ABSTRACT

This chapter suggests that there are three faces of globalization, the enabler of positive change, the destroyer of traditional boundaries and cultures, and the preserver of the planet, the facilitator of concerted policies and actions in a globalized environment. All three are requisite for the understanding of the international system in the new millennium. The model incorporating the tridimensionality of globalization would serve as a reference for examining some of the key issues, such as sovereignty, human rights, global values, and technologies. International intervention challenges and complicates assumptions of sovereignty, testing the boundaries of state and regional rights. Integration into the global community comes with a price tag, the adoption of global norms. The values of internationalism, legalism, and humanitarianism are representative of a global value system. The chapter describes the enormous problems associated with environmental degradation and global climate change.