Contemporary Issues



Contemporary Issues

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

• Parts of Asia and Africa struggle to develop after WWII

• Europe and the United States struggle 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 Israelis & Arab (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 of their 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 terrorist acts 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 care access)

( Without money, developing nations cannot educate their

population (high illiteracy)

( World Bank & International Monetary Fund

provide money for development,

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-Saharan Africa and SE Asia

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

Environment Impact ( Economic development & pop. growth cause environmental

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 freedoms and human rights

( South Korea & Taiwan 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 due to 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 goods from 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 member nations of Europe

( Adopted the Euro as currency

( France & Germany are powerhouse members

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

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