Post 1989: Globalization one, two, three

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of globalization across the three decades, that coincide with ASERI’s institutional history, highlighting the distinct techno-economic forces that shaped each phase and their cumulative socio-political effects. The first phase, “Globalization One,” was propelled by advances in information and communication technologies and by a widespread belief in the superiority of market-led economic governance. While trade expansion generated notable efficiency gains and contributed to the global reduction of extreme poverty, it also produced significant asymmetries within and across countries, intensified by the rise of global value chains and commodity dependence. “Globalization Two” marked a structural shift driven by financial deregulation and the rapid expansion of purely speculative international capital flows. The resulting financialization of the world economy redistributed income toward profits and rents, deepened inequality, and exposed national economies to recurrent instability. “Globalization Three” is defined by technological discontinuity, the erosion of multilateralism, the return of economic nationalism, and a geopolitical environment increasingly shaped by power politics. The article argues that the most promising responses to current global challenges may emerge not from dominant actors but from peripheral dynamics, where resilience, reconstruction, and innovative forms of cooperation “from below” can foster a renewed, inclusive vision of global interdependence.