Building New Pathways to Peace

9. Establishing Credibility under Globalization: The Role of Higher Education in Promoting Peace, Security, and Kyosei

148 9 Establishing Credibility under Globalization The Role of Higher Education in Promoting Peace, Security, and Kyosei kano yamamoto G lobalization is a phenomenon in which information, resources, human expectations, and goods and services cross national borders instantaneously and can affect the decision-making process of people, businesses, governments, and international communities. Today this phenomenon may be understood as the interaction of two streams of globalization: market value globalization and human value globalization. Since the end of the Cold War, both streams have emerged as a result of the economic liberalization of most resources, flows of information, and technological innovations. Market value globalization typically promotes economic efficiency and growth, while human value globalization promotes human rights, justice, and equity. The two often conflict and bring about problems of excessive volatility, maldistribution of resources, personal identity crises, and the dominance of values such as consumerism, secularism, and fundamentalism. Although market and human value globalizations clearly make many positive contributions and the globalization trend is irreversible, overcoming the problems they engender is the key to bringing peace, security, and kyosei into this uncertain and volatile world. This chapter develops a theoretical framework for analyzing globalization and for establishing the sort of credibility under globalization that is needed to establish peace, security, and kyosei in the twenty-first century. The theoretical framework presented here draws on the thinking Establishing Credibility under Globalization 149 149 of many reports from a large number of international institutions, which are listed in the Notes section at the end of the book. Analytical Framework for Globalization The conceptual framework for establishing credibility and trust under globalization is illustrated in figure 9.1. Two Streams of Globalization As noted above, in order to provide a useful analytical framework for globalization, it is important to understand globalization as two main streams: market value globalization and human value globalization. Market value globalization is what is often meant by the term globalization ; that is, it is the economic and financial globalization of all kinds of market transactions that take place around the world. The development Fig. 9.1. Conceptualization: Establishing Credibility and Trust under Globalization© Kano Yamamoto 150 kano yamamoto of market value globalization accelerated in the 1970s, when trends of economic liberalization and deregulation became evident in many parts of the world. Liberalization and deregulation of economic transactions encouraged all such transactions to take place in markets that crossed national boundaries, that is, in international markets. Liberalization has encouraged economic growth in such a way that now only competitive goods or services can succeed in world markets. And market value globalization became possible through technological innovations that enabled simultaneous market transactions to take place around the world. The end of the Cold War also encouraged market value globalization because the formerly segregated and controlled economy of the Soviet bloc had come to follow market mechanisms, like the rest of the world. The second type of globalization is human value globalization. This is a globalization of the way people think and behave throughout the world. It has also become evident with the recent liberalization of information flow and with technological innovations such as the spread of the Internet, mobile phones, and other information technologies. The political liberalization of many people’s lives and increasing personal mobility after the end of the Cold War have all contributed to this trend. The United Nations, the international community, civil society, and world media have promoted human value norms for human rights, human security , environmental protection, sustainable development, gender equity, poverty alleviation, and so forth. In particular, the campaigns initiated by the UN system through summits, conferences, and research projects have been instrumental in setting norms for human values. However, negative aspects of globalization, such as consumerism and fundamentalism , are also quickly transmitted across national borders. The Relationship between Market Value and Human Value Globalization The globalization of market values promotes economic growth and efficiency . Market value globalization has been promoted by global enterprises , by modern methods of business management, and by mainline theories of business and the economy. The trend toward market value globalization is considered irreversible by many observers, and most current economic policies and most business models assume that growth and effi- Establishing Credibility under Globalization 151 ciency are the most important driving forces that will solve the economic problems of the world. However, the very nature of globalization often brings with it negative consequences such as market failure, an overshooting...