...James Crarer 12EUC709 - The Russian Empire The Russian Empire Essay “In what ways did Peter the Great’s reforms transform the concept of the Empire?” Peter the Great’s reforms are widely considered to be one of the most defining moments in Russian history. Beginning as an effort to modernize the country’s military, as the era progressed the reforms expanded, instigating economic development, governmental modernization, intellectual reorientation and social reconstruction.1 The injection of European practices into Russia arguably set the precedence for the onslaught of a top down modernization that has since been a trait of Russian state development, as well as illuminating the beginning of the transition into a form of Russian modernity. The geographical historian Dennis Shaw, reiterates this by suggesting Peter exposed Russia “to the ideas of the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution. Building on the achievements of his father, Peter launched a thoroughgoing reform or modernization of his realm with the aim of transforming it into a major European state.”2 In order to comprehend this transformation of the Russian empire, an appreciation of meaning of the term ‘empire’ is required. Stephen Howe suggests that ‘an empire is a large, composite, multiethnic or multinational political unit, usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate, sometimes far distant, peripheries.’3 While Howe’s definition provides a coherent basis from which...
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...Governmental Role in Economy and Commerce Across Chinese History Throughout Chinese history, the appropriate role government should play in economy and commerce has been a prevailing question that always incurs debates and disagreement. Over the centuries, a wide range of different opinions—from one-sided view to relatively neutral position—prevails. Each point of view contains its own unique understanding and suggestions on the issue of governing the economy. Despite of the variety of views, the grounds that those arguments based on are less diverse—from either an ideological or practical perspective. From the early stage of Chinese history, absolute unanimity was rarely found in the issue regarding governing the economy and commerce. In fact, disagreements or ambivalent views prevail. For example, Discourse on Salt and Iron from Han dynasty reveals, officers believe government interventions in industry like salt and iron are beneficial to the welfare of the entire country and “are intended to circulate accumulated wealth and to regulate consumption according to the urgency of need” (Ebrey, Chinese Civilization 63). As each side lists either the benefit or the shortcomings, it is clear that the learnt men and the minister hold completely different perspectives with learnt men oppose effective government regulation whereas the officer supports. As the record of this debate contains twenty-four chapters and the first chapter included in Chinese Civilization contains four pages...
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...Is Racial Antipathy Increasing? The Polarizing Effect of Obama’s Presidency Abstract Previous research has shown that individuals who are highly conservative are more likely to hold negative perceptions of African-Americans and other minorities. Furthermore, racial antipathy affects the way individuals perceive Barack Obama. In light of recent trends, this study tested whether individuals who identify themselves as Republicans are substantially more likely to maintain negative racial attitudes. The study also investigated whether white Americans are more likely than other racial groups to harbor racial prejudices and disapprove of Barack Obama. Results from this study indicated that racial resentment plays a significant role in contemporary politics. Data from between-subjects ANOVA and correlational analysis suggested that the Democratic Party and Republican Party are polarized in regards to racial issues. Moreover, conservative whites are the most likely racial group to hold racial prejudices against African-Americans. Finally, disapproval of President Obama is highly associated with high levels of negative racial stereotypes. Keywords: race, antipathy, conservatism, prejudices, Obama Is Racial Antipathy Increasing? The Polarizing Effect of Obama’s Presidency In 2008, Barack Obama became the first African-American to become President of the United States. His election marked a pivotal turning point in American politics. To millions, Obama’s election signaled...
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...It has been more than seventy years since the Nanking atrocity of 1937-38. This event is better known as the “Rape of Nanking” or “Nanking Massacre” (Wakabayashi). Even today, there is no healthy dialogue between the countries of China and Japan in regards to the atrocity that occurred there so long ago. The last time that there were any concessions made in regards to the atrocities in China were during and after World War II. Much of the historiography has been limited due the amount of silence that has been present throughout the world. Because of this, research about the atrocity had just recently begun to surface. Due to this fact, there are many factors that are brought into question when looking specifically at a historical event, especially one that is tied to such brutal emotion. The authors I have chosen each attempt to explain why there has been such a delay in Nanking’s historiography and at the same time attempt to explain what actually occurred there in 1937-38. I selected three books for this paper. The first is The Nanking Atrocity 1937-38 by Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi. The book was released on the 70th anniversary of the fall of the Chinese city of Nanking to the Japanese army. The perspective offered is by majority non-American with the exception being two contributors. Wakabayashi discusses what lies at the core of bitter disputes over history, wartime victimization, and postwar restitution that hinder healthy Sino-Japanese relations to this day. The Nanking...
