Modern communications technology makes it easy to maintain contacts between one continent and another. Economic life is internationalising. Business expects the environment in which it operates to be predictable to the greatest extent possible. An awareness that decisions made elsewhere affect our lives either directly or indirectly makes ordinary people demand the observance of some kind of common ground rules. The UN human rights system or the rules of the World Trade Organisation are changing this world, as is the Kyoto climate change protocol.
Human rights are of paramount importance.
In Europe, terrorism, the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, the Gulf War, Chechnya and Islamic radicalism have all added their own extra dashes of colour to the discourse. However, it is important to distinguish between causes and effects, or between ends and means. But I do consider it important to be aware that encounters between different people and their communities bring both threats and opportunities. For that reason it is rewarding to study conflicts and their causes. Religions, cultural differences or more broadly civilisations certainly have their significance, but they ought not be mystified.