The phenomenon of globalization

THE PHENOMENON OF GLOBALIZATION

Part 2

Учебно-методическое пособие для вузов

 

 

Составители:

Н.В. Ильичева,

А.А. Махонина

 

 

Издательско-полиграфический центр

Воронежского государственного университета

 

 

Утверждено научно-методическим советом факультета романо-германской филологии ВГУ 13 ноября 2012 г., протокол № 9

 

Рецензент канд. филол. наук, доц. И.Ю. Вострикова

 

 

Учебно-методическое пособие подготовлено на кафедре английского языка в профессиональной международной деятельности факультета романо-германской филологии Воронежского государственного университета.

 

Рекомендуется для студентов 3го курса факультета международных отношений.

 

 

Для специальности 030700 – Международные отношения и направления 032300 – Регионоведение

 

 

Unit 1

Players of Globalization

Lead-in

A. The world today is populated by a growing number of regional, subnational and transnational actors, who actively contribute to the globalization process and to the ongoing developments in global infrastructure. Work in groups. Think what types of global actors take an active part in promoting globalization nowadays.

B. What relation do states have to the activities of the players of globalization?

C. How can these types of organizations be characterized? Look at the table and fill in the gaps with distinctive features of the given global institutions. An example of a description is given. Can you name any more representatives of these kinds of organizations?

Types of Organizations	Description	Representatives
Intergovernmental organizations, also known as international governmental organizations (IGOs)		§ The United Nations (UN); § Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); § §
International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs)	International non-profit organizations		§ International Committee of the Red Cross; § Médecins Sans Frontières; § §
International corporations, referred to as multinational (or transnational) corporations	A multinational corporation is a company which operates in more than one country, as opposed to a purely domestic business which has no operations abroad. There are now 63,000 multinational corporations in the world. They are responsible for two thirds of global trade and 80% of investment. They are the economic force behind globalisation.	§ The Coca Cola Company; § Toyota; § §

D. Discuss in pairs what the mission of these organizations is? How powerful are they? Can they be called “a characteristic tendency of the globalized world”?

A. Intergovernmental organizations promote globalization by stating common aims and promoting common development modes. They represent supranational bodies with a mandate to work and regulate relations among states, governments and corporations. Look at the emblems of different global institutions below and decide what organization they belong to. Brainstorm what the main activities of these organizations are.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

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D. Work in groups. Discuss the following.

· How do these organizations shape the world order?

· What is their contribution to the proliferation of globalization?

A. International organizations are considered to be useful in harmonizing national and international policies, avoiding potential trade and investment disequilibria, dealing with problems of overlapping jurisdiction, and encouraging the development of multinational corporations by means of regulatory legislation and decision-making. Multinationals are believed to be another type of promoters of globalization due to their activities. Study some activities of multinational corporations and match them with the beneficial outcomes given below. Note that there is always more than one beneficial outcome of an activity.

Activities of multinational corporations		Beneficial outcomes
		1.…
Multinational companies are sensitive to global opportunities.		2. …
		3. …
Multinational companies invest in an area.		1. …
		2. …
		3. …
Multinational companies may provide training and education for employees.		1. …
		2. …
		3. …
Multinational companies purchase existing national assets through the privatisation process.		1. …
		2. …
		3. …

 

A. Management and entrepreneurial skills learned from multinationals are an important source of human capital.

B. Multinationals provide jobs directly or through the growth of local ancillary businesses such as banks and insurance.

C. Multinationals are able to sell far more than other type of company.

D. Multinationals can avoid transport costs.

E. Multinationals support better financial market regulation and supervision.

F. Multinationals can achieve great economies of scale.

G. Multinationals generate more income as newly employed workers spend their wages on consumption.

H. Multinationals create a higher skilled labour force.

I. Multinationals lead to a more efficient allocation of the worlds’ resources.

J. Multinationals contribute tax revenue to the government and other revenues.

K. Skills trained by multinationals may be transferred to other areas of the host country.

L. The injection of multinationals into the local economy is significant.

Listening

A. You are going to listen to several political observers analyzing the role intergovernmental organizations and multinational corporations play in promoting globalization. Before you listen, study two opposing points of view on their activities and decide which one you agree with more.

1. Intergovernmental organizations and multinational corporations have become increasingly prominent in the development of international collaboration. Harmony and progress have not only been fostered by free trade, but have also been proven by the evidence of our times. Shared economic interests beget friendships and alliances between formerly antagonistic nations. Wars and conflicts are avoided, lives are not put at risk. Thus, all these players of globalization are no longer seen as merely advisors and observers to international cooperation, but they take a more active role as a source of expertise.

