Major Contemporary

Global Issues

Chapter Five
By ANA ABDI
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.
Introduction

 One of the most important dynamics of the 21st century is the shift in
focus from International Relations to Global relations and issues.

 States that played leading roles in international affairs are now dealing.

 with their declining power as global power is more diffused with the
rise of China, Brazil, India, and other emerging market countries many
countries are straggling to catch-up.
 Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are also becoming
instrumental in spreading popular revolts across the globe.

 The chapter thus examines the major contemporary global issues

in the 21st century. In particular, I) global security issues, ii)
global environmental issues, iii) global socio-economic issues
and iv) global cultural issues.
 Survey of Major Contemporary Global Issues
 The period we are living is often referred to as the post-Cold War
period which rests upon the predominance of new issues.

 No longer is world politics is dominated by issues arising from East–

West relations the threat of nuclear war, the ideological struggle
between liberal democracy and Marxism/Leninism.

 The international community is now preoccupied with New World

Order, and many global problems.
What criteria makes a problem to become a
Global Issue?

A problem becomes a global issue based on the following criteria's;

1. what is the extent or scope of an issue?

2. what is the urgency or intensity of the issue?

3. what is the salience or visibility of a given issue?

4. What is the centrality or location of an issue?

 There are four major contemporary global issues selected based these
criteria.

1. Global Security Issues

2. global environmental issues,

3. global socio-economic issues and

4. global cultural issues

1. Global Security Issues

 In the security arena, there are two main issues and challenges
facing the emerging new world order.

 These are: Terrorism and Nuclear proliferation.

A. Global Terrorism

 Terrorism is a use of violence in the form of hostage

taking, bombing, hijacking and other indiscriminate
attacks on civilian targets to fulfil ones political and other
objectives.
Causes of Terrorism

1. Socio-economic cause; poverty, feelings of hopelessness, violations

of human rights, and the lack of democracy Political cause; failure of
governments to address problems, lack of democracy and good
governance.

2. Psychological cause; humiliation is another factor conducive to the

use of terrorism.
There are five common types of terrorism
1. Domestic terrorism: occurs within the borders of a particular
country and is associated with extremist groups.

2. Nationalist terrorism: is closely associated with struggles for

political autonomy and independence.

3. Religious terrorism: grows out of extreme fundamentalist religious

groups that believe that God is on their side and that their violence
is divinely inspired and approved.
4. State terrorism: is a cold, calculated, efficient, and extremely
destructive form of terrorism by the government.

5. Global terrorism: is partly an outgrowth of the forces of

globalization which enable the different kinds of terrorism to
spread worldwide.
B. Nuclear Weapons and Their Proliferations

 In the cold war period, competition for acquiring of nuclear weapon

was a big issue.

 But After the end of the cold war, the issue becomes a secondary
concern for countries.

 But many people believe it still is the main problem for the world
because;
 First, the fact that nuclear weapons states have substantially
maintained their nuclear arsenals.

 Second, there are now greater incentives to acquire nuclear

weapons for those non-nuclear states who have lost the
guarantee of extended deterrence (ENKIFATOCH)
previously provided by super powers.
 Third, the emergency of new big powers and competition
appears to have increased the incentives to proliferate.

 Fourth, the contrasting experiences of Iraq and North Korea

suggest strong incentives to proliferate fast and establish
deterrence.
 In addition, the following are four events that increased fears
about horizontal nuclear proliferation since the end of the cold
war.
 First, in the aftermath of the 1991 gulf war, UN Weapons Inspection Teams discovered
alarming evidence that found Iraq had made significant progress towards a nuclear
weapons capability.

 Second, the demise of the Soviet Union which resulted emergence of new states with severe
economic problems which retain sectors of the Soviet military industrial complex.

These led to increased fears that their nuclear technologies and scientific knowledge will be
sold off to the highest bidder. (YITEFAL). fears about ‘nuclear terrorism’, possibility of state
sponsored or non-state terrorist groups obtaining nuclear weapons .
 Third, a nuclear arms race began in South Asia after nuclear
tests by India and Pakistan.

