Chapter 21: Globalization, 1970-2000

This time period saw the dismantling of old systems of powerful nation-states exercising direct political and military control over other peoples. Which events are examples of the dismantling of these older systems?

Guinea-Bissau, Angola, and Mozambique gained independence from Portugal.; The Soviet Union and the Soviet Bloc broke apart.

How did the World Bank and the IMF affect the autonomy of borrower countries?

Loans came with conditions; borrowers sometimes had to privatize state-owned companies and stop providing cheap food to their citizens

The Zapatista's "Declaration of War against the Mexican Government" (1993) references both global ideas and local events to craft a message with both local and global appeal. Match each global idea on the left with the passage excerpt on the right.

"We the dispossessed are millions, and we call on our brothers to join in this call as the only path in order not to die of hunger ... ." Correct label: We are engaged in class struggle, seeking economic justice.; "The dictators have been applying an undeclared genocidal war against our people for many years." Correct label: This is an interethnic conflict between indigenous people and the descendants of European settlers.; "We are a product of 500 years of struggle: first against slavery, during the War of Independence against Spain ... ; afterward to avoid being absorbed by American imperialism ... ." Correct label: We are the heirs of an ongoing anticolonial struggle.; "We are the heirs of those who truly forged our nationality ... National sovereignty resides essentially and originally in the people ... ." Correct label: We are the true Mexicans and so long as the government is not responsive to us, it is not a legitimate government.

Changes in international finance increased the power and flexibility of businesses, eroding the relative power of nation-states. Put these important financial developments in chronological order.

1. In 1971, US president richard nixon took the US dollar off the gold standard, increasing financial activity nd felxibility around the world; 2.Revenues from oil and other industries enabled giant private banks and the World Bank to fund projects in the developind world; 3. When the Cold War ended...; 4. The growth of the World Wide Web...

Which aspects of modern globalization were already well under way by 1991, when the Soviet Union broke apart?

AIDS had already claimed 12 million victims in countries around the world.; Feminist movements grew internationally, and activists from different countries shared ideas across borders.

How did non-state actors outside of South Africa pressure the South African government to change its policy of apartheid?

Beginning in 1970, the International Olympic Committee did not let South African athletes participate in the games.; American university students pushed their schools to sell their shares in companies that had investments in South Africa.

Why do many environmental problems require international cooperation?

Companies can avoid local environmental regulations by disposing of dangerous waste remotely, in regions that cannot afford strict environmental regulations. Airborne pollutants flow freely across borders, meaning that local economic successes can have negative effects on multiple countries.

Which of these was a transnational organization that limited the autonomy and power of multiple nation-states?

European Union

Famines are the result of inefficient agricultural practices coupled with environmental problems like flood and drought.

False

Match each kind of transnational influence with location(s) where it was exercised. Note that the locations are examples, not lists of all places where that influence was felt.

Ghana, Mexico Correct label: The World Bank and the IMF funded infrastructure projects and loaned money to governments in the developing world.; Poland Correct label: The Catholic Church openly supported politically destabilizing protests within a nation-state.; South Africa Correct label: Nation-states and non-state actors used economic pressures to force a country to change its discriminatory domestic policies.

Differentiate between the kinds of transnational organizations that influenced nation-states in the last third of the twentieth century.

In the past fifty years, transnational forces have infringed upon the autonomy of nation-states. Some supranational organizations were created by participating states themselves for their own economic benefit. One example is the European Union. Other organizations, like the International Monetary Fund, were created by wealthy nation-states and decreased the autonomy of poorer states. Some non-governmental organizations, like Amnesty International, focus on protecting human rights around the world.

Synthesize information from the map and the text to match each situation to the countries from which people migrated in response. For an answer to be a good match, all locations need to be applicable.

