3071-The political economy of new slavery

Christien van den Anker 21
Globalization as a political project
Kevin Bales argues that the world’s slave trade has seen a rapid escalation
since 1945 and a dramatic change in character. According to Bales
the three factors sparking this change are:
Firstly, the world’s population has tripled since 1945 with the bulk
of the growth in the Majority World. Secondly, economic change
and globalization have driven rural people in poor countries to the
cities and into debt. These impoverished and vulnerable people are
a bumper crop of potential slaves. Finally government corruption
is essential. When those responsible for law and order can be made
to turn a blind eye through bribes, the slave-takers can operate
unchecked.
Bales, 2001
Bales’ argument clearly supports the argument presented in this chapter
that, at least to some extent, globalization is affecting new forms of
slavery negatively. This does not mean to say that globalization is the
only cause of new forms of slavery; if that were the case, any example
of slavery existing before globalization or in areas less affected by
globalization would be an argument against the thesis. The relationship
between globalization and new forms of slavery is complex and in need
of careful treatment.
Not all forms of contemporary slavery are affected in the same
ways; some depend more on local practices and traditions than on the
changing international economy. Both the position that globalization is
the cause of all misery in the world and the view that globalization
is the motor for growth and therefore brings prosperity to all are too
simplistic. The role of globalization in the increase in contemporary
slavery can only be analyzed by looking at different forms of slavery in
different parts of the world and assessing to what extent local factors
and global factors play a role.
First of all, in order to show how globalization is implicated with
regard to increased slavery, the term itself needs to be discussed.
Globalization consists of a complex set of processes in various spheres.
Most observers would agree that globalization includes economic
processes such as increases in international trade, deregulation of
financial markets and the resulting flows of investments and currency
speculation around the world. In addition, some have argued that
globalization has several political components (Shaw, 1999). These are