Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
structuring phenomenon the nature of which depends critically on sub-global processes.
According to Jessop (1999:21) 'structurally, globalisation would exist in so far as co-
variation of relevant activities becomes more global in extent and/or the speed of that
covariation on a global scale increases'. Therefore, global interdependence typically
results from processes which operate at various spatial scales, in different functional
subsystems, and involve complex and tangled causal hierarchies rather being a simple,
unilinear, bottom-up or top-down movement (Jessop 1999). Such an observation clearly
suggests that globalisation is developing unevenly across space and time. Indeed, 'a key
element in contemporary processes of globalisation is not the impact of “global”
processes upon another clearly defined scale, but instead the relativisation of scale'
(Kelly and Olds 1999:2). Such relativities occur in relation to both 'space-time
distantiation' and 'space-time compression'. The former refers to the stretching of social
relations over time and space, e.g. through the utilisation of new technology such as the
internet, so that they can be co-ordinated or controlled over longer periods of time,
greater distances, larger areas, and on more scales of activity. The latter involves the
intensification of 'discrete' events in real time and/or increased velocity of material and
non-material flows over a given distance; again this is related to technological change,
including
communication technologies, and social technologies (Jessop 1999).
The discourse of globalisation therefore goes further than the simple description of
contemporary social change; it also carries with it the power to shape material reality via
the practical politics of policy formulation and implementation (Gibson-Graham 1996;
Kelly and Olds 1999). It can also construct a view of geographical space that implies the
deferral of political options from the national to the supranational and global scales, and
from the local to the national. In effect, globalisation 'itself has become a political force,
helping to create the institutional realities it purportedly merely describes' (Piven
1995:8), as indicated by the growth of structures such as APEC and NAFTA. In addition
to the 'structural context' of globalisation noted above, authors such as Ohmae (1995),
Jessop (1999) and Higgott (1999) point to a more strategic interpretation of globalisation,
which refer to individual and institutional actors' attempts to promote the global co-
ordination of activities on a continuing basis within different orders or functional
systems. For example, interpersonal networking, inter-firm strategic alliances, the
creation of international and supranational regimes to govern particular fields of action,
and the broader development of modes of international and supranational systems of
governance. Therefore, given the multiscale, multitemporal and multi-centric nature of
globalisation, we can recognise that globalisation 'rarely, if ever, involves the full
structural integration and strategic coordination across the globe' (Jessop 1999:22).
Instead, processes usually considered under the rubric of 'economic globalisation'
include the following:
• The formation of regional economic and trading blocs—particularly in the triadic
regions of North America (North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA)), Europe
(European Union (EU)) and East Asia-Pacific (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)—
and the development of formal links between those blocs (e.g. the Asia-Europe
Meetings) In all of these regions tourism is a major component of economic and
