united states government chapter 25 packet: political … · 2017. 12. 15. · the legislative and...

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENTCHAPTER 25 PACKET:

Political Systems in Today’s World

Take-Home Homework Packet 100 Points

Honor Code

I understand that this is an independent assignment and that I cannot receive any assistance from any other person. I will conduct all of my own research and will answer the questions to the best of my ability.

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Chapter Summaries 73

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Nations with fair elections, competing political parties, constitutional governments that guarantee individual rights, an independent judiciary, and usually market economies, are called consolidated democracies. Great Britain In a parliamentary government, legislative and executive powers both reside in an elected assembly, or parliament. The British Parliament is bicameral, which means that it is a two-house legislature. The leader of the majority party in the House of Commons becomes prime minister—the chief executive. If the majority party loses an important vote, the prime minister must resign, and new elections are held.Japan Japan’s parliament, the National Diet, also has two houses. The lower house, the House of Representatives, considers legislative measures, elects the prime minister, and has the power to vote “no confidence” to dissolve the House of Representatives and call for new elections. The upper house, the House of Councillors, also considers legislation. It has less power but cannot be dissolved.France France has a presidential government. The presi-dent appoints a premier (prime minister) who, in turn,

names the cabinet members. The president has the power to dissolve the legislature, or National Assembly.

Other nations have struggled in the last two decades to establish democratic governments. Poland was the first eastern European nation to overthrow its Communist gov-ernment. Lech Walesa, the leader of a trade union called Solidarity, became the first freely elected president in 1990, though a new constitution was not approved until 1997. Despite progress, Poland today remains in a precarious position. Beginning in 1948, South Africa followed a policy of apartheid, or strict government-enforced racial segrega-tion; after years of resistance from the African National Congress and others, apartheid laws were repealed during the 1990s, and Nelson Mandela was elected president in 1994. Despite its 1917 constitution, the Mexican govern-ment remained more authoritarian than democratic because of the power of the president and control of a single political party. Nationwide electoral reforms intro-duced in the 1990s allowed other parties to compete fairly in Mexico’s political process.


★ DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

China In China most political power rests with the lead-ers of the Communist Party. The legislative and executive branches of government have little independent author-ity. The Politburo, made up of the party’s top 20 leaders, makes all the key political, economic, and military deci-sions for the nation. China continues to commit many human-rights abuses, including the government-ordered massacre of protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989.Cuba Communist dictator Fidel Castro ruled Cuba from 1959–2008. Under his leadership, relations between the United States and Cuba have been strained. The end of the Cold War left Cuba isolated and in economic distress. The U.S. hoped that its trade embargo would force Castro to institute democratic reforms but so far those goals have gone unfulfilled.North Korea North Korea’s totalitarian government centers on unquestioning loyalty to its leader, Kim Jong Il, despite the fact that millions of North Koreans suffer greatly as a result of Kim’s policies. Since the early 1990s, North Korea has worked to develop chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. The United States has sought to limit these developments.

Islamic Governments Muslim secularists desire friendly relations with Western nations and believe that religious and secular law should be kept separate. Muslim funda-mentalists, on the other hand, believe that Islamic coun-tries should base their legal system strictly on the law of the Quran. Many fundamentalist Muslims are anti-Western and see Western culture and society as a threat to Islamic culture.• Iran In 1979 Islamic religious leaders overthrew the

pro-Western shah, or king. In the new regime, led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, conservative religious leaders had veto power over the actions of political leaders. U.S.-Iran relations have been strained since Iranians took American diplomats hostage in 1979.

• Saudi Arabia Since 1932 the government of Saudi Arabia has been based on a fundamentalist interpreta-tion of Islam with no separation of religion and the state. Despite increasing Saudi demands for a modern economy and government, many Americans have accused the Saudi government of indirectly supporting terrorist attacks against the United States.

