Unit 12: The Modern World

Issues Facing the Modern World

1. Since the end of World War II, the public has become increasingly aware of the number of human rights violations that occur throughout the world. However, the ability to prevent them is severely handicapped, since most occur in nations that are _________________.

2. Within the last 25 years, there has been a growing trend among democracies to help oppressed peoples. This led to many awful discoveries in several nations, especially ones who had recently gained their independence.

A. Human Rights Violations

dictatorships

a. Near the end of the Vietnam War, a communist group known as the ____________________ came to power in Cambodia. Their leader was ___________, and he would order the murder of a million Cambodians in his attempt to remove _____________________ influence from his country. Pol Pot was actually put on trial by members of his own party, and sentenced to house arrest, for the murder of a counter-revolutionary leader.

Khmer RougePol Pot

western influences

b. When communism collapsed in Eastern Europe during the early 1990s, chaos engulfed _______________________, which had existed for decades as a conglomeration of different ethnic groups. The two largest, ___________ and __________, felt threatened by the ethnic minority of _________________. Therefore, the Serbs and Croats, under the leadership of _______________________, started a policy of _______________________ to rid Serbia of the Muslims. Conflict raced across the former nation, and even the UN could not stem the tide. Finally, in 1994, the Croats pledged to stop the violence, but it took until late 1995 for an armistice to be signed. Milosevic was then put on trial for “_________________________________” and convicted. He died in early 2006.

Yugoslavia

Croats SerbsMuslims

Slobodan Milosevicethnic cleansing

crimes against humanity

c. In April 1994, the Rwandan government, under the leadership of the extremist group _______________ began a systematic extermination of the ethnic minority ________________. The Hutu, in claiming power, said that they and the Tutsi’s could not peacefully coexist. In less than 100 days, _____________________ were reportedly killed. The UN sent in peace-keeping forces soon after the atrocities started, but they were limited in what they could do. It took a Tutsi led rebellion to oust the government. Even today, Rwanda is feeling the effects of this genocide, as the government struggles to stabilize.

HutuTutsi

800,000

d. A very recent example of Human Rights Violations is taking place in the African nation of ________________. In the region of _____________ (meaning land of Fur), this conflict started when a group of rebel fighters attacked government outposts. The violence escalated when a group named _________________ attempted to “cleanse” the black Africans from the area. The Janjaweed are _____________. Rumors abound; however, in some circles, it is believed that the Janjaweed are funded by the Sudanese government. While not officially a “genocide,” approximately 200,000 people have been killed and millions of others have been displaced, many fleeing to nearby Chad, increasing tensions between these two nations. As recently as September 2006, the UN made a resolution, pledging 17,000 peacekeepers to the region in order to stop the violence. At the end of October, 2007, led by the UN, peace talks began; however, key rebel leaders refuse to be part of the process.

SudanDarfur

JanjaweedMuslim

1. One of the biggest problems facing the modern world is the amount of ____________________ that resulted from industrialization. For decades, there were no laws that regulated the pollution of the atmosphere. This has caused numerous issues to arise and be dealt with:

a. ___________________ is one major result of the pollution. The rain not only destroys our buildings, it also damages our _____________. These forests are the lifeblood of the human race (trees produce __________________, which you need to live.)

B. Environmental Issues

pollution

Acid Rain

forests

oxygen

b. Another result of the polluting of the atmosphere is the increase in ___________________________. The high amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has started to melt the ________________, leading to the rising of the Earth’s oceans. This trend has led to much warmer temperatures across the globe. Unfortunately, this trend created numerous ____________________ in many of the Third World Countries of _________________.

Global Warmingice caps

droughtsAfrica

c. Occasionally, pollution stems from human error. Such was the case at the ______________________ Nuclear Facility in the Ukraine. Here, a nuclear meltdown polluted the environment with radiation, poisoning not only the soil, but also the people living there. Another environmental disaster of note was the ___________________ Oil Spill in Alaska, where an oil tanker struck ground, and spilled millions of gallons into the Artic Ocean, destroying the environment, and killing many animals.

