UNIT 5 - HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & DIVERSITY
5.1 - Development opportunities
Ways of supporting the processes of human development
United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action and end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The 17 goals all are interlinked and designed to be a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet", now and into the future. They were developed at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro (2012) and aim to interlink the social, economical and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
There are 17 SDGs to transform our world:
GOAL 3: Good health and well-being
GOAL 6: Clean water and sanitation
GOAL 7: Affordable and clean energy
GOAL 8: Decent work and economic growth
GOAL 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
GOAL 11: Sustainable cities and communities
GOAL 12: Responsible consumption and production
Development indicators and indices
Human Development Index (HDI)
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite measure of development.
Included in the measure are life expectancy at brith, income, mean years of
schooling and expected years of schooling. The index ranges from 0 to 1,
where 1 is the highest level of human development.
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Germany (0.939) and Norway (0.957) have the highest HDI.
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Sudan (0.510) and Niger (0.394) have the lowest HDI.
→ Some countries once ranked highly in the HDI, however have
experienced a backlash, due to: Outbreak of disease (HIV), a
high student to teacher ratio, conflict and war.
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Gender Inequality Index (GII)
The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is a measure of gender disparity, including
reproductive health (maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rate),
empowerment (proportion of parliamentary seats occupied and proportion
females with secondary education) and labour market participation. It ranges
from 0 to 1, where at 0 women and men fare equally.
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Norway (0.07) and Australia (0.11) have the highest GII.
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Chad (0.706) and Niger (0.713) have the lowest GII. ​
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Gender Development Index (GDI)
The Gender Development Index (GDI) is an adjusted form of the HDI, which reflects on the differences between men and women in terms of health, wealth and education. It ranges from 0 to 1, where 1is the highest level of gender development.
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Sweden (0.997) and Norway (0.993) have the highest GDI.
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Yemen (0.488) and Afghanistan (0.66) have the lowest GDI.
Other indicators include:
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Rate of child mortality: the number of deaths of children under 5 years of age per 1000 live births in a country.
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Life expectancy: the average number of years a person born today can expect to live.
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Daily calorie intake: the amount of energy a person consumes in a 24-hour period.
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Adult literacy rate: the percentage of the adults in a country with basic reading and writing skills.
CASE STUDY: EMPOWERING WOMEN, INDIGENOUS GROUPS AND MINORITY GROUPS
DETAILED ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS TO CLOSE THE DEVELOPMENT GAP
Empowerment is the process of becoming stronger and and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights. It is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes.
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EMPOWERING WOMEN
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Worldwide 15 million girls under the age of 18 marry every year; this is equivalent to one marriage every 2 seconds.Globally 62 million girls do not have access to education. In 2015, only 50% of women of working age were employed compared to 77% of men of working age. In addition, women in work earn on average only 77% of their male counterparts.
Empowering women in Colombia
In Colombia the unemployment rate is higher for women (15.6%) than for men (9%). Average gender income gaps are 20%, and while the global men’s participation rate is 74%, it is 52% for women.
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A long-lasting armed conflict has allowed women to become more mobilised and they were able to influence new laws and politics. These changes include:
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The percentage of women who are cabinet members increased by 20%.
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Girls access to advanced education (secondary and tertiary education) increased as well as enrolment into the labour force by 13%, including political opportunities in workforce for women.
→ Class and generational divisions: Whereas urban women
have benefited from the empowerment, many rural
women still are illiterate and poor and continue
experiencing gender-based discrimination and violence.
Empowering women in Malawi
Over 50% of girls in Malawi marry before the age of 18. Malawi has the eighth highest rate of child marriage in the world and in rural areas poor families often allow their daughters to be married in return for a dowry.
The parliament, an organisation called Let Girls Lead and the Girls Empowerment Network (GENET) achieved the following in 2017:
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Child marriage was banned and the legal marriage age was raised to 18.
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Encouraged girls to fight for their own rights and trained them to campaign for later marriage.
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GENET removes girls from child marriage and gets them back in to school.
EMPOWERING INDIGENOUS GROUPS
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Indigenous groups are people that live in (or are attached to) traditional or ancestral territories, and who identify themselves as a distinct cultural group. These people make up about 5% of the global population but account for about 15% of the world’s poor. They often face social, economic and political problems due to colonial policies.
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EMPOWERING MINORITY GROUPS
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A minority group is a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group. They
often face challenges such as financial disadvantages, racial discrimination, harassment and physical violence. Gay men earn an average of 30% less than similarly qualified heterosexual men. About 64% of transgender people earned incomes below $25 000, which can be considered employment discrimination.
They are empowered by the following:
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Ogoni people (Niger): Campaigned to gain compensation from Nigerian government and oil companies for damages to their land. Shell agreed to pay 70million USD to Ogoni farmers and fisherman in compensation, after destroying their land (causing financial turmoil) with two major oil spills in the Niger River Delta
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Inuit people (Canada): The Canadian government and judicial system support the Inuit people with defending their land rights.