2. Hypermobile global players are moving around the world in search of territories with higher subsidies and lower labour costs. Governments compete for multinational favor by offering attractive terms, including concessions, tax holidays, advantageous depreciation, low cost land for factories and other incentives. The owners and managers of global corporations in their turn view the entire world as their factory, farm, supermarket, and play‑ground. As a result the prize won by governments in granting short-term advantages brings devastation in the long run since improvements in the material aspects of the human condition are not worth the social cost.

B. Growing activism of globalization promoters does not mean that they operate flawlessly. Together with beneficial outcomes of their activities, there are many detrimental consequences. Match positive effects of the activities of multinational corporations with possible negative results.

Positive effects
		Investment and increased export income improves a country’s balance of payment.
		Multinational corporations introduce otherwise unavailable goods and services that are essential for diversifying production.
		Transnational corporations increase productivity of labor by supplying foreign technology and training a skilled workforce.
		Workers of multinational corporations receive wages that are often substantially higher than those earned from traditional jobs in developing countries.
		Multinationals stimulate local entrepreneurship by subcontracting to local industries and enhancing competition.
		New domestic industries appear due to an opportunity for technology transfer.
		Host government consider multinationals to be a source of tax revenue.
		Specialization of production creates economies of scale, making exports more profitable and competitive, which increases national income.

 

 

Negative effects
A	Transnational companies exacerbate income inequality by generating jobs and producing goods that primarily benefit the richest portion of the population.
B	Transnational corporations limit the transfer of patents, industrial secrets, and other technical knowledge to local subsidiary.
C	Growth is concentrated; investment in infant industries is neglected.
D	Multinational corporations repatriate profits and restrict exports by a subsidiary when they undercut the market of the parent company, which worsens a country’s balance of payments.
E	Multinational corporations require the subsidiary to purchase inputs from the parent company even when domestic supplies are cheaper.
F	Labor-saving technology increases unemployment.
G	Multinationals often demand tax concessions and subsidies, and what is more they can evade taxes by overpricing inputs transferred from another subsidiary or underpricing outputs sold by the multinational to another country.
H	Multinationals introduce inappropriate products, technology, and consumption patterns (Nestle infant formula).

C. Owing to a possibility of pernicious aftereffects of the global players’ activities these organizations are facing severe criticism. According to the data given below, guess what the grounds for the criticism are. An example is given.

