Transnationalism

**Specforces** · 05-21-2004, 03:32 PM

Here's a fun one. I was talking about this in my international relations class with the teacher the other day. We started talking about transnationalism and the blending of all nations into one culture. These are my thoughts.

Discussions of the evolution of an amalgamated global culture inevitably include a great deal about McDonald's, basketball, hip-hop, e-mail, and other such aspects of pop culture as well as commentary about more overtly political transnational phenomena such as the global reach of CNN. It would be an error to suppose that such a discussion of the impact of burger and the NBA on global culture is an attempt to trivialize the subject. Indeed, the potential impact of common culture on cooperation set off a series of columns in the New York Times entitled "Big Mac 1" and "Big Mac." The columnist formulated a quasi-tounge-in-cheek "Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention" based on the observation that no two countries which had McDonald's had ever fought a war. Not all analysts, it should be noted, agreed with the theory.

More substanively, there is a long line of political theory that argues that the world will come together through myriad microinteractions rather than through such macroforces of political intergration as the United Nations. This school of thought believes that political communities are built by social communities and that those social communities come together through the process of interaction, familiarization, and amalgamation of diverse existing communities. Scholars who examine this bottom-up process look for evidence in such factors as the flow of mail(Email now

) between countries, the spread across borders of styles of dress, and growing similarities in what people eat. In essence they would argue, you cannot have a United States of Europe until Europeans share a common culture or a United States of the World until everyone becomes more alike.

What do you think the future of transnationalism has in store for us?

What are your thoughts on my newest thread?

Enjoy,

Specforces

05-21-2004, 03:32 PM	#1
Specforces Yes Join Date: Jan 2004 Age: 39 Posts: 5,028	Transnationalism Here's a fun one. I was talking about this in my international relations class with the teacher the other day. We started talking about transnationalism and the blending of all nations into one culture. These are my thoughts. Discussions of the evolution of an amalgamated global culture inevitably include a great deal about McDonald's, basketball, hip-hop, e-mail, and other such aspects of pop culture as well as commentary about more overtly political transnational phenomena such as the global reach of CNN. It would be an error to suppose that such a discussion of the impact of burger and the NBA on global culture is an attempt to trivialize the subject. Indeed, the potential impact of common culture on cooperation set off a series of columns in the New York Times entitled "Big Mac 1" and "Big Mac." The columnist formulated a quasi-tounge-in-cheek "Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention" based on the observation that no two countries which had McDonald's had ever fought a war. Not all analysts, it should be noted, agreed with the theory. More substanively, there is a long line of political theory that argues that the world will come together through myriad microinteractions rather than through such macroforces of political intergration as the United Nations. This school of thought believes that political communities are built by social communities and that those social communities come together through the process of interaction, familiarization, and amalgamation of diverse existing communities. Scholars who examine this bottom-up process look for evidence in such factors as the flow of mail(Email now ) between countries, the spread across borders of styles of dress, and growing similarities in what people eat. In essence they would argue, you cannot have a United States of Europe until Europeans share a common culture or a United States of the World until everyone becomes more alike. What do you think the future of transnationalism has in store for us? What are your thoughts on my newest thread? Enjoy, Specforces __________________ Check Out My Music

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)