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FUNAI (Brazil): This foundation ensures that the rights of the indigenous people are respected in Brazil. Also, it is responsible for the protection of the Amazon rainforest.
To support LGBTQ+ communities, the following empowerment strategies have been put in place:
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In North America and Western Europe, same-sex marriage is legal in all states/countries.
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In Eastern Europe civil unions (= a legal marriage-like relationship between two people) are allowed and couples can be publicly identified.
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In the majority of Asian countries such as China, homosexuality is no longer illegal.
→ However, some countries such as Russia still restrict expression of LGBTQ+ and threaten with imprisonment and the death penalty
Social entrepreneurship and approaches for human development
Social enterpreurship describes a new and creative approach to human development that combines business techniques and principles to develop and fund projects that solve social, economic, environmental or cultural problems.
→ Such approach includes the concepts of microfinance, fairtrade and corporate social responsibility.
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Microfinance schemes and microcredit
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Microfinance is the provision of financial services to small businesses and poor entrepreneurs who often have limited or no access to formal banking. Examples of microfinance organisations include credit unions, commercial banks and NGOs.
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Microcredit involves the provision of small loans to help poor people to start their own business. The loans are often provided with relatively favourable/low interest rates.
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One of the best-known Microfinance institutions is the Pacific Community Ventures. Pacific Community Ventures was founded in 1998 and provides microfinance loans to small businesses in California. Loan amounts range from $10,000 to $20,000 with the goal of creating quality jobs and investments for social good.
Fairtrade
Fairtrade is an alternative trading network, which attempts to be socially, economically, environmentally responsible and sustainable.
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Fairtrade values direct trade relationships with the producer and minimal prices.
→ Examples of fairtrade products include chocolate, sugar, flowers, coffee, tea, bananas, soap and handicrafts.
Equal Exchange and Coffee Trade:
Equal exchange was founded in 1986 to support small and organic coffee farmers in Nicaragua. It has now expanded and increased its range and supports farmers worldwide.
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Over 125 million people worldwide are dependent on coffee for their livelihood.
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Fairtrade works with 750,000 coffee farmers through 600 different Fairtrade certified producer organisations, such as Equal Exchange.
Equal Exchange aims to empower and keep farmers an active part of the world market. The following things are done by Equal Exchange to support its farmers:
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Raising and stabilising the incomes of small-scale farmers.
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Promoting labour rights and the right of workers.
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Promoting safe and sustainable farming methods and working conditions.
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Connecting consumers and producers.
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Increasing consumer awareness and engagement with issues affecting producers.
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Direct trade relationships and long term contracts between importers and producer groups.
H&M Cotton Trade:
H&M is part of a ‘Better Cotton Initiative’ (BCI), which fair-trades cotton from Africa. Since 2020 H&M reached its goal of sourcing and recycling all their cotton from sustainable sources through the BCI.
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Organic cotton is grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers.
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The Better Cotton Initiative is a non-profit organisation, which helps cotton growers convert to more environmentally friendly, and socially and economically sustainable farming methods.
→ Traidcraft Exchange is a company that aims to fight poverty through trade and hereby specifically supports LICs. Traidcraft Exchange
buys fairtrade products off sellers and then tries to sell and distribute them. LICs often export only a small range of different crops and
therefore become easily reliant on these primary products. Traidcraft Exchange is able to offer them a reliable income and a greater
market to sell their products.
TNC corporate social responsibility
TNC corporate social responsibility, refers to companies assessing the social, economic and environmental impact of their actions. If necessary, they respond appropriately to minimise the impact and in this way contribute towards sustainable development.
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1. Apple becoming more sustainable:
Most carbon emissions are generated during product
manufacturing (71%), product transport (8%), and
product use (19%). To combat these emissions and the
pollution created, Apple has set itself targets: ​
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By 2030 all Apple products will be carbon-neutral, being fully reliant on 100% renewable energy.
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Materials will be recycled and reused more readily, to achieve zero waste by 2030.
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Apple stores, offices and data centres will be powered by 100% renewable energy.
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Supplier assessments to ensure human health and working standards are appropriate.
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2. McDonalds becoming more sustainable:
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Supporting sustainable beef production, by working together with the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB).
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Increasing its in-restaurant recycling to 50%, in an effort to reduce waste.
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Increasing energy efficiency by 20%.
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3. Nestlé becoming more sustainable:
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Nestlé aims to tackle the global issue of water scarcity by reducing the amount of water it uses. From 2005 onwards Nestlé has managed to reduce its water use by 40%.
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Nestlé also recycles waste water and uses it to clean and cool machinery.
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Nestlé has managed to save 550 million litres of water per year.
5.2 - Changing identities and cultures
How global interactions bring cultural influences and changes to places
Diffusion of cultural traits
Culture refers to the way of life of a particular society or group of people. Within the culture, there are certain cultural traits. Cultural traits (cultural differentialism) refer to the characteristics that gives a culture its sense of identity (eg: language, music, religion, television, food and sport).
→ Due to globalisation a global (uniform) culture may arise.
