Hello everyone and good riddance to 2021! As most regular readers are aware, we have a 20 Year Rule on the subreddit where we only take questions on things that happened at least 20 years before the current year. You can read more about that here if you want to know the details on why we have it, but basically it’s to ensure enough distance between the past and present that most people have calmed down and we don’t have to delete 200 comments a day arguing about Obama until at least 2028!
Last year, there was an obvious new topic that was suddenly available for discussion: 9/11. As a result, last year’s post was almost exclusively a brief summary of the historical events surrounding that. Mercifully, 2002 was a relatively quiet year for most of the world. Rather than expecting to get several questions a month on 9/11, this year we’re expecting maybe two questions all year going “huh, Switzerland joined the UN in 2002, why did that happen?” So rather than tackling a big topic, this post is going to go through some of the events that are now available for questions. Think of it more as a trip down memory lane, where we can once again remind ourselves that 20 years ago was not the 1990s, but the early 2000s, and that we are therefore getting old and further out of touch with the youth of today.
2002 - The Year of Tedious but Kind of Important Diplomatic and Legislative Stuff
Looking through the significant events of 2002, there is no massive event that seized the attention of the whole world. Instead, we find a lot of diplomatic or legislative initiatives that may have seemed tedious or uninteresting at the time for most people, but have gone on to have some significant impact around the globe. On the low end of that spectrum, there’s Switzerland joining the UN. It was the first country to join the UN via referendum (held 6 six months earlier in 2001), which overturned a 1986 referendum that went against UN membership by a three to one margin. According to their government, the Swiss considered the risk of being dragged into the Cold War by joining the UN was too great in 1986, but with that conflict many years behind them as of the 2001 referendum, the Swiss were ready to sign up.
Elsewhere in Europe, it was launch day for one of the EU’s flagship initiatives. On 1 January 2002, the Euro began to be issued as legal tender across the 12 EU countries that had chosen to adopt it. This massive change of currency was intended to make it easier for Europeans and foreign businesses to trade, as having to deal with a dozen currencies at once when doing business in the EU was something of a bother. The issuing of a pan-European currency had been discussed for decades, and the currency had technically launched in 1999 in preparation for the proper rollout. But for the first time you could walk into a cafe and buy a croissant with coins bearing the €. There were concerns about the stability of a currency being adopted by 12 different economies at once, and there were worries about inflation from throwing all this new money around, but by the end of 2002 the Euro had settled in and climbed in value from $0.82 in January to over $1 in December and things seemed to have gone pretty smoothly, even if the banknotes felt a bit like handling Monopoly money.
Two other major international initiatives also got going in 2002. In May, the African Union was launched. It aimed to fix the problems of the Organisation of African Unity that it was replacing. In July, the International Criminal Court was established with The Hague as its headquarters.
Moving east, it was a rough year in relations between the Koreas. As the 2002 FIFA World Cup was being held in South Korea, the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong was fought between two North Korean patrol boats and six South Korean vessels, resulting in one ship sunk and at least 19 men dead, 43 men wounded. In better news from eastern Asia, the nation of East Timor gained its full independence in April and joined the UN in September.
In Africa, the long running Angolan Civil War ended following over 20 years of violence. The conflict displaced around a third of Angola’s population and had involved several other peoples and nations including the Soviet Union, South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (known as Zaire for much of the conflict), and Cuba. Although the war left Angola in a dire state that it still struggles to recover from today, at least the fighting itself was coming to a close.
In the US, 2002 was a relatively quiet year compared to those before or since. Perhaps it would be easier to cover some of the cultural juggernauts that our predominantly American audience may remember. American Idol launched, propelling Kelly Clarkson to fame. The Ice Age franchise began with its first film. Sand haters everywhere were pleased to see some representation in Star Wars: Episode 2: Attack of the Clones. Nickelback ruled the charts. Men in Black II was… also a thing. The Simpsons was already up to Season 14. In my own United Kingdom, we got a new James Bond film in the form of Die Another Day, starring John Cleese as Q, so perhaps 2002 was not the best year in popular culture. However, there were some decent successes as the modern blockbuster film took shape, with Spider-Man showing that superhero films could be serious hits, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers released in December. In more serious and consequential news for the US, the Homeland Security Act was signed into law, and the No Child Left Behind Act was implemented, aiming to transform American security and education respectively.
