4. Power, places & networks 3
4.1 Global interactions & global power 3
Globalisation indices: 3
Definition: 3
KOF Index of Globalisation: 3
Other indices: 4
Global superpowers: 4
Superpowers, soft & hard power 4
USA, China and EU & UK 5
Overview: 5
USA: 5
China: 6
Europe: 7
Global organisations & groups: 8
UN — The United Nations: 8
WTO — World Trade Organisation: 8
G7 & G8: 8
G20: 9
OECD — Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development: 9
OPEC — Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries: 9
Global lending institutions: 10
The World Bank: 10
IMF — The International Monetary Fund: 10
NDB — The New Development Bank: 11
4.2 Global networks & flows 12
Global trade in materials, manufactured goods and services: 12
Growth of world trade: 12
Services: 13
International aid, loans and debt relief: 14
International aid: 14
Loans: 15
Development aid: 15
Debt relief: 15
Structural adjustment programmes: 15
Remittances: 16
Illegal flows: 18
Illicit financial flows: 18
Trafficked people: 19
Case study: International Organisation for Migration Indonesia 19
Counterfeit goods: 20
Case study: counterfeit goods from China 20
Fraudulent medicines: 21
Counterfeit food & drinks: 21
1
, Flows of drugs: 21
Case study: Cocaine from Columbia to Europe & the USA 21
FDI — Foreign direct investment: 22
TNCs — Transnational companies: 24
Case study: The Tata Group & Apple Inc. 24
Tata group: 24
Apple Inc.: 25
4.3 Human & physical influences on global interactions 25
Multi-government organisations: 25
Trading blocs: 25
Free trade zones: 26
Economic migration: 26
Controls and rules: 26
Case study: migration in the USA & UK 27
Migration control in the USA: 27
European migration to the UK: 27
The “shrinking world”: data flow patterns and trends 28
The global village: 28
Technology, data & the internet: 28
Transport developments over time: 29
Time-space convergence: 30
Containers: 30
The jet engine: 30
Patterns and trends in communication infrastructure: 31
The influence of the physical environment on global interactions: 32
Natural resource availability: 32
Geographic isolation: 32
2
,4. Power, places & networks
4.1 Global interactions & global power
Globalisation indices:
Definition:
globalisation: the growing interdependence of countries worldwide through the increasing
volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international
capital flows, and through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology
Main forms of globalisation:
● Economic: TNCs; global money markets
● Social: growth of online social networks; migrants families and diaspora
● Cultural: the growth of global culture; the glocalisation of products
● Political: global governance; global action on climate change
The process of globalisation is influenced by three main fields:
Flows Networks Players
● Information & ideas ● Internet ● People
● Big data ● Communications ● Governments
● Ideologies ● Transactions ● Intergovernmental
● Finance ● Social media Organisations
● People ● Stock exchange ● TNCs
● Trade ● Transport routes ● Civil Society Groups
● Waste ● NGOs
Some places remain relatively cut off from global interactions. This may be due to:
● political isolationism
● Insecurity
● under development.
Other places have such influence on global interactions that they may seem to control it.
KOF Index of Globalisation:
Covers the economic, social and political dimensions of globalisation:
● 36% — Economic dimension: long-distance flows of goods, capital and services,
FDI, protectionist policies & trade restrictions → economic flows
● 38% — Social dimension: spread of ideas, information, images and people,
international tourism and cultural proximity (by the number of McDonalds & IKEA
stores per capita) → estimated personal contact
○ This suggests a bias as it fails to take into account the wider global presence
of companies like Toyota, Sony etc.
● 26% — Political dimension: number of embassies per country & membership of
international organisations → the degree of political cooperation
3
, Other indices:
Ernst & Young Globalisation Index:
Measures the 60 largest countries by GDP according to their level of globalisation, by
looking at:
● Openness to trade
● Capital flows
● Exchange of technology & ideas
● Labour movements
● Cultural integration
New Globalisation Index:
Measures the distance of goods traded and counts the number of refugees in each country,
based on:
● 37% — finance
● 32% — trade & politics
● 31% — social
In general these indices show a snapshot of participation in global interactions but they can
be criticised on the grounds of their reliability and validity. Some measures are very crude.
● e.g. just because a person spends many hours watching TV it doesn't really reflect
their global participation.
