Saturday, February 19, 2005

Globalization in the next 15 years

The following article was taken from Latinnews.com:

Latin America does not figure very prominently on the world radar. Indeed, it barely figures at all in the 123 pages of the US National Intelligence Council's just-released study on world trends over the coming 15 years. What is said, though, is that Latin America's response to globalisation may cause a split in the region, and that the main threat it faces is its governments' failure to find solutions for 'abject poverty and bad governance'. This, it suggests, could breed populism, radical indigenism, activist religious fundamentalism and anti-US sentiment.

I thought that this was interesting since it corresponded to our readings. It would interesting to see what else was said about world trends and Latin America in the newly released study.

1 comment:

Huck said...

Since we focus on Latin American specifically in our class, obviously it becomes the center of our attention -- as it should in such a class. But it is true that when one steps back and looks at the macro picture, Latin America is a marginal region in the international system. This is commonly recognized among Latin Americanist scholars. We sometimes hear the phrase "benign neglect" in terms of how the stronger powers of the world (and particularly the U.S.) often view Latin America. And I think what mathaihurts writes is quite apt: the major players in world politics (as reflected in the report) tend to concentrate on their relations with each other (i.e. among the kings and queens) rather than the more marginal players (the pawns).