Why and how have people resisted globalization?
Topic 9.8 Resistance to Globalization After 1900: the economic, cultural, and political resistance to globalization, including anti-globalization movements, religious fundamentalism, nationalism, and terrorism.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.8, explaining resistance to globalization: economic anti-globalization movements, cultural and religious resistance including fundamentalism, the revival of nationalism and protectionism, and political violence and terrorism.
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What this topic is asking
Topic 9.8 covers resistance to globalization after 1900. It asks you to explain the economic, cultural, and political opposition that globalization provoked: anti-globalization movements against trade and corporate power, cultural and religious resistance including fundamentalism, the revival of nationalism and protectionism, and the rise of political violence and terrorism.
What "resistance to globalization" means
Economic resistance
Globalization's losers pushed back.
Cultural and religious resistance
Many feared the loss of identity.
Globalization's cultural reach (Topic 9.7) provoked resistance from those who feared losing their local cultures, languages, and religions to a homogenizing global (often Western) culture. This drove movements to defend and revive tradition, including various forms of religious fundamentalism - movements that reassert traditional religious values and reject Western, secular, or liberal influences. Cultural and religious resistance reflects a defense of identity against the perceived flattening force of globalization, and it can shade into political movements and conflict.
Political resistance: nationalism, protectionism, and violence
Resistance reshaped politics.
Globalization also provoked political backlash:
- Revived nationalism. Many countries saw a resurgence of nationalism and calls to put the nation first, prioritizing national interests over global integration.
- Protectionism. Demands grew to restrict trade and immigration, reversing the openness of globalization.
- Violence and terrorism. At the extreme, some groups turned to political violence and terrorism against the global order or its symbols, reflecting the most radical rejection of globalization.
These responses show that the integrating forces of the global age are matched by strong counter-forces seeking to restore borders, identity, and control.
Try this
Q1. Name one political form that resistance to globalization has taken in many countries. [Recall]
- Cue. A revival of nationalism (and protectionism / calls to restrict trade and immigration).
Q2. Explain one economic reason people resist globalization. [Short explanation]
- Cue. When multinational corporations move manufacturing to lower-wage countries, workers in wealthier countries lose jobs and feel left behind, and many oppose the inequality globalization produces, which fuels anti-globalization and nationalist movements.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2021 (style)3 marksBriefly identify ONE form of resistance to globalization. Briefly explain ONE economic reason people resist globalization. Briefly explain ONE cultural reason people resist globalization.Show worked answer →
A Short Answer Question (SAQ), 3 points, one per bullet.
A. Identify: anti-globalization movements protested against global trade institutions and corporate power.
B. Economic reason: workers in wealthy countries resent the loss of jobs when factories relocate to lower-wage countries, and many oppose the inequality globalization produces.
C. Cultural reason: many resist globalization out of fear that it erodes local cultures, languages, and religions, fuelling cultural and religious movements to defend tradition.
Each bullet must be concrete.
AP 2023 (style)6 marksEvaluate the most significant cause of resistance to globalization in the period c. 1900 to the present.Show worked answer →
A Long Essay Question (LEQ), scored on the 6-point causation rubric.
Thesis (1): "The most significant cause of resistance to globalization was its economic dislocation - lost jobs and rising inequality - which fuelled anti-globalization and nationalist movements, though cultural fears of losing local identity were also a powerful cause."
Contextualization (1): situate resistance in the rapid economic and cultural integration of the global age.
Evidence (2): anti-globalization protests; nationalism and protectionism; religious fundamentalism; political violence and terrorism."
Analysis (2): explain HOW economic dislocation drove resistance, then add complexity by weighing it against cultural and religious motives."
Related dot points
- Topic 9.5 Economics in the Global Age: the economic changes of globalization, including free-market neoliberalism, multinational corporations, free-trade agreements, and the rise of new economic powers.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.5, explaining economics in the global age: the spread of free-market neoliberalism, the rise of multinational corporations and global supply chains, free-trade agreements and blocs, and the emergence of new economic powers like China and India.
- Topic 9.7 Globalized Culture After 1900: the spread and blending of culture in a connected world, including global media, consumer culture, sport, and the tension between global and local identities.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.7, explaining globalized culture: the spread of global media and consumer culture, the worldwide reach of sport and brands, cultural blending and hybrid identities, and the tension between global homogenization and local cultures.
- Topic 9.6 Calls for Reform and Responses After 1900: the rights and reform movements after 1900, including feminist, civil rights, environmental, and other movements, and the responses they provoked.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.6, explaining calls for reform after 1900: feminist movements for women's rights, civil and human rights movements, environmental and economic-justice movements, the human-rights framework, and the responses these movements provoked.
- Topic 9.9 Institutions Developing in a Globalized World: the international institutions that developed to govern a connected world, including the United Nations, the IMF and World Bank, the WTO, NGOs, and regional bodies.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 9.9, explaining the institutions of a globalized world: the United Nations for peace and rights, the IMF, World Bank, and WTO for the global economy, NGOs and multinational corporations, and regional bodies like the European Union, with their powers and limits.
- Topic 8.7 Global Resistance to Established Order After 1900: the movements that challenged existing power structures after 1900, including civil rights, anti-apartheid, feminist, and other movements, both peaceful and violent.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 8.7, explaining global resistance to established orders after 1900: the United States civil rights movement, the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, feminist movements, Tiananmen, and the spread of both nonviolent and violent resistance.
Sources & how we know this
- AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description — College Board (2020)