How did globalization tie Europe into an interconnected world, and what tensions did it create?
Topic 9.13 Globalization: the deepening economic, technological, and cultural interconnection of the contemporary world, its effects on Europe, and the tensions and reactions it provoked.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.13, on globalization: the deepening economic, technological, and cultural interconnection of the contemporary world, its transformation of European economies and societies, the role of migration and integration, and the tensions and backlash it provoked.
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What this topic is asking
Topic 9.13 asks you to explain globalization: the deepening economic, technological, and cultural interconnection of the contemporary world, its effects on Europe, and the tensions and reactions it provoked. The College Board wants you to see Europe as part of an increasingly interconnected and contested global system.
What globalization is
How globalization reshaped Europe
Tensions and backlash
Globalization was not welcomed by all.
Why it mattered
Globalization is a defining feature of the contemporary world and the culmination of forces long at work in European history, the global markets of earlier centuries, the technology of the industrial and information ages, and the connections forged and then unwound by empire and decolonization. It made Europe richer and more interconnected while provoking a powerful reaction that reasserted national identity, connecting to the persistence of nationalism (Topic 9.5) and the tensions within the European Union (Topic 9.10). The pull between openness and identity that globalization created is central to the politics of present-day Europe, and it is the world in which the AP Euro course ends.
Try this
Q1. Name the three dimensions of globalization. [Recall]
- Cue. Economic interconnection (global trade, finance, corporations), technological interconnection (computing and communications), and cultural interconnection (the spread and mixing of cultures across borders).
Q2. Explain why globalization provoked a backlash in Europe. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Many Europeans feared its effects on jobs, wages, and inequality, worried about immigration and its impact on national identity and cohesion, and resented the loss of national control to global markets and institutions, fears that fed a revival of nationalism and populism reasserting the claims of the nation.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2018 (style)3 marksBriefly describe ONE feature of globalization. Briefly explain ONE effect of globalization on Europe. Briefly explain ONE tension or backlash it provoked.Show worked answer →
A Short Answer Question (SAQ), 3 points, one per task.
A. Describe: the deepening economic, technological, and cultural interconnection of the world, tied together by trade, finance, and communications.
B. Effect on Europe: integration into global markets, migration, and cultural exchange transformed European economies and societies.
C. Tension: globalization provoked backlash over jobs, immigration, identity, and inequality, and a revival of nationalism and populism.
Markers want a feature, an effect, and a tension.
AP 2021 (style)6 marksEvaluate the extent to which globalization transformed European society in the contemporary era.Show worked answer →
A Long Essay Question (LEQ), scored on the 6-point continuity-and-change rubric.
Thesis (1): "Globalization profoundly transformed European society, integrating it into a global economy and culture and reshaping it through migration, while provoking a backlash that reasserted national identity."
Contextualization (1): decolonization, technology, and European integration.
Evidence (2): global markets and the information economy; migration and cultural exchange; the populist and nationalist backlash.
Analysis (2): weigh the integrating effects against the reactions they provoked, then add complexity by linking globalization to migration and the EU.
Related dot points
- Topic 9.12 Technology: the technological and scientific advances of the postwar and contemporary era, from the space race and computing to medicine, and the social and ethical questions they raised.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.12, on contemporary technology: the postwar and contemporary advances in computing, communications, space, and medicine, how they transformed European daily life and the economy, and the new social and ethical questions they raised.
- Topic 9.9 Decolonization: the rapid dismantling of the European overseas empires after World War II, its causes (nationalism, European weakness, Cold War ideals), and its consequences for Europe and the world.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.9, on decolonization: how and why the European overseas empires were dismantled after World War II, the roles of anti-colonial nationalism, European weakness, and Cold War pressures, and the consequences including new nations, migration, and lasting global ties.
- Topic 9.10 The European Union: the project of European integration from the postwar coal and steel community to the European Union, its causes, achievements, and tensions.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.10, on European integration and the European Union: how postwar Europe moved from war toward cooperation, starting with coal and steel and widening to a common market and then the European Union in 1993, its causes and achievements, and the tensions over sovereignty and identity that it raised.
- Topic 9.5 Postwar Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Atrocities: the persistence of nationalism and ethnic conflict after 1945, including population transfers, the breakup of Yugoslavia, and the return of atrocity to Europe.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 9.5, on postwar nationalism, ethnic conflict, and atrocities: the population transfers after World War II, the suppression of ethnic tensions under the Cold War order, and the violent re-eruption of nationalism after 1989, above all in the wars and ethnic cleansing of the former Yugoslavia.
- Topic 5.2 The Rise of Global Markets: the expansion of global trade, the Atlantic economy and the slave trade, the growth of a consumer society, and the competition that linked Europe to the wider world.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 5.2, covering the rise of global markets in the 18th century: the expansion of Atlantic and global trade, the plantation and slave economies, the consumer society it fed, and the commercial competition that linked European prosperity to the wider world.
Sources & how we know this
- AP European History Course and Exam Description — College Board (2020)