Sociology (9699) | Contemporary issues

Welcome to Contemporary Issues in Globalisation!

Hey there, A-Level Sociologists! This chapter is where we connect the big theories of globalisation (which you covered in Section 7) to real-world, current problems. Think of it as looking at the 'side effects' and contemporary challenges created by a truly interconnected world.

We will focus on three key areas: how globalisation affects poverty and inequalities, how it changes patterns of migration, and how it creates new forms of transnational crime.

Don't worry if some of these topics feel complex; we'll break them down using clear examples. Mastering this section is crucial for Paper 4 essays, as it requires you to apply core sociological theory (like Marxism or Feminism) to dynamic, contemporary social issues.

8.1 Globalisation, Poverty and Inequalities

Globalisation, the increasing interconnectedness of the world, is often promoted as a way to spread wealth. However, sociologists argue that it often creates winners and massive losers, deepening the gaps between the rich Global North and the poorer Global South.

Debates about the Impact of Globalisation on Life Chances

Life Chances refer to the opportunities individuals have to improve their lives (e.g., getting a good job, living a long, healthy life). Globalisation impacts these in three key areas in developing countries:

• Income: While multinational factories (run by TNCs) bring new jobs, these are often low-wage and exploitative. They rarely provide stable, long-term wealth, meaning the majority of profit flows out of the country, benefiting shareholders in the Global North.
• Education: Globalisation demands specific, high-tech skills. Countries that cannot afford to modernise their education risk creating an 'education gap', leaving large portions of the population unable to compete in the global market.
• Health: Poor countries often face a Brain Drain—where highly skilled medical professionals emigrate to richer nations for better pay, leaving the local health infrastructure struggling. Furthermore, pollution from international industries can cause severe local health problems.

The Role of Transnational Organisations (TNCs)

Transnational Corporations (TNCs) are massive companies that operate in multiple countries (e.g., Shell, Nike).

• Profit Seeking: TNCs contribute to inequality by seeking the cheapest labour and laxest environmental laws, often exploiting local communities.
• Power: Many TNCs have annual revenues greater than the GDP of small nations, giving them immense bargaining power against local governments regarding taxation and labour rights.

The Role of International Organisations

Organisations like the World Bank, the IMF (International Monetary Fund), and the UN are supposed to tackle global inequalities. However, their success is heavily debated:

• Sceptics (Marxists) argue: These organisations are often controlled by powerful Western nations and impose conditions (known as Structural Adjustment Programmes) on indebted countries that force them to cut public spending, ultimately benefiting global capital, not the poor.
• Transformationalists argue: While imperfect, these organisations are essential for coordinating global aid, setting international standards, and addressing large-scale humanitarian crises.

Sociological Explanations for Global Inequalities

To explain why these inequalities persist, sociologists look to historical and structural forces:

1. Capitalism (Marxist View):

• Marxists see globalisation as the natural expansion of Capitalism. Inequality is not a flaw, but a feature.
• The system depends on exploiting the Global South (the 'global proletariat') to ensure vast profits for the Global North (the 'global bourgeoisie').

2. Colonialism and Post-Colonialism:

• This perspective argues that the current power imbalance is rooted in Colonialism—the historical process where Western powers politically and economically dominated other parts of the world.
• Post-Colonialism describes the continuing economic dependency (sometimes called Neo-colonialism) that developing countries have on their former rulers, which keeps them poor.

3. Patriarchy (Feminist View):

• Feminists show that global inequalities are often gendered. Global production lines (e.g., textiles) rely disproportionately on cheap, flexible female labour, reinforcing global patriarchy and economic vulnerability for women.

8.2 Globalisation and Migration

Globalisation has made borders more fluid for money, goods, and people. Global Migration is the movement of people across borders, a phenomenon that has massive cultural, political, and economic consequences worldwide.

