The common perception of Globalisation is that it is an exclusive human affair. This is especially due to the dominance of economics in every layer of society. This paper challenges this assumption with the examples of plate tectonics and Antarctica. These examples make clear that although human agency is a significant influence in causing Globaisation, it has no monopoly over the phenomenon.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Economic Globalisation and Human Agency
3. Non-human Agency and the Antarctic Continent
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
The essay aims to challenge the anthropocentric view of globalisation by integrating the role of non-human agency into the debate, ultimately arguing that globalisation is a complex interplay between human and non-human forces rather than an exclusively human-driven phenomenon.
- Critique of the anthropocentric perspective in traditional globalisation theories.
- The role of financial flows and networked nation-states in shaping economic territory.
- The influence of non-human agency, specifically geological and climatic forces, in territorial formation.
- A case study on the Antarctic continent to illustrate the entanglement of human and non-human flows.
- The re-conceptualisation of globalisation as a product of interwoven material and social relations.
Excerpt from the Book
The locational and institutional embededness of electronic markets
One of her key observation is the consolidation of financial centres in a connected world. This is due, she argues, to the importance of social connectivity in information exchange (Sassen, 2004, p. 98). These consolidated financial centres are to be seen as territories specialized in channeling financial flows, present within the boundaries of networked nation-states; sending capital in digitized form via telecommunications technologies, across the globe into distant territory. The networked nation-state possesses the political, financial and technological means to provide for communications infrastructure, which embed it in and expose it to infinite communication flows. Recent cyber attacks on government infrastructure support this claim. Furthermore, the networked nation-state in this context refers to an entity with clearly defined and mutually recognized – sovereign – physical borders. Networked nation-states of this kind are predominantly located in industrialized and industrializing countries (Silverstone, 2008, p. 71). Sassen observes further that there is specialization of labour among the dominant centres (Sassen, 2004, p. 100). This way, financial flows are dispersed more efficiently and yield higher returns when brought back into the proximity of the centre. Actual profits, however, are kept at a distance from the grip of the tax system.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the critique of the anthropocentric concept of globalisation and outlines the essay's aim to incorporate non-human agency into the discussion.
2. Economic Globalisation and Human Agency: This section examines how human-produced financial flows and the infrastructure of the networked nation-state contribute to the creation of economic territories.
3. Non-human Agency and the Antarctic Continent: This chapter analyzes how geological and climatic processes, specifically using Antarctica as a case study, demonstrate the power of non-human forces in shaping the planet.
4. Conclusion: The concluding chapter synthesizes the arguments to prove that globalisation is a result of the entanglement of both human and non-human agents, refuting the notion of it being a solely human affair.
Keywords
Globalisation, Anthropocentrism, Non-human Agency, Financial Flows, Networked Nation-state, Territorialisation, Antarctica, Plate Tectonics, Climate Change, Greenhouse Gas Effect, Interconnectivity, Material Geographies, Sovereignty, Data Flows
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this essay?
The essay focuses on challenging the anthropocentric definition of globalisation by shifting the perspective from purely human-driven economic activities to include the influence of non-human agents.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The work covers economic geography, the sociology of finance, geosciences, and political geography, specifically examining how these fields intersect in the process of globalisation.
What is the central research question?
The research explores how non-human agency interacts with human activities to drive the phenomenon of globalisation, questioning whether it can be sustained as an exclusively human-made process.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author uses a multidisciplinary approach, combining literature review on economic globalisation theories (such as those by Cochrane, Pain, and Sassen) with an analysis of geological and environmental data regarding Antarctica.
What is addressed in the main body of the text?
The main body transitions from an analysis of human-centric financial flows and tax havens to an examination of how geophysical forces like magma and weather flows shape physical territory, using Antarctica as a focal case study.
Which keywords characterize the work?
The work is characterized by terms such as Globalisation, non-human agency, territorialisation, networked nation-states, and material interconnectivity.
How does the author define the "networked nation-state"?
The author defines it as a sovereign entity with clearly defined physical borders that possesses the technological and political capacity to manage and channel global financial and data flows.
What role does Antarctica play in the argument?
Antarctica serves as a critical case study to illustrate the entanglement of human (science stations, data production) and non-human (plate tectonics, climate change) forces in the creation and contestation of territory.
What does the author mean by "soil territory"?
It refers to the physical foundation of geography produced by geological processes like plate tectonics, which serve as the raw material upon which human territorialisation is eventually layered.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Christian Scheinpflug (Autor:in), 2011, No Monopoly: The Importance of Non-Human Flows as Cause for Globalisation , München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/175439