★ AUTHORITARIAN GOVERNMENTS ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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International organizations play a key role in world politics. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are made up of individuals and groups, such as the Red Cross, that are outside the scope of government. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are composed of members of various national governments. The United Nations UN membership now includes 191 countries. The UN has three goals: to preserve world peace and security; to encourage fair dealings between nations; and to help nations cooperate in trying to solve their problems. The UN has a limited ability to use military force to calm an explosive situation, provide humanitarian aid, or for other peacekeeping missions.

Every member has one vote in the General Assembly. The Security Council, with 5 permanent and 10 rotating members, can make peacekeeping decisions for the UN. The Secretariat conducts the day-to-day business of the UN. Member nations can submit disputes over international law to the UN’s International Court of Justice. The Economic and Social

Council helps the UN promote social and economic progress around the world. Special UN agencies carry out the UN’s humanitarian activities. The European Union The EU has evolved further than any other IGO toward becoming a supranational organization, or an organization whose authority supercedes the sovereignty of its individual members. The EU membership now includes 27 countries. A series of treaties has given the EU government more authority and allowed the EU to act as a political unit.

The Council of the European Union decides the direc-tion of EU policy. Representation in the legislative branch of the EU, or the European Parliament, is based on popula-tion, with larger nations receiving more votes. The European Court of Justice hears international cases and can declare laws of member nations invalid. Every member has one representative in the European Commission, which does much of the daily work of the EU. The President of the Commission directs the large bureaucracy and oversees the EU’s annual budget.

★ INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Today’s governments must deal with global issues that affect a large part of the world’s population and that cannot be solved by the actions of any single nation. Sometimes individual nations must give up some measure of national authority in order to cooperate on solving larger global issues.

One of the greatest dangers of the global era has been international terrorism, or the use of violence by nongov-ernmental groups against civilians to achieve a political goal. Since World War II, the main terrorist threat to Americans has been Middle Eastern groups. Several Middle Eastern nations have been accused of state-sponsored ter-rorism, or secretly supporting terrorist organizations. An Afghan resistance movement called al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, was responsible for many terrorist attacks against the United States, culminating in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. President George W. Bush vowed to continue a war on ter-rorism until every terrorist group is eliminated, but many nations will have to work together to end global terrorism.

The United States has worked with many other developed nations to end nuclear proliferation, or the spread of nuclear weapons. In the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty, the major nuclear powers promised:• not to provide nuclear weapons technology to other

nations.• to promote the safe use of nuclear power.

• to encourage disarmament and destruction of existing nuclear weapons.Small nuclear weapons can now be built using readily

available products, increasing the chance that a terrorist group may obtain a nuclear weapon. The United States is especially concerned about the nuclear developments of North Korea and Iran, both of whom have been accused of sponsoring terrorist groups in the past.

Human rights are the basic freedoms and rights that all people, regardless of age, gender, nationality, or ethnicity, should enjoy. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights lists the political, civil, economic, social, and cultural rights that all human beings should enjoy. The United Nations and the European Union have both established courts for trying violators of international human-rights laws

The environment is threatened by exploding population growth, increasing consumption of natural resources, and growing pollution. The core dilemma for policymakers is how to attain sustainable development, or the combining of economic development with environmental protection. The United States, as a powerful nation and a critical member of the global community, drew international criticism for refusing to implement the Kyoto Protocol in 1999 and then later withdrawing from it altogether. Government leaders must find a way to balance the economic needs of their nation with the environmental needs of a global society.

★ GLOBAL ISSUES ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Chapter 25 Summary continued


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★ DIRECTIONS In the space provided, write the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.

1. are nations that enjoy democratic elections and market economies.

2. In a government, legislative and executive powers both reside in an elected assembly.

3. The Japanese constitution states that the shall be the “sole lawmaking organ of the state.”

4. The overthrow of communism in Europe began in Poland with strikes launched by a labor union

known as .

5. After apartheid was abolished, , leader of the African National Congress, was elected president of South Africa.

6. Mexico’s constitution created a strong presidency at the expense of and

powers.

