Glocalization: How Corporations Bridge the Local with the Global

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The acceleration of globalization has significantly altered the relationship between citizens and government, citizens and the private sector, and the private sector and government. In a capitalist system like ours, business and government have developed an intimacy never seen before, as new generations of politicians and bureaucrats at all levels of government reach public office having served or developed career paths in the private sector. In fact the private sector seems to be the new launching ground for future career paths in the public sector. This impacts the triangular relationship between citizen, government and business, isolating constituents from the intimate government business partnerships. This reality is magnified when you shift the focus from a local or federal scope to an international one, where transnational corporations become the central actors of the business-government partnerships.

The “glocalization” of this relationship, in other words the ability of transnational corporations to conduct their business relations according to global and local needs, become more practical and effective when local government representatives develop policies that favor their interests. When local governments do not follow the playbook and engage in decisions that impede the advancement of their agendas, those federal and local governments are punished.

That was the recent case of General Electric, when they announced in mid September that they would be firing a total of 500 workers nationally, including 80 workers here in Maine because the federal government refused to renew the Export Import Bank program that allowed foreign companies to borrow money in order to buy U.S. products (https://www.genewsroom.com/press-releases/ge-move-production-and-jobs-turbines-and-generators-europe-secures-financing-coface). The Governor of Maine and the local Chamber of Commerce have demanded that the federal government revise their decision; is it because they are worried about the future of the 80 workers or is it because GE needs the renewal of the Export Import Bank program in order to advance their global corporate agenda?

 

Bob Englehart. “General Electric,” The Cagle Post. 2015. Accessed November 4, 2015. http://www.cagle.com/2015/08/general-electric/

Bob Englehart. “General Electric,” The Cagle Post. 2015. Accessed November 4, 2015. http://www.cagle.com/2015/08/general-electric/

Stefano Tijerina

About Stefano Tijerina

My name is Stefano Tijerina and this blog’s objective is to connect Maine’s social, environmental, economic, cultural, and political issues to the global system, centering on how the local impacts the global and how the global impacts the local or what is known in Global Studies as the "Glocal" effect. In our present era of globalization it is crucial for the general public to understand how the new dynamics of the international system impact our lives here in Maine and how our local decisions impact the earth. These are my personal views, and they do not express those of the University of Maine System or the University of Maine.