...Writing Assignments i n World Politics Courses Thomas 0. Schlesinger Walking out of Rounds Hall with me after class, Benny, a sophomore in one of my international relations courses, asked for, and received, some pointers on the required paper. “You’ve just told me to write exactly as I’ve been taught not to write,” said he. “And who, pray tell, taught you?” asked I. He gave an over-the-shouldernod across the street, toward Ellen Reed House--the English Department. "Hmmm. . . fine--I'mnot surprised to hear they tell you something different,” I told him. “The English profs teach you to write in a generic way, say, fiction, or generically expository stuff. I want you to write a social science paper.” With some ”Hmmm-ing” of his own, Benny shuffled off, wearing a mildly annoyed and not altogether convinced frown. How dare they teach different ways to write in different departments at the same college! Benny did make an effort to heed my suggestions, but it took persistence. For example, the introduction to his first draft, included a vague Writing Across the Curriculum, Vol. 11, August 1990 35 36 Writing Across The Curriculum (August 1990) statement like: ”Conflict between Arabs and Black Africans in the Sudan is a serious problem and should be examined in greater detail. . . including its history, causes, and future.” The purpose statement I eventually settled for read more like this: ”This paper will examine social, economic, and political aspects...
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...In the book War and Change in World Politics, Robert Gilpin presents a rationalist and realistic argument for international relations. The argument is that an international system is created because actors create social, political and economical structures to advance their interests. The structure reflects the interests of those who are most dominant in the system. The structure will inevitably change due to many reasons that are provided throughout the book. Robert Gilpin succeeds in providing support for his main argument by applying his theories to many examples in history. His reasoning in supporting his argument were clear, concise and easy to follow, which made the book a pleasurable read. The book starts out by providing four assumptions, which divides the book into 4 sections. In each section Gilpin provides examples that are heavily rational and applicable. This division made the book easy to follow and helped readers to understand how each assumption supported the argument. Each assumption was used to support the main argument of the book. The first assumption that was used is “An international system is stable if no state believes it profitable to attempt to change the system.” (Gilpin, page 11). Gilpins approach to support this assumption is of a realist approach. Gilpin starts out by supporting his argument through deductive reasoning. These reasons are carried out in an informative manner that can be easily supported by historical events and examples. As he...
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...The idea of a World Government sounds pretty good. Unfortunately, it is nothing but old wine in a new bottle. I will point out two critical reason why that is. BlackSheep’s thread about World Government argues in favour of WG based on one single fact that Nationalism divides and by uniting all nations to a single WG will reduce this division. I certainly don’t disagree with this. However, I will show two examples that there are other –ism which are equally guilty of creating division. First of all, the recent turmoil that is tearing apart Egypt is not about Nationalism but a political power struggle between Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood), Secular but not pro-Military and Secular and pro-Military. The second example is USA. The recent govt shutdown demonstrates that the country is extremely polarised between conservatives and not-so conservatives. Yes the shutdown is not unique in USA history but it proves that a nation can be severely divided other than Nationalism. My second point is more critical about how the WG will be formed. But I have some historical facts. The United Nations was created to uphold human-rights and to averse another war like the two World Wars and after more than 50 years they have failed miserably. Simply because it has become a tool for USA and other western countries to indirectly control the poorer countries and their natural resources. This has become more profound after the creation of IMF and World Bank. The recent study found that G7 countries...
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...significance in the wider arena. The American public and political classes were unconcerned with previous attacks on the World Trade Centre in 94, the attack on the USS Cole, and the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Attacks of 9/11 and the fall of the World Trade Centre’s marked the beginning of the real 21st century. (Brown 04). 9/11 was not simply an act of terror but the most destructive single act of terror since World War 2. Many in the Islamic community saw the attack, as an attack on “the symbolic heart of global capitalism” (Brown 04). 9/11 galvanised the American people, and less then 12 hours after the attacks, president Bush formally declared a “war on terror”. Overnight America’s relationships with Russia, China and India improved. Britain and Australia were also seen as close allies. President Bush and his supporters stressed the need to go on the offensive against terrorists, to deploy the U.S. military, and to promote democracy in the Middle East. (Gordon 07). The U.S is fighting a war on terror and must remain on the offensive. The Bush administration feel, that U.S. power is the foundation of global order, and the spread of democracy and freedom is the key to a safer and more peaceful world. (Gordon 06). Therefore I feel that neo-conservatism and Realism are the theories of International Relations that are most useful in understanding world politics today. Terrorism is a multi-faced problem and requires an aggressive and long-term solution. Any...