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Cultural diffusion is the spread of cultural traits from one place to another through the processes of cultural change, migration, tourism and the movement of products (eg: the wearing of jeans originates from the American culture, however it has been adopted globally).
Characteristics of a global culture (cultural traits):
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Language: English has become a common language in almost every country in the world.
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Dressing: Many forms of dressing are becoming global. For example the wearing jeans, trousers and suits.
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Music: Music genre and the individual songs composed by some musicians could be listened to in different parts of the world. For example, Gangnam Style, the South Korean hit song has the highest YouTube video clicks.
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Movies/Television: Western movies are beginning to dominate most in cinemas in different parts of the world. For example, movies produced by the American Company Disney have been translated into over 20 different languages and are watched all over the world.
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Sport: This also plays a crucial role is shaping the cultural landscape worldwide. The football world cup and the Olympics have global significance
Pathways to a growing global culture:
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The global availability and access to TNCs (McDonalds and Starbucks), may cause a global culture to form.
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International migrants introduce their culture to the host country and vice versa.
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International tourism by most Westerners has led to the spread of western culture in different parts of the world. This is also known as the process of 'Westernization'.
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Global media (CNN and BBC news) contributed in fuelling the speed with which global culture is spreading.
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Improvement in communication and transport ‘shrinks the world’. The decrease in travelling times, results in a faster transport of cultural values, products and services to different parts of the world.
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Free trade agreements encourage the spread of global cultures. Products from different countries can now be transported to other countries without any restrictions.
→ A global culture or the homogenisation of a culture (= convergence) can be defined as the merge and diffusion of different cultures
worldwide, causing them to become similar or identical. Geographers claim that our world has become a 'global village',
expressing similar habits and cultural traits.
Cultural imperialism
Cultural imperialism refers to the practice of promoting a culture in another country - when one culture imposes itself on another, leading to the dissemination of ideas, values and principles. This can also result in cultural homogenisation and local cultures are lost and exploited.
→ This is known as cultural hegemony.
Cultural imperialism is often used to refer to the imbalance of sociocultural exchanges between HICs, particularly the West (USA and Western Europe), with the rest of the world. This then results in cultural imperialism.
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Westernisation and Europeanisation: A process whereby societies adopt western cultures in areas such as: Industry, technology, politics, lifestyle, law, customs, traditions, diet, clothing and religion.
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Americanisation: The process of globalising American cultural products.
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By 1914 European nations controlled around 90% of Africa. Colonisation resulted in large-scale cultural change in many of these African countries.
Examples of cultural imperialism:
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Language: English has become the dominantly spoken language worldwide.
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Global brands: McDonalds and Starbucks have more than 35,000 shops in over 80 countries and thus force a homogenisation of diets.
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Media: Disney, BBC and CNN have become the main channels worldwide.
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Tourism: Large hotel chains, such as the Hyatt or the Hilton can be found worldwide.
The impact of cultural imperialism on the KALAHARI BUSHMEN in Botswana (Africa):
The Botswana government is trying to impose its beliefs and culture on the Bushmen in the name of conservation and development. Many indigenous groups are under this threat, due to: Extensive development, land is seen as an economic resource and valuable resource may be located on their land. Also, as transport networks develop remote areas are opened up to the rest of the world and indigenous societies are exposed to different cultures. Governments and organisations, in their attempt to develop an area and spread the cultural norms of the country, often end up destroying the groups they are attempting to help.
The culture of the Bushmen:
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They have distinctive roles based on their gender - men go hunting, while women take care of the family.
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The traditional clothing of the Bushmen is made from animal skin.
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They practice Shamanism and carry out rituals and sing sacred songs.
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Pressures on the Bushmen:
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They have encountered persecution and restricted access to land.
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Debswana (a diamond mining company owned jointly by DeBeers and the Botswana government) discovered diamonds in the Central Kalahari.
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They regard the Bushmen to be an embarrassment to the country and say they are trying to bring the Bushmen into the modern era. The former president of Botswana publicly called them 'primitive stone age creatures’ and referred to the Bushmen as living 'lives of backwardness’.
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After being relocated to relocation camps, many Bushmen have turned to drugs and alcohol.
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They are now wearing western style clothes and are educated in western-style schools.
Glocalisation of branded commodities and cultural hybridity
Glocalisation is a term invented to emphasise that the globalisation of a product is more likely to succeed when the product or service is adapted specifically to the locality or culture it is marketed in. It is the combination of the words “localisation” and “globalisation”.
→ Cultural hybridity describes the extent to which different cultures are intermixed. For example, K-Pop which is a mix of English style music and Korean style music.
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Glocalisation of Coca Cola ("Glocal Cola"):
Coca Cola is the biggest selling soft drink in the world and its trademark is recognised worldwide. The Coca Cola company employs over 50,000 people worldwide and operates in over 200 countries.
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Linguistic diversity: The cans are labelled according to where they are sold (Chinese characters or Hindi).
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Diversity of advertisements: Wherever Coca Cola is advertised, the sets and actors correspond to the local cultures. For example, Coca Cola was advertised in Nepal by representing it as a “super drink” when climbing the Mount Everest.
