Perspectives

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Globalisation

This article first appeared in the Q4/2018 Issue of the SID Directors Bulletin published by the Singapore Institute of Directors.

Globalisation was once heralded as the beacon of hope for developing countries, an escape route that would allow them to climb out of poverty. However, an anti-globalisation backlash, tinged with the resurgence of nationalism, has put globalisation into the hot seat. The swing of votes to far-right parties in Germany and other European states, Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump, has reset the globalisation agenda.

Globalisation is a word that has meant different things to different people.

It can simply be defined as the internationalisation of relations across borders, which facilitates the exchange of knowledge, trade, and capital around the world.

Aspects of globalisation tend to be grouped in the political, economic and social spheres. Drilling down, globalisation can be viewed in other buckets, such as health, environmental, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation.

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