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...‘Is famine/starvation the result of natural catastrophes or man-made? Analyze the root causes of food insecurity in the following two countries: Bangladesh and Niger.’ Food, water, clothing, education and shelter are the basic needs for all human being. As a citizen of world’s one of the poorest country, Bangladesh, I want to explore and understand the significance of famine and starvation and how it is related with food insecurity. The paper will also study the origin of food insecurity and investigate the causes. I have chosen to research on Bangladesh and Niger, two of the low-ranked on United Nation’s Human Development Index (HDI) countries. Hundreds of millions of people, concentrated toward children and elderly, are suffering due to famine and experts are expecting this number to grow if adequate measures are not taken to prevent it. Sub-Sahara African nations are mostly the victims of extreme cases of famine but other continents also have some impacts. For instance, South Asian countries heavily depend on monsoon rain that makes them vulnerable to crop failure. On the man-made side, government instability and policies also play a big role. The after effects of such event could also lead to economic failure of the population. Countries with uncontrolled population, for instance Bangladesh and India, also suffer from extreme form of malnutrition and hunger as it becomes day by day difficult to produce adequate food for local citizens. In such cases, government asks for...
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...What impact has neoliberalism had on world politics? Neoliberalism is an economic philosophy that rose in prominence from the eighties following the elections of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Jones, Parker and Bos (2005: 100) summarise the essence of this view as “markets good, governments bad”. Neoliberalism argues that free trade is beneficial to all nations, that governments create inefficiency and waste, and that the distribution of goods should therefore be left to individuals and firms competing in the market to maximise their utility (WHO 2010). To ensure an efficient allocation of resources, neoliberalists argue for widespread liberalisation i.e. the reduction of rules and restrictions, and the privatisation of public enterprises. However, the reality of Neoliberalism has been very different to the theory. Regulation provides the framework within which markets work and enables the moderation of the externalities they produce, thus deregulation was in fact limited and was quickly followed by regulation (Levi-Faur 2005: 13). Because of this, Polanyi (in Peck, 2010: 330) writes: “the road to a free market was opened and kept open by an enormous increase in continuous, centrally organized and controlled interventionism”. In this essay, I look at the impacts of Neoliberalism on World Politics, focusing on two in particular. Firstly I explain that the policies of liberalisation and privatisation, albeit supported by regulation, have led to increasing inequality...
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...learn and understand the science that is involved in politics. Politics can be simplified into smaller components and an easier understanding by studying how it works and the systems of which they operate. This is what we call a social science. According to Britannica Encyclopedia Political science is a social science discipline that deals with systems of government and the analysis of political activity and political behavior. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics which is commonly thought of as the determining of the distribution of power and resources. When I started the political science class my views on politics were negative. Negative in the sense that I wanted little to do with politics. My view of politics was a form of corruption were citizens were robbed. My recent studies of the political science have changed my views, interest, and expectations of politics. Growing up in the Virgin Islands my generation has heard and seen very little positive talks about politics. My definition of politics before my political science class was fairly simple. I thought politics were a group or an entity of elected officials that controlled government money. I learned that I was not one 100% right but there was way more to that one simple word. The very first thing that political science made me understand is the importance to be up to date with all or most political activities that are happening across the world. Quickly I saw how a political issue in Iran could...
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...business Geopolitics is the study of the influence of political and economic geography on the politics, national power, and foreign policy of the states. It’s the combination of geographic and political factors influencing a country or a region. It is also the national policy based on the inter-relation of politics and geography. Geopolitics combines the study of geography with the study of politics. Geography refers to a physical landforms, size and resources while politics refers to relations between among state origin. The geopolitical environment refers to a region’s political situation while considering the countries’ geography, history, economic situation, religion, culture, and governmental structure. It may also relates either to a single to a single country situation or the one of an entire continent. The geopolitical environment of the Middle East for example is frequently discussed. Launched in the beginning of the XX century by Swedish politic scientist, Rudolph Kjellen, it has become a popular term used by political scientist, historians, etc. The analysis of a region’s geopolitical environment attempts to get a sense of the values aspect of a region’s politics, culture, and industry. The geopolitical environment may vary overtime, even tough the geography may remains static, the changing world environment can affect an area’s political power. As the world in presently depending on oil, area’s rich in oil resources have more power but if alternative...
