SCIT

4th Semester

Core Course

Prof. Saravan

Issues of Globalization
Migration, Human rights, Culture
Energy, Environment, Development
Benefits and Challenges of globalization

MIGRATION
UN estimates: 3.05 % of the world population
People living outside their country of origin
(120 million in 1990, 215 million in 2012).
Study across 135 countries: 16 % of the worlds adult
population would like to move permanently to
another country if they had the chance.
Complex impacts of migration benefits and
disadvantages.
Pre war, Post war, Current migrations
Migration Patterns

MIGRATION - PUSH Factors

Lack of Jobs: Example International Labor

Organization: About half of the total population
of current migrants, 100 million women and
men migrant workers, have left home to find
better job and lifestyle opportunities for their
families.

War, Political and Religious persecution:

Example In 2010, the total number of refugees
reached 43.7 million, the responsibility of the
United Nations Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR). This is the highest number in 15 years.

Environmental Problems: Example In

Morocco, Libya, and Tunisia, over 1000 square
kilometers of productive land is lost annually to
desertification, which has led to a wave of
North African migrants fleeing to Western
Europe in order to escape crop failure and water
shortage.
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MIGRATION - PULL Factors

Higher standards of Living: Economics same work, better

rewards higher wages, greater safety net of welfare benefits.

Labor Demand: Developed countries need migrants' labor.

Example In Canadas migrant population was about 250,000 in
2006. Today, it has doubled.

Political and
Religious Freedom

Other: Superior medical

care, education,
family links,
culture, language.

MIGRATION ISSUES

Negative:
Increases nations low-income

population size (much more likely

to live in poverty, lack health insurance,
access welfare system than natives).
Brain Drain: Example International
Organization for Migration (IOM):
Currently, there are more African
scientists and engineers working in
the US than in Africa.
Adds to public welfare burden
Integration problems, divided cities
Human Trafficking

Positive:
Helps in skill shortages
Reverse contributions to home country
High-skilled immigrants make important contributions

to economy
World Bank (2011): Remittances worldwide at $483
billion helps in decline of poverty

Human Trafficking
Trafficking Exploitations
EU integration problems

World Population Distribution

Global issue and anti-contraceptive activists; religious and logistical.

About 358,000 women and 3 million newborns die each year worldwide
due to pregnancy and childbirth. 10 15 % of those are believed to be
deaths caused by unsafe abortions

HUMAN RIGHTS
UN Efforts to Secure Freedom from Torture: The ban on torture
encompasses four separate human rights.

The first is the right to be protected from torture, whether carried

out by states or private individuals, by all legal, administrative and
judicial means available.

The second is the right to have those accused of torture prosecuted,

wherever they may be.

The third is the right of a person to not be expelled, returned or

extradited to another state if there is suspicion that that person
might be subject to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The fourth is the right of victims to obtain redress, fair

compensation, including rehabilitation and the right of victims to
make a complaint, to have it impartially investigated, and to be
protected from retaliation for making complaints.
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Humanitarian Intervention

Responsibility to Protect (R2P): Important advancement in the subject of

humanitarian intervention. The R2P principle is outlined in a December 2001 report
by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS).

The question of how to balance state sovereignty and protection of all peoples from
crimes against humanity, such as genocide: the commitment to R2P was made at the
UN World Summit in 2005. Three basic pillars:

Pillar One stresses that States have the primary responsibility to protect their
populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against
humanity.

Pillar Two addresses the commitment of the international community to provide

assistance to States in building capacity to protect their populations from genocide,
war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and to assist those under
stress before crises and conflicts break out.

Pillar Three focuses on the responsibility of international community to take timely

and decisive action to prevent and halt genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and
crimes against humanity when a State fails to protect its populations.
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Childrens Rights

UN Declaration on Rights of the Child (1989, 1990)

It reaffirms the principle of non-discrimination
Decisions involving children should always be the best interests of the

child
It protects every childs right to life and development
the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age
and maturity of the child

Child Soldiers
300,000 children are being used in 30 conflicts around the world.
Abduction, brainwashing, forcing to commit atrocities

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

contains a stronger prohibition, banning the recruitment (voluntary or
otherwise) of anyone under 18.
Importantly, the International Criminal Court includes the use of children
under 15 in hostilities as a war crime that it can prosecute.

The Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2009.

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Global Crude Oil Flows

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ENERGY

1)

2)

3)

Energy security: Commonly used to indicate the stability of a countrys supply of

energy. Not the same as energy independence. It is dependent on:
Resilience: is a security margin that would allow a country to absorb any minor
shocks to its energy supply and facilitate recovery after disruptions. This buffer
can take many forms, including spare production capacity, strategic reserves,
backup supplies of equipment, adequate storage capacity along the supply chain.
Diversification of Supply: If a country can broaden the base of suppliers from
which it imports energy, it is less exposed to the risks of a major supply
disruption. The US, has managed to wean itself off complete dependence on the
OPEC, decreasing its share of energy imports from OPEC nations from 72% in
1975 to 45% in 2011.
Global Interdependence: Both importing and exporting countries have grown
more sophisticated in their energy policies. The new reality of the global energy
landscape is one of interdependence. Example: European Union imports 30% of
its energy from Russia. Russia depends on the EU for 20% of its natural gas
revenues. Both countries have an important stake in the transaction and in the
stability of the environment that allows the transaction to occur. Possible anxiety,
heightened tensions, defensive behaviour, impact on broader climate of
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international relations.

OIL RESERVES

Eleven OPEC countries have 78% of the worlds proven oil

reserves.
The control of current and future oil reserves is the single greatest source of

global economic and political power.

Saudi Arabia has the largest supply of oil reserves with 25%. The OPEC
nations are almost all in the Middle East. It is thought that their production
of global oil will increase from 30% at present to 50% in the future.
Oil is the most widely used resource in the world. It is of concern that the oil

producing areas are politically stable. This area is often very volatile and
may be subject to terrorist attacks.
The U.S. has only 2.9% of the worlds proven oil reserves and about onefourth of that comes from offshore drilling and from Alaskas North Slope.
The U.S. uses about 26% of crude oil extracted worldwide each year.

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ENERGY
Types of Energy: Oil, Coal, Nuclear Power,
Renewable Energy: Biofuels and ethanol, Wind
power, hydropower and tidal power, hydrogen
power and fuel cells, solar power.
Energy Conservation:

Issue: standby power, the energy consumed by electronic

devices when idling and not operating, accounts for

between 5 % - 10% consumption.
Issue: Emission control of vehicles, domestic: Cleaner
burning Fuels, relevant savings of electricity.
Issue: Quality programs in buildings mgmt and
manufacturing for energy efficient machinery.
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Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Global Carbon Dioxide

(CO2) emissions from
fossil-fuels 1990-2008
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2008 Global CO2

Emissions from Fossil
Fuel Combustion and
some Industrial Processes
(million metric tons of CO2)

Global Greenhouse Gas

Emissions by Source
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ENERGY OIL PRODUCTION

Hubberts Peak Theory: hypothesized in 1956. All rates of oil

production follow a bell-shaped curve and will eventually peak
and decline according to predictable patterns. This applies to
both individual oil fields and to global oil reserves as a whole.
Predicted U.S. oil production would peak around 1970. Global
production would begin to decline by 2006.
Critiques claims on hidden oil, cold war restraints, more
reserves of middle east.

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ENERGY
During the last two
centuries we have
known nothing but
exponential growth
and in parallel we
have evolved what
amounts to an
exponential-growth
culture,
a culture so heavily
dependent upon the
continuance of
exponential growth for
its stability that it is
incapable of reckoning
with problems of nongrowth

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ENERGY

Climate change: A 2009 report on The Anatomy of a Silent

Crisis: Human Impact Report Climate Change estimates that
26 million of the 350 million people displaced worldwide was
due to climate change. In the coming century estimates
range from 50 million to one billion people will lose their
homes and lands due to climate change.