7. Muslims believe in keeping religious and secular law separate and desire friendly relations with Western nations.

8. In Iran religious leaders overthrew the shah and established a regime in which they control the government.

9. Exploding population growth, increasing consumption of natural resources, and growing pollution all threaten .

10. The was established in 1945 to provide a forum for member nations to settle their disputes peacefully.

Organizing Information Examine the following diagram and study the list of characteristics associated with the British Parliament and/or Japanese National Diet. Write the letter of each item in the appropriate space in the diagram.

A. parliamentary systemB. House of CouncillorsC. House of LordsD. House of CommonsE. bicameral legislatureF. House of Representatives

Critical Thinking Answer the following question on a separate sheet of paper.

11. Why would the end of the Cold War leave Cuba isolated and in economic distress?

BothBritish Parliament Japanese Diet

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consolidated democracies Nations that have democratic elections, political parties, constitutionalgovernments, independent judiciaries, and usually market economies (page 689)parliamentary government Form of government in which executive and legislative functions both residein an elected assembly, or parliament (page 689)life peers People who have been awarded titles in the House of Lords honoring achievements (page 690)presidential government A form of democratic government in which a president heads the executivebranch (page 691)apartheid Segregation of races enforced by the government (page 693)sanctions Imposing restrictions and withholding aid in order to influence another government (page 693)

KEY TERMS

For use with textbook pages 689–694.

C ONSOLIDATED DEMOCRACIES

DRAWING FROM EXPERIENCE

Do you have anything in common with the British, French, and Japanese? One thing you share withthese people is democratic government.

This section focuses on democracies around the world.

ORGANIZING YOUR THOUGHTS

Use the graphic organizer below to help you take notes as you read the summaries that follow. Thinkabout how officials in a parliamentary government are chosen. Then assign the labels to the correct parts.

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• Introduction (page 689)

The three basic types of government are long-standing democracies, nations in transition to democracy,and authoritarian governments. Countries like the United States are called consolidated democracies.These are nations that have fair elections, competing political parties, constitutions that guaranteeindividual rights, an independent judiciary, and some form of a market economy.

• Parliamentary Systems (page 689)

One of the most widespread forms of democracy is parliamentary government. In this form, executiveand legislative powers reside in the parliament, or elected assembly. Often the parliament selects theleaders of the executive branch, who are known as the cabinet.

In Great Britain, Parliament is a bicameral legislature. It includes the House of Lords and the House ofCommons. The House of Commons has greater power than the House of Lords. The people electmembers to the House of Commons, who are known as Members of Parliament (MPs), for five-yearterms. The House of Commons determines Great Britain’s legislative and financial policies. Most bills areintroduced by the majority party. A majority vote is needed to pass a bill. The House of Lords isdominated by 540 life peers, people who have been awarded a title for outstanding service or achievement.

The leader of the majority party in the House of Commons becomes the prime minister. He or shechooses other ministers to head executive departments and serve as cabinet members. A prime ministerwho loses the support of his or her own party resigns from office. The party then chooses another primeminister. If the party should lose a vote on an important issue, Parliament is then dissolved. New generalelections are held to determine what party will control the House of Commons.

In Japan, the bicameral legislature is called the National Diet. The upper house is the House ofCouncillors, and the lower house is the House of Representatives. The Japanese constitution states thatthe National Diet is the highest power in the state and the only lawmaker. The Diet also controls thenation’s money policies.

The House of Representatives elects the prime minister and has the power to vote “no confidence” in theprime minister, or the chief executive, and the cabinet, just as in Great Britain. Both houses considerlegislation. However, the House of Representatives may override a negative vote in the House ofCouncillors by a two-thirds majority. Members of the House of Councillors are chosen for six-yearterms. Unlike the lower house, the House of Councillors cannot be dissolved.

In a parliamentary government, members of the cabinet preside over departments or ministries such asjustice, foreign affairs, finance, education, health and welfare, agriculture, and labor. Japan’s system alsoincludes other cabinet members known as ministers of state. They include the deputy prime ministerand heads of various agencies like the Economic Planning Agency.