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Diversity of flavours: Coca Cola lime is sold in the US and Canada, whereas Coca Cola cinnamon is found in European countries.
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Glocalisation of McDonalds ("McDonaldisation")
McDonalds was founded by Dick and Mac MacDonald. It is considered an emblem for globalisation and has over 35,000 restaurants worldwide and 2 million employees.
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Diversity of flavours: McLobster in the UK, McRice in Asia, McAloo Tikki Burger in India and a McShrimp in Japan.
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Drinks offered: Beer in Germany, tea in China and coke in the US.
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Glocalisation of Starbucks
Starbucks was founded by Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl. It has 32,000 shops which operate in over 80 countries.
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Diversity of flavours: Matcha latte in Asia, caramel latte in Europe and the USA.
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Glocalisation of Starbucks in CHINA: Starbucks sees China as its next new market. With its increasing number of Chinese middle class the Chinese market could provide Starbucks with more customers than the USA. As China is a majority tea-drinking country, Starbucks had to amend its stores accordingly:
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The stores are larger with more space to relax and can be likened to traditional Chinese teahouses.
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Chinese food like lychee mooncake is included in the menu.
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Starbucks has introduced a nameless logo to give a more international sign, with no mention of the word coffee.
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Criticisms and problems for Starbucks:
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Starbucks was accused as ignoring Chinese tradition by building a store
within the Forbidden City, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and
had to close its store.
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Starbucks has also been criticised for setting higher prices in its Chinese
stores than in other countries.
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The issue of fairtrade coffee has also been questioned. Despite claims that
99% of its coffee is ethically sourced, less than 10% is actually
fairtrade-certified.
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Starbucks has been criticised for setting up next to independent cafes and
forcing them to close down.
Adoption versus adaption of a mass culture
Adoption of a mass culture refers to new cultural traits being taken in their entirety, perhaps abandoning old traditions.
→ This includes: cultural imperialism, cultural diffusion and homogenisation (convergence) of cultures.
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Adaption of a mass culture refers to cultural traits being modified so it can be accommodated within the context of an existing culture.
→ This includes: cultural hybridity, cultural diversity, glocalisation and heterogenisation of cultures.
Cultural landscape changes in the built environment
Until a few decades ago, built environments (CBD areas) in different parts of the world had distinctive characters that reflected their national identity und their location. As a result of globalisation on an economic, cultural and social level many built environments are losing their distinctive cultural characteristics. Ultimately, they are becoming more homogenised (uniform). ​The homogenisation of landscapes refers to the similarities or uniformity in the landscape of major cities around the world.
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This may lead to the formation and establishment of a "global city".
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Homogenised cities become graveyards of distinctiveness and individuality.
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Homogenised features of urban areas:
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High-rise buildings and skyscrapers in CBD areas, with a great infrastructure density. This is primarily due to the high bid rent in city centres, which states that that land/real estate/rental cost is higher in and around a city's central business district due to increased demand.
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An advanced transport system and infrastructure design. Cities have complex road networks, underground railway systems, bus networks and airports
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Great availability of a variety of major TNCs, such as Starbucks and McDonalds.
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Bright colours of signs/symbols displayed on top of buildings. These symbols often characterise the skyline of most major cities.
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Green spaces and recreational areas, such as parks are present.
Factors encouraging homogenisation:
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Time-space convergence allowing more interaction globally, hence places become more connected which encourages ideas to be shared.
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Through technology and the development in the communication infrastructure, ideas may be shared more quickly.
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International migration aids and fuels the spread of ideas.
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The global elite (wealthy business people), travels around the world and is wiling to pay for a similar experiences.
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TNCs and global brands operate with an economy of scale. By repeating the same customer experience, they save money on marketing, advertising and design. It also allows them to present themselves as part of an aspirational lifestyle, especially in poorer countries
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Aspirations to be part of a global network of urban centres.
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Superpower countries such as the US impose their culture on different countries worldwide.
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Standardisation of key infrastructure, such as airports, subways and building techniques. An example of this is English being on signs in most major transport interchanges.
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Seoul (South Korea): Gentrification and urban redevelopment have led to a more homogenised and uniform urban landscape. Large TNCs, such as McDonalds are located in South Korea and its CBD is similar to that of New York, as it has high skyscrapers made out of glass.
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→ The gradient of homogenisation deceases with increasing distance from the city centre. The centre of an urban area (known as the CBD) tends to be the most homogenised and that the degree of homogenisation declines towards the edge of the city (periphery).
CASE STUDY: CHINESE AND IRISH DIASPORAS
GLOBAL DIASPORA POPULATION AND ITS CULTURE(S)
A diaspora is a group of people that has been displaced outside its original homeland and are separate from its geographic place of origin. Diasporas usually develop through voluntary, but can also be a result of forced migration. However, they still maintain their heritage in their new land and have close connections back to their home country.
CHINESE DIASPORA
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Approximately 40 million people from Chinese origin live in large concentration in countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the US.