Data on the activities of multinationals		Grounds for criticism
1.	The WTO makes decisions by “consensus” among its members rather than by voting. In practice this means that the rich nations band together and negotiate policies which they then impose on other member states. The WTO tradition is to present various deals as a fait accompli that other countries must accept if the multilateral trading system is to survive. In practice, this would mean that many smaller developing countries (the majority of the WTO’s members), that have been excluded from the negotiations, could be forced into accepting a deal that could wreak havoc on their economies and the environment and undermine their democracies. All decisions at the IMF and World Bank are taken on the basis of “one dollar one vote”, which guarantees the world’s richest countries an inbuilt majority.		International organizations are undemocratic.
2.	The rules of international organizations like the WTO are written by and for corporations with inside access to the negotiations. International organizations sign treaties that facilitate fiscal cross-border operations and reduce tariff barriers aiming to support domestic producers. In reality only multinational corporations benefit from such agreements as local companies aren’t competitive on the global market. The WTO has become the vehicle for liberalisation, with the multinationals at the wheel. It has the power to punish governments who “interfere” with free trade, leaving the field wide open for multinationals in pursuit of profit. The WTO agreement on intellectual property rights (TRIPs) also benefits corporations. It imposes strict rules protecting patents, copyrights and trademarks – most of which are held by multinationals. This increases the monopoly control some multinationals have, preventing local firms from developing similar products. It also allows multinationals to own rights to the use of plants and natural derivatives, like the natural pesticide from the Neem tree, which has been used for hundreds of years by farmers but has now been patented by a US corporation.
3.	Workers in poor countries may have to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week with few protections for health and safety. In some countries, globalization leads to the exploitation of child, and prison labour. The rules of international organizations don’t protect workers’ rights to organize, which leads to workers’ exploitation and lack of defense by trade unions. For example, a woman who sows a $200 Liz Claiborne jacket in El Salvador is paid just 74 cents. In the US, the labour cost to sew a garment is typically 10 per cent of the retail price. Coca-Cola is said to be one of the most discriminatory employers in the world. In the year 2000, 2,000 African-American employees in the U.S. sued the company for race-based disparities in pay and promotions. In Colombia, the IMF complained in January 2003 that labor market reforms do "not go far enough" because the minimum wage is still indexed to the cost of living. Even for Germany, the IMF has recommended “wage moderation”, an “aggressive elimination of spending on active labor market policies” and reduced unemployment benefits.
4.	Multinational and intergovernmental organizations promoting trade consider environmental protections to be “barriers to trade”. Some countries’ officials are bribed to give permissions to fell rainforests, to use cyanide heap leach technology for mining, to increase the amount of GMO seeds in agriculture. The petrochemical company Chevron left more than 600 unlined oil pits in pristine northern Amazon rainforest and dumped 18 billion gallons of toxic production water into rivers. The toxic crude oil and formation water seeped into the subsoil, contaminating surrounding freshwater and farmland. As a result, local communities suffered severe health effects, including cancer, skin lesions, birth defects, and spontaneous abortions. It is known that the WTO is negotiating an agreement that would eliminate tariffs on wood product, which would increase the demand for timber and escalate deforestation.
5.	International organizations like the WTO are responsible for violating national and individual independence by promoting mass homogeneity, sameness, and standardization which erases individuality, specificity and difference. Mass consumption of standardized goods brought up by international trade and Foreign Direct Investment in cultural and other sectors may be seen as negative because it crowds out self-produced, traditional and locally manufactured goods and services or tends to reduce the perceived value of these goods to their so-called “pure” market value. The growth of sameness and a presumed loss of cultural autonomy is viewed as a form of cultural imperialism of international organizations and multinational corporations. Companies like McDonald’s popularize similar patterns of consuming food all over the world. MTV, the television rock music station, was launched in 1981 when it reached 1.5 million householders. By 1991 it reached 201 million householders in 77 countries, across 5 continents. Given the global reach of MTV and the nature of popular music, this example might be regarded as a good illustration of cultural homogenization.
6.	The IMF and World Bank practice ideological interference and determine development paths of countries. WTO rules mean that governments are not allowed to “interfere” with trade. Increasingly this is being interpreted to mean that governments cannot even make normal domestic policy if it might have an impact on an overseas company wishing to sell its goods. Even government rules to protect the health of their citizens have come under attack. The processes of apartheid – declared a crime against humanity by the United Nations in the 1960s – witnessed close collaboration between foreign corporations including mining, banking, technology, automotive and energy corporations such as Fujitsu Ltd, Barclays, IBM, Daimler AG and the Ford Motor Company among others, intentionally financing, aiding and abetting the regime, in exchange for access to natural resources such as gold and diamonds, and deliberately cheapened human resources or labour. The reasoning – business as usual – was quickly justified by corporations such as Ford who stated, “Why are we in South Africa? We would not be there were there not an opportunity to make a profit.”
7.	Free trade pitches powerful rich countries against the Third World. Developing countries are prohibited from nurturing their industries in the way that industrialised countries did during their own development. The significant impact on power disparity is due to the profits extracted by the multinationals that take over developing country systems. For example, the 20% of world’s richest population devour 86% of world’s natural resources while the 80% of the underprivileged are left with 14% of the resources. Global trade rules, and especially International Monetary Fund and World Bank conditions, have required developing countries to remove tariffs on agricultural imports. That has left them vulnerable to accepting the international market price – even if it is the product of a rigged system, and even if it impoverishes the countries’ farmers and drives them out of their livelihoods. One of the World Bank’s present fads is water privatization. Clean drinking water is a basic need for survival, but widely unavailable in poor countries. Privatization in water and sanitation has led to much higher fees, sometimes overnight and sometimes with disastrous consequences. Diarrhea kills more than a million children a year in developing countries, simply because their families lack access to clean drinking water.

 

Task 2

F. Discuss in groups.

· Do intergovernmental organizations and multinational corporations think globally or are they motivated by their own interests?

· How can these actors of globalization be made fairer?

 

Reading

A. Read the information about the influence of international organizations on the domestic policy-making and comment on the role these organizations play in the formation of national policy. Do you believe nation-states should coordinate their policies in accordance with the view of international organizations? Are they partners or competitors in their effort to form and guide national policy?

 

The IMF contributes to promoting good governance in member countries through different channels. First, in its policy advice, the IMF has assisted its member countries in creating systems that limit the scope for ad hoc decision making, for rent seeking, and for undesirable preferential treatment of individuals or organizations. To this end, the IMF has encouraged, among other things, liberalization of the exchange, trade, and price systems, and the elimination of direct credit allocation. Second, IMF technical assistance has helped member countries in enhancing their capacity to design and implement economic policies, in building effective policymaking institutions, and in improving public sector accountability. Third, the IMF has promoted transparency in financial transactions in the government budget, central bank, and the public sector more generally, and has provided assistance to improve accounting, auditing, and statistical systems. In all these ways, the IMF has helped countries to improve governance, to limit the opportunity for corruption, and to increase the likelihood of exposing instances of poor governance. In addition, the IMF has addressed specific issues of poor governance, including corruption, when they have been judged to have a significant macroeconomic impact.

