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Since the 1960s, the forces of globalization have been transforming the world in every imaginable way. The most obvious changes have taken place in a global production system driven by rapid technological change. The international economic and financial system is characterized by historic levels of trade in goods and services and capital flows. Economic growth and progress has been accompanied by periods of economic and financial instability, an expansion in the level of global poverty, an acceleration of public health challenges, and enormous environmental pressures upon the earth. The end of the cold war brought forward a decade of rapid economic expansion for the advanced industrial countries and a global transition toward economic liberalization and democracy. The early years of the 21st century have seen the return of economic instability and a political and cultural backlash against the globalization dynamics of the 1990s. The role and function of international institutions like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the United Nations are now in question. The Post-9/11 world of the on-going “War Against Terrorism” and the aftermath of the Iraq war have delivered the global system into a period of great uncertainty.

This program will attempt to bring some perspective to the contemporary global context and the dynamics of modern globalization. The topics and speakers have been selected to be of interest to the entire University community. James Petras will begin the series with an examination of the “Bush Doctrine” and its significance for Latin America. With so much recent emphasis understandably on the Middle East, this focus on Latin America will remind us that there are other vital parts of the global system. Patrice Franko will follow Petras with an examination of the very important issue of international aid and explore some of the controversies associated with the debate over “effectiveness versus humanitarianism”. Eileen Stillwaggon will address the issue of global HIV/AIDS policy and will inquire whether we are asking the right questions. Finally, Michael Klare will explore the nature of past, present, and future resource wars in a post-Iraq context. He will argue that the relationship between the availability and access to water, food, minerals, timber, and oil will determine the location and nature of future regional and global conflict.

Organized by the International Relations Program