Contemporary World
Week 4: Market Integration and Modernization
Market Integration:
● broadens financial services and investment opportunities for consumers.
● It also increases competition, leading to better services and pricing. Furthermore,
● it acts as a risk-sharing mechanism within domestic economies and helps smooth out
economic and financial cycles. Market integration also enhances risk diversification,
improving financial stability.
● The material prompts reflection on a world without international markets and raises questions
about the equal benefits of market integration across countries, the impact of technological
advancements on its speed, and strategies for successful integration into global markets.
Modernization Theory:
● This theory emerged in the 1950s and 1960s to understand economic and social
development
● has been used in policymaking to guide transitions in poorer nations. It explains global
stratification through technological and cultural differences.
Key Historical Events Shaping Modernization:
○ The Columbian Exchange (Post-1492): This event involved the exchange of goods,
technology, education, and diseases between the Americas and Europe.
○ Europe benefited from new agricultural staples (potatoes, tomatoes) leading to
population growth and a strengthened merchant class with increased trade
opportunities.
○ However, Native Americans faced devastating disease outbreaks (smallpox,
measles), resulting in over 80% population loss within 150 years. In Africa and Asia,
European expansion was aided by the discovery of quinine (malaria treatment).
○
○ The Industrial Revolution (18th–19th Century): This period saw the introduction of
steam power and mechanization, replacing manual labor. While it initially
benefited the wealthy, it eventually improved overall living standards. Countries
that industrialized experienced economic growth, while those that did not lagged
behind.
○
● Barriers to and Drivers of Modernization: The material identifies tension between tradition
and technology as a barrier to growth, noting that societies deeply rooted in family
systems and traditions were more resistant to change.
Max Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic Theory
● suggests that the Protestant Reformation encouraged a progress-oriented mindset
● where financial success was seen as a sign of virtue and hard work, and
● individualism replaced communalism, fostering innovation and economic growth. The
material also includes a question on how modernization has impacted specific industries like
agriculture, education, and healthcare.
Week 5: The Global Interstate System
- Global interstate system as the system of human interactions across states.
- Politically, it is structured as an interstate system of competing and allying states, often
called the "international system".
- This is the main focus of International Relations studies.
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Purpose of the Global Interstate System:
● promote peace and security through international collaboration,
● encourage educational, scientific, and cultural reforms, and
● increase respect for justice, rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms.
Importance of the Global Interstate System:
● States operate in a Hobbesian "state of nature" where security is the main concern,
● the system aims to prevent conflicts and maintain global stability.
● Globalization & the Interstate System: Globalization results from the removal of
economic barriers to encourage global trade and supports the flow of goods, services,
capital, and labor, forming the basis of the global competitive economy.
● Disadvantage of the Interstate System: A key disadvantage is that it can be dominated by
coercion, threats, and force, with international violence shaped by state power, creating
power dynamics among states.
● International System: This term refers to the global constellation of states and applies to
both modern and pre-industrial international systems.
●
● International Organizations:
United Nations (UN):
○ Established Post-World War II to restructure global politics,
○ it was founded in 1945 with 50 countries and now has 193 members.
○ Headquartered in New York City, its functions cover military, economic,
environmental, and human protection issues.
○ Key bodies include the General Assembly, Security Council, UNICEF, and the
International Court of Justice. Criticisms include being weak in stopping wars and
the Security Council veto power.
NATO:
○ Members include the US, Canada, and European nations, with a focus on collective
security alliance.
○ It formed to counter the Soviet Union in the Cold War and has been involved in
interventions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, and Africa.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs):
● Red Cross/Red Crescent (provides emergency medical aid and war relief)
● Doctors Without Borders (offers medical assistance in disaster areas)
● Oxfam (fights famine and disease globally)
● Amnesty International (advocates for human rights and political prisoners).
Global Economic Associations:
○ World Trade Organization (WTO): Aims to promote free trade among 162 member
nations by eliminating tariffs and trade barriers. It is criticized for favoring corporations
over workers.
○ North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): A free trade agreement between
the US, Canada, and Mexico that removes tariffs on goods traded between the three
nations. It has faced criticism for the loss of American manufacturing jobs to Mexico.
Internationalism and Globalism:
● Internationalism is cooperation between nations to solve global issues, fostering mutual
understanding and collective action.
● Globalism is the idea of a connected world where economic and political activities transcend
national borders, reflecting growing interdependence.
● Impact to our lives: International cooperation provides access to global education,
scholarships, and research opportunities for students, ensures rights, security, and
economic stability for citizens, and opens doors for international careers, cross-border
collaboration, and the exchange of knowledge for future professionals.
