Press Freedom and Globalisation - International Press Institute

Press Freedom and Globalisation
It gives a fundamental understanding of global history, development of International
Relations theories, and several global issues. While the book is relatively broad range, it
lacks critical approaches to globalisation processes and offers little on mass media as a
global force.
Andrew Williams’ book Failed imagination? : New world orders of the twentieth
century presents different political actors’ agenda that were behind globalisation in the 20 th
century. Its strength is in the understanding of how American interests have used global
politics to develop a new world order that supports their own interests. American concepts
such as open doors, free trade and democracy are introduced as good global concepts.
Williams describes global politics as competing interests and not as fair play. He writes
almost nothing about mass media’s role.
Even more critical in approach to the globalisation processes is Richard Falk in his
Predatory Globalization : A Critique. He paints a picture, from the bottom, of how
globalisation’s adverse side strikes those who already were poor and weak. He predicts
global instability and urges for global governance through a reformed United Nations.
A much referred to philosopher for a critical and alternative approach towards
globalisation is Immanuel Wallerstein. He gives a brief introduction to his thought in the
chapter “The inter-state structure of the modern world-system” in the book International
theory: positivism and beyond edited by Steve Smith, Ken Booth and Marysia Zalewski.
Derived from Marxism and Leninism, he describes the world as core, semi-periphery and
periphery. Accodring to Wallerstein’s theory, the actual world order is constructed to
collect values for the capitalists in the core areas.
Opposite to the critical approaches above, the World Bank’s report Globalization,
Growth, and Poverty : Building an Inclusive World Economy presents globalisation from
the dominant actors’ point of view. It gives a lot of facts and attention to poverty and
development as well as to global trade.
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