The impact of global problems

The influence of global problems on the world

With the in-depth development of economic globalization, countries in the world are increasingly infiltrating and interdependent in economic, political, social and cultural aspects, and global problems are increasing. These problems or phenomena involve all countries in the world, and solving these problems cannot be solved or achieved by one country or several countries. Understanding and grasping these problems scientifically will help us correctly understand and adhere to the theme of "peace and development" and do our own thing well.

The disparity between the rich and the poor is a global phenomenon.

The reality of today's world is that rich countries are getting richer, poor countries are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The World Bank's "2002/200 1 Development Report" points out that poverty is still a major global problem at the beginning of the new century. Of the 6 billion people in the world, 2.8 billion live on less than $2 a day, of which 1 .200 million live on less than1$ a day. The per capita GNP of the least developed countries in sub-Saharan Africa dropped from US$ 640 in the early 1980s to US$ 565,438+00 in the early 1990s, and the gap with developed countries widened from 65,438+06.3: 65,438+0 to 565,438+0.7: 65,438+0. Rich in the north and poor in the south is a remarkable feature of the world economy today. The disparity between the rich and the poor is also a potential social problem in developed countries. The United States is the largest country among developed countries, and it is also the country with the largest gap between the rich and the poor among developed countries. In the mid-1990s, 26. 1% of America's wealth was concentrated in the hands of the richest 10%, while the poorest 10% only owned 1.7%. It is reported that the "aggressive" behavior of young people in Europe is increasing, which is mainly due to the continuous impoverishment of the middle and lower classes of society.

The ecological environment is divided into east, west, north and south.

The Worldwatch Institute warned in its research report that at the beginning of the new century, the global environment has reached a dangerous crossroads. At present, the global ecosystem is approaching the critical point of danger. According to statistics, in the past 10 years, the losses caused by natural disasters to the world reached 608 billion US dollars, equivalent to the sum of the losses in the previous 40 years. In a report published in February, 20001year, the United Nations said that in 2 1 century, "the frequency of extreme weather phenomena such as heat wave and rainstorm will accelerate, so the water level will rise, floods, landslides and avalanches will increase." With global warming, drought, flood, famine and plague will become serious threats to human beings in 2 1 century. As the life support system of the earth, the environment is recognized as an inseparable whole, and there is no distinction between east, west, north and south. The ecological environment closely links all countries in the world, and environmental pollution has no geographical boundaries. The new concept and new requirements of global human security force all countries in the world to establish a new framework of active and pragmatic interconnection. This new type of partnership is driven by the common interests of both sides, rather than charity from one side to the other; It is to share market opportunities fairly, not to pursue unilateral protectionism.

The spread of drugs endangers the whole world.

The world drug situation is grim, and there are some new trends, the most prominent of which are: global underworld organizations and drug groups are joining forces in different forms, becoming an unstable factor threatening the world; With the gradual diversification of narcotics, all kinds of "soft drugs" have become the "new favorites" in the drug consumption market. It is estimated that the number of drug addicts in the world is increasing at a rate of 3%-4% every year; The number of people using synthetic drugs is growing fastest. Experts from the United Nations Drug Control Programme said that ice will gradually become the most widely abused, fastest spreading and most harmful drug in the world in 2 1 century. The production, processing, trafficking and consumption of drugs have formed an intricate international network. According to the statistics of the United Nations Drug Control Programme, the annual amount of illegal money laundering in the world is as high as 1 trillion to 3 trillion dollars; Among them, 300 billion to 500 billion dollars of black money is legalized through some world financial centers every year. The drug problem transcends national boundaries and cannot be solved by one country alone; It requires close cooperation between drug exporting countries and consuming countries. With the deepening of various activities carried out by the international community in the field of drug control, people begin to realize that only coordinated and close cooperation among governments is the only way to completely solve the drug problem.

International terrorism is getting worse.