Jamaica, Libya, Spain Correct label: People escaping conflict or seeking economic opportunities moved within their former colonial empires.; India, Mexico, Indonesia Correct label: People left for nearby countries seeking jobs.; Sudan, Ethiopia Correct label: Famines (caused by war and drought) forced people to become international refugees.; Iraq, Rwanda, Israel/Palestine Correct label: Wars displaced people, provoking them to flee to neighboring countries.

How did countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia integrate themselves into the global economy in the late twentieth century?

Japanese banks became major investors around the world.; Brazil, India, and China used their large, skilled, low-paid labor forces to develop manufacturing of airplanes, textiles, and electronics.; Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong used strong state support to build up local industries.

What types of struggles do migrants face when they move to new countries?

Migrants often lack both wealth and political rights in their new societies, and are therefore easily exploited.; Migrants often come into cultural conflict with residents of their new countries.

Match each agricultural innovation with its effect.

Much of the Brazilian rain forest was burned and its diverse ecosystems were destroyed. Correct label: Small farmers and large speculators sought cheap, available land for new farms and livestock grazing.; In combination with internal unrest, this resulted in famines. Correct label: Poor countries used ineffective domestic agricultural policies and exported scarce food to meet IMF loan terms; Farmers produced huge wheat and corn surpluses, which they exported. Correct label: Wealthy farmers adopted the extensive use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and genetically engineered crops.

What conclusions can you draw about the breakup of the Soviet Union, based on this map showing the migration of people during that process?

People moved for a variety of reasons: to escape violence, to seek economic opportunities, and to return to their ethnic homelands.; Perhaps like European colonies in Africa and Asia, the republics had settler populations of ethnic Russians who returned to Russia when Soviet control ended.

Why have global populations changed so much since the year 1900?

Public health initiatives, vaccines, antibiotics, and other developments in health care have reduced childhood mortality rates.; On average, people are living longer.

Which of the following post-Cold War conflicts were described primarily as conflicts between ethnic groups?

Rwanda, 1994: Hutu and Tutsi; Serbia, 1990s: Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Albanians

How has technology given local cultures a global reach?

Televised sports competitions have created global communities of fans and players.; Film has become a powerful global vehicle for both American and Indian cultural ideas.

The World Bank's publication "Why Gender Matters" (2000) describes a number of education-funding programs. What can you deduce from it about international efforts to increase girls' access to education?

The World Bank, national governments, and NGOs are all working to increase girls' educational access.; Tying school funding to girls' enrollment, making girls' schooling cheaper than boys' schooling, and establishing single-sex schools all improve girls' access to education.; The various communities involved in this effort are trying to achieve globalized feminist and economic goals within a framework of local cultural norms.

How has the human population changed since the year 1900?

The global human population has grown rapidly since 1900, with the greatest population changes taking place in the developing world. Regions like Asia, Africa, and Latin America have seen population growth of 400 to 700 percent since the start of the twentieth century.

The "Analyzing Global Developments" feature focuses on population projections around the world. What can you infer from the data in the two tables about world population changes?

There is a strong correlation between the projected rate of population increase and the percentage of the population under age fifteen.; More than 27 percent of Pakistan's population is under the age of fifteen.

How have governments such as those of Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, and South Africa addressed their recent histories of extraordinary human rights abuses?

They have investigated and publicized abuses through truth comissions

Globalization expanded the global economy, but it also increased global income inequality.

True

The global spread and differing regional effects of HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus) are evidence of transportation technologies, global migration, and global income inequality.

True

Has human population distribution changed over the past century?

Yes, Cities have grown faster than rural areas

What term describes the group of countries that often turned to the World Bank and IMF to address their monetary concerns and fund large infrastructure projects?

developing world

Which of the following developments undermined the power and unity of the Soviet Union in the 1980s?

unpopular Soviet involvement in a war in Afghanistan; the formation and activities of the Polish trade union, Solidarity

What initiatives did Mikhail Gorbachev undertake to decrease the power of the Soviet Union over other nation-states?

withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan refrained from using Soviet military power to support unpopular Eastern European leaders