The new world order and globalisation
History20th Century & TodayAges 14–15
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in 20th Century & Today
A self-drawn world map paired with a draggable timeline from 1991 to 2023 shows major economic centres and international organisations forming or expanding one after another. Students drag the timeline to watch the membership of the European Union and ASEAN change year by year, while the reach of each economic centre is gradually shaded in. Clicking an event dot reveals a short description of a globalisation milestone.
Lesson: The new world order since 1991; Asia since 1991
What it shows
In 1991 the Soviet Union broke up and the bipolar order of the Cold War ended. The world moved towards a multipolar pattern in which the United States, the European Union, Japan and later China became the main economic centres. The map turns this trend into numbers: the EU grows from 12 members in 1993 to 28 in 2013 and falls back to 27 in 2020, while ASEAN expands from 6 to 10 members by 1999. Milestones such as the founding of the WTO, China joining it and the 2008 financial crisis show how globalisation makes national economies interdependent.
How to use
Start at 1991 and press Run, or drag along the timeline, and ask students to record the EU and ASEAN member counts at a few chosen years. Then use the content group buttons, for example Economic centres or Mexico's integration, to follow one strand at a time, and click each event dot to read what happened. Turn Map labels off when you want students to identify the regions themselves.
Parameters you can change
- Year shown on the timeline 1991–2023 year
- Filter by content group All, New world order, Globalisation, Economic centres, Mexico's integration
- Timeline playback speed 1–10 years/s
- Show event labels on the map
Questions to explore
- In which year does ASEAN reach ten members, and how many members did it have in 1991?
- Which events on the timeline show that national economies became more dependent on each other?
- How did the North American Free Trade Agreement and the CPTPP connect Mexico more closely to the world economy?
