Four Approaches to Understanding the Contemporary World

The contemporary world is the world we currently live in. To better understand the contemporary world, it’s vital to explore some historical, geographical, political and economic concepts.

Over the years, global ideologies, political regimes and economic systems developed and influenced the course of history. Before studying contemporary issues, it can be useful to take a look at the following approaches:

The concept sheets in this section focus on the major events of the 19th and 20th centuries. First, industrialization and urbanization have had major impacts on the way people live and how cities are organized. Cities are still facing population increases today, leading to new environmental protection challenges. As the global population grows, equitable access to resources and services has become another major issue.

World War I, World War II and the Cold War changed the global political, economic and social dynamics. The great empires fell, more colonies won their independence and trade increased significantly. The world wars and the Cold War triggered the major decolonization movements of the 20th century, leading to the birth of dozens of new nations. However, traces of colonialism are still very present in the form of neocolonialism.

Geography highlights the connection between humans and the land they inhabit. This approach teaches us about the location (continent, country or city, etc.) where events took place and how they were influenced by the location’s features. Countries often fight over access to natural resources. If one country has access to a large body of freshwater, a neighbouring country without a sufficient water source may attempt to claim part of the territory or negotiate the right to use the water source for its people, as well as for farming. This is just one example of how geographic information helps us understand certain events or how global tensions arise.

There are many political ideologies and political systems that exist around the world. The concept sheets in this section explain the basic concepts of these political ideologies and systems. Understanding these different political aspects, as well as their origin and where they fall on the political spectrum, provides additional tools to understand contemporary global issues. A democratic country does not operate in  the same way as a totalitarian regime. Understanding how these two political systems work means analyzing various current events.

The concept sheets in this section provide basic information on the economies of different countries and how they interact. There are different economic models and systems that each have their own specific characteristics. Each country runs its own economy, but countries with different systems are still economically or commercially linked to each other. International organizations were set up during the 20th century to manage the global economy and trade. Tools were also developed to better analyze the economy. One of these is the gross domestic product (GDP), which calculates a country’s wealth.