Co-existence of Globalization and Nationalism

One of the common themes in Franklin Foer’s novel, How Soccer Explains the World, is failure of globalization.  He explains how globalization was supposed to “erode ancient hatreds in the game’s great rivalries;” it was meant to tie us all together and essentially “smoosh” nationalism and tribalism.  He argues, though, that rather than eliminate this national passion and competitive emotions in people, the World Cup instead brings out nationalism.  The World Cup is a festival of globalization, filled with multinational capitalism and trade, where everyone comes together to speak the common language of soccer.  But this globalization does not erase nationalistic feelings, he says, but rather, the World Cup shows that the two can co-exist.  There is no tension between nationalism and globalization; in fact they might even feed off one another. 

The game of soccer is the single most globalized phenomenon on the planet (even more so than McDonalds).  It generates extreme levels of passion, emotion, and power in people- for their team, their country.  Foer stresses that soccer teams do not just represent players, but also social class, religion, and nationality.  And I think this is the brilliance in his idea.  He gives the comparison of how countries interact with each other in the international community to two teams meeting on the soccer field.  It is more than just a game- it’s basically international relations.  I agree with Foer’s “Unlikely Theory of Globalization.”  His main point is that nationalism does not diminish with the presence of globalization, and this is best shown through the game of soccer. 

He gives a few examples that I think are important.  One is the racism and prejudices that come from the Italians during the game, directed towards the African teams.  This behavior truly shows that we are not all one entity.  We still have these patriotic and nationalistic feelings for our own countries and homes. 

Foer uniquely and successfully gives readers’ insight to countries relationships and interactions.  Their rivalry and passion for competition in the game proves that globalization has not destroyed nationalism.  By “failure” of globalization, he does not mean that it does not exist and isn’t prevalent in the world, but rather that the original purpose of it- to make us one, instead of separates- failed to eliminate the passions people feel for their own country and their people.  This nationalism in people causes the different interactions of countries in the international community, interactions that are often displayed on the soccer field (interactions like racism).  This theory of Foer’s can be applied to so many other concepts and phenomena in IR, which is why I, personally, find it so interesting and brilliant.