No room for complacency in the global economy

T.J. Adhihetty leads a seminar with William Ross (r), ambassador to Colombia

If U of A students want to be part of the global economy, they better educate themselves about the language, politics and culture of rising economies, said economics chair, Dr. Ken Norrie, at a symposium on internationalization March 18.

Norrie is trying to establish a joint graduate program in finance with the University of Chile but said "Canadians are appallingly ignorant about the countries with which they wish to work." Said Norrie: "If we're going to reach out, we have to invest in their language, history and culture."

Norrie and Dr. Andy Knight, political science, were academic co-chairs of the one-day symposium held on campus. More than 150 students and scholars attended the event, focussing on Latin America and the impact of internationalization.

Canadian foreign representatives Peter Boehm, ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Pierre Giroux, charge d'affaires to the Dominican Republic, William Ross, ambassador to Colombia, and Charles Brooks, policy adviser to Minister David Kilgour led seminar groups, sharing their expertise and experiences with students.

It was part of Alberta International's efforts to get students thinking about international studies. After all, said Norrie, there's nothing new about globalization.

"This is the stuff of economic history," said Norrie, pointing out Adam Smith and David Riccardo talked about global trade and monopolies hundreds of years ago. And, he added, globalization is to be welcomed, not feared. "The potential gains from trade are greater for smaller states, precisely because barriers are broken down to facilitate the flow of goods, services and capital," said Norrie.

"A lot of things have to break down for great things to emerge," he added. "Certain groups suffer disproportionately and others take advantage of this."

But globalization cannot be dissected strictly along economic lines, said Knight. The phenomenon needs a political-economic or interdisciplinary approach. He outlined two: the problem-solving theory, which forges ahead with the status quo, and the critical theory, which takes a step back from the world and looks for all the consequences of globalization - positive and negative. "It looks at globalization from the bottom up," said Knight.

Knight and Norrie agreed that, although globalization has been around for a long time, the speed at which changes occur has significantly geared up. Norrie attributes this to the technological revolution and, to quote colleague Dr. Janine Brodie, to "the increasing irrelevance of time and space." As a result, smaller states and economies are reeling.

"Academics," said Knight, "see some responses as reawakenings - of civil society and regionalism, of cultural and linguistic assertions, tribalism and religious fanaticism." States are in crisis, added Knight, "because of the increasing contradictions between transnational and state importance in governance."

The two professors gave students much to think about before they broke into the group sessions with the guests. The symposium wrapped up with addresses by Minister David Kilgour, Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, Chancellor Lois Hole and Board of Governors Chair Eric Newell.