Explore the ways in which the early-twenty-first-century world balances global and regional integration with countries' desire for political, social, and economic autonomy. What factors can lead an individual country's balance to tip toward one or the other?

Compare the authoritarian capitalist model used by China and Russia with Islamic revivalist politics. What are their characteristics? What factors have contributed to the development of each, and what are their potential impacts on the global community?

Access to natural resources is emerging as a major issue for the twenty-first century. Explain why this is the case, and describe some of the impacts this issue has already had.