Globalization helped Europe recover from economic crises from vast wars in their countries. In East Europe though, there was a “severe decline in living standards” (Shubert & Goldstein, 2012). This was a result of privatization. The rich stayed rich and the poor got poorer. Many companies based in European nations expanded and some of their products became very prominent in the United States. Nokia (which was founded in Finland) outsold their phones in the US. Also, the company Daimler Benz took over Chrysler (Shubert & Goldstein, 2012). Politics became xenophobic during the age of globalization. Many countries, one being Italy, created a political organization based on nationalism and discriminating against immigrants particularly. The rise of terrorism began when Muslims felt they were treated unfairly so it led to the creation of Islamist extremists. Shubert & Goldstein (2012) state that European societal integration was particularly difficult for Muslims because of mistrust. Gibas-Krzak (2013) writes of how those in the Balkan region became fighters from several different Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Algeria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Sudan, Iran, and Syria. They said it was for Allah, their God but they were also charging large sums of money for their war efforts (p. 208). Al-Qaeda went as far as recruiting White Europeans to try and fool people into trusting their intentions (Gibas-Krzak, 2013, p. 211). Modern technology helped the spread of Islamic terrorism by offering online recruitment where people could pledge their allegiance to the organization via the internet. With the signing of the Dayton agreement in 1995, all “Warriors of Allah” were supposed to leave and they did not. They continued their plights to increase their followings, especially in Bosnia. The Bosnians were easily persuaded because of the genocide that had occurred previously to their people.

                                                     References

Gibas-Krzak, D. (2013). Contemporary Terrorism in the Balkans: A Real Threat to Security in Europe. Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 26(2), 203–218. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1080/13518046.2013.779861 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Shubert, A. & Goldstein, R.J. (2012). Twentieth-century Europe[Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/