MicroCase   Instructions: You may find it works well to print out these Exercises so you can have the directions always in front of you. Click Here to print out this page. Click on the Microcase button to get to Online MicroCase, the software you need to complete this exercise. Enter your answers into the boxes below. If you'd like a print-out of your responses, click on the Submit button at the bottom of the page, and you will be taken to a printer-friendly page. If you have been instructed to submit your exercise online, enter both your and your instructor's name and e-mail address, then click the Email button at the bottom of the page. Your answers will be e-mailed immediately.   Globalization in Comparative Politics 1 It is becoming increasingly clear that any study of specific countries must be placed into the context of a world that is experiencing widening and deepening globalization. Numerous international factors, such as war, economic activity, disease, and environmental factorsclearly impact individual countries and often influence their political decisions. While countries have always been affected by such phenomena, their relative scope and intensity has increased significantly in recent decades. In the extreme, a country’s sovereignty (in short, its ability to control its own internal affairs), can be threatened or reduced. Let’s explore some of the factors that individual governments must address in the world of globalization, beginning with war. CLICK DATA FILE: GLOBAL04 CLICK TASK: Univariate SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE: War CLICK: [Continue] 1. What percent of the world’s countries have not been engaged in some form of war recently? 2. What percent of the world’s countries have been engaged in civil wars recently? CLICK: TASKS CLICK TASK: Mapping SELECT VARIABLE 1: WAR CLICK VIEW: Map CLICK: [Continue] 3. Identify the continents that have experienced some form of war recently 4. True or False: A majority of countries in both the Middle East and Africa have experienced war recently. One of the factors that contributes to war is, ultimately, domestic political decisions, such as whether or not to ship arms to other countries. Let’s examine the transfer of arms between countries. CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: ARMSEXPORT CLICK VIEW: Map CLICK: [Continue] 5. True or False: Countries that export arms exist on every continent. CLICK: BACK (use your browser’s back button) SELECT VARIABLE 1: ARMSEXPORT CLICK VIEW: Rank Table CLICK: [Continue] 6. What is the value of United States arms shipments? 7. Identify the ten countries that transfer the highest volume of Major Convential Weapons. COUNTRY CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: GOVERNMENT CLICK VIEW: Alphabetical Table CLICK: [Continue] 8. How many of the ten countries identified above are old democracies? 9. How many of the ten countries identified above are new democracies? CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: ARMSIMPORT CLICK VIEW: Map CLICK: [Continue] 10. True or False: Arms importers exist on every continent. 11. True or False: Asia, including the Middle East, has a higher concentration of countries importing the most arms (i.e., more than $U.S. 236 million) than any other region in the world. Another security issue related to war is terrorism. Let’s explore this phenomenon. CLICK: DATA FILES CLICK DATA FILE: SHARES CLICK TASK: Univariate SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE: TERRORISM CLICK: [Continue] 12. According to the U.S. State Department, how many terrorist attacks occurred in 2003? 13. Identify the two regions that experienced the most terrorist attacks during 2003? 14. What percent of the world’s terrorist attacks in 2003 occurred in the two regions identified above? Clearly, high levels of violence as a result of wars and terrorism influence domestic political decisions, including the classic tradeoff between "guns" and "butter." When a government chooses to spend more on one of these, regardless of the specific reasons for the choice, it results in what economists refer to as an "opportunity cost." Simply defined, this means that when money is spent on a particular item, other purchases must be forgone. These "forgone" choices are the opportunity costs, or what is "not purchased" because the money has been spent on something else. Let’s examine global military expenditures. CLICK: DATA FILES CLICK DATA FILE: GLOBAL04 CLICK TASK: Mapping SELECT VARIABLE 1: % MIL GDP CLICK VIEW: Rank Table CLICK: [Continue] 15. What is the range of military spending as a percent of gross domestic product (i.e., the highest and lowest percentages)? 16. How many of the world’s countries spend at least five percent of their gross domestic product on the military? 17. What percent of the United States’ gross domestic product is spent on the military? 18. True or False: The United States ranks in the top quarter of all countries in terms of the percent of its gross domestic product spent on the military. 19. Clearly the decision to spend money on the military is a function both of the global environment and domestic considerations. However, when tradeoffs are made between "guns" and "butter," "opportunity costs" occur. Identify a specific opportunity cost that might occur and discuss briefly the effects that it might have on domestic politics. Other global phenomena also influence domestic politics. Let’s examine a few of these, starting with an environmental issue, the emission of greenhouse gases. Neither greenhouse gases nor their consequences respect political boundaries, so the decisions and actions of one country clearly influence others. CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: GREENHOUSE CLICK VIEW: Map CLICK: [Continue] 20. True or False: Every continent has at least one country with per capita carbon dioxide emission level of at least 7.7 . 21. True or False: The United States has one of the world’s lowest per capita carbon dioxide emissions levels (i.e., less than 0.3). Similarly, diseases fail to recognize borders and state sovereignty. Let’s explore one of these. CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: AIDS % CLICK VIEW: Map CLICK: [Continue] 22. True or False: A majority of countries on every continent have HIV/Aids infection rates of at least 0.10 percent. 23. Which continent has the most countries with the highest infection rates? CLICK: TASKS CLICK TASK: Univariate SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE: AIDS % CLICK: [Continue] 24. What percent of the world’s countries have infection rates of at least one percent? 25. How many of the world’s countries have infection rates of less than 0.10 percent? 26. What percent of the world’s countries have infection rates of less than 0.10 percent? Economic activity is also no longer influenced solely by decisions of domestic governments. Let’s explore one key type of international economic activity: trade. CLICK: TASKS CLICK TASK: Mapping SELECT VARIABLE 1: TRADE CLICK VIEW: Map CLICK: [Continue] 27. True or False: A majority of the world’s countries rely at least in part on trade to generate income or supply needed goods. 28. True or False: Western Europe has the world’s highest concentration of countries with trade valued at more than 73,033 million U.S. dollars. Domestic political decisions that influence the occurrence of war, standards of living, quality of life (e.g., by fighting disease and improving health), and so on can create inducements for people to immigrate. Conversely, when governments are either unable to provide a relatively high quality of life for its citizens or make decisions that are viewed by citizens as failing to adequately address basic needs, some people will decide to emigrate. This has tremendously important implications for a world undergoing increased globalization. Let’s examine net migration. CLICK: VARIABLES SELECT VARIABLE 1: NETMIGRT CLICK VIEW: Map CLICK: [Continue] 29. How many of the world’s countries have a net, positive level of migration? 30. True or False: A majority of the world’s countries have a net negative level of migration. 31. True or False: Excluding Australia, every continent has at least half a dozen countries with a net negative level of migration. 32. Based on what you’ve learned, speculate about whether globalization forces will lead to a reduced level of sovereignty for most states or will they largely retain their current levels of sovereignty. Explain your reasoning.     Student Name:* Student Email:*   Professor Name:*   Professor Email:*         *required