Environmental and Political Consequences and Local Resistance

Global interactions generate benefits, but they also produce environmental and political consequences that provoke resistance. This lesson examines how the global shift of production affects environments, the specific problem of electronic waste, and the political reactions to globalization, including anti-globalization movements, resource nationalism, and the recent trend toward deglobalization.

Global shift and environmental degradation

As manufacturing shifted toward newly industrializing economies, so did much of its pollution. Rapid, export-oriented industrialization has driven air and water pollution, deforestation, and soil contamination in production hubs. Because environmental regulations are sometimes weaker or less strictly enforced in lower-income countries, some firms relocate