Space of Flows - Castells's Concept - Assignment Example

Critically, what does Castells mean by 'the space of flows', and what relevance might this idea have for processes of globalisation? Develop an example to illustrate your argument. The identification of the elements and the role of space, as a concept, has been a critical challenge for theorists worldwide. In practice, the term space can be used for referring to various fields. In this paper reference is made to space as related to space of flows, a term developed by Castells (2011), as the specific term is related to globalization. The term ‘flows’, as described in the study of Castells, is of critical importance for understanding the structure and the rules of modern societies. In this way it would be easier to understand how globalization has been highly expanded in countries internationally. As analyzed below, space of flows, indicate the interaction between social, political and economic elements of each society; in this way, in societies where this interaction is highly promoted, i.e. where flows are well developed and organized, the expansion of globalization can be quite rapid compared to societies where the space of flows is limited. The countries with strong emphasis on culture and traditions are indicative examples of the above case. In other words, the space of flows can help to understand the potentials of a country to support globalization. Moreover, the particular concept could be used for identifying the prospects of globalization worldwide. Indeed, if the space of flows around the world shows a trend for continuous increase, globalization could be highly benefited at international level. On the other hand, the space of flows has a critical element: a social or economic power has to control their progress. If globalization is considered as highly depended on space of flows, then the following assumption could be made: globalization is also controlled by specific social or economic powers. Such view would be opposed to the national identity of states worldwide. For this reason, globalization could be considered as related to flows but not to all their parts: just to the communication network and to the critical points used for securing flows. Moreover, Castells (2011) has supported that the space of flows is vital for the development of a society’s social, economic and political framework. However, through the flows of information and capital important social and economic threats such as terrorism can be developed. Thus, globalization has revealed that the space of flows is not always positive for modern societies. For Castells (2011), flows represent key social and economic activities of modern societies, meaning those activities that are initiated by each society’s most powerful members. For example, those controlling the banking system of a country are able to influence the country’s monetary policy. Thus, flows require the existence of a controller, the individual who will control the various phases of flows, and of an object, either material or immaterial, around which the flow will be developed (Castells 2011, p.412). In this context, the flows of information, which is an immaterial object, can impact the economic life of a country at the same level as the flows of goods, which are material objects. An important characteristic of the space of flows is the following: space of flows consists of three levels: a) at the fist level, the space of flows is supported by messages exchanged electronically, using appropriate communication tools (Castells 2011, p.413); the messages sent through these tools form a network around which each society is based. In other words, communication, as based today in advanced electronic systems, is the initial level of space of flows. This means that without this level the space of flows cannot exist; b) the second level of the space of flows refers to the places that are used as links for securing the development of flows, in all their phases, with no problem (Castells 2011, p.413). These places do not necessarily indicate points defined by geographical criteria; rather, they show points that help to secure the connection between the various parts of the network, so that the flows of information, capital and so on, is feasible. The above places are often described either as hubs or as nodes; the former are points used just for securing the continuity in the flows of information etc. while the nodes show points that have a key role in the existence of the network (Castells 2011, p.413). At this point, Castells (2011, p.413) makes the following clarification: the communication network, along with its hubs and nodes, has led to the transformation of geographical regions worldwide. Reference is made, as an example, to the narcotics sector, a sector that includes a range of processes, including the production, the process and the selling of the product which are significantly more complex, due to the nature of the sector, from the relevant processes of other sectors (Castells 2011, p.413). The use of specific cities and countries in the development of the particular network has resulted to the alteration of these areas’ traditional role, as simple economic or social centers. This means that the space of flows can severely affect the culture and the social image of a region, a potential that it is not clear to globalization; c) the third level of space of flows refers to the classification of powers within each society; reference is made specifically to each society’s social and economic powers, i.e. the most powerful interests as they can define the flows of information and capital within the relevant market (Castells 2011, p.413). These powers are able to set the rules on which the flows of capital and information in each society will be based; therefore, these powers can be considered as having the role of controllers of space of flows, as this issue has been highlighted above. It should be noted though that the powers mentioned above are not standardized, as of their extension, meaning their potential to control the local social and economic life. For example, in certain countries economic powers have a dominant role in the control of social and economic flows while in other societies political powers are more able to influence the country’s economic and social framework, including the flows developed within this framework (Castells 2011, p.413). Also, there are economic and social powers that lose gradually their control over the economic and social flows of their region; this fact leads to the decrease, or even to the termination, of the domination of these powers, a fact that can highly benefit local economy and society. In any case, space of flows cannot exist without a network that will be appropriately structured, including strategically points, i.e. nodes, but also points that will help the flows to be developed with no problem. Also space of flows cannot survive without a controller, i.e. a political or economic power that will check the various phases of flows and who will provide the means necessary for keeping flows active (Castells 2011, p.413). Ritzer (2007) notes that the space of flows reveals the existence of a new type of capitalism: ‘the capitalism of information’ (Ritzer 2007, p.9). So far, capitalism has been based on the existence and the transfer of capital; today, there is no such requirement for the social and economic development of societies. Indeed, information has replaced capital since the value of certain pieces of information can be significantly higher than capital: for example, the expected merger of two firms would highly increase their stock price and would result to significant benefits for those who would learn first the news (Ritzer 2007). The space of flows, as based on information, leads to the change of the role of