...capitalism and the paradigm of free trade. This work set the premise for many works to follow, including The Communist Manifesto. The Communist Manifesto is an influential political manuscript that outlines the problems with capitalism and the struggles between classes. Communism is trumpeted here, as well as conditions necessary for a transition to communism. This work was written in 1848 and represents a stark contrast to The Wealth of Nations in principle and in theory. Much has resulted from this manuscript and its ideas as can still be seen in the world today. Lastly, Japan’s Gross National Cool represents modern economic thought. Written in 2002, its basic thesis is that Japan is becoming a superpower again, but it is not becoming a military superpower (being kept out of the Security Council) or an economic superpower (having the same credit rating as Botswana). Instead, it's becoming a superpower of mass culture, an arena where the United States has reigned supreme for the past few decades. This article reflects globalization and the...
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... BERNATH LECTURE The New International History of the Cold War: Three (Possible) Paradigms* The Cold War is not what it once was. Not only has the conflict itself been written about in the past tense for more than a decade, but historians’ certainties about the character of the conflict have also begun to blur. The concerns brought on by trends of the past decade – such trifles as globalization, weapons proliferation, and ethnic warfare – have made even old strategy buffs question the degree to which the Cold War ought to be put at the center of the history of the late twentieth century. In this article I will try to show how some people within our field are attempting to meet such queries by reconceptualizing the Cold War as part of contemporary international history. My emphasis will be on issues connecting the Cold War – defined as a political conflict between two power blocs – and some areas of investigation that in my opinion hold much promise for reformulating our views of that conflict, blithely summed up as ideology, technology, and the Third World. I have called this lecture “Three (Possible) Paradigms” not just to avoid making too presumptuous an impression on the audience but also to indicate that my use of the term “paradigm” is slightly different from the one most people have taken over from Thomas Kuhn’s work on scientific revolutions. In the history of science, a paradigm has come to mean a comprehensive explanation, a kind of scientific “level”...
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...spirit’ based on east-west summit diplomacy and Khrushchev’s visit to the USA in 1959. Developments which sustained Cold War tensions during the period might include: US attitudes towards communism in the 1950s (domino theory, ‘roll back’, Eisenhower doctrine); Soviet concept of peaceful coexistence based on long-term victory of communism; the impact of the Hungarian Rising (1956) and the launch of Sputnik (1957); the U2 spy plane incident (1960) and the issue of Germany (1958-1961). At Levels 1 and 2 simple or more developed statements will provide either only simple or more developed statements about peaceful coexistence with either only implicit reference to the extent tensions were eased or argument based on insufficient evidence. At Level 3, students should provide some sustained analysis related to the extent tensions were eased but the detail may be hazy in places and/or the material unbalanced chronologically or thematically. At Level 4, there will be sustained analysis of US-Soviet relations under peaceful coexistence with some attempt to reach a reasoned judgement on ‘how far’. At Level 5, ‘how far’ will be central in an answer which will be well informed...
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...Since the emergence of the United States as a dominant world power after World War Two it has only ever been challenged on a governmental, militarily, and economical basis once. This grand enemy of the United States was known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or SU for short). For almost fifty years these two great superpowers competed for influence over the resource rich third world, and many a times almost brought the planet to nuclear war. What is rarely addressed as the cause of such conflict however, is the distinct nuclear and pragmatic character of the US and SU competition. It is likewise neglected that both superpowers were functioning not from an ideologically true mind set, but from one of pragmatic world domination....
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...To what extent was the Iraq-Kuwait Gulf War Conflict provoked by internal forces? International History Ben Aston 24.04.03 Iraqi forces invaded and annexed Kuwait on 2 August 1990. Within twenty four hours Kuwaiti military resistance had effectively ceased, and the government and emir of Kuwait had fled to Saudi Arabia. A puppet administration was installed and Kuwait was declared to be a province of Iraq. The Persian Gulf War, more commonly referred to as the Gulf War, which began in 1990 and continued through to 1991was driven by a myriad of internal factors. But to what extent were external factors instrumental in the provocation of war? Can some blame be attributed to external forces or would the conflict have occurred despite their involvement and influence? In this essay, the Iraq-Kuwait Gulf War will be understood to mean the conflict which began with Iraqi incursions into Kuwait in 1990 and the subsequent events and conflict which continued during early 1991 until 28 February when a ceasefire was declared. Many Gulf War theorists believe the Gulf War was internally provoked and believe a large portion of the blame can be held to Saddam. Lawrence Freedman suggests “real responsibility [for the Iraq-Kuwait conflict] lies with Saddam Hussein, for the origins of the crisis are to be found in his chronic political insecurity and the lengths to which this drove him.”[1] Although there were many factors which led to Saddam’s...
