Unit 9

Globalization

• Globalization: The increasing economic, political, and social interconnectedness of the world.

• Examples in AP Curriculum:

  • Trade routes (Silk Road, Indian Ocean Routes, Sahara Routes).

  • Age of Imperialism.

  • World Wars.

  • Age of Exploration; founding of Manila by the Spanish in 1571.

Communications Technology and Globalization

• Radio (1930s): In the U.S., radios were in about 12 million homes featuring news and entertainment.

• Television (1960s): Replaced radio in the developed world; news broadcasts (e.g., Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis) connected people globally.

• Telephones (19th century), Cell phones (1980s): Enabled global communication.

• Internet (1990s): Rise of personal computers and the World Wide Web connected people via email and YouTube.

• Impact: Reduced geographic distance.

Shipping Technology and Globalization

• Air Travel: Increased after WWII for work and leisure, providing global access.

• Shipping Containers: Standardized metal boxes for efficient cargo transport across trains, trucks, and boats; facilitates global consumer goods distribution.

• Impact: Reduced geographic distance.

Energy Technologies and Globalization

• Fossil Fuels (Petroleum): Energy-efficient; became the main power source for industrial manufacturing, increasing production to meet global consumer demand.

• Nuclear Power: A clean energy source, but less embraced due to disasters at nuclear plants.

• Impact: Increased productivity and material goods production.

Medical Technology and Women's Control

• Birth Control Pill: Provided more reliable fertility control primarily in wealthier countries, leading to declining fertility rates and demographic shifts.

• Developing World: Sub-Saharan Africa faces rapid population growth due to limited access to birth control.

• More effective forms of birth control gave women greater control over fertility, transformed reproductive practices, and contributed to declining rates of fertility in much of the world.

20th Century Medical Technologies and Prolonged Life

• Vaccines and Antibiotics: Increased lifespans where accessible.

• Medical innovations increased the ability of humans to survive and live longer.

Agricultural Technology and Globalization

• Commercial Agriculture: Dominant model for increasing food production and maximizing profits, leading to a significant increase in the world's food supply.

• The Green Revolution and commercial agriculture increased productivity and sustained the earth's growing population as it spread chemically and genetically modified forms of agriculture.

Green Revolution

• Green Revolution (1950s-60s): Genetic modification created high-yielding grain crops, benefiting developing regions like Mexico, India, and Indonesia.

Globalization and Spread of Disease

• Influenza Pandemic of 1918: Global spread via travel and trade routes, killing around 50 million people; disproportionately affected working-age individuals.

• Environmental factors affected human populations over time, like emergent epidemic diseases.

Diseases Associated with Poverty

• Malaria: Transmitted by infected mosquitos in tropical regions; hundreds of thousands of deaths per year in poor regions of Sub-Saharan Africa due to lack of access to effective medical interventions and practical measures like mosquito nets.

• Environmental factors affected human populations over time, like diseases associated with poverty, as did medical and scientific developments.

Diseases Associated with Aging Populations

• Heart Disease and Alzheimer's: Primarily affect wealthier, older populations with increased lifespans and access to medical technologies; spurred medical advances like bypass surgery.

• Environmental factors affected human populations over time, like diseases that have a higher incidence merely because they are associated with increased longevity. New diseases spurred technological and medical advances.

Urbanization and Environmental Impact

• Deforestation: Large-scale clearing of trees due to urbanization and agricultural expansion.

• Species Extinction and Pollution: Increased pollution due to erosion and contaminated water runoff from clearing of trees for urbanization and agricultural expansion, declining of air quality due to increased dependence on fossil fuels.

• This explains some of the causes and effects of environmental changes c. 1900 to present.

Agricultural Production and Environmental Impact

• Desertification: Farmland becomes infertile due to over-cultivation from commercial farming practices.

• Freshwater Scarcity: Competition for freshwater resources due to growing populations and commercial farming; estimated that by 2025, half the world's population will lack clean drinking water.

• This explains some of the causes and effects of environmental changes c. 1900 to present.

Climate Change Debate

• Climate Change: Warming of the planet due to greenhouse gasses, leading to debates about causes and responsibility.

• Developed Nations: Blamed for historical greenhouse gas emissions since the Industrial Revolution.

• Developing Nations: Face challenges in economic competitiveness if greenhouse gas emissions are limited.

• The release of greenhouse gases and pollutants into the atmosphere contributed to debates about the nature and causes of climate change.

Economic Policies in the Late 1900s

• Free Market Economics and Economic Liberalization (1980s): Emphasis on lowering trade barriers, deregulation, and privatization.

• This helps to explain the continuities and changes in the global economy from 1900 to present.

Governments Encouraging Free-Market Policies

• Ronald Reagan (U.S.) and Margaret Thatcher (U.K.): Reduced taxes on the wealthy, deregulated business, and decreased social welfare spending.

• Deng Xiaoping (China): Opened China to some free market trade after Mao Zedong, leading to China's prosperity.

• These are good examples of governments that encouraged free-market policies. Another good example is Deng Xiaoping of China, who opened China to some free market trade after the death of Mao Zedong. It was this change that led to China's prosperity in the present.

Changes in Work in Advanced Nations

• Shift to Knowledge Workers: Work increasingly relies on intellectual rather than physical labor.

