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Globalization in Comparative Politics 2
One reaction some societies have had to international phenomena, including globalization, has been economic and political integration. Prominent regional organizations have developed in recent decades, including the European Union (EU) and NAFTA, to mention just a couple examples. It is often hoped that forming a larger entity will help the member states both to maximize their social, economic, and political interests, and to increase their influence on global affairs. Let’s focus our attention on the EU, beginning with an exploration of its membership and growth over time.
CLICK DATA FILE:
GLOBAL04
CLICK TASK:
Mapping
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
EU-MEMBERS
CLICK VIEW:
Map
CLICK:
[Continue]
1. How many countries are members of the European Union?
2. How many countries have achieved candidate status for the European Union?
3.
True or False:
The member and candidate states of the European Union are located exclusively in West Europe.
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK DATA FILE:
TRENDS
CLICK TASK:
Historical Trends
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
EU MEMBERS
CLICK:
[Continue]
4. In which decade was the European Union founded?
5. In which year did the European Union add the most members?
6.
True or False:
European Union membership declined in the 1970s before increasing again in the 1990s.
One of the factors that helped persuade European leaders to develop the European Union was that it would increase their ability to exercise a strong role globally, and challenge the leadership of the Great Powers, in general, and the United States, in particular. Some of the key determinants of power include land area, population, gross domestic product (GDP), and the size of the military. Let’s examine the most powerful European countries along these dimensions, and compare them to the United States to provide a sense of the relative influence of "Europe" before and, at least potentially, after integration.
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK DATA FILE:
GLOBAL04
CLICK TASK:
Mapping
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
AREA
CLICK VIEW:
Rank Table
CLICK:
[Continue]
7. Which EU country has the most land area?
8. The United States has 3,539,227 square miles. How much land area is possessed by the largest EU country?
CLICK:
VARIABLES
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
POPULATION
CLICK VIEW:
Rank Table
CLICK:
[Continue]
9. Which EU country has the largest population?
10. The United States has 275 million people. What is the population of the largest EU country?
CLICK:
VARIABLES
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
GDP
CLICK VIEW:
Rank Table
CLICK:
[Continue]
11. Which EU country has the largest GDP?
12. The United States has a GDP of $9.26 trillion. What is the GDP of the largest EU country?
CLICK:
VARIABLES
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
MILITARY
CLICK VIEW:
Rank Table
CLICK:
[Continue]
13. Which EU country has the largest number of soldiers?
14. The United States has about 1.5 million soldiers. How many soldiers are in the largest EU country?
15.
True or False:
Based on the measures you have examined, it is clear that no single member of the European Union is as powerful as the United States.
Now let’s explore the potential power that the European Union countries have together and compare it to several other countries that are among those usually identified as "Great Powers."
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK DATA FILE:
EUROPEAN UNION
CLICK TASK:
Univariate
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
AREA
CLICK:
[Continue]
16. What percent of the world’s land area is located in the European Union?
17. Identify the potential "Great Powers" on the list (excluding "other") that are smaller than the European Union.
CLICK:
VARIABLES
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
POPULATION
CLICK:
[Continue]
18. What is the total population of the European Union?
19. Identify the potential "Great Powers" on the list (excluding "other"), that are smaller than the European Union.
20.
True or False:
The European Union has nearly 180 million more people than the United States.
CLICK:
VARIABLES
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
GDP
CLICK:
[Continue]
21. What percent of the world’s GDP is earned by the European Union?
22.
True or False:
The European Union share of world GDP is nearly equal to the share of GDP earned by the United States.
23. Identify the potential "Great Powers" on the list (excluding "other"), having smaller GDPs than the European Union.
CLICK
VARIABLES
CLICK TASK:
Univariate
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
MILITARY
CLICK:
[Continue]
24. Identify the potential "Great Powers" on the list (excluding "other"), having fewer soldiers in their militaries than the European Union.
25. Based on your observations, do you believe the European Union is positioned to challenge effectively the "Great Powers" of the world? Briefly explain your reasoning.
Now let’s turn our attention to some key concerns related to integration, specifically, how the citizens feel about the institutional arrangements that are being built, and how strongly they support and participate in the political processes. Important controversies have arisen within the EU over several important issues. Let’s explore some of these, beginning with the question of whether or not citizens view membership in the EU as desirable.