In parliamentary systems, the prime minister and the cabinet together are called “the government.” Thisis the equivalent of the American “administration.” If the government should lose a vote on an importantissue, it must resign. The legislature is then dissolved, and new general elections are held.

1. In what ways are the British and Japanese governments similar?

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• Presidential Government (page 691)

Another form of democracy is presidential government. The United States Constitution separates theexecutive branch from the legislative and judicial branches. The office of the president was created tocarry out the laws. The president of France has even more official powers than the president of theUnited States.

The French president serves a seven-year term. He or she is the only member of the government directlyelected by voters of the nation at large. The president of France has the power:

A. To negotiate treaties

B. To appoint high officials

C. To act as chair of the high councils of the armed forces

D. To appeal directly to the people by means of a referendum

E. To act as a dictator in times of national emergency

The president contacts the legislative branch of the French government through a premier, whom thepresident appoints. The premier appoints ministers, who form the cabinet. Together they conduct theday-to-day affairs of government. In theory, the premier and the cabinet are responsible to the deputiesof the National Assembly—the lower house of the French Parliament. In practice, the premier andcabinet answer to the president. The president also has the power to dissolve the National Assembly andcall for new elections.

2. Which two powers of the French president does the United States president not have?

• Emerging Democracies (page 692)

With the collapse of communism, opportunities have emerged for nations to create democraticgovernments. Among the emerging democracies are Poland, South Africa, and Mexico.

Poland led the way in revolutions against communism in Eastern Europe when a trade union calledSolidarity swept the first democratic elections since World War II. Solidarity’s leader, Lech Walesa, waselected the nation’s president. To ensure the development of democracy, Walesa’s followers had to write aconstitution. In 1992 President Walesa signed a temporary constitution. Over the next several years,coming up with a permanent constitution proved a difficult task. Finally in 1997, the National Assemblyadopted the new Constitution of the Republic of Poland. The majority of Polish voters approved the newplan, which included an emphasis on strengthening local government. Despite challenges to Poland’sdemocracy, such as a weakened economy and the rise of Communist political supporters, Poland joinedthe European Union in 2004.

Beginning in 1948 in South Africa, blacks (Africans), whites, coloreds (mixed European and Africandescent), and Asians were strictly segregated. Blacks suffered most under this legalized segregation calledapartheid. In the last half of the century, black nationalist groups such as the African National Congress(ANC) pressed for reforms. By the 1960s, ANC leader Nelson Mandela had formed a military force. In1962, South African officials charged Mandela with treason and jailed him for life. In the 1980s, theUnited States and the nations of the European Economic Community ordered economic sanctions, or

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imposing restrictions and withholding aid, against the South African government. By the late 1980s,pressure from the anti-apartheid movement brought an end to apartheid, and Mandela was released in1990. In April 1994, South Africa held its first nonracial national elections. The ANC won 252 out of the400 seats in the National Assembly, which chose Nelson Mandela as president. Minority parties criticizedthe new government, and in 1996 the Afrikaner Nationalist party withdrew from the government. In1999 the ANC again dominated elections. Future challenges for South Africa include ensuring equalrights throughout the society, and raising the standard of living while maintaining economic growth.

In 1917, Mexico adopted a constitution that divided the national government into three branches:executive, legislative, and judicial. However, the power of the president and the control of thegovernment for more than 60 years by one political party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI),made the Mexican government seem more authoritarian than democratic. For decades massiveresources, political patronage, and the support of the media kept the PRI in power. But in 1994, the PRIcandidate for president, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, won the presidency and introduced reforms thathelped other parties compete fairly in Mexico’s political process. As a result, Vicente Fox, the candidate ofthe National Assembly Party (PAN), became president in 2000. Since PAN did not have an outrightmajority, Fox's government had to form coalitions with other parties to pass legislation. His governmentsupported global trade and made some economic progress, but many of the poorer classes werediscontented. Global trade did not benefit the poor as much as upper and middle-class Mexicans. In the2006 election, the more conservative candidate won, but only by a very narrow margin. Supporters of thedefeated candidate did not immediately accept the outcome of the election and the nation faced manypolitical challenges.

