Download Globalization WHAP/Napp “On 9 November 1989, Kristina Matschat

Globalization
WHAP/Napp
“On 9 November 1989, Kristina Matschat felt excitement and tension in the night air of
Berlin. She had joined thousands of other East Germans at Checkpoint Charlie, one of the
most famous crossing points in the Berlin Wall. Anticipating that some momentous event
was soon to occur at the wall, that the wall might come down that night, she also shivered
in fear at the proximity of the Volkspolizei (‘people’s police’) – the same officers who since
1961 gunned down East Germans attempting to scale the wall and escape to freedom in
West Berlin. She wore running shoes in case she needed to sprint away if shooting broke
out or tanks rumbled through East Berlin to prevent the destruction of the wall.
She remembered that ‘everybody was full of fear – but also full of hope.’ Bitter memories
flooded her consciousness as she recalled not being allowed to study what she wanted in
school, not being able to speak freely of her discontent in case her friends were government
spies, and not being able to locate disgruntled colleagues whom the government had
condemned as ‘unwanted elements.’ Her hope overcame her fears, though, as she chanted
with her fellow compatriots, ‘Tear the wall down! Open the gates!’ She could see that on
the other side of the wall massive crowds of West Berliners had gathered to join their
demonstration. Thrilled by this open protest against this symbol of the cold war, she was
yet psychologically unprepared for victory when it came. Just before midnight East
German soldiers suddenly began not only opening gates in the Wall but also gently helping
East Germans cross to the West, often for the first time in their lives. Her near disbelief at
the swift downfall of Berlin’s decades-old barricade registered in the word she heard
shouted over and over again by those passing through the wall: Wahnsinn (‘craziness’).
The fall of the Berlin Wall brought down one of the world’s most notorious borders and
symbolized the breaching of all sorts of boundaries in the contemporary world. Along with
decolonization, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of the cold war, many other forces
were at work to create a new, more open, world. One pronounced feature of this world was
an increased level of economic interaction between countries and a tighter economic
integration of the world. The forces driving the world economy in this direction, often
referred to as globalization, included advances in communication technology, an enormous
expansion of international trade, and the emergence of new global enterprises as well as
governments and international organizations that favored market-oriented economics.
Global economic interaction and integration were not all new, of course. The more recent
phenomenon of globalization, however, has been different and unprecedented in both scope
and speed, and it has the potential to transform the social and political as well as the
economic contours of the world.” ~ Traditions and Encounters
1. The process whereby national economies
and business systems are becoming deeply
interlinked with each other is called:
(A) Globalization.
(B) Localization.
(C) Internationalization.
(D) Global linking.
2. Globalization involves:
(A) A stretching of social, political, and
economic activities across political frontiers.
(B) A growing interconnectedness.
(C) An accelerating pace of global
interactions and processes.
(D) All of the above.
Key Words/ I. Globalization
Questions
A. Process of accelerating engagement among peoples of the world
B. Vastly accelerated after WWII and aided by development of the
computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web
II. Attempting to Stabilize the World’s Economies
A. At Bretton Woods, a meeting held during WWII to make
financial arrangements for the postwar world
1. Negotiated “rules” for commercial dealings
B. Established the World Bank and International Monetary Fund
1. Advocated Neo-Liberalism
a) Reduction of tariffs
b) Free global movement of capital
c) Encouraging Free Market – free movement of capital abroad
III. Transnational Corporations (TNCs)
A. Produce goods and deliver services in many countries
IV. Impact of Economic Growth
A. Worsened rift between developed nations and developing world
1. Rich nations of Global North and poor nations of Global South
B. Also Inequalities Within Global South
1. Oil-rich Middle East vs. Cash crop Nations
2. Making united action difficult
C. Chiapas Rebellion in Mexico
1. Viewed globalization negatively , as “eliminating people who are not
useful”
D. Antiglobalization
1. Protests against WTO (World Trade Organization)
IV. USA’s Role after the Collapse of the Soviet Union
A. US military dominance unchecked
B. September 11, 2001
1. U.S. attacked Afghanistan which had sheltered Osama bin Laden
C. U.S. attacked Iraq (2003)
1. Hussein was accused of developing Weapons of Mass Destruction
V. Effort to Contain Terrorism
A. Another global struggle after collapse of USSR
VI. Changing Realities - USA
A. Once world’s leading creditor/Now world’s leading debtor
VII. The Movement of Ideas
A. The Civil Rights Movement
B. The Youth Culture
C. 1968
1. Student-led movement in France protesting university conditions
2. “Prague Spring”: challenging Soviet rule in Czechoslovakia
VIII. Feminism
A. Challenged relationships between men and women
B. Had begun in West for suffrage and addressed gender inequalities
Reflections:
1. The Kyoto Accord of 1997 was
intended to deal with the problems
associated with
(A) The illegal trade in small arms
(B) The HIV/AIDS epidemic
(C) The growing number of
biological-weapons programs
(D) The climatic trend known as
global warming
(E) The spread of nuclear weapons
2. Which of the following is NOT a
nongovernmental organization
(NGO)?
