Virtualizing diaspora: new digital technologies in the emerging transnational space

Since new distributed ledger technologies hold out a promise to restructure cross‐border flows of people and material resources, they affect globalization and alter transnational spaces. Their capacity to facilitate secure and disintermediated value transfer through crypto‐code and smart contracts enables novel forms of remittance transfer, resource management and digital identity verification – and may also generate new vulnerabilities. In this article, we examine the use of emerging blockchain applications in various migration and diaspora related initiatives in the emerging economies of Africa, Asia and Europe. By building on existing social networks of mutual obligation and quasi‐ethnic affinities, blockchain technologies may facilitate the ability to enlarge the scope of diasporas and change the nature of belonging, sovereignty, migration and statehood. Through exploring the selective foregrounding of mutuality and materiality in such alternative value transfer systems, we seek to explain the dynamics of trust and agency that these networks generate to extend commitments and loyalties in the transnational space.     

Blockchains,trust and action nets: extending the pathologies of financial globalization

Blockchains combine digital encryption and time stamping technologies to enable digital exchange to occur in manners celebrated by proponents as ‘trust‐free’. Yet, an increasing range of scholars argue that actual applications of the peer‐to‐peer technology shifts, rather than eliminates, trust. In this article, we draw on organizational theory to argue that efforts to remove trust reorganize the action nets that underpin payment systems in manners that extend rather than eliminate longstanding pathologies afflicting financial globalization. Our analysis supports and extends the critiques that blockchain applications are far from ‘trust‐free’. By tracing how efforts to reconfigure the socio‐technical composition of the humans and objects that underpin payment systems, we illustrate how blockchain applications shift the location and character of the technical vulnerabilities that create market instabilities and concentration, as well as elite‐led governance.     

Leveraging blockchain technology in humanitarian settings – opportunities and risks for women and girls

ABSTRACT

There is an increasing acknowledgement among policymakers and private-sector partners that we cannot overcome the challenges of our time without harnessing the potential of emerging technologies. As blockchain technology is rapidly being introduced to support work across a wide number of areas of humanitarian action, this article considers its potential impact on women and girls. The article draws on experiences emerging from UN Women’s explorations of blockchain technology and the first gender-responsive pilot targeting Syrian refugee women in UN Women’s cash-for-work programme in Jordan. The article reminds us how important it is to introduce technologies in ways that maximise their potential to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in humanitarian settings, and minimise the risk of doing harm. Without conscious commitment to these aims, blockchain technology may exacerbate the marginalisation of women and girls.     

Theorizing Globalization

I sketch aspects of a critical theory of globalization that will discuss the fundamental transformations in the world economy, politics, and culture in a dialectical framework that distinguishes between progressive and emancipatory features and oppressive and negative attributes. This requires articulations of the contradictions and ambiguities of globalization and the ways that globalization both is imposed from above and yet can be contested and reconfigured from below. I argue that the key to understanding globalization is theorizing it as at once a product of technological revolution and the global restructuring of capitalism in which economic, technological, political, and cultural features are intertwined. From this perspective, one should avoid both technological and economic determinism and all one–sided optics of globalization in favor of a view that theorizes globalization as a highly complex, contradictory, and thus ambiguous set of institutions and social relations, as well as one involving flows of goods, services, ideas, technologies, cultural forms, and people.     

GLOBALIZATION: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE WITHIN THE SPACE ECONOMY OF LATE CAPITALISM

This article analyses the process of globalization from the perspective of a 'political economy of space' where the interactions of the processes of capitalist accumulation within contexts of geographic and social space has profound shaping effects upon the nature of politics, economics and society more generally. The argument will show that contemporary globalization has two dimensions: outward into geographic space, and inward into culture and society. The focus then moves to culture and information technology within the space economy of late capitalism and argues that a crisis of finite geographic space has led to the deepening of the commodificationary processes of capitalist accumulation into the 'identity-spaces' of culture and society. For hugely popular 'cyber-gurus' such as Howard Rheingold and Myron W . Krueger, the development of information technologies such as the Internet-derived 'virtual communities' are spaces where new forms of democracy and 'being' can emerge. This article argues that 'cyberspace' and 'virtual communities' are deeply dystopic and alienated spaces, and cyber-Utopian dreams of other, possible worlds made virtual through information technology are at best naive, when it is realised that the information revolution that evolved from the processes of a particular type of globalization, has conceived and developed technologies with primarily profit, productivity, surveillance labour-saving and escapism in mind.     

