Unit 9: Globalization

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of the world economically, culturally, politically, and environmentally, as goods, ideas, money, and problems move across borders more easily.

Interconnectedness

A condition in which distant places are linked so that decisions and events in one region affect others through trade, migration, communication, politics, or the environment.

Speed, scale, and everyday reach (of modern globalization)

How globalization after 1900 became faster, larger in scope, and more tied to ordinary people’s daily lives (consumer goods, media, migration, global jobs).

Technological change

Innovations in transportation and communication that reduce the time and cost of moving goods, people, money, and information, accelerating global connections.

Economic integration

The tightening of cross-border economic ties through trade agreements, financial institutions, multinational firms, and policies that reduce barriers to trade and investment.

Cultural diffusion

The spread of cultural elements (language, art, food, norms, religion, technology) between societies, greatly accelerated after 1900 by mass media and migration.

Environmental interdependence

The reality that environmental impacts (pollution, climate change, resource depletion) cross borders, making many environmental issues global rather than purely local.

Westernization (misconception)

The mistaken idea that globalization is simply a one-way spread of Western culture and power; globalization also includes shifting power centers and multidirectional exchange.

Complexity (AP World skill)

Explaining how historical processes can create mixed or uneven outcomes (winners and losers, benefits and costs) across different groups or regions.

Containerization

The use of standardized shipping containers that can be transferred between ships, trains, and trucks, drastically lowering shipping costs and enabling global supply chains.

Air travel (commercial jet travel)

Rapid long-distance transportation that expands tourism, business travel, migration feasibility, and movement of high-value or time-sensitive goods.

Internet

A global communications network that reduces the cost of cross-border coordination and speeds up information flows for markets, politics, and culture.

Social media

Digital platforms that enable rapid sharing of information and networking, helping mobilize activism and spread cultural trends, while also enabling surveillance and misinformation.

Global supply chains

Production networks where design, sourcing, assembly, and shipping occur in multiple countries, made practical by cheap transport and fast communication.

Cultural hybridity

Blended cultural forms created when global and local influences mix (adaptation rather than simple replacement of local culture).

Cultural homogenization

The process by which cultures become more similar, often associated with dominant global brands, languages, and media content.

Digital divide

The gap between groups with reliable access to devices, internet, and digital literacy and those without, creating economic and political exclusion.

Surveillance and censorship

The use of digital tools by states (and sometimes corporations) to monitor people, restrict dissent, and control information flows.

Development (broad measure)

A multidimensional concept involving infrastructure, institutions, education, health, and economic diversification—not just having technology.

Core-periphery model

A world-systems idea describing how wealthier “core” regions often control high-profit industries while “periphery” regions supply raw materials or low-wage labor; used cautiously with evidence.

Green Revolution

Mid-to-late 20th-century agricultural changes (improved seeds, irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides) that raised yields but created environmental and social tradeoffs.

Climate change / global warming

Long-term warming and climate shifts driven largely by human activity, especially fossil fuel use; a major cross-border consequence of industrialization and mass consumption.

Deforestation

Large-scale clearing of forests, often linked to logging, agricultural expansion, and cattle ranching; driven in part by global demand.

NGO (non-governmental organization)

A non-state organization that advocates, provides aid, or pressures governments/corporations (e.g., in human rights, environment, humanitarian relief).

Environmental governance

Efforts to manage environmental problems through cooperation, including UN forums, international agreements, and NGO-led transnational activism.

Bretton Woods Conference (1944)

A post–World War II meeting that helped create global economic institutions (notably the IMF and World Bank) to promote monetary cooperation and development.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

A Bretton Woods institution that promotes monetary cooperation and provides loans; often influences borrower policies through conditions.

World Bank

A Bretton Woods institution focused on reconstruction and development lending; criticized by some for promoting policies favoring wealthy-country interests.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

A postwar framework aimed at reducing trade barriers and encouraging international trade; later succeeded by the WTO.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

A global trade institution (created in the 1990s) that manages trade rules and disputes and has over 150 member states.

Neoliberalism (late-20th-century policy usage)

Market-oriented reforms such as privatization, deregulation, reduced trade barriers, and cuts to some social spending to emphasize balanced budgets and growth.

Structural adjustment programs

Policy conditions tied to some IMF/World Bank loans, often requiring market reforms (e.g., subsidy cuts, privatization, opening markets) in exchange for funding.

Multinational corporation (MNC)

A firm operating in multiple countries; its growth is tied to global logistics and trade frameworks and can reshape wages, labor conditions, and environment.

Special economic zones (SEZs)

Designated areas (notably in China) that attract investment by allowing more market-oriented or flexible economic policies, becoming major production centers.

European Union (EU)

A deeply integrated regional bloc with a large single market that increased mobility of goods and capital (and often people), with institutions comparable to executive, legislative, and judicial functions.

Eurozone

The monetary union launched in 1999 using the euro; not all EU members joined (e.g., the UK, Sweden, and Denmark did not participate).

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)

A regional trade agreement designed to reduce barriers and deepen economic integration in North America.

Diaspora

A community living outside its ancestral homeland while maintaining cultural, economic, and family ties across borders.

Remittances

Money migrants send back to family or communities in their home country, tying household survival and development to global labor markets.

United Nations (UN)

An international organization founded in 1945 that serves as a forum for diplomacy, collective security, humanitarian coordination, and global problem-solving.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A Cold War-era collective defense alliance that continued shaping international security after the Cold War.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

A court in The Hague that prosecutes individuals for serious international crimes (often discussed as war crimes and related offenses).

Persian Gulf War (1990–1991)

Conflict that began when Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait (1990); a UN-authorized coalition expelled Iraqi forces in early 1991.

Iraq War (2003 invasion)

A coalition led primarily by the United States and Britain invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein; he was captured in December 2003 and a new political framework formed by 2005 amid major instability.

Taliban

An Islamic fundamentalist movement/regime that gained control in Afghanistan after state collapse and conflict, later removed from power by a U.S.-led invasion after 9/11.

al-Qaeda

An international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden that targeted the United States and was sheltered by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

September 11 attacks (9/11)

The 2001 al-Qaeda hijackings in which two planes hit the World Trade Center, one hit the Pentagon, and one crashed in Pennsylvania, killing about 3,000 people.

War on Terror

The U.S.-declared global campaign after 9/11 that included invading Afghanistan and expanding counterterrorism efforts, affecting security policy and civil liberties.

World Health Organization (WHO)

A UN agency that coordinates international responses to health crises through surveillance, research guidance, and global public health cooperation.

HIV/AIDS

A major late-20th- and 21st-century global health crisis with severe impacts in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting inequality in healthcare access and treatment affordability.