because of the great power of transnational
corporations and international organizations, states are no longer
regarded as the main actors in international relations. These
institutions have become very influential actors in international
relations and they are powerful enough to impose their ideas on
national governments and influence political decisions.

Globalization offers no protection to working people or to

developing nations from the often exploitative practices of
multinational corporations. Neo-Marxists often describe
transnational companies as the instruments of exploitation and
oppression. These companies are constantly looking for cheap
natural resources and cheap labor force and therefore, often
move to peripheral countries where they can easily exploit people
and radically reduce the cost of manufactured products. MNCs
clearly pay workers in developing countries far less than workers
in industrialized capitalist countries, where labor force is
expensive. MNCs transfer domestic jobs overseas and cause
unemployment in man countries comprising the North .
Globalization, especially overseas outsourcing decreases job
security. (Pillai, 2010) The idea of permanent emplo ment
barely exists in the era of globalization. If earlier people had
permanent and secure employment, now they live in constant
fear of losing their jobs. Manufacturing jobs are outsourced to
25 Global Sociology

developing nations like China or India where the cost of

manufacturing goods and wages are lower. Millions of workers
have lost their jobs because of the outsourcing of manufacturing
employment to poor countries. This is the reason why the
activities of transnational companies and multinational
corporations often cause discontent and outrage among the
workers of the industrialized nations.

Conclusion
In general, globalization may slow its development in and after
the current coronavirus crisis, but it is only a matter of time before
it returns to its former pace and is likely to reach planetary
society. In my opinion, the main reason for globalization is that
humans are social animals and in order to survive they must
cooperate with others, regardless of the age in which they live.
The simplest proof of this is that people have united from tribes
into communities, from communities into nations, and it is only a
matter of time before nations melt and become a planetary
society.
 GLOBALISATION 26

Global Economics
by Daniel Ivanov
27 Global Culture

Global Culture
by Boris Goranoff

What is culture?
In order to build an image of what cultural globalisation is, it is
crucial to analyse the nature of this term, this phrase .
Obviously, it is built by two distinguished terms globalisation
and culture. Since the purpose of this book is to define
globalisation through all its aspects, it is evident that it cannot be
defined in the few pages of this chapter. However, in order to
show the nature and, respectively, the effects of globalisation on
human life through its cultural aspect, a definition of the term
culture seems eminent. However eminent it is, though, hardl
is there a single, true interpretation of the meaning of this word,
which not only is due to its significance, but also to its
ambivalence, for it itself has many aspects in human life.
Therefore, this chapter is to build an idea about what culture is,
in order to analyse the nature of cultural globalisation, by
reviewing each and every one of its aspects. It is important to
note that, although every community has its own, specific culture,
for the sake of accuracy, this chapter will only analyse the culture
of a nation so that its aspects can be linked to globalisation more
straightforwardly. However, all the examples provided apply to
every group of people and its cultural specifications.
 GLOBALISATION 28

Values

Every nation is defined b people s values. Therefore, those

values are undoubtedl part of the nation s culture and the ma
just as well be its most important, central, aspect. However,
although no one can doubt that this statement is logical, it is still
rather controversial, for values also define the meaning of life
specifically for every individual, which differentiate the term
value from just an ordinar aspect of the culture. Therefore, it is
important for a stable inductive link to be establish between the
values of the individual and those of the whole culture. This
connection is to be established through the other numerous
aspects of the culture, because the cultural values are not just a
mere standardisation of individual values, their nature is
considerably more complex and cannot be defined by providing
a single interpretation of what the meaning of a value is.

Language

The connection between culture and people s different

languages, however, can be observed more straightforwardly, as
it is more obvious. Every single nation has its language, which
defines it as a distinct nation. However, the country is not always
an equivalent of the nation, and usually every country has its own
language, and there are also a number of countries which have
the same language as well. How come then does the language
differentiate one nation from another?
29 Global Culture

Firstly, the importance of different accents is not to be

overlooked. Although those mostly do not represent a
characteristic of a certain nation, there are numerous cases that
show how the accent can differentiate one nation from another
as a part of the definition of their culture. English accents clearly
exemplify this tendency there is British English accent, which
is a major characteristic of the British nation, and American
English accent, which defines the American. There are a lot of
other examples such as the difference between the Spanish
accents in Spain and those in Latin America.

Moreover, local dialects also play crucial role in defining the

culture of a nation. There are many nations which do not have
their own country, but can still be clearly distinguished. Those
local dialects are usually a matter of historical significance. For
example, there was a highly specific dialect of Bulgarian in
Western Macedonia, which can still be observed in the south
western part of Bulgaria. However, the influence of Serbia,
combined with many political problems in the 19th and 20th
centuries led to the appearance of a new country with its own
language in this area of the Balkan Peninsula The Republic of
North Macedonia. And although there are still many disputes
about whether this country should be a part of Bulgaria, its people
have already established their own nation which, although in
some way rather chaotic and artificial, is now highly differentiated
from the Bulgarian nation. This historical event shows how a
 GLOBALISATION 30

specific dialect can in certain conditions form a different nation

and therefore, be a major part of its culture.

In light of the above, the language plays a key role in forming the
definition of the term culture. Not only is it a characteristic of the
culture of a certain community, but it can also be the cause for
the forming of such a community, which demonstrates the
significance of culture itself.

Knowledge

In the third book of his Essa concerning human understanding ,

John Locke proves the existence of a connection between the
human understanding, human knowledge, and the language.
Locke s theor of human knowledge is corpuscular he defines
knowledge as made of ideas. Therefore, language becomes an
instrument for communicating those ideas, and thus, for
communicating knowledge.

However, Locke s theor of knowledge is empirical, he claims

that ideas are built on experience and therefore, they are different
for every individual. However, we would not discuss the
ambivalent nature of ideas and knowledge, but its connection to
the culture of a certain communit . According to Locke s
empirical theory of knowledge, the absence of a universal
language clearly exemplifies the purely functional, pragmatical,
nature of the language it serves solely for communicating ideas
and knowledge that is relevant for the particular culture. This
31 Global Culture

relevance shows how every culture has its specific knowledge

and how this knowledge is applied through language. For
instance, one eskimos tribe has several words for snow and
therefore, this tribe has a number of ideas for snow that
demonstrate its unique culture.

As shown above, knowledge is also part of the non specific

definition of culture, which is realised through language and its
diversity.

Stories

Every community with distinguished culture has its own stories,

which are part of its folklore. Seemingly, those stories do not play
such an important role as language or knowledge in the definition
of a particular culture and thus, the whole term culture , the onl
increase the cultural wealth of the nation. However, this
statement is not true, as such stories are an important aspect of
the culture itself not only can they be defined as a characteristic
of a particular language, but they also influence the
understanding of the meaning of life for the people, who are part
of the particular nation

Firstly, the stories which are part of the national folklore, are a
quality of the national language. Not only do they demonstrate
the linguistic wealth of the particular language, but they also
differentiate it from other languages by forming most of its idioms.
For example, in Bulgaria there is a particular type of stories
 GLOBALISATION 32

those about Krali Marko . This legendar image appeared some

when in the fourteenth century, when the Bulgarians were being
conquered by the Ottomans. Actually, it was inspired by the
Serbian king Marko, who ruled over the greater part of northern
Macedonia during those years. However, what is most significant
about this myth, is that, as the time when it appeared was difficult
for the Bulgarian nation, Marko became a symbol of strength and
courage. As a result, a significant number of idioms appeared in
the Bulgarian language, concerning this symbolism of the figure
of Krali Marko.

Furthermore, many of those folklore stories are a reflection of the

life of the people, who belong to a certain nation, and therefore,
they are a representation of its culture. In my view, this is the
most significant aspect of the folklore stories for the formation of
a communit s culture. For e ample, most of those stories
emerge from real events in the lives of people and villages in
particular. Therefore, they demonstrate the moral values of the
whole nation, which, as we already determined, are central for a
specific culture, since they are formed by all those culture
aspects we are analysing.

Therefore, the stories which are part of the national folklore, are
neither just an attribute of the nation s culture, nor a mere
representation of it. On the contrary, they are a significant cultural
aspect and thus, form the definition of this term.
33 Global Culture

The arts

However, all those cultural aspects are directly connected to the

specific language in some way, which creates an illusion that
solely language is a central aspect of a particular culture. This is
hardl the case, though, as the nature of the term. culture is
considerably more complex than it seems.

The arts obviously play a key role in the definition of the currently
analysed term it is difficult to form an image of a nation without
envisaging its national arts that are usuall the central
representative of the national folklore.

What is cultural globalisation?

