Globalisation

About this unit

This unit explains globalisation: the flow of ideas, capital, commodities and people across the world, made faster by advances in technology. It looks at the economic, cultural and political effects of globalisation, the arguments of its supporters and critics, and the movements that resist it. It also studies India's experience, from colonial-era links with the world economy to the economic reforms of 1991 and the debates that followed.

Key ideas

• Globalisation as worldwide interconnectedness through flows of ideas, capital, goods and people.
• The role of technology, from the telegraph and telephone to the internet.
• Political, economic and cultural consequences.
• Cultural homogenisation versus cultural heterogenisation.
• Criticism from different directions and anti-globalisation movements such as the World Social Forum.
• India's reforms of 1991 and their effects.

How to prepare

Understand the main concepts rather than memorising lists: what flows across borders, what changes for the state, and what happens to culture. Learn key events such as the 1991 reforms in India, the Seattle WTO meeting (1999) and the World Social Forum (first held in 2001; met in Mumbai in 2004). Expect questions that ask you to identify an example of economic, political or cultural globalisation.