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...Japan in Asia: A Hard Case for Soft Power by Thomas U. Berger Thomas Berger is an associate professor of International Relations at Boston University. he concept of ‘‘soft power’’—defined by Joe Nye as ‘‘the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through coercion’’1— has proven a seductive one for Japan. Since the concept was popularized in the 1990s, Japanese scholars and policymakers have enthusiastically taken it up, eagerly exploring how Japan’s soft power resources could be exploited to burnish Japan’s image in the world and help reshape its environment in subtle but important ways. Some—perhaps encouraged by the new attention given to the popularity of Japanese anime and manga, and by the general buzz about ‘‘Cool Japan’’—have even described Japan as a ‘‘Soft Power Superpower.’’2 It sometimes seemed, in more overheated moments, that Pokemon and Sailor Moon would conquer the world, succeeding where the Imperial Army and Navy had failed.3 That soft power would prove attractive is unsurprising. Although Japan has considerable hard power resources, it has shown great reluctance to actually use them in the way that students of international relations would T 1 The idea was originally advanced by in Joseph Nye, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (New York: Basic Books, 1990). He has since expanded on the concept in Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affairs, 2004). 2 See the very useful volume by...
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...Imperial America EDGE Fall Quarter 2003 Tim Chueh Ambert Ho 12/5/03 What Is Imperialism? “Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism…characterized by monopoly corporations and the compulsion to export capital abroad for higher profits. Unlike capitalism in the earlier stages, in the imperialist stage, capitalism has no more progress to bring the world…the cause of contemporary militarism” – Lenin “The policy, practice, or advocacy of seeking, or acquiescing in, the extension of the control, dominion, or empire of a nation, as by the acquirement of new, esp. distant, territory or dependencies, or by the closer union of parts more or less independent of each other for operations of war, copyright, internal commerce, etc.” – Oxford dictionary The word imperialism derives from “empire.” As such, it is useful to spend a bit of time to define the word. In working towards a minimal definition, Stanford Professor of Archaeology J. Manning in his first lecture on Ancient Empires starts with: “An empire is a territorially extensive hierarchically political organization.” Unfortunately this definition is too vague. All states encountered in human history are by definition hierarchical, and many nations today are vast compared to the...
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...islamic leviathan religion and global politics John L. Esposito, Series Editor University Professor and Director Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding Georgetown University islamic leviathan Islam and the Making of State Power Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr Islamic Leviathan Islam and the Making of State Power Ú seyyed vali reza nasr 1 2001 3 Oxford Athens Chennai Kolkata Nairobi New York Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Cape Town Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Paris São Paul Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated comapnies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 2001 by Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza, 1960 – Islamic leviathan : Islam and the making of state power / Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr. p. cm.—(Religion and global politics) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-514426-0 1. Malaysia—Politics and government. 2. Islam and politics—Malaysia. 3. Pakistan—Politics and government—1988...
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...CoNTE j\:\PORA.R'f Contents Foreword Preface iii v Chapter 1 The Cold War Era 1 Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity 17 Chapter 3 US Hegemony in World Politics 31 Chapter 4 Alternative Centres of Power 51 Chapter 5 Contemporary South Asia 65 Chapter 6 International Organisations 81 Chapter 7 Security in the Contemporary World 99 Chapter 8 Environment and Natural Resources 117 Chapter 9 Globalisation 135 Chapter 1 The Cold War Era OVERVIEW This chapter provides a backdrop to the entire book. The end of the Cold War is usually seen as the beginning of the contemporary era in world politics which is the subject matter of this book. It is, therefore, appropriate that we begin the story with a discussion of the Cold War. The chapter shows how the dominance of two superpowers, the United States of America and the Soviet Union, was central to the Cold War. It tracks the various arenas of the Cold War in different parts of the world. The chapter views the NonAligned Movement (NAM) as a challenge to the dominance of the two superpowers and describes the attempts by the non-aligned countries to establish a New International Economic Order (NIEO) as a means of attaining economic development and political independence. It concludes with an assessment of India’s role in NAM and asks how successful the policy of nonalignment has been in protecting India’s interests. The end of the Second...
