AP World Unit 9

Green Revolution

Green Revolution

emerged as a possible long-term response to hunger. Scientists developed new varieties of wheat, rice, and other grains that had higher yields and greater resistance to pests, diseases, and drought. The new varieties were first developed by crossbreeding breeding two varieties of a plant to create a hybrid. More recently, scientists have used genetic engineering-manipulating a cell or organism to change its basic characteristics. Farmers also used more irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides. In Brazil and elsewhere, people burned down forests and plowed the land for agriculture. Acreage devoted to crops, especially grains, increased dramatically worldwide.

Economic Liberalization

The Eastern Bloc nations that had been under Soviet control suddenly could trade freely with capitalist democracies. India and other countries that had been nonaligned during the Cold War relaxed restrictions on trade in the 1990s. This opening up of a country's economy

Green Belt Movement

protect wilderness areas from urban growth

Kyoto Protocol

The first major international agreement to reduce carbon emissions was signed in 1997. Developed nations in Western Europe, along with the United States, argued that developing countries, such as China, India, Russia, and Brazil, needed to curb their rapidly increasing output of carbon dioxide. However, the United States refused to ratify it, and China and India were not required to agree to the strictest terms of the protocol.

Paris Agreement

that gave new hope for progress against global warming. Leaders of both the United States and China supported this new deal. However, in 2017, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

which lifted restrictive barriers to trade. Protective tariffs, which are taxes on foreign imports, had been at a world average rate of 40 percent before it. By lowering and eliminating many tariffs, the agreement promoted more international trade and helped restore economic prosperity to war-ravaged Europe. By the 1990s, average tariff rates had sunk below 5 percent, easing the movement of goods across national borders and lowering prices for consumers.

World Trade Organization

took over GATT's operations. It made rules that governed more than 90 percent of all international trade. In part because of its power, the organization became controversial. Its meetings were closed to the public, and its board members represented mostly corporate interests. Also, the organization's rules favored trade over consideration of issues of moral concern. For example, through strict application of its rules, a member nation that refused to buy clothing made by sweatshop labor could suffer trade sanctions from the organization.

Tiananmen Square

In 1989, however, a large but peaceful student-led demonstration in Beijing was met by force from the government. Soldiers using guns and tanks broke up the demonstrations, killing hundreds of people.

Negritude Movement

which took root primarily in French West Africa, emphasized pride in "blackness," the rejection of French colonial authority, and the right to self-determination. Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal wrote poems about the beauty and uniqueness of African culture and is now regarded as one of the 20th century's most distinguished French writers. (Senghor later served as first president of independent Senegal.) During the 1920s and 1930s, American intellectuals such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Richard Wright, and Langston Hughes wrote movingly about the multiple meanings of "blackness" in the world. What many now refer to as "black pride" of the 1960s had its roots

Liberation Theology

which combined socialism with Catholicism, spread through Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s. It interpreted the teachings of Jesus to include freeing people from the abuses of economic, political, and social conditions.

Part of this liberation included redistributing some wealth from the rich to the poor. In many countries, military dictators persecuted and killed religious workers who embraced

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Asserting fundamental freedoms for all human beings. It stated that everyone is entitled to these rights without distinctions based on "race, colour [color], sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."

International Court of Justice

a judicial body set up by the original UN charter. It settles disputes over international law that countries bring to it.

Also called the World Court, it has 15 judges, and each must be a citizen of a different country. It often deals with border disputes and treaty violations.

Another main aim of the UN is to protect refugees, people who have fled their home countries. In times of war, famine, and natural disasters, people often leave their country and seek refuge in a safe location. Working through sub-agencies such as NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and the agency UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), the UN provides food, medicine, and temporary shelter. Among the earliest refugees the UN helped were Palestinians who fled the disorder when the UN partitioned Palestine to create the state of Israel in 1948.

Civil Rights Act

which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Voting Rights Act

which banned discrimination in voting, the federal government stepped in to protect the rights of all citizens. African Americans also sought equality of education through desegregation of schools.

African National Congress

primary goals were to end white domination and create a multiracial South Africa. Mandela's imprisonment throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s inspired a global movement to end apartheid. Black protests in South Africa, which were often peaceful, were crushed violently by the government's forces. South Africa's reputation grew worse in the eyes of the global community. Musicians staged concerts calling for Mandela's release from prison, college students urged universities and corporations to divest from South Africa, and many countries voted for strict economic sanctions against the country. The United Nation expelled South Africa in 1974 because of its apartheid,

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Unlike the Nuremberg Trials that sought retribution for crimes against humanity committed by Nazis during World War II, it sought to restore and establish an atmosphere of trust in the new multiracial South Africa. The TRC organized a series of 19 public hearings designed to expose the truth of human rights violations that had occurred during apartheid, while at the same time granting amnesty to members of the apartheid regime who agreed to testify.

Ecotourism

industries that make profits while showing off the country's natural wonders.

Fair Trade

which is a system that ensures the person who provided the good or service receives a reasonable payment for it

Brexit

Many liberal groups believe that globalization often harms children, workers, and the environment. However, many conservative groups also distrust globalization.

In 2016, 52 percent of British voters agreed to leave the European Union, an international political and economic organization of 28 countries. This British exit

Uighur

The unrest resulted from tensions between members of the Han ethnicity and members of the its ethnicity, most of whom are Muslim.

Chinese authorities blamed the riots on the growth of social unrest based on Twitter and Facebook and banned both platforms.

General Assembly

only UN body in which all members have representation. It decides important questions on peace and security, admission of new members, and budget. To make a decision, a two-thirds majority of those present and voting must agree. Each member nation has one vote.

Security Council

acts on issues the General Assembly debates.
It may even use military force against a country accused of violating
UN principles. It has five permanent members, the leading Allies of World War II: the United States, France, Great Britain, Russia, and China. It elects 10 other members on a rotating basis. Each permanent members has veto power in it. Granting veto power to these five nations was controversial in 1945. Other nations resented giving them so much power. Conflicts among these five often prevented the UN from taking action to confront problems.

World Bank

fought poverty by providing loans to countries. It first focused on dams and roads. Later it expanded its mission to social projects, such as education and disease prevention. Critics charged that it often ignored how its projects damaged the environment and local culture. For example, a dam might permanently flood many farms. A highway might promote growth, but the resulting profits might all go to investors overseas rather than people living in the region.

International Monetary Fund

Participants contend that corporations and global financial institutions, such as it and the World Trade Organization (WTO) work to maximize profit and sacrifice safety and labor conditions, environmental conservation needs, and national independence.

Human Rights Watch

international nongovernmental organization that investigates and documents human rights violations and advocates for policies to prevent such abuses