D. Read the text. Six paragraphs have been removed from it. Choose the most suitable paragraph from the list (A-G) for each part (1-5) of the text. There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).

A Struggle for Power

Michael J. van Lierop

At the dawn of the 21^st century, the roles, influence and capacities of the nation-state are increasingly under scrutiny as the importance of the multinational enterprise gains ever greater prominence in world affairs. While views currently span the entire spectrum, from that of nation-state abolition to that of trade and financial de-liberalization, it is abundantly clear that after already a few decades of rising corporate presence at the international level the state is under considerable and mounting pressure. It is universally recognized that the multinational enterprise bears at its core an endemic need for not only MNE-friendly state policies and certain natural, human and capital resources, but also carries with it the value-laden preference for small government and liberal democracy. Within this context, clearly, the nation-state has been undermined by the MNE in almost every vital area as the unchallenged authority within the international system. In this regard, the nation-state has become subservient to the needs and free-market hegemony of the multinational enterprise.

C

Integral to the argument that MNEs pose a growing threat to the state, and in fact are acquiring a unique stature among international actors which pushes the MNE closer to the extreme opposite of the subservient nation-state, that of the masterless corporation or international overlord, is the very size, power and pervasiveness of the multinational firm.

Currently, there are over 2,000 large MNEs (operating in more than six countries) and over 37,000 smaller MNEs throughout the world, which collectively control some 270,000 subsidiaries, are worth tens of trillions of dollars, and employ over 35 million workers world-wide. General Motors, the world’s largest MNE, with a GCP (Gross Corporate Product) of more than $170 billion, ranks it twenty-second among all global economic entities, governments included. Indeed, multinational enterprises represent fifty-one of the world’s one-hundred largest economic entities, the remaining forty-nine being nation-states.

Part and parcel of the argument that the nation-state has become subservient to the MNE are the aspects in which governments aim to, or are succumbed to, serving the needs of multinational corporate investment. Indeed, Mathew Horsman and Andrew Marshall indicate the three golden rules states must adhere to in order to lure and maintain MNE interests, the cornerstone of these being the open economy, which is characterized by the open market, open regulation, and open capital markets. Accordingly, the TNC thus places a certain degree of limitation upon the state by virtue of its political needs, demanding security, stability, and efficiency aside from the resources it ultimately requires and utilizes.

An integral component to the MNE versus nation-state struggle is that of the inherent flexibility and mobility of the multinational firm. Put succinctly, the domestic enterprise relies on an internal market and resource base, which generally restricts its mobility within the confines of any given state, whereas the multinational enterprise relies on a global, transnational market and has at its disposal resources from its home and, quite possibly, other host countries. As a result, the MNE has the ability to move to benefit its bottom line just as much as it can move to undermine unfavourable or simply disliked host-country policy.

The commercial flexibility of the MNE as one of its key characteristics has been acknowledged unanimously for quite some time; concomitantly, this is what poses the greatest threat to nation-state supremacy. As Stephen H. Hymer noted in the early 1970s:

“Multinational corporations, because of their size and international connections, have a certain flexibility in escaping regulations imposed in one country. The nature and effectiveness of traditional policy instruments – monetary policy, fiscal policy, anti-trust policy, taxation policy, wages and income policy – change when important segments of the economy are foreign-owned.”

The authority and capabilities of national policy are drastically challenged by the manner in which the MNE chooses to invest and how it can readily alter capital inflows to the detriment of the host-country. That is assuming a state can lure the MNE in the first instance, but what of national policy once they have landed on home soil?

Still, the balance of power between MNEs and government remains precariously disequilibrium. The size and global reach of the biggest multinational enterprises have given rise to fears that decision-making powers are passing from governments to boardrooms. These powers of policy-creation remain strongly vested in government hands, but the extent to which MNE interests lobby government suggests that while the nation-state may still create the policy, it is the MNE spearheaded by the business lobby that ultimately shapes the policy. At the global level, MNE interests are represented before such integral international bodies as the WTO, EC, ISO, and the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Given any perspective, it is evident that MNE interests can easily undermine national policy initiatives or plans, either through these aforementioned international organizations, various NGOs or through MNE-based direct pressuring.

