Lin Marklin
EDT 6460
Due April 2, 2006
lin.m.marklin@wmich.edu
Assignment
VIII – Geopolitics and Globalization (100 points)
The last three
chapters of The World is Flat: A Brief History of
the Twenty-First Century touch on
many interesting ideas. The three I have chosen as most important are as
follows: the anti-globalization
movement, the humiliation of Muslims, and the curse of oil.
Anti-globalization movement
The
anti-globalization movement is important because it has the potential to mature
into an important world wide social movement. Its current organizational networks
have coordinated protests world wide, and most of these protests have been
peaceful. Friedman’s (2005) opinion is that the “anti-globalization
movement doesn't help,” but he does acknowledge that the movement is struggling
to define itself and its tactics given its diverse support base. The movement
itself is really less than 10 years old given that its first coherent
demonstration was at the Seattle World Trade Organization meeting in 1999. The
movement needs time to congeal and to become a true global player.
Freidman complains that “the anti-globalization movement lost touch with the true aspirations of the world's poor” (Freidman, 2005). However, another way to look at the movement is that it is still in its infancy and struggling to develop to its potential. As Friedman points out, the movement has five disparate elements because of the motivations adherents have for joining and the type of people who have joined: “upper-middle-class American liberal guilt,
.
. . remnants of the Old Left, . . . people who gave passive support because [of
the] speed at which the old world was disappearing and becoming flat, . .
.anti-Americanism, . . .[and] a coalition of very serious, well-meaning, and
constructive groups - from environmentalists to trade activists to NGOs
concerned with governance” (Freidman, 2005).
Given the diversity of its supporters, it only seem logical that the group will
take some time to develop a clear message and effective strategies for spurring
governmental and corporate change.
One of the first constructive things the movement is doing is
denouncing the label of anti-globalization. The people within the
anti-globalization movement take exception to this label, and they argue that
the term came from conservatives and big corporations who are attempting to
negate the group without even addressing their message. The members of what has
been labeled the anti-globalization movement prefer to be called the global
justice movement (“Anti-Globalization,”
2005). Global justice is a better descriptor of this group which is “opposed to
capitalist destruction masquerading under the guise of globalization” (“Anti-Globalization,” 2005).
Freidman (2005) has complained that “[T]he serious discussion
about how to make globalization humane disappeared, leaving a political
vacuum.” While it may be true that the global justice movement has not been
successful on bringing a global justice agenda to the notice of world players, Freidman
should acknowledge some of the successes of the global justice movement that
have gone beyond what he pejoratively refers to as the breaking the windows of
McDonalds in France. The best example is the role the global justice movement
played in the peace protests prior to the most recent war in Iraq. The enormous
number of protests and the sheer size of many of the protests were
unprecedented. Also unprecedented was the fact that these world wide protests
occurred before the war even started. Massive coordinated global protests did
not occur prior to the first Gulf War, which was equally well publicized. The
2003 peace protests did not make a difference in the decisions made by our
president or the English prime minister, but the protests may have made it
easier for countries like France and Germany to hold their ground and refuse to
participate. In this sense the peace protests facilitated by the global justice
movement may have had an impact in changing bush’s proposed “coalition of the
willing” into a “coalition of the bribed and cajoled.” In America, the size and
the number of the protests did make it clear to the world that Mr. Bush’s
decisions were illegitimate in the eyes of many Americans.
The global justice movement just needs some time to come into
its own. It could develop into something very positive. There is no precedence
for such a world wide movement, and of course there are going to be growing
pains. I just wish that Friedman would have given the movement a bit more
credit and maybe offered specific suggests for how the group could chart a
successful course of action in the future.
The Humiliation of Muslims
I agree with the
insights Freidman had with regard to the motivation for anti-Americanism in the
Arab world and how this anti-Americanism is linked to extremist terror groups
like Al-Qaeda. “Terrorism is not spawned by the poverty of money.
