Explain how developments in other nations affect United States society and life.

Just as the daily events and realities of American domestic politics and economics impact other nations in the world, what goes on in other countries has a direct impact on the United States. Consider the following examples:

• A comparatively impoverished economic system in Mexico motivates tens of thousands of Mexican citizens to illegally enter the United States each year in search of work. Illegal immigration from Canada, a much more economically prosperous nation, is not a problem we spend a lot of time worrying about.
• Destruction of the rainforests in South America contributes to greenhouse gases that cause concern about the global environment.
• Japanese auto manufacturers, located in Japan and around the world (even in the United States), supply hundreds of thousands of cars to American consumers. The Japanese government invests billions of dollars in Japanese industry, potentially making Japanese car companies more competitive than American companies, which do not receive similar government support.
• Instability in the Middle East compels the United States to issue policy statements, send diplomatic delegations to broker peaceful resolutions, and issue travel warnings to citizens in the region.
• The absence of high-quality universities in many Asian countries causes thousands of individuals a year to come to the United States seeking technical and advanced degrees.

The list of examples could go on and on. Because travel between nations is relatively unrestricted and because economic exchanges occur across national boundaries, the United States of America is influenced by other nations through millions of individual interactions and transactions every day.