Globalization More Poweful Force Than Localization

Kofi Annan, a UN diplomat, once said, “...that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.” Globalization and localization are two terms used to describe policies a government would take on dealing with its ideals. Globalization and localization are almost opposite concepts but can coexist. Countries must decide how they will approach their situation in an integrated global economy and integrated cultural surrounding. In this paper, I plan to discuss what globalization and localization are and discuss some of the costs and benefits associated with each. I will use the reading by James N. Rosenau, "The Complexities and Contradictions of Globalization, to discuss globalization and localization in international politics.

Globalization deals with the spread of ideas relating to peoples, activities, norms, ideas, goods, services, and currency that are confined to a specific geographical place and its established norms. It is something that is changing these set norms of activities and concerns of a society that have long served as the foundation of a certain way of life. Globalization indicates moving away from a set standard in the fields of political, economic, and political ways of life. Rosenau puts it as "a transformation of practices and norms". So globalization is more of a process than a "prevailing condition or a desirable end state". The aspirations for a particular state is something different, it is globalism.

Localization is a term used to describe those factors that cause a nation, an ...

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...things but secondary to the positive gains of globalization. The things gained by globalization help keep a nation economically and politically stable or more so than if localization was practiced. This was illustrated through the two New York Times articles. Though there is a lean towards globalization, Rosenau believes that both globalization and localization can coexist. As he put it, "for globalizing and localizing tendencies to accommodate each other, individuals have to come to appreciate that they can achieve psychic comfort in collectivities through multiple memberships and multiple loyalties, that they can advance both local and global values without either detracting from the other". He does believe this coexistence is possible and almost inevitable so he says that it is all about how well a nation can wok with both of them and make them work efficiently.