UNIT 1. Global Issues in the Twenty-First Century: An Overview

1. A Special Moment in History, Bill McKibben, The Atlantic Monthly, May 1998

The interconnected dangers of overpopulation, climate change, and pollution have been in the headlines for years, but doomsday has not yet arrived. Bill McKibben examines two important questions: What if we already have inflicted serious damage on the planet? and, What if there are only a few decades left to salvage a stable environment?

2. Clash of Globalizations, Stanley Hoffmann, Foreign Affairs, July/August 2002

Stanley Hoffmann begins his analysis by briefly reviewing the main ideas of the 1990s that scholars and analysts used to explain and interpret the changes that occurred in the post–cold war era, including a number of globalization processes, which he points out are often contradictory. Rather than being forces of integration, Hoffmann concludes that the clash of these processes creates new forms of conflict. The consequence is a puzzling international arena filled with paradoxes.

3. A New Grand Strategy, Benjamin Schwarz and Christopher Layne, The Atlantic Monthly, January 2002

Benjamin Schwarz and Christopher Layne challenge the emerging U.S. national security strategy that has been labeled “preponderance.” They propose an alternative approach in which the United States would foster a so-called “multi-polar” world that is composed of a number of great powers.

4. Mr. Order Meets Mr. Chaos, Robert Wright and Robert Kaplan, Foreign Policy, May/June 2001

Two well-known observers of world affairs offer conflicting views of the path of history. Their contending views reflect the differing perspectives offered in this introductory section.

UNIT 2. Population and Food Production

5. The Big Crunch, Jeffrey Kluger, Time, April/May 2000

A general overview is offered of the changing global demographic trends of fewer children and increased longevity. Jeffrey Kluger describes variations between different geographic regions and the varying patterns of consumption among the world’s rich and poor.

6. Breaking Out or Breaking Down, Lester R. Brown and Brian Halweil, World Watch, September/October 1999

The spread of the HIV virus, aquifer depletion, and shrinking cropland have been growing trends for years. The magnitude of these problems now threatens to increase death rates in many of the world’s poorest regions, raising the specter of social unrest and increased poverty.

7. Bittersweet Harvest: The Debate Over Genetically Modified Crops, Honor Hsin, Harvard International Review, Spring 2002

In this essay, the growing debate over genetically modifed crops is described with specific examples of both pro and con perspectives. Honor Hsin concludes that careful scientific research must be seriously considered in this debate rather than just corporate interests or public fears.

UNIT 3. The Global Environment and Natural Resources Utilization

8. The Challenges We Face, Jeffrey Kluger and Andrea Dorfman, Time, August 26, 2002

In the summer of 2002, world leaders gathered in Johannesburg to debate what to do about threats to food, water, climate, and biodiversity. Jeffrey Kluger and Andrea Dorfman provide an overview of these issues and report on changing attitudes and approaches to facing these challenges.

9. The Heat Is On, Ralph Nader and Sallie Baliunas, The American Legion Magazine, January 2002

Two contending perspectives on the nature and scope of global climate change are presented. The alternative assumptions upon which the opposing views are based are given to provide insights into the political economy of energy.

10. We Can Build a Sustainable Economy, Lester R. Brown, The Futurist, July/August 1996

The world is faced with an enormous need for change in a short period of time. Human behavior and values, and the national priorities that reflect them, change in response to either new information or new experiences. Lester Brown asserts that regaining control of our destiny depends on stabilizing population as well as climate.

UNIT 4. Political Economy

Part A. Globalization Debate

11. The Complexities and Contradictions of Globalization, James N. Rosenau, Current History, November 1997

Globalization is a complex concept that means different things to different people. James Rosenau first defines the concept and then contrasts the process of globalization with localization. Rather than conclude that one force will prevail over the other, Rosenau argues that the two forces will contradictorily and simultaneously accommodate each other.

12. Dueling Globalizations: A Debate Between Thomas L. Friedman and Ignacio Ramonet, Thomas L. Friedman and Ignacio Ramonet, Foreign Policy, Fall 1999

Proponents of two distinct perspectives on the trends and challenges of the global political economy offer a spirited debate. The authors challenge each other’s assumptions, raising interesting questions about the distribution of wealth, the power of governments, and the quality of life in the future.

