Globalization as A Trend in The Development of The Modern World

Periodization of Globalization and Theoretical Approaches to Its Definition

The term "globalization" gradually entered the international political and economic lexicon in the 1960s. However, scholars trace the origins of the historical process that undoubtedly shaped the appearance of our world at the dawn of the 21st century back several centuries, with the timeline oscillating between 1500 and 1800. Although a definitive periodization of globalization remains elusive, several prevailing perspectives on its primary stages can be identified.

According to the Russian researcher M. Cheshkov, globalization consists of the following stages:

1. The prehistory of globalization (proto-globalization) — from the Neolithic Revolution to the Axial Age;
2. The history of globalization (emergence of a global community) — from the Axial Age to the Enlightenment and the First Industrial Revolution;
3. The actual history of globalization (formation of a global community) — the last 200 years.

While noting that the global community as such has developed over the past two centuries, Cheshkov observes that in the last two decades, globalization, particularly economic globalization, has progressed at an unprecedented pace. This most recent wave, which has persisted for approximately a quarter of a century, is also acknowledged by other scholars. American political scientist and economist R. Robertson begins his account of globalization in the 15th century and divides it into five phases: — The nascent phase — 15th to mid-18th century; — The primitive phase — mid-18th century to 1870; — The phase of adaptation — 1870s to mid-1920s; — The phase of struggle against hegemony — mid-1920s to late 1960s; — The phase of uncertainty — 1960s to 1990s.

According to this viewpoint, globalization encompasses the period of the maturation and spread of capitalism worldwide, gaining momentum with technological advancements. The contradictory effects of globalization on human development in the latter decades of the 20th century, along with the presence of negative consequences, have been termed "uncertainty," manifesting as a gradual decline in the positive potential of globalization (to the extent of threatening the reduction of democratic rights and freedoms in Western countries) and the escalation of contradictory diversity in humanity's future development. It is during this period that the term "globalization" is most frequently applied. Since the late 1960s, globalization has emerged as a dominant trend in global development, as noted by Western philosophers who declare, "the world has entered a phase of global uncertainty."

In the field of geosciences, consensus on the onset of globalization has not been achieved; it is usually attributed to the 15th-16th centuries but can sometimes be pushed back to the second or even the fifth millennium BCE (A.G. Frank). According to T. Friedman’s theory, humanity is currently at the midpoint of the first decade of "Globalization 3.0."

Globalization 1.0 commenced in 1492 and was driven by conquests and empires — a peculiar form of globalization marked by federations. Globalization 2.0, which began around 1800, was propelled by the first industrial era of capitalist enterprises organized internationally around markets and labor — a globalization of companies. Globalization 3.0, which started at the turn of the millennium, envisions a simplification of the global playing field, shrinking the world of labor, markets, and ideas to a "person-to-person" scale — a globalization of individuals and small groups. Friedman condenses the attributes of Globalization 3.0 into ten "simplifications" — events and influences that he believes converged (began to operate) at the turn of the millennium.

1. The first "simplification" — November 9, 1989 — the "fall" of the Berlin Wall, an event marked as a sharp transition from a "world of walls to a world of networks." This event is crucial as it allowed the perception of the world as a unified space.
2. The second "simplification" — one of the events facilitating world simplification was the launch of Windows 3.0, a global computer interface.
3. The third "simplification" — August 8, 1995 — the day when network software became widely accessible, sparking the Internet boom and transforming the Internet into the World Wide Web. This technological invention, which Friedman defines as "all software and hardware that connects all computers," thus allowed people from all corners of the globe to connect more closely, sharing text, graphics, sound, and other materials via computers.
4. The fourth "simplification" — a consequence of the previous three events was the establishment of a platform for inexpensive global cooperation among people. The capacity for rapid information exchange enables, for instance, relocating entire factories to China to take advantage of cheap labor, thereby allowing China to influence the global market.
5. The fifth "simplification" — open source enables collaboration and the use of existing platforms (Linux, Windows, Firefox, Explorer).
6. The sixth "simplification" — interconnection — companies like UPS take control over the entire logistics operation. When you send a malfunctioning Toshiba laptop via UPS, it is first delivered to a UPS repair office, where it is fixed, and subsequently sent to its final destination.
7. The seventh "simplification" — the supply chain employs data exchange platforms, the Internet, and barcodes to ensure that when a certain item disappears from the shelves (for example, an online store in Florida), it automatically signals the start of production for that item (say, in China).
8. The eighth "simplification" — "informing" — as Friedman calls it, democratic access to personal knowledge, which was unimaginable just ten years ago.
9. The ninth "simplification" — accessibility and mass availability — the capacity for millions of people worldwide to use powerful and free search engines, enabling them to find virtually any information or product.
10. The tenth "simplification" — wireless access and voice communication over the Internet, which Friedman refers to as "steroids." These steroids exist to significantly enhance all new forms of collaboration, allowing one to work with any of them from any point, using any computer.

The globalization of the late 20th century was characterized by two pivotal events: — The collapse of the USSR and the SFRY; — The global financial crisis of 1997-1998.

Researchers of globalization identify several primary theoretical approaches: — The functionalist approach — emphasizes the role of national states in rescuing national economies from the detrimental influence of "hybrid" and "cosmopolitan" globalization; — The apologetic approach — highlights the role of global markets in innovative processes, seeking to minimize state intervention in the processes of "cosmopolitan globalization" in accordance with neoliberal doctrine; — The technological approach — focuses primarily on cutting-edge "cybernetic" technologies as a condition for selective, "hybrid globalization," allowing peripheral countries to integrate into the global economy while retaining their regional specificity. The typology of paradigms for understanding this historical phenomenon was proposed by Dutch researcher J.N. Peters: — The civilizational approach — "clash of civilizations" — fragmentation of the world is inevitable due to existing civilizational disparities rooted in cultural differentiation, where national, cultural, and religious factors will be decisive; — "McDonaldization" — cultural homogenization carried out by transnational corporations under the banner of modernization (Westernization, Europeanization, Americanization). The restaurant "McDonald's" and most of its "McDonaldized" outlets are products of American society, which have become subjects of aggressive export to other parts of the world. For instance, today, the company "McDonald's" opens new branches abroad in far greater numbers than in the United States, and already nearly half of its profits come from outside the U.S. Furthermore, while "McDonald's" is embraced globally, it simultaneously faces condemnation from intellectuals and social leaders. "McDonald's" and many other "McDonaldized" business sectors have proliferated worldwide, yet continue to maintain their American foundations and roots. — The intercultural approach — "hybridization" — encompasses a broad spectrum of intercultural interactions leading both to mutual enrichment and to the emergence of new cultural traditions.