Globalization Rubs Passions Raw

Conflict over the Danish cartoon crisis is a result of tension between the process of globalization and the pull of “nativism.” Globalization involves both the movement of people, goods, capital and ideas around the world, and the impact of the changes wrought by this flow. The effects of such exchanges are more immediate because of real-time communications through cell phones and the internet. With the cartoon crisis, the rapid transmission of controversial images and opinions magnified the concerns over immigration, ethnic division and economic inequality in Europe as well as the influx of foreign values and capital into Muslim homelands. The cartoon crisis suggests that the phenomenon is not limited to a western versus Muslim culture clash, but a reaction to any difference at all. Globalization was supposed to increase tolerance, yet the growing speed of communication allows us to communicate discontent as quickly as our ability to find common ground. – YaleGlobal