Globalization Will Dominate 21st Century - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), April, 2000

Political democracies and market-based economies will proliferate in countries worldwide as globalization continues in the coming century, predicts Donald Snow, professor of political science, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. "The 21st century will be another `American century,' with the United States continuing to dominate world affairs."

China may become increasingly important as an economic power, he suggests. "If China and Taiwan mend fences, the combination of Taiwan's money and expertise and China's labor force could lead to a strong, economic force. However, it will be imperative that the next generation of Chinese leadership renounce the monopoly and power of the Chinese Communist Party, because the global economy requires a market economy and political democracy."

While most of the world prospers, some regions will be conspicuously left out. "Economic relationships between nations will continue to develop in the next few decades, to the benefit of most of the world, but some parts of the world may become more marginal. The impact of AIDS and other diseases in Africa is devastating. Life expectancy in Zimbabwe, for example, is decreasing at a tremendous rate. A whole generation, which should have been providing leadership in the next 20 years, will likely be dead."

The sole serious challenge to global economic strength would be a major crisis--a crash like the Great Depression, Snow indicates. "That is unlikely to happen in the United States or Europe, thanks to many safeguards that are now in place, but it could happen in Russia, China, or India." Moreover, the possibility of a world war in the next decade is remote. "The major conflicts will be internal. American military involvement will continue to be deployments of choice, rather than necessity."