A World Cracked Open
Simensen, Jarle and Sven Tägil: Verden i oppbrudd. Verdenshistorien etter den kalde krigen.Full title: A World Cracked Open. World History after the Cold War
Never before have so many people improved their living standard as during the last generation, and never before have so many people lived in democracies. At the same time, the news is dominated by war, terror, environmental damage and extreme poverty.
We are witnessing a historic shift between epochs, and this book provides an overview over what is about to happen. Around 1990, the Soviet Union resigned its social ideology and international position in a way no-one had dreamed possible. The US has gained a military superiority unlike anything the world has ever witnessed. A wave of democratisation has swept over all the continents of the world – military regimes and socialist one-party states have been abandoned. What set off this avalanche, and where will it end? Why have ethnic and religious movements – both Christian and Muslim – gained renewed power, and terrorism taken new forms? Can the UN and regional organs like the EU create a better and more organised world?
Besides analysing the political changes, this book allows plenty of room for the technological revolution and the economic reforms that have changed the world economy and had direct consequences for the lives of individuals, also in the Western countries. What are the driving forces behind the globalisation process? Are there any global solutions to global problems like environmental damage, poverty, organised crime and HIV/AIDS? The situation is open and insecure, but this book argues that we can create a better world. History does not provide a recipe, but it does provide an important basis for reflection.
This book gives close-ups of the development in different parts of the world, all the while attempting to find patterns in what happens. It is written in a form that can reach any interested reader.
Praise for "A World Cracked Open":
"A broad, insightful and of topical examination from Jarle Simensen’s hand about the globalisation currently pouring over us" (Aftenposten)
"useful, enlightening and clarifying" (Dagbladet)
"It is understandable, and it is impressive how much factual knowledge is concentrated on a little less than 350 pages" (VG)
First published: 2005, Aschehoug Non-Fiction
Jarle Simensen: Biography and bibliography
Sven Tägil: Biography and bibliography