After establishing a clear idea, or vision, about culture itself, it is
necessar for linking this essa to the topic Cultural
Globalisation to define how a specific, for e ample local, culture
can be globalised. Since globalisation itself is already described
clearly, in order to look into the cultural aspect of it, it is crucial to
analyse the globalisation in the different components of the term
culture , which are alread clearl defined. As a result, the
definition of cultural globalisation will be doubtless, since its
grounds are the simply the parts of this term culture and
globalisation. With that said, the next sections of this essay will
be organised in the same structure of the previous ones so that
readability is ensured.
 GLOBALISATION 34

Values

In the lines above, this central aspect of a certain culture was

alread clearl defined as the defining factor of this specific
culture. Therefore, its globalisation is the cultural globalisation
itself, since both terms are equal in terms of their definitions.
However, that is also wh this globalisation of values cannot be
described without looking into each and every aspect of those
values once again, because, if it is defined without including all
those factors, all those aspects, into its definition, this definition
will doubtlessly be incomplete, because of its recursive
character.

However, a deduction such as this made above cannot simply be

stated, because of the complex nature of both terms culture
and globalisation. Why cannot we define cultural globalisation
by just analysing the so-called globalisation of values ? Well,
this is because the values are actually all the components which
build the abstract idea of culture. It is just like a computer
program without all of its components, the program will be
incomplete. Therefore, without analysing all the values one by
one, all the aspects of a specific culture, we cannot doubtlessly
say what cultural globalisation actually is. With that said, the next
few pages will be dedicated solely to looking more deeply into
those components , those independent terms which form the
complex idea of culture, so that the concept of cultural
globalisation can be fully understood by the reader.
35 Global Culture

Language

The connection between language, the ideas of different people,

different nation, and therefore, their values, is rather complex. As
it has already been defined a few lines above, the language is a
tool for expressing all of our ideas by providing us with the
categories, through which we can think this ideas. Every
language also has independently meaningless words, which help
its users actually form a whole sentence and be understood by
others. Therefore, language is unique for every community,
which is usually represented by a nation, and, by being the tool
for communicating ideas, for communicating knowledge, it is
central for every culture.

However, its uniqueness arouses several problems. How can

such a thing, unique for every community, become globalised?
Since we already showed that a global language does not and
cannot exist, how come we talk about cultural globalisation when
the central concepts for communicating values cannot be fully
globalised?

Well, it seems that, although a language cannot be fully

globalised, there are some languages which dominate over
others. The popularity of English clearly exemplifies one such
tendency. This language has become so popular that it is used
by billions of people around the world in order to communicate
their ideas despite the fact that their native languages, the
 GLOBALISATION 36

languages that are part of their native culture as a national

culture, are completely different. However, although there are
many examples of predominant languages, popular languages
that are used by several nations, those examples are just
instances of a certain tool, called language, they are instances of
one same category. Why, then, do some languages become so
widely used that they start to seem like universal languages?

There are several reasons for this. The first one is of a purely
historic nature. For instance, the UK had a number of colonies in
the past and some of them, as groups of people, by accepting
the English language, undermined part of their culture. However,
the consequences of the Cultural globalisation as an event will
be covered later in this essay. For now, it is important to establish
the idea of histor pla ing a central role in this linguistic
globalisation .

However, there is yet another important reason for some

languages becoming more popular than others, and that is
practicality. Some languages, being less connected to a specific
culture have become more practical for everyday use for the
majority of people. For example, the language of an eskimo tribe
that has six words for snow depending on its nature is
considerably more complex, connected to the specific culture
and therefore far more impractical.
37 Global Culture

Knowledge

As already mentioned several times in this essay, languages are

tools for communicating knowledge. Therefore, all the reasons
for the linguistic globalisation can be applied to the globalisation
of knowledge . However, there is one difference between these
two t pes , instances of globalisation, and that is significance.
It is evident that the globalisation of knowledge is significantl
more significant than that of language, since knowledge itself
consists of ideas. And if one was to anal se the term value as
a corpuscular part of a certain culture, on would find that the
value is nothing more than an idea. Therefore, since knowledge
consists of values and values are ideas, it is clear that the
globalisation of knowledge is a globalisation of values, therefore
a globalisation of culture, which is realised through nature.

However, this is not the end of the analysis of the cultural

globalisation in this essay. Although knowledge consists of
values and it is evident how values can be globalised through
linguistic globalisation, there are some aspects of knowledge,
which are not connected to the term language, at least not in the
obvious way. Such aspect of a certain culture are the arts, which
were not analysed in a definitive way above.
 GLOBALISATION 38

The arts

Firstly, it is important to establish the differences between the arts

and an ordinary language, since the arts can also be described
as a language, although without its rationality.

Just like a language, the arts are also a way of communicating

ideas by putting them into different categories. However, unlike
an ordinar language, the do so b using the person s emotions.
If we were to make a rather naïve analogy between languages
and programming languages, the arts act as an assembly
languages, which interact with the human internally.

However, although an analogy between the arts and an ordinary

language is possible, it does not define the globalisation of the
arts completely. There are several more aspects of the arts which
should be described. However, those nature of those aspects of
the arts is rather complex, because this nature is emotional,
rather than rational. That is why they will not be described
theoretically, but using an example, so that these concepts can
be simplified without modifying their definition. Such an example
would be the various directions in art, for instance Cubism or
Impressionism. These directions do not actually depend on a
particular culture and therefore, their internationality guarantees
the globalisation in art in the same way as how history shapes
the national art. As a result, not only are the arts a cultural aspect,
39 Global Culture

but they are also a factor for the realisation of the cultural
globalisation, which makes its nature so complex.

However, the complexity of the arts does not end here, and that
is why giving it a clear definition is so difficult. Until now art was
described as a cultural aspect and a factor for the realisation of
the cultural globalisation, but it is also a micro culture itself,
since it does not depend on different communities such as
nations. Furthermore, the arts are expressed with ideas, so using
the arts people also communicate knowledge, they communicate
values. That is why globalisation is so obvious in the arts
because of their complexity. Therefore, the arts serve as an
example in this essay for the process of cultural globalisation and
what is the result of such process.

In light of the above, cultural globalisation is possible because of

the fact that the culture is built of ideas, values, and therefore, it
is something that can be standardised, which is due to the
uniqueness of these values. However, such standardising
undermines the concept of culture and therefore, the outcomes
of it are not always positive, on the contrary, they may have
harmful effects on humanity as a whole, since a specific culture
represents the traditions that keep the society stable. That is why
it is crucial to determine the results of the cultural globalisation
and the ways for preventing it without halting progress and
modernisation.
 GLOBALISATION 40

What are the consequences of cultural

globalisation?
With culture and globalisation in culture clearly defined, it is time
to anal se the actual consequences of this aspect of the
globalisation as a process. However, it is a common mistake for
people to think that the consequences of cultural globalisation
and globalisation in general are a clear concept that has its
positive and, respectively, negative side. On the contrary, this is
hardly the case, since globalisation is a process which mostly
concerns people and therefore, its analysis by people is far from
straightforward. The concept for pros and cons with cultural
globalisation literally does not exist, since most of the
consequences of it have mi ed effects on people s lives and life
in general. Therefore, this essay does not aim for clarity and
definitive explanation of how globalisation affects life, but for the
most complete one.

In order to ensure that the reader is not perplexed at all while

analysing the results of a rather complex process such as
globalisation, this part of the essay is structured in the same way
as the two parts above, reflecting thoroughly most of the aspects,
or particles, that form the term cultural globalisation . However,
unlike before, this analysis will hardly be a traditional one it will
be far from rational, because of the nature of the examined
consequences.
41 Global Culture

Values

What can be more closely connected to cultural globalisation,

and, globalisation at all, than people s values. However, as we
alread established, the nature a value as a term is incredibl
complex, therefore, analysing the consequences of the
globalisation of values on its own will provide an incomplete
explanation of their nature. Therefore, the next few pages will be
dedicated to looking into most of the aspects of cultural
globalisation, which we already defined, and establishing how
the affect people s lives.

Before that, though, it is crucial to understand the nature of the

consequences of what we call globalisation of values , since its
complexity cannot be just stated. With that said, the globalisation
of a nation s traditions clearl e emplifies this ambivalence of the
analysed consequences. On the one hand, with the growth of
globalisation as a process, many nations and communities in
general lose their traditions as they become part of the modern
world . However, although this can have utterl disastrous effects
on life and its structure on our planet Earth, it s nature is not
purely negative. Enormous religions such as Christianity are a
clear example of this the provide universal traditions for all
believers, such as the Christmas holidays. Furthermore, the rich
histor of such traditions, that ma just as well come from pagan
origins, shows how history can also be preserved through
globalisation. This is the actual difficulty in analysing the
 GLOBALISATION 42

consequences of cultural globalisation its effects on a

something particularly can be both positive and negative, just as
we saw how globalisation can both preserve and destroy history.

That is why each aspect of the globalisation of values needs to

be clearly evaluated, at least to a certain extent, so that people
can understand how to minimise the negative effects of this
particular aspect of globalisation and also, which of these
negative effects actually need to be minimised.

