Western culture and policies have shaped the modern world, especially the Middle East, in many ways. Since the sixteenth century, the nations of Western civilization have been the driving wheels of modernization. Globalization is simply the spread of modern institutions and ideas from one high power to the wider world. Technological innovation and economic growth along with such concepts as democracy, individualism, and the rule of law administered by an impartial judiciary, set Western societies above and beyond any possible rival. Other cultures looked to the West as a model, a threat, or some combination of both. One country that was most successful in their confrontations with Western states was Japan, who incorporated Western technologies and institutional arrangements into their own systems. This idea of mimicking the Western system can be used by other regions, such as the Middle East, to provide a foundation of government. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait called forth the "lessons of Munich" against the uselessness of comforting hostility. The Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment, once treated as transnational phenomena that shaped the modern world, are now deconstructed and denounced as myths invented to serve Western imperialism. These conflicts come about from two key factors, the dimension of ethnic identity and the dimension of cultural/religious identity. Ethnic identity can be defined as a group of people conceiving themselves as a race, community or society. Generally, ethnicity is based on a vertical emotional border. This emotional boundary can create a barrier against co-existence and give rise to potential conflict with other ethnic groups all the time. This general definition could be applied to any kind of... ... middle of paper ... ...iginated in the American Culture through the transformation of the modern world. According to Khalidi American Power in the Middle East was highly critical and was assumed to be the post- Cold War. It should have been called for UN intervention but according to the Middle East it wouldn't have helped anything. On the other hand if the UN intervened in the first place, then the U.S. would not have gone into Iraq. Now after American lives and blood have been shed, the UN wants to intervene. Europe also has critical evaluations towards the US entering the middle east because they will always blame the US even though every nation that was in ally with each other agreed that Iraq was a threat to homeland security and the security of each nation. It was considered politically incorrect because of the highly dense population of Muslim people throughout the regions of Europe.
The Middle East has historically rebuked Western influence during their process of establishing independence. When Britain and France left the Middle East after World War II, the region saw an unprecedented opportunity to establish independent and self-sufficient states free from the Western influence they had felt for hundreds of years. In an attempt to promote nationalistic independence, the states of the region immediately formed the League of Arab States in 1945. The League recognized and promoted the autonomy of its members and collaborated in regional opposition against the West until 1948 when Israel declared independence. Israel represented then and now an intrusive Western presence in the Arab world. The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict typifies this cultural antagonism. The Cold War refocused attention to the Middle East as a site of economic and strategic importance for both sides, yet the two hegemons of the Cold War now needed to recognize the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern states. With their statehood and power cemented, the Middle Easte...
A Triumvirate is a political alliance involving three rulers, who divide the land and power among each other. The first Triumvirate involved Pompey; who was a popular general who crushed the Spanish Revolt. The second was Crassus; he was a wealthy noble with a lot of ambition and was very ruthless. Crassus owned all the fire stations in Rome, when a person needed his services he would let the fire burn until he was paid a sum of money to his likings. Crassus was unsuccessful in his military pursuits. The third was Julius Caesar; he was also a wealthy noble. He was very popular with the lower class. For a short period Caesar was the Governor of Spain, when he returned he was thrown a Triumph. All three men wanted to run for Consul, and all were denied by the Senate. They created the Triumvirate because they all had an Anti-Senate outlook, and by forming the Triumvirates they would all be able to take turns being Consul. They were Anti-Senate because the Senate had lost control over their generals and armies, and had little support from the people.
The relations between the U.S and the Middle East are strained at best. The troops deployed in the area face constant threat of attack by a militant group. These broken relations between the U.S and the Middle East started over 50 years ago, with the Iran Hostage Crisis. Root causes of the crisis were many. One was U.S greed over oil in Iran. The second, the coup in Iran organized and funded by the CIA. The U.S dependence on foreign oil is another cause of the problems. Lastly, should the U.S stop moving into other countries sovereign lands and trying to “Prevent the evil of communism”, the nation would not have so many problems around the world. This worry was even shown in Iran (Kinzer, 10). While often blamed on radicals, the strained relations between the U.S and the Middle East are a direct result of a poor US foreign policy.
