A. An Interconnected Economy
B. Globalization and the Democracy
The expansion of trade, global interconnection and privatization of government enterprises that gained momentum with the dismantling of Soviet-style socialist economies in the 1990s cooled abruptly in the wake of 9/11.
Growth in India and China resumed quickly, and the large population marked them as future world economic powers. OPECs manipulation of the oil prices , along with the political instability in the Middle-East caused oil prices to soar between 1973 and 1985. The increase caused ambitious economic programs in Russia, Saudi Arabia and in some areas of the Persian Gulf, but fell quickly in 2008.
Regional trade associations came into being to promote growth, reduce the economic vulnerability of member states and balance economic dominance; the Economic Union was the most successful.
The euro competed with the U.S. dollar, but unequal levels of development among members became a source of friction in 2009 as the world economic downturn devastated stock markets and increased unemployment.
Despite the expansion of EU, NAFTA governed the world’s largest free trade zone and eliminating tariffs among the US, Canada and Mexico.
The SCO, formed with China, Russia and 4 former Soviet Central Asian republics pursued common security interests, such as combating separists movements and terrorism. Efforts to rescue countries in economic trouble became a concern of the IMF and World Bank and of wealthy countries.
WTO: An international body established in 1995 to foster and bring order to international trade
The great appeal of democracy is that it allows for the peaceful resolution of differences between a country’s social, cultural and regional groups. Democratic institutions gained ground in Eastern Europe and in Russia during the last decade. Since 1991, democracy has become the norm in Latin America.