Toward the end of the year, there were some disturbing omens of what was to come, and it was clear that 2003 was not shaping up to be a good one. In November, the medical community in Guangdong province, China, noted that many of its patients had a disease similar in symptoms to flu that killed around 1 in 10 of its victims. It turned out to be the result of SARS-CoV-1, a coronavirus which had jumped from a bat colony to humans. Although beginning in November, the outbreak was not taken seriously until March the following year. I suspect if it wasn’t for the sequel to SARS-CoV-1, there wouldn’t be much interest in the SARS epidemic. However, our interest in the past is overwhelmingly shaped by current events - just look back on how many questions on Afghanistan we got in September/August 2021 - so it’s worth mentioning here. But keep in mind that most questions about the SARS outbreak and whether we did or didn’t learn important lessons will actually pertain to 2003-4, or even 2019-20, so we moderators get to relax for at least another year on most of the SARS content.
And of course, there were signs of a major confrontation brewing between Iraq and the United States as Resolution 1441 was debated in the UN. There was growing concern over the weapons programmes of Saddam Hussein’s regime, but there were doubts regarding both the validity of those concerns and the right response to take in the face of rearmament by Saddam Hussein. The US began to build up its military in the region, Iraq did likewise, and on December 23 a US drone was shot down by an Iraqi fighter jet. This was both the first recorded combat engagement between a drone and a manned aircraft, and a significant escalation in the diplomatic crisis. But like the SARS epidemic, most questions on the Iraq War will actually pertain to 2003 onwards, so please keep questions about it strictly on the pre-war diplomatic crisis.
See you next year, when you finally get to ask a million questions about Iraq and whether [insert politician here] is really a war criminal, despite all the other interesting things that happened in 2003.
Ah yes, the SARS year. It's good that we learned all the important lessons from that scare.
Happy New Years all! Looking forward to some poor flair having to find academic sources for that scene in the Two Towers where Viggo Mortenson (allegedly) breaks his toe
Here's to another year folks! We made it through 2021, and wowzer what a time that once. Fingers crossed that 2022 works out better, and I look forward to seeing all the great history questions we get!
I had a big joke about how excited I was to start seeing questions about Halo, clearly one of the juggernauts of the video game world, only to realize it came out in 2001! I'm late to my own joke!
Edit: Heck yeah! Morrowind AND Warcraft III that year though! Excellent vintage.
How often was the phrase "attack of the clones" used prior to the announcement of the second Star Wars prequel?
A time traveler! What's the future like!?
I have never been made to feel so old, thanks.
In the US, 2002 was a relatively quiet year compared to those before or since.
Not wrong in terms of recent history but 2002 was literally wartime for the US. Sometime around then Americans decided the ongoing war was just a minor occasional segment on the news, and changed the channel. Weird thing to happen, good material for questions.
2002 is also roughly when the Taliban evolved from a government into an insurgency, surely another fascinating topic.
we don’t have to delete 200 comments a day arguing about Obama until at least 2028!
Actually, he was born more than 20 years ago, so we can discuss the truth about his birth now.
Is it true he was born on an alien spaceship, and the lizard leader who's masquerading as the Queen of the United Kingdom is his mother?
2002? I need fucking answers to the 2002 WCF game 6! I know that shit was rigged!!!!!!!!!!!
2002 is a pretty important year in modern India history: the anti Muslim riots in Gujarat.
2002 was also the year the Boston Globe published the story revealing that the Catholic Church were allowing the sexual abuse of children for years
I fucking love this subreddit. Happy new year.
Such great contributions, and such stringent expectations for posting, leads to very high quality postings.
(well, I sometimes have some complaints... I've seen quality sourced material get denied, and seen iffy material get through... but that's neither here nor there right now)
Cheers to you and your monumental efforts and accomplishments.
It turned out to be the result of SARS-CoV-1
Funny enough, it was only known as SARS-CoV back then. Happy new year everyone.
India and Pakistan nearly went to nuclear war in 2002, and Pakistan returned to Democratic rule in Oct…so while these might not be events known to many redditors, they are very important to about a fifth of humanity.
Not trying to be facetious, just sometime I get annoyed at the lack of attention paid to the sub continent.
I love you Gen Z, but you guys talking about being born in 2002 really need to stop making us feel so old.
Finally, I can ask the question 'How accurate a source do we consider Nelly? Was it really hot in herre, or did he just want you to take off all your clothes anyway?'
Two Towers, Spider-Man and Warcraft III (and also Attack of the Clones, which I enjoy for some reason). What a year.
E Brasil pentacampeão, claro!
It was a shitty year in India. We had the Godhra train massacre and the subsequent Godhra riots in 2002, one of the greatest Hindu-Muslim 'wars' of the new millennium within the country. Our athletes got caught taking steroids and testosterone. We also had the Akshardham killings.
But I guess we won a test match against England or something, so it wasn't all bad.
I have two questions:
Can we ask about the impact of events that may go less than 20 years? EG, would "with 20 years hindsight, what have the benefits and costs of the euro transition been", even though many of those effects happened <20 years ago?
