Globalisation and Localisation (SACE Stage 2 Geography Social and Economic Change)
“Explain the processes of globalisation and localisation, analyse their economic, social and cultural consequences, and evaluate responses to the changes they bring.”
Globalisation is the growing interconnection of the world through flows of trade, capital, people, technology and culture, which makes distant places more interdependent. Localisation is the counter-movement that emphasises local production, identity and self-reliance. SACE answers must explain both processes, analyse their economic, social and cultural consequences, and evaluate how communities and governments respond, using real Australian and global examples.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point sits in Topic 2, Social and Economic Change. The central idea is interconnection: events in one place ripple across the world. Strong answers identify the specific flows that link places and judge who benefits and who is disadvantaged.
The processes of globalisation
Globalisation is driven by improvements in transport (containerised shipping, air freight), communications (the internet, undersea cables), trade liberalisation (lower tariffs, free-trade agreements) and the rise of transnational corporations. It moves several flows around the world:
- Trade in goods and services, for example Australian iron ore and education exports.
- Capital, as money is invested across borders by firms and funds.
- People, through migration, tourism and skilled labour movement.
- Information and culture, as media, brands and ideas spread globally.
Australia is deeply globalised: its prosperity depends on exporting resources to Asia, especially China, and on importing manufactured goods, while international students are one of its largest export earners.
Localisation as a response
Localisation pushes back against the reach of global flows by favouring local food, local manufacturing and local identity. Examples include farmers' markets and "buy local" campaigns, the slow food movement, and policies to rebuild domestic manufacturing after supply-chain shocks. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed how fragile long global supply chains can be, prompting calls to bring some production back onshore.
When the container ship Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal in 2021, it held up roughly 10 billion US dollars of trade per day and disrupted supply chains worldwide. A single chokepoint in a globalised system can affect economies thousands of kilometres away, which is exactly the interconnection SACE wants you to analyse.
Consequences across systems
Economically, globalisation can raise incomes and efficiency by letting countries specialise, but it can also hollow out local industries. Australian car manufacturing ended in 2017 partly because production shifted to lower-cost countries, costing thousands of jobs in Adelaide and Melbourne. Globalisation can widen the gap between regions that plug into global flows and those left behind.
Socially and culturally, globalisation spreads ideas, technology and opportunity, but critics argue it erodes local cultures and languages through cultural homogenisation, sometimes called "McDonaldisation". Localisation movements try to protect distinctive local identity and keep money circulating in the community.
Environmentally, global supply chains increase transport emissions and resource extraction, while localisation can reduce food miles but may be less efficient overall.
Evaluating responses
Governments respond with trade agreements, industry policy and migration settings. Communities respond through localisation. Evaluation means weighing trade-offs. Free trade can lower prices and grow exports but exposes workers to global competition. Reshoring production builds resilience and local jobs but can raise costs for consumers. The strongest answers judge these tensions with evidence rather than declaring globalisation simply good or bad.
Do not describe globalisation as only positive or only negative, and do not forget localisation. The dot point pairs the two and asks for evaluation. An answer that lists benefits without analysing who loses, or that ignores localisation entirely, will not reach the top marks. Always name specific flows and reach a balanced judgement.
Globalisation questions reward tracing a specific flow and judging its effects. Work it in steps.
Step 1: choose one flow and a real case
Pick a flow such as trade and a case such as the Suez Canal blockage or Australian car manufacturing decline.
Step 2: map the interconnection
Show how the flow links distant places, for example a chokepoint holding up roughly billion US dollars of trade per day worldwide, or production shifting offshore.
Step 3: identify winners and losers
State who benefits (consumers, exporting regions) and who loses (displaced workers, dependent economies).
Step 4: judge a response
Evaluate a response such as reshoring or a trade agreement, weighing resilience against cost. Tracing one flow to its uneven effects and a weighed response is what the marks reward.
Linking it together
A complete response defines globalisation and localisation, identifies the specific flows that connect places, analyses economic, social and cultural consequences using cases such as Australian manufacturing decline and the Suez blockage, and evaluates responses while judging who benefits and who is disadvantaged. That structure matches the geographical skills and applications criteria the SACE Board assesses.
Exam-style questions
Questions in the style of SACE Board exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.
SACE 2021-style5 marksExplain the processes that drive globalisation and identify the main flows that connect places. Refer to Australia.Show worked answer →
A 5 mark explain response needs the drivers, the flows and an Australian link.
Explain the drivers. Cover improvements in transport (containerised shipping, air freight), communications (the internet, undersea cables), trade liberalisation and the rise of transnational corporations.
Identify the flows. Name trade, capital, people, and information and culture as the flows that link places.
Link to Australia. Show Australia is deeply globalised: exporting resources to Asia, importing manufactured goods, and earning heavily from international students.
Markers reward drivers clearly separated from flows, named specific flows, and an Australian example rather than a generic description.
SACE 2023-style8 marksAnalyse the consequences of globalisation and evaluate localisation as a response. Refer to a specific example of each.Show worked answer →
An 8 mark response needs analysed consequences, then a judged evaluation of localisation.
Analyse consequences. Cover economic (efficiency and specialisation versus hollowed-out industries such as Australian car manufacturing), social and cultural (spread of ideas versus homogenisation) and environmental (transport emissions).
Evaluate localisation. Weigh local food, reshoring and buy-local movements against globalisation, noting strengths (resilience, local jobs, lower food miles) and limits (higher costs, lower efficiency), using the Suez or COVID supply-chain shocks as triggers.
Judgement. Conclude how far localisation can offset globalisation's downsides. Markers reward a specific example of each, balanced consequences and a weighed verdict.
Practise this
Sources & how we know this
- Stage 2 Geography subject outline (2025 onwards) — SACE Board
- Stage 2 Geography: external assessment — SACE Board