Is the reaffirmation of regional identities compatible with globalisation - Essay Example

Is the reaffirmation of regional identities compatible with globalisation? Introduction: The rapid pace of globalisation aided by the technological developments in communications has given hope to the economic well being of all the residents of this world and with that the possible realization of the dream of a world village wherein all of humankind resides within a social order that covers all of them. In the recent past, however there has been resurgence in regional identities as a consequence to the giant strides that globalisation has taken and nations around the world have paused to ponder on this massive change that is being experienced to understand the full consequences of this giant leap by mankind. This has given rise to speculation and controversy on the challenges that reaffirmation in regional identities might pose to globalisation. To analyse the impact of the resurgence in regional identities and the impact that it has on globalisation on the positive or negative side and in that the compatibility between the two needs a proper understanding of the true meaning of both globalisation and regional identities and the causes for the resurgence of regional identities. Globalisation: Globalisation is the latest buzzword that is most commonly expressed from the economic point of view, without really comprehending the full relevance of the word. Globalisation needs to be viewed from many sides to understand what it truly means as it is multi-dimensional. These dimensions of globalisation include a wide spectrum of factors namely development in communications, economics, work organization, ecology and last but not the least culture and civil society. It would be but natural to ask that globalisation as is commonly referred to has only economic considerations and the other factors are hardly experienced or subservient to the economic factor of globalisation and hence globalisation has only an economic substance. This is a misunderstanding of globalisation and places emphasis on the global market place and not on the many faceted dimension of globalisation. Barriers to trade have collapsed or are in the process of collapsing among all the nations of the world and that makes it possible to understand the concept of a global market. Extend this aspect to allow for the borders of the nations to become gradually irrelevant to the daily behaviour of the various other facets of globalisation namely information, technology, ecology, culture and civil society. In short globalisation implies that the artificial national boundaries gradually collapse to allow for the creation of a single social village, as would have happened, but for the erection of political boundaries as humankind evolved. Not too easy to digest and yet this is what the ultimate result globalisation is supposed to attain and not just a global market wherein, only products and commodities are free to move across the world and to any part of the world. True globalisation envisages that political authorities are not in a position to prevent the flow of things and people both into and out of the country. Anthony Gideon has very rightly defined globalisation as the facilitator for acting and living together irrespective of distance and across the apparent separations of national states, religions, regions and continents. (Beck, Ulrich. (2000). What is Globalization? Pp 20.) Developments in the field of communications and transport have made spanning of distances easy and enable the concept of acting and living together. This also means that there are no more any blank spaces on earth and individuals could orient themselves irrespective of their location on earth. The most significant consequence of this aspect is that the foundations on which societies and nations were built begin to crumbles and the glue that held the nation states and nation societies starts to get unstuck. In other words there is no nation society or nation state only global citizenship and a global society. ( Beck, Ulrich. (2000). What is Globalization? Pp 20 - 21). Global Citizenship: The meaning of the word citizen is quite clear to us, as we are all citizens of some nation and in extension citizens of a region. Rights and duties as citizens of a nation need no explanation, though they may differ from country to country. These meanings are by no means easy to use in terms of global citizenship. The reason for this is that there is no global governance that we owe our loyalties to and there are global laws to guide the global citizens, as these laws can be rejected by the national governments. Citizenship in a global sense needs to be taken as to mean inhabitant and as globalisation is supposed to lead to the vanishing of artificial boundaries, global citizenship extends to all inhabitants of the earth, irrespective of where they reside. This is one of the rights of the individual. Global citizenship also calls for a sense of belonging by the individual. This implies that the individual needs to develop a feeling of sharing and become a participant of the global society. For this to emerge there should be a way of life that every inhabitant can understand and believe that the individual can participate in. This implies that the way of life should be such that it is acceptable to every inhabitant on the globe. An examination of this sense of sharing and participation at the national level provides us with a guiding light to the possibilities of success in this ideal. At the national level itself the sense of sharing and participation of all individuals is a goal that is still to be achieved. The way of life at the national level has not been developed in a manner that makes every citizen of the country feel confident in and their differences and protestations take different forms. The protests may come on an individual basis, in the form of individual social