A consequence of this erosion of sovereignty is, ultimately, a breakdown in national capacities to dictate terms of engagement in the commercial multinational theatre. But does a breakdown translate into subservience? Can one suggest that because state supremacy is under attack that its ability to act independently and make policy within its own domain to suit its own needs has been completely or sufficiently undermined to imply subservience? Arguably, yes. Without complete control and sovereignty over its own future, the nation-state has acquired a substantially weakened position vis-a-vis the multinational enterprise. The needs of the MNE supersede those of the domestic populace simply because the domestic electorate need the money, the jobs and the resources supplied by incoming MNE investment. By waving fat carrots at MNEs, nation-states now serve as go-between match-makers linking corporate interests from abroad with those from at home, acting as the elected middle-man for FDI and the intended target, that being domestic enterprise. One thing remains clear: the capacities of the nation-state have been challenged, eroded and ultimately undermined by the actions and interests of the MNE, the result being a diminution of state stature and power, positioning it as little more than a caterer, at best a matchmaker, for the needs of multinational corporations.

A. Arguably, the competition between states to offer the best possible environment for MNE investment indicates the ultimate extent to which this subservience can be illustrated. From tax breaks to low wages, subsidies to rent-free locations, submissive workers to sector deregulation, nation-state governments fall over themselves to offer the best incentives to FDI (foreign direct investment) and in so doing capitalize on one of the last domains which they can affect internally - the maximization of the state’s preparedness and openness to multinational enterprise dominance.

B. The TNC may increase or decrease employment based on shifting patterns of comparative advantage, making employment less stable and therefore undermining domestic policy by threatening to eliminate jobs.

C. Foreign-owned mega-corporations, be they willing to integrate locally or not, play a consistently expanding role in international politics and continue to challenge, with ever-increasing strength and persistence, the capacity of the nation-state to act as a sovereign power, that is, to make policy and take action according to its needs and desires regardless of external factors.

D. An examination of the magnitude of this issue and its implications for the nation-state will begin, firstly, with an introduction of the multinational enterprise, varying perspectives on its existence, and reasons for its omnipresence; secondly, through an overview of the ways in which states serve MNEs; thirdly, by analyzing the degrees of MNE flexibility and mobility that are central to the state-MNE relationship; fourthly, by examining national policies and their relation and impact on MNEs; fifthly, through a discussion of the state of sovereignty under the MNE-onslaught; and lastly, with a conclusion spanning the entire issue, offering a comprehensive evaluation pertaining to the subservient position states have acquired vis-à-vis the multinational enterprise.

E. Accordingly, the ability of MNEs to move in line with overall corporate agendas and remain flexible in their choice of location represents both a struggle and a shift in the balance of power from the nation-state to the MNE, and from the local human interest to the global corporate interest. The implications of this capacity for choice and ultimately the capacity to take action are immense insofar as the nation-state is left at the mercy of MNEs that may or may not enter, and may or may not leave. The capital, skills and technology a MNE can carry with it upon entry are, for many states, priceless commodities that domestically they cannot afford, train for, or develop.

F. At the same time, however, MNEs are restrained to some degree and with varying success by a number of agents; international laws, national laws, WTO trade rules, compliance with OECD, ICC or UN codes or practice, shareholder pressure, market competition, employee pressure, public interest groups, and law suits can all influence, affect and alter MNE decisions and practices within host or home countries. Nevertheless, MNEs continue to carry out their commercial activities with increasing impunity to actual nationally-oriented policy, again, due in large part to their desirability, and their overall flexibility and mobility. Undeniably, the MNE poses the greatest threat to the nation-state and its sovereignty, arguably as much so as any traditional territorial encroachment. Essentially, the MNE derives this strength from commercial power and the general lack of international corporate law.

G. According to sales alone, GM (US), Ford (US), Mitsui (Japan), Mitsubishi (Japan), Itochu (Japan), and Royal Dutch/Shell (Netherlands) occupy the top six positions, each with sales well-exceeding $125 billion in 1996. In relation, Turkey, Norway, South Africa, Poland, Portugal, Malaysia, among several-dozen others, each have GDPs that compare or fall below those of the aforementioned MNEs.

 

Vocabulary Practice

C. Find the odd word out.

1. wordily succinctly verboselytalkatively

2. concurrently simultaneously concomitantly asynchronously

3. to substitute to supplant to establish to supersede

4. incentive impetus incitement deterrent

5. stably precariously uncertainlydoubtfully

Discussion

A. Discuss in groups.

· What are the grounds to state that MNEs undermine state sovereignty?

· Does the power of MNCs in the international arena give them the right to displace national governments as the sole desicion-makers and agenda setters?

· Can the nation-state survive the onslaught of MNEs?

· Will the MNE remain the dominant economic force in the international system, or will governments, resentful of the subservience, rise up and clamp down on the rogue MNE?

· How can multinational corporations be effectively regulated without infringing upon national sovereignty? Can they be made fairer?

