What were some efforts to maintain international security after WWII?
NATO
United Nations
International Criminal Court in The Hague (prosecutes war crimes)
NGOs (Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders)
Persian Gulf War
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 and eventually liberated Kuwait and put severe limitations on Iraq’s military and economic activity
Saddam Hussein
Iraqi president from 1979 to 2003
Repressive and authoritarian leader
Invaded Kuwait, but was stopped by UN (mostly US)
Ousted by US and Britain in 2003
Democratic Government in Iraq
Formed in 2005 - conflicts between Sunni, Shiites, and Kurds groups still occurred and terrorism still was an issue
Taliban
Islamic fundamentalist regime that filled the leadership void in Afghanistan after Soviets withdrew their troops
Osama bin Laden
the Saudi leader of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda
Was able to work under Taliban leadership
Despised the US and Westernization
9/11
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
led to US declaring war on terrorism and invading Afghanistan
Taliban was removed from power and Osama bin Laden was killed, but Al Qaeda still survives
What was the last obstacle to true global interaction?
End of the Cold War - resulted in a new and strong wave of global connection
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
created to unite global currency/trade further
English became the language of global business and communication
European Union
banded Europe into a single market to give US some competition in 90s
Eurozone, a monetary union formed in 1999, included all but 3 nations (UK, Sweden, Denmark)
2008 Economic Crisis
Stronger economies like Germany were able to remain stable while over-extended economies collapsed badly
Global Culture Examples
The Olympics
World Cup Soccer
Reggae Music
Bollywood
Social Media
McDonald’s
Rise of China
become a huge economic and industrial force in recent years
worldwide production centres worth 100s of billions of dollars
has severely limited internet freedom and remains aged politically
nuclear powers with large military force
serious problems with poverty and global emissions
Rise of India
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
nuclear powers with large military force
serious problems with poverty and global emissions
General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GAFF)
developed to reduce barriers on international trade - has 153 member states
later became World Trade Organization
Group of Six (G6)
forum for world’s major industrialized democracies - original members US, Britain, West Germany, Italy, Japan, France
G7 in 1977 (Canada), G8 in 1997 (Russia)
Became G7 again after Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine
G20
20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the world
Green Revolution of 50s and 60s
production of inexpensive food and use of pesticides led to destructions of traditional landscapes, reduced species diversity, and social conflicts
Global Warming
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
World Health Organization (WHO)
Organization to combat global epidemics and poor sanitation issues
HIV/AIDS 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
Invention of the Computer
Developed in the 1980s, followed by the Internet
Social Media has changed the way information spreads and has brought people closer together
Internet Surveillance
method of government surveillance and storing of user data, which is considered by many a breech of privacy