Language

As already mentioned, language is a simple, but in the same way

rather complex, tool for expressing ideas, communicating
knowledge. Every language is unique, since it helps people to
communicate their ideas in a particular community. However, in
these modern times, people want to be able to communicate all
over the world, and therefore, they undermine the values of
language and treat it as a means to an end. Therefore, some
languages, which suit all people s basic needs dominate over
others, which, on the other hand, are highly unique and represent
only a particular culture. As a result, those languages that
become so highly used, such as English for example, start to
seem like universal languages and as a result not only do they
dominate over other smaller languages, other smaller
cultures, but they also lose their significance to the culture they
represent. However, although this may seem as an completely
43 Global Culture

negative consequence, it also has its pros , because of the

ambivalence of those consequences that was already
mentioned. One obvious benefit of the globalisation of
language is the improved communication around the world, and,
although this may seem as a fairly simple and insignificant effect,
the benefits of which are not securely established, it is important
to analyse it in greater detail, because it turns out that this rather
straightforward consequence is actually crucial for the
understanding of the concept of language in general.

The nature of this benefit is not purel utilitarian not only does
it make the communication with other people around the globe
considerably more straightforward, but it also stimulates
globalisation, which is wh the nature of this benefit is not ver
clear by making the communication between people more
simple, universal languages encourage people to actuall
communicate with others, outside of their local culture. This
recursive character of the consequences of the globalisation of
language shows how the negative result of some languages
dominating over others actually has a positive effect of
simplifying the communication between people, which then
stimulates globalisation itself.

In light of the above, by analysing the consequences of cultural

globalisation regarding languages, one can easily reach the
conclusion that globalisation itself cannot be defined, because of
the recursive character of its aspects. However, this cannot be
 GLOBALISATION 44

possible, since globalisation is a process caused by people. That

is why, before reaching a definitive conclusion about the
advantages, and, respectively, the disadvantages of cultural
globalisation, one should evaluate all of its aspects, which are
very closely connected.

Knowledge

As already established while discussing the reasons for cultural

globalisation, the globalisation of knowledge is far more
significant than the globalisation of language, which is only part
of it. In fact, it would not be wrong if one said that the term
globalisation of knowledge is an equivalent of the globalisation
of culture, since culture consists of values and values are ideas,
which construct knowledge. However, linguistic globalisation is
only a part, albeit rather significant, of the globalisation of
knowledge.

The arts

There are other ways for communicating knowledge, apart from

language. The arts, such as music, art, drama, etc., are an
emotional way for expressing ideas. With that said, emotions are
also part of a particular culture by interacting with the human on
a much lower level . However, given the comple nature of arts,
the results of their globalisation are far from clear. And et,
there are a number of examples of such globalisation.
45 Global Culture

Firstly, a well known fact is that the culture of Ancient Egypt was
highly developed. Therefore, it has left its mark on almost every
cultural in the world, be it national or of a particular smaller
community mostly through its arts. This exemplifies a beneficial
effect of the globalisation of arts.

On the other hand, though, this aspect of globalisation also

affects people s lives in a negative way. For instance, many
music trends tend to dominate over local music, in the same way
as languages. A clear example of this is how many young
Bulgarians do not recognise the values of national folklore.
Therefore, the arts can also cause the destruction of traditions
which lasted for centuries.

Technology

Many people think of technology as a tool for communication,

others use it in their work or create new technology themselves.
However, technology is far more than a simple tool and its role in
globalisation clearly demonstrates that.

One aspect of technology is that it causes globalisation. As a

result, changes in languages, arts, communication of knowledge,
destruction and creation of traditions is considerably more rapid
nowadays. However, this is not a purely negative aspect of
technology, because it also, by quickening the process of
globalisation, it is a wake up call for people to realise its
 GLOBALISATION 46

significance and try to take action in order to minimise the

negative effects of it.

In light of the above, there are many aspects and causative

factors of cultural globalisation, and each and every one of them
has both positive and negative effects on people s lives and life
in general. Therefore, this aspect of globalisation cannot be
halted as a process, since it throughout the ages it stimulates the
dynamics of life. However, although globalisation cannot be
stopped and it is sometimes highly beneficial for people, it can
have utterly disastrous effects on traditions and values and that
is why the negative consequences of it should be recognised and
prevented so that wrong values do not dominate over our world.

Although there is no single right way for minimising the negative

consequences of globalisation, there are many things that can
be done about it. Most of the methods for this involve
preservation, therefore, the next few lines will be dedicated on
defining the term preservation , since it is crucial for the
understanding of how to fight against problems which cultural
globalisation in particular arouses.

What is preservation as a means to minimising the

negative consequences of cultural globalisation?
Preservation is the main tool that can be used for minimising the
negative consequences of cultural globalisation without affecting
the lives of people in a direct way. It is something so simple that
47 Global Culture

many people do not recognise its value and take radical actions
for minimising cultural globalisation itself, which is not the right
way, since it causes much more damage to people than
globalisation itself.

Preservation is the act of keeping something as it is, of

preventing it from being damaged. The things which should be
preserved in order to minimise the negative results of cultural
globalisation as a process, are the corpuscular parts of the term
culture values. Values not only represent traditions, they also
represent ideas. Therefore, the act of taking care of the culture
and preventing it from completel globalising simpl consists of
preservation of ideas values, traditions, mistakes, concepts.

When one wants to reduce the cons of something so comple

as cultural globalisation, one thinks of perplexing and mind
blowing ideas, which is really not necessary. People have
already invented the perfect tool for preventing complete
globalisation, but its value is simply not recognised history.
Through historic records, one can passively preserve ideas,
without harming the world in any way.

It is true that history is not the most complex tool for dealing with
cultural globalisation. Furthermore, it cannot prevent it
completely, it just reduces its negative consequences and makes
complete globalisation of ideas impossible.
 GLOBALISATION 48

In light of the above, although people may never find the perfect
tool for dealing with cultural globalisation, a tool which would
prevent the cons of this aspect of globalisation and leave onl
the benefits for human society, they have always have one,
though not always making the best use of it. Therefore, in my
view, passively preserving culture is the best possible solution at
least for now, and history as a science is the best possible tool
for the realisation of this solution.
49 Global Politics

Global Politics
by Dimitar Vasev

In Favour of The Political Globalization

Globalization is an intriguing new way to increase global welfare.
However, it depicts a dramatic contradiction to events in previous
centuries, both in the West and in China, when most unions
derived from warfare and conquest rather than from peaceful
negotiations. This can be seen in the increase in military conflict
and the decrease in political stability in many parts of the world
in recent years. Therefore, achieving a union of nations through
economic methods make it possible to reduce the risk of military
conflict if nations can find ways to turn conflicts into an amalgam
of international cooperation and healthy competition
( coopetition ), leading to the evolution of a new world political
order. Unlike previous efforts to create peaceful unions, such as
the Global League of Nations, the new union of nations may
succeed because it highlights the political and economic self-
interest of each member state, thereby offering the possibility of
win-win solutions. Through this process, conflict can be turned
into cooperation because the union of political powers with
different ideologies under a unified regime will provide a dispute
resolution mechanism and mitigate the risk of conflict. To achieve
this goal, it will be necessary to develop a new way of thinking
 GLOBALISATION 50

that emphasizes peaceful collaboration and competition rather

than warfare.

Expansion by the absorption of adjacent states has historically

been a prevalent pathway for the evolution of a country. For
example, the region that is now modern China was divided
among 71 mutually independent feudal states for 275 years (from
1046 to 770 BC) during the Western Zhou Dynasty. After the
period from 770 to 221 BC, a period of more than 500 years of
warfare, China became a single uni ed empire through military
conquest. Similarly, more than 500 European nations, territories,
and independent political entities merged through nearly
unstopping warfare into only 30 countries in late Medieval
Europe. In the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte went to war
with the rest of Europe to expand the French state, and in the
20th centur , World Wars I and World War II caused con ict
throughout Europe and Asia. From this historical perspective, the
expansion of national territory and the reduction of the number of
independent regimes appears to be a dominant characteristic of
political evolution.

However, in the last half of the 20th century, international

institutions such as the United Nations have seemingly
prevented such large-scale warfare. In its place, other con ict
processes have arisen, such as the Cold War between the United
States and the Soviet Union. But in the 1990s, the collapse of the
Soviet Union and the rapid growth of the Chinese economy
51 Global Politics

changed the balance among nations and regions. Because of the

size of these two nations and their desire to play a greater role
globall , these changes created a growing risk of con ict. Recent
examples include the Russian interventions in the

Ukraine and the con ict between China and Japan over
ownership of the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands and prosecution of
China b the Philippines over the construction of arti cial islands
in the South China Sea. On the surface, these examples appear
to illustrate the ongoing contention over resources and over
demarcation of historical boundaries between nations, but
looking deeper, we can see a di erent reason for the
intensi cation of the con ict: both Russia and China have been
expanding their political power and attempting to establish
dominance over wider areas to support that expansion.

Globalization is currently the most used word in economics.

Through globalization, nations develop increased reliance on
foreign resources, leading to the development of huge trade
networks to meet the growing demand for resources created by
the world s growing population when those needs cannot be met
b local resources. Capitalism s market econom has become
the dominant global form of social and economic development,
supported b fast scienti c and technological progress. During
the modern capitalist period, the volume of global trade has
increased, an increase of more than 150 times in a period of only
115 years. The steady increase of trade that has resulted from
 GLOBALISATION 52

globalization now plays a leading role in shaping modern

economies and the societies.

