Extremely thorough revision notes for the globalisation topic in A Level Edexcel Geography. I have included every single thing listed in the specification & more, going in to a lot of detail and explaining things thoroughly. Using these notes I achieved an A* in A Level Geography 2022 exams.
Globalisation
Enquiry question one
> What are the causes of globalisation & why has it accelerated in recent decades?
Key idea
3.1 globalisation is a long-standing process which has accelerated because of rapid
developments in transport, communications & businesses
3.2 political & economic decision making are important factors in the acceleration of
globalisation
3.3 globalisation has affected some places & organisations more than others
Detailed content
a. Globalisation involves widening & depending global connections,
interdependence & flows (commodities, capital, information, migrants & tourists)
b. Developments in transport & trade in the 19th century (railways, telegraph,
steamships) accelerated in the 20th century (jet aircraft, containerization),
contributing to a ‘shrinking world’
c. The 21st century has been dominated by rapid development in ICT & global
communication (mobile phones, internet, social networking, electronic banking,
fibre optics), lowering communication costs & contributing to time-space
compression
a. International political & economic organisations (P: role of World Trade
Organisation (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank) have
contributed to globalisation through the promotion of free trade policies &
foreign direct investment (FDI)
b. National governments are key players in terms of promoting free trade blocs (P:
role of European Union (EU), The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN))
and through policies (free-market liberalization, privatisation, encouraging
business start-ups). (P: role of governments in economic liberalisation)
c. Special economic zones, government subsidies & attitudes to FDI (China’s Open
Door Policy) have contributed to the spread of globalisation into new global
regions (P: role of governments in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI)
a. Degree of globalisation varies by country & can be measured using indicators &
indices (AT Kearney index, KOF index)
b. TNCs are important in globalisation (P: role of TNCs) both contributing to its
spread (global production networks, glocalisation & the development of new
markets) & taking advantage of economic liberalisation (outsourcing & off
shoring
c. There are physical, political, economic & environmental reasons why some
locations remain largely ‘switched off’ from globalisation (North Korea or Sahel
countries)
, Globalisation
= the process of global integration by which people, culture, money, goods & information
can be transferred between countries with few/no barriers
Widening & deepening of global connections;
- Widening connections; links to new places, often further away
- Deepening of connections; number & type of connections increase & volumes of
flows grows
Flows around the world
• Goods & services (including commodities = raw • Information/ideas
material/primary agricultural product e.g. • Medicines/diseases & viruses
coffee) • Finance/investment
• Capital - flows of money between • Religion/sport/languages
people/banks/businesses/governments • Weapons
• People - including migrants & tourists • Remittance
Despite being 1 big idea that the world is becoming more integrated, globalisation is
multifaceted (=has many aspects), as it can be broken up into different types of
globalisation
Social globalisation
Economic globalisation
> Increasing migration has led to extensive family
> It allows managers of
networks living across the globe = spread of
distant offices & plants to
culture, creating multicultural societies where
keep in touch more easily
cultures are shared/adopted & finance (through
by using ICT
remittance)
> Has led to the growth of
> Tourism has increased – more people can travel
TNCs which have a global
abroad due to lower transport costs
brand image & presence
> Sharing ideas/info between & through different
because its helped them
countries – internet/social media is at heart of this
to expand into new
> Internationally popular films, books, TV series
territories (make (offshoring
& outsourcing)/sell their
products) – many TNCs Political globalisation
have incomes higher than Refers to amount of political co-operation that exists
GDPs of many countries between different countries
> Online purchasing > Spreading ideologies & political views, they can
between countries is be expressed in worldwide media outlets (e.g.
becoming increasingly BBC, Fox)
common > Global organisations (e.g. IMF, World Bank)
> Stocks are traded across > Governments form connections to trade - trade
countries & countries invest blocs – easier to transport & tariffs reduced
in each other (FDI).