and political activism or form groups to express their dissent. This does not tear away the fabric of national identity and citizenship but remains a smouldering fire in the sharing and participation at the national level. The way of life thus plays an important part in the decision that individuals take in their national identities or citizenship, even when the association has been handed down from generations and there are a lot of familiar features to it. Should the familiar contours of the way of life be altered the sense of participation would drop even further, unless the new way of life is fair to all. The way of life thus plays an important role in globalisation and is far removed from the economic concept of living and working anywhere. Yet, is even a national way of life truly understood? The answer to this question will become evident, when we look into the American way of life and its impact on the citizens of the United States of America. The American way of life brings emotion of pride to all the citizens and yet the meaning of American life is different for the individuals and in this is its complexity. To attempt to define it is to give rise to controversy as the views on it are varied and yet it remains a cohesive factor of the national identity. The way of life is thus an important cog in globalisation and the shape and contours of this cog have not been clearly defined and this has led to a lot of confusion and fears, leading to opposition. This dissent may be expressed as individual nation protests or in groups of nations. An understanding of the meaning of regional identity and its development would help us understand the groupings of nations and the role this will play in globalisation. (Noddings, Nel. What is Global Citizenship?). Regional Identity: Region, regionalism and regional identities are all a part of the progress of development in humankind. History has shown that none of these aspects of human life are static and determined by geographic location. Change is an aspect of human life and has its role to play in the development of regions. The region is more than just a physical space. It is a space on which the impression of time and experiences leave their mark in the form of human activity that has occurred there. It is also the space in which the external and internal elements have interacted to contribute to its development. Individuals occupy regions and these individuals develop into communities on the basis of common likes and dislikes of several factors, which for the sake of ease put down to the way they live or the way of life in the communities. Individuals are not perpetually bound to remain in any of these communities, though there is a tendency to remain in the community of birth, due to the familiar nature and the upbringing that instils the way of life of the community. These communities have then developed national identities, and then transcended into regionalism and regional identities, as individuals are capable of multiple identities, where these identities have a lot in common. Thus regional identity is linked to similar way of lives, though not necessarily identical and not necessarily to linked spaces. The examples of Australia and New Zealand make this aspect clear. Both these nations have the region of Asia in their proximity and yet from the point of view regional identity these two nations are more linked with Europe than Asia. This is because regional identity is dependant on factors of social values, attitudes, points of view and the behavioural pattern. Similarities in these factors cause regional identities and distances in space have no bearing on it. (The Political Voice Of Canadian Regional Identities).   Reaffirmation of Regional Identity: Regional identities are thus in a constant state of flux transition and are a result of the interaction between national identities and the regional identities so that the social grouping gets larger. This in itself should suggest that reaffirmation of regional identities is a step in the right direction towards globalisation. However it becomes necessary to analyse the reasons for this resurgence of regional identities systematically it to come to the right conclusion on the compatibility between this renewed resurgence of regional identity and globalisation. Appearances on the surface need not be a true indicator. The Looming Cloud on the Horizon: Economic globalisation has been the precursor of the globalisation of the world. It has brought with it gains and pains for nations around the world and the implications of it are not yet fully understood, when on the horizon comes the concept of the global village. Since regional identities are an extension of the social groupings through national identities, the reaction of a social grouping to an oncoming indistinct factor provides the basis for the reaffirmation of regional identities. Anything that is indistinct and not clears is met by society with circumspection and braces itself for hostile action should the oncoming factor be inimical to it and welcome it should it be seen as a supportive factor. This reaction to an unknown entity is natural and is seen in all living beings whether living individually or in social groups. The resurgence of regional identities is in reaction to the regions disturbed by the looming concept of the global village and a way of life that is yet indistinct in form. This resurgence can act as a supportive element or take hostile action depending on the whether the regional identities identify this looming cloud as friendly or hostile. Nationalism, regionalisation and globalisation are forces that interact with each other. This interaction could lead to cooperation or hostility depending on the factors involved. The harmony of this relationship lies in removing the factors that can lead to hostility. (Kacowicz, M. Arie. (1998). Regionalization, Globalization, and Nationalism: Convergent, Divergent, or