Globalization & Technology - Complete Interactive Lesson
Part 1: Core Concepts
Globalization & Technology After 1900
Part 1 of 7 โ Core Concepts
| Section |
|---|
| Defining globalization: economic, cultural, political dimensions |
| The Bretton Woods order (1944): IMF, World Bank, GATT |
| The information revolution and the rise of the knowledge economy |
| Why technological change accelerated after 1945 |
Key idea: Globalization after 1945 is not the first global integration (Silk Road, Atlantic system, 1870โ1914 first wave), but it is the deepest and the most digitally mediated. The post-1945 system rests on three pillars: U.S.-led monetary institutions, ever-cheaper transportation and communications, and the diffusion of multinational corporations across borders.
Defining Globalization
| Dimension | Examples |
|---|---|
| Economic | Cross-border trade, foreign direct investment, multinational supply chains, currency markets |
| Cultural | Global media (Hollywood, K-pop), English as lingua franca, global brands, sports (Olympics, FIFA) |
| Political | International organizations (UN, WTO, IMF, World Bank), NGOs (Amnesty, Greenpeace), trade blocs (EU, NAFTA, ASEAN) |
| Technological | Container shipping (1956), satellite communications (1962), the Internet (1990s), smartphones (2007) |
| Demographic | Global migration, refugee flows, brain drain, urbanization to mega-cities |
The Bretton Woods Order (1944)
In July 1944 โ before WWII even ended โ 730 delegates from 44 Allied nations met at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to design the postwar economic order.
| Institution | Founded | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| International Monetary Fund (IMF) | 1945 | Stabilize exchange rates; lend to countries with balance-of-payments crises |
| International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) | 1944 | Finance European reconstruction; later, development lending |
| General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) | 1947 | Negotiate progressive tariff reductions through "rounds" |
| World Trade Organization (WTO) | 1995 | Successor to GATT; binding dispute resolution and broader scope |
- Key rule of the original system: Currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar; the dollar pegged to gold at $35 per ounce. This held until 1971, when Nixon ended dollar-gold convertibility ("Nixon Shock").
The Information Revolution
| Decade | Breakthrough | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Bell Labs invents the transistor | Foundation of all later electronics |
| 1958 | Integrated circuit invented | Miniaturization begins |
| 1969 | ARPANET (precursor to Internet) | Packet switching demonstrated |
| 1971 | Intel 4004 microprocessor | Computer-on-a-chip |
| 1981 | IBM PC | Personal computing for offices |
| 1989 | World Wide Web invented at CERN | Hypertext on the Internet |
| 1995 | Netscape IPO; commercial Web takes off | Dot-com era begins |
| 2007 | iPhone introduced | Mobile Internet for billions |
| 2010s | Cloud computing, big data, AI | Knowledge-economy infrastructure |
Why Technological Change Accelerated After 1945
| Driver | Mechanism |
|---|---|
| Massive U.S. defense R&D budgets | DARPA, NASA, Bell Labs all funded by Cold War priorities |
| Public university expansion | The GI Bill in the U.S.; postwar university growth in Europe and East Asia |
| Patent and copyright frameworks | Reliable global IP protection encouraged private R&D |
| Falling transportation costs | Containerization (1956 onward) cut shipping costs dramatically |
| Falling communications costs | Satellites, undersea fiber optic cables, then the Internet |
- Key takeaway: The post-1945 globalization wave is built on the Bretton Woods institutions plus the information revolution. Whenever an AP prompt asks "why globalization accelerated after 1945," your two-pillar answer is: U.S.-led monetary order + cheap communications and transportation.
Concept Check โ Bretton Woods
Term Sprint โ Globalization institutions
Match each Bretton Woodsโera institution to its primary function.
Applied AP Practice โ Why globalization accelerated
Part 2: Key Processes
Globalization & Technology After 1900
Part 2 of 7 โ Key Processes
| Section |
|---|
| Multinational corporations and the global supply chain |
| Free trade agreements: NAFTA (1994), EU Single Market (1993), ASEAN |
| Financialization and the dollar system after 1971 |
| Foreign direct investment and offshoring |
Key idea: After 1971, the world economy reorganized around floating exchange rates, multinational corporations, and globally distributed supply chains. Production was unbundled โ design in one country, components in many, assembly in another, sales everywhere.
Multinational Corporations (MNCs)
| Period | MNC pattern |
|---|---|
| Pre-1945 | Vertically integrated โ controlled raw material extraction (oil, rubber, bananas) |
| 1945โ1980 | Production mostly in home country; sales offices abroad (GM, Ford, Sony) |
| 1980โ2000 | Global supply chains โ Apple designs in Cupertino, components from Korea/Taiwan/Japan, assembly in China, sold worldwide |
| 2000โtoday | "Triangle trade" โ components made in Asia, assembled in China, sold to U.S. and Europe; data and finance flow back |
Major Free Trade Agreements
| Agreement |
|---|
Part 3: Patterns & Examples
Globalization & Technology After 1900
Part 3 of 7 โ Patterns & Examples
| Section |
|---|
| The Asian Tigers and the Chinese miracle |
| The Internet revolution: from ARPANET to mobile |
| Cultural globalization: Hollywood, K-pop, English, the Olympics |
| Environmental globalization: the Green Revolution and its critics |
Key idea: AP prompts on globalization love specific cases. Memorize three: the Asian Tigers (state-led export growth), China after 1978 (Deng's reforms + 2001 WTO), and the Internet (1969 ARPANET โ 1989 Web โ 2007 iPhone). All three illustrate how state policy, technology, and global markets combined to produce uneven outcomes.
