Globalization Is Inevitable And Intensified Politics Essay
Based on the facts in the world today, this essay firstly clarifies a hot argument, which was raised up at the Boao Forum for Asia justifies that the globalization process is being halted, backward and marginalized, and explains why this point is sharp. Secondly, this paper analyses deeply the argument that explains the globalization is being superannuated, because countries are actively creating their mutual Free Trade Area (FTA) which is called under the new name Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) to replace WTO. Thirdly, by both studying the nature of globalization and its influence on almost aspects of human life and analyzing multi-dimensional perspectives on world integration, this thesis proves the view which argues the globalization is slowdown, in deadlock and marginalized, is not satisfactory. In contrary, it is intensified in recent years. Finally, by analyzing the impact of globalization in human life, the author argues that the development of the globalization process is inevitable, regardless of the current conflict among developed and developing nations as well as the shadow of the global financial crisis.
Debate: Is globalization halted, backward and marginalized?
Yes, it is, because the globalizations’ slowdown and set-backs has been clarified by three facts: (A) the failure of the WTO’s Doha Negotiations in 2008, (B) the stalemate of the Doha Negotiations for 11 years (since 2001) and (C) the increasing of trade protection policies in the world recently, while the notion that globalization is being marginalized is explained by (D) the dynamic movement of creating Free Trade Areas (FTAs) which is under the new name Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) among the nations in over the world today. In details:
(A) Being conceived since 2001, the WTO's Doha Negotiations – with the goal of reducing barriers to trade and reaching global free trade agreements – has failed completely in July, 2008 in Geneva (Switzerland), due to disagreements between developed and developing countries on both reducing tariff barriers and the U.S. agricultural protection. This fact indicates that the international free trade and economic integration are halted. If globalization is "the integration of the world economy” (Gilpin, R. 2001, p. 364), it could be argued that the failure of the Doha Negotiations reflected the defeat of WTO, the soul of globalization.
(B) Up to now (Dec, 2012), after more than 11 years from the date of initiation, Doha Negotiations has continued with persistent deadlock. This means the international trade among countries is paused. If globalization is the world “free movement of goods, services, labour and capital thereby creating a single market in inputs and outputs” (Henderson, D., 1999, as cited in Nayef, R.F., Definitions of Globalization, 2006, p. 13), the impasse of the Doha Negotiations reveals the standstill of the globalization process.
(C) Moreover, the financial crisis which has been stemming from the U.S. since 2008 (due to the collapse of the real estate market) generated significant negative impacts on trade and financial flows of nations and the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)  . Therefore, countries have signed and implemented a series of trade protection policies to save themselves. The Global Trade Alert (GTA), which belongs to The Center for Economic Policy Research (UK), warned that the world's governments have implemented 297 protectionist policy measures from 11/2008 to 12/2009. Especially, from 9/2009 to 12/2009, just in three months, “the number of protectionist measures discovered (105) was more than eight times the number of benign or liberalizing measures. Protectionist pressure has not relented.” (The 3rd GTA Report, 2009, p. 366). This case makes evident that because the protectionism is being preferred, the globalization is being threatened and regressed.
(D) In addition, the rise of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) discloses that the globalization is being marginalized. The movement of creating Free Trade Areas (FTAs) among world economies, which aims to replace the process of globalization, is emerging rapidly under the new name Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs).
"Participation has accelerated PTAs over time and become more widespread. The number of PTAs in force in 2010 was close to 300. Interest in Negotiating PTAs appears to have been sustained despite the global economic crisis. Indeed, the economic crisis itself may be spurring governments to negotiate new PTAs as much to preserve existing openness in the face of Political pressure to reduce access as to generate new openness” and “13 is the average number of PTAs that a WTO member is party to.” (World Trade Report, 2011, p. 6)
The increase in number of PTAs explains that when nations do not expect on the WTO’s recovery and advantages of globalization, they will not be patient to wait for its restore because it could lessen their opportunities to expand trade and economic development. So, they have chosen PTAs solution, irrespective of whether it fits the criteria, objectives and general principles of the WTO or not. This fact debates that the globalization is being ignored and superannuated.
In summary, the failure and deadlock of the Doha Negotiations and the rise of protectionist policies have justified sharply for the view that globalization is halted, while the increase of PTAs has proved the marginalization of globalization in the world.
Author’s view: Globalization is inevitable and intensified
According to the author, those four arguments (A, B, C, D) above are one-sided and unsatisfactory. In fact, the globalization is not slowdown, not in a standstill but intensified in recent years. This is proved by the nature of globalization and its current impact on every aspects of human life. Then, what is globalization?
It is “a process that encompasses the causes, course, and consequences of transnational and transcultural integrations of human and non-human activities.” (Nayef, R.F, 2006, p. 3)
“Human activities” include linguistic, cultural, economic and political aspects of human life, while “non-human activities” encompass the spread of bacteria, disease, natural disasters, earthquakes and hurricanes…
This concept describes the basis of globalization which is the mutual integration of economic, cultural, political, social aspect among countries. Therefore, the economic globalization is just a part of the overall globalization perspective. In other words, globalization is:
“a multi-dimension process; it applies to the whole range of social relations – cultural, economic and political.” (David, H., 2004, p. 15)
Having the same wavelength, Dr. Nayef R.F also said that there are at least 114 different concepts of globalization, in which 60% tend to lean toward economic perspective, and the rest (40%) state other aspects of globalization, such as political, social, cultural. In general, most of them have the same acknowledge that globalization is the non-stop process of interconnectedness and interdependence among countries and regions in the fields of politics, economics, culture, society, technology, environment… Again, globalization is not only reflected by economic perspective. Hence, it is not satisfactory to argue that the impasse of Doha Negotiations (because of conflicts among nations on tariff and trade protectionist measures), has reflected the pause of the overall globalization process. So, (A) is unsatisfactory.