Overlapping?). Concerns of the Regions: The concerns of the regions are based on experiences and fears of the unknown. The experience comes from economic globalisation, communications globalisation and ecological globalisation. Their fears rest on the way of life in a global village and the manner in which the regional identities react to these will determine the compatibility between globalisation and the reaffirmation of regional identities. The Economic Globalisation Experience: Economic globalisation has brought benefits to regions around the world, especially those situated in the developing world with particular emphasis on the regions in Asia. Economic globalisation came about as a result of the end of the cold war era and capitalism coming to the forefront, as countries that had raised barriers in keeping with their socialist political views removed these barriers to world enterprise. The experience has also brought with it painful experiences. There is no denying that economic gains have been made by the regions and the growing economies of China and India, the two largest populated countries, are the proof. Even so there is a feeling among the regions that these economic gains have not been fairly distributed among the different regions and within nations the distribution of wealth has not filtered down to the lower segments of society. As a reaction to the unfair distribution of economic gains among regions, nations within regions have come together to form trading blocs to take advantage of the economic globalisation and also to strengthen their bargaining power between the regions. The European Union, ASEAN and Mecosur are examples of this. On the distribution of the economic gains within the different regions, the unfair distribution of these gains to the business and middle class segments of society have made nations wary on the subject of the success of globalisation and as a means for the betterment of the weaker sections of society. Therefore economic globalisation itself has not been a telling success and resistance to it from segments of societies within nations can be seen. On the other side regions have reaffirmed themselves for economic gains and not for the facilitation of economic globalisation. In addition WTO, the World Bank and the IMF are seen as arms of the United States of America for pushing forward a reform agenda that is oriented towards the economic benefit of the developed world in general and the United States of America in particular and not really for economic benefit of the world. This impression runs deeply in many regions of the developing world and they look upon this as the cause of failure in the reforms and economic development of the weaker sections of society. (Mandle, R. Jay. (2003). Globalization and the Poor. Pp 25-37). Technological Globalisation: In the concept of a global village technology recognises no political or regional boundaries. However the experiences of the regions in the developing world deny this concept. Technology currently transcends boundaries only with an economic motive. When such a motive does not exist, technology remains in the hands of the developed world. The use of technology at times raises both fear and anger in the developing world and the example of attempting to patent basmati rice on the basis of biotechnological advances made in the provides the answer to the fears of technical globalisation. This has led to the reaffirmation of regional identities as a means to combat the attempts to gain economic advantage from what has and still remains a staple food in a region. Cultural Globalisation: Cultural globalisation is the area of greatest concern in many regions as it impinges on the way of life. This is the area of greatest criticism in terms of the impact of globalisation in its capacity to destroy the existing cultures. On one side globalisation has seen the collapse of national identities that were a binding force against ethnic issues. The collapse of the Soviet Union, which was the reason of a bi-polar world has given rise to several nations out of it and in the process raised ethnic issues in several parts of erstwhile Soviet Union. Yugoslavia is another example of the collapse of a national identity that has led to attempts of ethnic cleansing. (Bosrock, M. Ronald. (1999). As Political Borders Fade, Cultural Differences Re-emerge). On the other side and causing more fear in the regions is the attempt to of thrusting down of cultural values of the developed nations on the developing nations in an attempt to change the way of life in these regions to a so called better way of life. These emerging patterns have led to regions reasserting themselves as a means to persevere with their existing culture and means of live. The greatest challenge to globalisation is the preserving of existing cultures and removing the concerns of the regions in what they see as a looming danger in the horizon in terms of the global village and the way of life in the global village. Concerns on the Way of Life in the Global Village: The shape and form of the global village is hazy and this gives rise to the fears and concerns as to the final shape of it. The resurgence in regional identities is in reaction to these fears and concerns, as it is common belief many regions of the world that the way of life of the Western world is what is likely to emerge as the way of life in the global village. As far as many of these regions are concerned the Western Civilisation way of life does not represent any kind of improvement and rather a change for the worse at the expense of the better way of life in these regions. Typically let us look at the regions of Asian and Africa civilizations, where religions and cultures are the much older than Western Civilisations. Age of a civilisation may have nothing to do with it being better and maybe even it is pride that makes these regions claim that their way of life is better and they