benefits and threats of globalisation Introduction There are processes in the international order--driven by revolutions in communication and information technology--that exhibit seemingly inexorable globalising tendencies while, at the same time, there are a range of actions, adopted by states and non state actors alike, that attempt to resist these often ill defined phenomena captured by the all embracing notion of 'globalisation'. For example, the long term tendency towards freer trade, electronic commerce and the seemingly uncontrollable power of deregulated capital markets do...
Many see it as a primarily economic phenomenon, involving the increasing interaction, or integration, of national economic systems through the growth in international trade, investment and capital flows. However, one can also point to a rapid increase in cross-border social, cultural and technological exchange as part of the phenomenon of globalisation. The sociologist, Anthony Giddens, defines globalisation as a decoupling of space and time, emphasising that with instantaneous communications, knowledge and culture can be shared around the world simultaneously. A Dutch academic who maint...