2/2010 - Fakulta zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce - Trnavská ...

EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATIONIN DEVELOPING COUNTRY –KENYASOCIOGLOBALIZATION IN AFRICA25Globalization is first and foremost a/ as resultof the expansion, diversification anddeepending/ depending of trade and financiallinks between countries, expecially overthe last years. But is it the situation same inAmerica or Europe as in Africa?Globalization is a process of advancementand increase in interaction among the world’scountries and peoples facilitated by progressivetechnological changes in locomotion,communication, political and militarypower, knowledge and skills, as well as interfacingof cultural and value systems andpractices. Globalization is not a value-free,innocent, selfdetermining process. It is aninternational socio-politico-economic andcultural permeationprocess facilitated by policies of governments,private corporations, internationalagencies and civil society organizations.It essentially seeks to enhance and deploya country’s (society’s or organization’s)economic, political, technological, ideologicaland military power and influence forcompetitive domination in the world. (Nsibambi,2001)Globalization has always affected Africa.The slave trades in East and West Africaprofoundly shaped the development ofmany african societies over hundreds of years.Today, most African countries are extremelyopen to the international economy asexports plus imports constitute a very significantshare of the total economy. However,African countries have palpably/propablyfailed to take advantage of the opportunitiesoffered by the globalized economyof the twenty first century: they receivelittle foreign investment(s), fail to producemany processed goods for export, andare less “wired” than almost any other regionof the world. However, despite theiroverall poor performance, African countriesare becoming increasingly differentiatedin all areas, including their ability to benefitfrom globalization. A few African nationsare now poised/ forced to take advantageof the new international economy while,at the other extreme, there are significantnumber of countries that are simply tryingto preserve their basic institutions with littlehope of successful engagement with theworld. (Herbst, 2005)|No other region has suffered during this periodof globalisation as Africa has. Africancountries now face all the usual problemsassociated with this economic phenomenon.Problems range from heavy debts tounfavourable trade and all the bad conditionsimposed by the International MonetaryFund (IMF) and the World Bank. Africanpeople from South Africa to Algeria are nowstarting to fight back. And their/Their leadersare complaining about these problems.(Mutethia, 2000). Africa is for many peopleconnected with slums, the poorest societiesliving in undignified conditions in manycountries like Kenya, South Africa, etc. Slumlife often entails enduring some of the mostintolerable housing conditions, which frequentlyinclude living in overcrowded, insecureneighbourhoods, constantly facingthe threat of eviction, crime and abuses ofall kinds. The slum dwellers are in fact moreoften victims than perpetrators.The slums are not only a moral affront tothe rich world, but also the hot zones of theglobalization. This challenge of the slums,along with the persistent growth of povertyand inequality, is nourishing the emergenceof globalization‘s new left, with the combinationof spreading democracy and impoverishmentof a majority in developing nations„the state might come back,“ especiallywhen social mobility is blocked. (Gardels,2006)It is very important to focus not only on thenegative and disruptive aspects of globalization,but on the other hand the globalizationbring some benefits, innovations, dynamicaspects to everyone and offers greatopportunities. The process of globalizationhas not only an economic features. It includesa lot more than economic and politicalideas, like cultural, religious beliefs andpractices, it effects/ affects environment,education, administrative and managerialconcepts and practices across boarders andorganizations. It involves internationalizationof conflicts that would otherwise remainin local concept and a lot more then/ thanwe see.Globalization in KenyaKenya belong to the “medium human development”countries of the world, placing it148th out of 177 countries according to the2007 UNDP Human Development Reportwith a GDP per capital of around US$1,240(2007 World Bank). Kenya is generallya peaceful country in terms of political activism,but it is common during elections, referendumsand other political votes for sporadiccampaign violence to occur aroundthe country. Kenya remains critically ratedfor both crime and transnational terrorism.Kenya is facing a new Urban „timebomb“with millions of Nairobi residents sufferinga daily struggle struggle for food andwater as the divide/division between richand poor widens. A combination of falling