There are many social, political and economic changes that have taken place in the first decade of the 21st century. In the 21st century, the United States has found itself as the only superpower in the world following the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, recent changes in the world indicates that other countries such as China, the European countries and Brazil have high potentials of being superpowers, politically, economically and socially in the near future. The battle for supremacy continues as the United States fight to maintain its political and economic influence throughout the world while the emerging superpowers position themselves to deal with the challenges of the modern world.
The divisive politics that started in the beginning of the century has been evident in the last three years. This has not only been in the United States but globally due to different political and social ideologies. The liberalists have collided with the conservatives as it has been throughout history. In the United States, the battle has been between the democrats and the republicans as witnessed in the highly contested 2008 presidential elections. On other parts of the world, there have been numerous cases of crime against humanity which are politically perpetrated. This includes the situation that has been persistent in Sudan’s Darfur regions and the increasing conflicts in Sri Lanka. Other concerns that have attracted attention in the world over the last three years are the increased instability in the East African country, Somalia. Lack of stable government in the country has resulted into political crisis, development of Islamic insurgencies who have taken control over the country and the problem of piracy in the East African coast.
Since 2006, there has been increasing concern over the possible development of nuclear weapons in North Korea after the country conducted a nuclear test towards the end of 2006. This has resulted into a fierce political debate and wrangling because the world is unaware of the status of the program. The civil conflicts in the Gaza Strip reached its climax in the mid 2007. The dismissal of the Hamas leadership by the Palestine president has resulted into unending civil conflicts in the region. These conflicts were followed by the armed conflicts in the second half of 2008 between Georgia and the Russian Federation. This led to the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent countries.
The years 2009 had several political changes in the world. Barrack Obama having been elected the president of the United States in the 2008 heavily contested presidential election took office. He became the first African American to be sworn in as the president of the United States. This was a historic event in the political history of the United States considering the racial prejudice that has been importunate in the American society. Conflicts in the Gaza continued in 2009 with Israel initiation military campaign against the Hamas after the elements with extremist ideas launched rockets against Israel. The political wrangling over the nuclear program in North Korea took a new dimension when the second nuclear test was conducted.
Other issues that have been important politically in the last three years includes economic integration, increased population and migrations, political debates on abortion and same sex marriages, global warming and climate change, terrorism threat and health.
Work cited
Global Issues, (2010). Retrieved on 2nd June 2010 from: http://www.globalissues.org/
