The Post-9/11 Globalization Era and its Aftermath

The period following the September 11, 2001 attacks is often accepted as the beginning of the current era. Politics, society and countries saw a stark and rapid change following the attacks. Security at the expense of privacy is regarded as the defining characteristic that often differentiates policies and habits before and after 9/11. Increased international communication furthered globalization and raised a generation that is accustomed to being aware of international affairs. Current discourse suggests that 2016 may be the beginning of the next era. An era that is characterized by a retaliation against globalization and the domination of political elites. Growing resentments to globalism and elitism manifested in the form of the Occupy Wall

Isolationism, in the context of the United States specifically, refers to “ an orientation toward parts of the world that goes back to the founding of the United States.” (Haglund, 2003). In the context of foreign policy isolationism refers to withdrawing from international participation. In the context of Economics, isolationism is defined as enacting practises to keep activities to a domestic level(Weidenbaum, 1996). While the definition of isolationism is heavily contested given the various fields it can be used in they all share the common trait of keeping to oneself and limiting foreign involvement. This isn’t the first time that isolationism has hit the western world. Following the end of the Cold War in 1991, various countries experienced some isolationist tendencies (Weidenbaum, 1996). However the general direction has been towards globalism and increasing international

These protests haven’t been centralized to a single country or region but rather have appeared throughout the globe. Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria emerged in the form of the Arab Spring protests that swept across the Middle East in 2011. Labour movements in North America, economic austerity resistance in Spain, injustice protests in Greece and Israil, and the ‘YoSoy123’ movement in Mexico all sprouted around the same time(Basok, 2014). Then in late 2011 these movements seemed to have blended together and culminated in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Each of these movements share a common goal in the form of increasing the bleak economic situation that plagues the globe. Basok notes that it was the dichotomy between economic classes that motivated the movement and sparked the notorious ‘1% versus 99%’ motto. Causes for such global disparity can be traced to decisions made decades prior. Levine Marc noted in 1996 that since the early 1970’s “there has been an unprecedented surge in income inequality and a polarization of earnings in the United States”. The western middle class had been shrinking for almost four decades but at a rate that, while not