have more to offer in the global village. Yet these civilisations have evolved over a longer period of time and have followed their way of life for a longer period of time and are not easily prone to change. (Sithole, Jabulani. Africa can Only Use Own Culture to Influence Globalization). The examination of the claims of these regions and the experience of the world on the aspect of many of the values of humankind tends to tilt the scales in favour of the argument that Western Civilisation and the Western way of life is in no way better than the civilisations of the other region and their way of life. Among the most pronounced claims of the American way of life are their concepts of liberty, justice and human freedom. On the basis of this there has been many an outburst on the human rights issues that are seen in many other regions of the world and that for globalisation, these regions need to create a better human rights record. Yet, Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay have caused a severe blow to the claims of the Americans on their superior way of life. Human rights activists have been claiming for a long period of time that the actions of the American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan leave a lot to be desired in terms of human rights and as a an appeasement to the conscience of the world minimal action was seen against a few of the perpetuators of human rights violations in Iraq. These may be condoned on the basis of individual action in a place of conflict. The recent denial of access to an august body like the United Nations to ascertain facts of the condition of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay not just adds fuel to the fire, but depicts the Americans with the minimal sense of human rights and attempts at concealment of this. (Bowcott, Owen. (2005). U.N. team slams U.S. on Guantanamo Bay access). The most strident objection would come from the Muslim regions as they view the Western civilisation as it stands today as decadent. They also believe that globalisation should occur through the free will of the different communities in the world and not by the imposition of westernisation on the other regions. It must be noted here that the Muslim regions are not opposed to globalisation per se, but against westernisation. (Miasami, M. (2003). Islam and Globalization). Yet another grouse of the developing regions is in the flow of culture towards the changing patterns in the way of life that is happening now and as a result will become part of the way of life in the global village. The view is that this flow of culture is unbalanced in favour of the developed world leading to traffic mostly in the direction of the developing regions. (Deen, Thalif. (1999). Globalisation Threatens Third World Cultures). Compatibility of the Reaffirmation of Regional Identity and Globalisation: The reasons for the reaffirmation of the regional identity all point in one direction and that the looming cloud on the horizon of the global village is not friendly and needs to be resisted. Just as in the case of the formation of regional trading blocs to take advantage of the increasing volumes of trade in due to economic globalisation, the regions that feel that the global village in the shape that it threatens to take is to their detriment, have come together to ward of this impending threat. That being the case the current reaffirmation of regional identities that is mostly seen is not to ease the building of the global village, but rather to resist it and in being so is not compatible to globalisation. Conclusion: The reaffirmation of regional identities can only be made compatible with globalisation, when the fears and concerns of the regions have been properly addressed. For this the initial steps have to come from developed world to assuage the feeling that globalisation will put the developing regions at a disadvantage and build confidence, so that the regional identities can be used as a facilitator for the global village and not become an impeding element. List of References Beck, Ulrick. (2002). What is Globalization? Polity Press. Cambridge. Bosrock, M. Ronald. (1999). As Political Borders Fade, Cultural Differences Re-emerge. Star Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2005, Global Policy Forum. Web site: http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/cultural/cultur1.htm. Bowcott, Owen. (2005). U.N. team slams U.S. on Guantanamo Bay access. Guardian Newspapers Limited. From THE HINDU. November 20, 2005. Deen, Thalif. (1999). Globalisation Threatens Third World Cultures. InterPress Service. Retrieved November 19, 2005, from Global Policy Forum. Web site: http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/cultural/hdrpoor.htm. Kacowicz, M. Arie. (1998).Regionalization, Globalization, and Nationalism: Convergent, Divergent, or Overlapping? Retrieved on November 19, 2005, from The. Web site: http://www.ciaonet.org/wps/kaa01/. Mandle, R. Jay. (2003). Globalization and the Poor Pp 25 - 37. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. Miasami, M. (2003). Islam and Globalization. Fountain. Retrieved November 19, 2005, from Global Policy Forum. Web site: http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/cultural/2003/0808islam.htm. Noddings, Nel. What is Global Citizenship? Excerpt from Introduction, Global Citizenship: Promises And Problems. Retrieved 19, November 2005, from, Boston Research Centre. Web site: http://www.brc21.org/books_excerpt.html. Sithole, Jabulani. (2001). Africa can Only Use Own Culture to Influence Globalization. afrol News. Retrieved November 19, from, Global Policy Forum. Available at http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/cultural/cultur1.htm. The Political Voice Of Canadian Regional Identities. Retrieved 19, November 2005. Web site: http://www.mta.ca/faculty/arts/canadian_studies/english/about/study_guide/regional/identity_region.html. Read More