Although globalization represents an intriguing new way to

increase global prosperity, it also represents an enormous
contrast to events in previous centuries, both in the West and in
China, when most unions resulted from warfare and conquest
rather than from peaceful negotiations. However, trade
protectionism and unfair competition by various countries, going
for the goal of ma imi ing pro ts, have had negative impacts on
global trade by increasing its cost. Although competition among
nations has promoted the evolution of political institutions,
beneficial for the society, it has also increased the risk of warfare
due to imbalances in the economic and military strength of
countries with di erent political s stems and di erent goals. This
is visible in the increase in militar con ict and the decrease in
political stability in many parts of the world in recent years. In this
context, the trend toward globalization has created a huge
political challenge: how to prevent the increasing competition for
resources, land, and power from transforming economic con icts
into regional militar con icts. For instance, the Arab Spring
continues to disrupt stabilit in the Arab world, and con ict
between China and its neighbours (e.g. over the ownership of
islands in the China Sea) has led Western leaders, including
former American president Barack Obama, to adjust their global
economic and national security strategies to focus on the Asia-
53 Global Politics

Paci c region. This will have important consequences for global

stability because of growing fears of a change toward a more
militaristic policy by swiftly advancing developing countries in the
region. It is utterl necessar to nd wa s to ease those fears and
nd solutions that will avoid military action.

Despite these tensions, there are signs that China and other
international powers are seeking outcomes that do not include
warfare. For instance, President Xi Jinping proposed the New
Silk Road Economic Belt development strategy in 2013 as a way
for China to refrain from direct economic competition with the
United States during international trade in eastern China. The
establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment in 2013 has
also created a new way for China and its neighbouring countries
to cooperate, promote development, and build economic unions
that create the possibility of win-win relationships. These
initiatives have overlapped the creation of the Eurasian
Economic Union, which united Russia with Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan in 2014. Subsequently, Russian
president Vladimir Putin visited China on 25 June 2016 and
proposed an expanded Eurasian Economic Union that would
include China and surrounding countries and that would
represent a stronger response to the tight trade relationships
between the United States and the European Union.

These initiatives are an important alternative to the wars that

have a ected most regions of the world in previous centuries.
 GLOBALISATION 54

The will become successful if nations can nd wa s to turn

con icts into a mi ture of cooperation and healthy competition
( coopetition ), leading to the evolution of a new world political
order. Unlike previous e orts to create peaceful unions, such as
the League of Nations and the United Nations. China s proposed
New Silk Road and One Belt, One Road strategies are meant
to connect eastern China with the rest of Asia and with Europe
and Africa, thereby establishing a regional economic union that
can avoid direct competition with the United States in the Pacific
Ocean region. The red route is made of China, Russia, the
Republic of Belarus, Poland, and other countries in northern Asia
and represents the one belt part of the name. The ellow route
is made of China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and other
countries in western Asia and represents the one road part of
the name. The blue route is made of China, Singapore, India,
Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and other countries in
southern Asia, and represents the New Maritime Silk Road
nations such as the European Union and the Eurasian Economic
Union may succeed because they emphasize ways to protect the
political and economic self-interest of each member state,
thereb o ering the possibilit of win win solutions. The Eurasian
Economic Union has achieved economic integration and is
progressing slowly toward greater integration (e.g. the adoption
of a uni ed currenc , as in the European Union). However, in
contrast with traditional unions, in which participating countries
have no permission to interfere with the domestic a airs of
55 Global Politics

developing countries or with regional con icts, greater militar

integration has been proposed. The proposed new union would
give developing countries a rare opportunity to acquire economic
support in exchange for giving developed countries greater
in uence on the militar and domestic a airs of the union. In
principle, this will scale down regional con icts and create a more
peaceful and stable environment for international trade and
development. For instance, with membership expanded to
surrounding countries such as Ukraine and military integration,
Russian s intervention in Crimea might have been prevented.

Under the proposed unions of nations explained above,

members of a union would avoid regional militar con ict and
compensate for a shortage of the funds required for
socioeconomic development as a reward for their participation.
This huge union would combine all states of the former Soviet
Union, China, and the neighbouring countries. They will be
anchored by one or two economically powerful central nations
and supporting a group of less powerful nations that receive
investments and support from the central nations. Such a union
o ers one uni ed set of diplomatic and militar policies and can
respond to international issues as a single organization. To make
the union more attractive to the less developed nations and
encourage them to sacri ce some portion of their sovereignt in
return for participation in the union, the central nations will o er
funding and other support to promote socio economic
 GLOBALISATION 56

development. To guarantee that the less powerful countries

retain some sovereignty, each retains independent rights to
manage its own political, economic, cultural, religious, and social
a airs, as the did before joining the union. In addition, as part of
their contribution to the union, the leader of each country (usually
represented by a senior member of the State Department or a
Minister responsible for a national government ministry) can
participate in the union s central management agenc and can
help to administer the union and develop its policy. Such
participation can take the form of leading key committees (e.g.
trade, health, and welfare). Besides, the smaller nations
contribute taxes to fund the operation of the union. The Eurasian
Economic Union is being developed through several processes.

First, countries that join the union of nations will be rewarded

through investments and nancing, with a particular emphasis on
the construction of local infrastructure. Nations will explore
possible paths toward political unions that guarantee the
continued existence of each nation, while uniting the nations
under a single trade regime. This process ma lead to con ict
being transformed into cooperation because the union of political
powers with di erent ideologies under a uni ed regime. It will
provide a dispute resolution mechanisms and mitigate the risk of
con ict. In e ect, the powerful central nations act as arbitrators
to resolve arguments among the less powerful members of the
union, thereby transforming con ict into negotiated cooperation.
57 Global Politics

For instance, China s government plans to invest trillions of RMB

to support neighbouring countries through infrastructure
construction and education projects, the establishment of
industrial parks that stimulate local economic growth, and the
expansion of commercial markets within a framework of political
integration.

Second, to anticipate and prevent the damage caused to

multinational political unions such as the European Union by
events such as the Brexit vote in the U.K. and the debt crisis in
Greece, countries in the union will need to integrate their
management structure, currency, and military forces more
closely through ongoing negotiations designed to form a more
stable political union. The a ected nations can learn from the
American example, in which a strong central authority manages
international a airs while allowing its component states
autonom in their local a airs.

A possible approach may be to choose one or two key countries

to formulate the political or economic policies of the union, while
leaving other members free to comply with the rules in ways that
preserve their autonomy and allow them to develop solutions that
account for key local characteristics and constraints. Other
developed countries capable of providing funding may join in the
union in a supporting or guiding role but will have less in uence
on policy development and implementation than full members of
the union. The result would be a tighter union in which members
 GLOBALISATION 58

would develop similar policies and attitudes toward international

a airs.

Finally, to avoid the risk of warfare and the destruction of the

good things that have been accomplished by the Eurasian
Economic Union, Russia should work to include China in
establishing a uni ed mechanism for resolving political disputes
through friendly negotiations and should extend invitations to
countries in the surrounding regions to join the resulting union.
China and Russia, as the most powerful countries in the
proposed expanded union, are likel to act as the union s central
nations and provide overall guidance for the other members. The
outcome of these negotiations and the ensuing development of
dispute resolution mechanisms o er the possibilit of a non-
military response to the pressures that both China and Russia
feel from each other and the United States.

Nations are socio-economical systems that organize and

manage the resources and people within distinct territorial limits
and develop a certain shared culture and shared institutions.
Governments are the parts of a nation that organi e the nation s
functions and that manage national issues to avoid con ict with
other nations (including warfare), while also trying to expand the
nation s access to resources. To create a successful
international union that reduces the risk of escalation of con icts,
weaker countries can be strengthened b sacri cing some of
their independence to form a union that is stronger than any of
59 Global Politics

the individual countries. This will need changes in their

governments and institutions that are designed to protect the
bene ts to citi ens b weakening the factors that lead to con ict.
This will be supported by governments that promote economic
development and improve the livelihoods of their citizens,
thereby gaining their support. Because both the governments
and the citi ens bene t from such arrangements, there is a
strong incentive to participate, even if doing so requires them to
relinquish some former freedoms, and this becomes an e ective
way to promote peaceful global political evolution.

The fragmentation of the former Soviet Union and the end of the
Cold War left the United States as the predominant power in
international political a airs. This powerful role has led to
resistance from other countries and regions and has encouraged
cooperation between weaker countries such as China and
Russia with other nearby countries as less powerful partners to
establish political alliances such as the New Silk Road and the
Eurasian Economic Union that can compete e ectivel with the
United. However, the recent history of the European Union
illustrates how international unions may weaken and become
less durable. We hope that the cooperative strategies that are
emerging among China, Russia, and their surrounding nations
will avoid this fate by delegating decisions to the strong central
nations rather than allowing individual nations to determine the
results through con ict, thereb creating a durable and more
 GLOBALISATION 60

stable union.
Science researchers in the sphere of politics should pay close
attention to the resulting political evolution in China and its
neighbours to detect warning signs before they can lead to
disruption of the unions or even warfare, thereb o ering a
chance to nd peaceful and mutuall bene cial wa s to resolve
disputes. Globali ation, despite its problems, o ers the potential
of introducing a new era of international cooperation. To achieve
that goal, it will be fundamental to develop a new way of thinking
that emphasizes peaceful cooperation and competition rather
than warfare. Regional unions such as the ones described in this
paper o er a new wa to accomplish this goal.

