Globalization: The Example of Dubai

What is Globalization? Globalization: is the trend toward greater interconnectedness of the world’s financial, economic, technological, political, cultural, sociological, ecological, and geographical systems. In English it means. . . A movement toward creating a more global community, one where every region of the earth is connected to the others in numerous ways.

In the last 40 years, Dubai has transformed itself from a sleepy port city to a major global tourism and business center. Originally built with oil money, Dubai understood that it had to diversify and offer the world something different in order to thrive. So What Has Dubai Done?

Tourism: (infrastructure and attractions) Championship golf courses, hosts PGA events World class water parks Indoor skiing and snowboarding Hosts shopping festivals and in the process of building the world’s largest shopping mall Hosts the world’s richest horse race with a 6 million dollar purse Has the world’s only 7 star hotel Hundreds of restaurants and shops World’s tallest building Man made palm islands

Air Travel Dubai has become the main hub for travel between many destinations in Europe, Africa and Asia. A second airport is being built that will be the largest in the world. Emirate Airlines, based out of Dubai, now flies to 59 countries around the world and is growing very quickly.

Finance and Business Dubai is investing billions to become the business center of the Arab world and a major player in world commerce. Dubai has created a “knowledge village” with several universities and colleges. Also, there is a stock exchange in Dubai and many head offices of major banks and corporations call this city home.

So How Is Dubai Doing It? Dubai is tolerant of all other faiths and religions. There is a more relaxed attitude toward alcohol, although alcohol is still not served to Muslims. Dress restrictions are not as severe for women in Dubai as they are in neighboring countries. Dubai has become a multilingual and multicultural city.

Dubai also has the ability to attract attention to itself with the world’s largest airport, mall, hotel and building. The Palm Islands are an example of extravagant engineering and infrastructure used to attract attention.

Negative Reactions to Globalization Not everyone is content with bringing the morally relaxed attitude of the Western world to Dubai. There has been some protest toward the serving of alcohol and the skimpy bathing suits found on the beaches. In the US there was a significant protest toward the purchase of seaport space in American ports by a large UAE company. The American public was worried about the threat of terrorism.

The Nature of Globalization Financial Globalization: World stock markets are constantly affecting one another. What happens on one market will definitely affect what happens on others as the day’s trading goes on. Economic Globalization: Companies are no longer associated with a particular country. They move production and capital and seek markets anywhere that will benefit their company.

Technological Globalization: The most obvious area of globalization Technological Globalization: The most obvious area of globalization. The technological revolution has fostered globalization. Political Globalization: As we become more economically and technologically interdependent, we tend to adopt more uniform policies with the countries we are dealing with. Cultural Globalization: Distinct cultures are becoming more homogeneous, and unfortunately for some cultures, that means more Americanized.

Ecological Globalization: Finally we have begun to look at our earth as one large ecosystem that we all must protect. Geographical Globalization: Even geographers have begun looking at the world without hard political borders, but rather as larger global community, connected by similar concerns and issues within larger regions. Sociological Globalization: We have begun to look at ourselves as members of a single world, not distinct national societies. This can be seen in our discussions on the role of women and the morality of capital punishment. Urbanization in Developing Countries

Questions Why did the leaders of Dubai decide they would use globalization as a tool to build wealth in the emirate? What advantages did Dubai possess that allowed it to pursue a global perspective in its development? What risks were there for the emirate in choosing this route? In your own words, describe the meaning of each type of globalization. Using examples from at least three types of globalization, identify ways in which countries or regions are becoming interdependent.