Chernobyl

Exxon Valdez

2. Another problem facing the modern world has been the ___________________ of many of the world’s rain forests. This has especially been prevalent in ___________________ and Africa. The rain forest in South America is often referred to as the world’s “______________” because they provide so much oxygen. However, continued efforts at destroying this area have resulted in numerous groups protesting against these actions.

deforestation

South America

lungs

3. One major social revolution that has affected the environment and how we produce things is the ___________________. Scientists applied technology to how food was produced, and developed new methods that helped to increase food production. By doing this, they were able to increase the amount of food produced per acre. Credit is given to ____________________________, who developed the theory that using certain chemical fertilizers with specialized varieties of rice, helped to increase food production in a cheap and efficient manner. India has used this to help feed its enormous population. However, success was limited. These new methods needed moisture in order to thrive, and also required chemical fertilizers, which were sometimes harmful to the environment

Green Revolution

Norman Borlaug

1. A major political issue facing today’s world came from when the former colonies gained independence. Many of them were ____________________ to gain complete independence. Ethnic conflict, tribal rivalries, unstable economic systems, and differing political ideologies led to numerous civil wars across these nations as different people struggled for power. Some good examples of this include the _______________ in Central Africa, _________________, which has experienced a rash of foreign invasions in the last 20 years, and the rise of dictatorships in ______________________.

C. Political Problems

unprepared

CongoAfghanistan

Nigeria

2. Another political issue that has risen in recent years has been the use of ___________________________ to help promote political ideas. Terrorism is defined as the systematic use of _____________________ to make political gains, and has been the primary tool of groups such as _______________ and ________________, as they protest the existence of Israel. Since 9/11, more concern has been placed on global ___________________, as these groups have garnered more public attention. Terror groups are not solely focused on the existence of Israel. Terror groups, such as the ________________________________________ (IRA) have been working for decades to remove the British influence in Northern Ireland, and have helped shape many nations’ policies for years.

terrorism

violenceHamas

al Queda

security

Irish Republican Army

3. Fear of the spread of infectious _________________ has also become a political issue. In the late 1980’s, a worldwide movement to educate people about the spread of __________ began. AIDS is among the deadliest diseases, and effects people of all races. However, it is most deadly in _____________. The UN is constantly fighting an uphill battle trying to fight this deadly disease. At the end of 2007, 88% of all HIV positive cases were in Africa. Such a high number has thrown the societies of Africa, still in transition from independence, into even more of a tailspin.

diseases

AIDS

Africa

4. A larger growing fear is the ability of different nations to produce and use ___________________ technology. Since the use of the Atomic Bomb at Hiroshima, the world has entered the nuclear age. As détente between the US and the USSR took hold, they began to sign several treaties that limited their build up of nuclear warheads. This also applied to other nations with nuclear capability. However, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, so too did its hold on their nuclear warheads. There is a fear that many of these warheads fell into the hands of _____________________. Also problematic is the fact that the UN feels that certain nations would not use the technology responsibly (_____________________ and _______________ are good examples), and have tried to enforce embargos against them.

nuclear

terrorists

North KoreaIran

5. Of recent concern, the tremendous _____________________ growth since the end of World War II has created concern about the food production industry. Because of new medical technologies, the length of time people live has increased. The fear revolves around the planet not having enough ________________________ to support an unchecked population growth. Scientists have tied this population growth to many of the environmental issues the world is facing today.

population

food

a. There has been a growth of a worldwide __________________. This is the dependence of countries on ________________ and _____________ from all parts of the world. This has created an enormous amount of ___________ between nations. Therefore, nations banded together to sign the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) treaty. These nations promoted the increase in ____________ and provided a place for the nations of the world to discuss economic disputes. However, the organization grew once communism collapsed in Eastern Europe and Russia; therefore, a new organization formed: the World Trade Organization (WTO), which continued to play the role that the members of GATT used.

5. While there are several negative examples of

political problems, there were some positive

aspects that resulted from the different

independence movements.

interdependence

resources goods

trade

free trade

b. The UN has been at the center of many of the debates in the modern world. They have acted as peacekeeper in many nations, such as _____________ and in the ________________________. These missions, however, are not always successful.

c. The UN has also created many organizations to deal with the problems across the globe. One of the more successful of these is the _________________________________________ (WHO) who work feverishly to end disease and poverty in the world. The UN has also fought hard to establish worldwide human rights. To do this, they issued the ____________________________________________________________. This document guaranteed basic human rights to all people, regardless of their race or color. Other organizations, such as the Red Cross and Greenpeace have worked tirelessly to end poverty, injustice, and environmental abuses across the globe.

Somalia Balkans

World Health Organization

Declaration of Universal Human Rights