Roman - Polyethnicity and Globalization

The three readings for this class period all center around the difficult-to-define themes of polyethnicity and globalization. Examples which highlight the relationship between polyethnicity and globalization include nationalism, imperialism vs. globalization, and resistance to change withing the Arab world. The readings suggest that the tendency towards globalization is what drives changes in polyethnicity. In other words, change in polyethnicity is dependent on the trends of globalization.

New and interesting to me was the idea of a social, not political, revolution. This was discussed in the reading on the Arab world with "the fever under the surface" experienced by Arab individuals. Throughout history we've seen change take place primarily through political platforms. For instance, the American Revolution was highly organized by the founding fathers of the US. But now things are different. People with no political power can still change the thoughts of huge numbers of people. It seems that this ability is largely facilitated by technology. Technology makes communication much easier and even more secure. People can voice their opinions and not take much risk at the same time. The fever under the surface is just a network of people talking about what they like and don't like. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a full-blown revolution, but its impact on the sentiments of Arabs is definitely significant.

The articles did not really mention economic forces which lead to globalization. At present, the most economically successful countries are the most industrially and ethnically diverse. The US, as an example, went from a homogeneous nation exporting primarily tobacco and cotton to an unbelievably complex network of people and businesses. The Middle East has been able to shield itself from the effects of globalization because, economically, they are shielded by the wealth of oil. When this runs out, however, the Middle East will have to adapt to the global society in order to remain alive economically.