Global Interdependence - Article Example

Global Interdependence The dominating news items from the recent past to the current times, have been the global war on terrorism, global economic meltdown and of course, the global interest in the US presidential elections in the backdrop of the two preceding factors. This paper attempts to analyze the phenomenon of what came to be known as the Obamania. Citation The two chosen resources are cited below: Simon, J. (2008). ‘At last this exhausted region is energised - by its old foe’, Guardian 3rd December, 2008.

Retrieved from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/03/us-iraq-india-pakistan-lebanon Krugman, P. (2008). ‘The Lame-duck Economy’, New York Times, 21st November, 2008. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/opinion/21krugman.html Summary The central idea of Simon’s article is the worldwide sense of exhaustion, particularly in the Islamic world, as a result of local conflicts, interference by the US and terrorism. The Israeli-Arab conflict, its fallout on the relations between Syria & Lebanon, the 9/11 disaster leading to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the sanctions against Iran and the latest act of terrorism against Mumbai by suspected terrorists from Pakistan – all continuing disastrous events evading resolution, have been touched upon by Simon to point out that the world is exhausted and looking forward to a new messiah to bring these conflicts to an end.

President-elect Mr. Barack Obama, according to Simon, carries this great ‘burden of expectation’ by the people across the globe. If trade or economic matters are the bye-words of globalization, the word Obamania is no less in a globally interdependent world. Krugman’s article touches upon the economic deterioration in the US and around the world as has been happening in the past one year, how much worse it can get before Mr. Obama assumes office as President on 20th January 2009, and the eagerly awaited change of course from the present administration’s policies.

Without saying it in so many words, Krugman hints at the interdependency of the global economy and politics to suggest that expectations indeed run high on both counts at home and abroad. Context The end of the cold-war period signified by the fall of the former Soviet Union, gave rise to globalization as the solution to economic co-operation and growth. The USA promoted this approach aggressively and prompted most nations to fall in line. Indeed, many poor countries have been seeing the benefits of global marketing, by exporting cheap manufactured products into the rich markets of the western world.

However, the success on the economic side has not been repeated in the political area. The decades old conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians continued without abatement and if anything, worsened into an all out conflict between the Islamic and non-Islamic (mainly Christian, Jewish and Hindu) faiths. Exhausted by the expensive wars on one side and crippled by the greed of financial institutions on the other, the USA suddenly found itself at its weakest position both politically and economically in a long time.

Opinion Political stability and economic growth depend upon global co-operation and orderly world markets. Both are essential for lifting poorer nations of the world to the level of prosperity being enjoyed by the developed nations. Peace anywhere in the world is predicated by global interdependence. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the USA have changed the course of the world in a defining way. In a similar manner, the on-going economic crisis in the USA is impacting nations far from its soil.

When poor countries do not find buyers for their products in the rich nations led by the USA, their attention turns from constructive to destructive actions. The end of the Vietnam War followed by its economic resurgence (assisted by none other than its former foe, the USA) is a case in point. Not surprisingly therefore, nations exhausted by the conflicts on one side and the economic troubles on the other side are naturally looking forward to Mr. Obama and his promise of change. In a way Mr.

Obama himself symbolizes change considering his background as an African American to occupy the position of the leader of the world, for all practical purposes. His race to the presidential nomination and later to the victory was avidly followed by peoples of many nations as never before. His pronouncements on local issues concerning healthcare, energy, education and infrastructure drew as much attention as his commitment for ending the war in Iraq, starting dialogue with Iran and to multilateral approach on global issues.

In his scheme of things, action on local issues should take care of reviving the US economy (and therefore, the world economy) while the same on global issues should reduce conflicts, without diluting the US supremacy. Indeed, the phenomenon of Obamania has gripped the world and put great burden of expectations on his shoulders. As the well-known journalist Thomas Friedman is fond of saying ‘it’s a flat world out there’, global interdependence comes forth in the expectations about Mr.Obama.