 Fourth, in 2003 the International Atomic energy agency (IAEA)

uncovered an illicit supply network in an investigation that Iran
had an illicit nuclear weapons program.
Reasons for the Proliferation of Weapons

 There are strategic, economic, and political motivations for

weapons proliferation. These include:

 Super-power Rivalry during the Cold War: Geopolitical

considerations influenced the United States and the Soviet Union
to transfer weapons to their respective allies. (Collective self-
defense)
 Military Burden Sharing: Reluctant to engage in direct military
confrontation, countries provided weapons, technical assistance, and
arms production technologies to their allies so that they could defend
themselves.

 Regional Balance of Power: Arms sales are often defended on the

grounds that such transfers contribute to regional stability and
diminish the likelihood of war.
 Political, Military, and Economic Influence; e.g. USA supply of
weapons for Egypt and Saudi Arabia and US dependency on Saudi
Arabia and Middile East for petroleum supplies.

 Economies of Scale: Many countries export weapons to obtain

resources to finance the development and production of more advanced
weapons.

 Self-Reliance: Many countries develop their own weapons to

preserve or enhance their independence.
 Economic Factors: Much of the global weapons trade is
motivated by financial considerations.

 Ethnic Conflicts: Ethnic conflicts generate demand for

weapons transfers.

 Authoritarian Regimes: Governments that rule without the

consent of the people generally rely on military force to exercise
control.
2. Global Environmental Issues

 The environment is gradually becoming one of the most

pressing issues of twenty-first century.

 The main global Environmental issues in our time is Climate

change and Global warming.
Climate change and Global warming

 Climate change poses numerous and harsh challenges for

sustainable development and its effects are be felt in all regions
of the globe.

 Degree of vulnerability varies even more with developing

countries and the poor which have contributed the least to global
warming.
 In recent time the effort to solve the problem are increasing
with the treaties in Doha 2012 and Kyoto protocol in 2013.

 However, the greenhouse gas reduction goals set out in the

Kyoto Protocol remain largely unachieved because of reluctance
of developed countries.
3. Global Socio-economic Issues

A. Global Inequality and Poverty

 The last three decades were characterized by a widening gap between rich
and poor and the proliferation of millionaires and billionaires.

 While economic disparities remained a serious problem in developing

countries, the forces of globalization created conditions that helped
widen the gap between rich and poor in industrialized societies.
 Extreme inequality perpetuates poverty and the concentration
of economic and political power and reduces economic
efficiency.

 It strengthens inequality perpetuating institutions in three

ways:

1. Inequality discourages the political participation of poor people,

2. Inequality often prevents the building and proper functioning

of impartial institutions and observance of the rule of law.

3. Inequality enables the wealthy to refuse to compromise

politically or economically, which further weakens poor societies.

 These consequences of inequality combine to ensure that poor
societies will remain poor and unequal, trapping most of their
inhabitants in a destructive cycle of poverty such us terrorism,
the environment, and the spread of infectious diseases.
B. Migration and refugee problems

 International migration and refugee have become more

prominent on the international agenda in recent because of;
o First, the number of states in the international system has
steadily increased since the end of the First World War.
o Second, there has also been a rapid increase in the world‘s

population, led to over exploitation of regional resources,

leading to catastrophic famine and population movement.

o Third, the revolution in communications and transportation

has made people aware of conditions and opportunities in

other parts of the world.

 Finally, the turmoil and uncertainty of the turbulent and
unstable world place an important role in motivating people to
search abroad for a better life.

 This makes migration one of the challenges and concern of

political agendas in developed countries.

 It also resulted anti migration sentiments in many developed

countries.
4. Global Cultural Issues

A. Cultural Imperialism
 Cultural imperialism is the result of cultural globalization.

 A process whereby information, commodities and images that

have been produced in one part of the world enter into a global
flow that tends to flatten out cultural differences between nations,
regions and individuals.
 This has sometimes been portrayed as a process of
McDonaldization. (Efficiency, Predictability, Caculatiblity
and Control)

 Cultural globalization is fueled by the so-called information

revolution, the spread of satellite communication and
telecommunications networks.
 Cultural imperialism affects us in a way in which:-

 We all watch the same television programmers,

 Buy the same commodities,

 Eat the same food,

 Support the same sports stars and etc.

B. Cultural (civilizational) clash and identity conflicts

 Culture and nationalism have generally been closely

intertwined.

 All societies, directly or indirectly, promote their values as

positive and desirable.

 The more the difference in culture the higher the probability

for conflict.
 In the international stage there are Western, Confucian,
Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American, and
African civilization.

 This civilization is a continuous clash to become dominant one

over the other.