Globalization and local development[La mondialisation et le développement local]

The existence, at least since the 1990s, of a process of "globalization" is recognized and indeed indisputable. It is enough to go through the shelves of two supermarkets, for example one in Europe and the other in the Far East, to see the interpenetration of markets by examining the variety of geographical origins of the products presented. For the methods and means of local development, the great challenge of the twenty-first century is to adapt and find answers that are constantly adapted to the changing context created by the process of globalization. This means understanding the meaning of the term, which is difficult because the term "globalization" is used most often without its meaning and therefore its content being enlightened. However, "globalization" refers to three distinct but complementary phenomena: globalization, internationalisation and worldwide development, each of which imposes a new conception of local development. A clarification of the above three words is all the more necessary since the often implicit definitions applied to them are often blurred, leading to mixed or opaque representations that do not shed light on the evolution of world. Let us therefore examine each of the ingredients that are too often summarized by the use of the word "globalization" used in abundance, in order to specify its consequences for local development.