• Example: Finland shifted from an agrarian economy to investing in technology, becoming important in cell phone technology and software development.

• This helps to explain changes in the global economy from 1900 to present. In the late 20th century, revolutions in information and communications technology led to the growth of knowledge economies in some regions.

Changes in Industrial Production and Manufacturing

• Manufacturing Location: Shifted to developing countries (Asia, Latin America) with lower wages.

• This helps to explain changes in the global economy from 1900 to present. In the late 20th century industrial production and manufacturing were increasingly situated in Asia and Latin America.

Global Economic Institutions

• World Trade Organization (WTO): International organization regulating global trade, negotiating trade deals, moderating disputes, and assisting developing countries.

• This helps to explain changes in the global economy from 1900 to present. Changing economic institutions, multinational corporations, and regional trade agreements reflected the spread of principles and practices associated with free-market economics throughout the world.

Regional Trade Agreements

• European Union: European states merged into a single economic unit by reducing trade barriers.

Multinational Corporations

• Definition: Businesses incorporated in one country but manufacture and sell goods globally.

• Example: Nestle, headquartered in Switzerland, manufactures chocolate using low-wage workers in West Africa.

Globalization and Culture

• Exposure to Other Cultures: New communication and transportation technologies exposed people to globalized culture.

• Political and social changes of the 20th century led to changes in the arts, and in the second half of the century, popular and consumer culture became more global.

Musical Examples of Globalized Culture

• Reggae: Originated in Jamaica, spread globally due to Bob Marley's popularity.

• K-Pop: Originated in South Korea, now globally popular.

• Arts, entertainment, and popular culture increasingly reflected the influence of a globalized society.

Film Examples of Globalized Culture

• Hollywood (U.S.) and Bollywood (India): Produce films for local and international markets.

• Example: Lagaan, an Hindi film, was nominated for an Oscar in 2002.

Sports Examples of Globalized Culture

• Olympics and World Cup: Watched by billions worldwide, platforms for the expression of nationalism.

Globalized Consumer Culture

• Definition: People defined by what they buy; U.S. influenced global culture after WWII.

• Examples: Coca-Cola - an American brand found all over the world. Toyota - a Japanese brand which sells cars in 170 countries.

• Consumer culture became globalized and transcended national borders.

Communications and Shipping Technology Aiding Global Consumerism

• Online Retailers: Alibaba, Amazon, and eBay have millions of users globally.

• Shipping Containers: Facilitate the movement of goods.

China's Resistance to Globalized Culture

• Weibo: China created its own social media site to control online content, banning Western media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

• This was one of many responses to increasing globalization from 1900 to present.

United Nations

• Purpose: Prevent war and facilitate cooperation among nations.

• Globalization changed international interactions among states.

United Nations Operations

• General Assembly: Includes representatives from all member nations for policy discussion.

  • Example: UNICEF, created in 1946 to provide social welfare services; global initiatives for child immunizations, education, and emergency relief.

• Security Council: Responsible for global peacekeeping with five permanent members (U.S., China, France, Russia, U.K.) and ten rotating seats; can send military peacekeepers and impose economic sanctions.

United Nations and Global Economy

• Global Economic Institutions: World Bank (financial assistance) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) - both promote free trade and stable currency values.

Globalization and Human Rights

• Rights-Based Discourse: Challenged assumptions about race, class, gender, and religion.

• Example: Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) - which included basic human rights, condemned racism, imperialism, and championed social and economic equality.

• Social categories, roles, and practices have changed over time.

Globalization and Gender Reforms

• Global Feminist Movement: Worked to secure women's right to vote across the world (The United Nations promoted this too).

• In much of the world, access to education as well as participation in new political and professional roles is more inclusive in terms of race, class, gender and religion.

Globalization and Reforms in Race, Class, and Politics

• Black Liberation Campaigns: Negritude Movement, Civil Rights Movement (U.S.).

• India: Caste reservation system for marginalized groups.

Protest Movements Against Inequality

• Liberation Theology: In Latin America, emphasized Christ's concern for the poor and marginalized.

• In much of the world, access to education as well as participation in new political and professional roles became more inclusive in terms of race, class, gender and religion. Movements protested the inequality and economic consequences of global integration as well.

Environmentalism as Resistance to Globalization

• Environmentalism: A response to the negative environmental effects of globalization; global concern over climate change.

• This is an example of how social categories, roles and practices have been challenged over time as groups protested the environmental consequences of global integration.

Global Environmental Movements

• Greenpeace: Global environmental protection organization using nonviolent tactics.

Protests Against Economic Consequences

• World Fair Trade Organization: Seeks to reform exploitative practices like low wages and unsafe conditions.

• This is an example of how social categories, roles and practices have been challenged over time.

Economic Protest Movements

• Anti-Globalization Movement: Formed in response to economic liberalization; created by the WTO, World Bank and IMF to exploit laborers in developing countries.

• Battle for Seattle (1999): Protest against the WTO met with police violence, leading to a larger antiglobalization movement. The antiglobalization movement represents the interests of those who have been marginalized by globalized economic policies.

• This is an example of how social categories, roles, and practices have been challenged over time and groups have come to protest against the inequality that resulted from global integration.