As politics in both Europe and North America become increasingly partisan, and with few major ideological reshuffles to interrupt the thread between "my party now" and "my party then" (with the arguable exception of the UK), does the 20 year rule continue to make sense? Should it be extended to 21, 22, etc, to freeze the question horizon before the Iraq invasion, before SARS, for a few more years?
I'm hoping for some 2002 Winter Olympics questions, especially related to the pairs figure skating judging scandal.
Can we still ask why Romania is so Roman?
Only Europeans, Asians, Australians and Pacific Islanders can ask questions about 2002 as of now!
2002 was a horrible year. I was born
A student of mine once referred to the 20 year rule and I strongly considered drowning myself
Anyone specialize in an area that shines in some way or another, in 2002?
I love these announcement threads, because its the only thread of the year I feel qualified to comment on!
Laughs in getting old
The 2002 French Presidential Election was the first time since the beginning of the 5th Republic (1958) that a far right candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen, got into the second round. It's crazy to see the differences in reaction compared to more recent elections.
fuck, this reminded me i’m turning 20 this year.
Half my life is certifiably history.
Dear Historians of AskHistorians: Where have all the years gone?
For what it's worth Monsters, Inc. will soon be available as well.
Oh good, I’m old
Happy New Year!
In my world in 2002, I graduated with my second bachelor's degree.
My now ex husband tried to kill me by flipping my car. I only broke a leg.
And my father died of cancer on Halloween.
Such a strange year for my emotions.
Finally! Now I can ask... what were we thinking with Sk8r Boi?
I have a question for next year. The war in Iraq properly began in 2003. Will the entire thing "unlock" next year, or will questions about the war still need to progress on a year-by-year basis?
What was the best thing to come out of 2002 and why was it me?
Jk this is awesome and I love this sub.
Is there an archive of these year long recaps?
I'll say this much having worked in Congress that year especially when the 2002 AUMF was approved, a there may have been some national "quiet" around Iraq that year, but things were already roiling in DC (especially among the government). A lot of inside talk in the military by the autumn was that war with Iraq was a 100% certain thing.
ETA but NB "freedom fries" was early 2003.
What the heck happened in 2002? The Army sent me overseas by Dec 2001, and I “missed” all of 2002. What inflection points were there? Historically? Socially? What impacts started to show from 9/11 that we’re still seeing the fruits of today?
As someone who graduated in 2001...god damn it
There was a failed coup in Venezuela in 2002.
The Angels won the WS!
As the 2002 FIFA World Cup was being held in South Korea
South Korea and Japan.
I'm considering putting a Tremec T5 in my 2002, so I can keep up with modern traffic without feeling like I'm in a jumbo jet taking off. Has anyone else done this swap, are there any fitment issues I should be aware of?
Alright, actually, I am curious about the East Timor thing (mostly why they only control half the island) but hopefully I'll still be curious enough tomorrow to word it better.
I can math, but it still took me off guard to have it spelled out that 2002 was 20 years ago.
I feel very old all of a sudden. Dx
Happy New Years, may 2022 be a good year for you all and that you feel you knew even more at the end of this year then you did at the end of 2021.
2002 seems so long ago, thankfully.
Oh geez, 2003 coming up.
2002 also welcomed the second - and arguably worst - Harry Potter film. You couldn’t turn around without smacking into some kid donning HP garb!
What happened in 2002? My birth
I graduated from high school and began college in 2002. Wow. The following spring was very concerning with the build up to the Iraq war. My older brother was part of the invasion, but that's 2003 so....next year. How can 2002 now be 20 years ago.
In pretty sure that was only 10 years ago!
Honestly, 2019 seems long ago and far away....
You left off my wedding.
My birth is now history
I can now ask questions about my self.
Thanks for making me feel old
i can finally ask people about my birth :)
So then, why I was born? D:
Omg it has been one year...
Im pretty sure 2002 marks the year that i was in elementary school (though it may be called differently where you are from, i was 5/6 y/o)
And i failed a count from 0-100 test by messing up from going to 78 to 88 i think
Something that haunts me to this day and the following 5-7 years were filled with me thinking i was an uncapable idiot until it was discovered i was super intelligent because i was acing every test without even a need to study
Turned out elementary school and me were just seriously mismatched
However it might have been better for me to never have found out because now im a super lazy fuck who cant concentrate and focus on studying properly, heck i often forget what i am saying because my mind drifts away haha
Good times
What happened In 1993 my birth as well lol I have a June birthday
Still sad that I waited until midnight in the US to ask a question about 2001 last year and was told that the year wouldn't be opened up until morning in the US and now you open it up before the new year in the US 😢
you guys got way too many rules on this sub, I honestly wasn't able to post a single successful post on here before it got taken down. Also there were ones that looked interesting, you guys also took down. I'm actually going to make it my resolution to look at the subreddit rules for once in my life loool and get something of my own posted on here