Globalization Module II: Globalization, Development and Governance
Spring 2015
Seven Mondays, 9:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
March 11 – May 6
Instructor: Robert Kuttner
Description and Background:
The world is organized into sovereign states. Although the global economy and global civil society are increasingly influential on the economy and the society, the state remains the domain of citizenship. It is the state that defines (or denies) rights. It is primarily the state that facilitates--or frustrates--democracy.
Globalization of commerce and finance complicates democracy. Global rights for corporations can narrow democratic rights for citizens. At the same time, global interchange and appeal to global norms and institutions can provide leverage to expand national democracy. Globalization of commerce also affects economic and human development, by increasing opportunities for exports, but also by limiting options to the ones required by public and private global institutions.
We will address these several cross-cutting influences and attempt to sort them out --in just six class meetings.
Most nations desire to find their own path to economic development. But increasingly, the rules of the global economic and financial system impose a standard set of norms and rules on a diverse community of nations. These include the rules of the IMF, World Bank, regional development banks, the WTO, bilateral trade agreements, and the lending banks of the developed north.
All of this impinges not only on a diversity of development models but also on the practice of political democracy, since the space for national policy is narrowed by these global norms and rules. Governance is not only harmonized but in some cases it is privatized. For our purposes, “governance” refers both to democratic governance of the nation-state and efforts at global governance.
Nonetheless, there is very interesting push-back both by nations in Asia, Latin America, and Africa that manage to carve out some space for their own development paths, and also from NGOs insisting on human rights as well as property rights. The interplay of these conflicts and the impact on domestic and global governance makes for instructive case studies both in democratic theory and practice, and in economic development.
Globalization often appears very different as viewed from the wealthy parliamentary democracies of the north and the developing and often autocratic nations of the global south. Globalization can provide leverage for citizens of non-democratic nations to press for increased democracy and human rights, even as it narrows the realm for deliberation in the established democracies. There is another paradox, in that globalization of markets appears to reduce inequality globally, but increase it within nations.
Can globalization be reconciled with human development in a fashion that enhances democracy and sustainability? This question raises such issues as the nature of civil society and membership in a political community, since globalization promotes immigrants and many immigrants have no civic rights in their new or temporary homes; the question of whether a successful development path must ultimately lead to greater democracy (or can development exist all too well with autocracy and plutocracy); the issue of the toll on the planet of different paths; and the question of whether there is a single best way consistent with economic efficiency—or room for multiple successful paths with different social goals?
The class will meet Monday afternoons 2:00 p.m. to to 4:50 p.m. Because we are covering a great deal of material, each session will cover two topics, as indicated in the syllabus below. We will go for about 75 minutes, then take a break, and then go for another 75 minutes on the second topic.
There is no textbook.Students are asked to purchase two paperbacks. All other readings or links will be posted on Latte.
Book to Purchase:
(Available on Amazon in inexpensive paperback or tablet edition, or at the Brandeis bookstore)
DaniRodrik, The Globalization Paradox
Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents
In this Module, students will:
* Explore philosophical and policy debates concerning the benefits, costs, and different approaches to expanded global commerce and economic development both in economics and politics.
* Place current debates about economic development and governance or globalization in a context that reflects both history and theory from the perspective of diverse nations, cultures and regions.
* Enhance their ability to assess arguments regarding development and globalization and to cogently analyze, speak, and write about them.
* Actively participate in teaching and learning with written and verbal presentations.
Requirements:
Paper: Students will prepare a paper of 10 double-spaced pages on one of the major class topics, and prepare a short class presentation. Papers are due on April 27.The in-class presentations will be made throughout the course.Students are encouraged to propose paper topics early in the term and to sign up to present their works in progress. Class presentations of papers-in-progress will begin in the third class. Sample topics will be distributed at the first class. Other topics may be also be approved by the instructor.
Presentation and Discussion of Readings. To facilitate class discussion, a two-to-three paragraphresponseto a total of three of the weekly readings must be posted on Latteby midnightof the day before class. Over the course of the half-semester, each student will submit three such responses, so you can choose the topics that you find most interesting. Responses should cover the following questions:
- What are the key arguments or debates in the reading?
- What are the most interesting points or promising strategies?
- What are your critiques of the readings?
Each student will also be asked to sign up to give an in-class short presentation of one reading assignment from the syllabus.
Op-ed. Students will be asked to prepare one 750-word op-ed article arguing for or against particular policies, theories or arguments about globalization.