→ ​This is due to colonisation, increased globalisation,
international employment opportunities and the expansion of maritime trade.
Cultural hybridity and how Chinese diasporas maintain their culture abroad:
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Chinese buildings (China Towns) and the US building styles merged.
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McDonald’s in the US has modified their menus to suit the tastes of the Chinese community.
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Many Chinese continue to speak Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese in both social situations and at home rather than adopting the English language.
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Educational establishments that cater for the needs of the Chinese, such as the School of Oriental and African Studies.
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Festivals, such as the “Chinese New Year Festival” are celebrated in the style of a parade in the US.
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There are Buddhist temples in the main cities.
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Airlines such as Air China operate daily direct flights between China and Britain. In January 2017 the first direct train from China arrived in London. This link, which reopens the old Silk Road route, takes 17 days and covers 11,900 km.
IRISH DIASPORA
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More than 80 million people from Irish origin move to countries such as the USA, the UK and Australia.
→ This is due to poor economic situations (potato famine),
little social prosperity and high birth rates.
Cultural hybridity and how Irish diasporas maintain their culture abroad:
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Festivals such as St. Patrick’s Day is Irish culture. This is widely celebrated in the USA and Europe.
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Irish food and cuisine: Irish potatoes are a popular meal in many parts of the world.
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The Irish Pub culture: Guinness, Banges and Mash are consumed in many countries today, as a result of the cultural diffusion by the Irish Diaspora.
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Leprechaun and four leafed clovers are often considered signs of good luck. This is associated with Irish culture and has been accepted internationally in most cultures.
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Halloween celebrations originated from Ireland to America and are now celebrated worldwide.
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10.8% of the total US population claim to have Irish ancestry.
5.3 - Local responses to global interactions
The varying power of local places and actors to resist or accept change
Local and civil society resistance to global interactions
The civil society is part of the voluntary sector. It is independent, non-profit distributing and is based on self-governance, voluntarism and public benefit. Examples of well-known civil societies, include WWF and Greenpeace.
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Rejection of globalised production
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Globalised production refers to the production of food and goods takes place on a global scale and countries interact to derive at the final product.
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Localised production refers to the production of food and goods takes place on a local and commercial scale, without any forgein interaction.
Potato farming in Egypt:
Potatoes are one of the most important crops grown in Egypt for local consumption, export and processing. Over 2 million tones of potatoes are produced each year.
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Potato farming for the local use (localised production): Egypt grows potatoes to feed its increasing population. Although Egypt is too dry for potato production and the desert sand is infertile, farmers have developed a complex sprinkler system. This sprinkler system uses water from the River Niles and supplies the potatoes with water and nutrients.
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Potato farming for the global use (globalised production): Egypt is one of world’s largest potato exporters and exports its potatoes through the Suez Canal to Europe and the US. Also, Ireland and Scotland supply the Egyptian farmers with potato tubers and peat.
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→ Egypt has recognised the importance of localised production to support its growing population. Although Egypt's climate is not
ideal, amendments were made to make the production possible. However, contrastingly the inputs (tubers) come from overseas and
the abundance of potatoes has led to Egypt becoming a big potato exporter.
Campaigns against TNCs and the rise of NGOs in favour of local sourcing by citizens
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are non-profit-making organisations that are not run, funded or influenced by the government.
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There are around 3.7 million NGOs in the world today of which India has a staggering 2 million.
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Most NGOs rely on donations for their funding. NGOs have advantages over government organisations in that their campaigns can be contrary to government opinion and they can campaign in any way they choose.
The opposition against TNCs is caused by a growing global wealth divide, increased social harm, environmental degradation, tax avoidance and cultural imperialism. ​
Amnesty International and Shell in the Niger Delta (Africa):
The Niger Delta is Africa’s most important oil-producing region, and one of the most polluted places on earth.
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Oil refineries are located in the middle of the jungle to make petroleum. These refineries are run by unemployed and impoverished people.
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The oil burning industry accounts for 70% of Nigeria’s GDP.
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For decades Shell pumped oil here, but is accused of not addressing the oil leaks.
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Since 2011, Shell has reported 1000 spills, with over 17.5 million litres lost.
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Impacts of the the oil spills and leaks:
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Oil disasters have poisoned the water and the land, destroying the livelihood of fishermen and farmers.
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Soil and crops contain high levels of mercury and chromium, which is poisonous and highly toxic.
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Low life expectancy of 45 years and high infant mortality rate.
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High acid rain occurrence.
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The oil leaks have caused tensions and conflicts.
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The role of Amnesty International as a NGO:
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With the help of Amnesty International, Shell admitted it had made false statements about the size of the spills and settled out of court, paying the community £55 million in compensation.
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The Amnesty decoders made up an online community of human rights volunteers, who help the Amnesty researchers sift through large databanks of pictures, documents and other information:
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Identified 90 spills that were not caused by sabotage.
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Empowered the local people, while simultaneously gathering evidence against the government.
