{"id":43,"date":"2022-12-26T12:37:03","date_gmt":"2022-12-26T17:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-spring-2023\/?page_id=43"},"modified":"2023-08-24T22:23:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T02:23:01","slug":"global","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/world-politics-spring-2023\/global\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Instability"},"content":{"rendered":"

PART V<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are moving our way toward the end of my story about the nation state. I devote this final section of our course to the meaning of Globalization<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0Nation State<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Sad to say, the Coronavirus pandemic is as good an example of globalization as any other.\u00a0 Suddenly, we have been awakened to a fact that most people in the world have experienced their entire lives:\u00a0 We are vulnerable. And we will experience the Coronavirus\u2019s social, economic, and political consequences for the rest of our lives.\u00a0 Let me count some of the ways:\u00a0 lasting health problems; increasing levels of political polarization; a sharp decline in economic productivity, rampant inflation; labor shortages; mass migration of peoples; stagnating population growth; decreasing life expectancy; greater international tensions; and many. many more worrisome scenarios.<\/p>\n

The term \u201cglobalization\u201d has become a cliche. It is frequently used as though it were a recent discovery. And myriad universities and corporations have rushed to define themselves as “global” enterprises. I am uncomfortable with the concept because it is so vague.\u00a0 If we define globalization as a massive expansion in contacts and communications\u00a0 among peoples and the spread of new technologies, I\u2019m afraid that Genghis Khan (1162-1227 AD) and Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) would be offended by being excluded.<\/p>\n

To avoid the problem of stretching the concept to the point where it is useless, I will focus on a few contemporary ways in which they world has become, as they say, \u201ca smaller place.\u201d\u00a0 To do this, I will debunk three popular mythologies about where we are and where we are going.\u00a0 These are the myths of global rationality; terrorist irrationality; and the liberal-democratic end of history.\u00a0 When I get to the last point, you will see that we have returned to the questions I raised on the first day of our course.<\/p>\n

Consider this manifestation of globalization and the coming together of the American fabric:\u00a0\u00a0The Funeral of Knut Rockne and the American Experience<\/a><\/p>\n

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38. LECTURE: Monday, April 24<\/strong><\/p>\n

Myth #1<\/em>:\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe spread of global liberalism is rational.\u201d\u00a0 No, it\u2019s not always rational!\u00a0 Its effects are often counterproductive and destabilizing.<\/p>\n

Assumption<\/em>:\u00a0 \u00a0Because we in the West like to view ourselves as the\u00a0telos<\/em> (or inevitable destination) of humanity, we like to associate the idea of \u201cglobalization\u201d with the\u00a0 spread of our own values.\u00a0 However, it is sheer mythology to imagine that these values are uniformly appropriate for the rest of the world.\u00a0 Ironically, even John Stuart Mill’s classical conception of \u201cliberalism\u201d has become ossified.\u00a0 As Weber would say, contemporary liberalism, or what goes by that name, is locked into an \u201ciron cage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assignments<\/em>:\u00a0 So, is globalization good or bad?\u00a0 Or should we frame the question differently?\"\"<\/p>\n

Globalization and the Mythology\u00a0of Coca-Cola\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WATCH<\/a><\/p>\n

Benjamin Barber, \u201cJihad vs. McWorld\u201d\u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\n

John Rapley: \u201cThe New Middle Ages,\u201d\u00a0Foreign Affairs<\/em>\u00a0(May-June 2006) \u00a0At JSTOR, then search through ProQuest Social Science Journals:\u00a0\u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\n

Gordon Adams, \u201cThe French Colonialist\u2019s Global Comeuppance,\u201d Foreign Policy<\/em>, January 2015:\u00a0 Locate at Hesburgh\u2019s eJournal\u00a0\u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\n

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39. LECTURE:\u00a0 Wednesday, April 26<\/strong><\/p>\n

Myth #2<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cGlobal Terrorism is irrational.\u201d\u00a0 No, it\u2019s often frighteningly rational!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Reflections on a weapon of the weak: Terrorism
\nMy focus on the rational roots of inhumanity.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sanche de Gramont, \u201cThe Transformation of Moral Idealism into Violent Revolution\u201d\u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\n

Osama bin Laden: \u201cTranscript of Speech,\u201d Al\u00a0Jazeera.com<\/span>, Nov. 1, 2004\u00a0READ<\/a><\/p>\n

Weiyi Cai,<\/span>\u00a0\u201cAttacks by White Extremists Are Growing. So Are Their Connections,\u201d\u00a0New York Times<\/em>, April 3, 2019\u00a0READ<\/a><\/p>\n

