In The News

Kenya's Muslims: Resentments Both Local and International

Dexter Filkins December 1, 2002
Close-knit global communication is helping to spread information and arouse passions about developments in far-away places. This New York Times report finds widespread resentment among Kenya’s Muslim community about their condition at home and abroad. Much of that resentment is born of a widespread belief among Kenya's Muslim minority that they have long been the victims of discrimination...

Hollywood in the Era of Globalization

Allen J. Scott November 29, 2002
Hollywood films represent more than half, and sometimes more than two-thirds of total box-office receipts in major markets. Films that succeed in the US market also tend to succeed in foreign markets. This suggests that a convergence of popular taste may be coming about, though in many countries this phenomenon also occurs against a backdrop of cultural contestation. Hollywood has been a success...

Beyond salvation

Gamal Nkrumah November 28, 2002
Nigeria hosted the Miss World pageant hoping this would help clear its anti-secular image. But the plan backfired when Muslim fundamentalists in the country’s north responded violently to an article in a daily which they thought insulted the Prophet Mohamed. Instead of an international reputation as a democratic and secular country, Nigeria is now beset with more internal strife. –YaleGlobal.

No More Fanaticism as Usual

Salman Rushdie November 27, 2002
Globalization of the media allows us to hear and see almost instantly news from around the world, creating a space for global perspectives on important issues that affect people everywhere. Recounting recent events in Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, and the Netherlands involving religious violence and Islamicists, author Salman Rushdie calls on fair-minded Muslims the world over to stand up for their...

Behold the Leviathan

Kari Huus November 26, 2002
In a time of much political and economic uncertainty at the international level, MSNBC conducted a series of interviews with people around the world, asking them to comment on several aspects of American policy and culture. Democracy, equality, and freedom—fundamental virtues and values—received much admiration from those surveyed abroad. When asked about America’s foreign policy, they changed...

Tragic Mistake

November 24, 2002
The globalization of television and bigger opportunities for commercial gain by promoters of beauty contests have in recent years expanded the number of countries who want to host such international contests. But that commercial drive has run up against tradition and religious beliefs in many countries. A Saudi Arabian English-language paper blames the Nigerian government for the violence by...

The Globalist Cookbook

Chris Mooney November 24, 2002
Images of American cultural dominance – McDonald’s, Hollywood, and megastores – rile groups as diverse as Muslim fundamentalists, French nationalists, and anti-globalization activists. But Tyler Cowen, a pro-free market cultural economist, sees opportunity in the globalization of culture. “Capitalist multiculturalism” offers consumers different options – in their restaurants, music, and fine...