Author Michael Schuman said it best, “Globalization is very much alive and well.” He would be correct in this assumption, as many countries are accepting the western cultural influence as their own. As the authors, Foer and Appaih, strive to identify globalization with single references, as they lacks the overall annotation; globalism, and its unstoppable force. Appiah’s meaning for globalization is more specific than Schumans and on a personal, family, and religious level with acceptance and how others perceive them. Appiah’s approach to globalism is perception based, outside of what his family beliefs are and what is dissimilar by other cultures with no appeal to influence. Foer on the other hand, perceives globalization culture as it is observed through sports, specifically soccer, family influence, and other means to preserve globalization change as Americans and non Americans in the United states, with no mention of outside countries original or future influence. As each author sees the world of globalization in their own way, they actually compliment each other on there reasonings to sustain from globalization, more so by Foer. Each author relates on a personal and culture opinion, as they have clearly defined there theories on globalization and the approach. Seeing the world as these authors do, much is lost in regards to originality and freedom, more-so, with ones desires to change without external influence. In as much as the majority of the jobs are leaving America, and our economy is in shambles, it does not mean that the western influence of globalization has stalled or in decline; this just goes to she that it is stronger than ever, by means of expansion outside of America to more sparsely populated areas of undevelop...
Cultural norms play a function in the way individuals view the world. Although, some individual’s experience social dilemmas between their heritage and being American. As United States citizens, individuals should go beyond ethnicity and see everybody as an American. America was established by immigrants from all over the world, which turned the nation into a collage made of a number of diverse cultures. With these different cultures come the laws and religions that govern their behavior. In, Mind Reading an Anthology for Writers by Gary Colombo presents a number of remarkable essays on cultural customs. In “Hidden Culture” by Edward T. Hall, he describes culture as well as, how an individual’s culture effects their capability to understand another person’s cultural customs. In “Mrs. Cassadore” by Mick Fedullo, explains his life experience while educating the Apache students on the reservation. Fedullo overcomes cultural obstacles. Fedullo helps his students to realize that it is acceptable to be Apache. Fedullo teaches his students that one should never transform who they are. “The Self and Society: Changes, Problems, and Opportunities by Roy F. Baumeister make use of labels to explain selfhood. Baumeister discuss the history of selfhood to rationalize selfhood. For example, how changes in the society and culture affect selfhood. Two other articles that give some insight on American culture are “A Quilt of a Country” by Anna Quindlen, and “Communication In A Global Village” by Dean Barnlund. Culture is something people are born into. The way people view culture is how they are raised around it. Throughout history, our country has experienced social revolutions. When there are social revolutions, bringing about structural...
Beginning in 1880, there was a growing desire for European countries to expand and control their rule. The only continent at that time that was left uncontrolled and, in the European's eyes uncivilized, was Africa. This was the start of Western Imperialism. All European countries wanted their piece of Africa and to get it, they would let nothing stand in their way. They would change the entire government, religion, market, and behavior of most of the African nation and affect almost every person living there. An account of the impact of Imperialism is given in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. This book shows the changes that occurred in Africa during Imperialism and its affect on the community and the people of the tribes that existed there.
Economic and cultural turmoil within a nation always has a source. Iraq, a nation currently suffering violence due to the nation’s history, has been brought to its current state with the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein’s rule. The introduction of the Arab Ba’ath Socialist Party in 1968 led to the promotion of the genocide of the Kurdish citizens living in the nation (“Kurdish Revolt”). The Ba’ath Party blamed many of the non-Arab Kurds for a majority of the problems occurring in the Arab states which resulted in the genocide (“Kurdistan Democratic Party”). This was just part of the extreme ruling methods Saddam Hussein used to maintain power. In addition, Saddam Hussein was extremely manipulative and used this skill to his advantage to gain for his personal self-interest. By not ratifying the the boundaries between Kuwait and Iraq although these boundaries were clearly states within letters between the two governments, it allowed Saddam Hussein to step in and use this to his advantage to take over Kuwait (“Iraq Until the 1958 Revolution”). Saddam Hussein is often known as Saddam Hussein’s ruthless dictatorship of extreme and repressive rule, alliances that ensured the continuation of his control, and his numerous refusals to comply with international regulations prompted foreign involvement against Iraq.