Collective Action problem: All nations have a collective

interest in mitigating climate change, but the individual costs
faced by each nation in contributing to this effort are very
high, perhaps greater even than the benefits it expects to
receive.

Tipping point: A rise of 3 degrees Celsius from current

temperatures could lead to the irreversible destabilization of
the Arctic ice sheets or reversal of the Earths ability to
absorb carbon dioxide.
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Climate Change

The Stern Review: Sir Nicholas Stern, a former chief economist at

the World Bank, in October 2006, reported on the potential
impact of escalating climate change on the global economy
within the next 50 years:

Global warming could eventually devastate the world economy

on the scale of the world wars and the Great Depression by
decreasing global GDP by 5% to 20% each year in the coming
decades.

The report recommends investing 1% of current global GDP in

reducing greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that such a move to
reduce global warming could result in trillions of dollars in
savings in the long term.
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Conference of Parties

Kyoto Protocol: In1997 alternative ways of meeting emissions targets that emerged
during the negotiation of the Protocol were the Joint Implementation (JI) mechanism and
the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
In each case, a developed nation would invest in an emissions reduction project in another
country. Even though the emissions reductions would not be achieved within its own
borders, the investing country would receive credit for its action to help meet its own
reduction target. Emissions credits would be transferred between the two partners
(recipient : developed or a developing country)
A 2009 conference in Copenhagen attempted to cement the post Kyoto framework. The
summit was criticized for failing to produce a treaty to curb global warming. Minor Success
in generating a emission-reducing commitments from countries, such as China and India.
2010 December, Re-meet of Kyoto countries Cancun, Mexico. Agreement for Green
Climate Front, was made, pledging to raise $100 million dollars to help developing
countries reduce emissions. This was the 16th Conferences of the Parties (COPs) started in
1995.
2011 December Durban, South Africa, attendees adopted the Durban Platform, a
roadmap to a legal agreement. Emissions reductions are to be carried out by all countries,
not just developed ones.
COP-18 in Doha, Qatar December, 2012.
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Law of Petropolitics

Thomas Friedmans Law of Petropolitics potential political ramifications

of resource riches
There is a negative correlation between the price of oil and pace of
freedom, which always move in opposite directions in oil-rich petrolist
states.

Petrolist states are both dependent on oil production for the bulk of their
exports or GDP and have weak institutions / outright authoritarian
governments. Examples : Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
Venezuela.
Pace of freedom: the development of the elements of a democratic
government, such as free speech, free press, free and fair elections, an
independent judiciary, independent political parties, and general rule of
law.
As the price of oil rises and money floods into state treasuries, petrolist
governments gain the upper hand in their relations with the international
community. They are less dependent on maintaining positive diplomatic
and trade relationships with other countries because other countries
desperately need the natural resources they can provide. Free from such
pressures, they can do what they please in the domestic sphere.

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Resource Curse

Thomas Friedman on economic pitfalls from resource riches:

The way a dependence on natural resources always skews a
countrys politics and investment and educational priorities, so
that everything revolves around who controls the oil tap and who
gets how much from itnot how to compete, innovate, and
produce real products for real markets.

The resource curse: When a country strikes it rich as an energy

supplier, the collective attention of both the government and the
civil society can become devoted solely to maximizing profits
from the energy industry. This single-minded focus comes at the
expense of other economic and development priorities, and can
begin to dominate a countrys political and social life.

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ENVIRONMENT

Key Concerns:
Ozone depletion
Global warming
Bio-diversity

Key Concerns:
What is the balance between environmental protection and

economic development?
How can nations cooperate to protect the environment when
their interests diverge?
Should international agreements on trade and other issues
contain explicit measures to protect the environment?
What are the responsibilities of richer nations to help poorer
nations develop environment-friendly?
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ENVIRONMENT

Invasive Species:
Invasive species are non-native species infiltrators that invade

ecosystems beyond their historic range. Example: The introduction of

the water hyacinth into Lake Victoria in 1990 caused major
difficulties in Uganda. The way the plant grows affects shipping,
reducing fish catches, hampering electricity generation and human
health.