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Greenpeace and Mattel (Asia and Pulp- APP) in Indonesia:
Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) is an Indonesian company established in 1972 and now based in Singapore. Today it is one of the largest pulp, paper and packaging companies in the world. APP produces over 18 million tons of pulp, paper and packaging every year.
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Deforestation of tropical rainforest areas is one of the major concerns of environmental groups. In 2005, it was reported that APP was responsible for clearing 280,000 hectares of rainforest.
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Over 100 conflicts were recorded between locals and APP during deforesting.
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Impacts of the deforestation:
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New roads were built through the Kampar peninsula, an area containing tropical peat swamps and home to the critically endangered Sumatran tiger.
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Large areas of the Sumatran forest were deforested, highlighting the loss of habitat to the Sumatran tiger, orangutans and elephants.
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Deforestation causes stored carbon to be released into the atmosphere.
The role of Greenpeace as a NGO:
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Mattel, a toy-making company, was identified as using APP products in its packaging.
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The famous Barbie doll was packaged using APP products. Greenpeace launched a campaign in 2011, in which Ken is breaking up with Barbie over rainforest destruction: "Barbie, it’s over, I don’t date girls that are into deforestation". This resulted in Mattel stopping to buy packaging from APP.
Rise of anti-immigration movements
Anti-immigration movements refer to individuals and groups which are opposed to immigrants or immigration and thus express hostility towards them. They often express a high degree nationalistic behaviour. Nationalism can be defined as the expression of loyalty and devotion to a nation, especially a sense of national consciousness, and exalting one nation above all others.
→ Reasons for immigration: Refugee crisis, employment opportunities, to escape poverty and war.
AFD (Alternative für Deutschland) and PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident):
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1.6 million immigrants came to Germany in 2019.
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15% of the German population is considered foreign.
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The majority of immigrants come from Turkey, Russia and Poland.
AFD and PEGIDA are two far right-wing anti-immigration groups, which have been founded as a result of a disagreement on the immigration laws released by the German government. Both groups are tightly linked and have close connections:
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Lutz Bachmann is the founder of PEGIDA and has been accused several times of imposing Hitler.
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The AfD and PEGIDA have a total of 35,000 followers in Germany.
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The AfD had 12% of all votes in 2017 and is the first far-right party to enter the German parliament.
Geopolitical constraints on global interactions
Government controls on personal freedoms
The top five most censored countries are Eritrea, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and China. Many governments attempt to control information by restricting internet access. Less than 10% of the population in Eritrea and North Korea have mobile phones and in Eritrea less than 1% of the population goes online.​
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Government controls in China:
China, has censored a range of websites and social media platforms by using a ‘Firewall’. Through this Firewall, popular western websites, such as Google, Amazon, YouTube and Facebook are censored.
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China has 750 million internet users.
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China has established an ‘Intranet’. The intranet is a local, restricted or private communications network.
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Platforms such as LinkedIn are allowed in China, as they do not directly threaten the Chinese government and help in forming connections outside of China - they follow regulations released by the Chinese government.
→ China has its own applications to replace the western ones which were censored. WeChat, Baidu and Alibaba are only a few of these
apps.
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Government controls in Eritrea:
Eritrea is officially the most censored place to live in the world. The country has banned much of the mainstream media and cell phone subscriptions are below 6% of the total population.
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1% have access to the internet and 6% have a phone.
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No access to social media and there is only one newspaper and one TV channel.
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Restricted freedom of speech, which when ignored results in imprisonment.
Government controls in North Korea:
Kim Jong-un is the current leader of North Korea and a great driver of the independence and self-reliance movement. This self-reliance is a form of governmental control:
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​People have restricted movement within the country and it is illegal to leave the country. Many are taught to fear the 'outside world’.
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Internet access is severely restricted and they can only access a locally hosted intranet system.
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Only 10% of the population have a mobile phone.
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There are fewer than 400 foreign nationals living in the country and entry to North Korea is strictly controlled.
→ North Korea is considered to be the closest example of a non-globalised country. This is a country which is isolated from any form of
global interaction, such as trade.
Militia controls on personal freedoms
A militia control refers to a military organisation of citizens with limited military training, which is available for emergency service, usually for local defence.
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POSITIVE militia control in South Sudan:
The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SSPDF are responsible for providing security throughout the country and ostensibly operates under the Ministry of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs. It has 200,000 members and was recognised as an unofficial military unit in 2016. Many of its army recruits are children.
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The SSPDF was founded in 1983 as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan.
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Another reason for this military unit to emerge is that with South Sudan becoming independent from Sudan conflicts between people have risen, as they are unhappy about the divide.
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NEGATIVE militia control in Northern Nigeria:
Boko Haram (translates as ‘Western education is forbidden’) is an Islamist group based in Nigeria which aims to overthrow the Nigerian government and establish an Islamic state. It was founded in 2002 and has over 15000 members. They believe that Muslims should not participate in any social or political activity that is linked to Western society:
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Over 30 000 people have been killed.
