Introduction
Initially, the United States was formed as a heterogeneous society, and the traditions of cultural and religious tolerance were historically strong. However, this did not exclude violent clashes based on religious, ethnic, or racial hostility. Now the relative stability of American society is promoted by the promotion of tolerance for other opinions, worldviews, and behavior. It is also established by the presence of powerful police and bureaucratic apparatus capable of protecting the rights of minorities. To understand globalization’s effects on American dominant minority relations, it is necessary to turn to the global perspective and look beyond the US when analyzing them.
The Importance to Look Beyond The US
The United States has seen an increase in ethnic and racial minorities, most of whom are immigrants. Therefore, to better understand their relationship, it is essential to look beyond the US, to turn to their native countries and culture. Since linguistic and cultural diversity is gradually increasing, to form a holistic view of racial minorities, it is necessary to turn to the organic way of developing their ethnicity. In the existing conditions of multiculturalism, which arose due to cultural and religious diversity, it is difficult to isolate the characteristics of representatives of each of its constituent minorities (Velayutham, 2017). To change the dominant-negative stereotypical ideas about these population groups, their identity at its origins has to be considered. The primary purpose of going beyond the borders of the United States is to register belonging to a particular culture.
Global Perspective
By taking a global perspective, it can be concluded that members of the dominant cultural minority group are limited in access to their own culture, so they need special protection. It can also be noted that cultural dominance in some countries takes on a symbolic form. For example, the Catholic Christmas holiday in Europe demonstrates that the customs of this group have more value than other groups. From the global perspective, it is also possible to isolate the desire of dominant minorities to obtain multi-ethnic rights. It consists of the demand for equal integration into the host country’s culture and not the rejection of integration. In addition, considering the global perspective, one can be convinced of the significance of various cultural identities and languages. Thus, they can be assessed as the minimum social benefits that every member of society should have (Nakkas et al., 2019). The traditional liberal regime presupposes equal freedoms and opportunities for all citizens. Recognition of the equality of different cultures in a global perspective requires its replacement by a system of special rights for dominant cultural minorities.
Effects of Globalization
Assimilation
The main characteristics of the dominant American minority are set by several groups of factors, the key of which is the external factor of increasing globalization. In addition to immigration, one of the consequences of globalization on the dominant minorities has been their assimilation. Assimilation implies inculturation, that is, the people accept the socio-cultural patterns of the new state and largely lose their own cultural and ethnic identity. This process is carried out with the mutual efforts of immigrants and autochthons. During segregation, the state separated the colonized people, limiting their rights and preventing synthesis with the host society. Today, segregation has been globally abolished at the legislative level and its manifestations are assessed as a violation of human rights. Without experiencing hostility from local residents, the dominant minority tends to become part of the recipient society, which leads to the emergence of multiculturalist tendencies. The dominant minority is provided with all the benefits of civilization, while it is not the state that interferes with its socio-cultural traditions. In this way, immigrants will eventually assimilate and become part of the host nation.
Education
The next effect that globalization has had on the dominant minorities has been the application of ethnocultural education in educational institutions of the USA. They are located in a somewhat contradictory space between global values, state interests, and local features of regions. The intensification of research on ethnocultural education systems in different countries has made it possible to compare theoretical approaches and the implementation of educational programs. Currently, the education system for ethnic and racial groups is developing in the transformation of global trends and changes in state policy towards dominant cultural minorities (Head et al., 2019). On the one hand, the return to the roots and to the local identity is a reaction to globalization’s economic, political, and cultural processes. However, the national state retains its positions, including in the education system.
The methods in the United States and other countries are very similar in form and content. The reforms that are being centrally implemented in the field of education of ethnic groups worldwide are aimed at reducing the impact of structural educational barriers. Their implementation faces state and organizational problems, including difficulties in using national languages in the learning process and prejudice against students from ethnic and racial minorities. To solve the limitations of educational projects in the context of globalization, the USA can refer to the examples of other countries, which will facilitate the process of finding a solution.
Media
The globalization process has undoubtedly affected the coverage of dominant minorities in the media space. Media organizations concerned about this issue deliberately adopted strategies that were an attempt to prevent the harassment of racial minority groups throughout the United States of America. Major online publications worldwide have united in the struggle for the rights of blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans, which has significantly affected the American media space (Tsang et al., 2021). If the readers of news content were removed from the European socio-political context, they would not be ready to accept the ideas that have arisen in it. The urgent problems of migrants are in the foreground: job loss, low wages, lack of decent housing, discrimination. The world’s media no longer focuses on their cultural — including religious – differences from the local population. Thus, a policy of tolerance is being implemented through the global media space: thematic programs and films are being designed to bring the indigenous population closer to minority groups.
Conclusion
As a result of global social problems caused by the interdependence of the modern world, transnational migration is increasingly stimulated. The key concept in the conditions of globalization is not only the speed, but also the adequacy of cultural and information exchange. Globalization provides more opportunities for the realization of personal needs and social interests in a relatively open transnational space of social mobility. Despite the beneficial effects of globalization, such as improving education for dominant minorities and media coverage of their problems, there are also problems. Due to the threat of assimilation, dominant minorities need international regulation of basic social and socio-political rights and obligations.
References
Head, L., Klocker, N., Dun, O., & Aguirre-Bielschowsky, I. (2019). Cultivating engagements: Ethnic minority migrants, agriculture, and environment in the Murray-Darling basin, Australia. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 109(6), 1903-1921.
Nakkas, C., Annen, H., & Brand, S. (2019). Somatization and coping in ethnic minority recruits. Military Medicine, 184(12), 680-685.
Tsang, A. K., Leung, V. W., Tan, W., Chuang, D, M., & Hu, R. (2021). Decentring the majority–minority paradigm: A multidimensional conceptualization of inter-ethnic relations based on a study of Chinese Canadians. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 16(3), 140-155.
Velayutham, S. (2017). Races without racism: Everyday race relations in Singapore. Global Studies in Culture and Power, 24(4), 455-473.