"World is flat and is starting to curl" meaning

[dylan3]

Hello. I came across with the phrase "World has become so flat and is starting to curl," when somebody was talking of the increasingly prevalent trend of Asian authors' submissions to Anglican journals.
In this context, does 'flat world' mean the world where geographical challenges are not critical anymore?
Then what does it mean when we say it is starting to curl?
Thank you in advance.

 

[bennymix]

When a flat page gets dry, it may curl; the edges draw up; they are closer to the center. So far away* countries seem closer; their authors' writings show up in European journals.

*from a European perspective!

 

[MattiasNYC]

If I may add: A while ago "The world is flat" became a popular way to describe our deeper and easier interconnectedness despite geographical boundaries. One best seller was Friedman's "The World Is Flat". To me the expression and thesis of the book was pseudo-profundity, but it nevertheless caught on. So in that context "The world is flat" implies that the playing field is now level and we all cooperate and compete with each other, and maybe - I'd like your opinion on it - the part about "curling up" is meant to imply an even greater level of cooperation and competition.

 

[dylan3]

Thank you so much for your help, bennymix and MattiasNYC.