The World Today

1
The World Today
2
Russia

• Mikhail Gorbachev
• Coup, resistence
• Glasnost and perestroika
• Breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991
• Boris Yeltsin
• CIS
• Vladimir Putin
• Prime minister under Yeltsin
• get tough policy

3
The End of the Cold War

• USSR invades Afghanistan
• Gorbachevs policies of glasnost/perestroika
• Boris Yeltsin-1990s
• Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia first republics to
  declare independenceremember taken by Stalin
  during WWII.
• Vladimir Putin 2000
• NATO admitted Poland, Hungary Czech Republic in
  1999
• European Union

4
United States

• Ronald Regan begins massive military buildup
• Trade deficits and budget deficits
• George Bush raises taxes to reduce the budget
  deficit
• Bill Clinton cuts the budget by trimming military
  spending
• Madeline Albright
• Oklahoma City-1995

5
Fall of Communism in Europe

• Solidarity movement
• Support of Pope
• Lech Walesa
• Fall of the Berlin Wall 1991
• Communism falls throughout Eastern Europe
  because
• Popular uprisings
• Unwillingness of the Soviet Union to intervene
• Romania-Nicholae Ceausescu

6
European Union

• Maastrict Treaty-EU 1992
• Euro
• 25 members and growing
• Unified economically but not politically

7
War in the Balkans

• Yugoslavia breaks up
• Tito
• Slobodan Milosevic-Serbian
• ethnic cleansing (genocide) against non-Serbian
  groups in Bosnia
• Croates/Serbs/Albanians
• War crimes
• NATO intervenes in Kosovo

8

• Thatcher/Blair
• Free market, conservative
• Ireland
• IRA
• Good Friday Agreement
• France
• Socialism----Jacques Chirac 1995
• Germany
• Reunification
• Anti-immigration
• Peace-keeping

9

• Italy
• Communist-christian democrats (1980s -1990s)
• Murders, bombings, unstable changing goverments

10
On the Horizon

• Nuclear Proliferation
• More countries gain nuclear weapons such as
  India, Pakistan, North Korea and perhaps soon
  Iran
• Environmental Concerns
• Kyoto Protocol was supposed to reduce global
  warming but not all nations signed it
• Rise of the Internet
• People and countries are becoming more
  interconnected
• Terrorism becomes more widespread

11
Northern African Independence

• Libya and the Sudan were granted their
  independence from colonial rule in the 1950s
• Who was the leader? What kind of government did
  he establish?
• Quamar Kaddafi-Socialist
• Algeria was a French colony that had to fight for
  its independence
• Congo-Who did Congo win their independence from?
• What is this country also known as?
• Zaire
• Civil war in the 1960s, Mobutu-dictator 1965

12
West African Independence

• Ghana became the first Sub-Saharan African
  country to gain its independence
• Nigeria soon followed and attempted to set up a
  democracy
• 1960
• Why was setting up a democracy difficult?
• 250 ethnic groups, 395 languages

13
Southern African Oppression

• Malawi, Zambia Rhodesia-What were they known as?
• Nyasaland
• Rhodesian Front
• Why were the conflicts?
• Rhodesia becomes Zimbabwe-1980
• South African apartheid
• How is it carried out?
• Segregation, homelands, ID
• Nelson Mandela-ANC
• 1962-1990
• President 1994-1999
• Desmond Tutu-Nobel Peace Prize
• What is important about 1994 in South Africa?

14
Contemporary Africa Ethnic Conflict

• Nigeria and Biafra
• Rwanda genocide between two ethnic groups
• 1962
• Tutsi-Hutu 1994
• Why?
• Somalia currently anarchy warring clans
• US involvement?
• Sudan violence and genocide between Muslims and
  Christian populations

15
Contemporary Africa Poverty

• Corrupt government leaders such as Mobotu in
  Zaire rob their nations treasuries
• Reliance on only one export has left nations
  vulnerable to economic ups and downs
• Cash crops, subsistence farming
• Disease and Famine worsen poverty
• AIDS, shifting desert, drinking water
• OAU, ECOWAS
• Organization of African Unity, Economic Community
  of West African States
• 1997 Kofi Annan
• Now South Korean Ban Ki-moon

16
The Middle East
17
Arab Independence

• Egypt/Iraq before WWII
• Lebanon and Syria independence from France
• Transjordan (now Jordan) and Palestine
  independence from Britain
• Pan-Arabism
• Arab League

