Political Institutions and the New Realities of Globalization

In an age where trade no longer knows geographical boundaries, the roles of political institutions and in particular, political parties and elected politicians will be very crucial in determining whether a nation embraces globalization and reaps it numerous advantages or opposes it, and be denied the opportunity for growth and economic advancement.

While it may be argued that political parties and the high-level discourses they engage in, are the engine rooms through which our social and economic realities are sharpen as a people, there is no denying the fact that their propensity for dissension and their growing desire to regularly score political points, could form a clog in the wheel of our collective economic wealth as nations of the world.

Today, there are new global economic realities especially with the emergence of new global manufacturing hubs for both industrial and regular household products. China for example, has become a global manufacturing giant and a lot of countries have formed various bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with her to benefit from producing at cheaper costs and ultimately improving their bottom line. Other countries like Malaysia, Brazil, Turkey and Nigeria have also surfaced on the world economic landscape courtesy of their sustained year-over-year macroeconomic growth, which has caused investment pundits, large multinational corporations and governments of the ‘first world’ countries to start paying closer attention to them.

Some of these ‘’second and third world’’ nations, due to their diversified economic growth and the integration of successful non-traditional sectors into mainstream GDP-earning elements of their economy, are now described as the best soils with the highest investment yields across the world.

In view of these new ‘economic normals’, it would be sheer mindlessness to allow political jingoism and blind patriotism based on misconceptions and unfounded biases, stand in the way of meaningful collaborations with these people and nations that might have different history or culture than ours.

With being in an age of economic collaborations, we should expect to see increased, well-thought-out bilateral and multilateral trade agreements world-over that would advance the economic course of the average populace. Existing in times like these should mean that positive stories of economic multiplicity coming out of nations far and wide are not ignored but rather they are tested for veracity and the opportunities inherent in them are judiciously explored.

Needless to say that a single vote in the hand of a lawmaker could make or mar the economic future of a nation and the blatant unwillingness of our legislature to put our common economic prosperity ahead of their political prejudices could plunge our societies into austerity.

Globalization has come to stay and boost the capacities of nations, organizations and institutions that embrace it. It is hoped that those who have been entrusted with the responsibilities of advancing the course of the larger populace through policies and the tools of politics will come to terms with this reality and not allow ‘baseless partisanism’ and undue protectionism to stop our common economic opportunities.