The Contemporary World: Modules 2 and 3 Practice Flashcards

This flashcard set covers key vocabulary and concepts from Modules 2 and 3 regarding the globalization of religion, history, demography, migration, and economic stratification.

Globalization of religion

A process where religions spread beyond their countries of origin, often becoming a non-territorial source of identity and pride while transforming into a world-system of competing religions.

Turner (2007)

The scholar who argued that globalization transforms religion into a world-system of competing and conflicting religions.

Hardwired perspective

The view that globalization is connected to basic human needs and urges such as commerce, religion, politics, and warfare.

Chanda (2007)

Traces globalization back to human movement from Africa during the late Ice Age, reaching other continents roughly $50,000$ years ago.

Cycles perspective

The view that globalization is a long-term cyclical process where global ages appear, disappear, and reappear over time.

Epoch perspective

A view of globalization history categorized by specific periods such as the spread of religion ($4^{th}-7^{th}$ c.), European colonial conquests ($15^{th}$ c.), and post-Cold War expansion.

Events perspective

Focuses on specific historical and technological milestones such as the 1492 voyage of Columbus, the 1956 telephone cable, and the 2001 Twin Towers attacks.

Broad changes perspective

Highlights major structural shifts such as the emergence of the U.S. as a global power after WWII, the rise of multinational corporations, and the demise of the Soviet Union.

Demographic transition

A period during which mortality and fertility rates decline from high levels to low levels, which began in Europe in the mid/late 1700s.

Vagabonds

Individuals who move because they are forced to do so.

Tourists

Individuals who move because they want to and have the financial means to do so.

Refugees

People who are forced to flee their home countries due to safety concerns.

Asylum seekers

Refugees who seek official permission to remain in the country to which they have fled.

Labor migration

The movement of people to find work, driven by various push and pull factors.

Push factors

Negative conditions that drive people away from a location, such as political persecution, economic depression, war, or famine.

Pull factors

Positive conditions that attract people to a new location, such as favorable immigration policies, labor shortages, or similar language and culture.

Diaspora

Migrant communities forming a transnational process involving imagined and real locales.

Gilroy (1993)

Described diaspora as a transnational process involving real and imagined locales.

Virtual diaspora

Community networks of migrants that are maintained through technology such as the internet.

Economic globalization

The increasing interdependence of world economies through cross-border trade, international capital flows, and the rapid spread of technology.

Protectionism

Government intervention in foreign trade, often using tariffs and quotas, to encourage and protect domestic production.

Trade liberalization (Free trade)

The removal or reduction of barriers, such as tariffs and licensing rules, to the free exchange of goods between nations.

Fair trade

A movement concerned with the social, economic, and environmental well-being of marginalized producers, aiming for more just prices and sustainable production.

Sustainable development

Using Earth's resources to meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Environmental degradation

The deterioration of the environment through the depletion of resources like air, water, and soil, as well as ecosystem destruction.

Food security

The challenge of delivering sufficient food to the entire world population amidst population growth and climate change.

Multiplier effect

The phenomenon where an increase in one economic activity leads to an increase in other economic activities, such as local investment creating more jobs and income.

Skill-based technological change

A trend in modernized economies where jobs increasingly require new skills related to technology.

First/Second/Third World

Cold War era labels where First referred to Western capitalist countries, Second to the Soviet Union and its allies, and Third to all other nations.

World Bank Atlas method

A method used by the World Bank to classify countries into income groups based strictly on GNI per capita.

Upper-middle-income status

An economic classification recently achieved by the Philippines, Vietnam, Jordan, Micronesia, and Sri Lanka, with a GNI per capita threshold of $\text{\$4,636}$ to $\text{\$14,375}$.

Global stratification

The hierarchical arrangement of nations or groups based on unequal access to wealth, power, prestige, and resources.

Modernization Theory

The theory that global inequality arises from different levels of technological development and that poorer nations can develop by adopting modern practices.

Dependency Theory

The theory that global inequality is the result of the historical and ongoing exploitation of poorer nations by wealthy countries.

World Systems Theory

Proposed by Wallerstein, it divides the globe into core (wealthy/industrialized), semi-peripheral (middle-income), and peripheral (poor/dependent) regions.

Global North / Global South

Socioeconomic and political categories that distinguish wealthier, developed nations from historically poorer, developing nations.

Brandt Line

A conceptual divide from the 1980 Brandt Report that separates the richer Northern countries from the poorer Southern regions.

HDI (Human Development Index)

A UNDP measure of human development on a scale of $0$ to $1$, where values closer to $1$ indicate higher development.

HDI Health Indicator

Measured by life expectancy at birth.

HDI Education Indicator

Measured by the combination of mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling.

HDI Standard of Living Indicator

Measured by GNI per capita adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).