Against The Political Globalization

Whether or not globalization is a good thing is highly debatable.
It can give many advantages to individual people open to the
freedom and new perspectives it provides. However, we have to
acknowledge the harm that can be caused to local institutions
national identities, traditions, domestic politics and limited
governments.

Research on the impact of globalization on domestic politics

derives from a conventional political science Gourevitch (a
political scientist with expertise in international relations and
comparative politics during the 20th centur ) has aptl called the
second image reversed, a reference to Walt s models of
international relationships theories. Waltz sought to identify
61 Global Politics

studies that analyze how changes in international factors impact

domestic life. How do changes in the international economy
affect domestic politics? Do the same changes cultivate similar
results in national politics ever where? According to Gourevitch s
research on national responses to common international crises,
the mechanism by which changes in the world market are
transmitted into national politics is a process of transmission
through changes within the prices domestic producer groups pay
and receive. Gourevitch highlights the potentials of politicians
building different domestic fronts of interests out of the groups
mobilized by upheavals in their lives deriving from the
international economy. In these countries, Gourevitch discusses
that during the crises of 1873 1896, 1929 1949, and the 1970s,
the basic social politics or interests are the same: farmers,
finance, labour, industrialists. Yet the patterns of accommodation
these interests reached under pressure from external events,
and the economic policies these coalitions supported were quite
different from country to country. Party politics, state structures,
intermediate associations, and politicians unite in various
alliances among the same social groups.

If Gourevitch s map of social interests e poses a pattern in

the presence and importance of groups in societies at the same
level of economic development, the conception of their politics is
far more open. Swedish and German farmers in the 1930s may
have had very similar preferences for protection of the market,
 GLOBALISATION 62

but the Swedes went to supporting a Social-Democratic alliance

with workers, meanwhile, the Germans ended up with Nazism. In
the same research tradition, Kat enstein s (1985) book on
neocorporatism in small, but open economies also focuses on
variation in the responses of social groups under comparable
pressures from the international economy, counting on political
structures and policies. However, similar to the maps of social
and economic interests in societies at comparable stages of
economic advance, political reactions to shifts and shakes from
the international economy are essentially indeterminable
because they are mediated by political parties, ideologies,
strategies, and contingent acts of leadership.

Whether public policy is thought as the result of the direction of

an interested group s pressures, then the political models
evolved from trade theory imply some simple predictions about
the future of the state in a global economy. The growing mobility
of capital and the relative immobility of labour would make
governments progressively responsive to the interests of capital.
If taxes, industrial policy, environmental regulation, or industrial
relations in any society are too costly or constraining, investors
will pull up stakes and move them somewhere else; workers
cannot move so easily. Therefore, the results of limiting taxation
of capital are that labour will have to shoulder a greater part of
the ta burden and that societ s abilit to fund social welfare
expenditures will decline.
63 Global Politics

The shift within the domestic balance of power between

capital and labour that globalization promotes by rewarding
mobile factors will translate into a shift in domestic politics. Social
democrac becomes less likel because capital s incentives for
multiclass compromise are lowered by its growing power. Even
when socialists win electoral majorities, as they did in France in
1981, an open economy (in the case of France, the European
economy) offers the owners of mobile assets the opportunity to
enforce their preferences by threatening to exit. Although capital
flight is hardly a new problem for the governments of the left, the
range of policy instruments for dealing with it is far narrower than
at any time before.

Globalization shrinks the state by reinforcing the political

capabilities of those groups in society who desire limitation of the
use of state powers to regulate outcomes in the market. It also
ties the hands of those political forces whose ideological
traditions support state intervention in production and
distribution. In this view, it hardly matters whether the left or the
right wins elections; the constraints of the internationalized
economy will bound either party to follow the same monetary and
fiscal policies or else face a loss of national competitiveness and
investment.

One needs to view the world through the lens of international

trade theory in order to see links between globalization and the
shrinking of the nation-state. Whereas political economists who
 GLOBALISATION 64

have developed political models out of theories of comparative

benefits see openness linked to the power of the state by the
dynamic of domestic interest struggles, others see globalization
as the result of ideological changes that have transformed
national governments. The global spread of neoliberal doctrines
has reduced the legitimacy of broad state involvement in the
econom and governments abilit to shape or to protect against
market outcomes. The waves of deregulation that have swept
away governmental powers across the world over the past two
decades have their origin in deep and complex value shifts.

At the same time, the end of the Cold War and the collapse
of state-socialism did open new terrain for one-third of the world s
workforce, who had lived in centrally planned economies. During
the past decade, these economies became integrated into the
world s market. Even in China, the last remaining major socialist
country, capitalism and liberal market principles have made
major advances. Whether it was possible to argue for more or
less rapid transition to market economies, reasonable
alternatives to the market economy no longer seemed to exist.
Both in liberal democracies and the former state-socialist
countries, the political interests in socialist or left doctrines that
would enlarge the state s mandate to regulate the economy
disappeared. Where Communist parties have re-emerged, they
function mainly as vehicles of populist protest.
65 Global Politics

The spread of neoliberal norms was driven not only by the

failures of socialism but also by the advocacy of the United
States. In a position of unchallenged dominance in global
financial and trade institutions, the United States pushed for a
swift end to capital controls across the world and for making
International Monetary Fund and World Bank assistance
contingent on recipient countries acceptance of limitations on
the role of government in the economy. From this perspective,
globalization, far from reflecting the spontaneous spread of world
markets and the toppling of barriers by economic global players
who are eager for new opportunities, is a story-driven by politics:
ideological change, the contingencies of the collapse of the
socialist economy, and US power in the world.

The case for a decline of national power and sovereignty in an

age of globalization stands on two legs. One is the notion that the
magnitude and velocity of international economic exchanges
have eroded the state s capabilities. The other is the argument
that the expansion of market relations across national borders
diminishes the citi en s attachment to national authority, leading
to a decline in the legitimacy of central governments.
Contemporary politics in modern industrial countries provides
much evidence of a growing distrust of elected politicians. But
there are no signs that the people s disillusionment about their
representatives reflects a deeper detachment from national
 GLOBALISATION 66

loyalties, let alone a transfer of political allegiance and

identification to regional or international bodies.

As pressures from the international economy intrude on domestic

societies, citizens turn ever more insistently to their own
governments for help. What many of them mean by help is
protection from the unregulated flow of capital, labour, and
information from outside national territory. In their view, domestic
problems e.g. unemployment, delocalization of industry,
immigrants, etc. are carried into the community by this
unregulated flow across unguarded national boundaries. Far
from understanding the new relationships induced by
internationalization as the output of impersonal and inevitable
market forces, many of these citizens see the new situation as
one created b their own government s actions in opening the
frontiers, in negotiating new trade treaties, and in legislating
immigrants. Because the problems appear to have political
origins, they appear reversible by government action. Thus, one
paradoxical outcome of globalization may focus political attention
on the role of the state on the boundaries of nations. Citizens are
mobilizing along new lines of division, and in many advanced
countries, a new political order has emerged, organized around
a system of reinforcing national controls at the frontiers.
Supporters of these views can be found across the political
spectrum.
67 Global Politics

The twenty-first century of nation-states an expansive, harsh,

and unregulated global economy these are the future
parameters of our opportunities and dangers. Citizens more and
more understand the relative economic strengths and
weaknesses of their societies as products of national political
arrangements and different national cultures, not as the result of
diverse natural advantages. The combination of these elements
makes it likely that the new age of globalization will be one of
international conflicts over the economy. We can already glimpse
the appearance of these contests: a mix of conflicting visions of
right and interest. Energized partly by interests, partly by ideals,
these confrontations do not align one ideological order against
another nor one civilization against another. They do not put
Asian values against Anglo-American values. Often the
mobilize many and conflicting traditions within pluralistic national
societies. In this way, the conflicts between societies that could
be caused by globalization threaten to bring back old lines of
domestic rivalries.
 GLOBALISATION 68

Global Mind
by Denis Milanov

The World Citizen

02.04.2042.
Somewhere.
Mr. Theodosius Williams Chong. For short, TWC. He is a man,
but in his ID human is the only provided description. Nationality
The World. Date of birth 01.01.2020. Eyes Brown. Height
180. Mother language N/A. Address N/A. Personal No
0000000001.