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...both crises. Be that as it may, the unipolar moment, centered on the preeminence of American power, purse, and presence may well and truly be over, or so we are often told. What powers will take the place of the U.S and how will these new players and forces be configured? This is the question that Fareed Zakaria attempts to answer in his latest tome, The Post-American World. The continued viability of American global dominance has been the subject of great intellectual debate over the past decade or so. Fareed however, is not interested – at least not explicitly – in contributing to the debate on whether America is still the sole superpower, nor is he keen on using that debate as a point of entry. Indeed, as he makes poignantly clear in the first sentence of the book, his interest is in “the rise of the rest,” and it is only in the final third of the book (circa p.182 onwards) that Fareed ponders “how America will fare in the new world.” The Post-American World begins with the observation that over the last five hundred years, the world has seen three tectonic power shifts: (1) the rise of the Western world that resulted in modernity as we know it (brought on by science and technology, commerce and capitalism, and the agricultural and industrial revolutions); (2) the rise and dominance of the United States towards the end of the...
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...4/8/2012 | China and India now are widely acknowledged as the planet’s next economic superpowers | The Context China and India are two neighbouring countries in Asia who share the two largest population of the world and in fact added together they represent nearly one third of humanity. Globalisation has imposed internal pressure and external pressure to bear on both India and China. For most Chinese and Indians alike, economic life is hard despite the fact that reforms and globalisation have created various new opportunities and as such both countries have witnessed an emerging middle class with Americanised tastes and preferences, irrespective of this however, both countries remain very poor. Although the two countries went to war in 1962 due to some border dispute, they have since tried to normalise relations and in 1995 for the first time trade had exceeded US$1 billion between them. They have lately received a lot of international attention being viewed as emerging giant economies as they both play key roles at the international level. For example China has been a permanent member of the Security Council at the UN, while India who has lead the Non-Aligned Movement for years and is still vying for a similar position. Furthermore, India has been one of the founding members of the WTO and has played a prominent role as one of the developing nations whereas China has had to fight for decades to obtain its admission into this international organisation. While both...
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...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 World War led to the rise of two major centres of power. The two pictures above symbolise the victory of the US and the USSR in the Second World War. 1. American soldiers raising the US flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japan, on 23 February...
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...Referring to Walter Laqueur, no state or international system has been exempted from this form of non-state violence. However, the major shifts carried by globalization, that is to say the transformation from a state-centric world to a global system, seem to have perturbed the way violent non-state actors act, claim, interfere, and wage war in the new international system. If we follow the vision of Carpenter, we can talk about a “new world disorder”2 because of the multiplicity of new actors supported by international markets and transnational links. But, should we use the adjective “new” to describe nowadays’ terrorist organizations and attacks? Since 9/11 attacks, world seem to have toggled in major insecurity and fear of those modern organization that can act wherever and whenever they want at any place in the world. Undeniably, terrorists’ forms of violence have evolved by taking advantage of criminal organizations’ and illegal trades’ favourable trends. But this method, more than a political doctrine, represents a non-state use of violence or threat of violence to spread fear and bring political reform or revolution. Therefore, it should be reconsidered with the former violent actors and the disintegration of states. Moreover, the subject comprehension have to be reinforced in order - for great power or American superpower - to prevent those criminal organization from jeopardizing the modern structure of international system. Then, to what extent is terrorism linked and influenced...
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...China Fragile Superpower This page intentionally left blank Fragile Superpower Susan L. Shirk China 2007 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2007 by Susan L. Shirk Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 www.oup.com 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 Shirk, Susan L. China: fragile superpower / by Susan L. Shirk. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-530609-5 1. Nationalism—China. 2. China—Politics and government—2002– I. Title. JC311.S525 2007 320.951—dc22 2006027998 135798642 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper For Sam, Lucy, and David Popkin This page intentionally left...
