Contemporary Issues

Post-Cold War Era•1991 to the present (you’re living in it!)

•Parts of Asia and Africastruggle to develop after WWII

•Europe and the United Statesstruggle to redefine themselves

after the “defeat” of communism

Contemporary Issues•Refugees & Mass Immigration

•Ethnic & Religious Conflict

•New Technology

•Uneven Economic Development

Environmental Problems

 Global Economic Interdependence

Refugees & ImmigrationRefugees are people forced to flee their homelands due to conflict

 Ex: Ethiopia, Serbians, Sudanese

 Over 40 million worldwide—most ever!

 Refugees sometimes find new homes in developed regions such as Europe, US

Guest Workers Immigrant workers in Europe & US; typically work manual

labor jobs (agriculture, etc.)

 Hispanic workers in the US

 Turkish & North African workers in Germany

 Hostility in both nations over the increase of people of different

cultures

Ethnic & Religious Conflict A number of religious/ethnic conflicts threaten peace around

the world

Arab-Israeli Conflict Conflict over control of Jerusalem and surrounding lands

(Muslim vs. Jew) between Jewish IsraelisArab (Muslim)Palestinians

 Two sides have fought since the formation of Israel in 1948

vs. (Arab-Israeli War)

 Today Palestinians want self-rule

 Palestinian terrorist groups and Israeli military retaliation

makes this difficult

 Palestinians still do not have a country oftheir own

Northern IrelandNorthern Protestant part of Ireland remains

(Catholic vs. Protestant) under British control

 Catholic minority wants to join Ireland

Irish Republican Army (IRA) commits terroristacts to try to

force reunion with Ireland

 British govt. refuses to leave; wants peace but also wants to

protect Protestants

Cease fire signed in 1998; still dangerous and unresolved

New Technologies Development of personal computers &Internet

 Some developing nations struggle to gain computers/Internet

access while regions like the US/Europe/Japan are flooded w/ it

Nuclear Proliferation The spread of nuclear weapon technology to other

nations

North Korea and now Iran are attempting to become nuclear

powers

 Fear of terrorists gaining access to weapons

Genetic Engineering Many dev. nations dealing with questions about

Cloning - BIOETHICS!

 US has banned it; some European nations (Italy) allow

research

 Animals & pets have been cloned recently

(Dolly the clones sheep)

Economic ChallengesDeveloping nations (India, China, most of Africa) face many

challenges

High population grow rates; govts can’t keep up with services

(education, health careaccess)

 Without money, developing nations cannot educate their

population (high illiteracy)

World Bank & International Monetary Fund

provide money fordevelopment,

but some question their effectiveness

 Developing world in HUGE debt as a result!

AIDS Epidemic Disease in Africa & Asia; AIDS epidemic reaching high infection

rates in Sub-SaharanAfrica and SE Asia

 Some parts of Africa may have 50% HIV inf.!

Environment Impact Economic development & pop. growth causeenvironmental

concerns

Destruction of environment to gain natural resources a concern

(deforestation, strip mining)

 Factories & cars produce air pollution; hurts the ozone layer

 Animals & plants go extinct due to loss of habitat to make

room for humans

 Developing nations cannot easily put the environment first like

developed nations

Free Market Economies Fastest growing developed nations have free mkt economies

 Rising standards of living

 Growing middle class

 Growing demand for political freedomsand human rights

South KoreaTaiwan excellent examples

China quickly becoming more free market

Economic Interdependence Rapid transportation and computer networks allow greater

international trade

 Multinational corporations grow during the 1990s

(McDonalds, IBM, Toyota, Ford, etc.)

 International boundaries become porous dueto the free

movement of goods and services

Trade AgreementsNorth American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA)

between US, Canada, & Mexico

 Allows for tariff-free movement of goodsfrom one nation

to the next

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

186 countries belong; specialized agency of the United Nations

  • Focus is on global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

European Union (EU)

 Eliminates trade barriers btwn membernations of Europe

 Adopted the Euro as currency

FranceGermany are powerhouse members

Great Britain a member of EU, won’t use Euro