Theodosius is the first one in the world who became a World

Citizen. Many others followed him. Approximately 5 billion
people. However, 4 billion of the population decided to continue
using words such as German, Russian, English, Chinese, Greek,
Spanish, etc. What is more, Americans did not approve of the
new conception and argued that American and TWC are
synonyms, as well as that the world citizenship was born in 1776.
Nevertheless, TWC may have lots in common with the American
life philosophy, but it does not pretend to be the same thing, it is
just an expected consequence. Well, it could be one more
incentive people to start fighting with each other, or at least to
build up another wall between their countries, cultures, lives.
69 Global Mind

TWC Theodosius Williams Chong. TWC The World Citizen.

Everyone gets confused when asks him what this abbreviation
stands for Theodosius own name or his citizen status.
However, it is significant to go beyond the visible and the physical
appearance, which makes the first impression on us; we have to
focus on the psychological one. It is our main priority to try to
understand what made TWC abjure his home, country and
language. What is more, did he really do it? Was he capable of
telling his mother I am our son, and that is all. I do not regard
an thing related to ou as mine. An thing. Most people would
call him a fool . Then what is the problem? What is actually the
problem per se? Let us see.

The story from the beginning. Again.

Somewhere. Someone. In fact, TWC. Sitting on a bench.

Somebody else a girl, comes. Considering her face, her blond
hair, her blue eyes, a man, who lived 100 years ago and whose
name begins with H , would sa that she is a t pical woman from
the Aryan race.

Entschuldigung, kann ich hier set en , she asked the strange

man whether he would mind her sitting on the bench, too.

Guten Tag! Yes, of course. , TWC mumbled.

Thank ou. Ehm, don t ou speak German?

 GLOBALISATION 70

"No, I don t. I know onl ten or fifteen words. But wh are ou

interested in that? the middle-aged man got angry.

Just to make a small talk. I like talking with strange people

throughout my free time. I have worked as a geography teacher
and it is like a

Oh, I see. Theodosius interrupted, Well, ou ma have the

time. I m afraid I don t.

TWC went on reading his quick-read book, reported fragments

from Agatha Christie s stories about Hercule Poirot.

Parlez-vous français? added the girl after three-minute typing

on her IPhone.

Ok, perhaps I won t be able to spend this beautiful afternoon the

wa I wanted, will I?

And what did ou intend to do?

What a shame! I can t be on my own even 1000 km away from

home! B e! he said and stood up.

Wait, I am so sorr . I am just a foreigner here. That is wh I tr

to get to know with some other people. I don t want the student
book to be the onl one I can talk with here.

Are ou an undergraduate here? the man returned and asked

in a much more positive wa . And don t ou have some friends?
71 Global Mind

Yes, I come from Greece and stud medicine here. M name is

Anthea. Friends you can have lots of them, when you are at
university, but I prefer talking with some natives rather
commenting with mates on how to cook pasta or what was the
last lesson toda .

Nice to meet ou. Mine is Theodosius. I am sorr for being rude.

To be honest, I thought ou are German, not Greek. TWC is
smiling at her.

Reall ?!? You are a Greek, too? What a coincidence!

No, no. I m not.

Then ou are from C prus, Bulgaria, Albania?

No, I from the world!

He , m famil does not come from Mars. I was also born on

that planet. She bursts out laughing.

It is not about the place ou were born, but the world itself. That s
what I mean. Yes, Pefkohori is m birthplace, but I don t want to
have anything in common with the politicians there, with
refugees, because of which the whole country turned out to be a
small S ria and so on.

But what about Plato, ά η α, Sirtaki, Byzantine? Are not they

part of the culture ou are e pected to admire?
 GLOBALISATION 72

You said it! We are expected to do things and even in a particular

way. For example, some women have to be dressed in such
clothes, which express the belief in Allah. You as a Greek are
thought to like the blue and the white colour; to vote for some
regional politicians, just because it is normal; to be patient with
the fact that wages are getting close to the German s ones, but
are still not because of economic factors . Do ou agree?

Well, Thodo, if I could call ou so, ou are more talkative than

you seem to be. Anyway, I see your point; I suspect you have
taken part in, not offending ou, the cra world citi ens
organi ation, haven t ou?

Ye, what is more, when I registered, it turned out that I am the

first one to do it, can ou believe it? Look at this.

He showed his ID card.

Oh M God! You even have a world ID ! Anthea got ashamed.

Ha, ou have good e esight! He smiled. But ou did not tell

what our opinion about the world citi enship is.

First of all, I am feeling kind of privileged to talk with the first

worldler in the world, ha...No matter how strange it sounds. You
are right in a way. However, I would never place my culture and
nationality behind such thoughts. In my opinion, the both things
together develop everyone as a human being. Without them, he
or she are just a living creature.
73 Global Mind

It depends on what the definition of human being is, I suppose.

Wait a minute. Wh don t we speak in Greek? Or it is forbidden

b , how do the call it in the news, TWC?

No, it is not. But being outside Pefkohori, I prefer speaking in a

foreign language.

Deutsch? I am interested in what ou are doing here in

German , when ou don t know a single German word. Are ou
a tourist?

I came here to visit a friend of mine. Greek like ou. And

Like us. The girl corrected him.

Theodosius looked at her seriously and after that started

laughing. Then he added:

"I believe that language doesn't matter. The only significant thing
is being able to communicate with other people, even with
gestures, if you wish. That's why there are languages like
"Broken Deutsch", "Anglo-Russian", etc. If I had known German,
I could have started talking with you not like an angry Greek, but
a furious German."

"Danke, then"

"Bitte. You are welcome." answered Theodosius.

 GLOBALISATION 74

"Well, and after all, you admitted that your behaviour was a Greek
one, didn't you. Haha..."

"Anthea, it is more difficult to be explained than it seems."

"But I want somebody to explain it. Ok, let me paraphrase. Fo..."

"Oh, to paraphrase. Good, no problem. Maybe you are going to

start with introduction, main body, conclusion, all the Cambridge
language requirements will be covered..."

"Haha. Funny, but please, stop. I wanted to ask you what it like
is to be a world citizen. If I wanted to take part in this global
initiative, what would I be motivated by, what could change in my
lifestyle, what??"

"Firstly, you don't have to think of that as it is formal falling out

with your country, family and culture. It is more than an ID. It's
feeling, it's freedom. You can fall asleep in New York and wake
up in London. You may eat gyros at noon and sushi at the
afternoon. You "

"Wait, wait. And what? I am capable of doing this now, when I

regard myself as Greek."

"That is as a result of globalisation, which has been an integral

part of almost each human being's life for more than fifty years.
Global thinking was the first step in building up a "world society",
75 Global Mind

in which culture is shared; there exist no borders between

countries "

"Ok, I see, but I cannot fully agree with you. You've just told me
to stop looking at the world only in blue and white colours. Well,
I don't think that it is true for me. Anyway, I am interested to know
then what do you think about the eleven yellow stars and their
blue sky. EU, I mean. Having in mind the upcoming
federali ation.

"EU, as well as the USA, has always been a strong example of

the globalized world. Yes, the European chameleon represents
the general idea of TWC. But the word European still exists. They
use it to mark their identity, to say where their borders are. They
are a part of the world, but not the world itself. And this strange
and desperate federalisation means nothing but separation from
the other countries and tr ing to compete with them. I am sure
that they and USA are the next USSR an exaggerated idea,
which ended up so ineffective and destructing itself. Being
together does mean let s be together against all the others.
Which , but Anthea interrupted him.

You have some good reasons, but I am still, let s sa , far awa
from what ou think. Didn t you mention before that unity is what
your organisation is looking for? That following the globalization
is the wa to make a new world?
 GLOBALISATION 76

Anthea, perhaps I have to repeat it again. Or to make it a bit

more clear. World Citi enship doesn t endeavor to develop a new
world or to change something drastically. The ambiance of the
present world has to be changed as well as politics, thinking,
people You said unity. The best definition for it is the state of
being joined together. However, the history 40-50 years ago
shows the opposite, or at least a small part of the general idea.
Ye, there is, for instance, European political and economic unity.
Well, firstly, it is not a world one and not an effective one. The
European Union, the United States of America and China may
seem to many people as the best examples of one globalised
planet. In my opinion, despite these unions caused some global
economic relationships, their political philosophy divides people
and make them compete or fight with each other. In hard times
the same unions show how contrary to united actually they are,
how their open to the global life mind is one egoistic deception.
My parents have told me that when I was born, 22 years ago,
there was a pandemic. I ve read lots about this plague. Anyway,
what many others and I believe is that the result of the virus was
not only the economic crisis, it was the humanitarian and political
ones. The great countries, called this wa , didn t want to help the
others, there were disputes even in these great. Such hard times
have shown that separated countries cannot help human beings
develop a strong and united societ , as
77 Global Mind

Thodo, I am sorr to interrupt ou again, I feel that ou are reall

keen on this theme, which I admire. However, in a way I disagree
with you. First of all, about the coronavirus pandemic you talk
about the crisis, but perhaps ou forget that a countr s main
priority while such hard times is to protect its citizens, to provide
them with safet at least. You don t consider it.