PROXIMITY POLITICS

'Proximity politics' refers to a certain set of new political-cultural problems and issues that the globalization process confronts us with. Specifically it refers to the sort of engagements globalization entails as it draws us all closer together: both 'structurally', via the complex institutional interconnections of globalization, and 'phenomenologically' via the sort of experienced proximity that is provided in time-space bridging technologies - particularly communications and media technologies. The article contends that this 'relational closeness' - in a complex set of interactive modalities which do not abolish, but, in some contexts, actually intensify cultural differences - presents its own distinct order of politics. It attempts to map some of this emergent terrain, focusing on some recent debates about cosmopolitanism . Here it explores, for instance, problems of conflicting cultural-political principle thrown up by the structural impact of enforced proximity: principles of universalism and humanism vs the demands of cultural difference; ethical interventionism vs the principle of sovereignty; 'global governance' vs the claims of localism. It concludes, optimistically, by suggesting that the grosser fears of incompatibility of such principles may often be exaggerated and that there is, in fact, a good deal of room for (at least theoretical) manoeuvre on the emergent terrain of cosmopolitan politics.     

Enclosures,Enclaves, and Entrapment*

The article takes a position against recent theories of globalization and mobility by arguing that there are important trends toward increased immobility. Whereas goods travel relatively freely in a global market, the same cannot be said for people. Various forms of immobility are explored through the key notion of enclaves. While ghettoes and wall building have been traditional aspects of the enclosure of people, the article argues that new biological technologies offer enhanced methods of tracking and containing people. The principal cause behind these developments is a greater emphasis on securitization by the state and hence globalization theories are criticized insofar as they propose that state borders have become more porous.     

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TIME IN THE INTERNET ERA: FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES

This paper examines the gender matrix of time, arguing for cross-disciplinary consideration of political economy, globalization and technology to achieve a detailed understanding of gendered hierarchies of time and the ways in which public/private identifications of social space and time have variously constructed and maintained them. It is argued that women are alienated from their own time, which is identified as most legitimately allocated to the service of others both in the home and at work. The inter-relationship of technologies and gendered identities is explored in relation to public/private divisions and the political-economic and scientific-technological knowledge processes that contribute to upholding them. ICTs reflect these historically established gendered patterns, but international projects such as 'Women on the Net' also demonstrate the capacities of these technologies for disrupting the gender matrix of time through their use by women for women.     

Indigenizing globalization and the hydraulics of culture: taking Chinese philosophy on its own terms

The term globalization has taken on two competing senses. The dominant sense is that associated at the ideological level with the dissemination of a rational and moral consensus born of the European Enlightenment and, at the practical level, with rights-based democratic institutions, free enterprise capitalism and rational technologies. Beyond the provincial, decidedly Western, sense of globalization, there is a competing meaning that recognizes the potential contributions of non-Western cultures. In this second sense, globalization simply refers tothe mutual accessibility of cultural sensibilities. I use these two modes of ‘globalization’ to outline the recent history of comparative philosophy, where professional philosophy over recent decades has been complicit as a cultural companion to the more often noticed political and economic forces that promote the homogenization of the human experience. Fortunately, globalization as the mutual accessibility of cultural sensibilities is a symbiotic pressure in our cultural hydraulics that is pushing indigenous philosophical traditions to the surface and reinforcing their worth. The outcome, hopefully, will be local traditions reinvigorated by challenges introduced from their periphery.     