Julia Carrie Wong, \u201cThe physics professor who says online extremists act like curdled milk,\u201d\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>, August 23, 2019\u00a0READ<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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40.\u00a0 DISCUSSION: Friday, April 28.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The focus of this section relates to the long and winding road<\/a> back to where we began which I first introduced you to the nation-state.\u00a0 The two articles are essential reading for my final lecture.<\/p>\n

Has political history, as we have known it come to an end (see Fukuyama), or are we destined to relive the conflicts of the past (see Stanley and Lee)?<\/p>\n

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For this discussion, read only Fukuyama\u2019s Introduction and Sections 3 and 4.\u00a0 However, read them very closely. Fukuyama’s argument is complex. Plus, there are aspects of it that I find problematic.\u00a0 Finally, in interpreting the essay, it’s helpful to know that Fukuyama was a student of Samuel Huntington.<\/p>\n

Francis Fukuyama: \u201cEnd of History,\u201d\u00a0National Interest<\/em>, Summer 1989 \u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\n

Timothy Stanley and Alexander Lee, \u201cIt\u2019s still not the end of history\u201d\u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Katherine Fung, “Chinese President Warned Biden Democracy is Dying,” Newsweek, May 27, 2022\u00a0 READ<\/a><\/p>\n

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Paragraph assignment:\u00a0 Let\u2019s say Fukuyama is wrong and the liberal democratic regimes, like the US, are not the end of history.\u00a0 What is the most likely type of regime that will replace them, and why?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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41. LECTURE:\u00a0 Monday, May I<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your TAs, Bill Kakenmaster and Kerby Davis, will present lectures\u00a0 on the intersection of pessimism and hope.\u00a0 Bill will talk about a specific aspect of climate change and Kerby about great power competition.<\/p>\n

Bill’s theme<\/em><\/strong>:\u00a0 Climate change is real, caused by humans, and extremely dangerous. There is no disagreement among scientists about these points. However, there is severe disagreement about how to address the problem. Some folks think that we need a more authoritarian response to climate\u00a0governance. I’m not so sure. The Runciman (2019) and Kakenmaster (2023) articles will give you a taste for how one very smart political scientist and how another person thinks about this problem.<\/p>\n

Required reading:<\/p>\n

David Runciman: “Democracy is the Planet’s Biggest Enemy” HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Recommended Reading:<\/p>\n

Bill Kakenmaster, “Climate Policymaking under Dictatorship”\u00a0 HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Kerby’s theme<\/strong><\/em>:\u00a0 Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, the US now faces sustained geopolitical challenges from rival states,\u00a0particularly China and Russia. As such, the world’s ‘business as usual’ has been disrupted. This new competition calls into question assumptions about how the world works and the trajectory of history. These challenges have led to new debates about US goals in foreign policy, as well as the best tools to employ. We will talk about these debates and what role that you, as a undergrad civilian, can play in that debate<\/p>\n

Required Reading:\u00a0 Emma Ashford, “Great Power Competition is a Recipe for Disaster”\u00a0 HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

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42. LECTURE:\u00a0 Wednesday,\u00a0 May 3<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reflections on liberal democracy:\u00a0 My bias for hope
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\nToday\u2019s Assumption<\/em>: It\u2019s hard to be optimistic about the chances for global liberalism, especially as we struggle with the devastating consequences of a pandemic.\u00a0 But it\u2019s reasonable to be hopeful.\u00a0 It\u2019s also necessary.<\/p>\n

Assignments<\/em>:<\/p>\n

The hopeful view from three decades ago: Samuel Huntington: \u201cDemocracy\u2019s Third Wave,\u201d\u00a0 Journal of Democracy<\/em>, Spring 1991. See JSTOR through Hesburgh online,\u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\n

The fairly hopeful view from today: Cas Mudde, \u201cIt\u2019s fashionable to say that democracies are dying,\u201d The Guardian<\/em>,\u00a0January 28, 2018\u00a0\u00a0PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/p>\n

A hopeful analogy from the business world: Knowledge@Wharton, \u201cLew Gerstner\u2019s turnaround tales at IBM,\u201d READ<\/a><\/p>\n

And yet there\u2019s still a lot of work for us to do. See this Freedom House report on the state of democracy in the US:\u00a0 READ<\/a><\/p>\n

Vaclav Havel, \u201cNever Hope against Hope\u201d\u00a0 RE-READ<\/a><\/p>\n

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