3. What are some of the challenges faced by the newly formed democratic governments in Poland,South Africa, and Mexico?

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Muslim A follower of Islam (page 699)mullah Specially trained religious leaders who interpret and uphold traditional Islamic teachings (page 700)shah Iranian king (page 700)

KEY TERMS


A UTHORITARIAN GOVERNMENTS


Imagine you had to build a democratic government from scratch. Where would you begin? Emergingdemocracies have had to answer similar questions.

This section focuses on nations struggling to establish democracy.


Use the time line below to help you take notes as you read the summaries that follow. Think about theimportant events in the history of Communist China and Cuba.

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The number of democratic nations is increasing. However, governments such as those in the People’sRepublic of China, Cuba, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Iran present a stark contrast to democracies.

• The People’s Republic of China (page 696)

In 1949 Communist revolutionaries led by Mao Zedong seized power in China. Mao led China for thenext 30 years and, like the Soviet Union, established a totalitarian government controlled by the ChineseCommunist Party (CCP). Mao’s government turned China into a socialist state by taking control of allindustry, farmland, and workers.

Today China has two parallel systems of government. There is a ceremonial national government, whichis actually controlled by the CCP. This is how the CCP is organized:

A. The Communist Party’s highest governing body is the National Party Congress. It serves as a rubberstamp for the party’s policies.

B. At the top of the CCP is the General Secretary, the most powerful party leader.

C. National policy is made by the party’s Political Bureau, or Politburo. The Politburo’s StandingCommittee is made up of the top seven CCP leaders. This elite group makes all of China’s keypolitical, economic, and military decisions.

In 1989 Chinese forces massacred hundreds of unarmed, pro-democracy students demonstrating inBeijing’s Tiananmen Square. Today the authoritarian government oppresses minorities, such as Muslimsand Tibetans, and suppresses criticism and popular organizations. It also tries to control the flow of ideasand information. For example, China has developed the world’s most extensive Internet censoringsystem. The United States ended official diplomatic relations with China when the Communists gainedcontrol of the mainland in 1949. Since then relations have improved, though the United States wantsChina to end its human rights abuses and act as a stabilizing force in Asia.

1. What are China’s two parallel systems of government?

• Communism in Cuba (page 698)

In 1959 Fidel Castro led Cubans in a revolt that overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista. Under Castro, Cubabecame a Communist dictatorship. Twice, tensions between Cuba and the United States have boiled over.The first time was the 1961 failed invasion of Cuba, called the Bay of Pigs. A year later, the United Statesdiscovered Soviet missiles in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

The end of the Cold War left Cuba isolated in the early 1990s. The loss of Soviet aid and low prices forsugar exports caused an economic crisis, but the United States kept up its trade embargo against Cuba.Americans pressured Castro to move toward a democratic system in return for better relations andeconomic aid. However, these efforts have failed to move Castro toward instituting democratic reforms.

2. Why did the United States impose a trade embargo against Cuba?

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• North Korea (page 699)

After World War II, the Korean peninsula was divided into two parts. South Korea, aided by the UnitedStates, became a democracy. North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union, became a Communist nation.Today, the government of North Korea, led by dictator Kim Jong Il, controls all aspects of its peoples’lives. North Koreans are cut off from outside information and told to give Kim “absolute devotion,”despite their economic suffering. Since the early 1990s, North Korea has begun to develop chemical,biological, and nuclear weapons. The United States has sought to limit this development.

3. What were the two parts of the Korean peninsula after World War II?

• Islamic Governments (pages 699–701)

Islam is a religion spread by the prophet Muhammad, who claimed that he received the teachings of God(Allah) in a vision. These teachings were written in the Quran. A Muslim is a follower of Islam. Today thereare over one billion Muslims spread throughout the Middle East and many other non-Arab countries, suchas Iran. Islamic leaders believe that there is no need for a separation between religion and the governmentas there is in the United States. Thus, in Islamic governments, the Quran provides the guidance needed onissues such as the duties of citizens and rulers, and how the government should exercise power.