The soft spot of hard code: blockchain technology,network governance and pitfalls of technological utopianism

The emerging blockchain technology is expected to contribute to the transformation of ownership, government services and global supply chains. By analysing a crisis that occurred with one of its frontrunners, Ethereum, in this article I explore the discrepancies between the purported governance of blockchains and the de facto control of them through expertise and reputation. Ethereum is also thought to exemplify libertarian techno‐utopianism. When ‘The DAO’, a highly publicized but faulty crowd‐funded venture fund was deployed on the Ethereum blockchain, the techno‐utopianism was suspended, and developers fell back on strong network ties. Now that the blockchain technology is seeing an increasing uptake, I shall also seek to unearth broader implications of the blockchain for the proliferation or blockage of global finance and beyond. Contrasting claims about the disruptive nature of the technology, in this article I show that, by redeeming the positive utopia of ontic, individualized debt, blockchains reinforce our belief in a crisis‐ridden, financialized capitalism.     

Fast Machines,Slow Violence: ICTs,Planned Obsolescence,and E-waste

Abstract

This paper brings the temporalities of the global e-waste recycling trade into the temporal reckonings of speed, acceleration, and simultaneity typically associated with information and communications technologies (ICTs). Following feminist philosopher Sofia, it begins with a reconsideration of theories of technology as they relate to time and the environment. The second part of the paper suggests that recycling practices do not address the tempos of production, especially planned obsolescence. Bringing together Nixon's concept of slow violence with Sofia's theory of container technologies, this paper interrogates the speed, acceleration, and simultaneity often attributed to ICTs and globalization to argue that planned obsolescence functions as a type of slow violence, and that it structures the environmental politics of the information age.     

CHINA'S FUTURE WITH DISTANCE EDUCATION: Rhetoric and realities

China has a long history of distance education with one of the largest and longest standing television distance delivery systems in the world. However, with the advent of online learning environments, China must face a brave new world of innovation. This paper examines the political rhethoric surrounding the allocation of funds and energies to online learning and considers critical components of that rhetoric including democracy, market driven education, open access, as well as issues of power, customization, and globalization which affect the ways in which China adopts new online learning technologies.     

Strategic implications of the information age

conclusion The continued enhancements of information technologies facilitate and increase knowl-edge intensity in organizations. As such, knowledge and information technologies play critical roles in the development of competitive advantage by firms. For example, IT facilitates organizational learning and helps firms move into international markets by making it easier to coordinate geographically dispersed units and operations. Even entrepreneurial new venture firms are moving into international markets earlier in their life cycle (Oviatt and MacDougall, 1977; Zahra et al., 2000). IT has become especially important to smaller, entrepreneurial firms to facilitate their networking and coopera-tive ventures with other firms in order to compete more effectively with much larger firms for major projects. Furthermore, information technologies facilitate these firms’ technological learning, a critical element to their survival and long-term success (Zahra et al., 2000). IT has also helped firms from emerging markets (e.g., Korea, Mexico) compete more effectively against firms from developed markets that have more resources. Thus, IT has helped facilitate the increasing globalization of businesses.     

On the links between globalization and poverty

This article surveys the evidence on the linkages between globalization and poverty, drawing on a new NBER study that has been completed under the direction of one of the authors. We focus on two measures of globalization: trade and international capital flows. Past researchers have argued that global economic integration should help the poor since poor countries have a comparative advantage in producing goods that use unskilled labor. Our first conclusion is that such a simple interpretation of general equilibrium trade models is misleading. Second, the evidence suggests that the poor are more likely to share in the gains from globalization when there are complementary policies in place.Third, trade and foreign investment reforms have produced benefits for the poor in exporting sectors and sectors that receive foreign investment. Fourth, financial crises are very costly to the poor. Finally, the collected evidence suggests that globalization produces both winners and losers among the poor. The fact that some poor individuals are made worse off by trade or financial integration underscores the need for carefully targeted safety nets. We conclude the article by identifying a number of unanswered research questions regarding the impact of globalization on poverty.     

Moving the goalposts: gender and globalisation in the twenty-first century

This article posits the argument that the 21st century will witness an assertion of the global relevance of gender in development. It looks at globalization from a gender perspective by mapping out the different aspects of the globalization processes, and viewing each of these aspects through the lens of gender analysis. The economic implications of globalization for women are traced in terms of the employment generated by the expansion of global trade and production. In addition, this article considers the response of the international women's movement to the increasing level of economic globalization, as well as the challenges for the global incorporation of gender issues. It concludes by citing a project initiated in Norwich called ?Moving the Goalposts,? a project which aims to promote girls? football in an area around Mombasa in Kenya.     

