Development of Globalisation

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Globalisation in the 19th Century

Globalisation is not a new process. The British Empire can be seen as an early example of globalisation. But several factors have sped up globalisation during the 19th century:

Advances in transport technology

World trade began to grow more rapidly towards the end of the 1800s.
The growth of railways, telegraphs and steamships all accelerated the rate of globalisation.

Emergence of TNCs

Transnational corporations began to emerge because advances in technology allowed goods produced in one country to be transported to another country.
- E.g. DuPont was a chemicals and gunpowder manufacturer founded in 1802. Advances in transport allowed DuPont to start to sell internationally.

Britain's role in globalisation

Britain was the world leader in steam power in the 19th century.
Having this technological advantage allowed Britain to transport goods and people to other parts of the British Empire (mainly Africa and Asia).

Globalisation in the 20th Century

Globalisation is not a new process. The British Empire can be seen as an early example of globalisation. Several factors have sped up globalisation during the 20th century:

Transport - aeroplanes

In the 20th century, technology in transportation continued to advance.
The development of jet aircraft to replace aircraft propellers happened during World War 2, first by the Germans and then the Americans.
Jet aircraft were first used for military purposes. But after the Second World War, they were used for passengers. This was the start of commercial airlines.

Transport - containerisation

Containerisation accelerated globalisation materially.
Containerisation is the protocol of a uniform container size that can be placed on all ships and transported all over the world.
They can also be called intermodal containers.
The key idea is that by making sure that all containers are the same size, ships and ports around the world can be fitted to deal with all types of goods in the containers. This makes global shipping become far quicker and cheaper.

'Shrinking world' effect

Containerisation and jet aircraft led to the 'shrinking world' effect.
The ‘shrinking-world’ effect means that while the physical distance between places remains the same, places feel much closer together.

Globalisation in the 21st Century

Globalisation is not a new process. The British Empire can be seen as an early example of globalisation. Globalisation has continued to accelerate, with further advances and the diffusion of innovations in the 21st century.

ICT and mobile advances

The rapid development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and mobile communication (e.g. mobile phones, the internet, social networking, electronic banking and fibre optics) all accelerated globalisation.
These technological developments have been particularly important in developing countries where a lack of infrastructure has been a major factor in the lack of economic growth.

Leap-frogging

Many developing countries are now leap-frogging now out-dated technology. For example, some countries don’t build landline phones and just use mobile phones.
In Kenya, people use electronic banking and their mobile phones to make payments (with something called M-Pesa), often before having a bank card.

Time-space compression

ICT and mobile communication advances have lowered the costs of global communications and contributed to time-space compression.
Time-space compression allows the relative distances between places to feel far shorter.
Of the top 10 most valuable TNC brands in 2018, six are technology companies. This shows the importance of digital software and mobile phones.
- Apple is the most valuable brand, with Google and Microsoft coming second and third.