GLOBALIZATION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY ¿WHY IS CHANGING THE IDENTITY?

A Japanese is waiting to order a Mc Donald’s hamburger in a Tokyo mall meanwhile he seeing the soccer game of Real Madrid VS Barcelona in a Samsung TV. This scene is very common in people around the world but they doesn’t realized that this aspects of contemporary lifestyle are affecting his national identity, in this case the Japanese identity. Why the Japanese don’t preferred eat gohan instead of Mc Donald’s hamburger? Or why he don’t preferred see a national soccer game instead to a Spain soccer game in a Sony TV?

These questions are answer by the concept of globalization that “refers both to the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole.” (Robertson,1992, p.8) this definition its more to described the globalization in modern times, because the concept of globalization it came in a “deep historical process: human integration belongs to a deep dynamic in which shifting civilizational centers are but the front stage of history against a backdrop of much older and ongoing intercultural traffic” (Nederveen, 2009 ,p.74) two specific examples of human integration in the past time are the contact with Europe and Asia which brought an epidemic plague in Europe and the contact with Europe and America which brought new foodstuff to the European diet and also for native Americans.

But nowadays the conception of globalization turns to be more specific as a result of the the creation of nation states as well as the social restructuration that globalization together with neoliberalism creates in the last thirty years, this essay present the process in which national identity was created in the times of modernity and transform or twist the national identity to a global identity.

The configuration of globalization in the world became for a large process which implicated a transformation in economic, technologic, cultural, and social aspects who changes the roll of modern institutions as the nation state, for this reason the national identity turn into a fragile concept because this was design to create a nation state on “the basis of ethnic groups whose myths and memories, values and symbols shape the culture and the boundaries of the nation”. (Smith, 1990) The sense of belonging, that means feel Mexican, Colombian, American or European had a crucial aspect to create the nation state in the end of eighteenth century but nowadays the globalization start to change the sense of belonging of a nation state.

The nation state emerge in Western Europe in the late eighteenth century as “a separate body both the ruler and the ruled, with supreme jurisdiction over a demarcated territorial, backed by the right to a monopoly of coercive power, and the legitimacy that the loyalty of the consent of their citizens” (Mc Grew & Held, 2002, p.22). As well as “guarantee in a very broad sense the general conditions of society reproduction” (Habermas, 1999). This fundamental basis cause that nation state expand during the modern period in all Western Europe and the European Colonies in America, Asia, and Africa established the integration of the people in a territory with a sense of belonging. For this purpose the construction of to be part in a community is the answer of created a political-cultural formation who involved identity and community, it means that people have a sense of belonging in a nation compose by “the base of tradition, common historical origin, the idea of a shared destiny that means the identification is generated through a political and emotional mobilization of society as a whole by ideological or coercive means”. (Ojeda, 2007, p.38) therefore national identity is this answer to mobilize a society as a whole and not as a fragmentation of a territory but to adopt this identity over a society in nation state it is necessary learned and shared because culture “refers to behavior and beliefs that are learned and shared: learned so it is not “instinctual” and shared so it is not individual”. (Nederveen, 2009, p.48) The national identity is constructed from the creation of the nation state but this identity needs to be learned and shared over the whole society to have the sense of belonging.

One example is the creation of national identity in Mexico, during the period denominated “El Porfiriato: 1876–1911”, with the consolidation of the nation state, the sense of belonging or being Mexican came from a cultural and educational program thus emphasizing the sense of the Mexican history across different cultural expressions, as is the case of art in which the “expression of national feelings show up the greatness, heroics and suffering.” (Vazquez, 2002) moreover in this period the education system was renewed exalting patriotic heroes who constructed the nation; the tradition and customs; and the Spanish language as unique in the nation. The principal argument to renew the education system is “the development of cultural consciousness linked with national idea. This method should be artificial, but demand the immediate political necessities. Reaffirm an organized educational system and a devotion of symbols and heroes”. (Monsivais, 1993, p.100) During the Porfiriato the exaltation of culture in Mexican society made the possibility of construct a consciousness idea of national identity who started after the creation of the nation state and during the twentieth century.

The example mentioned clarify the idea of the national identity is conformed as an answer to have a sense of belonging, and also during the historic process when the absolutism and colonialism fall down and the emergence of nation state goes up when “territory sovereignty and formal . equality between States” (Crawford & Marks, 1998). Became the international order and transformed “political, economic and cultural institution to establish in many nation state an official language or a national education system” (Held & McGrew, 2002, p.25). In consequence this establishment constructed national identity in many Western States during eighteenth century to the twentieth century and started to twist the idea of national identity in Western countries after World War II.

