A Fractured West, A Fragmented World

Chethana Janith, Jadetimes Staff

C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter and contributor covering science and geopolitics.

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A recent rally in London underlines how the cultural promise of globalization is unraveling at a phenomenal pace.

Cops remonstrate with supporters of Tommy Robinson in central London. Image Credit: (Reuters/ndtv)

Tommy Robinson, an anti-immigrant, anti-Islamic far-right activist in the UK, recently organized a massive ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally spearheaded by the country’s far-right political section. The rally was attended by tens of thousands of people in an unprecedented show of nativist sentiment. The rally had certain agendas: first, immigration, both legal and illegal, to the UK must become heavily regulated; second, reclaiming the British nation, which meant reasserting the white Anglo-Saxon pride of the UK, which is under heavy demographic pressure thanks to the growth of non-white, non-European populations; and third, and most important, to prevent the growth of Islam in the UK, which was changing the very social character of the country.

This rally, however, must be seen as a part of a broader theme in the Euro-Atlantic region-the growing backlash against immigration. The victory of Donald Trump, who spearheaded the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement in the United States, and the strong political positions of the right-wing governments in Hungary, Italy, coupled with the growing strength of the far-right movements in France and Germany, are signs that Europe and North America are becoming increasingly inward. They seek to reclaim their country from ‘outsiders’ and restore its pristine social roots.

That being said, it becomes a part of the broader theme of the changing dimensions of globalization, particularly its cultural dimension.

Cultural Globalization

Globalization refers to the worldwide growth of interconnectedness of various hues and shades. It underlines how progressively small the local, regional, and national dimensions of nation-states are becoming due to the global revolution in telecommunications, finance, and trade. It also highlights the global exchange of ideas, money, technology, and other socio-economic goods. It also underscores the eventual flattening of the global order in terms of preferences and institutions and how one event in a particular part of the world has a positive or negative spillover effect in other parts of the world.

The cultural aspect of globalization is based on the premise that cultural preferences in a part of the world can be exported and eventually influence other societies depending on the unique socio-cultural contexts of the concerned society. An important aspect of this globalization is the global acceptance of Yoga not only for its therapeutic value but also as a strong indicator of the eastern civilizational heritages.

That being said, exportation of cultural ideas and institutions is an important aspect of cultural globalization. In that context, migration is one of the most important factors in it. The West of today has been shaped to a very strong extent by the immigration of scores of individuals not only from Asia but also from Africa.

Cultural globalization sold the idea that migration to the countries of the Global North, particularly the West, would usher in a comfortable and prosperous life for them and their families. These immigrants contributed a lot in terms of the economic, social, and political development of the West.

Unraveling of the Promise

The promise of a good life was based on a global social contract that guaranteed that the immigrants who would contribute to the development of their host countries would be rewarded with the title of model minorities and that they would be allowed an increasingly positive role in the social, political, and institutional affairs of the concerned country.

However, the far-right rally in London demonstrated that the much-vaunted social contract the West spoke of is unraveling at a breakneck speed. The West, which claims to be the bastion of liberty, is becoming increasingly unfree. A process of ‘otherization’ is underway.

This ‘otherization’ is characterized by strict legal steps to limit immigration raids by immigration authorities against anybody and any entity suspected of being an immigrant. A rather egregious aspect of this exclusionary idea is the racial attacks on people of migrant origin; a recent racially motivated violent sexual assault on an Indian-origin Sikh woman in the UK is a case in point.

This exposes how the cultural aspect of globalization that the West sold was hollow. It also demonstrates how, in the name of reclaiming their country, the nativist elements are encouraging social forces that would tear asunder the very foundations on which European civilization was built. In doing so, they are undermining the very goals the Enlightenment stood for.

Hence, it is high time that the Global South take note of this and invest heavily in improving the human capital of their respective countries. The West is growing increasingly inward; the Global South should take the lead in proclaiming that they are different.