This book provides a multidisciplinary vocabulary for explaining general issues and trends facing the contemporary world involving cultural diversity, economic development, the natural environment, and international peace and violence. It affords equal time to the analysis of global issues using alternative perspectives. Eight major case studies --one for each of the central issues explored--encourage the application of concepts and perspectives presented in the narrative. These perspectives include Ethnicity and Global Diversity, Economic Development, Human Ecological Sustainability, World Ecology, and Peace and War. For individuals interested in an introduction to world issues--as they relate to anthropology, sociology, history, and political science.