After World War II especially with the historical process called Cold War, the globe began to transform in political, economic, social, and cultural aspects as a consequence of “two great developments: the emergence of an open world economy and the American construction of a hegemonic order” (Ikenberry, 2007, p.41) this two developments could not be achieved without Allies (U.S., UK, France, and the Soviet Union) triumphed in World War II, likewise the creation of two blocs or in a better significance the polarization of the world in the Capital States and Communist States created in the West side (Capitalist State) a “virtuous circle: America’s postwar system of security alliances and multilateral institution facilitated the expansion of world market and […] transformed the Western order into the dynamic and triumphant epicenter of world politics in the second half of the twentieth century”. (Ikenberry 2007, p.41) the homogenization of created a Western political, economic, social, and culture started during this period. Also its important said that the creation of international institutions shaped the interconnection between states with international cooperation and multilateralism because:

Between 1944 and 1951, American leaders engaged in the most intensive institution building the world had ever seen — global, regional, security, economic, and political. The United Nations, Bretton Woods, GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), NATO, (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and the US-Japan’s alliance were all launched. The United Stated undertook costly commitments to aid Greece and Turkey and reconstruct Western Europe. It helped rebuild the economies of Japan and Germany. With the Atlantic Charter, the UN Charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it articulated a new vision of a progressive international community. In all these ways, the United States took the lead in fashioning a world of multilateral rules, institution, open markets, democratic community, and regional partnerships –and it put itself at the center off it all (Ikenberry, 2007, p.42).

The integration of the international institutions and statements as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in each nation state around the world with the influence of United States gain an important relevance as a type of political power as well as to contribute a representative liberal democracy establish a Western globalization that legitimizes and justify “a Neoliberal project, that means the creation of a free global market and the consolidation of capitalism in the main economic regions in the globe (Held & McGrew, 2002, p.16). For this reason the homogenization of a westernization in each nation state around the world is the key point to understand that the globalization is the consequence of an imposition on economic system in each nation state who adopts neoliberalism.

Globalization not only affect economic aspects, also “is an expression of deep structural changes in the modern social scale”. (Held & McGrew, 2002, p.18) that means that the sense of belonging in modern nations became fragile because the free market contributes to interconnect and homogenizes all the world, also globalization “crossed boundaries of government, […]. As a political challenge, it crosses the ideological spectrum and engages social movements and politics at all levels. It involves a paradigm shift from the era of the nation state and international politics of planetary scope”. (Nederveen, 2009, p.7) As a result the national identity started to twist because during the early of the 80’s decade the globalization it being shaped by “the boom in information and communications technologies who forms part of the infrastructure of finance, capital, mobility and export –oriented business activity, transnational communication, migration, travel, and civil society interactions. (Nederveen, 2009, p.9). After this period and nowadays the national identity in modern nations became a fragile concept because of the interconnection around the world open firstly in economics but also social, and cultural aspects converge the discovery and adoption on the people who lives and connect in modern states.

In the last 30 years ago the national identity in modern nations started to twist and became more a global identity because the Western globalization that steep the homogeneity in many modern states but this contemporary globalization “is largely concentrated in the Triad of North America, Europe, and East Asia. The Third World is excluded from globalization”. (Nederveen, 2009, p.32) for this reason the national identity started to be a risk in many development nations , one reason of this risk of lose the identity is “the accompanying growth of market forces has led governments from local to the national levels to attract foreign investment”. (Nederveen, 2009, p.33) particularly of transnational corporations who twist the economic system of domestic to an international economic, according this had a repercussions in social, and cultural aspects in any modern nation because “although everyone have a local life, the ways in which people give meaning to the world are now increasingly intertwined with ideas and values from many different locations”. (McLuhan, 1964) because “transnational corporations are involved in the culture and national identity, transforming the cultural position of the modern state” (Rheingold, 1995). Go back to the example of national identity in Mexico, during several years the national identity had no interference or dangerous but after 1994 the national identity became fragile because of NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement) this Trade transform the socio-economic frame because allowed the free market in the country so transnational corporations came to invest in the country and transform the lifestyle of many Mexicans especially of middle class and the economy became from a protectionism economy to a free economy.

In conclusion the national identity became important at the beginning and consolidation of the nation state during his historical process, but the national identity become fragile a consequence of the globalization who neoliberalism consolidate because “Today’s globalization process differs from that of earlier times in three ways: the volume of materials moved is larger; the speeds with which they are moved are faster; and the diversity of materials (matter, energy, and information) moved is greater.” (Clark 1997, p.16) so this globalization moves in very fast way transforming the national identity in each modern state and twist the sense of belonging, in which it’s called a global identity but with characteristics of western culture because of the economic aspect in which the neoliberalism system consolidate a free market in many nation states during the late nineteenth and the twentieth century.

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