That s it! Finally! You are right, but now imagine there is only one
country. The same functions, the same politics, if you wish,
although I m even against them. And this countr is called The
World . Countr , where The United Nations is the onl
parliament; where all the citizens are together; where there are
no wars anymore; where freedom is not just a word, but a real
feeling. What I wanted to say before is that the general result of
such pandemics is not the ill people, but the real evidence that
the world has been ill for so many years. Then he gave her the
word again.

Anthea thought for a while. She was both impressed and

shocked. But why?

Honestl , I don t know what to sa . Personall , I think that our

life philosophy is kind of idealism, impossible to spread through
most of the people. I am not so sure that those who regard
themselves like you as world citizens do not take things too
seriousl or think in that wa . I don t know them, how the live,
what they think. Nevertheless, such global ideas would be really
 GLOBALISATION 78

tempting, because they are needed. By the confused population.

But they could also be really dangerous. I disapprove of your
statement that the world is divided. There are many countries and
nationalities among the world. Each of them a unique one.
Despite some difficulties in being altogether, these entities make
the world a better place. Otherwise anarchy would be the
everyday life. I understand the benefits of the globalization
process, as well as its drawbacks. I want to use your example
about eating sushi and living in London, which you mentioned
before. Now I am free to do it. That is why I am here. That is why
I m talking with ou. In German . That is wh I am in love with a
Frenchman, although I come from Greece. Globalisation is the
reason. But it is also a harmful phenomenon. It leads to me
people losing their cultures, identities. Your case, don t want to
offend you. We are part of one mixcultured societ . That s what I
think of how I fell the world citizenship. Sadly, to be honest, I am
t pical world citi en. But I don t abandon m own culture and
home. This citizenship you have so much talked about is nothing
more than a feeling and lifestyle. Think of it, please. Imagine how
difficult it is for our parents to accept that ou don t identify with
their culture and nationality, with them. You are young, me too. It
is our duty and fate to make the world better, yes, I agree with
that. However, we have to do it in such a way that we derive
benefits from the globalization and at the same time limit its
power and effects. I am sure this cra idea about TWC won t
last for more than a year or two. The idea to unit all the countries.
79 Global Mind

I can assure you that now they are much more united than you
think. Just feel it. Forget about politicians, economics and so on.
Think about your life, your future, you culture, your family. And
be more positive. Then she smiled.

TWC was caught by her words. He did not know why, as he was
firmly convinced that her words were absolute nonsense. Despite
that, he felt something new.

Perhaps. the only word he said.

Ok, it was a nice talk. Reall thank ou! I hope we will see again.
Now I have to go. Have a nice da ! . Anthea left Theodosius.

One week later. Greece. Theodosius.

! ! ! ( Mom! Dad! Greece!)

The End.

The Beginning
When the global thinking was born

02.04.2020. Twenty-two years earlier.

Thodo s stor was provocative, meaningful and plausible.

Thodo s stor was a consequence. A consequence of the world
now, of our actions. Our parents, us and our children those who
are about to make the next generations live not so together, but
just live. The whole idea of one globalised world could affect
 GLOBALISATION 80

people in many different ways. Nowadays some world citizens

pretend to be nothing more than just common people, believing
in the world community. Others think that to put down roots
somewhere does not mean to live in their motherland, to speak
their language or even call themselves citi ens of a particular
country. However, it is not significant HOW the idea is accepted
or perceived. The question is how fast and in what way that
phenomenon is widely spreading through different people,
nationalities, races, cultures, etc. Actually, the story of the world
citizen started after the World War II when all human beings (or
most of them) come to the conclusion that they do not have to
fight with each other, but to work together to develop a better
world. Here is the key word world. Not only did they start
working for a better on, but people also ended up re-appreciating
it and thinking of it differently. They started thinking of developing
it the global country for all the humans. Perhaps that is the main
source and reason.

The real beginning of the world process was in the nineties, when
there was no peculiar differentiation between the nationalities;
when the soviet symbol WE turned out to stand for all the people
around the world, not only the soviet in one People s country;
when the borders between people and the national boundaries
stopped their physical existence. What is more, even a land like
PRC (People s Republic of China) is not regarded an more as a
closed place; its economics is now open to the world. That is the
81 Global Mind

main point the more significant part the economics take in our
lives, the stronger and more open are countries relations. The
main cause for introducing the world citizenship is the growth of
the economy, making money and everything related to industry,
capitals Nevertheless, the most prominent thing is the effect -
on human feelings, on people s mind, on us, overall. That is how
this process might have started. What about thirty years later,
what about now? What does it mean global today?

Nowadays we are somewhere in the middle. Most of us are

united there is not a wall such the Berlin one (with some
exceptions). However, we are still depending on our cultures,
nationalities no 100% world assimilation. The word beginning
was mentioned so many times the real one is right now the
10s, the 20s, even the 30s. Nowadays it is not about economics,
wars, and walls. The subject is not also living in one shared world
countr , the Thodo s case. Toda s generations are those who
will show how the evolution of the globalization process will
continue. Who will be right Anthea or Mr. Chong? It is
interesting that we could answer today, 2020. For instance, the
coronavirus outbreak turned into a pandemic because of
people s global mind you can fall asleep in London and get up
in Tokyo; you may be an owner of German manufacture in China
and work in New York something you could derive many
benefits from. Such historic events like the corona pandemic,
such hard times are the only signs we have to consider. Is there
 GLOBALISATION 82

a mistake? Community or separation? Which is better? People

have to test at first whether the suffer from a global illness.

On the other hand, it will not be correct just to comment on some

drawbacks of globalization. What is more, sometimes its
downsides are a good reason to look positively. The role of the
world citizen (up to 2020) is a bit ambiguous. Organizations,
called The World Citi en and Global Citi en (which reminds
us of TWC in our 2042 story) are an example of the significant
part such global organi ations take in our lives. For example, in
2020 they raised so much money in order to help poor people all
around the world and to fight with COVID-19. Let us take a look
at what GLOBAL CITIZEN sa s about their mission:

People who want to learn about and take action on the world s
biggest challenges. Extreme poverty ends with you.

1. Get informed
2. Take action
3. Connect with others

What makes the globalization process so powerful is the global

slogans, the ideas, which are promoted by so many people
ideas, based on the belief and the hope of the single human
being that their life could be better, the world would different and
the positive outlook is not just a wonderful dream. That is what
the globalists mostly rely on, the same way some other
ideologists have been doing for so many years they want to
83 Global Mind

approach all human feelings and emotions, to fasten them to their

ideological base, as the result is widely spread believes. There is
nothing wrong with that when some people are trying to find a
solution to a problem, why do they have to be blamed for
anything? What is the point in doing it? The global ideology does
not deserve being underestimated and accused of leading the
world to a failure. As it is made by people, the only one who has
the power to control it and improve it is the single man or woman.
Moreover, as a phenomenon it has a light and a dark side. It
depends on us, which one will be followed.

Talking about ideology and people, we are trying to find and,

respectively, understand what the human face of the
worldi ation is. Albeit such a word cannot be find in an
dictionary, it is an example of the different sides of the global
process. Looking at and analyzing all of them, we seize the
chance of becoming more independent and open to the world.
Let us start with some general conception and definitions.

In an article on the online site The Globalist we can see the

following explanations:

Globalism, at its core, seeks to describe and explain nothing

more than a world which is characterized by networks of
connections that span multi-continental distances.
 GLOBALISATION 84

In contrast, globalization refers to the increase or decline in the

degree of globalism. It focuses on the forces, the dynamism or
speed of these changes.

That is why globalism is a product of the economics and politics,

while globalization is the measurement of that product. Not only
does globalization show the way all the countries move and
develop, but it is also responsible for how the social systems
work and what are the impacts of the global processes on people.
However, we can introduce one more term worldi ation .
Argued or not whether this word can be found in an English
dictionary, it has its prominent meaning a word that we need.
We are desperate to know not only how the relations with the
others affect our economics, but we are also interested in the
effect the global movement has on our thinking, lifestyle,
philosoph , etc. That world process, not global, is the one,
which changes the status of all the modern citizens, nationalities
cultures.

Why is it so important to be able to differentiate these three

phenomena? Here are some examples. Stephen Ambrose writes
in his book Rise to globalism , that the relationship between
Japan and USA got better after the Second World War, despite
the fact that the battle between them was one of the most goriest
and ended up with so many victims and two nuclear bombs. The
reason wh these two countries became economical friends
was the globalism, or the rise to globalism in the 20th century, as
85 Global Mind

Mr. Ambrose says. Looking for opportunities and benefits and

doing the best in order an economical increase to be registered
formed the first global connections. Gradually the global issues
were good grounds globalization, the next step, to be introduced.
Poverty, past-war recovery, building up cultural multiformations
are some of the instances. The last step is putting the basis of
the global citizenship, which is determined by the world thinking
and acts. That is the beginning of the pre story of TWC (The
World Citizen / Thomas Williams Chong). Just the starting point.

The beginning of what we know toda and call world citi enship .
The great change in human beings mind. The moment when
people started calling themselves parts of the global
communit . It is important to be known how and when this third
step of developing the world country was conceived. However, it
is vital to know how this idea is spreading through the different
nations and in what way it will continue changing our thinking,
values, believes, traditions. TWC might be just one of the
consequences.