Since the emergence of international terrorism in the middle of the 20th century, there have been more than 1000 terrorist organizations under various flags, and hundreds of terrorist acts occur every year. The terrorist attack of "9. 1 1" shocked the whole world, which marked that the worldwide wave of terrorism had reached an unprecedented stage. International terrorism is a reflection of all kinds of sharp and complicated contradictions among countries, nationalities, classes and religions in the world today. Terrorism is essentially a malignant tumor caused by the continuous accumulation of economic, political and cultural contradictions within a country and the unbalanced interaction of economic and political development between North and South around the world. With the development of high technology, terrorists also use more high-tech means to serve their terrorist activities. The high-tech content of terrorist equipment and equipment is getting higher and higher, and computer terrorist activities and super terrorist activities using chemical and biological weapons are more noticeable. There are more and more indications that most terrorist activities have an international background. However, it is by no means easy to eradicate terrorist activities, let alone "finish it in one battle". The news media said that eliminating the threat of terrorism would be a long-term war. Anti-terrorism experts believe that terrorism is not only a "political plague" in the 20th century, but also a top priority for world security in the 2nd/kloc-0th century.

Ethnic separatist activities run counter to the trend of the times.

After the end of the Cold War, a prominent feature of the international situation is the sudden increase of ethnic disputes and the intensification of ethnic conflicts. This is an important source of the current international turmoil, and it is also a major factor affecting international politics and international relations in the 2/kloc-0 century. The ethnic problem is a global and complex social problem, which is related to the internal unity of all countries and the stability of the international situation.

In the era of economic globalization, national separatism runs counter to this trend. At present, one of the main tendencies of national separatism is to seek independence. Another noteworthy trend is that ethnic separatist forces in today's world are increasingly taking advantage of the favorable changes in the international situation, striving to expand the original state of affairs, seeking international support and intervention, and urging them to demand internationalization.

The tide of immigrants (refugees) swept the world.

With the flow of goods, services and investments around the world, people have also crossed national borders in record numbers. Due to the explosive population growth in developing countries and the aging population in developed countries, a large number of immigrants from developing countries flock to western countries such as Europe and the United States. According to the statistics of the World Bank, from 1965 to 1990, the total number of immigrants in North America and Western Europe increased by 2.5% every year, far exceeding the growth of local population. The United Nations estimates that about1.300 million people will live abroad by the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, due to frequent regional conflicts and natural disasters, the number of refugees has increased dramatically. With the increase of the number of immigrants (refugees), ethnic conflicts and the increase of labor market pressure in urban areas of immigrant (refugee) receiving countries frequently occur, which leads to the strengthening of immigration restrictions in some countries. In view of the measures taken by developed countries to restrict the flow of immigrants (refugees), the phenomenon of illegal immigration has emerged one after another, causing tension in foreign relations and humanitarian condemnation of the countries concerned. Properly handling the problem of immigrants (refugees) has become an important issue in international relations.

The reform of political system is a common issue facing all countries in the world.

Since the end of 1990s, there has been an ideological trend of rethinking capitalism in the international community. In order to solve a series of social problems in developed countries in Europe and America, the "third way" came into being. "The Third Way" is an attempt to reform the political and economic system in western countries. But if you don't take the third way, where is the way out? This is the biggest problem facing western countries at present. At the same time, driven by domestic and foreign factors, many third world countries have carried out various forms of political system reforms in the past decade or two. Some countries have resumed and changed to multi-party system, some countries have carried out some reforms within the scope of one-party system, and some countries are preparing or implementing new systems. In the process of system reform, many third world countries have experienced social unrest and even bloody conflicts to varying degrees. Political reform is the general trend, but how to keep social stability and promote economic development is still a problem that most countries will continue to explore in the future.

Sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs

Sovereignty generally refers to the highest power in internal affairs and diplomacy, enjoys supreme prestige at home and is a symbol of independence internationally. With the high development of science and technology, the electronic transmission of information is not limited by space and national boundaries. The role of land in economic activities has declined relatively, and the traditional content of national sovereignty has changed to some extent. Originally completely unique to a country, it has increasingly become a shared force of the international community. The economic activities and foreign affairs of countries are increasingly operating in accordance with international practices and treaties. It is precisely by taking advantage of this new situation that western countries have wantonly interfered in the internal affairs of third world countries under the guise of the United Nations. Western countries, led by the United States, advocate "outdated traditional concept of sovereignty" and advocate transnational interference under the guise of humanitarianism. Even some international forces openly advocate revising the content of non-interference in internal affairs in international law, arguing that international law should evolve into concepts such as interference right, international guardianship and limited sovereignty, and do not recognize the primacy of the state in the international order. This argument of "weakening" sovereignty based on economic globalization is bound to make international relations more complicated and become a focus of the North-South struggle.

