The Effects of Globalization, Democracy and Change on Somalia

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Globalization refers to the extraordinary compression of time and space reproduced in the tremendous increase of social, political and cultural interconnections and interdependencies on a international scale (Eitzen&Maxine 2009). Following the Second World War, the imperialist returned political independence to their third world colonies (Eitzen&Maxine 2009). Globalization however, has maintained economic dependency on Western Europe and The United States (Eitzen&Maxine 2009). The assumptions that the spread of democracy and capitalism through globalization benefits most countries are inherently misguided. Rather, the nature and performance of globalization are contradictory. For a state to be truly democratic it needs to maintain its sovereignty. However, globalization fuelled by neo liberalism has diminished the sovereignty of the nation state (Eitzen&Maxine 2009). Although, proponents of globalization posit that it benefits all states, it simultaneously leads to the creation of the “failed states”. The modernization theory, suggesting that globalization and the acceptance of modern progressive concepts of democracy and capitalism are precursors to development (Allahar 1994). Nonetheless, proponents of this ignore the fact that capitalism is based on the unequal distribution of labor and wealth, which is subsequently contradictory to freedom and equality. The unequal distribution of capital throughout history thus renders one nation dominant over others leaving subordinate nations in a state of perpetual poverty. Thus, the modernization theory ignores the role the west plays in causing the continuous state of poverty and unrest and how this helps maintain power and control over the third world. By focusing on the issues of pirac...

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