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They killed and kidnapped hundreds of children and women and in 2014 a ‘Bring back our girls’ campaign was set up, backed by Michelle Obama and numerous celebrities.
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In 2014 Boko Haram was named as the deadliest terrorist group and also pledged allegiance to ISIS.
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According to Amnesty International more than 2000 children remain in captivity, many having been forced to marry members of Boko Haram, whereas others are used as child soldiers.
National trade restrictions
Resource nationalism
Resource nationalism refers to the process of governments asserting control and taking ownership of their natural resources. Rather than having their resources in the hands of private companies, resource nationalism involves state ownership. Resource nationalism is considered to give the country more power and is an important signal of sovereignty. Many resource-rich countries, in all stages of economic development, are gaining economic control of their resources. Resource nationalism conflicts with globalisation and is usually against the interests of transnational corporations. However, it allows countries to have more control and profit from the extraction of their resources.
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Resource nationalism in Venezuela:
Hugo Chavez seized control of oil-producing operations in Venezuela owned by foreign TNCs. He took the view that this was a good economic and political strategy, as Venezuela has the largest fossil fuel reserves out of all the OPEC member states. By restricting access to the fossil fuel reserves, Venezuela would keep their petrodollar wealth to themselves and could fund education, health and employment.
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Resource nationalism in Argentina:
In 2012 Argentina’s oil industry was controlled by Repsol, the Spanish energy giant. But then President Cristina Fernandez’s nationalized the oil sector - seizing control of Repsol on the grounds.
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Resource nationalism in Botswana:
Last year De Beers was obliged to move its London-based sorting operation to Botswana and all the jobs and other economic benefits that go with it. In return for extending the renegotiating period for its diamond-sales agreement from five years to ten.
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→ Both, protectionism and resource nationalism are strategies to ensure national sovereignty. National sovereignty refers to the intentional
independence of a state.
Trade restriction refers to the various barriers that make the flow of goods and services between countries immobile. If the barriers come from government policies, we call it trade protection. Trade restrictions affect the demand for and supply of goods and services on international markets.
Protectionism
Protectionism includes policies that are set up to shield a country’s domestic industries from foreign competition.
Through protectionism, trade is controlled. Products made in the country are made more competitive and thus it is intended to support a county’s industry and protect jobs. There are five types of protectionism:
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Tariffs: Taxes imposed on imported goods. For example, taxes on cigarettes and liquor products in Singapore. This raises the price of these products and discourages their purchase.
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Subsidies: Given by the government to ensure its products produced at home would cost less and be more competitive with products produced abroad. For example, Australia subsidising milk farmers to make domestic milk cheaper than imports.
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Quota: A physical limit on the amount of goods that can be imported. For example, Malaysia pose a quota on the import of foreign cars. Locals who need a car would need to buy locally produced cars.
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Embargo: A partial or complete ban on the import of a product. For example, Singapore bans the import of chickens from countries with a high incident of reported bird flu cases.
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Nationalistic Campaigns: This occurs when the government launches campaigns to encourage their citizens to buy locally produced goods rather than foreign goods. For example, Malaysia is encouraging people to buy local fruits as opposed to imported.
In addition to these protectionist policies, stealth protectionist policies also exist which include things like quality controls on imported products which makes access to the market for foreign producers harder.
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Donald Trump and protectionism:
The former US president Donald Trump, was a keen advocate of protectionism. He argues that globalisation has brought more disadvantages than advantages.
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The USA imposed tariffs and import quotas on a wide variety of products.
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The USA approved a 30% tariff on car tires imported from China. This had an almost immediate effect: By 2010 Chinese tire imports had fallen by 30% and USA-made tires saw an increase of 15%.
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The Trump administration is highly critical of the WTO, criticizing that the WTO was no longer "able to keep up with modern economic challenges" and as such, should be reformed.
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As a response, the Trump administration is threatening the functioning of the entire organization by blocking the appointment of members and by refusing to engage in serious reform discussions.
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Recent signs of rising protectionism:
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Britain has left the EU (Brexit) and is no longer part of the EU. This has a limiting impact on trading relationships with other EU countries.
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Fading enthusiasm to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Pact (TPPP), as it has only made very slow progress since it was first suggested in 2006.
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The USA has raised tariffs on Japanese electronic imports and Chinese steel imports.
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Australia tightened rules on foreign direct investment (FDI) in terms of foreign property and land purchase.
Civil societies promoting international-mindedness
International mindedness is a view of the world in which people see themselves connected to the global community and assume a sense of responsibility to its members.
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The Malala Fund and Education for girls:
This foundation aims to make education a fundamental and universal human right. It supports the concept of the 'girl effect', which states that female education and empowerment is key to achieving global equity and closing the global equity gap. Currently, over a 130 million girls do not attend school, and thus remain illiterate, unskilled and innumerate.
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The Malala Fund is named after Malala Yousafzai, a girl who was keen to receive education although she was under strict Taliban rule. She is an activist for girls’ education and together with the UN and UNESCO fights for more equal rights.
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​In March 2022, the fund supported over 37,000 students in Afghanistan to be granted access to education.