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK DATA FILE:
TRENDS
CLICK TASK:
Historical Trends
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
MEMB-GOOD
SELECT VARIABLE 2:
MEMB-BAD
CLICK:
[Continue]
26.
True or False:
In a typical year, fewer than 30 percent of EU citizens view membership as a "good" thing.
27. In which year did the largest percentage of EU citizens view membership as a "bad" thing?
Now let’s examine the issue of expansion to include new members.
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK DATA FILE:
SHARES
CLICK TASK:
Univariate
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
EU-EXPAN
CLICK:
[Continue]
28. What percent of EU citizens, overall, are in favor of enlargement?
29. What percent of EU citizens, overall, are opposed to enlargement?
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK DATA FILE:
GLOBAL04
CLICK TASK:
Mapping
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
ENLARG-FAV
CLICK VIEW:
Rank Table
CLICK:
[Continue]
30. What is the range of support for enlargement (i.e., lowest and highest levels of support)?
31.
True or False:
In more than half of these countries, fewer than 50 percent of citizens support enlargment.
CLICK:
VARIABLES
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
ENLARG-OPP
CLICK VIEW:
Rank Table
CLICK:
[Continue]
32. What is the range of opposition to enlargement (i.e., lowest and highest levels of support)?
CLICK:
BACK
(use your browser’s back button)
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
ENLARG-OPP
CLICK VIEW:
Map
CLICK:
[Continue]
33. Can you identify any patterns related to the countries with the most citizens opposed to enlargement?
Another issue that has generated controversy within the European Union is the adoption of a common currency, the Euro, which is in circulation in twelve member states. Let’s explore attitudes about the Euro.
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK DATA FILE:
SHARES
CLICK TASK:
Univariate
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
EURO
CLICK:
[Continue]
34. What percent of EU citizens favor the Euro?
One of the goals of the European Union has been the adoption of a common defense and security policy. Let’s explore citizen attitudes towards this.
CLICK:
VARIABLES
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
EU-DEFENSE
CLICK:
[Continue]
35. What percent of EU citizens favor a common defense and security policy?
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK DATA FILE:
GLOBAL04
CLICK TASK:
Mapping
SELECT VARIABLE:
EU-DEFENSE
CLICK VIEW:
Map
CLICK:
[Continue]
36.
True or False:
A majority of citizens in every European Union country favors a common defense and security policy.
There has also been considerable debate within European Union countries over the possible adoption of a constitution, something that has been discussed seriously by policymakers for several years. Let’s explore public attitudes related to this.
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK DATA FILE:
SHARES
CLICK TASK:
Univariate
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
EU-CONST
CLICK:
[Continue]
37.
True or False:
A majority of European Union citizens favor the adoption of a European Union constitution.
38. What percent of EU citizens either are opposed to a constitution or don’t know?
A significant controversy has also arisen regarding whether or not the European Union’s political institutions (i.e., the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament) function effectively to protect the common good. Let’s explore how citizens feel about the Parliament.
CLICK:
VARIABLES
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
EU-PARL
CLICK:
[Continue]
39. What percent of EU citizens believe that the members of Parliament are good at protecting their interests?
40.
True or False:
A majority of EU believe that the members of Parliament do a poor job of protecting their interests.
A final controversy that we’ll examine is in regard to citizen participation in the political processes of the European Union. Let’s explore attitudes towards Parliamentary elections, and actual turnout.
CLICK:
VARIABLES
SELECT PRIMARY VARIABLE:
ELECT-IMP
CLICK:
[Continue]
41. What percent of EU citizens believe that European Parliament elections are "really important?"
CLICK:
DATA FILES
CLICK
TRENDS
CLICK TASK:
Historical Trends
SELECT VARIABLE 1:
EU-TURNOUT
CLICK:
[Continue]
42. What percent of EU citizens voted in the 1979 European Parliament elections?
43. What percent of EU citizens voted in the 2004 European Parliament elections?
44.
True or False:
Voter turnout has declined in every European Parliament election since 1979.
45. The European Union formed as a result of both domestic and international considerations including, but not limited to, globalization. It is clear that European integration has made significant progress in recent decades but not, as you observed, without a mixture of both concern and support from its citizens. Based on your observations, do you believe European integration is likely to succeed as a strategy to deal with globalization in the long term? Be sure to discuss briefly your reasoning.
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