Does globalisation represent a triumph of the 'Lockean Heartland'?

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2004 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Globalization, Political Economics, grade: 1,7 (A-), University of Sussex, language: English, abstract: Globalisation is one of the most debated topics of our times and is said to transform the economic and social spheres around the globe in a drastic manner. However, globalisation is a highly complex concept and not easily graspable. There are two extreme points of view regarding the phenomenon of globalisation. One, termed ¿Hyperglobalist¿ claims that the world is becoming inevitably borderless and that truly global companies are the primary actors in this globalised world; states are only required to provide basic infrastructure and public goods needed by the companies (See Ohmae: ¿The Borderless World¿). A second extreme point of view, referred to as ¿Sceptical¿, maintains that states are still the main actors in the global political economy and that the worldwide economic integration of today is not unprecedented in history (See Hirst and Thompson: ¿Globalization in Question¿).

It will be the task of this work to thoroughly analyse the phenomenon of globalisation and to uncover its underlying causes and its consequences for states, companies and societies around the world. One of the essential questions to answer will be, whether globalisation is a ¿natural¿ phenomenon connected to advancements in technology or a project driven by certain actors, namely the ¿Lockean heartland¿ (primarily the United States and Great Britain). The introduction and analysis of the Lockean state/society complex will be vital in this respect.

In the first chapter, earlier forms of globalisation in history will be examined and embryonic forces that enabled future globalisation will be exposed. Following is a chapter about the changes in the global political economy since the end of the Second World War; various decisions and processes will be analysed that shaped the world in which we life today to a large extent.

Subsequently in the third chapter, the process of globalisation itself will be examined on both theoretical and practical levels in order to understand what brought it about and what will be its consequences. This is preceded by the addressing of the ¿agent-structure debate¿ and its role in understanding globalisation. Finally the phenomenon of globalisation will be linked with the state/society complex of the ¿Lockean heartland¿, which will provide new insights into globalisation, its causes and possibly even some about its future.