Chapter 23: New Public IdentitiesPolitical Identities

The Soviet Union Dissolves Boris Yeltsin, 1991-9

• Needed to dispose of Soviet nuclear arsenal• Russia witnessed reduction of life expectancy as well as

economic decline• Won international support for Russian economy• Chechnyan revolt an ongoing problem

Vladimir Putin elected president but has not solved Russian problems

Political Identities

European IdentitySources of unity

• End of Iron Curtain• New members of European Union• Divisions of Europe tied to Cold War needs• Nationalism hasn’t thwarted unity

Political Identities

USA as the Lone SuperpowerCombined economic & military power

• Japanese economic collapse confirmed US role• The End of History: American system is best

– North Korea & Terrorism emerge as threats– Oklahoma City and World Trade Center

• War on Terrorism isolates US from allies• Challenge: Can you fight terrorism and

presever personal liberty at the same time?

Religious and Cultural Identities

Religious identity becomes powerful force

Iran under Ayotollah Khomeini Taliban in AfghanistanReligious parties prompt military response in Turkey and Algeria Nigeria split by shari’a law in northStruggles in the former Yugoslavia turn on religion

Religious and Cultural Identities

Hinduism and Islam in South AsiaGandhi saw Congress as secular partyHindu nationalism emerged in 1980s

• Scorned Muslims as not truly Indian because they had adopted religion of invading force

• Stressed Hindutva or “Hinduness”• Rewrote school books to highlight Hindu

successes• Movement met at least momentary setback in

2004 national election

Religious and Cultural Identities

ConfucianismChinese decide Confucianism is not contrary to communist values

JudaismRising importance of nationalism in Israel

ChristianityNon-westerners the core of ChristianityPope John Paul II promoted ecumenismLiberation theology a 3rd world movement

Religious and Cultural Identities

Evangelical ChristianityCurrently 10% of Latin American Christians

Pentecostals have special appeal for women• Call for end of “machismo” in men

Emphasis is on direct, personal experience

Mormon Church is a growing denomination

Protestantism provides support in Latin America similar to what early Christians gained in Roman Empire

Religious and Cultural Identities

Religion in the United StatesUS is most formally religious industrial nation

Dominant mainline groups adapted to changes in society in ‘60s & ‘70s

Reaction from those who felt nation had drifted too far from religious moorings

• Are known as fundamentalists• Polls indicate growing support for views of

fundamentalism

Religious and Cultural Identities

Religion in the United States [cont.]Population shift to south and west sees migrants adopting local conservative views rather than holding fast to old views

Confrontations ensue• Branch Davidian stand-off• Roe. V. Wade (abortion)• Clerical misconduct discredits some churches

Religious and Cultural Identities

Religion in the United States [cont.]Pornography occurs alongside “Christian” guidebooks on marriage and sexuality

“Born again” views a growing presence in mass media

Immigrants to US bring a variety of new religions that are part of their ethnic identity

Globalization: New Economic and Cultural Identities

Globalization extends the reach and relationship of people and organizationsWorld contains supporters and critics of the trend toward globalizationCreates homogenization of culture and taste but also preservation of cultural “niches”

Globalization: New Economic and Cultural Identities

The Internet and the World Wide WebGrowth of computer-based communication

Internet created in 1969; 1st virus in 1988

Usage is growing exponentially

Variety of uses includes file sharing (Napster)

These new technologies are expanding the gap between rich and poor

Production of software moving beyond US

Globalization: New Economic and Cultural Identities

Disparities, Disruptions & CrisesNumber of people in poverty declined in 1990s

Economic changes affect regions, not just states• Fall of Thai currency triggered regional crisis (1997)• Depth of crisis caused by financial systems that were not

“transparent”• International Monetary Fund helped region• Capital had become global but regulatory mechanisms

had not

Globalization: New Economic and Cultural Identities

The Global Criminal EconomyCrime has gone global

Drugs--largest of all illegal activities

Smuggling of People--human cargo

Trade in women & children--sexual slavery

Trade in body parts

Money laundering

Globalization: New Economic and Cultural Identities

The Global Criminal Economy [cont.]Trafficking in Nuclear Materials

• Many weapons in former USSR• “Nuclear club” grew because of work of

Pakistan

International Criminal Organizations• Closed, international organizations reach out to

one another• UN forms “Convention Against Transnational

Organized Crime” (2000)

Globalization: New Economic and Cultural Identities

Medicine, Science, & Global EcologyMedical advances include gender selection of children and longer lives

AIDS remains a global challenge

Cloning challenges human identity

Genetic research also allows gene substitution to address inherited conditions

Ecological Issues

United Nations organized against global ecological destruction (1990)

Challenges includeGlobal warming

Destruction of marine environment

Acid Rain

Deforestation

What Difference Do They Make?

Have moved into the sphere of contemporary history

We can use the tools of historical study but are no longer doing history

Can use our own identities as touchstones for understanding others

Self-knowledge, historical tools, and evidence promote understanding of future