Historically interaction between sovereign states and led to struggles for power. Many great empires had goals of world domination. A key tool for this kind of domination is colonialism. Colonialism occurs when a government or nation has power over a physical area and/or its population. The power in colonialism stems from the wealth or dominance of the colonizer and the colony's dependence on the colonizer. The United States began as a group of American colonies under British rule. Colonization is rapidly disappearing as nations declare their independence and set up their own governments.

CS Question #1: Why do you think sovereignty might lead to struggles for power?

Governments among nations have relationships with each other. As do corporations and individuals. As technology brings the world closer together, these relationships become more and more commonplace. The events and attitudes of one nation, global corporation or population effect the rest of the world. Nations are dependent on each other socially, financially and politically. This is known as interdependence.

In today's world there already are regional joining together of nations for economic purposes. These connections are a major stepping stone towards a global economy. Widespread examples of this include the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum. There are many benefits to such unions, among them increased trade, less confusion of currency exchange and economic power. The danger of such unions is that they could lead to regional protectionism.

Nations working together have been able to accomplish some global public issues. By sharing technology and information the world has eradicated smallpox. Further, tuberculosis and cholera are now gone from most of the world.

CS Question #2: What are some of the possible benefits of nations uniting in a global sense?

The global economy is already increasing in its importance. Nations are interdependent, they are effected by the events and decisions of one another. Globalism involves much more than trade. It could evolve into a world government, including a world military and a world court. What role does sovereignty play in such a world environment? Clearly there are vast differences among nations, and especially between developed and developing nations. A world government would have to answer the basic economic question. A world government would need the ability to control and define resources use and allocation at some level.

There is a disproportionate use of resources among developed and developing nations. For example, industrial nations or developed nations use 9 times more fossil fuels per capital than developing nations. The scarcity of resources is a global issue. More than one in three individuals in the world lack electricity. Poverty in some nations can mean lack of clean, reliable drinking water source. Should there be a global power that balances this resource use? Is it fair to take resources away from one nation just because they have been successful? Who should decide these issues? As you can see, the issue of globalism is multi-layered.

CS Question #3: What's your opinion, should resource use be balanced by a world power? Why or why not?

Much of the world interacts with each other for mutual benefit. However, the differences in government structure and economic power drastically alter these interactions. In our technology based world it is increasingly harder to control the communication and information that spreads across borders and sovereign nations. Developed nations have more ability to create this information. Therefore, they influence world culture at a disproportionate level through media, news, trade. Clearly, one of the most exciting things about globalism is the variety of culture and perspective that come together. Many argue there is a danger merely absorbing developing nations into a global culture built on the attitudes and ideas of the world's developed nations. Others argue that nations of the world must all make compromises to interact on a global level.

As global issues arise, the cultures and governments of the world form opinions and agendas. Sometimes there is an overwhelming agreement and compatibility on an agenda. Often there is not. The world is experiencing evolving interactive decision-making. The problem is there is no agreed global framework for such debate and limited agreed upon ways to carry through resolutions. The need for such a framework is still highly contested. Should there be a global government? A global world court? Would the global population vote? How would it be financed? What are the checks and balances? How are issues of conflict and violence among nations addressed? It is a lot to think about. And there aren't any clear, easy answers. One thing is clear, the emerging global economy and the interdependence among nations has created these new questions and new needs. Where do we go from here?

CS Question #4: What is your opinion on the power of developed nations to influence the cultures of the world?

Further Thought:

1. Do you think a global government should be created? Explain your answer.
2. If the world was going to adopt one economic system, what do you think it should be? Explain your answer.
3. Describe your ideal for how the world should evolve economically and politically. (Be specific: do nations interact, if so how; how is conflict resolved, etc.