The Causes of Global Migration

Migration is typically driven by a combination of factors:

• Push Factors (Why people leave): Economic hardship, political instability (war, persecution), environmental disasters, lack of human rights.
• Pull Factors (Why people move there): Higher wages, better education systems, perceived political stability, family links.
• Global Labour Patterns: Globalisation creates structured demand. Low-skilled jobs (e.g., agricultural picking, cleaning) and high-skilled jobs (e.g., IT, finance) in the Global North often remain unfilled by native populations, creating magnets for migrants.
• Tourism: Mass tourism itself creates migration flows as people move to work in the global service industry (e.g., hotel staff).

Consequences of Global Migration

The movement of people creates complex consequences in both the receiving (host) country and the sending (home) country.

Positive Consequences (Often Economic and Cultural):

• Economic Benefits (Host): Migrants fill essential labour shortages and often contribute more in taxes than they take in public services.
• Remittances (Home): Migrants send money back home (remittances), which often forms a vital percentage of the sending country's national income, alleviating poverty.
• Cultural Diversity (Host): Migration leads to a richer society through hybrid identities, diverse food, arts, and ideas.

Negative Consequences (Often Social and Political):

• Strain on Resources (Host): Rapid influx of migrants can strain public services like housing, schools, and healthcare, especially if infrastructure hasn't grown adequately.
• Negative Perceptions and Xenophobia (Host): Migration can lead to media sensationalism and Moral Panics (see Media chapter), fuelling negative perceptions and political backlash against migrants.
• Brain Drain (Home): Sending countries lose their most skilled and educated workers, crippling sectors like medicine and technology.

Debates about Who Benefits from Migration

This is a great AO3 point! Don't assume migration benefits everyone equally.

The primary beneficiaries are often:

1. Employers in Receiving Countries: They gain access to cheap, often highly motivated, and flexible labour.

2. The Migrants’ Families: Their standard of living improves dramatically due to remittances.

3. The Migrant State (Sending Country): Benefits economically from remittances, but loses human capital (Brain Drain).

8.3 Globalisation and Crime

If goods and information can move quickly, so can crime. Globalisation has led to the emergence of Global Crimes, which rely on international networks and cross-border operations.

Reasons for the Emergence of Global Crimes

Globalisation provides the infrastructure—speed, anonymity, and interconnected finance—necessary for these complex crimes:

1. Human Trafficking:

• Global poverty and the ease of transport allow criminal networks to move vulnerable people across borders for exploitation (often sexual slavery or forced labour). This is a direct consequence of global inequality.

2. Corporate Crime:

• TNCs operate across jurisdictions, making it easier for them to engage in illegal but profitable activities like tax evasion, accounting fraud, or ignoring worker safety. They exploit weak regulations in developing nations.

3. Crimes Against the Environment:

• These include illegal logging, illicit dumping of toxic waste, and the smuggling of endangered species. Globalisation facilitates the transport and sale of these illegal goods across continents.

Sociological Explanations of Who Benefits

Marxist and Neo-Marxist Perspectives

Marxists focus heavily on Corporate Crime. They argue that these crimes benefit the powerful capitalist class by saving massive costs (e.g., avoiding expensive waste disposal by dumping it illegally). Because the rich and powerful write the laws, corporate crimes are often treated leniently compared to street crime.

Feminist Perspectives

Feminists focus on crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as human trafficking and the global sex trade. They argue these crimes are fueled by global patriarchy and the economic marginalisation of women, making them vulnerable targets for organised crime networks.

Policing and Prosecuting Global Crime

Policing transnational crime is incredibly difficult due to globalisation:

1. Jurisdictional Hurdles: A crime spanning five countries requires cooperation between five different legal systems, which often slows down prosecution or makes it impossible.
2. The Challenge of New Technology: Globalisation relies on the internet, which criminals use for anonymity (e.g., The Dark Web, encrypted communication, cryptocurrency payments). This makes traditional surveillance methods obsolete.
3. Lack of Resources: Many developing nations lack the technological and human resources needed to investigate complex, cross-border financial or cyber crimes.

Benefits for Policing: However, globalisation also benefits policing, allowing agencies like Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organisation) to instantly share intelligence and coordinate global operations against terrorist or trafficking networks.