Civil societies campaigning for internet freedom and regulating internet access
The OpenNet Initiative (ONI)
The Open Net Initiative (ONI) is an international organisation dedicated to informing the public about Web filtering and surveillance policies. It is a joint project, whose goal was to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. Hereby they focus on political, social and security related filtering:
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Political: Content that includes views contrary to the respective country's policies.
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Social: Web pages that focus on sexuality, gambling, drugs and other subjects that a nation might deem offensive.
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Security: Pages that relate to wars, skirmishes, dissent and other conflicts.
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading non-profit organisation defending civil liberties in the digital world. Its mission is to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation worldwide.
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It was set up in 1990 in San Francisco in Silicon Valley.
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They defend free speech online, fight illegal surveillance, advocate for users and innovators, and support freedom-enhancing technologies.
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EFF has prevailed in lawsuits against the federal government, the world's largest entertainment companies, and major electronics companies.
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The GreatFire organisation
A non-profit organisation that monitors the status of websites censored by the Great Firewall of China and then helps Chinese Internet users circumvent the censorship and blockage of websites in China. It gets funded by people and organisations within China, as well as the Open Technology Fund (an US-backed initiative to support internet freedom).
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The members of the organisation remain anonymous to prevent the whole project to be caught by the Chinese government.
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The organisation's stated mission was to "bring transparency to the Great Firewall of China”.
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Using a method known as collateral freedom. Collateral freedom is an anti-censorship strategy that attempts to make it economically prohibitive for censors to block content on the Internet.
→ Have worked with BBC to make the Chinese-language BBC website available to users in China, despite it being blocked by the
Great Firewall.
CASE STUDY: THE ARAB SPRING (TUNISIA) AND THE TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTS (CHINA)
TWO DETAILED EXAMPLES OF PLACES WHERE RESTRICTED FREEDOMS HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED
THE ARAB SPRING IN TUNISIA (2010)
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The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests which began in Tunisia in 2010 and rapidly spread across the Middle East (= a chain reaction). Ultimately, the uprising began after fruit was confiscated from a farmer who was selling them without a valid trading licence. The farmer then put himself on fire to set a revolting sign against the corruption and poverty in Tunisia. He was the catalyst of the uprising.
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The Arab Spring was further fuelled by a youthful population, frustrated at the lack of freedom and opportunities in countries such as Tunisia and Egypt.
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After this incident social media and the internet were used as the main drivers to overthrow the government:
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Twitter and Facebook were the main two platforms used, to spread the message of revolt in Tunisia internationally and trigger worldwide attention.
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Protests, demos and flash mobs against the regime were organized over social media on a global level (large scale) and local level (small scale).
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The hashtag “#Anonymous” was a movement by a group who were dedicated to overthrow the Tunisian government
→ This was known as “Operation Tunisia”.
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They shared documents on how to run from cops and ways to illegally access Facebook and Twitter.
The responses of the Tunisian government:
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The Tunisian government hacked platforms such as Facebook and deleted harmful posts and opposing comments.
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The police shot people and tried to control protests in a violent way.
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Journalists were detained and news websites were shut down.
Ultimately the Tunisian dictator Ben Ali ended his 23 years of rule and fled the country, seeking exile in Saudi Arabia. The following day an interim government formed which promised to investigate human rights abuses and introduce democracy to the country.
THE TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTS IN CHINA (1989)
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The Tiananmen Square protests were student-led demonstrations calling for democracy, free speech and a free press in China. Conditions for internet users in China remain profoundly oppressive, and confirmed the country's status as the world's worst abuser of internet freedom. In 2010 on the subject of Internet in China, the government protects "the safe flow of internet information and actively guides people to manage websites under the law and use the internet in a wholesome and correct way". Websites such as Facebook, Google, Instagram and YouTube are censored and cannot be accessed.
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The government blocks website content and monitors internet access.
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Amnesty International states that China has "the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists".
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Instead of using western internet and social media platforms, China has developed and published its own. These include: Weibo, Baidu and WeChat.
Due to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the Chinese government has imposed the following restrictions:
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Weibo is one of the largest Chinese microbloggingservices. In 2012, Weibo's censored words including "Tank Man" and similar pronunciations or meanings to "4 June", the date that the government's violent crackdown occurred.
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When searching for pictures of the massacre on China's most popular search engine Baidu, the website would return blank results and a message stating that the "search does not comply with laws, regulations, and policies".
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During the 20 and 30 year anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre social media platforms such as Baidu were suspended, claiming the platform was "under maintenance".
→ Other examples of internet restrictions include: In 2013, the Disney character Winnie the Pooh was systematically removed from the
Chinese Internet, following the spread of an internet meme in which photographs of President Xi were compared to the bear.
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How China's "Intranet" and Great Fire Wall have been challenged:
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VPNs are used to access censored websites
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In 2002, Chinese citizens used the Google mirror "elgooG" after China blocked Google.
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Microblogging sites like Weibo have also become primary spaces to voice opinion or discuss taboo subjects.