Use of English

8. For questions 1-8, read the following text and choose from the list (A-I) given below the best of the phrases to fit each gap. There is one phrase which does not fit in any gap. There is an example (0).

A polycentric world is inherently complex due to its extreme diversity. According to the statistics, the already 250 million-strong Chinese middle class is expected to double in size in the coming decade 0) ……F…… As a result there will be a massive increase in the diversity of the customer base 1) ………… To effectively serve such a highly heterogeneous customer base 2) ………… many multinationals will need to fundamentally redesign their monocultural and ethnocentric organizations. They will need to learn to juggle multiple business models, organizational practices, management structures, 3) …………

To effectively compete and win in the emerging polycentric world monolithic 4) ………… that reflect internally the growing external diversity and are able to learn and adapt continuously. Polycentric organizations not only tame but even capitalize on global complexity. They operate as a network integrating creative talent and ideas from employees, suppliers, 5) ………… Moreover, polycentric organizations are highly adaptive which means they aren’t wedded to a single European or U.S.-centric business model or organizational practice, but employ a diverse portfolio of strategies 6) ………… and adapt to new opportunities and threats in different regional markets. Additionally t hey boast a global mindset, i.e. they don’t believe in a single “corporate culture”, and allow multiple perspectives 7) …………

The monocentric global economic order is rapidly being eclipsed by a polycentric world. Rather than keeping their enterprise locked into 20th century organizational structures 8) ………… to accelerate their firms’ evolution into polycentric organizations that harness the diversity and capitalize on the complexity of the 21st century.

A	and even leadership styles in order to harness the growing diversity in the unpredictable global business environment.
B	and customers across regions to meet the global demand for innovative products and services.
C	and workforce of multinationals on a scale they have never experienced before.
D	and value systems to co-exist within the same enterprise.
E	and ethnocentric multinationals must evolve into what we call polycentric organizations
F	and one global worker in four will be an Indian by 2020.
G	and manage a highly multicultural employee base,
H	and processes, multinationals must leverage the Millennials
I	and approaches that allow them to quickly learn

Speaking Activity

Get ready to debate the problem if multinational corporations should be reformed or abolished. Before it we should study the scenario of debates. Read the following scenario and pay attention to picture 1 showing the positions of the participants. Choose the team you are going to join.

The scenario

Stage 1 Chairperson’s introductory speech

Stage 2 Statement of position of the “Reformed”-team

Argumentation of the speakers of the “Reformed”-team

Speakers and supporters of the “Abolished”-team

Speakers of the “Reformed”-team

Questions by supporters of the “Abolished”-team

Stage 3 Statement of position of the “Abolished”-team

Speakers and supporters of the “Reformed”-team

Argumentation of the speakers of the “Abolished”-team

Questions by supporters of the “Reformed”-team

Speakers of the “Abolished”-team

Stage 4 Concluding remarks of the “Reformed”-team Refute arguments and evidence of the “Abolished”-team, present comparative analysis of the team’s position to intensify and prove the “Reformed”-course

Stage 5 Concluding remarks of the “Abolished”-team Refute arguments and evidence of the “Reformed”-team, present comparative analysis of the team’s position to intensify and prove the “Abolished”-course

Stage 6 Jury’s final remarks

Unit 2

Lead-in

B. The concept of regionalism is based on the notion of a region. Look at the maps and say why there are different approaches to the vision of what a region is. What can be an impetus to make up a region?

1. 2.

3. 4.

5.

Now study the information given below and see whether your ideas were correct:

There is no commonly accepted definition of what a region is. Most would agree that a region implies some geographical proximity and contiguity, and mutual interdependence. Others would add a certain degree of cultural homogeneity and a sense of community. Regionbuilding presupposes closer economic, political, security and socio-cultural linkages, regional cooperation and integration.

C. In an age of rapid globalization, regionalism might seem to be a notion better suited to the nineteenth century than the early twenty-first. Far from vanishing, however, regionalism has actually flourished in the last half century. Discuss in pairs why there is a tendency towards regionalism in the era of globalization. What contributes to the development of regionalism?

B: I agree with you. Besides, there is another crucial point. The international society is strengthening the moves to seek regional conflict resolution through organizations of regional cooperation and to establish dialogue between regions.

A: I don’t share your point of view because …

Listening

A. You are going to listen to an abstract about the development of regionalism. Before listening think if regionalism can be regarded as a phenomenon of the XX century or a centuries-long process. Then read the information given below and say whether you agree with it.