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...semesters courses deal with public administration and International relations. Course objectives 1. Imparting value based education. 2. Preparing responsible and politically conscious citizens. 3. Building good leadership qualities and responsible future leaders. 4. Understanding the art of government and administration. 5. Motivating students to take competitive examinations. 6. Creating civic sense COURSE STRUCTURE I Semester Course Code POL 131 II Semester Course Code POL 231 III Semester Course Code POL 331 IV Semester Course Code POL 431 V Semester Course Code POL 531 POL 532 VI Semester Course Code POL 631 POL 632 Title Core Concepts of Political Science. Title Major Political Ideologies Title Indian Government and Politics- I Title Indian Government and Politics- II Title International Relations- I Principles of Public Administration Title International Relations- II Personnel and Financial Administration Hrs/ wk 5 Hrs/ wk 5 Hrs/ wk 5 Hrs/ wk 5 Hrs/ wk 4 4 Marks 100 Marks 100 Marks 100 Marks 100 Marks 100 100 Credits 4 Credits 4 Credits 4 Credits 4 Credits 3 3 Hrs/ wk 4 4 Marks 100 100 Credits 3 3 1 BA SEMESTER I POL 131: POLITICAL SCIENCE PAPER I – CORE CONCEPTS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 75 Hrs This course deals with basic concepts of political science such as state, government, law, rights etc. Objectives To introduce the students to: • The...
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...CHAPTER 1 – POLITICS AND KNOWLEDGE INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE Review Sekar Rizki Wibowo – KKI_B What is politics? Politics is a process by which a group of people, whose opinions or interests might be different from each other, reach collective decisions that are generally regarded as binding on the group and enforced as a common policy. The basis of political knowledge always came from three important sources, which are: 1. Authority : Involves the appeal of any documents, tradition, or person that is believed to be an important source of politics or some explanation regarding a particular issue. 2. Personal thought : Relies on assumption of human brains that may develop a thought that determines the definition or anything he/she knows about the political world. 3. Science : Uses expliicit methods that attempt to enable the different people to agree about what they know. The goal of using science in order to learn about politics is that it answers the facts what, why, and how questions about politics. Political science is composed from some subfields that are usually defined by their specific subject matter, rather than by their mode of analysis. The four subfields of political knowledge are: 1. Comparative politics : Focuses on similarities and difference in political processes and structures. 2. International relations : Focuses on the political relations between countries, the behavior of transnational actors, and the dynamics happenting...
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...analyse and discuss how you observe power being exercised in the world as you experience it. The term “power” has a number of different meanings and definitions relating to all aspects of life. In Kenneth E. Boulding’s book “The Three Faces of Power” he writes, “The various forms of power act and interact on each other so significantly that if the study of power were confined to a single aspect of it, … , much would be lost in the understanding of the over dynamics of the system.” Boulding broadly defines power as the ability of people to get that which they desire. In the context of politics; power concerns all social activities at each level of society. In a sense; politics is power i.e. “The ability to achieve a desired outcome, through whatever means” (Haywood, 2002). Politics can be seen as the fight for scarce resources, and the power lies in the ability to conduct and control this struggle. However power must not be confused with “force”, a much narrower concept, as this is “linked to the concept of domination, which, indeed is only a small part of the general nature of power”(Boulding, 1990). In this essay I am going to discuss some of the different definitions and aspects of power, referring mainly to the “Faces” of power, and giving examples of my observations of different types of power being exercised in the world today. The idea of power is key to the understanding of politics for “... if politics is the resolution of conflict, the distribution for power within...