It is spawned by the poverty of dignity” (Freidman, 2005,
April). It is undoubtedly true that some Muslims
secretly liked the destruction of the Twin Towers because the attacks hurt the ‘school
yard bully.’ In the days following the attack, I must admit that there were times that I thought America
was asking for retaliation because the country has taken on this role of world
policeman without being asked and with little or no legitimacy. Since Bush
became president, it has become even more obvious that America simply does what
it wants to do because the country has the military might to do so, not because
the global actions America takes are the right thing to do for all people
involved. This superior attitude was bound to foster resentment among any
population that feels powerless in the face of American might. Freidman (2005) argues that “[H]umiliation is the
most underestimated force in international relations and in human relations. It
is when people or nations are humiliated that they really lash out and engage
in extreme violence.” I agree with this, and it is the acknowledgment of this
connection that can lead to better understanding and perhaps a viable solution
to the problem in the future.
It is the Internet that has made the humiliation of the Arab
world so in-your-face for everyday Muslims. In the book, Freidman talks about
how he remembered right after the March 2004, terrorist train bombings that Osama
bin Laden had previously made a reference to Spain. After an internet search,
Freidman located the following statement from bin Laden from a confiscated
tape. "Spain used to be a Muslim country. We used to own this country. You
know what? The entire Arab world, the combined GDP of all twenty-two Arab
states, doesn't equal that of Spain, this country we owned." Freidman
comes to the conclusion that bin Laden must have used the Internet to access
that statistic. “What it means is that bin Laden was sitting in a cave
somewhere in 2002, reading the first Arab Human Development Report. Either he got a yellowed newspaper clipping, or he
downloaded it from his cave. It is the only way he could have gotten that information”
(Freidman, 2005, April). Freidman further
states that this connection between terrorism and the flat world is real. In his
story about bin Laden reading a comparison between Spain and the Arab world,
Friedman (2005, April) asserts that bin Laden “got his
humiliation fiber-optically,” and this phrase is one he has repeated in
subsequent interviews (Freidman, 2005, April). I
agree with Freidman’s assertion “that 9/11 is all about humiliation and the
sense of being left behind and the anger and resentment that produces. The
flattening of the world really intensifies that sense of relative deprivation” (Freidman, 2005).
I
think that linking the flattening of the world, Western arrogance, and
advancing technology with radical Islamist thought is an important insight
Freidman’s book provides the world. He is correct in asserting that “When you take the economic and
political backwardness of much of the Arab-Muslim world today, add its past
grandeur and self-image of religious superiority, and combine it with the
discrimination and alienation these Arab-Muslim males face when they leave home
and move to Europe, or when they grow up in Europe, you have one powerful
cocktail of rage.” The humiliation of Germany after WWI led to the growth of
Naziism which held that outsiders are worthy of death simply because they are
outsiders, not because of what they have done. This sounds a lot like radical
Islamist that seek the deaths of infidels simply due to their status as
non-believers or seeks the death of American simply due to their
nationality.
The sad part is
that the actions of a few extremeist Muslims are negating the fact that the “Arab-Muslim
peoples have an incredibly rich cultural tradition and civilization, with long
periods of success and innovation to draw on for inspiration and example for
their young people” (Freidman, 2005). The estremist Muslims are striking out
from a postion of weakness instead of digging within themselves to pull out
something good. Muslim cultures could have the same access to technology for
modernization as India or China, but the state governments and religious
conservatives within the Arab world have put up great barriers to such
modernization. The terrrorists are willing to overlook the fact that it is
their govenrments that are impeding their prgress; instead they make the Jews
or the Americans scapegoats for the problems of their society.
The insight that terrorism is linked to
humiliation is important because it can help world leaders better understand
and meet the ‘face’ needs of Muslim countries. Perhaps Japan, where the concept
of face and face-saving is well understood, could become a leader in
interacting with the Muslim world. When the latest President Bush did all his
huffing and puffing in the lead up to the latest Iraq war, what realistic
option for saying face was offered to Sadam Hussein? None. If a face saving
option had been offered, it could have persuaded Mr. Hussein to back down and
comply with Bush’s demands, but I personally think that our illustrious leader
wanted a war. If ‘W’ had better understood the concept of face and its
importance in the Islamic world, he could have avoided taking America to war,
but I doubt that it would have mattered given that Bush really want the war to
happen. Regardless, realizing that there is a link between humiliation and
terrorism can help future presidents make intelligent and more informed
decisions.
