What is Globalisation?
Globalisation is a word that is being used more frequently
now, than it has in the past, to describe some of
the social, political and economic changes that are
affecting the way we see ourselves in relation to
the rest of the world.
There is no agreed definition of the term, in 1998
there were 2,822 academic papers and 589 books published
about globalisation - virtually all had a different
definition of globalisation.
Primarily it is a term used to describe an economic
phenomenon, involving increasing interaction, or integration
of national economic systems through the growth of
international trade, investment and capital flows.
It is also a term being used to describe the consequences
of this economic phenomenon; increases in cross-border
social, cultural and technological exchange.
When did it start?
The globalization phenomenon is not new; it began
with the expansion of capitalism in the 16th Century
that led to the colonisation of the South by European
countries supported by international trading companies.
It grew as world trade and investment increased in
later part of the 19th Century but was halted by World
War I and the subsequent protectionism of the Great
Depression.