Furthermore, the view that argues the globalization reaches deadlock is obsolete, because at the APEC 24th, in Sept, 2012 at Vladivostok (Russia), members have agreed that though the goal of full integration is still facing up with many obstacles, but in long term, the trend of global economic liberalization is inevitable, and concurred that strengthening economic links among countries would be more beneficial than be harmful  . Moreover, the G20 Ministers of Finance had a meeting in Mexico in Nov, 2012 to ask WTO to launch the Global Recovery Negotiations. It is expected to be completed by the next WTO meeting in Bali in Dec, 2013  . Hence, (B) is unsatisfactory.
In addition, the argument explains the collapse of globalization, which is caused by the dynamic movement of creating FTAs among countries (under new name PATs), is not rational because of two reasons. First, the FTA has appeared since 1960 while the WTO was formed in 1994. Based on the Law of Negation (Mac Lenin philosophy), the author debates that it is unreasonable to argue an earlier one (FTA) can replace the latter one (WTO), because the latter one is more advanced than the previous one. Second, the FTA and WTO have the same objective which is to build a free trade and smooth commercial environment in the world. Therefore, FTA and WTO do not conflict with each other, so they could not replace each other. Thus, WTO could not be marginalized by FTA. That makes the argument (C, D) for the superannuation of the soul of globalization (WTO) is not satisfactory.
In addition, the author debates that the development of globalization process is intensified in recent years. There are at least four evidences to justify for this point.
First, transnational crime, pandemics, and climate change are three global challenges that no country can deal with alone. Indeed, at the Security Council 6668th meeting (2011), Mr. Ban Ki-moom said: “They were increasingly transnational, increasingly acute, and had ever greater implications for human, State, regional and international security. There was an increasing convergence between organized crime and terrorist groups. Climate change had aggravated conflict over scarce land and could well trigger large-scale migration. Rising sea levels put at risk the very survival of small island States. No country and no region, no matter how powerful, would be able to address those threats alone.” Moreover, “many delegations also called for the U.S. to urgently consider convening a global summit on the issue”  . This case proves that nowadays the globalization cooperation is intensified very much to deal with the global issues.
Second, there are a lot of reasons to explain why an interest in globalization has intensified in recent years, such as the increase multi-continental flows of capital, services, manufacture, goods, data, the telecommunications & culture products, popularity of English, transnational labour flows and migration, trans-border passage of social movements, common patterns of material and cultural consumption, mass tourism and converging media technologies…” (Jahansoozi, J., 2012).
Third, because the internet, telecommunication, transportation – which are ones can both compress time and space and eliminate geographical distance between nations – develops rapidly and certainly, the global interconnectedness is assured. They continues creating a non-stop assimilation of culture, knowledge, lifestyle, language… over the world by spreading out huge amounts of information every day through news, books, magazines, movies. They are engines which accelerate the process of globalization. They bring both advantages and disadvantages to a countries’ culture – the diversity and homogeneity. As a result, it is argued that because the globalization creates homogeneity in lifestyle, ideology, conception of democracy, so it has led to a loss of cultural diversity and autonomy as well weakened the power of the government. Indeed, Vietnamese government demand the press to use the word “internationalization” instead of “globalization”, because the word “internationalization” actively reveals the selective adaption of Vietnamese culture and politic view, while the “globalization” discloses the passive of culture and government in integrating into the world. In a different view, according to the author, it could be difficult to discuss if the globalization has led to a loss of culture diversity and autonomy or not, because no culture is static or has an endpoint due to its selective adaption to outside influences.
“Ideas, technologies, products, and people move from one place to another. When cultures come into contact through migration, trade, or the latest telecommunications devices, they influence each other. Sometimes cultures cross-pollinate, exchange foods, music, sports. In the past the influences of distant cultures came slowly, delayed by long journeys. Today, because of the telephone, the television, the Internet, telecommunications satellites, world trade, and long-distance travel, cultural influences can spread across the planet as fast as the click of a mouse.” (Helen R., Grant K., Roger E., 2000, p. 269)
In short, regardless of whatever argument is preferred, because the internet, telecommunications satellites and transportation exist and expand rapidly, the globalization is inevitable and intensified.
Last but not least, despite the global financial crisis, bilateral trade between Vietnam and Russia continues grow rapidly.
“…In 2010, the import-export turnover of the two countries reached 2.45 billion dollars. In the first nine month of 2011, Vietnam’s exported to Russia increase by 63% in comparison with the same period of 2010. The Vietnam-Russia import-export turnover is expected to reach 3 billion dollars in 2012.” 
Because the international trade and world economy integration is still beneficial to nations, the globalization is still intensified and inevitable.
In summary, the Doha Negotiations issue and the increase of PTAs reflected only economic aspect of the globalization. Moreover, based on my studying the nature of globalization and its current impact on human life as well as analyzing recent facts in the world, I would have no hesitation in arguing that the globalization is a process that could not be halted, backward and marginalized, but intensified in recent years, because it is the inevitable trajectory of development in the human society./.
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