Madhav Shrestha

Eminent analysts say globalisation is in essence the natural corollary of human needs and aspirations. However, they ask whether globalisation is humane to the whole of humanity. There is no denying that globalisation is the Zeitgeist of the whole world today.

Globalisation is not a new modern day phenomenon either; it existed even in ancient and medieval times. The pre-World War I era had also witnessed the globalisation process making headway in terms of the flow of humans and the growth of foreign trade. Two World Wars had indeed limited its onward surge as most external activities remained within the purview of the government-sponsored arena as demanded by the prevailing situation.

With rapid advancement in technologies of transport and telecommunications, globalisation in its current shape began appearing once again in the 1970s. Its intensity has further surged since the early nineties alongside the relaxation of political divide between the East and the West. Liberal economic policies adopted by many governments have perceptively eased the otherwise guided industrial and trade policies. Globalisation is now no more a buzzword. It has become both irreversible and irresistible force pushing every society and state to embrace the trend and survive with it. It has in reality encompassed every aspect of human lives.

Experts say that globalisation first started from the local level of the advanced country to reach the global status to make it ultimately ultra-global. It has indeed bestowed greater benefits on the developed countries. It has also, without doubt, brought in progress and prosperity to some developing countries where good infrastructure and required levels of education and skills are available and where appropriate rule of law is abided by and discipline maintained. Countries unable to maintain these conditions could hardly get any benefit from the ever-increasing waves of globalisation. It is true that the globalisation process has, as felt in the countries with vulnerable socio-economic fabric coupled with weak governance, been asymmetric, disruptive and irregular, pushing affected people to face hard realities of chaos alongside political instability, social upheaval, economic deprivation and environmental degradation. Justice and equity are set aside. Weaker sections of society are marginalised. Such outcome is hardly tolerable to the conscious classes of the emerging societies of the fledgling democracies. During the past one and a half decades, Nepali society could see some minimal effects of globalisation in spheres of economics, trade, foreign investment etc. However, much visible impact is felt in the fields of information, media, culture and education in the Nepali land. A visible impact has been the outflow of the Nepali youth to foreign lands.

Even the political change ushered thro-ugh multi-party democracy in Nepal in 1990 is a concomitant part of globalisation of the polity. This far-fetched change has more to do with globalisation of political processes than with political awareness. As a natural consequence of globalisation, the Nepali people could see some glimmer of hope in socio-cultural ambience. However, they have remained discontent with economic stagnation and political instability in the past 15 years. Globalisation has neither global rule nor governance mechanism for it to be accepted and assimilated in different societies. Its process is forging ahead on its own trajectory under both governance gap and rule gap. In such situations weaker societies and poorer countries are exerted to make wayward journeys without destination.

Experts believe that the globalisation process cannot proceed under the state of vacuum. Globalisation as it stands now, is the concern of all the people of the globe. Hence, they raise very pertinent question of turning globalisation into a transition to ‘globality’ to make it humanising and caring. If globalisation is a transition to ‘globality’, then it means a more interconnected world system indicating forward movement towards integration in which interdependent networks and flows surmount traditional boundaries making them irrelevant. The globe is now a complex and interdependent entity. ‘Globality’ refers to global governance with the world community entrusted greater collective responsibility. Essentially, ‘globality’ indicates the basic unity of human spirit, expressed through global awareness

In the present world scenario where policies are still conducted under the clout of hard power of state, it would be just a piece of fanciful imagination to think of globalisation’s integration under ‘globality’. There appears an unfathomable chasm between the realities of the ongoing globalisation and the thought of ‘globality’. However, perceptible increase in the consciousness of humanity as one family and caring attention for this planet as a human cradle may have some soothing positive effects on the globalisation process.

Shrestha is former foreign ministry official