What themes do you think has been most important in shaping the contemporary world and why?

What themes do you think has been most important in shaping the contemporary world and why? Why had the so called “third world” been the site of most of the worlds conflicts since 1945? Do you agree that the post ww2 era shows that “ western” ideas of democracy, human rights and capitalism have triumphed around the world. I do not agree. two required books for the course, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah.