Jasleen Singh

All India Rank – 7^th

Prize: CL Course worth Rs. 10k.

Share about Your Success in All India Essay Competition with your Friends

• UPSC attempt given before: No
• Pre-Qualified- No
• Main Qualified- No
• Final Selected- No
• Graduation - BBA
• College: Chandigarh university

Globalization & its impact on Democracy

Globalisation is the phenomenon of increasing global interconnectedness through intermixing of social, cultural, political and economic ideas/entities between countries resulting in gradual emergence of a new global reality. Democracy is widely recognized as the most suitable form of political establishment worldwide.It s not just about political democracy but also includes a social and economic democracy The relationship between globalization and democracy can be analysed thus- Political democracy – A) Positive- - Diffusion of democratic and associated ideals like equality, justice & liberty far wide across nations strengthens their democratisation. - Role played by multilateral bodies like UN,World Bank in making countries subscribe to democratic practices and standards such as good governance is responsible for maturing of democracies. B) Negative- - Supranational bodies such as WTO and UNSC often bind national governments with their decisions, making them act against the will of the electorate sometimes. This gives wind to notions of surrender of sovereignty under international pressure. - Internal democratic compulsions, on the other hand may force national governments to go against the internationally accepted best practices and standards, weakening the process of political globalisation. Social democracy – A) Positive- - Influx of progressive ideals of secularism, equality and justice lead to liberalising of prejudicial predispositions in a conservative society making it more open, tolerant and harmonious. - It creates new forms of social solidarity, amity and cooperation through novel channels and methods both at domestic and international levels. B) Negative- - growth of counter cultural movements because of dilution of traditions and perversion of traditional social values. - It promotes various divides in the society: rural-urban, gender and digital divides, thus weakening the foundations of social democracy. Economic democracy – A) Positive- - It brings much needed aid, capital, entrepreneurship and expertize into the struggling countries, helping them grow faster, reducing poverty and inequality- strengthening economic democracy. - mutual cooperation & understanding between nations on political front leads to cooperation on economic front too, benefitting citizens both domestically and internationally by solving common economic problems. B) Negative- - Growing role of transnational corporations is seen as self serving& profiteering, thus hurting the economic interests of domestic players. The governments often tend to placate these TNCs at the cost of inclusivity and distributive justice. - Benefits of globalization have not been evenly spread throughout the society. They have bypassed the most deprived sections of citizens in countries of the global south. Eg- tribals, dalits and rural folk in India. Overall, globalisation’s impact on democracy has been mixed. Strengthening of democratic institutions would lead to better adaptation and a caliberated response to the challenges posed by globalisation. This would enable the nations to enjoy the fruits of globalization equally and harmoniously.