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Globalization refers to a number of trends towards a more interconnected world.

Trends towards globalisation

Globalisation may be identified with a number of trends, most of which have been particularly evident in the period since World War 2. These include:

• An increase in international trade at a faster rate than the growth in the world economy
• Increase in the share of the world economy controlled by multinational companies
• Greater international cultural influences, for example through exports of Hollywood movies
• Greater international travel and tourism
• Greater sharing of information, by the spreading of technology such as the Internet and telephone

Many of these trends are seen as positive by supporters of various forms of globalisation, and in many cases globalisation has been actively promoted by governements and others. For example, there are economic arguments suggesting that free trade leads to a more efficient allocation of resources, with all those involved in the trade benefitting. Barriers to international trade have been considerably lowered since World War 2 through international organisations such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The Anti-Globalisation movement

Various aspects of globalisation are seen as harmful by the Anti-globalization movement, a loose conglomeration of various protest movements.

It is difficult to define globalization as it means different things to the various protest groups, none of which are actually protesting the tendency towards a more interconnected world. However, there are common themes in their protests, as many seem to be opposed to:

• the globalization of capitalism in the name of free trade
• what they see as the United States' economic and military domination of the world
• global corporatism displacing the power of national governments
• what they see as environmental catastrophe as a consequence of the above

See also:

• Free trade zone
• GATT
• International law
• Internet
• WIPO