Materialism And Globalization

The end of the Cold War marked a new beginning of time for international relations. The triumph of liberal democracy meant the expansion of capitalism and globalization. Economically and socially, states were more interconnected. However, states also started to experience new forms of threats. For a long time, it was assumed that states were the primary actors in the international relations. Based on this, it was assumed that the threat of a state was another state. The focus of security studies mainly revolved around military capability of a state. The end of the Cold War, resulted in the transformation of the from a bipolar world to a unipolar one. States then started to look for new potential threats. The Copenhagen School of Security Studies broadens the concept of security to include non-state actors and aspects of the state such as the economy, environment, and society.
Today, one of the perceived security threats is international migration. The forces of capitalism and globalization, have created a situation in which international mobilization is more liberal due to the interconnectedness of states. Europe is a prime example of this. From the 1980s and onwards, Europe …show more content…
Unlike previous forms of racism, which emphasize biological superiority, new racism focuses on cultural differences to rationalize discrimination against certain groups. It is built on the need to preserve own identify and values against others. New racism does not define cultures as being superior or inferior, rather it points towards their equality. It emphasises that different cultures should remain distant in order to maintain social stability. Proponents of anti-immigration use this discourse mold public perception of the need to preserve cultural identity without sending messages of racism (Togral, 2013,