Module 6: Taking Global Action
Globalization and Democracy
Does globalization lead to democracy?
 Members of the Madheshi community of Biratnagar attending a political rally to demand autonomous federal regions and greater representation in parliament |
 Eighty-year-old Nepalese woman participates in historic elections Ratna Maya Thapa from the Central Region of Nepal, who is eighty years old, shows her voter registration card. She walked one-and-a-half hours to cast her ballot in the Nepalese Constituent Assembly elections. |
The concepts of globalization and democracy are often marketed together as one leads to the other and one requires the other to survive. The Organization of American States, of which Canada is a member state, promotes democracy as good governance and essential for prosperity and economic development. Good governance refers to the decisions and policies that guarantee the maintenance of human rights. There are many perspectives on the relationship between globalization and democracy. As in the case of Nepal, to what degree does globalization increase or limit democracy? To what degree does globalization benefit from democracy?
Assignment
Please complete the Globalization and Democracy Assignment at this point.
Lesson Summary
What is needed first—globalization and then democracy or democracy before globalization? There are diverse perspectives on this question.
Some people take the position that the economic opportunities of globalization place power undemocratically in the hands of the wealthy. They believe the process of economic globalization as demonstrated by the convergence of multinational corporations is by nature undemocratic.
Economic globalization currently seen does not guarantee equality for all citizens. Others believe that successful globalization is dependent on democratic values and principles. Every citizen can access the opportunities and benefits of globalization only in a democratic society that allows equal opportunities, rights, and freedoms.