Globalization at the Turn of the Millennium Chapter 33

Global Politics and Economies

The Spread of Democracy democracy- peaceful resolution of differences Since 1991, spread to: Russia, E. Europe, and Latin America Not in Middle East Asia, Indonesia, China More open political process Sub-Saharan Africa Dictators use elections to est. political and military dominance In post-Cold War and global economic forces contributed to growth/decline of democracy.

Global Politics United Nations Some success in keeping peace Human rights Difficult to agree on methods Difficult to agree on when to: Stop civil war Stop human rights abuses Example: slow response of U.S. and Europe to help in Yugoslavia and Rwanda

Arms Control and Terrorism U.S. began new nuclear programs Concern of WMD’s Osama bin Laden President Bush’s “War on Terrorism” in Iraq and Afghanistan raised fears that U.S. is above international law.

The Global Economy Free-market capitalism expanded as economies in Soviet Union and East Europe failed World wide recession in 2000/2001 Economic growth slowed from 13 to 1 percent China becoming a country of free trade and investment made it a global economic power. Technology created liquidity

Managing the Global Economy To promote economic growth many countries formed free trade zones and regional trade associations European Union NAFTA World Trade Organization (WTO) Promotes international trade agreements International Monetary Fund and World Bank Provide help to economically troubled countries

Trends and Visions

A New Age? According to analyst and reporter, Thomas Friedman 1990s ushered a new economic and political age Events of 9/11 and global economic slowdown have caused many to question Friedman’s optimism

Christian Millenarianism Jesus is coming soon Apocalypse is soon

Militant Islam Some Muslims have viewed globalization as a threat to Islam. Cause of militant Islam: Economic/political Israel Good v. Evil Economic and political problems, conflict with Israel (American support), good v. evil

Universal Rights and Values Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 Based on American and European History One perspective NGOs (non-governmental organizations) Agreed on: torture, imprisonment without trial, death squads, famine relief, refugee assistance U.S. contradiction International courts Withdrawal from Kyoto agreement

Women’s Rights Dichotomy Western industrialized nations v. Africa, Asia, Latin America Equal education, jobs, voting rights, ending of sexual exploitation, and gender discrimination v. deterioration of morality and family life in the West Deep cultural disagreement

Global Culture

The Media and the Message After WW2 the U.S. became the world’s main exporter of movies. India, Egypt, and Hong Kong By 1960s, TV was used to unify in non-Western countries Technology was responsible for spreading Western cultures worldwide

The Spread of Pop Culture At the beginning of the 20th century, European composers, choreographers, writers, and artists drew on popular cultures to inspire their work. Phonograph, advertising Spread popular culture worldwide

Emerging Global Culture Globalization at the elite level Collaboration of space program Graduate students coming to American schools West- model for higher education English as global language literature

Enduring Cultural Diversity Diverse cultural traditions persisted at the end of the 20th century. Economic success of Japan and other Asian countries called into question western assumption that all of world advanced in Western political freedom, secularism, and industrialization.