Some Muslims, called secularists, believe that religious doctrine and secular (nonreligious) law should bekept separate. Others, Muslim fundamentalists, believe Islamic countries should base their law solely onthe Quran. They look to mullahs, specially trained religious leaders who interpret traditional Islamicteachings, to unite Muslims around the world into one community. Many fundamentalist Muslims seeWestern culture and society as a threat to Islam. Their goal is to bring down moderate Islamicgovernments that accept foreign customs.

Iran During the 1960s and 1970s, the shah, or king of Iran, led a Western-oriented government. Itdeveloped a capitalist economy based on oil. Muslim religious leaders opposed the shah. In 1979, underthe leadership of the Shiite Muslim leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, they revolted and set up anIslamic republic. In an Islamic republic, religious leaders can veto political decisions. In 2005, PresidentAhmadinejad was elected. A hardliner, he supports terrorists who want to destroy Israel. He has alsobegun building a nuclear weapons program, despite United Nations opposition.

The government of Saudi Arabia, a country that has provided oil and important military bases to theUnited States, is a monarchy based on a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. There is no separation ofchurch and state. Aside from the royal family, the most powerful political force in the country is themullahs, who impose traditional Islamic ideas through government sponsored organizations. In the1950s, the discovery of oil transformed Saudi Arabia into a wealthy, urban nation. More and more Saudisbegan demanding an elected government. Since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the UnitedStates, many American critics have accused the Saudi government of indirectly supporting terrorism toappease fundamentalist Muslims within Saudi Arabia.

4. How do secularist Muslims differ from fundamentalist Muslims?

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nongovernmental organizations Made up of individuals and groups outside the scope of government,such as the International Red Cross (page 702)intergovernmental organizations Made up of members of national governments, such as the UnitedNations (page 702)supranational organizations Organizations whose authority overrides the sovereignty of its individualmembers (page 704)

KEY TERMS


I NTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS


Do you read about world events? Then you may have seen items about the leaders of China, Cuba, Iran,and Iraq.

This section focuses on authoritarian states, which outnumber democracies.


Use the table below to take notes as you read the summaries that follow. Think about the different unitsthat make up the United Nations.

United Nations

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International organizations play a key role in world politics. There are two types of such organizations.Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), such as the International Red Cross, are made up ofindividuals and groups outside the scope of government. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), suchas the United Nations (UN), are composed of members of national governments. IGOs are createdthrough agreements, usually treaties, negotiated by the member states. The powers of an IGO areestablished and limited by its members.

• The United Nations (page 702)

The United Nations was established in 1945 to provide a forum for nations to settle their disputespeacefully. Today, membership includes 192 nations. The organization has three main goals:

A. To preserve world peace and security;

B. To encourage nations to deal fairly with one another; and

C. To help nations cooperate in trying to solve their social and economic problems.

The main headquarters of the UN is located in New York City and is divided into a variety of units:

The General Assembly is at the heart of the UN. It discusses, debates, and recommends solutions formajor international problems, and also controls the UN’s budget.

The Security Council is a kind of executive board for the General Assembly. It has the authority to makepeacekeeping decisions. For example, it may call for breaking off relations with a nation, ending tradewith a nation, or using military force. However, the Security Council is unable to act if one of itsmembers vetoes a measure.

The Secretariat does the UN’s day-to-day business. The General Assembly appoints a Secretary Generalto carry out the instructions of the Security Council.

The International Court of Justice, or World Court, is the UN’s judicial branch. Member nations mayvoluntarily submit disputes to this court for settlement.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is responsible for helping the UN promote social andeconomic progress around the world. It is concerned with such issues as improving education, health,and human rights.

Other units carry out the organization’s humanitarian activities, such as the World Health Organization(WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, and the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF).

