globalisation

Glob·al·i·sa·tion

The growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by crossborder trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information.

Despite not being used until the second part of the 20th century, the term “globalisation” has a longer history.

After it was established that the earth was spherical, the noun “globe” in the English language started to refer to “the planet” many hundred years ago. In addition to its original meaning of “spherical,” the adjective “global” started to denote “world size” in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The word “globalism” and the verb “globalise” first appeared in the 1940s. The term “globalisation” first appeared in an American English dictionary in 1961.

Can new vocabulary just be written off as a fad when it obtains such widespread usage across continents and cultures? Or does the novel word signal a fundamental shift in the state of affairs, necessitating the development of new language to express altered circumstances? For instance, when Jeremy Bentham first used the term “international” in the 1780s, it resonated with a developing trend of the time, notably the emergence of nation-states and cross-border trade between them.

Additionally, it doesn’t seem likely that the current increase in global conversation is a coincidence. The term’s prevalence may be a reflection of the common perception that social ties in the modern day have taken on a significant new aspect. The difficulty—indeed, the pressing need—lies in getting beyond the trendy phrase to a focused idea.

As a purposefully designed analytical tool, concepts of the global began to emerge in a number of academic disciplines around the turn of the 1980s, nearly simultaneously and separately.

For instance, Theodore Levitt of the Harvard Business School wrote about “the globalisation of markets” at this time.

Some researchers in international relations also shifted their attention to “global interconnectedness” during these years.

The term “globalisation” is now used across academic fields, geographical regions, theoretical schools of thought, and political ideologies.

Numerous academicians have hurried to seize the day’s cliche. The issue is currently covered in a wide range of academic programmes, textbooks, and research centres.

Since 2000, a number of fresh professional associations for global studies have also emerged. Even some theorists have offered globalisation as the focal point for an alternative paradigm of social enquiry.

Yet, the more prevalent the word is the more elusive its ideas and concepts.

Hence, understanding its interpretations and approaches as comparatives could become crucial in the process.