International Relations – Who Can Do Something to Fix North Korea?
The people of North Korea may as well be the poorest and most exploited people on Earth. North Korea has a de facto theocratic government, the strictest censorship of media, and a per capita income that exceeds few others in the world.
What do we care?
It would not have been so bad if they just kept things to themselves. However, North Korea loves to test its political clout by participating in international controversies. It has repeatedly fired missiles that grazed South Korean airspace. It has also been speculated that it is developing its own nuclear arsenal.
Recently, on March 2010, it allegedly sank a South Korean warship, resulting into 46 South Korean casualties Diplomacy is not an option anymore, as North Korea has made it clear for ages that they don’t like talking.
So why not just bomb them right away?
Let’s talk about who are the major stakeholders in this affair. The two Koreas, north and south, are obvious candidates. Europe will probably not wage war, as her population is just too old to pull triggers. Africa and the Middle East don’t mind other people’s businesses.
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Political Science Books – The Key to Understanding the World
Whether you are interested in politics, you will find that, at some point in your life, you will be influenced by politics, be it at your workplace, home, or school. However, when we talk about politics, we generally refer to the political situation of the country, state, region or city we live in. Consequently, almost all political science books are written keeping these factors in mind. In fact, most courses in colleges and universities around the world also prescribe books that teach students the political situation in their country or that of the rest of the world.
There is a school of thought that says that political science can help you prepare for studying law. This is due to the fact that much of what you study in politics comes from law. You read about the laws that govern various processes in your country. Political processes, such as elections, the judiciary, procedures for appointment of the prime minister and president and various other laws, can form a part of this course. As a result, books written on this subject give a very detailed perspective of laws governing the country.
Additionally, political science books can help you compare the laws of your country with those of some other countries. For instance, you can compare the political process of two of the world’s biggest democracies of the world – United States and India. Both countries follow different forms of democracies, which are successful in their own ways. If you want to study it in greater detail, then consider taking up a book related to the politics of the country and read it in detail. You will gain plenty of knowledge of the way the country functions and will learn how, despite of its fallacies, a country is successful in its political process.
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Review – Ross, Andrew: “The Theory and Practice of International Relations”
Three analytical perspectives – Realism, Liberalism, and Marxism – guide the international relations theorist throughout the world. Realism focuses on war and peace and it contends that politics determines economics. The central problem within Liberalism is conflict and cooperation. Liberalist believe that war is not the only form of conflict, peace is not the only form of cooperation and that socio-economics is no less important than national security. Liberalist also believe that the interrelationship between economics and national security determines state interest. Marxism is based solely on domination and subordination; The ‘have and the have-nots.’ Economic issues drive the Marxist agenda; they conclude that economics determine politics. Realism, Liberalism, and Marxism are not mutually exclusive approaches to understanding international relations. Though there are linkages between the three perspectives, those linkages are few in number.
U.S. decision-makers are most influenced Realism and Liberalism. The fact that political, social, economic, and security issues have all vied for top billing on the U. S. agenda leads me to believe that Liberalism has had the greatest impact in the U. S. decision making process. This depends on the President and Party in power. We can look back and see that a Carter is clearly a liberalist and a Reagan is definitely a realist. Even in the last election there were clear indications that Bush is a strong realist and Gore a strong liberalist. A hybrid like Clinton is harder to sort out he started out to the liberal side but ended up on the other. It is difficult to say which perspective should have the most influence. However, the extensive agenda of Liberalism would best fit our needs due to the economic and social diversity of American society. The main point of these readings is to show that there are strict differences in these perspectives and they will affect your view of the world coming together or coming apart. This kind of view will therefore influence what you think we will need for future forces.
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