World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

Visual Capitalist produced a very informative graph on how people in different countries regard globalization.  The data are compiled by YouGov and cover 19 countries.  One can go to a high resolution graphic which is easier to see by clicking here.  The poll also includes attitudes toward international trade, direct foreign investment, and immigration.  The data confirm that globalization has definitely engendered resentment in the richer countries, but it viewed more favorably by the emerging market states.  The attitudes toward immigration are sharply negative, a result that is deeply troubling.

Three days after he was inaugurated, President Trump pulled the US out of the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).  There were twelve countries involved in the negotiations but, importantly, China was not part of those discussions.  In many respects, the TPP was viewed as a bargaining lever to address the significant economic clout of China.  It turns out that the 11 remaining countries in the negotiations have decided to pursue the trade agreement without the US.  The pact is now called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and it has dropped 20 of the most contentious issues, including an agreement on agricultural trade which was a real sticking point in the TPP.  The original pact “would’ve boosted trade ties between the US and 11 countries along the Pacific Rim that have a combined GDP of $27.4 trillion.”

Today was “Singles Day” in China.  It celebrates an old Chinese holiday, but took on a new life in 1993. According to Business Insider:

“Students at Nanjing University first celebrated Singles Day in 1993 as an appreciation of, you guessed it — being single. They picked November 11 (11/11) as an ode to the loneliness of the number one.”

Since 1993 it has become the most active commercial holiday in the world, larger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the US combined.  The Chinese spent $25 billion in 2017.  It is truly remarkable how quickly things have changed in China.