With the dawning of the information age there has been a shrinking of relative distances between people and places all over the world. With an increase in international communication comes an increase in cultural sharing. Cultures all over the planet reflect influences of neighboring cultures and other international trading partners. As these and many other factors work towards creating a global village many people are baffled by the increase in nationalism. Nationalism is a highly emotional phenomenon and as such is very unpredictable. Nationalism is far beyond its peak and the current rise is likely only an indicator of the transitional stage of globalization.
GLOBAL VILLAGE
Today it is common to here the term "global village" used in every day conversation. It is also common to here someone say, "What the hell is the global village?" The global village is the idea that the world and its people form an interconnected social whole, a village of common interests and concerns, linked by global communication, media, and rapid international transportation.
The global village has emerged via the birth of the information age. Technological advances have continually stretched the bounds of our communication abilities and by using improving cellular phone technology or the Internet any individual can interact with another individual from a completely different culture. Since it is so easy and affordable to engage in these cross-cultural experiences, more and more people have been doing so. Cross-cultural exchanges often rise from or result in common interests or concerns developing. For example, international companies have a vested interest in the economies of the various countries in which they conduct business. The stronger the economies the better business will be. This is the sort of common interest and concern that the global village encompasses.
All cultures are continually evolving and the information age has increased
Bibliography: Hayes, Carlton J.H. Essays on Nationalism. New York: Russel and Russel, 1954. Couture, Jocelyne, Kai Nelson and Michael Seymour. Rethinking Nationalism. Calgary: U. of Calgary Press, 1998. Levinson, David and Karen Christensen. The Global Village Companion: An A-Z Guide to Understanding Current World Affairs. Santa Barbara: ABC - CLIU, 1994. de Blij, H.J., and Alexander B. Murphy. Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space. 6th ed. New York: Wiley, 1998. Dickerson, Mark O. and Thomas Flanagan. An Introduction to Government and Politics: A Conceptual Approach. 5th ed. Scarborough: Nelson, 1998. Hooson, David. Geography and National Identity. Oxford and Cambridge: Blackwell, 1994. Malamud, Carl. A World 's Fair for the Global Village. Cambridge and London: MIT Press, 1997. Rollin, Roger. The Americanization of the Global Village: Essays in Comparative Popular Culture. Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1989. Sathyamurthy, T.V. Nationalism in the Contemporary World. Totowa: Allanheld, Osmun and Co., 1983. Taylor, Peter J. Political Geography. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley, 1989. NATIONALISMS ROLE IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE APRIL 8, 1999