13. Will Globalization Go Bankrupt?, Michael Pettis, Foreign Policy, September/October 2001

The author argues that global integration is driven not by politics, the Internet, or world trade but primarily by monetary expansion. “Credit booms,” he argues, “spark periods of economic integration, while credit contractions squelch them.” Is the world on the verge of another globalization bust?

Part B. Case Studies

14. America’s Two-Front Economic Conflict, C. Fred Bergsten, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2001

The complex relationship between the European Union, the United States, and the emerging East Asian free trade area is explored in this article. Challenges to the United States’ leadership role in the global economy are described along with recommendations for U.S. policy.

15. What’s Wrong With This Picture?, Mark Crispin Miller, The Nation, January 7–14, 2002

This article describes "the rise of an international media cartel. Of 10 highly integrated conglomerates, each has subsidiaries that include newspapers, publishing companies, television networks, movie studios, Internet providers, and even amusements. The author claims that the consequence of this concentration of economic power is a blurring of the distinction between entertainment and news reporting coupled with a reduction in the number of news sources.

16. Overcoming Japan’s China Syndrome, Chi Hung Kwan, Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry, September/October 2002

The economic relationship of Japan and China does not occupy much space in the North American coverage of globalization. This article, written from a Japanese perspective, analyzes the validity of assumptions in the argument that claims China’s economic growth is a threat to Japan’s well-being. This discussion provides many important insights into the structure of the global economy.

17. Leasing the Rain, William Finnegan, The New Yorker, April 8, 2002

This case study of a city in Bolivia demonstrates the convergence of resource scarcity, politics, and contending economic interests.

18. Going Cheap, Kevin Bales, New Internationalist, August 2001

Recent studies indicate that the trafficking of human beings is growing. Many products that are traded in the global marketplace have their origins in slave labor.

UNIT 5. Conflict

19. The Reluctant Imperialist: Terrorism, Failed States, and the Case for American Empire, Sebastian Mallaby, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2002

The consequences of “failed states” include terrorism, the flow of drugs, and the migration of large numbers of people. Sebastian Mallaby makes the provocative argument that the United States should lead a new international organization that would be responsible for nation building.

20. Nasty, Brutish, and Long: America’s War on Terrorism, Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay, Current History, December 2001

This article examines the war on terrorism in the context of a comparison to U.S. foreign policy during the cold war. The authors ask a critical question: Has the United States learned the lessons of its mistakes during the cold war, or is it destined to repeat them?

21. Nuclear Nightmares, Bill Keller, New York Times Magazine, May 26, 2002

In the aftermath of September 11, more and more attention has been focused on other types of terrorist threats. One threat that concerns many experts has been labeled the “nuclear nightmare.” A comprehensive overview of various terrorist scenarios is provided in this essay.

22. “Why Do They Hate Us?”, Peter Ford, The Christian Science Monitor, September 27, 2001

In a speech to Congress shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush asked, “Why do they hate us?” His question spurred a number of articles that attempted an answer. This particular article offers a comprehensive examination of U.S. policy in the Middle East to uncover the roots of anti-Americanism.

23. India, Pakistan, and the Bomb, M. V. Ramana and A. H. Nayyar, Scientific American, December 2001

Most observers believe that the region of the world most likely to experience nuclear war is South Asia. India and Pakistan, both armed with missiles with nuclear warheads, have a long history of territorial dispute and conflict. This article provides an overview of this volatile situation.

24. China as Number One, Soong-Bum Ahn, Current History, September 2001

This analysis, presented by a military officer, provides a unique perspective on the emerging strategic role of China. Contrary to the inferred assumption in most American scenarios that China is a threat to its neighbors, the author raises the question, What if China acts as either a benevolent or a benign hegemon? He cautions U.S. policymakers to avoid pursuing policies that are self-fulfilling in terms of making China a threat.

25. Battlefield: Space, Jack Hitt, New York Times Magazine, August 5, 2001

Until recently space-based warfare seemed to be pure fantasy, but now it is closer to reality than most people think. This overview reveals that the pace of technological innovation is very rapid. Jack Hitt describes emerging technologies and the policy challenges that accompany them.