It is quite difficult to define when the history of regionalism begins, since there is no single explanation that encompasses the origins and development of the regional idea. Criteria such as the desire by states to “make the best of their regional environment” are regarded by certain analysts as elusive; they prefer to consider the history of regionalism in terms of the rise of modern institutions. If formal organization at the regional as opposed to the international level is to be the yardstick for the onset of regionalism, it is difficult to place its origins much before 1945.

F. Discuss in groups.

· Can the New regionalism be considered as a more profound process than the Old regionalism? Why/why not?

· Does the tendency towards regionalism allow new forms of regional arrangements and regional policy to respond to new global pressures?

Reading

A. The past years have witnessed a resurgence of regionalism in world politics and an increasingly important role for regional institutions. These institutions are intended as vehicles of development assistance. Thus the contribution of regional institutions to enhanced national and international prosperity seems to be significant. Work in groups and brainstorm the regional organizations you know.

D. Regional institutions are believed to promote integration within a region. Work with your partner and think what factors encourage regional cooperation and integration. Then write them down. Are there common forces which stimulate collaboration of countries in very different geographical areas and at very different moments in history?

· economic development

· promotion of national interests

·.............

·.............

F. Now read the text and learn about more reasons why countries choose the strategy of regionalism. Read the text. For questions 1-10, choose the best answer (A,B,C or D).

Discussion

A. Discuss in groups.

· Should regional governments be regarded as a threat to local autonomy and national sovereignty? How does the delegation of policies and political authority impact back on the domestic structures of the states involved?

· Do you believe that it is possible for regional governance to control local affairs effectively or are such issues best addressed by smaller local governments?

· Can the process of regionalization be called more sustainable, viable and easy to implement than the process of globalization?

· Is regionalism a stumbling block or a stepping stone in the process of globalisation?

 

Use of English

In most of the lines of this text there is an unnecessary word. For questions 1-18, find the unnecessary words and write them on the lines provided. If you think a line contains no unnecessary words, put a tick next to it. There are two examples (0), (00).

According to the contemporary theories of regionalism, it is the		the
region that is supposed to represent the most complete unit of		V
economic, social and ecological structure. This fact points out to
the logic of establishing of regional governance. The primary
challenge for regionalism which is the establishment of legal and
political structures to represent their constituting areas. Certain
special purpose bodies exist by now but are unlikely to be able to
integrate different public concerns, and also cannot keep it up with
the too rapid changes that take place on a regional level. As a first
step, regionalists call for new regional processes, structures, or
institutions that they can identify regional problems, formulate
regional solutions, implement those solutions, and coordinate
regional actions. However, resistance to regionalism is more
widespread. This resistance is believed to be due to only the fact
that people tend to see regionalism as well a step toward
centralization and a shift of power from local governments.
Therefore, resistance to regionalism usually stems out from
the self-interests of local officials, firms, and other interest groups
who benefit from a strong local autonomy and regional
fragmentation. On the other hand, advocates of localism argue that
decentralization of power must enhances efficiency and self-
determination. Localism is said to promote democracy by making
citizen participation more than accessible and increasing the sense
of either community and ownership.

 

 

Speaking Activity

Get ready to discuss the problem of the influence of globalization and regionalization on cultural identity at a round-table talk. Before it we should study its scenario. Read the following scenario and the list of participants. Chose the part you are going to play.

The scenario.

Stage 1 Chairperson’s introductory speech

Stage 2 Debating

Statement of position on the 1^st problem

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

Clarifying the position Discussing

Conclusions on the 1^st problem

Statement of position on the 2^nd /3^d /etc. problem

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

Clarifying the position Discussing

Conclusions on the 2^nd /3^d /etc. problem

Stage 3 Chairperson’s concluding remarks

List of participants

Appendix 1

Tapescripts

Unit 1

Speaker 1

The formation of international organizations has been a 20th-century phenomenon. Nowadays there are more than 2,500 international organizations. Among them are more than 130 intergovernmental unions.

The influence of the international organizations is great. They deal with political, social, and economic problems. They are concerned with the environmental problems as well. For example, such international organization as the United Nations is aimed at modifications of the national and international laws for the good of the people.

The results of the activity of the international organizations are significant. It can be proved by the fact that the UN General Assembly passed a number of resolutions and declarations that dealt with crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity; genocide; human rights; the right of peoples and nations to self-determination; permanent sovereignty over natural resources; denuclearization; and non-intervention.

 

Speaker 2

The concerns about the activities of multinational corporations are valid, and abuses have undoubtedly occurred, but many forces are also at work to keep multinational corporations from wielding unlimited power over their operations.

Increased consumer awareness of environmental and social issues and the impact of commercial activity on social welfare and environmental quality have greatly influenced the actions of all corporations in recent years, and this trend continues.

