358 CHAPTER NiNE ■ InternatIonal Po lItI cal economy
of goods, ser vices, and labor. Though the last has not been achieved, the Schengen
Agreement adopted in 1985 allowed the free movement of nationals from member states
without needing visas or showing passports. Individuals from non- EU states have found
that once they arrive in an EU country, by what ever means, they can move more easily
among countries. This situation has resulted in a flood of refugees seeking po liti cal asy-
lum, illegal aliens seeking better- paying jobs in EU countries, as well as a new market
in human trafficking, including women and children for the sex trade. Some of those
arriving may even be terrorists who seek to conduct illegal activities against a receiv-
ing country, as the terrorist attack in Paris, France, in late 2015 revealed. In NAFTA,
too, the porousness of the U.S.-Mexican border has fueled antiglobalist sentiments
and po liti cal debates over how to solve the prob lem.
Another unanticipated effect of globalization is the rise of illicit markets.^27 These
markets can include the illegal movement of commodities, such as arms or even money,
to evade tariffs, trade restrictions, and sanctions. Or it can mean the illegal movement
of banned commodities, such as drugs, human organs, endangered species, or even pro-
tected intellectual property. These transnational crimes pose a threat to security of the
individual and a challenge to the viability of states, as explained in Chapter 5 and as
further discussed in Chapter 11.
Many in the antiglobalization movement have their own agenda— jobs, environment,
better labor conditions, alternative energy strategies, control of big capital. Stimulated
by unanticipated repercussions resulting from the openness of economic markets, they
have forged unity in seeking more local control and more meaningful participation in
economic governance. However, there has been no greater stimulus to the antiglobaliza-
tion movement and to the pitfalls of economic globalization than the global economic
crisis of 2008 and the Eurozone crisis of 2009.
But globalization is not only a characteristic of the international po liti cal economy, it is
also reflected in the emergence of international human rights, discussed in the next chapter.
Discussion Questions
- You are a citizen in rural Mexico. In what ways does the international po liti cal
economy directly affect you? - Liberals, mercantilists, and radicals see multinational corporations in diff er-
ent ways. What are those differences? - Does economic regionalization lead to globalization? Why or why not? Pro-
vide evidence. - How has your belief in the economic liberal model been modified by the global
economic crises?