Conclusions: A Bumpy Ride to Globalisation, Google and Jihad

Abstract

A convenient date for marking the transition from one epoch to another remains 1945, for three reasons: the end of the Second World War; the establishment of the United Nations as a universal organization to maintain international peace and security, protect human rights and promote human welfare and development; and the inauguration of the atomic age. Today’s global environment is vastly more challenging, complex and demanding than the world of 1945. Just consider the vocabulary and metaphors of the new age, every one of which would have mystified the 1945 generation: Srebrenica, Rwanda, Kosovo, East Timor, Darfur; child soldiers, ethnic cleansing, blood diamonds, 9/11, regime change, HIV/AIDS, global warming; Microsoft, Google, iPod, Blackberry, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. All of them both symbolize and result from the age of globalization. Moreover, they all empower both forces for good and forces of evil.