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...11 Position Papers I f you like to argue, you will enjoy writing position papers and argument essays. The purpose of a position paper or argument essay is to explain both sides of a controversy and then argue for one side over the other. This two-sided approach is what makes position papers and argument essays different from commentaries (Chapter 10). A commentary usually only expresses the author’s personal opinion about a current issue or event. A position paper or argument essay explains both sides and discusses why one is stronger or better than the other. Your goal is to fairly explain your side and your opponents’ side of the issue, while highlighting the differences between these opposing views. You need to use solid reasoning and factual evidence to persuade your readers that your view is more valid or advantageous than your opponents’ view. In college, your professors will ask you to write position papers and argument essays to show that you understand both sides of an issue and can support one side or the other. In the workplace, corporate position papers are used to argue for or against business strategies or alternatives. The ability to argue effectively is a useful skill that will help you throughout your life. 221 CHAPTER AT–A–GLANCE Position Papers This diagram shows two basic organizations for a position paper, but other arrangements of these sections will work too. In the pattern on the left, the opponents’ position is described up front with its...
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...NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE COURSE CODE:POL 122 COURSE TITLE:INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS COURSE GUIDE POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS Course Writer/Developer Mr. Sikiru Lanre Nurudeen Department of Political Science and Conflict Resolution Al – Hikmah University, Ilorin Kwara State Course Editor Prof. M. Olarotimi Ajayi Faculty of Social Sciences Covenant University Otta Course Coordinator Mr. Abdul-Rahoof A. Bello National Open University of Nigeria ii POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters 14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island Lagos Abuja Office No. 5 Dar es Salaam Street Off Aminu Kano Crescent Wuse II, Abuja Nigeria e-mail: centralinfo@nou.edu.ng URL: www.nou.edu.ng Published by National Open University of Nigeria Printed 2009 ISBN: 978-058-415-3 All Rights Reserved iii POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS CONTENTS PAGE Introduction ………………………………………….…………… 1 Course Aims ……………………………………………………… 1 Course Objectives ………………………………………………... 1 Working through Course……………………………………. This 2 Course Materials………………………………………………….. 2 Study Units………………………………………………………. . 2 Text books and References……………………………………….. 3 Assessment File…………………………………………………… 3 Tutor-Marked Assignment ……………………….. ……………… 4 iv POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS Final Examination Grading…………………………………...
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...Barbara Jeanne Fields Slavery, Race and Ideology in the United States of America Two years ago, a sports announcer in the United States lost his job because he enlarged indiscreetly—that is, before a television audience—upon his views about ‘racial’ differences. Asked why there are so few black coaches in basketball, Jimmy ‘the Greek’ Snyder remarked that black athletes already hold an advantage as basketball players because they have longer thighs than white athletes, their ancestors having been deliberately bred that way during slavery. ‘This goes all the way to the Civil War,’ Jimmy the Greek explained, ‘when during the slave trading . . . the owner, the slave owner would breed his big black to his big woman so he could have a big black kid, you see.’ Astonishing though it may seem, Snyder intended his remark as a compliment to black athletes. If black men became coaches, he said, there would be nothing left for white men to do in basketball at all. Embarrassed by such rank and open expression of racism in the most ignorant form, the network fired Jimmy the Greek from his job. Any fool, the network must have decided, should know that such things may be spoken in the privacy of the 95 locker-room in an all-white club, but not into a microphone and before a camera. Of course, Jimmy the Greek lays no claim to being educated or well informed. Before he was hired to keep audiences entertained during the slack moments of televised sports events, he was...
