International Terrorism and War

• After WWII, there was an increasing interest in maintaining international security - organizations like NATO, United Nations, International Criminal Court in The Hague (prosecutes war crimes), and NGOs (Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders) to provide international aid to those in need

• War in the Gulf

  • Iraq wanted to gain more control of oil reserves so they invaded Kuwait in 1990 under leadership of Saddam Hussein

  • United Nations sent forces to drive Iraqis out in early 1991 - now called Persian Gulf War

  • UN liberated Kuwait and put severe limitations on Iraq’s military and economic activity (although Hussein remained in power for another 10 years)

  • In 2003, coalition of countries, mostly US and Britain invaded Iraq to oust Hussein - Hussein was captured in December 2003 and a democratic government was formed in 2005

  • Despite conflicts and terrorism between Sunni, Shiites, and Kurds groups, a Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani and a Shia minister, Nouri ai-Maliki were elected, but they still have faced a number of challenges

• Taliban, Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden

  • In early 1980s, Soviets sent troops to Afghanistan under at request of Marxist military leader Nur Muhammad Taraki

  • Afghanis opposed communism and fought back until Soviets withdrew troops - left a power void that warring factions vied to fill

  • Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist regime, filled the void after 14 years of fighting

  • Provided a safe haven for Osama bin Laden, the Saudi leader of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda, who specifically despised the US

    • US:

      1. Supports Israel

      2. Had troops stationed in Saudi Arabia

      3. Is the primary agent of globalization believed to be infecting Islamic culture

  • On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacked US by hijacking 4 US planes and flying 2 of them into the World Trade Centre in New York, 1 into the Pentagon, and 1 into a field in Pennsylvania - 3000 people died

    • US immediately declared a war on terrorism and invaded Afghanistan - the Taliban was removed from power and Osama bin Laden was killed, but Al Qaeda still survives

  • Many terror attacks linked to Islamic fundamentalists still occur throughout Europe and the Middle East

World Trade and Cultural Exchange

• End of Cold War and the Internet/technology resulted in a new and strong wave of global connection - last obstacle to true global interaction

• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and European Union (EU) were created to unite global currency/trade further

• English became the language of global business and communication

• EU banded Europe into a single market to give US some competition in 90s

  • Has 3 branches: executive, legislative, judicial

  • Eurozone, a monetary union formed in 1999, included all but 3 nations (UK, Sweden, Denmark)

• Economies faltered again during the economic crisis in late 2000s - stronger economies like Germany were able to remain stable while over-extended economies collapsed badly

• Global Culture

  • Some significant examples of pop culture are:

    1. The Olympics

    2. World Cup Soccer

    3. Reggae Music

    4. Bollywood

    5. Social Media

    6. McDonald’s

• Rise of China and India

  • China had become a huge economic and industrial force in recent years - special economic zones developed to be exempt from communist rules and have since become worldwide production centres worth 100s of billions of dollars

    • Although, China has severely limited internet freedom and remains aged politically

  • India is one of the fastest growing economies - poor until the 90s, highly educated Indians brought the world of tech in Silicon Valley to India and made it a global hub for technology

  • Both are now nuclear powers with large military forces, but both also have serious problems with poverty and global emissions

• Global Alphabet Soup

  • General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GAFF) - later World Trade Organization - developed to reduce barriers on international trade - has 153 member states

  • Group of Six (G6): forum for world’s major industrialized democracies - original members US, Britain, West Germany, Italy, Japan, France

    • Become G7 in 1977 (Canada) and G8 in 1997 (Russia) but became G7 again after Russia’s involvement in Ukraine

    • G20 is separate - 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors

Environmental Change

• Global integration has caused global environmental concerns

• Green revolution of 50s and 60s led to destructions of traditional landscapes, reduced species diversity, and social conflicts to produce inexpensive food

• Global warming is worsening at the fastest pace ever due to human activity - outcome is uncertain, but industrialized countries are not doing enough to limit their environmental damage

Global Health Crises

• Epidemics in countries with poor sanitation are still an issue - WHO (World Health Organization) works to combat them

• AIDS is a major crisis - 25% of African adults live with AIDS and treatment is expensive

• Global health issues highlight the global disparities as the disproportionately affect low-income individuals

Age of the Computer

• The personal computer was developed in the 1980s, followed by the Internet

• In the 1990s, computers became commonplace in homes

• Social Media has changed the way information spreads and has brought people closer together

• Internet has also been a method of government surveillance and storing of user data, which is considered by many a breech of privacy