18
Israel Becomes a Nation

• Zionism
• Kibbutzim
• Palestine was a British mandate and is turned
  over to the United Nations
• UN Partition plan
• 1948 Israel created
• Within 24 hrs. Arab world attacked
• 1949 Israel wins war with Palestinians

19
Arab Unity

• Nasser 1954-1970
• Suez Canal 1954
• Suez crisis
• 1956
• UAR
• Aswan Dam
• Lebanon
• Christians and Muslims fight for control
• US intervention in1958

20

• Turkey
• Joined NATO/Baghdad pact
• Modernized by US
• Political structure controlled by military

21
Arab-Israeli Conflict

• Six Day War (1967)
• Israel defeats Arab countries
• Israel takes Golan Heights, West Bank, Gaza,
  Sinai Pennisula, east Jerusalem
• Yom Kippur War (1973)
• Israel defeats Arab countries again
• OPEC cartel threatened to cut world oil supplies
  if countries supported Israel

22
Palestinian Issue

• PLO becomes government of Palestine (West Bank
  and Gaza)
• Israeli settlers remain in West Bank and Gaza
• Intifida
• Hamas groups wants all of Israel
• Arafat/Rabin peace talks

23
Peace Process

• Camp David Accords
• Egypt signs peace treaty with Israel gets back
  Sinai
• Anwar Sadat assassinated 1981
• Mubarak
• December 2005 Israel removes its settlers from
  Gaza
• January 2006 Hamas group elected rulers of
  Palestine

24
Iraq/Iran

• Saddam Hussein
• Fights a war with Iran in the 1980s with U.S.
  support
• Persian Gulf War 1991
• Kuwait is freed and Iraq agrees to allow weapons
  inspectors in and pay Kuwait reparations
• Hussein later refuses to follow the agreement
• 2003 U.S. topples Saddam Hussein

25
Current Challenges in the Middle East

• Regional and world attention focused on Israel
  and the Palestinian Arabs
• Rising oil prices further enrich many
  middle-eastern countries
• Water shortages have caused arguments over the
  usage of Jordan and Euphrates Rivers
• Islamic fundamentalism has led to an increase in
  terrorism
• Sept. 11th, 2001

26
A World Without Borders

• -Globalization advances in communication
  technology, enormous expansion of international
  trade, emergence of new global enterprises and
  governments, and international organizations that
  favored market-oriented economics.
• German bug made in MX

27
The Global Economy

• Economic Globalization
• .Free Trade freedom from state-imposed limits
  and constraints on trade across borders.
• GATT and WTO
• .GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade-
  was main vehicle for the promotion of
  unrestricted global trade.
• -Signed by the representatives of twenty-three
  noncommunist nations in 1947.
• .WTO World Trade Organization- took over in
  1995.
• -Forum for settling international trade disputes
• .Global Corporations
• .Born out of the desire to extend business
  activities across borders in pursuit of specific
  activities such as importation, exportation, and
  the extraction of raw materials.
• .Multinationals conducted business in several
  countries but within the confines of specific
  laws and customs

28

• .Global corporations rely on a small headquarter
  staff while spreading all other corporate
  functions across the globe in search of the
  lowest costs.
• -Examples General Motors, Siemens AG, and
  Nestle.
• .Through combination of collective bargaining
  agreements, tax laws, and environmental
  regulations, companies had to contribute to the
  welfare of their respective home communities.
• Economic Growth in Asia Asian economic miracle
• .Japan benefited from direct US financial aid (2
  billion dollars), investment, and abandonment of
  war reparations.
• .organized labor emphasized on export-oriented
  growth supported by low wages
• .The Little Tigers Hong Kong, Singapore, South
  Korea, and Taiwan were called the four little
  tigers
• .Like Japan in that they suffered from a shortage
  of capital, lacked natural resources, and had to
  cope with over population.
• .Became competitors with cheaper products

29
.The Rise of China.Mao Zedong placed economy
under state control by starting the five-year
plans..Market Economy demand for goods and
services determined production and pricing, and
the role of the government was limited to
providing a stable but competitive environment.

• .Perils of the New Economy
• .After years of generous lending and growing
  national debts, the international investment
  community lost confidence in the booming
  economies and withdrew support.
• .Trading Blocs
• .European Union common market and free trade
• .1957 France, West Germany, Italy, the
  Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg signed
  Treaty of Rome.
• -Established the European Community
• .Council of Ministers and the European Parliament
  facilitated goal of European political
  integration
• -Maestricht Treaty of 1993 established the
  European Union.