In "Civilization: The West and the Rest", author Niall Ferguson explains why Western civilization has provided modern Western civilization a lead over the rest of the world both past and present. The West is roughly assumed as the establishment of people and nations that live in the earth's northern hemisphere, stretching from the United States through Europe (Ferguson, pp. 14-15). Rather than a chronological narrative, Ferguson provides six chapters of what he calls “killer apps,” each addressing a main component in his response to the inquiry of Western power: 1) competition, both among and inside the European states; 2) science, starting with the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries; 3) the rule of law and representative
Culture has a huge impact on how you see the world. Did you know in some cultures it is rude to fill your own glass with water, yes you think that's weird because culture tells you it is weird. Also in some other cultures if someone hands you a business card you shouldn't put it in your pocket they find that rude just like you find it weird. I think culture has a tremendous affect on how we see the world everything you see that people portray weird isn't to other places. Culture has the biggest impact on how you see the world. Although people have valid points about other things being the main reason on how people see the world it is always traced back to culture what is telling you how to look at the world.
The role America plays in foreign affairs is debated drastically throughout the nation. Realists see the world in terms of competition and working unilaterally whereas; liberals see the world in terms of cooperation and working multilaterally. President Woodrow Wilson initiated neo-conservatism to promote liberalism and American values contrariwise, President George Washington warned against undue foreign entanglements. This day in age our foreign affairs have been dominated on the war in terrorism, a tactic that disregards lives of citizens for instilling fear in citizens. The often misconception of citizens, is that terrorism is linked to Islam when in fact it is not linked to Islam or any religion.
Having understood that the world has taken the form it has through the domination or imperialism of Western countries, it is said that they are the agents that have greatly influenced the world; their ideologies in addition to their political as well as economic influences have spread across the globe through time (Headrick, 1981).
The modern West is known for providing the world with a different culture of arts, innovation, and government. In my view, the modern West possessed a theme of revolution that outlines the main story line for Western Civilization.
The Western culture has evolved over a span of several years with various civilizations specializing in specific aspects of life or nature. In essence, Western civilization dates back to the BCE periods when Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, and Ancient Rome reigned. Each of the Western civilizations came with a clear lineage that portrayed such attributes as property rights, free market economy, competition, personal freedoms, and innovation (Perry, 2013). Besides, the western civilizations came at different periods with some of the attributes evolving or remaining unchanged throughout the lineage. However, the non-western civilizations contributed towards such attributes to a given extent, primarily because of the interactions among
Commercialization of culture: It is very obvious to see the western culture dominated all the other minor cultures by so many means. Fast food culture is wide spread around the globe. Western dressing is considered to be cool and good looking.
What are people referring to when they talk about Western culture? One can understand that understanding of Western Culture can point towards various traditions, customs, values, and different belief systems that made their origin from Europe and are based on European culture. An obvious example of a country that is stricken with Western culture is in the culture of America. Western culture can encompass a variety of cultures such as the Spanish, French and British cultures. Westerns complex is so inherently diverse and complex because of its adaptability to encompass so much on a global scale and exist throughout the various cultures that are existent in countries around the world. Some of the central feature of Western culture can be understood as including the understanding the importance of capitalism, modern technology, human rights, individualism, and democracy to name some important features. Western culture is best known as being individualistic because of its emphasis on personal achievement an individual’s maintain unique identities. In Western culture there is a value placed on