ABSTRACT
The end of the Cold War witnessed the singing of a requiem for the previous global order and its attendant ideological rivalry that handcuffed cooperation and interdependence. The disintegration and collapse of the Soviet Union robbed Stalinist socialism of its pre-eminent “heavyweight,” and removed the major ideological, economic, political and military-security barriers to the consolidation of the global capitalist order as the systemic suzerain. Thus, the stage was set for the consolidation of global capitalism in virtually every corner of the world. The emergent nascent global order referred to as the “new globalization” has taken the world by “storm,” since its inception in 1990. As Halliday (2001, p. 60) observes,” Globalization has become from the early 1990s onwards the central topic of debate in social sciences and in much public debate, in both developed and developing societies.” Similarly, as Kiggundu (2002, p. ix) notes,
Globalization has come to characterize the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the new millennium. It makes and unmakes individuals, families, organizations, communities, and nation-states. Some think it will save the world; others are convinced it will destroy it.
The new globalization has unleashed a whirlwind in virtually every area of human endeavor. For example, there is the dawning of new technologies, dramatic medical advances, an information explosion, and a rapidly growing global economy (Watch Tower, 2000, p. 2). Adams et al. (1999, p. 1) capture the essence of the cascading effects of the new globalization thus:Globalization is the defining characteristic of our time. The modern system of independent nation-states and distinct national economies is being replaced by a single transnational political economy. Power and authority are steadily shifting to global institutions and corporations. National governments have seen their sovereignty and control over domestic political and economic affairs rapidly diminished.
In effect, the dominant thinking in development today sees globalization as a matter of life or death for less developed countries (Heredia, 1997, p. 383). If embraced, it is argued, globalization will quickly propel developing nations into modernity 2and affluence; if resisted, it will either crush them or throw them by the way side (Heredia, 1997, p. 383). The bottom line is that the new globalization makes and unmakes individuals, families, organizations, communities, and the nation-states (Kiggundu, 2002, p. ix). Some think it will save the world; others are convinced it will destroy it (Kiggundu, 2002, p. ix).