DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALIZATION:

In general, Globalisation is accepted as a process that connects continents of the world

through development of the transport routes and telecommunication technologies. The
globalization process reflects in persistent trade growth and mobility between the countries.
Globalization impacts worldwide societies in economic, social, political, cultural and many
other aspects. Helped by the great invasion of technology, these impacts are accelarated in the
past few years. Countries of the world are now competing, strengthening alliances, and
restructuring themselves: in and out, to be able to cope with the fast changing world. This is a
salient moment for educational sector. Realizing how vital its role is, governments are
advised not to take wrong implications considering its damaging impacts.
Cross-national connections are created in the economic, political,
cultural, social, and environmental domains. Although these dimensions necessarily overlap,
it is analytically useful to distinguish them. Economic globalization results when corporations
go multinational, either by selling their products in other countries, buying corporations
located in foreign countries, or opening branch offices or subsidiaries outside their home
country. Multinational corporate expansion, and the consumption of foreign-sourced goods
and services, aggregate into exports, imports, and investment relations among national
economies. Political globalization, or the formation of international connections among
elected officials, bureaucrats, judges, social movement activists, and states, has also
generated intense interest. Political globalization results in part through the formation of
intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) like the United Nations and the World Trade
Organization, and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) like the
International Committee of the Red Cross.

Economic Dimensions of Globalisation:

Although it makes an impact in all spheres of human life, the economic dimension of
globalisation is more prominent and far-reaching than any others. The most important
dimensions of the current phase of economic globalisation are the breaking down of national
economic barriers; international spread of trade, financial and production activities and the
growing power of transnational corporations and international financial institutions. The
economic globalization in the past few years are marked with the dominant roles of some
developed countries like USA and Japan and big transnational firms like Yamaha, Microsoft,
McDonald, etc and international organizations like World Bank and IMF.
Bottery (2003), argues that the economic globalization is best characterized as the
convergence of three different factors. The first characteristic is the increasing movement of
capital around the world, in and out of a country, through information and technology. The
second characteristic is the existence of supra national bodies such as the WTO, the World
Bank, and the IMF. These organizations have been in the role of facilitating capital flows in a
global free-market scenario. They come with conditions and to some developing countries,
the conditions can be very burdening. The last characteristic is the increased influence of
transnational companies (TNCs).
Not all countries, however, gain the benefits of the economic globalization. Stern (2001),
reports that although globalization has helped reduce poverty in a large number of developing
countries, there are some 2 billion people live in the countries that are left behind. It is
because there have been weak governance and policies in nonintegrating countries, tariffs and
other barriers that poor countries and poor people face in assessing rich country markets, and
declining development assistant. Today, the large multi national corporations wield enormous
power. Of the hundred largest economies today, 51 are corporations and only 49 are nation
states (Sacks, n.d.). To challenge this situation, some developing countries strive to protect
their economy by releasing themselves from the interdependency of organizations like IMF
and World Bank or trade with other developing nations to minimize the economical gap.

Social Dimension of Globalisation:

It is strongly refuted that the current pace of globalisation reflects on the economic front only.
The ramifications of globalisation process reflect directly in the social and cultural arena of
human life as well. Consequently understanding social and cultural dimensions of the
phenomenon of globalisation is essential to the development of a rational and considered
response to it. The social dimension of globalization refers to the impact of globalisation on
the life and work of people, on their families and their societies. Concerns and issues are
often raised about the impact of globalisation on employment, working conditions, income
and social protection. Beyond the world of work, the social dimension encompasses security,
culture and identity, inclusion or exclusion and the cohesiveness of families and communities
etc.
The structural adjustment policies of the national government involving the relinquishing of
economic activities from the public sector into the hands of the private sector, i.e., the state
moving away from economic planning and leaving economic decisions to the market, will
result in the withdrawal of social protection to the public. Reducing social benefits in order to
reduce payroll fringe costs to increase competitive ability leads to “social dumping” which
means a process that lowers production costs through low wages and substandard social
conditions. Economic liberalisation and globalisation had a direct impact both on rural and
urban poverty. The substantial changes the institutional arrangement for rural credit, a key
factor in helping the poor to escape poverty, due to the reforms in the banking sector have
gone against the interests of the rural poor. The unsustainable development practices also lead
to the impoverishment of the poor. The decline in social sector expenditure or stagnation in
social sector expenditure in proportion to GDP also went against the interests of the poor.
a) Withdrawal of National Government from Social Sector
b) Labour Reforms and Deteriorating Labour Welfare
c) Feminisation of Labour
d) Unsustainable Development Practices
e) Migration and Urbanisation
f) Commercialisation of Indigenous Knowledge
g) Rising Inequality in Wealth Concentration
Political Dimension:
To talk about this particular form of globalization, let us compare the world’s political
situation in the past with that of the present. Few years ago before the globalization took
place; states are the dominant actors in the international arena. International politics
ultimately rests on force (its use or its credible threat), and politics of military security take
precedence over politics of economic or social affairs. Now, states are no longer the only key
actors, military issues no longer dominate, conditions under which force is an effective tool
have declined, and international politics centers around international organizations like IMF,
The World Bank, WTO, NGOs, etc, rather than interstate relations. Giddens (1999) believes
that the era of nation states is over. Political leaders have less influence over people and the
older form of geopolitics is over.
It is argued that international organizations are not the only factors to
blame for this situation. According to him, even without the WTO, the growth of global
economy is enough to mark a decline in the power of nation-state. It is because there are
lower barriers to trade and investment, and the accelerated pace of technological change;
have infused global commerce with unprecedented energy. Political globalization has indeed
referred in part to an increasing trend toward multilateralism, in which the United Nations
plays a key role, national non-governmental organizations act as watchdogs over
governments, and international NGOs increase their activities and influence. Some scholars
have called this the making of a global civil society. Political scientists and sociologists have
pondered the prospects of the nation-state and national sovereignty in a context of
regionalization and globalization in which international financial institutions have increasing
power over national economies and state decision-making. Some political scientists are also
studying the trends toward democratic consolidation in terms of a global process of
democratization.

Conclusion
Globalisation as we have seen is a far-reaching process having its imprint left, though in
varying degrees, in all walks of contemporary human life. Through our discussions we did
understand that globalisation basically means increased interaction and interconnectedness in
terms of social, economic, cultural, political, ecological etc. between and among the nations
across the world. Countries are left with not much choice but adapting with the changes that
suddenly hit them economically, politically and culturally. Education is considered as a way
of dealing with this phenomenon.