globalization: globalization is no more based on the expansion of ideas or practices worldwide. It could be also based on the expansion of information of various types (Ritzer 2007). This practice can introduce a new form of globalization, the ‘cultural globalization’ (Ritzer 2007, p.9). Towards the same direction, the space of flows can be valuable in understanding the alterations that globalization had to accept in order to keep its development worldwide. For example, up today economic models and theories used to be employed for checking the expected performance of a firm in its industry. This practice has been also used in firms such as Wal-Mart and General Motors (Ritzer 2007, p.9). However, this practice has not helped to identify the exact financial status of the above terms, as proved through their negative performance in 2005-2006 (Ritzer 2007, p.9). Instead, the study of the consumption trends of that particular period had helped the managers of the above organizations to minimize risks by introducing plans that focused on the alignment of the firm’s products with the consumer demands (Ritzer 2007, p.9). The consumption trends, as indicators of a product’s/ service’s popularity, tend to indicate the customers’ preferences in regard to the characteristics and the volume of the product/ service chosen (Ritzer 2007, p.9). In any case, the space of flows, as analyzed above, can be used for evaluating the expansion of globalization worldwide. The effects of flows on globalization could be made clear by referring to the example of terrorism. Terrorism has been highly based on communication networks (Baudrillard 2003, p.59), but not in the way believed. In fact, it has been proved that areas that are characterized by high concentration of information, i.e. those areas for which information can be easily retrieved since the relevant data is stored and processed through a central database, is more vulnerable to terrorism compared to regions where information is dispersed (Baudrillard 2003, p.57). The specific view is based on the following fact: where information is stored using central databases and complex systems that guarantee high information security, it is easier for those who aim to participate in terrorism – related activities to retrieve necessary information so that the success of their plan is guaranteed (Baudrillard 2003, p.59). However, in the context of globalization it is quite difficult, almost impossible, to set limits in the flows of information since such initiative could violate critical human rights. This means that globalization helps the expansion of terrorism even if there is no such intention. Baudrillard (2003) refers to a common phenomenon in order to show the potential impact of globalization on terrorism: a virus has been uploaded to the Internet; the virus has been related to a particular website. All visitors of the specific website will have quite high chances to offer to the virus access to their computer (Baudrillard 2003, p.8). The above example proves that globalization can support, even not intentionally, the expansion of terrorism. The specific problem can be more extensive in countries where the control over the flows of information and of capital is quite limited or non-existent. Indeed, the development of acts of terrorism requires the access to detailed information published to relevant websites; if such access does not exist then it is quite difficult for the planners of such actions to design their plans (Baudrillard 2003, p.58). In other words, the development of a successful action of terrorism requires an integrate flow of information. The concept of the space of flows, as developed by Castells, can offer certain guarantees for the control of terrorism: since the flows of information, as part of the space of flows, are checked by specific social and economic powers, i.e. the controllers, then barriers could be set to the information available electronically, so that actions of terrorism are prevented as possible. Such intervention is not feasible in globalization where all initiatives that aiming to promote specific practices at international level are easy to be organized since the relevant control is at quite low level. The above trends verify the view presented in the beginning of this paper, i.e. the view that globalization is not identical to flows but it is only partially depended on flows, i.e. on specific parts of flows as explained earlier. Moreover, it is made clear that globalization can be related to a series of risks that can be avoided if the rules applied in the space of flows are used. For example, the promotion of criminal activities through the Internet is rather easy in the context of globalization, a concept that allows the freedom of communication without setting specific criteria for guaranteeing the safety of the messages exchanged between the users. If the rules included in the concept of the space of flows, as described by Castells are used instead then the risks involved as limited due to the following fact: the space of flows requires the existence of nodes and hubs that guarantee the quality/ quantity of information exchanged in the context of the communication network (Castells 2011, p.412). At the same time, globalization, as a concept, is wider than flows, including functions and trends that do not appear in flows. The shock doctrine, as developed by Klein (2010, p.7) is such a trend. The specific doctrine denotes the potential interaction between globalization and flows of information/ capital, and the limits within which this interaction should be developed. An example mentioned in the study of Klein can help to understand the role of flows in the promotion of globalization and the need for setting limits in flows of information when public interest is threatened. Klein (2010, p.532) refers to the case of New Orlean’s floods and the way the theme was employed by people with quite high social and economic power. For these people, the flood of New Orlean offered the chance for a re-distribution of property, especially of the public property, in the favour of large capital (Klein 2010, p.532). The review of the elements of space of flows, as described by Castells (2011) has revealed that the space of flows, as a concept, has three core functions/ levels, without which the concept cannot exist. The above concept can highly influence globalization since it refers to the flows of information through a communication network/ system. However, globalization is not fully depended on flows, a view that it is based on the following facts: a) globalization can be promoted even without the existence of key points of support (such as nodes) and b) globalization does not require the existence of a controller, such as the space of lows does. Indeed, in the global market several social and economic powers are likely to exist; these powers are not necessarily involved in the expansion of globalization worldwide. Instead, globalization can be expanded even if no plan, developed by a controller, is available. Also, globalization has revealed a negative aspect of the space of flows: the potential of the specific space to be used for the development of terrorism or for the expansion of catastrophic economic frameworks, such as the shock doctrine. Thus, in the context of each society limits should be set in the space of flows so that risks for local social and economic life are decreased. References Baudrillard, J. (2003) The Spirit of Terrorism and Other Essays. London: Verso. Castells, M. (2011) The Rise of the Network Society: The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture. 2nd ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Klein, N. (2010) The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Oxford: Macmillan Ritzer, G. (2007) The Globalization of Nothing 2. London: SAGE. Read More