Human rights and humanitarian intervention

Human rights is a concept in domestic law. As a legal principle and civil rights, it is stipulated in the constitution, civil law or other laws of the countries concerned. After World War II, human rights issues entered the field of international law in large numbers. However, due to the different legal nature of international human rights instruments, especially due to the differences in social and political systems, ideologies, values and national traditions of different countries, the interpretation and application of human rights are different. In addition, some countries use human rights as an excuse to pursue their foreign policies and interfere in other countries' internal affairs, which makes the human rights issue more complicated and acute in today's international relations. Especially in recent years, some international forces, on the one hand, have stepped up the so-called "human rights diplomacy", advocated that "human rights have no borders" and "human rights are above sovereignty", and advocated that the international community should have "legitimate human rights and humanitarian intervention rights" and so on. Its essence is an excuse to interfere in other countries' internal affairs and oppress human rights in the name of "human rights"; On the other hand, they either avoid talking about large-scale serious human rights violations recognized by the international community or are indifferent. In essence, humanitarian intervention is a legal shield for western countries to promote power politics, safeguard hegemony and interfere in the internal affairs of third world countries under the new situation, and legalize it. This is the new interventionism in the era of globalization.

The situation of maintaining international security is very urgent.

After the end of the cold war, the international situation generally tends to ease. However, the nuclear threat still exists and the military expenditure is still high, which increases the financial burden of countries and reduces the financial resources for economic development. In order to expand its political and economic interests, the United States forcibly implemented NMD and 9ND, which triggered an arms race in the region and even the world. Some regional powers are moving towards military powers, causing serious anxiety in neighboring countries; The instability of hot issues has seriously affected the regional security situation; The "three forces" of national separatism, religious extremism and international terrorism collude with each other and their activities are rampant. In order to curb the spread of unsafe factors and maintain a peaceful and stable international environment, we must adhere to the effectiveness and seriousness of international conventions such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and prevent the international strategic balance from being destroyed. Establish effective bilateral and multilateral regional security mechanisms, supplement United Nations peacekeeping mechanisms, and increase efforts to maintain world order. In addition to military security, there are political security, economic security, financial security, environmental security and so on. These problems seriously threaten the survival of mankind and require the joint efforts of governments and people of all countries to safeguard world peace and security.

The Influence of Globalization on Contemporary International Relations

Globalization is a social process independent of human will, and it is also a dynamic development process with internal contradictions and two sides. Although it provides a rare historical opportunity for the development of many countries, it is full of differences of interest, competition and even conflicts. In a sense, it is "competition within the scope of globalization". Globalization has brought many complicated influences to contemporary international relations.

1. Globalization has deepened the interdependence of countries and further confirmed that peace and development are still the theme of the times; However, its imbalance also makes power politics rise in a certain period of time, and multipolarization will still be a long and tortuous process.

The acceleration of globalization has deepened the interdependence and mutual penetration of countries in the economic and other fields, and the common interests are also increasing. In particular, great powers have formed a relationship of mutual friction, competition, cooperation and restriction. The ability of a single big country to independently solve or monopolize international affairs is declining, and actions that harm the interests of other countries, such as intervention, sanctions and even war, are often counterproductive. The development of these trends makes countries adopt more ways of coordination and cooperation when dealing with international disputes, and look for more points of convergence of interests. It can be said that the development of globalization is an important factor for the relative stability of the international system after the end of the Cold War, especially the all-round confrontation among major powers. This fact shows that peace and development will remain the theme of the times for a long time to come, large-scale wars around the world may still be avoided, and countries still give priority to revitalizing their economies and seeking more favorable international economic status. Any accidental and serious event can hardly change the basic running situation of world politics and economy.