> Trade blocs create
economic integration Cultural globalisation
between places & > Adapting cultural traits, e.g. language/music
promotes development > Unifying & diversifying, people increasingly using
> Sources of income from similar things. Many of which are ‘western’ in origin
international companies (from North America/Europe)
, Interdependence
à Globalisation increases interdependence (state of being dependent on one another),
e.g. the success of 1 place depends on the success of other places.
Economic
> Countries are dependent on the Social
flows entering the country in order > Countries rely on each other for
for the economy to grow. Labour leisure activities e.g. TV programs
provides a workforce; products & produced in other countries
services mean countries can > Migration has caused social
develop & make more money interdependence as there are
> Economic problems in 1 country now groups of migrants
can quickly spread to its trading dependent on the place they
partner & quickly affect people in live in now
distant places.
Environmental Political
> All nations are affected by other > International political issues
nations’ greenhouse gas emissions, require countries working together
nuclear waste emissions etc – all to solve them
rely on each other to protect the > Countries rely on other countries
environment to intervene if there’s a political
unrest
Developments over time that have helped to accelerate globalisation –
Industrial canals & 1st steam ship Regular Atlantic
World’s first
stagecoach routes crosses Atlantic (29 crossings
sailing ships
reduce land travel time days)
First television Ford motor car Telephone radio Transatlantic
built company launched experiments begin telegraphy cable laid
Boeing 1st mobile phones World wide web
commercial flights available developed
Transport
à a system/means of conveying people/goods from place to place
Transport has developed overtime in way that causes travel time to decrease but the
ability to move more/larger loads has increased.
Transport has provided connectivity on regional, national & international scales. Its
accelerated globalisation as it has helped to generate trade, promote tourism & create
employment opportunities.
, 19th century – saw the development of railway and steam trains & steam ships
In the 1800s, Britain was leading the world in use of steam technology – allowed them to
move their goods/armies very quickly into key areas
20th century – saw the development of jet aircrafts & containerisation
Containerisation = a system of transportation using containers that have standard
dimensions to carry good across the globe. With the standard dimensions – allows more of
them to be packed into ships/trucks. It reduces time & has made loading/unloading more
efficient (as can be easily transferred from ships to lorries/trains) so has reduced cost, as
well as transport cost. Lower costs is beneficial for both businesses & consumers.
Previously, transporting goods had been slow/expensive as ships had to be un/loaded
manually.
Jet aircrafts - newer/more efficient aircraft have allowed goods to be transported quickly
between countries. Transport by plane used to only be for important businesses & those in
high classes (people that could afford it) but now airlines such as easy jet were founded &
have become cheaper so more passengers could travel by aircraft.
Increasing competition between affordable airlines (e.g. EasyJet, RyanAir, Jet2) has led to
more people being able to travel abroad. EasyJet started running flights only in the UK but
by 2014, had owned 200 planes, carrying 65 million people.
Technological advancements
à ICT has transformed how the world is connected with each other
Started with the telegraph – 1st telegraph cables were laid across Atlantic in 1860s, which
allowed for almost instantaneous communication & revolutionised how businesses
operated
21st century;
Telephones – mobile phone use is GPS – 1st GPS satellite was launched in 1970s &
very common across the world, there’s now 24. They continuously broadcast position
smartphones becoming even & time data to users throughout the world – has led
more popular. Has allowed better to success of Google Maps.
global communication
They’ve allowed companies/people to track
deliveries & goods across the world
Broadband & fibre optics – late
90s, this allowed large amounts of
Internet – now is extremely important. Approx. 40% of
data to be moved quickly via
world’s population have access to it. Social media is
cables across ocean floor owned
very influential & due to their large numbers of users
by national governments/TNCs.
has led to rapid spread of news/knowledge/opinions.
Today, the introduction of fibre
Also helps to bring people & cultures closer together.
optic cabling has accelerated
Companies not close in distance have been able to
telephone, internet & television
communicate & share info.
speeds for the home.
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