Globalization

c. 1900-Today

Globalization, c. 1900-Today:

Objectives

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Explain how and why globalization changed international interactions among states.
Explain how and why globalization changed culture over time.
Explain the continuities and changes in the global economy from 1900 to present.
Explain the various responses to increasing globalization from 1900 to present.
Explain how social categories, roles, and practices have been maintained and challenged over time.
Explain how the development of new technologies changed the world from 1900 to present.
Explain how environmental factors affected human populations over time.
Explain the causes and effects of environmental changes in the period from 1900 to present.

International Organizations

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New international organizations, including the United Nations, formed with the stated goal of maintaining world peace and facilitating international cooperation.

International Organizations (comprehensive)

International Organizations (abridged)

Global Networks

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national shares of the Gross World Product (GWP), 2019

Taiwan, Singapore, Seoul, and Hong Kong - the Four Asian Tigers - were among the states that experienced post-World War II economic miracles.

New modes of communication—including radio communication, cellular communication, and the internet—as well as transportation, including air travel and shipping containers, reduced the problem of geographic distance.
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.
In a trend accelerated by the end of the Cold War, many governments encouraged free market economic policies and promoted economic liberalization in the late 20th century.
In the late 20th century, revolutions in information and communications technology led to the growth of knowledge economies in some regions, while industrial production and manufacturing were increasingly situated in Asia and Latin America.
Changing economic institutions, multinational corporations, and regional trade agreements reflected the spread of principles and practices associated with free-market economics throughout the world.
Arts, entertainment, and popular culture increasingly reflected the influence of a globalized society.
Consumer culture became globalized and transcended national borders.
Responses to rising cultural and economic globalization took a variety of forms.Rights-based discourses challenged old assumptions about race, class, gender, and religion.
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 throughout the world protested the inequality of the environmental and economic consequences of global integration.
In the late 20th century, revolutions in information and communications technology led to the growth of knowledge economies in some regions, while industrial production and manufacturing were increasingly situated in Asia and Latin America.

Global Economic and Cultural Networks

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Starbucks and McDonald's global footprint, c. 2003. By the early 21st century, fast food corporations were one of the most visible symbols of American Coca-colonization.

Commanding heights de Dave Phillips

the world's major free trade associations, c. 2018

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership was signed between 15 countries representing about 1/3 of the global population and 30% of GWP in November 2020 eclipsing trading blocs in North America and Europe.

In many parts of Africa and the Middle East, women have fewer economic rights than men. Some states do not even allow women the right to own property.

Gender equality is more valued in Western nations than in many parts of Asia and Africa.

Global Economic and Cultural Networks

Article: Are we really prisoners of geography?

Global Economic and Cultural Networks (comprehensive)

Global Economic and Cultural Networks (abridged)

Global Transportation, Communication and Technology Networks

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global shipping routes, c. 1920

Article: A German imperialist paved the way for China to revive the “Silk Road”

European high-speed rail network

traffic jam at a checkpoint on the 50-lane wide G4 Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway in China, 2015

From 1976 to 2003, the supersonic Concorde flew passengers across the Atlantic. With seating for up to 128, wealthy elites traveled from New York to London in a record 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds, or 1250 mph. Round-trip tickets cost $7,995 in 1997.

A network of satellites orbiting Earth in space relay data transmissions to allow near-instantaneous global communication.

Global Transportation, Communication and Technology Networks

In 2021, the massive Ever Given, capable of carrying 20,000 shipping containers, blocked the Suez Canal for six days. Each hour caused an estimate $400 million in shipping delays.

A network of fiber optic submarine communications cables carry digital data around the world as shown in this retro-style map from 2015.

routes flown by the top seven airlines by international passenger distance flown, c. 2010

Global Transportation, Communication and Technology Networks (comprehensive)

Global Transportation, Communication and Technology Networks (abridged)

Modern Food and Medicine

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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.
Medical innovations, including vaccines and antibiotics, increased the ability of humans to survive and live longer lives.
Diseases, as well as medical and scientific developments, had significant effects on populations around the world.
Diseases associated with poverty persisted while other diseases emerged as new epidemics and threats to human populations, in some cases leading to social disruption. These outbreaks spurred technological and medical advances. Some diseases occurred at higher incidence merely because of increased longevity.
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.

Modern Food Production and Human Reproduction

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Despite a Green Revolution that has led to vastly greater global food production, many in developing nations suffer food insecurity.

A growth in global population and greater global prosperity has created higher demand for meat, fish, and dairy products.

Increased food production has an environmental cost, especially for animal-based products.

Modern Food Production and Human Reproduction

Article: How many people can Earth handle?

Modern Food Production and
Human Reproduction (comprehensive)

Modern Food Production and
Human Reproduction (abridged)

Modern Medicine

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Treatment of horrific combat wounds inflicted during the World Wars led to major advances in plastic surgery, prosthetic devices, and antibiotics.

A wartime poster featuring illustrations by Dr. Seuss intended to educate American servicemen of the dangers presented by malaria (1943)

X-rays, ultrasounds, CAT scans, and MRIs have provided doctors great insight on their patients.

Medical science made miracle breakthroughs during the 20th century, including the development of new vaccines, discovery of DNA, eradication of smallpox, successful animal cloning, and mapping of the human genome.

Humanity continues to be plagued by new epidemics and pandemics.

Modern Medicine

Modern Medicine (comprehensive)

Modern Medicine (abridged)

Energy and Climate Change

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Energy technologies, including the use of petroleum and nuclear power, raised productivity and increased the production of material goods.
As human activity contributed to deforestation, desertification, a decline in air quality, and increased consumption of the world’s supply of fresh water, humans competed over these and other resources more intensely than ever before.
The release of greenhouse gases and pollutants into the atmosphere contributed to debates about the nature and causes of climate change.

Energy

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Fossil fuels - oil, gas, and coal - powered humanity's remarkable growth during the 20th century.

The harnessing of nuclear energy has been one of humankind's greatest scientific achievements.

Solar and wind power production in 2021

During the 21st century, there has been increased investment in clean, renewable sources of energy, including solar and wind power.

Energy

Energy (comprehensive)

Energy (abridged)

Climate Change

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The Soviet Union began draining the Aral Sea in the 1960s to irrigate crops.

the man-made Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai, UAE

Modern development has reshaped Earth. The dominant influence of human activity on the environment has led scientists to name the current geologic age the Anthropocene.

Global warming has led to more frequent and intense weather events, including wildfires, floods, droughts, and hurricanes.

The dire threat presented by climate change has caused architects to dream of more sustainable models of development for cities of the future.

Climate Change