World the modern motherland

Globali ation s impact on people s mind

When a process starts, it takes a great effort to make it stop.

Moreover, to obliterate it is impossible. Particularly, that is about
the idea of globalization. Nowadays we are living in the third
phase of it when to pretend that the world is more than a
 GLOBALISATION 86

common biological and geographical environment is the mostly

shared political and social philosophy; when patriotism and
national thinking are mostl regarded as odd ; when ou can live
in USA, work in Germany, go on holyday in Turkey and attend a
business meeting in China. Finally yet importantly times, when
the world is our motherland. Let us see the following definition
from the English Wikipedia:

In general, a world citizen is a person who places global

citizenship above any nationalistic or local identities and
relationships.

That is what some people prefer to be known as. That is what is

expected to be the status of more than the half of human beings
in the world. That is what the future for all of us could be. That is
the life of Theodosius Williams Chong. Shortly, TWC, or the world
citizen. Up to now, there is not such a great number of people
unreservedly claiming that they are world citizens in literal
meaning. Many organizations, whose reason to exist is based on
these global (more precisely, world) ideas, are promoting in most
cases just shared culture, finances, events, tourism. The political
aspect of the problem is still not so popular with people. However,
it is the opposite, when we talk about the young generations. The
more years we spend as humans in 21 century, the more
powerful and aggressive the global idea becomes. It also
changes its form throughout that time. Let us look at the world
87 Global Mind

through the glasses, which we used to see, feel and endeavored

to understand Theodosius s times.

At first, some facts. Our story about TWC, placed in 2042, might
have been for some of us strange, new , unbelievable, and
unthinkable. All mentioned there seemed that the situation could
be just a dream, that nothing like this is about to happen, in such
a radical way. However, the story is not an eventual future it
can only be represented as a repetition of the past.

World Service the place in Internet, where we have the

chance to learn more about the real global citi enship and even
become world citi ens. Here is what is said there about the
histor of the global citi ens :

On 25 May, 1948, in Paris, France, Garry Davis (26), a former

Broadway actor and US. Bomber pilot of World War II
renounced his exclusive citizenship in and allegiance to the
United States of America.

At the same time, he publicly declared himself a "citizen of the

world."

From that moment on, Davis, legally "outside" the nation-state

represented the sovereignty of all human beings and become
an operative world-government-in-microcosm.

Theodosius cannot be the first one to call himself a world

citi en , as it was thought in the story. Why? The answer is simple
 GLOBALISATION 88

and very complicated at the same time. The answers is rights.

The answer is freedom. Human beings are living creatures who
wants to be free, to live independently, to be able to express
themselves, to be. On the other hand, all the people are single
parts of some small communities and the overall human one.
They share others problems, sometimes experience together
hard times, help each other or take up a battle with each other.
It is difficult human behaviour to be understand, but it is easy to
conclude that that behaviour is a result of and, at the same time,
a consequence of the people s relations. Living on the Earth
cannot be one-man show. Considering these both problems, the
idea of the global man becomes much more clear developing
one country or a politically arranged place, whose territory is the
whole Earth s surface, where all the human beings are its citi ens
that is the wa all of them would be in an equal position, all of
them would be free to go anywhere and do anything, which, of
course, does not contradict the moral or the law. That is why
Garry Davis started the worlding process that is why so many
people were inspired by his actions and went on spreading his
words. That is why Theodosius Williams Chong s stor , about
100 years later, is possible and true. TWC is the the future Garry
Davis the difference is that the first one made the idea possible,
whereas TWC declared it inevitable.

What is the main result? World the modern motherland. For

most people in 2020 perhaps this is the cultural motherland,
89 Global Mind

not the spiritual or political one. Soon the political motherland,

despite bizarre that expression sounds and means, will be also
identified as a global value. The question is When the soul of all
the human beings will belong not to their real motherlands but
just to the world? When will Germans start thinking of the
Bundestag as a sightseeing? When will the Eiffel tower become
a symbol of the globalism? Now we may think of these questions
as something weird. The truth is that it is our main priority to
consider such questions. Nobody was able to imagine how China
could turn out to be the second economic power forty years ago,
but nowadays it is fact. Therefore, it would be stupid to regard
some eventual phenomena as impossible. Today the world
citizenship is plausible as a result of the history, the economy and
the culture. Because of our human will to be free. To live without
borders.

The world citizenship is a more complex problem than it seems

to be. We discussed the prerequisites. However, the
consequences are not that clear. There is only one, which is sure
global people will not be so free and with numerous
opportunities. Roots are what make us strong and independent
people, as well as loved and able to love. Some say that being
connected with particular family, country, culture is the thing that
causes our dependence on that particular. Being born outside a
rich country makes you poor; the communist regime in your
country is why you decided to leave it; the opportunities there are
 GLOBALISATION 90

limited There are man closed to these vindications wh

somebody to lose touch with his motherland. They might be right
the problems all around the world are a challenge. On the other
hand, a nationality is not defined by a common language and
culture also the national issues. The ability all the citizens to
deal with them shows what a great nation they are. We do not
have to forget about our motherland. Ignoring and running away
from its problems makes us cowards, not great people. This act
is equal to the situation when you look at you mother, not helping
her while hard times. Despite our globalized world, it is our aim
not to globalize the society as well. Let us continue using the
words Germans , British , Americans , Bulgarians ,
Russians , etc. Not the The Worlders . Let the idea of the
World the modern motherland keep being just a stor , a m th
or an anecdote. TWC (Theodosius Williams Chong / The World
Citizen) has to remain the possible future, but not the sure one.
Love your mothers, your parents, your families, your friends, your
culture and country, your nationality. Love even the world, but not
as the second mother! Love it as if it is your sister, who you have
to care for.

I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world."

Socrates

I ve always thought that you don t love a country by turning a

blind eye to its crimes and to a problem. The way that you love
91 Global Mind

a country is by seeing everything that it s done wrong, all of its

mistakes, and still thinking that it s beautiful and that it s
worthy.
Junot Diaz, professor at MIT and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
 GLOBALISATION 92

Global and Google times

Conclusion
by Denis Milanov

One of the biggest advantage of the globalization process is that

it makes people united. The prospects of such an entity are
numerous and unknown. The way it evolves depends on different
aspects what the political situation is, how the economics
grows, human relations and behavior, the history precedents.
That is the reason why the authors of the present book tried to
divide the global unity into several parts. Colors are those, which
show best how the idea of globalization is built up a single color
means a lot, but together with others transforms into pure light,
that is able to shine on even the darkest part of the world.
However, there has to be symmetry, equilibrium if not, one
color becomes dominant and destroys the effect of the sunshine-
like glow. It is prominent for the modern society to look for the
balance, to understand that economics, for instance, is not
enough to make the world a better place. Moreover, the colors of
globalization represent the different nations, cultures, believes,
people.

On the other hand, looking at the global unity of colors, everyone

would ask Don t we see the globali ation as a phenomenon
every single day? Every time when we open our laptops or
93 Global and Google times

smartphones? When we write www.google.com Google is not

only a search engine, not just a corporation. Google is the base
of the modern philosophy it is the symbol of the new
technologies, of removing the borders and limits between people,
of freedom, of globalization. Google s colors represent the same
as what we said about the global bunch of colors. Nowadays
Google pla s an integral part in our life, as it is the global tool
it is used to share and mix culture, science, nations, people. That
is why it would not be a mistake to say that Google and Globle
(the name of the current project) are not typical paronyms. Not
only do they sound similarly, but they also mean the same thing
the process of globalization. That is the way this book is
organized color-by-color, word-by-word, belief-by-belief, step
by step. The result is one global project about one globalized
world.

Globle and Google times are now. Globle and Google times will
be. The globalization process is not reversible, but it is
changeable. People are those who control it. However, they are
also dependent on it. The more widespread global thinking is, the
greater impact it has on people s mind. The mind what makes
us human beings and has the leading role in our life. Here are
some of the biggest questions of the 21st century Will we let
globalism the main life philosophy? Will the globalization make
that life better? What would be the future of one globalized world,
where people has world parliament, elected by the world
 GLOBALISATION 94

citizens? Will the world become a better place? Nobody can

recommend exact answers to these questions. Nobody is
capable of understanding the incomprehensible. One thing is
sure Google is going to continue its world politics and
widespread the global ideas. Only the humankind is responsible,
if Google turns out to be Globle and change the planet in an
unexpected way. We do not know whether this way would be
positive or negative. Moreover, it depends on our outlooks and
us. What do we see, when we open Chrome Google or Globle?
The shared information throughout the world or information about
the shared world? Think and find the difference. Think and
choose. Google or Globle.

We talk about globalization today as if it's some great big new

thing that we've all just discovered. But there's really nothing
new about it.

Jacqueline Winspear

Globalization has changed us into a company that searches

the world,
not just to sell or to source, but to find intellectual capital - the
world's best talents and greatest ideas.

Jack Welch
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96 О ви а г ами а е C++