International Order in The Globalization Era
The brutal process of globalization has left effects so profound that there has been a notable new rebalance of different aspects across the globe in the international order arena. Comparing how the order was back in the year 1914 and 2014, the difference is undoubtedly visible. Globalization means opening up international markets, easiness of transportation, and extending influence to various destinations outside one’s country’s confines. It has directly affected many countries, and more notable is the fall of Britain’s power and the rise of China and the United States of America. The world order is changing fast, seeing that the latter two have a greater influence around the world than previously. Economic rebalance in the globalization era has had critical restructuring in the various economies of the world and induced a totally world institutional organization, a recap on the intended future international world order is essential in understanding the gradual global realignments linked to political and economic developments.
China has increased its influence across the globe and especially in Asia and Africa through trade. Its ever-expanding industrialization has steered goods and services that cater to the high, middle, and low-income earners (Hooghe et al,2019). In developing countries, most of the infrastructure is done by the Chinese companies, which promises to offer quality services yet at an affordable cost. Such action alone has made China’s wealth to soar very high. Statistics shows that in the last approximately 30 years, the GDP per capita increased from $314 in 1990 to $6091 in 2012 (Hooghe et al,2019).
The International Order that was set post-war has a different set of rules and directions. It is defined by mutually enforcing different elements. The elements here include the sponsorship of the U.S and its power, forming a set of legitimate global institutions such as the United Nations and World Trade Organization, and different issue specific activities such as accounting and electronic standards, among many others. This post-war order is based on a system that is complex and extensive in nature. It encompasses a set of norms, treaties, and institutions. The above is set to give service to these principles: advance liberal values, nonaggression, economic stability, and coordinated activities on common challenges. The current international order, however, is taking a different direction. The redistribution sees it of power and resources to previously unstable economies like China to become the world’s leading economies. A shift of world’s dominance in economy from the democrats to the communists shows favorability of communism than democratic ideology. The unusual scenario is that as countries are becoming interdependent, others are becoming more dependent than before.
The increased trade between China and Japan was once characterized by the stability of the two. However, it has changed, and Japan has become more dependent on China despite its initial extensive investments. In another light, globalization has made the previously weak nations awake from their slumber. India and China were previously in that category. In the recent international order, countries have now entered into a competition that does not equate to the postwar one. Each country is now seeking after its self-interests. The developing countries are fighting to get at the top as fast as possible without looking into how they may disadvantage their peers. Those other countries that have previously been on the top, as in Britain and the United States of America, are fighting to keep their position despite the high price they have to pay (Deudney and Ikenberry,2018). Due to the above, countries are now in conflict with each other. China and the U.S have conflicted for a long time now, and as the years pass by, the conflict is intensifying.
Newly Industrial Countries have been affected positively and negatively by the new international order under globalization’s current trend. On a positive note, as the international markets are opening up from every corner of the world, a new opportunity to produce and sell. If these countries take this opportunity seriously by producing quality products at affordable prices, their economies are bound to soar higher than before the opportunity brought by globalization was created. A stable economy will enable the NICs to cater to their people by raising their standards of living. Having an opportunity to trade with large economies like the U.S, these newly industrialized countries can learn how to conduct international trade and secure their economies from crumbling. Apart from trading with the developed countries, these countries have a lucrative opportunity to trade with the developing regions. The untapped resources that lie bare in developing countries’ mines can be a good kickoff for the NICs. Making trade deals with the governments of the developing nations that are mutually benefitting will chart a channel for more stability in both stakeholders’ interests (Hooghe et al,2019). In a troubling time, these relationships created here among countries will come to the rescue, thus cushioning them from an adverse effect. The help from the developed nations is a predeterminer of continued exploitation of raw materials from these nations which is new form of capitalism as the end products are later sold in the least developed nations.
On a contrary note, the new international order is likely to raise uncertainties among stakeholder countries due to globalization. The once enjoyed security of being in good contact with the rest of the world is slowly fading away (Brands and Gavin,2020). As seen earlier, a shift of focus from mutually benefitting to self-seeking adventures is the norm. Therefore, newly Industrialized Countries are at the risk of being exploited and destroyed by developed countries (Duncombe and Dunne,2018). The overexploitation can be so if the former is insecure with the way the latter is operating. In light of this, international conflicts have been on the rise than ever before, with nations like India and China investing tens of billions of dollars in their security sector as a move to cushion themselves against the eventualities of war that are likely to come from their perceived enemy, the developed world. In return, other nations are tactically joining together to form regional governments that promise security and stability.
COVID-19 has become a world pandemic that has led to the plummeting of globalization. In recent months, several industries have been hit greatly by it and are seen to be on the verge of collapsing. The tourism industry has been one of the major hit sectors globally, with the coronavirus pandemic strengthening borders that were previously not as strong due to globalization. A new trend by governments trying to cushion their countries from collapse is on the rise (Brands and Gavin,2020). International trades also have been falling significantly, with people locked up in their countries of dwelling as a move to contain the virus from spreading. Not long ago, most nations had canceled all international flights of people and goods from the developed to the developing. Indeed, it has weakened globalization on the path of destruction before the pandemic as the developed countries had taken a different trend of protectionism by closing their borders from immigrants and some goods. Governments worldwide have also been encouraging domestic tourism among its citizenry to cushion the tourism and hospitality sector from collapsing. It is likely to continue over many months as the future of globalization is at a very risky state.
The big question for many people is whether or not globalization will be there posting the COVID-19 era. Amidst the pandemic, it is not definitive as to whether globalization will end or not. However, following different indicators, the larger percentage shows that globalization will slowly end. Major drivers of the economy, such as international trades, are plummeting fast, and tourism and hospitality are falling prey (Brands and Gavin,2020). The most affected countries being the ones that highly depend on these sectors. However, another recent trend of sharing ideas through different virtual platforms such as zoom and social media is on the rise. Some of the major beneficiaries of the globalized idea-sharing prompt are the research and scientific sectors. This is because people can learn from each other across the globe despite the vast physical distance.
In conclusion, globalization may have been greatly affected in some of the major sectors that drive a country’s economy, but the ray of hope, as seen in the technology sector and other research sectors, cannot be ignored. This shows that post this era of COVID-19, globalization may take a more rational shape than before.
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