Program(s):
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For my research project during our time in India I would like to research the effects of globalization on India as a developing country. I have observed in previous research that globalization has had a damaging effect on developing countries in the majority of cases, but there have been a handful of countries that have experienced positive effects. Generally, when a country decides to “globalize,” they experience what Thomas Friedman calls “The Golden Straitjacket.” The developing governmental systems, generally infant democracies, are damaged along with their developing economy, their social service systems, and quality of life for individuals in their populations. My previous research has suggested that India is one of the countries that has experienced positive results from globalizing, demonstrated in one way by the rise in the number of people that financially can be considered middle class. One theory for this is that India donned The Golden Straight Jacket and have fought through to the other side. Ultimately I would like to find out if the theory that India has experienced positive effects from globalization is true, and if so, why that is, and what makes them different as a developing country from those who have struggled significantly after deciding to globalize.
This topic matters to me because I believe that in order to make positive changes in the world it is important to look at issues from a variety of perspectives, and to observe the consequences of actions on both large and small scales so that we can understand how the world and our systems work. Through my research I have come to believe that some of our largest systems are not serving the interests of the world’s citizens in the way they were intended. Only by learning from our mistakes can we repair them and move forward to something that works better. In order to do this we have to figure out what mistakes have been made in the past and are being made in the present. I intend to use the research I do in India to contribute to my senior thesis. The topic of my senior thesis will most likely be broader than just focusing on India, as I would like to use past research, my research from India, and future research to put into my thesis. I believe this will relate to my life after I graduate from Lewis and Clark because I intend to continue studying in the International field in graduate school, and then to hopefully find a career that will allow me to become a part of the international community in some way, where I can continue to learn about the largest systems in the world, how they work, and how I can go about helping them to progress in positive ways for our world and its people.
I believe research on this topic can be conducted throughout the cities that we will be visiting in India. One of the most important aspects of my research on this topic is how Globalization effects people on the individual level. I believe the answers I am looking for in this aspect will become more apparent as I visit more places because globalization heavily effects the economies of countries, and the state of the economy is often reflected in the quality of life of a population. It will be interesting to see the differences in lifestyles and their relationship to the country’s economy between the different cities that we visit. I’m hoping that these differences can together create a picture for me of India’s experience as a whole with the process of globalization.
To look at this I will want to examine the governmental aspects of India, to what degree India is a player in the international community, their economic experience from before globalization until now, as well as the social effects, what people know about how their country is involved in the international systems and the impact that the country’s involvement, development, and growth has made on their quality of living. I would like to know if the research and statistics that indicates that India is better off after globalization correlate to what the people of India have experienced and their perspectives on the subject. There is a range of different people I would like to interview. I’d like to interview people from different castes, of different religions and backgrounds, who live their everyday lives in India. I’d like to talk to store owners about doing business in India. I’d like to talk to public officials, and if possible, I’d like to get an appointment at the embassy and talk to someone there. I’d like to talk to scholars that we encounter as well, and get their perspectives on the subject. Mostly, I’d like to talk to anyone who would be willing to talk to me about the subject. My goal is to conduct my research are as many places as possible. The subject is not more relevant in any one city than another. I’d like to visit governmental and other official buildings if I have the opportunity while we’re in the cities, especially in cities with higher populations. Some of the preliminary things I think I would like to ask people include finding out what common knowledge is on the topic of globalization, whether it is perceived positively or negatively, if individuals feel affected by it in their day to day life, what the difference has been in the past decade or two, and what changes they would make if they were deciding what would happen next. When it comes to scholars, I would like to talk to them about similar subjects, as well as what they see coming next for India, where they think India will be ten or twenty years from now as an industrializing country, and whether they think it is a good or bad thing for the country as a whole. My questions for government officials will be along similar lines. As my research progresses, my questions will become much more specific.
Sources:
Srinivasan, T. (2003). The Costs of Hesitant and Reluctant Globalization: India. Indian Economic Review, 8(2), 135-155. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from JSTOR. B
This source will contribute to my research by analyzing the costs and benefits India has experienced from globalization, by providing the perspective that India has globalized reluctantly, and hypothesizing that India has paid the price of prolonging poverty and not developing as quickly as its peers.
Channa, S. (2004). Globalization And Modernity In India: A Gendered Critique. Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development, 33(1), 37-71. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from JSTOR.
This source focuses on the effects globalization has had specifically on women in India, asserting that “third-world feminist activists confuse development with ‘westernization.’” This will contribute to the sociological side of my research, as well as challenge some of my already-held perspectives on the subject of globalization.
