“GLOBALIZATION: Different Cultures, Different Responses, Different Results.

Assessing the ‘Canadian Salad Bowl’, the ‘U.S. Melting Pot, and the ‘Asian Great Wall’…and how culture determines our identity in a globalizing…and de-globalizing…world.

For the past 20–30 years, the world has been undergoing a vast process of globalization, a term generally used to describe a state of heightened interconnectivity between nations, regions, peoples and cultures, as compared to previous eras where nations, regions, people and cultures were far less interconnected, and acted with far greater independence. The results of this heightened interdependence due to globalization are evidenced in the economic, political and social actions and policies of nations, including how we trade, live and work with one another across borders. The interdependence resulting from globalization affects political decisions, such as waging war or peace; economic decisions, such as the establishment (or not) of trade pacts and economic zones of cooperation; and the increased homogenization of aspects of individual local culture. Forces driving the globalization phenomenon include increased transportation, communication, technology, and the recognition of the benefits that such increase can bring to participants in this process. Along with affecting the political and economic decisions of nation-states, globalization also…