(A) Greenpeace
(B) The National Rifle Association
(C) Amnesty International
(D) Habitat for Humanity
(E) The European Union
3. Which of the following would be
considered an integrating trend in
global development today?
(A) The worldwide proliferation of
Internet technology
(B) Religious fundamentalism in
Afghanistan
(C) Discrimination against Turkish
guest workers in Germany
(D) All of the above
(E) None of the above
4. Postindustrial modes of economic
activity focus MAINLY on providing
(A) Manufacture goods
(B) Services
(C) Raw materials
(D) Plastics
(E) Hand-crafted products
5. How did World War II change the
patterns of international trade?
(A) No countries traded with
Germany after the war.
(B) The World Trade Organization
was created soon after the war
ended.
(C) The war diminished the
European powers’ control over
world markets.
(D) The USSR began trading more
with Western Europe.
(E) The United States stopped
trading with Asian countries.
6. In Latin America, modernization has
often led to
(A) Greater social equality
(B) Better control over illegal drug
trafficking
(C) Diversified economies
(D) A concentration of wealth in the
hands of political and economic
elites
(E) The establishment of communist
regimes
7. Which of the following factors has
NOT interfered with African
modernization?
(A) The AIDS/HIV epidemic
(B) Lack of cultural or linguistic
unity within African states
(C) Negative population growth
(D) Corruption
(E) Interethnic conflict
Thesis Practice: Comparative
Analyze economic and cultural similarities and differences in the process of globalization
with the incorporation of the Americas into the world economy as of 1492 and the process
of globalization after the Second World War.
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Critical Thinking Questions:
1. To what extent did the two world wars end European global dominance?
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2. To what extent did the creation of the League of Nations, United Nations, the Pan-Arab
League, and the Non-Aligned Nations affect the patterns of global interactions in the 20th
century?
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3. Discuss the extent to which the impacts of the globalization of science, technology, and
culture have led to a unification of the global community in the 20th century.
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4. Discuss the extent to which global economic developments of the 20th century have
benefited two of the following regions: the Americas, the Middle East, and India.
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5. Discuss the extent to which local opposition to the forces of globalization have succeeded
in the second half of the 20th century.
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THE TWENTIETH CENTURY IN WORLD HISTORY
“Summary: During the newest stage of world history, 1914 to the present, great Western
empires declined and were replaced by regional groups and multinational corporations.
There are several triggers for this dramatic shift. The first is the collapse of European
imperial dominance and subsequent decolonization. Another trigger was massive
technological innovation in military capacity and communications. The final reason for this
shift in world history was an explosion in population growth. These triggers created
political innovation and a renewed globalization. But even with these changes many
societies resisted changes to traditional worldviews. These key developments in the 20th and
21st centuries effected people’s emotions and behaviors by decreasing birth rates and
increasing consumerism.” ~ World Civilizations
Globalization: The increased interconnectedness of all parts of the world, particularly in
communication and commerce but also in culture and politics.
Cultural Globalization
“Cultural contact and exchange accelerated by the close of the 1990s. A path to
worldwide homogeneity has been caused by the adoption of Western cultural values, art
forms, consumer goods, and the English language. Other cultures also contributed to the
homogeneity. Models often were adapted to local cultures.” ~ World Civilizations
Sometimes individuals speak critically of cultural globalization. What are the benefits and
dangers cultural globalization? Share your views on this phenomenon.
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