Globalisation What Implications For Democratic Decision

Globalisation . What Implications For Democratic Decision Making Essay, Research Paper

`We have seen above

that globalisation is putting pressure on governments to adjust the machinery

of government, in order to improve their capacity to operate in the new

globalised policy environment. But the challenge does not stop there.

Globalisation has implications for the internal balance of power in OECD

countries . including between levels of government, and between Parliaments and

the Executive . and between groups of countries. And it is not just affecting

the role of government actors in the policy process. The roles of all policy

players . interest groups, the media, citizens . are changing in the face of

internationalisation. There has been little debate about the extent to which

these changing roles and relationships impact upon democratic processes, at

either the national or the international levels. What effects is globalisation

having on democracy. A changing balance of

power and relationships.The internal balance

of power in OECD countries is being affected by globalisation. As noted above,

some sub-national governments are, as a result, seeking direct representation

in international decision-making fora. The rationale behind this is that executive government

is entering into agreements that have serious implications for their given

functions and responsibilities. For example, environmental treaties set limits

on sub-national governments’ capacities to manage local land and resource use.

From the other side,

globalisation is used as an argument for national unity . that when national

governments speak with one voice, the collective interests of state governments

will be maximised . as was used in Canada, with respect to the debate on Quebec

separation.(18) In any event, national governments will need to develop ways to

improve co-operation with other levels of government through better

communication and consultation . so as to reconcile national and sub-national

interests in the global policy environment. Globalisation also has

implications for the relationships between groups of countries. The development

of regional groupings . such as the European Union, NAFTA and APEC(19). and

international or multilateral agreements, particularly in the area of trade policy, such as the

World Trade Organisation, demands some thought on its implications for the

international balance of power or "international influence".

Dependency theorists argue that globalisation strengthens strong states at the

expense of small peripheral

players in the global economy.(20) Apart from their stated internal goals,

regional grouping may be one way for countries . particularly small economies .

to maximise their influence in global fora. So are regionalism and

multilateralism contradictory or complementary trends. In practice, regionalism

may be a step on the way to multilateralism, and a means to equalise the power

relationships in international decision-making between heterogeneous players.

During the Uruguay Round, the European Union showed the extent to which the

bargaining power of individual member states could be enhanced by collective

action.(21) Is globalisation

enhancing participatory democracy.Citizens are now

informed directly from international sources, particularly via global

television and, more recently, the Internet. It is no longer possible for

governments to censor or control in-flows or out-flows of information. This may

help to build democracy in

traditionally closed countries . for example, by exposing dirty secrets such as

human rights abuses . but it also facilitates the entry of what might be

considered undesirable information such as pornography, racist propaganda, or

even instructions on how to

carry out terrorist activities.(22) Information technology has effectively

eliminated the capacity of countries to keep out foreign influences;

"good" or "bad". This increased access

to information has a "democratising effect" . politicising citizens

and often mobilising them into action . which in turn has significant

implications for national policy development processes. For example, citizens

can use information about what

neighbouring governments are or are not doing, to challenge or pressure their

own governments. Calls for referenda on EU membership, or fundamental EU

legislation, in some EU countries (especially those without a tradition of

referenda) were inevitably influenced by well-documented events occurring in

neighbouring countries. (go into the activism

as related to globalisation that has occurred) Globalisation allows

people to organise themselves more quickly and effectively across national

borders. Interest groups are increasingly organised internationally and capable

o

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