The politics of globalization : the world economy and domestic politics

Abstract

Globalization has grown much since 1980s. What political trends have been associated with this growth? This paper examines two aspects of the political consequences of globalization. Economic globalization, according to some economic theories, has adverse consequences for labour, especially less skilled labour, in the rich democracies. If these voters are the median, then we might expect parties to respond to this by turning against globalization and the openness to flows of goods, services, people and capital that it brings. Have parties turned against economic openness? And have parties, especially extreme right-wing ones, that oppose openness advanced in terms of their electoral strength as a result? First I explore whether political parties in the advanced industrial countries have adopted more anti-internationalist platforms as globalization has advanced. Second, I examine whether parties have been affected deferentially by globalization; in particular, have extreme, right-wing extremist parties gained vote share as globalization has proceeded, while mainstream left ones have lost. The evidence suggests that globalization, especially trade, is associated with a political turn to anti-internationalism and to extremist parties.