This book highlights the issues that were present in the world towards the end of the 20th century as people in the world braced themselves for the 21st century and the new millennium that was beckoning.
The century had witnessed significant events, milestones and conflicts that were to shape the destiny of various regions for along time to come. The author brings into focus various issues, events and the impacts they had on shaping the new world order in the last decade of the 20th century.
The author begins by highlighting one of the most significant political and ideological milestones that took place in the early 1990s that is, the collapse of the Soviet Union. For a long time, the USSR had dominated the world scene with its political ideologies that placed it on a collision course with the USA.
This had made the two superpowers to have a strained relationship, with many nations in the world taking either side of the political and ideological divide. The collapse and subsequent independence of the countries that constituted the Soviet Republic meant that the Cold War was no longer going to be the source of conflict between the two superpowers.
The author examines political, economic and social the effects of the decade. The release of Nelson Mandela from prison and the character he was able to manifest in uniting South Africa after years of apartheid into a modern multi-racial and multi-cultural nation cannot be underestimated.
This ushered in a promise because the apartheid regime was one of the totalitarian regimes in the world whose policies had caused a lot of suffering to the black population that was living within the country.
The suppositions by many western leaders that the fall of the Soviet Union had created perfect conditions for the emergence of a new world order were not valid. Many nations in the world still viewed each other with suspicion and some were engaged in bloody conflicts, which caused human suffering on a scale that had never been witnessed before internationally.
The civil strife and mass murders that occurred in the former Yugoslavian republics that were based on ethnic and religious differences, the genocide in Rwanda and conflicts in the Middle East and other parts of the world were an issue that caused a lot of concern.
The presence of civil conflicts and wars in some parts of the world was a clear indication that the new world order characterized by liberal principles was still far from becoming a reality.
The ideologies of capitalism and communism, which had been in conflict for the better part of the 20th century, showed no level of success in improving humanity’s living conditions. There was a wider scrutiny on the aspect of human rights, a development that was acceptable. As a result, more countries in the world experienced expanded political space that allowed freedom of the media and expression.
The initiative by various countries in the world in ratifying various protocols that sought to limit the incidence of environmental degradation and gender inequality could be described to have set a roadmap to the respect of the rule of law all over the world.
The end of the cold war advanced the participation internationally of trade protocols that sought to limit trade barriers between various countries in the world in order to increase the volumes of goods and services that were transacted between these countries.
There was an unprecedented level of economic growth in some countries in the world because they could now be able to export large volumes of goods to other countries because of free trade policies that these trade agreements sought to advance.
Multi-National Corporations, mainly from western countries were able to take advantage of the expanded trade freedoms to venture into untapped foreign markets where they could set up their operations.
The disregard for health, safety, labor and environmental ethics by some of these multi-nationals is an issue that the author feels cannot justify the notion that the end of the cold war had any benefits to the world population. The multi-national companies have taken advantage of poor internal labor, environmental and health laws to maximize on their profits in their quest to satisfy their greed.
The activities of the multinationals can be credited with creating employment opportunities in many countries though it has created poor working conditions for workers in many countries. Multi-national companies have continued to enter into one-sided legal agreements with the countries they operate, which has made them not to take responsibility for unethical labor practices and environmental pollution.
The multi-national companies have continued to seek refuge in these legal agreements to ensure that their operations are not placed under severe scrutiny in the jurisdictions that they operate to ensure that their costs remain low. The decade witnessed a reduction in the protectionist tendencies that had characterized business and trade activities for a long time in the world.
More countries reduced the level of trade regulation that they were practicing within their territories. This can be said to have contributed to rapid economic growth that has been witnessed in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
The world has witnessed an emergence of several phenomena that have created conditions for a new world order, which have become more evident in the last decade of the 20th century. The 1990s have witnessed an increase in the number of multi-cultural exchanges between countries, which have created conditions through which many nations have had an increase in the numbers of foreign residents settling within their territories.
European and North American countries have had an increase in the number of people who have migrated from other countries in pursuit of employment opportunities and personal liberties. More countries have imposed strict immigration rules, which have made it difficult for citizens of third world countries to migrate there, and this has led to increased number of illegal immigrants.
The immigrant communities in Europe and North America are viewed with suspicions by both the authorities and the native populations of the countries in which they have settled in. Public opinion within these countries has been against the increased number of immigrants within these societies and this level of apathy dissatisfaction can create difficulties for immigrants to integrate easily within such societies.
The increased numbers of immigrants in Europe and America have caused policymakers to associate foreigners to higher rates of crime, terrorism and population, which have caused frictions between the native populations and the immigrant populations. Therefore, the end of the cold war has not had a big positive impact in nurturing positive relations between people of diverse religious, ethnic and racial backgrounds.