Globalization wields powerful influence over societies and cultures. Business travelers and tourists both observe and distribute new ideas. New ideas, interactions, foods and products are tried, then embraced or discarded. With the internet or satellite television, films, publications, photographs, news reports and cartoons can travel instantly, entertaining or angering audiences around the globe. With social media like Facebook or Twitter, individuals offer news and own instant pronouncements on trends. Whether slowly through immigration or immediately online, these connections bring about some convergence of norms on fashion to human rights while also provoking challenges from traditionalists. A global society has emerged, and it’s tightly linked.

Laos Steps into the Globalized World

But Vientiane is now inextricably linked with Beijing
Bertil Lintner
December 15, 2009

Seeking Soft-Power, But Not By the Book

China’s controversial participation at Frankfurt Book Fair shows the limits
Jonathan Fenby
October 26, 2009

Coping With Digital Revolution: China Offers Green Dam, Iran Faces Neda

Despite many counter-measures and filters, digital democracy continues to trouble authoritarian regimes
Guobin Yang
June 23, 2009

Population: Some Boom, Some Decline

Wildly varying fertility rates among nations threaten global stability
Joseph Chamie
March 18, 2009

India’s Reverse Diaspora

Indian immigrants in the West increasingly view Bangalore as a frontier for opportunity
Steven L. Raymer
December 5, 2008

China’s Image Sullied by Tainted Milk

Putting profit and prestige over safety, China compounds the crisis with a cover-up
Mary Kay Magistad
October 1, 2008