Take-Home Exam. A short take-home exam will bedistributed at the final class on April 27 and needs to be returned by Wednesday, May 6.
Grades will be based on:
a. Major paper and short op-ed: 40 percent
b. Take-home exam: 30 percent
c. In-class presentations and general participation: 30 percent
Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis University. Each student is expected to turn in work completed independently, except when assignments specifically authorize collaborative effort. It is not okay to use the words of another person -- whether a world-class scholar or a fellow student – without proper acknowledgement of that source. This means that you must use footnotes and quotation marks to indicate the sources of any phrases, sentences, paragraphs or concepts found in published work, on the internet, or created by another student. Minor variations in wording are not sufficient – borrowed ideas require footnotes as well as attribution in your text. Remember: footnotes make you look really good -- like the diligent researcher that you are -- while plagiarism makes you look larcenous. Please also refrain from plagiarizing from yourself. Papers need to be original work, not adaptations of work done for other classes. If you have any questions about standards of academic integrity, please ask the instructor.
Violations of university policies on academic integrity, described in Section 3 of Rights and Responsibilities, may result in failure in the course or on the assignment, and could end in suspension from the University. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in this course, please ask for clarification.
Readings: Please do not be put off by the extent of the readings. I do not expect you to read every word of every reading. My expectation is that you willskim-read all materials and we will discuss key points in class. Try to skim-read the following week’s material in preparation for each class, and focus on those passages that you find compelling. The instructor will suggest which materials deserve a closer reading.
Multi-Tasking Courtesy: The instructor works hard on this course, and expects full student attention and participation. If you would like to have laptops or tablets in class, for purposes of taking notes, that is great. Emailing, texting, checking Facebook, surfing the web, etc., during class, are not permitted. Please put away cell phones. If you feel that you cannot concentrate enough to stay focused, please don’t bring laptops to class. Abuse of this request will result in your being asked to drop the class.
Disability Notice: If you have a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and require accommodations, please bring it to the instructor’s attention prior to the second meeting of the class. If you have any questions about this process, contact Mary Brooks, Disabilities Coordinator for The Heller School at x 62816, or at .
Class 1. Monday, March 16. The Global Economy and the National Polity
Introduction tothe course as well as housekeeping details.
Fundamentals of democracy.How the market complicates democracy.How markets and states are in contention. How does globalization intensify this challenge?
A. The evolution of modern democracy.The core elements of democracy. The market as modern, liberating and anti-feudal.The market as handmaiden of democracy--but the state as the necessary locus of citizenship.
Different conceptions of efficiency in economics.The evolution of different views of the state and the market.
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B. How the market complicates the polity.In domestic political economy.In global political economy.
C. How the global market further impinges on the polity.The political power of non-state actors, such as corporations and banks.What strategies can the nation state devise to keep national democracy strong and vital despite the global expansion of the economy? Has the globalized economy rendered the state less important – or more important than ever?
Robert A. Dahl, On Democracy, 7-60 (LATTE pdf)
Albert O. Hirschman, Rival Views of Market Society, 105-139. (LATTE pdf)
Robert Kuttner, Everything for Sale, 11-28 (LATTE pdf)
Benjamin Barber, Jihad vsMcWorld, 23-43 59-87,
Rodrik, The Globalization Paradox, 207-250
Class 2. Monday, March 23. The Global System
A. The global system before World War II.Thefive eras of globalization: Empire and early trading states; the classical free trade and gold standard era of the 19th century; the chaotic interwar period from 1919 to 1939; the attempt to globalize democratic managed capitalism after WWII; the resurgence of laissez-faire in the 1970s.
The vision of Bretton Woods, 1944. How the postwar vision of globalization supported full-employment welfare states in domestic politics.
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B. The move away from managed capitalism.How the IMF and World Bank shifted into instruments of laissez faire. Financial globalization. The road not taken. The relationship of capitalist economic development to political democracy.Globalization as instrument of dominant ideology, neo-liberalism, and dominant power, the US, and especially of US finance. Does globalization portend convergence or divergence of economic and political systems?
Karl Polanyi,The Great Transformation, 33-42; 135-150 (LATTE pdf)
J.G. Ruggie. “Embedded Liberalism”, 385-415 (LATTE pdf)
Stiglitz, The Roaring Nineties, 204-242 (LATTE pdf)
Rodrik, The Globalization Paradox, 184-206
Class 3. Monday, March 30. Globalization and Economic Development.