The UN also has a limited ability to use military force for peacekeeping. Since 1948 the UN hasconducted 56 peacekeeping operations, but the majority were conducted after the end of the Cold War in1990. UN peacekeeping involves inserting an international force of troops between combatants as a wayto calm or monitor the situation. Lightly armed peacekeeping forces may also undertake other missions,such as overseeing elections or providing humanitarian aid. The 1990 Persian Gulf War was a UNpeacekeeping operation. After Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait on its way to Saudi Arabia, the UNSecurity Council voted to condemn Iraq and allowed U.S. forces to lead a coalition of seven nations to

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repel the invaders. The UN also imposed economic sanctions to force Iraq to agree to destroy itsweapons of mass destruction and comply with UN weapons inspectors.

1. What are the three main goals of the United Nations?

• The European Union (page 704)

The European Union (EU) has evolved farther than any other intergovernmental organization towardsbecoming a supranational organization, or an organization whose authority overrides the sovereignty ofits individual members. Since its founding, the EU has developed into a quasi-government with theauthority to make and enforce decisions that apply to all of its members.

The EU was created in 1957 when six Western European nations decided to move toward a commontrading market called the European Economic Community (EEC) to remove all economic restrictionsbetween the member nations. In 1993 the EC was renamed the European Union, which today has 27members. As more countries joined the EU, they began to press for more political, as well as economic,integration. With the 1993 Maastricht Treaty, member nations began to yield power to the EU, whichallowed the EU to act more as a political unit able to enforce common rules for trade, crime fighting,immigration, citizenship, and more. In 2004, EU leaders drafted a constitution to clarify various EUtreaties and EU powers. Voters in France and the Netherlands refused to ratify this constitution, however.People in some European nations may have felt that integration had gone far enough.

The EU government is complex in order to accommodate the distinct cultures, languages, and politicaltraditions of its members:

The Council of the European Union is a group chosen by each member nation that decides the keydirections for EU policy.

The European Parliament (EP) is the legislative branch of the EU. It works alongside the Council toform the annual budget and supervise smaller EU institutions.

The European Court of Justice, the judicial branch of the EU, has one judge per member state. It oftenuses EU treaties as a kind of constitution by which to judge cases, and can declare laws of membernations invalid if they conflict with EU treaty obligations.

The European Commission does much of the EU’s daily work, such as drafting proposals for new laws.One commissioner is selected by the Council to be the President of the Commission. The presidentdirects the large EU bureaucracy and oversees the annual budget.

Many Europeans complain that the “Eurocracy,” as the EU bureaucracy is called, has grown too large andis no longer responsive to the public.

2. How did the 1993 Maastricht Treaty change the power of the European Union?

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terrorism The use of violence by nongovernmental groups against civilians to achieve a political goal (page 708)state-sponsored terrorism Terrorism that is secretly supported by a government (page 708)nuclear proliferation The spread of nuclear weapons (page 709)human rights The basic freedoms and rights that all people should enjoy, regardless of age, gender,nationality, or ethnicity (page 710)

KEY TERMS


G LOBAL ISSUES


How would you feel if Canada and Mexico went to war? You might be afraid that the United Stateswould go to war, too. Often national security depends on the peace and security of other nations.

This section focuses on how nations try to protect the safety of the world.


Use the diagram below to help you take notes as you read the summaries that follow. Think about thepromises made by the major nuclear power plants when they signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

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Non-ProliferationTreaty

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READ TO LEARN


Solving global issues may require cooperation among nations. Important global issues today include defeatingterrorism, limiting the spread of nuclear weapons, promoting human rights, and protecting the environment.

• International Terrorism (page 708)

Terrorism is the use of violence by nongovernmental groups against civilians to achieve a political goal.Recently over 300 attacks of terrorism per year have occurred worldwide. Since World War II mostterrorist attacks against America have been carried out by Middle Eastern groups. Some reasons for thisinclude American support of Middle Eastern oil industries—which increases the disparity between richand poor Middle Eastern families and increases Middle Eastern cultural contact with the West—andAmerican support of Israel. In the 1970s several Middle Eastern nations realized they could fight theUnited States by supporting terrorist groups. When a government secretly supports terrorism, this is calledstate-sponsored terrorism. The governments of Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Iran have all sponsored terrorism.

Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Muslim terrorist, founded an organization in 1988 called al-Qaeda. BinLaden believed that Western ideas had contaminated Muslim society, and that superpowers like Americacould be beaten. He dedicated himself and al-Qaeda to driving Westerners, especially Americans, out ofthe Middle East. Attacks throughout the 1990s culminated in al-Qaeda’s devastating attacks on New YorkCity and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001. The United States responded by going to war.

In October 2001 the United States began bombing targets in Afghanistan. President Bush emphasizedthat the targets of American attacks were al-Qaeda’s camps and the Taliban’s military forces, and thatIslam and the Afghan people were not the enemy. However, he also vowed that the war on terrorismwould not end “until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.”Defeating global terrorism will require many nations to work together towards this common goal.

1. Why are most terrorist attacks against the United States carried out by Middle Eastern groups?

• Nuclear Weapons Threat (page 709)

Another global problem is the spread of nuclear weapons, or nuclear proliferation. The United States,Russia, Great Britain, France, and China have had nuclear weapons for many years. Several other nationsare believed to possess nuclear weapons, or have acquired the capability to produce them. In 1968 themajor nuclear powers created the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), in which they promised:

A. Not to provide nuclear weapons technology to other countries;B. To ensure the safe use of nuclear power; andC. To encourage general disarmament and destruction of existing nuclear weapons.

The United Nations has also imposed sanctions on nations seeking to build nuclear weapons. However, itis now possible to build small nuclear weapons using cheaper, more readily-available substances. Thismeans that a wider range of nations, including terrorist groups, may have access to the materials neededto build a nuclear weapon. Two nations that the United States is particularly concerned about are NorthKorea and Iran. Both of these nations have developed, or are developing, the capacity to manufacturenuclear weapons. Because both nations have also been accused of sponsoring terrorism, many fear thatthese countries’ weapons could be sold to international terrorist groups. The United States, Britain,

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Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia have pledged to spend a total of $20 billion over thenext 10 years on non-proliferation efforts.

2. What are the three components of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?

• Human Rights (page 710)

Human rights are the basic freedoms and rights that all people should enjoy, regardless of age, gender,nationality, or ethnicity. In 1948 the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,which included:A. Political and civil rights, such as the right to seek asylum, the right to marry, and the right to own

property. These articles list things a government should not do to limit a person’s freedoms.B. Economic, social, and cultural rights, such as the right to equal pay for equal work and the right to

an education. These are “positive rights,” or things governments should do for people.

The international community has developed numerous institutions and procedures for safeguarding humanrights. The UN Security Commission on Human Rights monitors and reports on human rights violations.The UN’s international criminal tribunals are temporary courts convened under UN authority to prosecutehuman rights violators. The countries of the European Union (EU) stand behind the European Conventionof Human Rights, which sets forth a long list of civil liberties that apply to all EU countries. Finally, apermanent International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002 to investigate and prosecute thoseaccused of major human rights violations and war crimes. However, the United States, along with severalother nations, refused to sign this treaty because they feared that American military troops and leaders couldbecome the targets of frivolous complaints of war crimes by enemies of the United States.

3. What are “positive rights”?

• Protecting the Environment (page 711)

Exploding population growth, increasing consumption of natural resources, and growing pollution allthreaten the environment. Dealing with these issues requires international cooperation. The dilemma ishow to attain sustainable development, or a balance between economic development and protection ofthe environment. Developed nations like the United States are able to find ways to make its industrymore efficient and less damaging to the environment. Developing nations, however, feel they need toplace their highest priority on economic growth.Many international conferences and treaties have dealt with the issue of the environment. In 1992 the UN’s“Earth Summit” produced the Biodiversity Treaty, which set forth procedures for conservation ofecosystems and natural habitats. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol set down timetables for reducinggreenhouse emissions. The United States signed the protocol, but it was never submitted to Congress forratification. Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush disliked the fact that some nations were exempted orfeared the impact its guidelines would have on the American economy.

4. What three issues threaten the well-being of the global environment?

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