Globalization And The Nature Of War

Author : L. T. C. Antulio J. Echevarria II
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781463508852
Total Pages : 40 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (88 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Globalization and the Nature of War written by L. T. C. Antulio J. Echevarria II and published by . This book was released on 2003-03-31 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just a few years into the new millennium and it is already a truism to say that globalization, the spread of information and information technologies, along with greater public participation in economic and political processes, is transforming every aspect of human affairs. Indeed, globalization is enhancing the real and virtual mobility of people, things, and ideas and is increasing social, political, and economic interconnectedness worldwide. From 1980 to 1996, for example, the percentage of the world's population that travels internationally on a regular basis rose from 6.5 percent to 10 percent. Similarly, the number of personal computers connected to the internet has been growing at a rate of nearly 70 percent per year for more than 30 years. The associated spread of democratic ideas and free market values helped increase the total number of democracies in the world by 14 percent within the last decade alone. Furthermore, considerable evidence suggests that globalization is making national and regional economies more interdependent, thereby giving rise to an integrated world market economy. Clearly, then, globalization is changing how we interact with our world. What is not yet clear, however, are the impacts of these trends. While the world may indeed have more democracies than ever before, how many of them have stable regimes with established civil societies where strong traditions exist conforming to the rule of law? As the example of Weimar Germany shows, newly formed democracies can rapidly reverse course and transform into dangerous autocratic regimes. While there is some validity to the view that "established democracies do not go to war with other democracies," the number of established democracies is relatively small. Also, while globalization has improved general wealth, raised living standards, and increased life expectancy across the world, 60 percent of the world's wealth continues to travel back and forth among the developed countries, giving them the greater share of benefits. The poor may be richer, but the rich are richer still; and the gap between them is growing. What is more, as the First and Second World Wars demonstrate, economic interconnectedness and continuous growth do not necessarily preclude conflict. Despite its apparent positive impact on the spread of democracy and free-market economies, globalization might produce a more dangerous and unpredictable world, especially if the cultural backlash it has generated thus far gathers more momentum. This world might be characterized by shifting power relationships, ad hoc security arrangements, and an ever-widening gap between the richest and poorest nations. A number of new democracies lacking strong traditions for maintaining checks and balances, might, for example, collapse after only transitory successes. Transnational threats, such as international crime syndicates, terrorist networks, and drug cartels, could continue to grow in strength and influence, thriving among autocratic, weak, or so-called failed states. And, ethnic rivalries, nationalism, religious-based antagonisms, and competition for scarce resources, including water, could go unresolved. Thus, serious crises would undoubtedly arise, especially as the world's population continues to grow.