However, the current process of globalization has not fundamentally changed the old international economic order. The western developed countries are the biggest beneficiaries and leaders, while the developing countries are generally in a more unfavorable position, and the imbalance of international power structure is very serious. From 65438 to 0999, developed countries accounting for 20% of the global population owned 80% of the global GDP and 8 1.2% of the world trade. The political and economic power of the vast number of developing countries has not increased in a certain period of time, but has weakened relatively. With their strong economic strength, some countries may strengthen hegemonism and power politics for a period of time, and "new interventionism" may still prevail again. The imbalance in the process of globalization determines that international political multipolarization will be a long and tortuous process.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show held in the United States at the beginning of 200 1, 1800 leading manufacturers from all over the world showed their latest technologies.

2. Globalization makes developing countries face more and more challenges and pressures on the issue of national sovereignty, and faces new issues such as how to effectively safeguard national economic security.

In the process of globalization, the status and situation of countries are very different, and developing countries such as China are facing unprecedented pressure and challenges on sovereignty. First of all, globalization has enlarged the sovereign inequality between powerful countries and weak countries. Judging from the position of the two sides in the relationship, the monopoly of high technology and capital by developed countries has always left developing countries in a passive and fragile position. Secondly, the process of globalization needs more and more international organizations and rules. By virtue of their powerful comprehensive strength, developed countries have more right to speak in almost all international mechanisms, and the resulting rules of international behavior will inevitably give developed countries greater freedom. On many issues, developing countries must coordinate and cooperate with them. While gaining new interests, rights and opportunities, they also restrict the country from exercising its supreme power in foreign affairs. At the same time, in order to safeguard their vested interests, developed countries always try to ask developing countries to give up part of their national sovereignty under the guise of "human rights are above sovereignty" and "limited sovereignty", and use this as an excuse to interfere in other countries' internal affairs, with the real intention of sacrificing the interests of developing countries to safeguard their own interests.

Closely related to national sovereignty is the issue of national security. Because the trend of globalization involves all aspects of human society, a country's security must involve financial, information, environment, energy and other issues in addition to the military level. Compared with military security, the importance of security issues in these areas cannot be underestimated. Especially under the circumstances that the globalization process has led to unprecedented extensive and complex international economic activities, economic security issues have become increasingly prominent, and financial security is the most important. In the era of globalization, capital can flow around the world almost without restriction, and sovereign countries' grasp of finance or economy is correspondingly weakened. Once the market rules are abused maliciously and disorderly, the mature market will be aggressive to the immature market, and the power of capital will form a fatal blow to a country's economic and social security, which is no less harmful than the losses caused by a war. During the Asian financial crisis, the GDP of Indonesia, Thailand and other countries fell by 40% to 60% in a year or so, and the domestic economy regressed 10 years. Therefore, how to maintain national security in non-traditional sense, such as economic security and financial security, has become a serious problem for developing countries, including China.

3. A new feature of current international relations is that in the era of globalization, countries all over the world will wage a fierce struggle to formulate and reform the code of conduct in international relations.

A globalization that can bring "win-win" to all countries in the world must be guaranteed by laws and systems. Globalization objectively requires the international mechanism to play a more and more important role in international relations, and requires the international mechanism to have real action ability. However, international mechanisms dealing with global political and economic issues, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations and the Group of Seven, were almost all formed during the Cold War and dominated by western powers. After the end of the cold war, the functions and nature of these mechanisms have been questioned more and more, and they have been unable to satisfactorily solve the new problems arising in the process of globalization. In the next 15 years, due to the realistic pattern of international political and economic forces, it is impossible to substantially transform or completely overthrow these mechanisms, but the struggle around the reform of international mechanisms will be fierce, which involves both the adjustment of interests among major powers and the distribution of interests in North-South relations. This trend has begun to take shape in the negotiations of the World Trade Organization in the new millennium. What is certain is that in the next 15 years, countries all over the world will wage a fierce struggle for the formulation and reform of rules of conduct in international relations in the era of globalization, which will become a remarkable feature of international relations.