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...Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered Janis Appier, Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD Allen Hunter, ed., Rethinking the Cold War Eric Foner, ed., The New American History. Revised and Expanded Edition E SSAYS ON _ T WENTIETH- C ENTURY H ISTORY Edited by Michael Adas for the American Historical Association TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS PHILADELPHIA Temple University Press 1601 North Broad Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 www.temple.edu/tempress Copyright © 2010 by Temple University All rights reserved Published 2010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Essays on twentieth century history / edited by Michael...
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...Contents Preface to the First Edition Introduction Part 1. Thought Control: The Case of the Middle East Part 2. Middle East Terrorism and the American Ideological System Part 3. Libya in U.S. Demonology Part 4. The U.S. Role in the Middle East Part 5. International Terrorism: Image and Reality Part 6. The World after September 11 Part 7. U.S./Israel-Palestine Notes Preface to the First Edition (1986) St. Augustine tells the story of a pirate captured by Alexander the Great, who asked him "how he dares molest the sea." "How dare you molest the whole world?" the pirate replied: "Because I do it with a little ship only, I am called a thief; you, doing it with a great navy, are called an Emperor." The pirate's answer was "elegant and excellent," St. Augustine relates. It captures with some accuracy the current relations between the United States and various minor actors on the stage of international terrorism: Libya, factions of the PLO, and others. More generally, St. Augustine's tale illuminates the meaning of the concept of international terrorism in contemporary Western usage, and reaches to the heart of the frenzy over selected incidents of terrorism currently being orchestrated, with supreme cynicism, as a cover for Western violence. The term "terrorism" came into use at the end of the eighteenth century, primarily to refer to violent acts of governments designed to ensure popular submission. That concept plainly is of little benefit to the practitioners of state terrorism...
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...Journal of Economic Literature 2011, 49:4, 1076–1151 http:www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jel.49.4.1076 The Fundamental Institutions of China’s Reforms and Development Chenggang Xu* China’s economic reforms have resulted in spectacular growth and poverty reduction. However, China’s institutions look ill-suited to achieve such a result, and they indeed suffer from serious shortcomings. To solve the “China puzzle,” this paper analyzes China’s institution—a regionally decentralized authoritarian system. The central government has control over personnel, whereas subnational governments run the bulk of the economy; and they initiate, negotiate, implement, divert, and resist reforms, policies, rules, and laws. China’s reform trajectories have been shaped by regional decentralization. Spectacular performance on the one hand and grave problems on the other hand are all determined by this governance structure. ( JEL O17, O18, O43, P21, P25, P26) 1. Introduction hinese economic reforms, which have been in flux for three decades, have more than doubled China’s economic growth, from an average of 4.4 percent annually before 1978 to an average of 9.5 percent after 1978. * University of Hong Kong and WCU–SNU. The first draft of this paper was written at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) when I was visiting there. The hospitality and generous support of HKUST are greatly appreciated. Comments from participants in conferences and seminars at the China...
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...Dependency Theory: An Introduction 1. Vincent Ferraro, Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA July 1996 Background Dependency Theory developed in the late 1950s under the guidance of the Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, Raul Prebisch. Prebisch and his colleagues were troubled by the fact that economic growth in the advanced industrialized countries did not necessarily lead to growth in the poorer countries. Indeed, their studies suggested that economic activity in the richer countries often led to serious economic problems in the poorer countries. Such a possibility was not predicted by neoclassical theory, which had assumed that economic growth was beneficial to all (Pareto optimal) even if the benefits were not always equally shared. Prebisch's initial explanation for the phenomenon was very straightforward: poor countries exported primary commodities to the rich countries who then manufactured products out of those commodities and sold them back to the poorer countries. The "Value Added" by manufacturing a usable product always cost more than the primary products used to create those products. Therefore, poorer countries would never be earning enough from their export earnings to pay for their imports. Prebisch's solution was similarly straightforward: poorer countries should embark on programs of import substitution so that they need not purchase the manufactured products from the richer countries. The poorer countries would still sell...
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