General Vocabulary

Culture: Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation; everything that is learned

Ethnocentrism: Judging other cultures based on your own standards; believing that your culture is superior

Cultural Relativism: Not judging other cultures based on your own standards; understanding other’s cultures within their culture’s context

Jared Diamond’s Gun, Germs, and Steel

Jared Diamond, an ornithologist from UCLA, visited Papua New Guinea. Guineans are still living in a hunter and gatherer lifestyle. There, he was approached with the question, “Why is America richer than New Guinea?” He then began the quest to answering this question.

What is not the reason?

• Genetics

  • Guineans are intelligent and quick learners

• America is superior

What is the reason?

• Not enough resources

  • Lacked in cereal grasses

    • Wheat

    • Barley

  • Lacked in protein

  • Could not store food

• No surplus in resources

  • Spent all of their time finding food

  • Did not have time for specialities

    • No new invention

    • No new farming or hunting practices

    • No new technology

• Only one domesticated animal

  • Only pigs were domesticated

  • Unable to use animals to help find food

Cereal Grasses: Barley and wheat

Cargo: Material goods first brought Papua New Guinea by Westerners

Fertile Crescent: Crescent shaped region in the Middle East, home to a variety of cultures, rich agriculture, and trade over thousands of years

IGOs

IGO: Inter-Government Organizations

• Funded by Member Nations

• Composed of Sovereign States

• May be established for a specific purpose

• Ex. World Bank, EU, UN

Globalization: Process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations. it is a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology.

The United Nations

• Founded in 1945 to:

  • Provide a forum for disputes among nations

  • Promote universal human rights

    • Declaration fo Human Rights

      • “All human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights.”

      • Eleanor Roosevelt

  • Support economic development

  • Work towards world peace

    • End poverty/hunger

    • Universal education

    • Gender equality

    • Child Health/Maternal Health

    • Combat HIV/Aids

    • Environmental Sustainability

    • Global Partnerships

Organizational Structure

1. General Assembly: Main body

   1. Main “parliamentary” body

   2. One country, one vote

   3. 2/3 are developing countries

   4. Oversees budget and subsidiaries

   5. Makes recommendations or resolutions

2. Security Council: Elite subgroup

   1. 5 permanent members

      1. US, UK, France, China, and Russia

   2. 10 non-permanent members

      1. Azerbaijan, Colombia, Germany, Guatemala, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Portugal Africa, Togo

      2. 2 year terms

      3. No veto power

   3. 9 votes required on substantive matters, including all 5 permanent members

   4. Great power

   5. Functions

      1. Military Ops

      2. Economic sanctions

      3. Weapons inspections

      4. Election monitors

      5. Peacekeeping Ops

3. Secretariat: International Leadership

   1. International in character

   2. Should not be dominated by one country or region

   3. Carries out the day-to-day work of the UN

   4. World Leader

      1. Personally steps in to resolve international disputes or draw attention to an issue

   5. Secretary General: Antonia Guterres

4. Economic & Social Council: Functional agencies

5. International Court of Justice

   1. Established by the UN

   2. Legal disputes between nations

   3. Provides legal opinions

   4. 5 Security Council nations have veto power

   5. Prosecutions of individuals accused:

      1. Of genocide

      2. War crimes

      3. Crimes against humanity

   6. Operates independently of the UN

The World Bank

• Provides low interest loans to developing countries for education, agriculture and business projects

• Goal is to promote “inclusive, sustainable growth,” AKA help poor countries

• Owned by 183 member nations

• Created after World War II

World Trade Organization

• Establishes global rules of trade between nations

• Framework for trade policy:

  • Non-discrimination

  • Binding enforceable commitments

  • Transparency

• Not a part of the UN

• Protests Against World Trade Organization

  • Labor Unions

  • Environmental Groups

  • Human Rights Advocates

  • Animal Rights Groups

NATO

• NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Inter-Governmental Military Alliance

• Reflects Cold War divisions

• Anti-Communism

European Union

• 28 countries

• The Four Freedoms

  • Freedom of Goods: No barriers to moving goods

  • Freedom of Capital: You can move money around freely

  • Freedom of Services: Lawyers, builders, hairdressers, any workers can move and find work freely

  • Freedom of European Citizens: Travel within Europe without passports

• Began after WWII to foster economic co-operation with the idea that countries that trade together are more likely to avoid going to war with each other

• Founded in 1951

• Founding Members:

  • Germany

  • France

  • Italy

  • Netherlands

  • Belgium

  • Luxembourg

• Future Plan

  • The 5 President want the Eurozone to become one big country

  • One flag, one national anthem, one Head of State, one army, one people

  • They hope to achieve this by 2025

• Brexit

  • Cons

    • Would lose trade

    • Would lose free movement

    • Would lose influence

    • Would become “the scratchy outsider”

  • Pros

    • “Holding UK back”

    • “Ever closer union”

    • Freer economic market

NGOs

NGO: Non Governmental Organizations; Civil society organizations that operate outside of the government

• Examples

  • The Red Cross

  • Habitat for Humanity

  • Amnesty International

  • Doctors Without Borders

• Advantages

  • More flexible

  • More focused

  • More streamlined

  • Work directly with the people “on the ground”

  • Can be more critical of human rights abuses

• Work

  • Social Justice

    • Amnesty International

      • Unlawful imprisonment

      • Torture

    • Caritas (Catholic Charities)

      • Victims of violence, rape, kidnapping

      • Eviction or displacement of the poor

    • Save the Children

      • Support for families

      • Education

  • Humanitarian Aid

    • Red Cross

      • Medical aid

    • Doctors Without Borders

      • Medical aid

  • Economic Development

    • Microfinance

      • A new approach to economic development

      • Small loans to needy individuals in developing areas

      • Goal is to promote entrepreneurship

    • KIVA

      • Microfinance Projects

      • Creates a positive image

      • Poor people who work hard to support themselves

    • Grameen Bank

      • Microcredit: small loans to poor people, especially for women

  • Environmental Preservation

    • Greenpeace

      • Works to change attitudes and behaviors regarding the environment

      • Climate and energy

      • Promotes safe fishing and anti-whaling

      • Sustainable agriculture (against toxic fertilizers and GMOs)

• Funding

  • Foundations

  • Donations

  • Dues or memberships

  • Bequests

• Problems with Funding

  • NGOs are not immune to fundraising and other financial scandals

    • A scandal in one organization taints the entire field

  • Funding for NGOs is a field in itself