GBTE-C06: High‐Tech Global Flows and Structures §

How have high‐tech flows changed the nature of time and space? §

• Time–Space Compression: The shrinking of space and the reduction of the time required by a wide range of processes, brought about by changes in transportation and communication technologies advanced mainly by capitalist corporations (globalization)

• How is time-space compressed?

  • Newspapers → Social Medias: facilitate global flow of info
  • Seamless transport of container: ships $\leftrightarrow$ truck $\leftrightarrow$ train $\leftrightarrow$ plane

  graph LR
  	a(("Ships"))-->b["Trucks"]
  	b-->c[["Train"]]
  	c-->d("Plane")
  	d-->a
  

  • Technological development in commerce: reaching many with little effort
  • global Internet transactions and the coordination of global value chains
    • global corporations coordinating with overseas branches

• Time–Space Distanciation: The stretching of social relations across space and time, brought about by technological change.

  • transportation & communication technology improving interpersonal relations across far distances
  • But high-tech flow can be an assistance rather than a replacement to physical relations
    • People remain situated in their local environment
    • Some social media helps connect people IRL

• Space Based Technologies

  • Fear that a war over space could devastate the world

  • GPS system is crucial to the world

  • Compress distance between people and space

    💡 Ex: Virgin Galactic, Space-X, Blue Origin: commercializing space travel

• Robotics

  • Replacing automobile assembly lines: more efficient than humans
  • Replacing waiters & counter-staffs
  • AI Replacing skilled white-collar workers
  • IT development is pushing us to a tipping point of less labor intensive global economy

• Economic Impacts

  • Increased productivity
  • Trade/investment
  • Market expansion

• Leapfrogging: developing nations bypassing earlier technologies and adopting more advanced ones (narrowing economic gaps due to globalization)

  • community without electricity can skip it for generators, going straight to mobile devices
  • Some might skip generators in general and use only solar panels
  • Problem: leapfrogging lacks basic 20th century infrastructure to make it available to mass public and not just a few
  • Rich countries, through IP, protect their developments from spreading to developing states

What is media imperialism? How do global flows of technology affect it? §

• World was dominated by Western media
• Media Imperialism: western dominated media monopolizes spread of information
  • Non-Western countries can’t express their own voice or arguments
• New Media: Due to globalization media technology is spreading and allowing voice for non-western countries
  • Decline in media imperialism
  • Multiple sources of information, reporting, cross-reference, multiple POV

Discuss the impact of global technological flows on the nation-state. §

• Political Impacts: spread of modern tech help increase the soft power of smaller states

  • Every state has a voice and is hearable: int’ conferences, UN, talk shop forums, self-publication internet

• High tech innovation encourage small states to compete

  • Key component of power now is digital technology: internet presence, cybersecurity

  💡 Ex: China’s dominance over 5G technology

  • Spread it to other countries

  • China will control lots of info

• Spill-over of technology competition into military tension/conflict

  • Cybersecurity, China US competition over internet

• Creates State vs People tension due to high-tech

  • Great Firewall of China or Censorship
  • Education

Notes §

• How would this apply to Cambodia’s case of spread of modern technology?

Reference §

• GBTE-Globalization_The Essentials