Globalisation and Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Globalisation and Democracy - Essay Example   An enduring precept of the post-Cold War era is that globalisation can be a catalyst for democratization. From one perspective, when democratic principles flounce or dribble across boundaries into controlling states, globalisation makes democratisation unavoidable. Supporters of this view point to the infectivity of independent and autonomous transitions in the world over the past quarter-century and to the ability of technology to penetrate the most closed societies. Even the most closed government of closed economies have gone online, though the broader population of these countries have no right of entry to the external world (Catharin E. Dalpino, 2001).  After the World War II, process of globalization started becoming recognized with a number of large trends for the greater international movement of commodities, money, information, and people. Post World War II era also witnessed the development of technology, organizations, legal systems, and infrastructures while having a combined effect on this international movement. Following are the catalyst factors which accelerated the process of globalisation;− Spreading of multiculturalism, and better individual access to cultural diversity− Greater international travel and tourism along with superior rate of immigration− Spread of local consumer products (e.g., food) to other countries− World-wide fads, pop culture, and sporting events− Development of a global telecommunications infrastructure (Internet etc) Globalisation and Democracy: The relationship between democracy and globalisation has been the focus of substantial policy makers and philosophers. Some argue that democracy and globalisation go hand in hand suggesting that unrestricted international transactions leads to increased political accountability and transparency. Politically free societies are likely to have minimal restrictions on the mobility of goods and services across national borders. Others argue that the causal relationship should be reversed: democracies are more likely to have closed markets and vice versa. Many economists presume that globalization and democracy go together (Barry Eichengreen, David Leblang, 2004). They believe in this hypothesis because free international transactions benefit society as a whole. According to them, it is the democracy that renders political leaders more accountable to the electorate. Hence, it should be conducive to a larger extent for the removal of restrictions on such transactions. These economic