UNIT 6. Cooperation

26. Strategies for World Peace: The View of the UN Secretary-General, Kofi A. Annan, The Futurist, May/June 2002

The secretary-general of the United Nations observes, “Our era of global challenges leaves us no other choice but to cooperate at the global level.” An overview of human rights issues is provided as a context of establishing priorities for the United Nations.

27. Justice Goes Global, Time, July 27, 1998

The fact that the International Criminal Court, which has genuine power, has been created is an unprecedented move by the world community to make the rule of law finally prevail over brute force. The treaty, signed by 160 countries, creates a global tribunal to judge war criminals. However, the refusal of the United States to sign the accord leaves many questions about the future of the new court.

28. Meet the World’s Top Cop, Foreign Policy, January/February 2001

An interview with Raymond Kendall, the retiring head of Interpol, provides excellent insights into the changing nature of international crime and the cooperative efforts that have been emerging to deal with it.

29. The New Containment: An Alliance Against Nuclear Terrorism, Graham Allison and Andrei Kokoshin, The National Interest, Fall 2002

The American and Russian coauthors are well-known national security experts. They describe the threat of nuclear terrorism and provide a five-point plan of international cooperation that is designed to do everything possible to prevent criminals or terrorists from stealing nuclear weapons or weapons-usable material.

30. Countdown to Eradication, Anne Stein, The Rotarian, July 2002

In 1988 polio paralyzed more than 1,000 children every day. In 2001 there were fewer than 1,000 cases for the entire year. Rotary International, a service organization, has played a central role in reaching the goal of a polio-free world. The challenges of completing polio eradication are now located in some of the world’s hot spots.

31. Aerial War Against Disease: Satellite Tracking of Epidemics Is Soaring, John Pickrell, Science News, April 6, 2002

International efforts are focusing on satellite technology to find patterns of disease. Many infectious diseases are resurgent, and these new technologies are increasingly important to help national and international public health agencies respond to potential epidemics.

UNIT 7. Values and Visions

32. Are Human Rights Universal?, Shashi Tharoor, World Policy Journal, Winter 1999/2000

Shashi Tharoor, who works in the office of the secretary-general of the United Nations, responds to criticisms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Contrary to those who argue that the declaration is an attempt to impose alien, Western values on the rest of the world, Tharoor examines a variety of cultural and ethical issues and concludes that “a universal idea of human rights can help make the world safe for diversity.”

33. The Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus, Scientific American, November 1999

A small experiment, begun in Bangladesh to loan money to poor people as a way of helping them become more productive, has turned into a major new concept in the eradication of poverty.

34. Why Environmental Ethics Matters to International Relations, John Barkdull, Current History, November 2000

The dominant worldviews of Western culture do not have core assumptions that are defined in terms of an “environmental ethic.” After examining alternative environmental ethics and then applying them to “realism” and “liberal institutionalism,” the author calls for a new political dialogue that only a more “authentic democracy” can generate in order to better integrate social choices with a vision of the “natural” world we create.

35. Women Waging Peace, Swanee Hunt and Cristina Posa, Foreign Policy, May/June 2001

Swanee Hunt and Christina Posa argue that you cannot end wars by simply declaring peace. “Inclusive security” rests on the principle of fundamental social change to prevent renewed hostilities. The authors describe the role that women have played in bridging problems and ask why the role of women is not growing more rapidly in promoting peace.

36. The Next Christianity, Philip Jenkins, The Atlantic Monthly, October 2002

Philip Jenkins observes that Christianity is undergoing a significant transformation in ways that Western observers tend not to see. He argues that the twenty-first century will witness the substitution of religion for ideology as the prime animating and destructive force in human affairs.

37. Modernization’s Challenge to Traditional Values: Who’s Afraid of Ronald McDonald?, Ronald Inglehart and Wayne E. Baker, The Futurist, March/April 2001

This article reports on a major research project that studied whether modernization is leading to the blurring of cultural boundaries. The conclusion is that economic development causes shifts in values but is not producing a uniform global culture.

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