A. Globalization as an instrument of colonialism and neo-colonialism.Many of the western democracies were also colonial powers. The challenge of creating a democratic society using government, civil society and the market looks very different from perspective of a colony or formerly colonized state. The post-colonial challenges of different nations, their efforts to define their own paths, the problems of economic ties with the former “mother country” and the broader global market economy; corruption; weak infrastructure; tribalism;and lack of a democratic tradition.
B. One model of development, or many?A shift back towards pluralism?The appeal of the East Asian model of state-led capitalism? Impact of the Western financial system on Third World development. The dissenters and how they beat the system.Globalization as an instrument of development and growth for poor countries. The problems of property ownership, rule of law, and corruption in poor and formerly colonialized societies.
In class paper presentations begin.Please sign up in advance.
Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat (extract)
Francis Fukuyama, “Have We Reached the End of History? (LATTE pdf)
James Mann, America’s China Fantasy.
Alice Amsden, Asia’s Next Giant, 139-155 (LATTE pdf)
Kuttner, Debtors Prison, pp. 238-260
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (Indian Self-Rule), (19-34; 65-68)
Adam Hochschild, King Leopold’s Ghost, excerpts
Allister Sparks, Tomorrow is Another Country, extract, LATTE pdf
Patrick Keefe, “Buried Secrets,” The New Yorker (LATTE pdf)
Andre Gunder Frank, “The Development of Underdevelopment” (LATTE pdf)
Class 4. Monday, April 13. Immigration, Democracy, and Community.
A. Immigration, Democratic Rights, and Citizenship.How does globalization increase immigration, and how does the presence of large numbers of migrant workers without citizenship rights affect democracy and the political coalition that supports the welfare state? What does it mean to be alien from the social contract?How effective is global human rights law?
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B. Immigration, Labor Markets, and Social Standards. Can there be global social standards? Some examples of efforts to set floors, via institutions such as the ILO, global union federations, efforts by NGOs, and treaties.
Required Readings
Robert Putman, e Pluribus Unum
T.G. Ash, Freedom and Diversity:
Aguinias, “Regulating Private Recruitment…”
Convention on the Rights of Immigrant Workers:
Hirschman, Exit, Voice and Loyalty, 15-54, 106-119 (LATTE pdf)
Extract from Cindy Hahamovitch, No Man’s Land , 12-29; 225-243 (LATTE pdf)
Cynthia Gorney, “How Do You Say ‘Got Milk?’ En Español?
Class 5. Monday, April 20.
A. Contending Ideologies of Trade. Trade as an instrument of diffusion of neo-liberalism and anti-regulation. Agenda-setting by global economic elites. Trade as an opportunity for poor countries to develop, but keeping a measure of their own sovereignty.The politics of the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, and other regional trade pacts.
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B. Globalization and Private Government.Much trans-national governance is private and non-transparent. As corporate elites design the emerging system of trade law, issues tend to be removed from the realm of governance directly subject to democratic deliberation.
Required Readings
Lori Wallach and Patrick Woodall, Whose Trade Organization?,pps 1-17; 139-188 (LATTE pdf)
JagdishBhagwati, “In Defense of Globalization”FIND BETTER READING!
Rodrik, “How to Save Globalization from Its Cheerleaders”
World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalization, “A Fair Globalization, Preface, 24-49, 130-139. Please download pdf and read indicated sections:
Stewart and Badin, “The WTO and Global Administrative Law”
(downloadpdf from url link)
Susan D. Franck, “The Legitimacy Crisis.” (downloadpdf from url link)
Wallach, Investor Rights in Trade Agreements. LATTE.
Class 6. Monday, April 27. Globalization and Democracy
A. The creation of global democratic checks and balances.Global governance as underdeveloped democracy--or captured regulation?Can global governance address new worldwide problems such as global climate change and nuclear proliferation? Can it complement or substitute for national democracy?How much can NGOs accomplish as global civil society?
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B. The Equality Paradox—and back to the challenge of democracy.
Globalization appears to increase equality among nations but increase inequality within nations. Why? Is this trend inevitable? What policy levers exist to increase equality generally? How can globalization be made more compatible with democracy and social justice?
Required Readings
Barber, Jihad vsMcWorld, 236-292.
Lakner and Milanovic, Global Income Distribution
Buthe and Mattli, 18-41 (LATTE pdf)
Paper Due. Take-home Exam distributed.