The Curse of Oil
Recognizing the curse of oil is important because it ties in with the previous two ideas. Once the global justice movement matures, Arab countries with autocracies, authoritarian regimes, or extreme religious leaders will become areas of focus for the movement because in such countries the wealth of the nation is spent on a few while the majority of the population lives in poverty and ignorance. Also linked to the curse of oil is the humiliation of the Arab world that continues because most Arab governments resist change because modernization threatens their ability to keep their people suppressed. "The political leaders in the Arab world are illegitimate, so they have to either quell opposition or buy it off. That does not stop the frustration” (Freidman, 2005). More access to communication technologies and the Internet increases exposure to the world, and this increased exposure broadens imagination and can have the effect of increased tolerance. This broaden of the world view of the general population is not going to happen soon in the oil rich countries where the government is not willing to loosen their reins of control.
Oil breeds corruption. Oil poor Arab
countries like Jordan and Bahrain show “the most creativeness in the
Arab-Muslim world” (Freidman, 2005). The illegitimate power derived from the
control of oil resources enable corrupt leaders to stay in power. “As long as
the monarchs and dictators who run these oil states can get rich by drilling
their natural resources - as opposed drilling the natural talents and energy of
their people - they can stay in office forever” (Freidman, 2005). Without the oil to finance the
corruption, it would be harder for these leaders to maintain power. India is second only to Indonesia in
Muslim population, but the Muslim culture in India is for mostly non-violent
and lacking in the madrasas that espouse jihadi ideals. Freidman (2005) argues
that “[W]hen Islam is embedded in democratic societies, it tends not to grow
anger, but acceptance.”
However, democracy is unlikely to emerge in the oil rich countries because of the corruption that oil wealth engenders. This is the curse of oil. "Nothing has contributed more to retarding the emergence of a democratic context in places like Venezuela, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran than the curse of oil” (Freidman, 2005). The people who control the wealth can control the population. In Saudi Arabia, women cannot drive nor were they allowed to vote for candidates or run for office in the country’s first national election, held in 2004. These elections were in response to American led calls for reform in a country where political parties are banned and press freedoms are limited (“No Vote for Women,” 2004). The American pressure was due to the fact that more that 75% of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudis. The elections in Saudi Arabia did not produce any real change in government policy. The fact is that in oil rich countries “The rulers don't really have to pay attention to the people or explain how they are spending their money - because they have not raised that money through taxes" (Freidman, 2005). The curse of oil is important because it inhibits modernization and ensures the continued humiliation of the Arab-Muslim world.
There are plenty of talented and intelligent people in the Arab world who with training and education could easily compete on a global scale. Once the talents of these individuals are unleashed, the Arab people can start reclaiming their place of prominence on the global. However, this will only happen when the autocracies give up power and the religious zealots are pushed out of position of power. This transformation will not come easily because the oil rich countries have a powerful wealthy class that has no incentive to change.
Conclusion
The
anti-globalization movement, the humiliation of Muslims, and the curse of oil are
all important ideas Freidman discusses in his final three chapters of The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First
Century. The three topics are interrelated
and all can have on impact on the future of world terrorism. Freidman made good
observation and offered helpful insights into the humiliation of Muslims
and the curse of oil. However, he needed to give the global justice movement more credit for what it has done and more time to mature.
He also could have provided specific suggestions to guide its future
development.
Resources
Anti-Globalization (2005). IQ enhancing news, 1-9. 1-8. Downloaded February 9, 2005 from http://anti-globalization.iqnaut.net/
Friedman, T. L. (2005) The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First
Century.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Freidman, T. L. (2005, April). Edited
transcript of remarks made to the Carnegie Council Books for Breakfast. Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs,
1-8. Downloaded February 12, 2005 from
http://cceia.org/viewMedia.php/prmTemplateID/8/prmID/5134
No Vote for Women in Saudi
Elections. (2004, October 11) Associated Press, 1-3. Downloaded February 15, 2005 from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,135095,00.html
|
|