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...of the main reasons why English is the international language in the world today is the fact that Britain was the global superpower in the nineteenth century and America is the global superpower in the twentieth and twenty-first. For example, these two English-speaking countries were the most important countries in terms of the military and trade. By conquering and colonising so much of the world, their customs, culture and way of life became common in those parts of the world. This is why so many ex-British colonies now have English as the national language, with many of their people speaking English as a first language. Second, a further reason for the spread and of English is economics. By being the global political and military superpower, these two countries also became the leading trading nations and many countries and territories needed to learn English in order to trade with them. The USA is currently a major trading partner with almost every other country on the planet due to the size of the consumer economy. This explains why in many countries, English is a compulsory subject in all levels at school. In conclusion, we can see that the factors of political history and finance are the most important reasons why English is the current global language. It remains to be seen whether English will continue to be the global language of the twentieth century or whether it will be replaced by Chinese, Arabic or another language. Language...
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...G;In what ways, and too what extent has globalization reshaped international politics? In the recent history of international politics, globalization has become a dynamic concept. Martell (2010) key factors of identifying and defining globalization include the greater use of global communication and the decrease of space and time dimensions.. These factors will be explored in detail to obtain a better understanding of the role of globalization and its relationship to international relations. Historically the main actors have always been states, but with globalisation come the emergence of transnational companies, humanitarian organisations and political entities gaining prominence. The question of whether globalization secures greater equality or infact leads to more global inequality will be addressed. Global politics prioritises the management of power, security and justice. The end of the cold war saw only one superpower America remaining. As a result of the collapse of communism, new countries formed with border lines being redrawn. The simple yet effective strategy was to strengthen international unity by receding national sovereignty to stand in agreement. This was an awkward agreement, as no nation wished to stand independent (Kettl, 2000). The emergence of globalization into world markets significantly increased. The term globalization only came into widespread usage in 1990s. Globalization itself is a contested term with many definitions being affirmed. One definition...
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...overview of China’s military capacities and abilities, which may be considered as a threat to its peaceful rise. As a conclusion it gives an analysis of factors that contribute in China’s effort to become a regional power, in means of emerging power that is able to compete with the traditional western type powers. Theoretical basis The impressive economic growth of People’s Republic of China over the past few decades raises a profound question about China’s peaceful rise in the international relations. It is a beautiful example of a country which is to become a regional and eventually global power in our lifetime. China is predicted to become a player with global influence, just as United States of America had become in the beginning of 20th century. After many history lessons we have learned about or witnessed in the recent years about the emerging powers and eventually superpowers, the question of China’s peaceful development and expansion is inevitable and in-place, especially in a world and society where the...
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...Many significant issues and controversies have arisen post Cold War regarding Weapons proliferation. According to the United States State Department, Weapons proliferation is defined as “The spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Horizontal proliferation refers to the spread of WMD to states that have not previously possessed them. Vertical proliferation refers to an increase in the amount or devastating capacity of any currently existing WMD arsenals within a state.” (1) The United Nations Security Council declared in January 1992 that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction “…constitutes a threat to international peace and security.” (Pg 92 POWMD) Currently the United Nations (UN) has 190 member countries, but only eight of them are known to have WMD capabilities. They are: the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, China, India and Pakistan. The UN believes Israel and North Korea possess nuclear weapons/capabilities, but there is no solid evidence. Weapons proliferation today is on the move, more than a dozen countries had started weapons programs in the past, but all were stopped prior to full-up capabilities coming online. Today several states and sub-national groups to include Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and the Al-Queda are pursuing clandestine nuclear weapons programs. (2) These counties want prestige, the added security, domestic control and diplomatic bargaining power that comes with possessing WMD. They want a place on the “World stage” and...
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...(Name) (Instructors’ name) (Course) (Date) Action on Climate Change Problem Definition and Knowledge on Climate Knowledge The world is continuously experiencing the terrifying impacts of climate change. Most recently, portions of Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and Caribbean United States of America were hit by Hurricane Sandy, which later developed into a super storm. Scientists had previously warned that climatic changes have increased the likelihood of occurrence of hurricanes of such magnitude. Other effects of climate change that continue to be experienced include increased frequency of droughts, decrease in crop productivity, water stress and the rising of sea levels. The problem is that these effects of climate change are predicted to worsen since the global average temperature continues to increase. Governments have set and embarked on a global goal, aimed at limiting the degree of warming to below 2oC above pre-industrial levels by 2100. From a scientific standpoint, it is unfortunate that there continues to be a significant gap between the actualities of global emissions, and the level of mitigation on climate change that is required to stay below 2oC by 2020 (Bowen and Ranger, 16). From a political and philosophical context, there are actions and commitments for both the short and long-terms, which had been agreed upon in previous conferences such as Copenhagen 2009, and agreements such as the Bali Road Map of...
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