Accelerating Global Interaction Chapter 24

Globalization International economic transactions Capitalists determined to not repeat Great Depression Technology contributed to acceleration of globalization Containerized shipping Huge oil tankers Air express services Fiber-optic cables Internet

Reglobalization Global transactions increased a lot after WW2 World Trade skyrocketed Led to circulation of goods, money, and people Money achieved global mobility FDI short-term investment in foreign currencies or stocks international credit cards Workers moved to richer countries Indicators of Reglobalizations Internet users (from 0 in 1985 to 934 million in 2004) Mobile telephones (from 0 in 1978 to more than 1 billion in 2004) Telephone lines (from 150 million in 1965 to 1.5 billion in 2000)

Growth, Instability, and Inequalities Greatest economic growth spurt in world history Life expectancy rose Literacy rates increased Great decline in poverty Widening gap (within both rich/poor countries) Incomes Medical care Water availability

Antiglobalization Movement against globalization emerged in the 1990s Occurred in both poor/rich countries Says that economic globalization Devastated environment Lowered labor standards Disregard human rights Enhanced global inequality

Globalization and an American Empire United States has faced growing international economic competition since about 1975 Most Americans generally deny that America is an empire Can be seen as an “informal empire” Global exercise of American power has caused controversy within the USA

Globalization of Liberation 1960s in particular saw lots of protest movements around the world

Feminism in the West Revived after 1st wave in the 19th century, which emphasized voting 2nd wave (1960s) emphasized Education Women’s control of their own bodies Employment “Women’s Liberation” liberation for women meant becoming aware of their own oppression

Feminism in the Global South — Created sharp criticism of Western feminism Too focused on sex/marriage/motherhood

International Feminism Feminism became a global issue UN sponsored a series of World Conferences on Women 1975: International Women’s Year : Decade for Women Divisions of Feminism a. Who has the right to speak on behalf of women? b. Conflict between developed and developing nations’ interests c. third-world groups often disagreed

Religion Has played major role, despite modernity/science Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity spread Christianity spread widely in non-Muslim Africa, China, and South Korea Sharp decline in religious belief and practice in some places

Fundamentalism Major reaction against modernization/globalization Threatening to established religion Hindutva Developed in India opposed state efforts to cater to Muslims, Sikhs, and the lower castes

Fundamentalism Christians Opposed political liberalism and the sexual revolution and abortion rights Hindus Goal for India = to make it a purely Hindu nation again with a Hindu-based government Opposed other religions

Islamic World Islamic fundamentalism is the most prominent fundamentalism of the late twentieth century Goal was to return to the “straight path of Islam” Islamic activists = took leadership roles in unions and professional organizations the “great enemy” was Western-style modernity, U.S. imperialism, and economic globalization

Islamic World By the 1970s new states (e.g., Egypt, Iran, Algeria) pursued basically Western and secular policies new policies were largely unsuccessful foreign intrusion continued

Violent Muslim Fundamentalists Osama bin Laden and the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 Egyptian Islamic Jihad assassinated President Anwar Sadat Radical Islamic groups in Mecca Islamic movements took power in Iran (1979) and Afghanistan (1996) attacks on Western interests in East Africa, Indonesia, Great Britain, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Environmental Changes Three major things in the world have huge environmental impacts Population Fossil fuels Economic growth They are spread unevenly throughout the world Accelerated in the 20 th century

Population’s Effect on the Environment World population quadrupled in the twentieth century More consumers = more depletion of resources Led to the doubling of cropland Numerous species of animals and plants = either endangered or extinct

Fossil Fuel’s Effect on the Environment Most critical environmental transformation = global warming Global warming is caused by fossil fuels and loss of trees Dangers of global warming Hurricanes Species extinction Rising sea levels

Environmentalism 1 st wave: 1800s In the wake of the industrial revolution No mass following Creation of many U.S. national parks 2 nd wave: 2 nd half of the 1900s Began in the West when Silent Spring was released In developing countries, it was locally based (food security, health, survival) Became a matter of global concern at the end of the 20 th century

1970s-1980s

Green Revolution Countries are trying to reduce pollution Businesses are becoming “green” Conferences are held about global warming CFCs were banned Research on alternative energy sources Wind energy Solar energy