![The State of the World Atlas [ff] - Dan Smith](/cover_659403.jpg "The State of the World Atlas [ff] - Dan Smith")
much to say about whether we will in the end be able to rise successfullyto the great challenges we face today. It is possible to see every day how the
encounter between people and groups of diverse backgrounds can be on the
one hand a benefit – a source of interest, pleasure, or mutual gain – or on the
other hand a source of danger and potential loss – of jobs, fellow-feeling in
the community, or security.
It is paradoxical how we are divided and united by our needs. Because so
many of our needs are the same, there is a risk of clashing over our attempts
to meet them. And when there is a possibility of clashing and sides get
chosen, we are more likely to choose the side that looks, sounds, feels, and
thinks like us. Perhaps if our needs were as diverse as we are, they would
mesh and be complementary.
Especially when communities are under pressure, the need to band together
against the outsider gets stronger. The multiple sources of change in today’s
world are a constant source of pressure and thus of danger. Those who
once sought world government based on the recognition of all that we have
in common are destined for disappointment. We have chosen instead to
be divided, creating more and more independent countries and following
different faiths.
Yet there is also plenty of evidence that different ethnicity and faith do not
prevent people living together peacefully. As more of us cram into cities,
bringing our different traditions and social norms into close proximity, being
able to draw on that part of humanity’s experience will become more and
more important.
19
The States of the World
Some of our sense of who we are comes from where
we were born and grew up – our countries, most
of which are quite recent creations. In 1945
the United Nations was founded by just 51
states, some of which were not fully
independent at the time (and the defeated states in
World War II were initially excluded). Today, the UN
has 193 members.
Over the past century, states have won, lost,
and regained independence, often against a
background of war and bloodshed. Some have
become formally independent before achieving
real independence; with others, it has been the
other way round. This atlas shows many ways –
economic, environmental, political – in which
independent states do not have full sovereignty in
the modern world – yet the evidence is clear that
sovereignty is a highly desirable political commodity.
The age of forming new states is not yet over.
CANADA
GREENLAND
ICELAND
USA
ST PIERRE & MIQUELON
MEXICO
BAHAMAS
BERMUDA
CUBA
TURKS & C.
CAYMAN IS.
DOM.
REP.
BELIZE
JAMAICA
HAITI
GUATEMALA
EL SALVADOR
HONDURAS
NICARAGUA
PUERTO
RICO
COSTA RICA
PANAMA
VENEZUELA
GUYANA
SURINAME
FRENCH GUIANA
ECUADOR
PERU
BRAZIL
BOLIVIA
PARAGUAY
CHILE
ARGENTINA
URUGUAY
VIRGIN IS. (UK)
VIRGIN IS. (US)
ST KITTS & NEVIS
MONT.
ST VINCENT
& GREN.
ARUBA
NETH.
ANTILLES
GRENADA
ANGUILLA
ANTIGUA &
BARBUDA
GUADELOUPE
DOMINICA
MARTINIQUE
ST LUCIA
BARBADOS
