A smartphone designed in California, assembled in China, using chips from Taiwan and software from India, sold in Brazil. That is globalization in a nutshell: the growing interconnection of world economies through trade, investment, migration, and information flows. It is not new. The Silk Road and colonial trade were earlier versions. But the pace and scale since the 1980s are unprecedented.

Globalization has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, especially in East Asia. It has given consumers cheaper goods and more choices. It has spread technology and ideas faster than any previous era. It has also displaced workers in rich countries, widened inequality in some places, and contributed to environmental damage. The benefits and costs are unevenly distributed, which is why it is so politically charged.

Since 2008, the trend has slowed. Tariffs have risen. Supply chains have been rethought. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed how fragile global networks can be. Whether the world is deglobalizing or just reconfiguring is an open question. Either way, the era of ever-deeper integration is not guaranteed to continue.

Dimensions of globalization

• Trade in goods and services
• Foreign direct investment
• Labor migration
• Technology and data flows
• Cultural exchange