Reading 3: Political Globalization - Delanty and Rumford

 1) Summary

This article by Gerard Delanty and Chris Rumford discusses political globalization and its 3 interacting dimensions global geopolitics, global normative culture, and polycentric networks. First, Global geopolitics discusses democracy and how it is one of the bigger forms of political globalization as there is now democratic parties or demand for democracy in most countries all over the world. Next, the dimension of global normative culture. Here the authors talk about the rise of global political communication around topics like human rights or the environment. This creates global norms that are agreed upon worldwide even if they are not created by the state systems. Finally, they discuss Polycentric networks which relates to nonterritorial politics that are not specifically bound to one place. They relate to networks and flows, new sources of mobility and communication, and show new relationships between individuals, state and society. The authors explain this using the term global civil society. This encompasses INGOs and other movements and grass-roots organizations, which are globally organized through networks of people sharing similar ideas and passions. The interactions of these dimensions is what creates political globalization.

The authors continue by mentioning four examples of social transformation. The first one being the transformation of the nation-state, nationality and citizenship. They talk about the change in the way nation-states are operated and seen, as they went from the most powerful entities controlling their territories and fighting each other, to trying to keep control of companies within their own nation-states that are in conflict with other states. Although still important players, nation-states now share their power with non-governmental players creating multi-governance and cooperate with other states at a transnational level. The distinction between national and international law has faded due to the rise of a global normative culture which has led to a separation of nationality and citizenship. An example of this is Europe where the EU law weighs higher than the law of the countries within the EU. This can cause discrepancy between rights of nationality and rights of citizenship.

Secondly, the authors talk about the transformation of the public sphere and political communication. They state that before most important communication was done through national systems of communication owned by the nation-state, whereas now there are so many platforms, both public and private, that allow for open, global communication. 

Next, they discuss the centrality of civil society. Due to the rise is global normative culture and the changes to the nation-state our society is now more similar and connected. These better opportunities of discourse are important for political globalization as they help to work towards resolving opposite tendencies, like the tendency to homogenize and the growing appreciation for difference, that are now central to globality. Civil society also helps in ensuring the state does not become too powerful or controlling, and global civil society helps in making important topics known and opens up ways to discuss and improve them.

Lastly, they mention the transformation of spaces and borders. Before each country had their own specific borders within which their business would be done, but now with the expansion of globalization and the creation of new networks there are many ways in which a place can be bordered.

In conclusion, political globalization has massively impacted the ways in which we communicate and think, and how power is distributed along the world and within states.

2) Interesting point

I found it interesting that some experts believed globalization would be the end of ideologies, but that it instead spread democratic thinking and created many other political ideas and connected people in a way that lets them share ideas and communicate about a plethora of different topics.

3) Discussion question

How can we, as people, control or impact the people and organisations in power?