Globalization, Privatization and the Future of Modern Governance: A Critical Assessment

Abstract

There is a close but hitherto little-studied relationship between globalization and privatization. This article explores the connection between them from a political economy viewpoint. on globalization, it identifies several theoretical approaches to understanding the phenomenon, notes the various ways in which the word is used, and considers causes and consequences. in exploring the connection with privatization, it is essentially concerned to view the privatizations of the later 20th century as a strategic instrument of the globalization of capital, and a number of reasons are advanced to support this view. the article then looks at the implications of what has gone before for the education of public managers, which has also reflected these late 20th century tendencies. It seeks a reorientation of such education, as we move into a new century, to restore the spirit of public administration as an agent of “public trust”.