Innovations in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and transport lead to globalization. Globalization is the process of increasing cooperation between different nations, and ICT is one of the factors that allows people from different nations to share their culture with others and work with individuals from other states. ICT’s innovation, such as the Internet and its widespread availability leads to globalization by granting access to information and means of communication that were unavailable before. Moreover, the speed of information exchange and communication is very fast, since recent developments, such as messenger apps allow one to instantly connect to a person that can be in a different part of the world. Therefore, the Internet enables the fast exchange of information, contributing to cultural exchanges, global communication, and affecting domains such as travel and business by providing people with an opportunity to have faster transactions and access to choosing travel destinations.
One example of transportation innovation that leads to globalization is high-speed rail, which is much faster than traditional rail. It leads to globalization by allowing people to get to other states around the world faster and more efficiently, which is beneficial for business activities and travel in general. Both of these innovation types lead to global shrinking – a decline in the time necessary to travel between two locations.
Globalization does not happen with the same intensity across the world because of the significant differences in the economic position and their ability to develop ICT and transportation. Using the same examples as were discussed before, the high-speed rail and the Internet, one can state that both are not available everywhere. High-speed rail, for instance, is a costly transportation method that requires a substantial investment, which is usually not possible with developing economies.
The digital divide is the concept that explains this uneven development of globalization since it explains the difference in access to ICT in different countries. In general, wealthier nations have better access to technologies such as the Internet, smartphones, and others, as well as the skill and knowledge necessary to use and further improve this technology, while nations that are less developed have less access to it.
Globalization is an inevitable and irreversible process since the development of technology, and the benefits of the increasing cooperation between states and different state actors continue to increase. However, there are different views on this process. Globalists view globalization as a process mainly governed by transnational corporations (TNCs), which are the capitalist elite of the world. The example is the states’ response to financial crises, which is usually accompanied by states aiming to rescue TNCs to save the global economy. In terms of globalization, the proponents of this view believe that nation-states are becoming more irrelevant, and their political power is continuously decreasing. As this process continues, the countries are replaced with territories that are connected with each other. Hence, globalization becomes irreversible because individual states lose their power and ability to play a vital role in international cooperation. In this case, globalization means that the power of an individual state and its government is not the driving force of the development of the global community.
Tranformationalists, however, recognize globalization as a process affected by many actors, mainly by experts or international non-governmental organizations (INGO). In this case, although the states do not lose all of their power, they have to share it with other actors, and the global forces constrain the ability of states to exert their power. Hence, globalization, in this case, is inevitable as the role of non-state actors increases together with their impact on the global community, further increasing the cooperation between different nations. For instance, WHO is one of the well-known INGOs that operates in many states, and its resolutions or recommendations are used by governments to regulate healthcare policy.
The similarity between the Globalists and Transformationalists is their view of the importance that TNCs have in the global context. In both cases, the fact that states are challenged because of their economic power is recognized. The key difference is the view that the two parties have regarding TNCs, as Globalists perceive them as a key power on a global level, while Transformationalists see TNCs as one of many actors that impact the global community. One example is the Epistemic Communities, who are experts and decision-makers. Using the previous examples, the difference in the views of the two concepts is that in one case, only TNCs have sufficient influence to impact the process of globalization, for example, they may invest in innovation that will improve transportation and communication as part of their strive to reach new markets and deliver their goods and services there, which is the view of the Globalists. On the other hand, organizations such as WHO are often engaged in helping developing states, aiding them in education and healthcare provision for their citizens. This helps create a connection between the developed states that provide aid and the developing states, which receive it.