Author(s): Pavol Baboš / Language(s): English
Issue: 3/2017
After recent elections in Europe and the United States, globalization has become one of the most highlighted factors in the media post-election analyses. It is assumed that globalization had contributed to frustration that had subsequently led voters to cast their votes for political forces against the status quo or reversing the achievements of economic and political integration of the democratic West. The term globalization is so much present in the daily discourse of the media, and also social science that nobody would probably challenge its existence. However, in the 1990s there was still an academic debate on whether globalization existed. Currently the term globalization is used in almost every area of human activity; ranging from communication, the media, politics, environmental protection, culture, the entertainment industry and sport. In the academic literature the most developed research stream concerns the economic understanding of globalization when connected to international trade. The key object of interest is the movement of products, services and capital in relatively high intensity, over long distance and in a relatively short time. This study accepts the conceptual definition suggested by Brady, Beckfield and Zhao (2007) who argue that globalization should be perceived as a multi-dimensional process that establishes international networks. This definition has two advantages. First, it acknowledges the existence of several dimensions of globalization, which is already used in empirical studies worldwide. Accepting dimensionality thus allows us to speak of globalization in relation to themes such as culture and gastronomy, as well as the economy. The second advantage is that the network metaphor enables the inclusion into analysis of both actors (people, firms and states) and the relationships between them (trade exchange, investments and migration). Researchers focusing on various aspects of globalization thus can bring up the operationalization of indicators that follows their dimension the best. This study follows Dreher’s work based on research in more than 120 countries over more than three decades which resulted in the identification of three globalization dimensions: economic, political, and social. Globalization is mostly perceived as a economic threat to the majority of society, but in recent years there is increasingly more people perceiving it a cultural threat as well. Higher intensity of travelling and international exchange of ideas may lead many people to experience simultaneously both traditional and modern culture, and also culture coming from various geographic regions to be present in one place. In the Slovakian cultural space the trend is visible; for instance, in commercialization of foreign holidays, entertainment, the food industry, etc. As a consequence, many people may have the feeling that an increasing pervasive modern lifestyle is pushing out what they considered traditional, rooted in values that are culturally stable. This study aims to contribute to this debate by studying negative attitudes towards globalization as a cultural threat, and compares the latent perception with open and clearly articulated attitudes. This study employs experimental methods; more precisely the list experiment which is typical for latent perception research. Participants were recruited among the students of the Faculty of Philosophy, Comenius University in Bratislava. Participation was voluntary and students were offered the ECTS credits for their participation. 88 students took part, and they were randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups. Data collection was conducted simultaneously in separated spaces so that there were several barriers between the groups to prevent any communication about the course of the experiment. The participants in both groups had to answer how many of the items in the list they agreed with. Both groups were shown the following three items: Dumplings with cottage cheese is part of Slovakian typical cuisine; The High Tatras belong to the most beautiful natural phenomenon in Slovakia; P. O. Hviezdoslav is one of the most important Slovak poets. The experimental group list, however, listed an additional item: Slovakian culture needs to be protected against external forces. The analysis was based on the linear regression analysis, which puts the answer on the number of agreed items on the left-hand side of the equation. Control variables, such as demographics, socio-economics, and other factors previously linked to the globalization attitudes (such as the EU attitudes), are on the right-hand side of the equation. The main limitation might lie in the use of student sample. This study argues that use of student samples is appropriate especially if there is no specific target population. Several studies are reviewed that support the student samples in voting experiments or research using framing experiments. The author of this study admits that generalization is only viable if we accept the assumption that the cognitive processes of sampled students are not different from the general population. In addition to this assumption, there are studies and simulations showing that the effects found in the experimental studies are similar, whether the sample is based on students or the general adult population. The findings reveal 48% of the participants implicitly perceives globalization as a cultural threat. In order to meaningfully interpret this number for the real world, the author compared how many people within the same sample also articulated this opinion openly. Approximately one month prior to the experiment the participants filled out a questionnaire including an item on globalization perception. Approximately 39% of the participants, (the same students who participated in the experiment) agreed with this claim. But latently, globalization is perceived as a threat by 48% of the participants. Therefore, it can be reasonably assumed that the latent perception of globalization as a cultural threat is about a quarter higher than the open, explicit admission of this threat.
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