According to United Nations Environmental Program the total annual

cost of invasive species (plant and animal) to the world economy is

$1.4 trillion dollars.

Invasive species reproduce quickly, take resources from native plants,

and are hard to eliminate. There are huge losses in biodiversity

related to the increased introduction of non-native species into
societies.

Increased travel, immigration, and international trade have made it

more difficult to manage these alien species and have inflated the
number of species entering societies.

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TERMS and CONCEPTS

United Nations Commission for Refugees (UNHCR): The

agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international
action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems
worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights
and well-being of refugees.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian

refugees (UNRWA): established in 1949, after Israels War of
Independence to carry out direct relief and works programs
for Palestine refugees.

International Labor Organization (ILO): the specialized UN

Agency that brings together governments, employers and
workers of its member states in common action to promote
decent work throughout the world. It seeks to promote
social justice and recognized human and labor rights.
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TERMS and CONCEPTS

International Court of Justice (ICJ): the principle judicial body of the

United Nations with responsibility for adjudicating disputes between states
on questions of international law. The Court does not have jurisdiction over
individuals, and individuals have no standing to bring a suit before the ICJ.

International Criminal Court (ICC): a permanent international court

created by treaty, with 104 states in July, 2002. The Court has jurisdiction
over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide involving countries
that are party to the treaty and in instances when those countries are
unwilling or unable to prosecute an instance of one of those crimes
occurring on its territory.

War Crimes: Violations of the laws and customs of war as codified by the
Geneva and Hague Conventions. These crimes include, but are not limited
to, the destruction of cities or towns not justified by military necessity, the
targeting and killing of civilians, torture, killing a surrendered combatant,
willful destruction of religious institutions or educational centers, and the
plunder of public or private property.
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TERMS and CONCEPTS

Berlin Mandate: The Mandate that established the framework for

negotiations on reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that would
eventually lead to the Kyoto Protocol; the Mandate is notable for
introducing the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities between developed and developing countries.

Earth Summit: Another name for the United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in
1992. The main result of the Summit was the signing of the U.N.
Framework Convention on Climate Change, which eventually led to
the Kyoto Protocol on curbing greenhouse gas emissions five years
later.

Carbon trading: A market-based system of permits designed to

allow for flexibility in schemes aimed as reducing levels of carbon
emissions; the European Emission Trading Scheme is the first
practical implementation of such a system, though many feel carbon
trading will be central to future efforts to mitigate the effects of
climate change.
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TERMS and CONCEPTS

Emission Trading Scheme: A market for carbon trading established by

the European Union in late 2005 as a means of meeting commitments
made through the Kyoto Protocol; it is the first scheme of its kind.
Implementation of the ETS has been plagued by early problems,
including the amount of credits initially distributed, abuses resulting
from grandfathering, and the short length of its initial timeframe.

Grandfather clause: A clause creating an exemption based on

circumstances previously existing. The complex system of exemptions
for companies that were grandfathered into the European Unions
Emission Trading Scheme have been a major problem.

Kyoto Protocol: Drafted in 1997 at the third Conference of the Parties

to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto
Protocol set schedules and targets for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
164 countries are now a party to the Protocol, representing 55 percent
of global emissions, but the United States has pointedly refused to
ratify the agreement. The U.S. has objected to the scope of the
Protocols ambition and the exclusion of developing countries such as
China and India from mandatory cuts. The Protocol went into force in
2005.
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TERMS and CONCEPTS

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): A
group of the worlds most advanced and wealthiest economies that is
both a forum for and an active participant in debates about
international economic policies. It was established in 1961 and now has
30 members, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South
Korea, and most members of the European Union.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): A cartel of a
number of the worlds leading oil exporting nations that exerts
significant control over world oil prices by limiting the supplies made
available by member nations through a system of quotas. The members
of OPEC are: Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya,
Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
OPEC was founded in 1960.
Seven Sisters: The seven largest and most powerful private oil
companies in the world; these companies dominated the global oil
industry for much of the twentieth century. They included: Mobil,
Exxon, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum, Texaco and Gulf 32

End of Lecture

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