Which term captures the process of increasing interconnectedness of economies and cultures worldwide?

• A. Protectionism
• B. Isolationism
• C. Localism
• D. Globalization

Answer: (D)

Globalization describes the growing web of connections among nations through trade, investment, migration, technology, and ideas. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, advances like steamships, railways, and telegraphs, plus massive international movement of people and goods, linked economies and cultures more closely than ever before. This process creates interdependence, shared markets, and cultural exchange that span continents. The other terms describe ways to limit or withdraw from international ties—protectionism uses tariffs to shield domestic industries, isolationism avoids foreign entanglements, and localism emphasizes local over global—so they don’t capture the idea of increasing global interconnectedness.