The Asian Tigers (1960sโ1990s)
| Tiger | Strategy | Result |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | Park Chung-hee's 1962 export-led plan; chaebols (Samsung, Hyundai, LG) | Per capita GDP under $100 in 1960 โ over $10,000 by 1995 |
| Taiwan | Land reform; export-processing zones; semiconductor industry (TSMC founded 1987) | Built dominant global chip foundry capability |
| Hong Kong | British colony until 1997; free trade port; finance hub | Reverted to PRC under "one country, two systems" |
| Singapore |
Part 4: Connections & Interactions
Globalization & Technology After 1900
Part 4 of 7 โ Connections & Interactions
| Section |
|---|
| Mass migration: economic migrants, refugees, brain drain |
| Diasporas, remittances, and transnational communities |
| Resistance: anti-globalization movements (Seattle 1999, World Social Forum) |
| Pandemics in a globalized world: HIV/AIDS, SARS, H1N1, COVID-19 |
Key idea: Globalization is not just trade and finance. It moves people, viruses, ideas, and protests across borders. AP prompts often ask about how migration and disease have reshaped political and cultural life โ and how protest movements have organized transnationally to challenge the globalization model itself.
Mass Migration After 1945
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Labor migration | Turks to Germany (Gastarbeiter, 1961+); Mexicans to U.S. (Bracero 1942โ64, post-1965 immigration); Filipinos and South Asians to Gulf States |
| Refugee flows | Palestinians 1948+; Vietnamese boat people 1975+; Afghans 1979+; Syrians 2011+; Ukrainians 2022+ |
| Postcolonial migration | West Indians to UK (Windrush); Algerians to France; Indonesians to the Netherlands |
| Brain drain | Indian engineers to Silicon Valley; African doctors to UK/Canada; Chinese students to U.S. universities |
Diasporas and Remittances
Part 5: Change Over Time
Globalization & Technology After 1900
Part 5 of 7 โ Change Over Time
| Section |
|---|
| Three phases of post-1945 globalization |
| Phase 1 (1945โ1971): Bretton Woods, embedded liberalism, decolonization |
| Phase 2 (1971โ1991): floating rates, neoliberalism, trade expansion |
| Phase 3 (1991โtoday): hyper-globalization, China rises, anti-globalization backlash |
| What stayed the same; what changed |
Key idea: AP CCOT prompts on globalization are won by students who divide the period into clear phases AND identify what stayed continuous across them.
Phase 1 (1945โ1971) โ "Embedded Liberalism"
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Monetary order | Fixed exchange rates anchored to dollar-gold |
| Trade | GATT rounds steadily lowered tariffs on manufactured goods |
| Capital flows | Tightly regulated; capital controls common |
| State role | Strong: postwar welfare states, full-employment commitments |
| Decolonization | Most of Asia and Africa achieved independence in this phase |
Phase 2 (1971โ1991) โ Neoliberal Turn
Part 6: Problem-Solving Workshop
Globalization & Technology After 1900
Part 6 of 7 โ Problem-Solving Workshop
| Section |
|---|
| HIPP for documents about globalization and technology |
| Document bank: Friedman's "The World Is Flat," Stiglitz's "Globalization and Its Discontents," WTO founding documents, Paris Agreement |
| AP SAQ structure for globalization prompts |
| Common AP traps to avoid |
Key idea: Globalization documents have a clear authorial position โ pro-globalization, critical, or technocratic. Sourcing the author's position is the highest-value AP move on these prompts.
HIPP for Globalization Documents
| Letter | Question | Globalization Application |
|---|---|---|
| Historical context | What was happening when this was produced? | Pre-2008 boom era? Post-2008 backlash? Pre/post China-WTO? |
| Intended audience | Who was this for? | Policy elites? Mass public? Specific national audience? |
| Purpose | What was the author trying to do? | Defend globalization? Critique it? Reform it from within? |
| oint of view |
Part 7: AP Review
Globalization & Technology After 1900
Part 7 of 7 โ AP Review
| Section |
|---|
| High-yield dates and one-line significance |
| Comparison framework: Phase 1 vs. Phase 2 vs. Phase 3 |
| CCOT framework for globalization 1945โtoday |
| Sprint terms most likely to appear on the AP exam |
Key idea: Use this part as your night-before-the-exam reference for post-1945 globalization. Drill the dates, the comparisons, and the AP skills.
High-Yield Dates
| Year | Event | One-Line Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Bretton Woods Conference | Designs postwar monetary order |
| 1945 | IMF and World Bank founded | Bretton Woods institutions |
| 1947 | GATT signed; transistor invented | Trade liberalization + electronics revolution begin |
| 1956 | First container ship voyage (Malcom McLean) | Containerization era begins |
| 1957 | EEC (later EU) founded by Treaty of Rome | European integration begins |