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...uploadind this because i want to get onto this site.. lol Orwell Essay Draft The highly political and literary worlds constructed from the writer George Orwell has allowed audiences to see glimpses of themselves among these worlds, as well as provoking acts of analysis and reflection within themselves, decades after these worlds and opinions were initially established. The ongoing relevance of Orwell is due to an inspiring recipe of writing greatness. Orwell’s authentic craftsmanship, directness of expression, straightforward-simple style, methodical structure, pure honesty and most importantly textual integrity, marries together with his abilities to use his context and experiences as evidence for his ideas and argument. Essentially, it is Orwell’s universal and highly relatable ideas that allow his audiences to reflect upon Orwell’s arguments, amongst their own personal contexts for decades upon decades. These ideas constructed from the literary, political and nationalistic worlds, are derived from Orwell’s famous essays, Writers and Leviathan (W&L), Why I Write (WIW), Politics and the English Language (PATEL), Notes on Nationalism (NoN) and Sporting Spirit (SS), which are still studies and read worldwide today. Through Orwell’s essays Writers and Leviathan, Why I Write, and Politics and the English Language, Orwell has been able to establish a literary world for his audience to reflect their literary views and opinions upon. Writers and Leviathan, was a response from...
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...WHAT IS POLITICS? Why do we have to be interested in politics? If you’re not, others will influence the decisions that govern your lives. For example, who decides to declare war, to fix taxes….Ignorant is manipulated. Aristotle, the founder of the discipline, called politics the “master science”: he meant that almost everything happens in a political context. For example, politics is connected to economics: suppose a hurricane or earthquake strikes a country, in this case it is the political system that decides for example which victims to aid. The disaster is natural, but its impact on society is controlled by politics. Politics may be immoral: we have a misuse of power, corruption…. But even if we don’t like these features, we have to understand how things go on: how A gets B to do what A wants. This is what Political Science tries to explain. Political Science is related to the other social sciences: - History: it’s an important source of data for political scientists (if we analyze the Cold War (1947-1989), we have to know the events so history). But the data are handled differently: political scientists look for generalizations, historians for details. - Geography: physical and human (ethnic areas, regions …….) - Economics: many political quarrels are economic. A good economic development may be the basis for democracy, only few poor countries are democratic. - Sociology: Political Science starts by looking at society to see “who thinks what”about politics. For example...
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...Religion and Politics and the effect of religion in America For a virtuous instance of how religion affects politics in our current world we need not look very distant but rather look around you. The influence of Catholicism on Latin American politics, and the role religion plays on Middle Eastern politics have had a profound affect in those related societies. After examining the effects of religion into the above mentioned societies it is clear that the introduction of religion into politics has proven to be suppressive and counterproductive to most third world countries, and various subcultures in first world countries. A very well known writer and scholar on the history of Egypt, Budge, E. A. Wallis, "Egyptian Religion and Society: Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life (Library of the Mystic Arts)". Citadel Press. August 1, 1991. Wrote, “Most scholars have concluded that, in later times at least, there was no close personal tie between the individual Egyptian and the gods, that the gods remained aloof, that their relationship to humans was indirect, communicated to him by means of the king”. We must remember that there was no established book or set of teachings, as the Bible or the Qur'an, and few prescribed conditions of behavior or conduct. Humans were guided essentially by human wisdom and trusted in their belief in the goodness of the gods and of their divine son, the king. An important concept in Egyptian life was the idea of justice. Although the Egyptian was entirely...
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...Введение в Политологию Программа учебного курса Российская экономическая школа, совместный бакалавриат РЭШ-ВШЭ, весенний семестр 2014 года (64 часа в аудитории) Преподаватель – Балалаева Дина Яновна, Ph.D. Занятия: лекция - среда, 15:10-16:30, семинар- 13:40-15:00 Консультации – TBA Компетенции, формируемые в результате освоения дисциплины: В результате освоения дисциплины студент должен обладать следующими общекультурными (ОК) и профессиональными компетенциями (ПК): ОК-4, ПК-8, ПК-9 Общий объем аудиторных часов – 64 в том числе: лекции – 32 часа. практические занятия - 32 часа. Промежуточный контроль – статья. Краткая аннотация Данный курс по «Сравнительной политологии» охватывает наиболее важные темы дисциплины и прослеживает развитие методологии от сравнительных кейс-стади до крупномасштабных межвременных исследований и экспериментов на местах. Почему, в среднем, самые богатые страны – демократии? Или, заимствуя вопрос Л. Даймонда (2010), почему мир не знает ни одной арабской демократии? Почему авторитаризм не помешал (помог?) «азиатским тиграм»? Насколько устойчивы гибриды? В чем «секрет эффективности» парламентской формы правления? Почему страны с пропорциональной системой выборов больше тратят на социальные расходы, чем страны с мажоритарной формулой? Производят ли федерации больше технологических инноваций, чем унитарные государства? Каково оптимальное...
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