Multinational corporations are constrained from moving their operations into areas with low labor costs. Social welfare organizations take into consideration the plight of individuals in countries with repressive governments and try to hamper the removal of multinational businesses to areas where legal protection of workers is minimal.

Similarly, consumer awareness of global issues lessens the power of multinational corporations in their dealings with government agencies. International conventions of governments are also able to regulate the activities of multinational corporations without fear of economic reprisal.

 

Speaker 3

While no one doubts the economic success and pervasiveness of multinational corporations, their motives and actions have been called into question by social welfare, environmental protection, and labor organizations worldwide. Certainly, the activities of multinationals have introduced a number of favourable changes, however they pose a threat to the future development of the world community.

National and international labor unions have expressed concern that multinational corporations in economically developed countries can avoid labor negotiations. They simply move their jobs to developing countries where labor costs are lower. Offshore outsourcing, or offshoring, is a term used to describe the practice of using cheap foreign labor to manufacture goods or provide services only to sell them back into the domestic marketplace.

Social welfare organizations are similarly worried about the actions of multinationals, which are presumably less interested in social matters in countries in which they maintain subsidiary operations.

Finally, environmental protection agencies oppose the activities of multinationals, which often maintain environmentally hazardous operations in countries with minimal environmental protection laws.

 

Speaker 4

Multinational corporations have existed since the beginning of overseas trade. They have played a pivotal role in the business scene throughout history. By the end of the 19th century, advances in communications had more closely linked world markets, and multinational corporations retained their positive image as instruments of improved global relations.

In the recent times when multinational corporations have grown in power, they have come to be viewed more ambivalently by both governments and consumers worldwide. Indeed, multinationals today are viewed with increased suspicion because of their manner to penetrate new markets and power they have gained in relation to national governments.

Despite these worries, the corporate social performance of multinationals has been surprisingly favorable today. The activities of multinational corporations encourage technology transfer from the developed to the developing world. The wages paid to multinational employees in developing countries are generally above the national average. When the actions of multinationals do cause a loss of jobs in a given country, it is often the case that another multinational will move into the resulting vacuum, with little loss of jobs in the long run. Subsidiaries of multinationals are also likely to adhere to the standards of environmental protection and in most cases create less pollution than similar indigenous industries.

 

Speaker 5

Anti-globalization supporters feel that the economic growth does not only make people happier but can often make their lives depressing since such organizations as the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund make the rich richer and the poor poorer. These organizations get their share of profit by ignoring nature and human interests.

The brightest example is that the WTO norms only serve the interests of multinationals. The guidelines of the WTO are formed by and for institutions that are influential in the world arena.

The WTO is known to ignore labor and human rights. At the official level the WTO offers probable solutions to curbing child labor and human rights abuses. In reality the organization is ruled by the ideas that it can not prohibit a product because of the way it is manufactured. It doesn’t take the behavior of companies into account even if they perform business with brutal despotism.

Moreover the WTO terms the environmental policies as “hindrance to trade” and encourages firms to break them. The WTO practices such as removing tax on wood products amplifies the timber demand which eventually triggers deforestation.

In addition the WTO is increasing social disparity. The phenomenon of free commerce is not helping the majority of the world. Social disparity worsens both internationally and within nations.

 

Unit 2

Interviewer: Over the last decade the issue of regionalism has once again been brought back in, though in a different form compared to the debate on regional integration some three decades ago. The changes that we are undergoing are global in scope, and in content revolutionary, fundamental and structural. What we are witnessing now is conflicting trends in scientific approaches to the way the world should be developed. Here with us to answer some important questions about the tendencies of the modern world and their historic backgrounds are well-known researchers in the field of international relations Dr. Chris Milner and Prof. Helena Greenway.

Dr. Chris Milner: Thank you. It’s great to be here.

Interviewer: Considerable interest has been expressed in how regional arrangements formed after World War II have affected and will subsequently influence the global economy. We focus primarily on this era, however, it is widely recognized that regionalism is not just a recent phenomenon. Analysis of the current situation is inspired by the historical background of regionalism which includes several stages. What are they?

Dr. Chris Milner: Historically, one can distinguish different degrees of integration among countries, from “shallow” to “deep.” The first 20-30 years after World War II can be seen as a period characterized by shallow integration and is called “old regionalism”. Many regional agreements introduced in the past 10 – 15 years have involved elements of deeper integration, and many of them have linked developing and developed countries - the twin characteristics of “new regionalism.”

Interviewer: What is the historic background of old and new regionalisms?

Prof. Helena Greenway: Whereas the old regionalism was formed in a bipolar Cold War context, the new is taking shape in a multipolar world order. The new regionalism and multipolarity are, in fact, two sides of the same coin.