Britain and Globalization

Many perspectives on globalization see it as differentiated in its effects and reception, culturally driven, either pre-modern or postmodern, best captured by globalist or sceptical perspectives, and an equalizing phenomenon. This article discusses the British experience of globalization in the light of such approaches and argues that looking at this case gives an alternative view. Six themes on globalization are explored across four areas of the British experience of globalization. It is argued that in Britain globalization is, in contrast to the approaches outlined above, differentiated but also generalizing, economically driven, modern, best understood with a mix of globalist and sceptical perspectives and structured by power, inequality, and conflict. It is also argued that the British experience of globalization is a specific one and that Britain is a very globalized and globalizing country, economically, culturally, and politically.     

Globalization and Labour in Africa: Ethnic Identity in Nigeria and Cross Border Migration in the Republic of South Africa1

This study pursues the relationship between globalization and the mobility of labour in Africa. It argues that globalization has been limiting the mobility, and by implication, the development of labour in Africa. The forces of globalization in this study have been historically defined. First is mercantilist capital, which began compradorial development in Africa. The second is European national capital of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which through multinational corporations and nation-states in Europe advanced compradorialism with the assistance of colonial domination. The third and final globalization force here has been transnationalism and multilateralism whose operations have been largely through foreign direct investment and management of global finances respectively. This study notes that these roles of globalization forces are observable at two fronts in the African society. The first was the engendering of ethnic identity, which has been undermining labour mobility within national boundaries in Africa. The other has been the pressures of cross border migration in Africa, underscoring the persisting disparity in global wealth distribution. In this manner, the study further notes that Africa has highlighted a contradiction in the globalization logic especially on labour mobility. This is strictly speaking in the sense that homogenization, which has been clearly suggestive of the globalization logic, has been hampered in Africa. This study has purposely selected Nigeria and the Republic of South Africa for empirical proofs.     

Accelerated Contagion and Response: Understanding the Relationships among Globalization,Time, and Disease

Abstract

The rapid global transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 raises questions about the intersections of globalization, time, and diseases. Viewing it as a disease of speed, this article examines SARS as a case of emerging infectious diseases in the context of contemporary globalization. We contend that the SARS crisis exposed the limitations of traditional spatiality-based approaches to infectious diseases, disease control, and health governance. When the advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) in recent decades have accelerated the diffusion of pathogens, actors at all levels of global public health are pressed to keep up with the new temporalities. While cognitive and organizational innovations arising from technological changes show some hope for addressing these issues on a global level, other temporality-related challenges—such as differential capacities of the affected countries to respond to the simultaneity of the crisis—are yet to be tackled.     

Arguing globalizations: Propositions towards an investigation of global formation

Abstract

Theorizing globalization in all its contradictions and unevenness is still at a very formative stage. Too many theories are either characterized by reductive appropriations of the phenomenon or by studied vagueness. This article attempts to answer the question how can we set up a method for understanding such a variable set of processes associated with globalization(s) while still recognizing broad and changing dominant patterns of practice across world history. The article begins with the apparently simple issue of defining globalization, suggesting that definitional issues often hide a multitude of methodological questions. It then goes onto to develop a series of propositions about the nature of globalization and how we might move from detailed empirical studies of different social processes of extension across world space and time to an understanding of the changing nature of the spatiality and temporality itself. This is linked to an argument about the structures of power and subjection.     

The Effect of Globalization on Financial Development in the MENA Region

This paper provides new evidence that sheds light on the effect of globalization on financial development using data from 9 MENA countries over the period 1991?C2007. The empirical results based on the Panel-data Vector Autoregression and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares methods reveal that globalization affects financial development and economic growth in the MENA region while globalization does not play any role in institutional reforms, which promote financial development and economic growth. Hence, governments can play a crucial role in improving the necessary economic conditions for the benefits of globalization to be felt in the MENA region. Also institutional reform policies can be important for policy makers who are attempting to accelerate globalization and financial development.