What is globalization? (TRAN THUY NGA/ 짠 튀 응아)

What is globalization?

1. Summary of the Reading

Roland Robertson and Kathleen E. White’s chapter “What Is Globalization?” offers a careful, multi-layered attempt to describe a phenomenon that has become both a powerful reality and an intensely debated concept. They begin by acknowledging that globalization is an essentially contested concept: scholars from different parts of the world and from different disciplines approach it with varying assumptions and no single agreed-upon definition. The authors trace the word’s rise in public discourse: although the processes we now associate with globalization long-distance trade, migration, cultural exchange stretch back centuries, the term itself only became widely used after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the partial collapse of communism. This historical moment gave globalization a new political and economic resonance, yet its roots are far older. Robertson and White emphasize that debates often split between those who see globalization narrowly in economic terms focusing on neoliberal policies such as open markets, deregulation, and the growing influence of transnational corporations (TNCs) and those who adopt a multidimensional view encompassing politics, culture, and society. The authors side with the latter approach, warning that to reduce globalization to economics alone is to overlook the cultural and social transformations that give the concept its depth and complexity. Central to their argument is the claim that globalization consists of two intertwined forces: increasing global connectivity and increasing global consciousness. Connectivity refers to the expanding material, technological, and institutional linkages that tie societies together trade networks, communication technologies, international organizations. Global consciousness, on the other hand, is the growing awareness of the world as a single place. It does not mean universal agreement, but rather a shared recognition that human actions and problems are interconnected on a planetary scale. The authors stress that these two forces must be studied together; too often scholars privilege one over the other, when in fact the rise of global awareness interacts constantly with the tangible networks of connection. The chapter identifies four key dimensions of globalization—economic, political, cultural, and social all of which overlap and reinforce one another. Economically, globalization is visible in the spread of global markets and corporations. Politically, it challenges and reshapes ideas of sovereignty and territoriality, and requires new forms of global governance. Culturally, it produces both homogenizing trends (such as George Ritzer’s idea of “McDonaldization”) and hybrid forms, where global practices adapt to local conditions. Socially, it transforms patterns of communication and social interaction, from migrants’ letters to today’s digital networks. Importantly, the authors argue that these dimensions are inseparable; at different times and places one may dominate, but all remain present. Rather than treating the nation-state as a victim of globalization, Robertson and White provocatively claim that it is an integral part of the process. Nation-states remain the key units through which global connections are organized, and debates about national identity particularly in multicultural societies shaped by migration illustrate how globalization intensifies rather than dissolves national consciousness. The concept of national identity itself, they suggest, has become “globalized,” as societies everywhere confront similar challenges of diversity and belonging. Globalization also reaches down to the level of the individual self and up to the level of humanity as a whole. At the micro level, processes of individualization encourage people to craft their own identities across categories of gender, race, religion, and nationality. The internet, for instance, makes it easier to experiment with and manipulate self-presentation. Yet this freedom is accompanied by new forms of surveillance and manipulation by states and corporations. At the macro level, humanity faces shared questions about the environment, human rights, and even the definition of what it means to be human debates intensified by global consciousness.

One of the chapter’s most influential contributions is the concept of glocalization. Rather than seeing the global and the local as opposites locked in tension, glocalization views them as two sides of the same coin. Global processes always adapt to local circumstances: for example, McDonald’s changes its menu to fit Indian dietary restrictions. This adaptation can itself create a new kind of homogeneity, as the pattern of local customization becomes similar worldwide. George Ritzer contrasts this with “grobalization,” a more aggressive homogenizing drive of global capitalism. For Robertson and White, glocalization shows that globalization is inherently a self-limiting process: because ideas and practices must be localized to take root, pure cultural uniformity is impossible. Finally, the authors situate globalization within global history. They note that scholars increasingly revisit the past through a global lens, exploring ancient trade networks, empires, and world systems long before the modern era. The very way historians write about nations and ethnic identities is being reshaped by our current global consciousness. Globalization, they conclude, is not a “thing” or an entity, but a dynamic process shaped by both historical continuity and contemporary change. It must be studied with theoretical sophistication and with sensitivity to spatial and temporal variation.

2. New, Interesting, or Unusual Insights

Robertson and White offer a series of insights that push our understanding of globalization far beyond the usual focus on economics or technology. First and foremost, they argue that global consciousness—a shared awareness of living in “one world” is as central as the more familiar notion of global connectivity. While most discussions emphasize flows of trade, capital, migration, or information networks, the authors highlight that this collective sense of planetary belonging is itself transformative. It reshapes how societies imagine their futures and how individuals understand their own place in a common human story. Yet this consciousness is not simple consensus: different cultures and regions interpret the meaning of a “single world” in diverse and sometimes conflicting ways, making global awareness both a unifying and a divisive force. 

Equally provocative is their claim that the nation-state is not merely undermined by globalization but is actually one of its constitutive elements. Rather than seeing globalization as the enemy of sovereignty, Robertson and White show how national identity itself has become globalized. Multiculturalism, migration debates, and the worldwide circulation of ideas about what it means to be “a nation” illustrate how nations now define themselves in response to global norms and to each other. Far from being left behind, the nation-state remains a key arena where global forces are negotiated and contested, and the very discourse of national uniqueness has been shaped by global exchanges.