Front Matter, 55(3). (2006). Retrieved July 27, 2015, from JSTOR.
This source will contribute to my research by approaching from an angle more focused on the social effects of globalization than my other sources.
Grandolfo, J., Sharma, A., Shroff, V., Jayesh, H., Luthra, R., & Mohan, K. (2010). India. The International Lawyer, 44(1), 663-680. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from JSTOR.
This source will contribute to my research by giving insight into India’s development from an economic perspective, and some of the actions that have been taken in an effort to continue the growth of India’s economy.
Kaplan, R. (2008). Oh! Kolkata! Atlantic, 301(3), 72-79. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from EBSCOHOST.
This source examines economic and social conditions specifically in Calcutta, and how the area has been effected by development and globalization.
Rizvi, G. (2007). Emergent India: Globalization, Democracy, and Social Justice. International Journal, 62(4), 753-768. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from JSTOR.
This source operates under a different perspective than the first, claiming that it is true that India has had fantastic success with globalization, but also raises issues that tend to be overlooked and questions what challenges might be next for India.
Sahoo, S. (2014). Globalization and Politics of the Poor in India. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 45(1), 3-15. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from Ebscohost.
This source argues that India has had a different experience with globalization than others because of the mobilization of the masses that has successfully challenged and changed the elite agenda of globalization, and the resulting effects the country has experienced.
Sharma, S. (2014). ‘India Rising’ and the Mixed Blessings of Globalisation. India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, 70(4), 283-297.
This source posits that despite the success India has experienced with globalization, it employs protectionist economic policies that have made its economy vulnerable to outside forces.
Sheth, D. (n.d.). Democracy And Globalization In India: Post-Cold War Discourse. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 24-39.
This source looks at the development of democracy in India, how it has been done differently than in other countries, and why these differences have had an important contribution to the success in their development.
Sodhi, J. (2011). Beyond GDP: The Debate on Globalization & Development. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 46(4), 562-570. Retrieved July 27, 2015, from JSTOR.
This source takes the stance that the economic effects of globalization has been most damaging to the poor, uneducated, and wage earning populations in India, and presents theories about what should be done in market regulation to change the problems that have arisen for that portion of the population.
Additionally, here is a list of citations from sources that I have used in previous research examining globalization, democracy, institutions, developing countries, and how all of those things interact. I will most likely draw on my previous research as a foundation for why India’s experience has been different from that of other developing countries.
Brady, David, Jason Beckfield, and Wei Zhao. “The Consequences Of Economic Globalization For Affluent Democracies.” Annual Review of Sociology 33 (2007): 313-34. Accessed April 18, 2015. JSTOR.
Cooper, Scott, Darren Hawkins, Wade Jacoby, and Daniel Nielson. “Yielding Sovereignty to International Institutions: Bringing System Structure Back In.” International Studies Review 10, no. 3 (2008): 501-24. Accessed April 18, 2015. JSTOR.
Drezner, D. (2013). Tragedy of the Institutional Commons. Back to Basics; State Power in a Contemporary World, 280-312. Retrieved May 11, 2015, from JSTOR.
Haque, M. Shamsul. “Globalization, New Political Economy, and Governance: A Third World Viewpoint.” March 1, 2002. Accessed April 18, 2015. JSTOR.
Ikenberry, G. (2001). After victory: Institutions, strategic restraint, and the rebuilding of order after major wars. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Kaufman, Cynthia C. Ideas for Action: Relevant Theory for Radical Change. Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press, 2003.
Kingsnorth, Paul. One No, Many Yeses: A Journey to the Heart of the Global Resistance Movement. London: Free Press, 2004.
Krasner, Steven. “Sovereignty.” Foreign Affairs, no. 122 (2001). Accessed April 18, 2015. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/3183223.
Nardulli, Peter F. “Globalization, Sovereignty, and Democracy.” Simmons, Beth. In International Perspectives on Contemporary Democracy. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2008.
Nardulli, Peter F. “Economic Globalization and Democracy.” Orlie, Melissa. In International Perspectives on Contemporary Democracy. Chicago, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2008. JSTOR.
Stiglitz, Joseph. Globalization and Its Discontents. New York, New York: Norton Company, 2003.
What I did in Delhi:
Interviews-
Neera Chandhoke
Babu ____
Visited:
India International Center
Research:
Reading relevant newspaper articles
Reading of above sources
Readings recommended by students from Delhi University