This chapter has two purposes. The first is to establish a historical foundation on which to build our analysis of international relations. The second is to sketch the evolution of the current, rapidly evolving world political system (Robertson, 1997). The concept of an international system represents the notion that the world is more than just a sum of its parts, such as countries, and that world politics is more than just the sum of the individual interactions among those parts. The idea of an international system is also based on the belief that there are general patterns of actions among the system’s actors. The activities in this chapter are designed to help you understand systems of political power and share your opinions about the future with other students. Don't forget to complete the survey and see how your view of the future compares to that of other students.
Recognize major trends in the evolving world system and identify the terminology defining them by matching terms in our online political data assistant |
|
|
|
Determine how you feel about political issues in the twenty-first century. How do your feelings compare to other students? |
|
|
|
Discuss the implications of the growing economic disparity between the North and South and the part the Group of 77 plays in helping LDCs in their economic development by assessing current issues before the Group of 77. |
|
|
|
Discuss the pace of world political evolution at the beginning of the twentieth century and describe the weakening of the multipolar system by viewing a map of the breakup of the Soviet Union. |
|
|
|
Identify the economic situation of most countries by measuring their GNP on a map. |
|
|
|
Extend your knowledge of the evolving world political systems by visiting some selected Web sites. |