Chapter Five : Major

Contemporary Global Issues

Chapter Contents
Objectives
5.1. Survey of Major Contemporary Global Issues
5.1.1. Global Security Issues
Global Terrorism
Nuclear Weapons and Their Proliferations
5.1.2. Global Environmental Issues
Climate change and Global warming
5.1.3. Global Socio-economic Issues
Global Inequality and Poverty
Migration and refugee problems
5.1.4. Global Cultural Issues
Cultural Imperialism
Cultural (civilizational) clash and identity conflicts
 Chapter Objectives
After successfully completing this chapter students
should be able to:
• Identify the major global issues and challenges
facing humanity in the 21st century
• Identify the factors/reasons for the various
contemporary global problems of our world
• Discuss the role global citizens should play in
offsetting such global challenges
 Brainstorming Exercise

Where in the world map do you think are

such problems as terrorism, proliferation
of WMD, inequality, poverty, climate
change and warming and cultural
conflicts so rampant? Why? And who
would you blame for this?
 5.1. Survey of Major Contemporary Global Issues
• The distinctiveness of the post-Cold War period rests upon
the predominance of new issues.
• preoccupied with other issues such as the search for a ‘New
World Order’, the impact of terrorism, the disparities in
wealth between developed and developing countries,
environmental issues and so on
• What makes an issue a global issue?
- the extent or scope of an issue
- the urgency or intensity of the issue
- the salience or visibility of a given issue
- the centrality or location of an issue
Based on these criteria, Major issues such as Global security,
Environmental, Economic and Cultural issues selected here.
 5.1.1. Global Security Issues
1. Global Terrorism
• Terrorism is defined by many as a global security problem
characterized by the use of violence in the form of hostage
taking, bombing, hijacking and other indiscriminate attacks
on civilian targets.
• Four types of terrorist organizations:
- left wing terrorists,
- right wing terrorists,
- ethno-nationalists/separatist terrorists and
- religious terrorists
• Factors Conducive to Terrorism
- socio-economic cause
*(poverty in the sense of economic and political isolation, feelings of hopelessness,
violations of human rights, and the lack of democracy provides a fertile breeding
ground for terrorism)
 Cont…
- political cause
*(legitimate grievances and the failure of governments to
adequately address these problems often foment terrorism)
- psychological cause
*(humiliation is another factor conducive to the use of
terrorism).
• Types of Terrorism
- Domestic terrorism:
*is associated with extremist groups
- Nationalist terrorism
*struggles for political autonomy and independence
- Religious terrorism: believe that God is on their side and
that their violence is divinely inspired and approved.
 Cont…
• State terrorism: is a cold, calculated, efficient, and
extremely destructive form of terrorism, partly because of
the overwhelming power at the disposal of governments.
• Global terrorism: is partly an outgrowth of the forces of
globalization, which enable the different kinds of terrorism
to spread worldwide.
2. Nuclear Weapons and Their Proliferations
- the end of the cold war has not diminished the significance
attached to nuclear weapons
- the incentives for states to acquire nuclear weapons would
appear to have increased in the post-cold war period
*assumption that nuclear weapons play some positive role in providing
security
*lose of the guarantee of extended deterrence (offered by others earlier)
*Feeling of vulnerability due to regional dynamism
*the contrasting experiences of Iraq and North Korea suggest
strong incentives
Four events have increased fears about horizontal nuclear
proliferation since the end of
the cold war
• UN Weapons Inspection Teams discovered alarming evidence
of the extent of the Iraqi nuclear program after 1991 Gulf war
• the possibility of state sponsored or non-state terrorist
groups obtaining nuclear weapons and holding the world to
ransom (pay)
• a nuclear arms race began in South Asia (b/n India and
Pakistan over Kashmir)
• In 2003, an International Atomic energy agency (IAEA)
uncovered that Iran had an illicit nuclear weapons program
 Cont…
Reasons for the Proliferation of Weapons
• Super-power Rivalry during the Cold War (NATO Vs
WARSAW Pact)

• Military Burden Sharing

• Regional Balance of Power
• Political, Military, and Economic Influence/Access
• Economies of Scale: selling weapons to get
resources for dev’t and production of more
advanced weapons
• Self-Reliance: to preserve or enhance their
independence.
• Economic Factors, Ethnic Conflicts, Authoritarian Regimes
 5.1.2. Global Environmental Issues
• Env’tal problems becoming one of the most pressing issues
of twenty-first century
• National policy measures may not be enough without
others’
• Increasing number of agreements, but ineffective
Climate change and Global warming
- Biodiversity loss
- Ever-increasing temperature
- Env’tal pollution
- Thinning of Ozone layer
- Massive desertification
- Shortage/excessiveness of rainfall etc
 5.1.3. Global Socio-economic Issues
Global Inequality and Poverty
Does Inequality matter? Yes the ramifications extend beyond economic
issues to problems such as terrorism, the environment, and the spread
of infectious diseases.
• a widening gap between rich and poor and the proliferation of
millionaires and billionaires characterizes the last 2 decades
• During the global economic recession, the wealthy lost money, but
the poor lost their jobs, houses, and health insurance
• Extreme inequality perpetuates poverty and the concentration of
economic and political power and reduces economic efficiency. It
strengthens inequality-perpetuating institutions in three ways:
- Inequality discourages the political participation of poor people
- Inequality often prevents the building and proper functioning of
impartial institutions and observance of the rule of law
- Inequality enables the wealthy to refuse to compromise politically or economically,
which further weakens poor societies
 Cont…
Migration and refugee problems
Why migration, refugees and internally displaced are
increasing and impacting int’l affairs today?
• Increasing number of states
• Rapid growth of world population
• the revolution in communications and transportation has
made people aware
• the turmoil and uncertainty of the turbulent and unstable
world
- migrants and refugees to most advanced countries are
becoming the target of animosity from right-wing groups
- States are no longer able to exert control over their own
destinies
 5.1.4. Global Cultural Issues
Cultural Imperialism
• Cultural imperialism is the result of cultural globalization
• This is fueled by the so-called information revolution, the
spread of satellite communication, telecommunications
networks, information technology and internet and global
media corporations.
• The popular image of globalization is that it is a top- down process
• ‘McDonaldization’; “Indigenization” is there
• In this view, globalization is linked to homogenization as
cultural diversity are destroyed in a world in which we all
watch the same television programs, buy the same
commodities, eat the same food, support the same sports
stars and etc.
Cultural (civilizational) clash and identity conflict
• Culture and nationalism have generally been closely intertwined,
• Leaders manipulate cultural d/ces to promote political interests
• all societies, directly or indirectly, promote their values as
positive and desirable while, simultaneously, devaluing those of
other societies
• S. Huntington, in ‘clash-of-civilizations thesis’ explains
contemporary global conflicts in terms of cultural differences
• civilizations will be the dividing lines in future global politics and
it is the clash of these civilizations that would primarily define
the feature of 21st century global order.
• The clash prevails b/n & among Western, Confucian, Japanese,
Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American, and African
• there exists and will continue to exist conflict instead of
cooperation among civilizations.
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