Unit 9: Globalization

"For decades, our government maintained tight control over key sectors of the economy, subsidizing basic necessities and protecting domestic industries from foreign competition. However, the debt crises of the preceding decade forced a major redirection. Under the guidance of international lending institutions, we have lowered tariffs, privatized state-owned utilities, and encouraged foreign corporations to invest. While these measures have stabilized our currency and increased trade, they have also resulted in deep cuts to social welfare programs and sparked public protests."

—Report by the Ministry of Finance of a Latin American nation, 1996

The economic policies described in the passage are most representative of which of the following global developments in the late twentieth century?

“The Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay...

Considering that the expansion of their domestic markets, through integration, is a vital prerequisite for accelerating their processes of economic development with social justice...

Convinced that this process must be adapted to scientific and technological developments and to the modernization of their economies, to ensure a competitive position in the world...

Have agreed as follows:
Article 1: The States Parties hereby decide to establish a common market, which shall be in place by 31 December 1994 and which shall be called the ‘Southern Common Market’ (MERCOSUR).”
— Treaty of Asunción, 1991

Based on the passage, the establishment of MERCOSUR is best understood as a response to which of the following late twentieth-century developments?

The following is an excerpt from a memoir by Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, reflecting on the movement's origins in the late 1970s:

"When we began, we were simply responding to the immediate needs of rural women. They reported that their streams were drying up, their food supply was less secure, and they had to walk further and further to get firewood... We soon realized that the degradation of our local environment was not an isolated event. It was directly linked to the disempowerment of women, the loss of indigenous knowledge, and a political system that did not allow citizens to participate in decision-making. Therefore, planting trees became a vehicle through which rural women could reclaim their agency, protect their livelihoods, and challenge the broader structures of governance."

Based on the passage, the activities of the Green Belt Movement best illustrate which of the following global developments in the late twentieth century?

"The introduction of the new high-yielding rice variety, IR8, has dramatically transformed agricultural prospects in Southeast Asia. For the first time, intensive application of chemical fertilizers, controlled irrigation, and modern pesticides has allowed farmers to double or triple their seasonal yields. However, these inputs require capital investments that are often beyond the reach of smallholders, leading to growing disparities between wealthy landowners and tenant farmers."

—International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), annual report, Manila, Philippines, 1969

Which of the following global trends in the second half of the twentieth century did the developments described in the passage most directly contribute to?

"The Green Revolution has introduced high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, but these crops require intensive inputs of chemical fertilizers, controlled irrigation, and chemical pesticides to achieve their potential. Without these modern industrial inputs, these varieties often perform worse than traditional local seeds. Consequently, farmers have become increasingly dependent on multinational agrochemical corporations and state-subsidized infrastructure projects."
—Adapted from a report on agricultural modernization in developing nations, c. 1985

Based on the passage and your knowledge of world history, which of the following was a major consequence of the agricultural developments described?

"The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has become an instrument for the control of the economies of the developing countries by the developed nations... When we ask for loans, we are told we must cut public spending on education and health, reduce food subsidies, and devalue our currency. These conditions are not economic; they are political demands that undermine our sovereignty."

— Julius Nyerere, President of Tanzania, address to the Royal Commonwealth Society, 1985

Nyerere's criticisms in the passage are most directly a reaction to which of the following policies implemented by international financial institutions in the late twentieth century?

“The World Bank-funded Sardar Sarovar Dam project on the Narmada River represents a model of development that serves global capital and urban elites at the expense of indigenous communities and the rural poor. By funding projects that force the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from their ancestral lands, international financial institutions prioritize economic growth metrics over human rights and environmental sustainability. Our struggle is not merely against a physical structure, but against a globalized economic paradigm that treats our rivers, forests, and communities as resources to be exploited for distant markets.”
—Adapted from statements by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Movement), India, c. 1990s

Based on the passage, the Narmada Bachao Andolan’s resistance to the dam project is best understood as a critique of which of the following post-1900 developments?