Another powerful contribution is their discussion of glocalization, which dismantles the simple binary of “global versus local.” The authors demonstrate that the two levels are deeply intertwined: global actors must adapt to local conditions in order to thrive, and that adaptation paradoxically produces a new kind of global sameness. The famous example of McDonald’s altering its menu in India removing beef to respect religious norms reveals how global capitalism spreads not by erasing difference but by weaving difference into its strategy. At the same time, Robertson and White juxtapose this with George Ritzer’s notion of “grobalization,” a more aggressively homogenizing force, raising the question of whether local diversity will continue to restrain global standardization or eventually be overwhelmed by it.

Finally, they broaden the frame from large-scale structures to the level of individual identity. Globalization, they argue, penetrates the self: processes of individualization, accelerated by the Internet and global media, give people unprecedented freedom to construct and display their identities, yet also expose them to surveillance and manipulation by states and corporations. The same digital platforms that allow anonymity and self-expression can become tools of control, highlighting a tension between personal agency and structural power. This paradox between autonomy and vulnerability shows how globalization reaches into the most intimate aspects of human life and raises new ethical and political questions about privacy, responsibility, and selfhood.

Taken together, these insights portray globalization as a multi-layered, self-limiting, and deeply contested process. It is not merely a matter of markets or technology, but a dynamic interplay of global consciousness, national identity, local adaptation, and personal self-fashioning. Robertson and White compel us to see globalization not as a single force moving in one direction, but as an evolving, often contradictory set of interactions that continually renegotiate the meaning of connection and difference at every level from the planetary to the personal.

3.Identify at least one question, concern

A central and thought-provoking concern emerging from Robertson and White’s analysis lies in the tensions between the ideal of a “global consciousness” and the persistent inequalities and power imbalances that shape the contemporary world.  They define globalization not only as expanding networks of trade, communication, and technology but also as a growing awareness of the world as a single interconnected place.  Yet this very idea of a shared global consciousness raises a critical question: how genuinely universal can such awareness be when vast differences in wealth, education, political freedom, and technological access prevent many people from participating equally in global conversations?  If millions of people in the Global South, or even marginalized groups within affluent countries, lack the infrastructure or freedom to engage in worldwide discourse, then the “shared sense of the world as a whole” may remain an aspiration rather than a lived reality.

This problem becomes even more complicated when we consider the continuing dominance of economic forces.  Although Robertson and White call for a multidimensional understanding that goes beyond economics, the global spread of neoliberal policies, the enormous influence of transnational corporations, and the power of international financial institutions continue to shape political decisions, cultural exchange, and even personal identities.  It is worth asking whether we can truly separate the cultural and social dimensions of globalization from the economic engine that drives them.  Are the new forms of global consciousness and identity formation described in the chapter independent cultural phenomena, or are they in part consequences perhaps even by-products of global capitalism?

Their discussion of glocalization deepens this dilemma.  On the surface, the adaptation of global products to local contexts McDonald’s beef-free menu in India, for example seems to protect local traditions and encourage cultural diversity.  Yet the very predictability of this pattern, the expectation that global brands will localize, may itself be a new form of standardization.  We are left to wonder whether glocalization is truly evidence of cultural resilience or merely a sophisticated marketing strategy that allows multinational corporations to expand while wearing a local mask.  In other words, is this the triumph of cultural negotiation or the quiet advance of what George Ritzer calls “grobalization,” the deeper homogenization of lifestyles beneath the surface of variation?

Finally, Robertson and White challenge the common belief that globalization inevitably undermines the nation-state, instead portraying it as an active participant and even a necessary framework for global interaction.  But this argument invites another difficult question: as transnational networks, global governance institutions, and powerful corporations grow stronger, can nation-states maintain meaningful sovereignty, or are they gradually becoming administrators of global rules rather than independent political actors?  If national identity itself has become globalized, does this strengthen or ultimately dilute the distinctiveness of nations?

Taken together, these concerns about the limits of global consciousness, the hidden economic drivers of cultural change, the ambiguous role of glocalization, and the evolving function of the nation-state highlight the complex and often contradictory character of globalization.  They remind us that while the authors provide a sophisticated framework for understanding the phenomenon, the processes they describe remain deeply contested, and any serious analysis must grapple with the inequalities and power relations that continue to shape our “single world.”

=> Conclusion

Robertson and White’s analysis ultimately portrays globalization as a dynamic, multidimensional, and inherently contested process rather than a single economic trend or a neat political project. They show that globalization is driven by two intertwined forces increasing global connectivity and an intensifying global consciousness and that it operates across four deeply interwoven dimensions: economic, political, cultural, and social. Far from being a force that simply dissolves national borders or cultures, globalization transforms them: the nation-state remains a key actor, local cultures adapt and reshape global influences through glocalization, and individuals themselves experience profound changes in identity and self-presentation. Yet the authors also make clear that globalization cannot be treated as a fixed “thing.” It is a historical and conceptual framework, a set of processes that both unify and divide, homogenize and diversify. Their discussion invites us to ask hard questions about whose voices define global consciousness, how economic power and cultural adaptation interact, and whether the balance between local resilience and global homogenization can endure. By highlighting these tensions and possibilities, Robertson and White challenge us to approach globalization with both critical distance and imaginative openness recognizing it as a constantly evolving negotiation of connection and difference at every level, from the planetary to the personal.