Global superpowers:
Superpowers, soft & hard power
superpower: a nation or group of nations that has a leading position in international politics
Types of necessary influences:
● Geographical:
○ Large land / sea area
○ Enough resources to be self sustaining if necessary
○ Large population
● Military:
○ Large ability to project power over the world
○ Large land, sea & air army which can be easily deployed
○ Possessions of nuclear power advantages
● Economic:
○ High GDP + high economic growth
○ Large number of companies (Multinational Companies)
○ Economic self sufficiency
● Cultural:
○ Strong cultural influence over other countries
soft power: positive influence that one country can have over another through its culture,
education, enterprise, digital expertise, engagement and government
hard power: where force or coercion is used
4
4.1 Global interactions & global power 3
Globalisation indices: 3
Definition: 3
KOF Index of Globalisation: 3
Other indices: 4
Global superpowers: 4
Superpowers, soft & hard power 4
USA, China and EU & UK 5
Overview: 5
USA: 5
China: 6
Europe: 7
Global organisations & groups: 8
UN — The United Nations: 8
WTO — World Trade Organisation: 8
G7 & G8: 8
G20: 9
OECD — Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development: 9
OPEC — Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries: 9
Global lending institutions: 10
The World Bank: 10
IMF — The International Monetary Fund: 10
NDB — The New Development Bank: 11
4.2 Global networks & flows 12
Global trade in materials, manufactured goods and services: 12
Growth of world trade: 12
Services: 13
International aid, loans and debt relief: 14
International aid: 14
Loans: 15
Development aid: 15
Debt relief: 15
Structural adjustment programmes: 15
Remittances: 16
Illegal flows: 18
Illicit financial flows: 18
Trafficked people: 19
Case study: International Organisation for Migration Indonesia 19
Counterfeit goods: 20
Case study: counterfeit goods from China 20
Fraudulent medicines: 21
Counterfeit food & drinks: 21
1
, Flows of drugs: 21
Case study: Cocaine from Columbia to Europe & the USA 21
FDI — Foreign direct investment: 22
TNCs — Transnational companies: 24
Case study: The Tata Group & Apple Inc. 24
Tata group: 24
Apple Inc.: 25
4.3 Human & physical influences on global interactions 25
Multi-government organisations: 25
Trading blocs: 25
Free trade zones: 26
Economic migration: 26
Controls and rules: 26
Case study: migration in the USA & UK 27
Migration control in the USA: 27
European migration to the UK: 27
The “shrinking world”: data flow patterns and trends 28
The global village: 28
Technology, data & the internet: 28
Transport developments over time: 29
Time-space convergence: 30
Containers: 30
The jet engine: 30
Patterns and trends in communication infrastructure: 31
The influence of the physical environment on global interactions: 32
Natural resource availability: 32
Geographic isolation: 32
2
,4. Power, places & networks
4.1 Global interactions & global power
Globalisation indices:
Definition:
globalisation: the growing interdependence of countries worldwide through the increasing
volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international
capital flows, and through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology
Main forms of globalisation:
● Economic: TNCs; global money markets
● Social: growth of online social networks; migrants families and diaspora
● Cultural: the growth of global culture; the glocalisation of products
● Political: global governance; global action on climate change
The process of globalisation is influenced by three main fields:
Flows Networks Players
● Information & ideas ● Internet ● People
● Big data ● Communications ● Governments
● Ideologies ● Transactions ● Intergovernmental
● Finance ● Social media Organisations
● People ● Stock exchange ● TNCs
● Trade ● Transport routes ● Civil Society Groups
● Waste ● NGOs
Some places remain relatively cut off from global interactions. This may be due to:
● political isolationism
● Insecurity
● under development.
Other places have such influence on global interactions that they may seem to control it.
KOF Index of Globalisation:
Covers the economic, social and political dimensions of globalisation:
● 36% — Economic dimension: long-distance flows of goods, capital and services,
FDI, protectionist policies & trade restrictions → economic flows
● 38% — Social dimension: spread of ideas, information, images and people,
international tourism and cultural proximity (by the number of McDonalds & IKEA
stores per capita) → estimated personal contact
○ This suggests a bias as it fails to take into account the wider global presence
of companies like Toyota, Sony etc.
● 26% — Political dimension: number of embassies per country & membership of
international organisations → the degree of political cooperation
3
, Other indices:
Ernst & Young Globalisation Index:
Measures the 60 largest countries by GDP according to their level of globalisation, by
looking at:
● Openness to trade
● Capital flows
● Exchange of technology & ideas
● Labour movements
● Cultural integration
New Globalisation Index:
Measures the distance of goods traded and counts the number of refugees in each country,
based on:
● 37% — finance
● 32% — trade & politics
● 31% — social
In general these indices show a snapshot of participation in global interactions but they can
be criticised on the grounds of their reliability and validity. Some measures are very crude.
● e.g. just because a person spends many hours watching TV it doesn't really reflect
their global participation.
Global superpowers:
Superpowers, soft & hard power
superpower: a nation or group of nations that has a leading position in international politics
Types of necessary influences:
● Geographical:
○ Large land / sea area
○ Enough resources to be self sustaining if necessary
○ Large population
● Military:
○ Large ability to project power over the world
○ Large land, sea & air army which can be easily deployed
○ Possessions of nuclear power advantages
● Economic:
○ High GDP + high economic growth
○ Large number of companies (Multinational Companies)
○ Economic self sufficiency
● Cultural:
○ Strong cultural influence over other countries
soft power: positive influence that one country can have over another through its culture,
education, enterprise, digital expertise, engagement and government
hard power: where force or coercion is used
4