30
.OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries

• .ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
• .Objectives to accelerate economic development
  and promote political stability in Southeast Asia
• In 1992, established free trade-zone and cut on
  industrial goods tariffs
• .NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement-
  between US, Mexico, and Canada in 1993.
• 2000 MX election of party of than PRI
• .Second largest free trade zone but it lacked
  coordination of European Union.
• .Globalization and Its Critics
• .Maximum efficiency, speedily directing goods and
  services wherever there is a demand for them and
  always expecting the highest returns possible.
• .The rich get richer and the poor get poorer,
  destruction of environment, and worldwide
  homogenization of local, diverse, and indigenous
  cultures.

31
Consumption and Cultural Interaction

• Americanization and McDonaldization
• consumption of goods for want not necessity

32
The Age of access

• Communication- instant and simple- w/ telephone,
  TV, radio etc.
• Berners-WWW 1990
• Halloween-MX

33
Preeminence of the English language

• People adopt English because of powerful US
  society and dominance- i.e. the internet
• 2000 25 of people spoke another language at home
  other than English
• Chinese government created firewall or
  translation of internet to keep out US influence

34
Adaptation of Society

• TV was used to promote state building
• Vietnam and Iraq- limited internet access so that
  people and country would keep culture

35
Global Problems
36
Population Increases

• Resulted because of advances in agriculture,
  industry, science, medicine, and social
  organization.
• After WWII, vaccines, insecticides, and
  antibiotics reduced death rates. Fertility rates
  exploded.
• Optimists say that the AIDS crisis, falling
  fertility rates, and wage increase and lower food
  costs will prevent a huge explosion.

37
The Planets Carrying Capacity

• The carrying capacity raised debate- in 1967 a
  group of international economists and
  scientists, called the Club of Rome tried to
  specify the limits of both economic and
  population in relation to the capacity of the
  planet to support humanity. They issued a report
  called The Limits to Growth, which said that
  breaking the earths capacity would be
  disastrous.
• In 1992, fifteen hundred scientists issued a
  report Warning to Humanity saying humans and
  the natural world were on a collision course.
• Optimists have said that the real truths have not
  been told- they point out that reserves in
  precious minerals and gasoline have grown, rather
  than diminished as the Club said.

38
Environmental Impact

• As people are born, pollution levels increase,
  more habitats and animal and plant species
  disappear, and more natural resources are
  consumed.
• Biodiversity and Global Warming
• In Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, a conference was held
  dedicated to urgent environmental issues.
  Delegates of 159 countries agreed to cut
  greenhouse gas emissions. It was decided that
  developed nations should have to, but
  non-developed nations did not have to.

39
Population Control

• For many decades, population control was looked
  down upon, especially by leaders in developing
  countries. Some leaders promoted high birth
  rates. Gradually, the old notion passed and
  leaders began to believe the best way to run a
  successful, healthy society was to control
  birthrates.
• The United Nations, the World Health
  Organization, and the UN Fund for Population
  Activities have aided many countries in promoting
  family-planning programs.
• Effective in some areas, but in others, like
  India, where the religion promotes fertility,
  efforts have been unsuccessful.

40
The Causes of Poverty

• Poverty is a lack of basic human needs
• Worldwide shortage of natural resources
• Unequal distribution of resources
• Economic globalization generated unprecedented
  wealth for developing nations, creating an even
  larger divide between rich and poor countries

41
Labor Servitude

• More than 250 million children between the ages
  of 5 and 14 work in a servitude manor
• Child-labor servitude is most pronounced in Asia
• Affecting almost 50 million boys and girls in
  India!
• Many children are born into a life of bonded
  labor because their parents have worked in debt
  bondage
• Debt bondage condition where impoverished
  persons work for very low wages, borrow money
  from their employer, and pledge their labor as a
  security

1 of the many sad children working in forced
labor in Asia
42
Trafficking

• Considered a modern form of slavery
• 1 to 2 million persons annually are bought and
  sold across international and within national
  boundaries
• Traffickers promise well-paying jobs abroad to
  victims
• Traffickers force victims into bonded labor,
  domestic servitude, or the commercial sex
  industry through threats and physical brutality
• Physical brutality including rape, torture and
  starvation, incarceration (imprisonment), and
  even death
• Most victims are girls and women
• In South Asia it is quite common for
  poverty-stricken parents to sell young girls and
  women to traffickers for the sex trade
• The trafficking industry is one of the most
  lucrative as well as fast growing criminal
  enterprises in the world, annually making
  billions of dollars.

An Indian woman rescued from traffickers by the
United Nations