Can the United States retain its status as top nation?

As the world's biggest economy, the United States has been received much attention from the whole wide world all the time. After the World War II, the United States became the world's superpower and dominate the capitalist world. At that time, the economic strength of United States possessed the full advantages in the capitalist world. However, the American economy is not always smooth. Since the 1950s, the debate about the rise and fall of the United States has been sparked for many times. Such as in the late 1980s, there has a debate about whether the United States economy would decline when facing the budget deficit and the threat from Japanese economic power (Hamilton, 2010). In 2008, the international financial crisis caused by the United States also triggered the comments and forecasts about the rise and decline of America. In the recent years, the current world economy is in a new round of recovery, but it is still a controversial issue for the prospects of the U.S. economy. This essay will attempt to discuss the negative and positive aspects and views of the U.S. economy and whether the United States can remain its world top status. In addition, this essay will firstly look at the negative factors influenced the economy of the United States. Following this, it will explain the positive factors boost the economyof the United States. The first part of the essay gives

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Do you believe the post-9/11 and post-Iraq War reform and improvement recommendations will actually improve intelligence performance (fill the glass), its integration into national security policy, and/or prevent future failure or surprise? Which problems present in the 9/11 or Iraq cases will remainas per Betts--inherent and unsolvable?

Do you believe the post-9/11 and post-Iraq War reform and improvement recommendations will actually improve intelligence performance (“fill the glass”), its integration into national security policy, and/or prevent future failure or surprise? Which problems present in the 9/11 or Iraq cases will remain—as per Betts--inherent and unsolvable? Module Title: Intelligence and National Security Words Count: 1,440 The occurrence of September 11 terrorist attacks and the erroneous intelligence estimates on Iraq’s capabilities of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that provided the core justification for the war, formed the central impetus for radical (and urgent) reforms within America’s Intelligence Community (IC) (Betts; 2007: xi-4, Johnson; 2011, 417, Levin; 2004: 5). Review reports from the bipartisan Congressional Joint Inquiry, 9/11 Commission and the WMD Commission, among others, highlighted significant deficiencies rooted in the source of the failures; most significantly, the IC’s failure to “connect the dots”, the overestimated analysis of Iraq’s WMD, the priority grading of counterterrorism as an executive policy matter, and the inefficient coordination between the different national security institutions (Tucker; 2008:4). As the debate over whether the reforms will actually change the processes and ‘success ratio’ of the Community continues; this

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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The Functions of the European Commission and How Well it Carries Them Out

Carys Keig The Functions of the European Commission and How Well it Carries Them Out The commission is one of the European Union’s three main decision making institutions, along with the council of ministers and the European parliament. Unlike the council of ministers and the European Parliament the commission was constructed to act as an independent supranational authority, separate from national level governments, and it is obligated to act independently from national interests. The commission is a product of three separate original institutions, the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel community, and the European Economic Community and EURATOM commissions. The commission itself has a number of functions within the European Union, including proposing new laws to the parliament and council, known as the ‘right of initiative’, enforcing European Union law and checking that member states are implementing said law properly, managing the EU budget and also allocating funding and to represent the European Union on an international level. Whether or not the commission carries out these functions effectively is contested by some. There are those that believe that many of the commissions powers are, in some areas simply a formality and that it is in fact the council of ministers and the European parliament that hold the real authority. The role of the European

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Integrated but not Assimilated - Many have argued that the Kurds should have their own separate nation, but there are still many obstacles in the way of realizing this wish.

D The Three-Legged Milking Stool An Essay on the Kurds in Iraq and the Possibility of them Gaining Independence. By: Fred Bittner When you think of a people without a nation who do you think of? Many in today's political climate would jump immediately to the Palestinians, a group of Arabs oppressed by a government that doesn't represent them politically or culturally. If that question had been asked 70 years ago, it's quite possible that the Jews would have been that nationless people. But what about the Kurds? As far as their total population goes, there are almost 3 times as many Kurds as there are Palestinians, and they have managed to live in the same region for thousands of years, giving them a more solid claim to their land than the Jews in Israel have. They are far from being a small group of people, in fact, in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran they are the second largest ethnic group (being 20%, 19%, and 10% of the population respectively). As other powers have exercised dominion over the Kurds, they have managed to maintain their identity and keep their cultural foothold in their territory in spite of efforts to assimilate or destroy them. Many have argued that the Kurds should have their own separate nation, but there are still many obstacles in the way of realizing this wish. The only Kurdish groups that are really stable enough currently to create a viable

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Candidate Evaluation Essay: Barbara Boxer Democrat Senator for California.

Houssian Jenna Houssian Political Science 2244E November 2, 2010 Candidate Evaluation Essay: Barbara Boxer On November 2, 2010, the citizens of California will make a decision that will strongly affect their state. Democrat Barbara Boxer and Republican Carly Fiorina are vying for a seat in the Senate to represent the state of California. Holding this seat since 1992 is Barbara Boxer, an experienced politician who is willing to fight everyday for the rights of American citizens. Boxer was elected to the House of Representatives in 1982 and later to the Senate in 1992, being reelected in 1998 and 2004. While running for her third consecutive term in office, Boxer received the highest vote total for any Senate candidate in the history of the United States, further exemplifying her dedication, determination and relationship with the citizens of California.[1] Barbara Boxer helped to bring overseas profits back to America by supporting and securing a tax incentive; Invest in the USA Act will reduce the corporate tax rate for a one-year period if the funds were to be reinvested in the United States. Boxer fought for funding for community police and the Economic Development Agency, which will stimulate job creation in economically distressed areas of the state. The current president of the United States, Barack Obama, backs Boxer stating that he is optimistic because he knows

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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What do Economic Sanctions Achieve?

Introduction In the past decades, economic sanctions are seen to be the sought after solution as it is viewed as a less violent alternative to wars. As mentioned by the then US President Woodrow Wilson, economic sanctions is a “’peaceful, silent, and deadly remedy’ that no nation can resist.” (Garfield, 1999: 3) Since then, numerous economic sanctions were carried out which in turn questions its achievements and its successful rate. Has economic sanctions achieved more desired outcomes or the contrary? Economic sanctions simply defines as the “coercive economic measures taken against one or more countries to attempt to force a change in policies, or at least to demonstrate the sanctioning country’s opinion of another’s policies” (Rennak and Shuey, 1999:4). There are three types of economic sanctions namely; comprehensive, limited and targeted economic sanctions. The different types of sanctions vary based on the intensity and the level of restrictions and interventions. This paper reviews the achievements of economic sanctions by assessing them based on negative and positive attainments. Case studies drawn from Haiti, Burundi, Iran, Cuba, Syria, and Yugoslavia were used as an example to manifest the differences. Section 1 will cover the positive achievements of economic sanctions and conversely, in section 2 will cover the negative consequences. The argument

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Analyse the contemporary political behaviour of Iran. To what extent can its behaviours be explained by a rational actor model?

Analyse the contemporary political behaviour of Iran. To what extent can its behaviours be explained by a rational actor model? (Allison & Halperin, 1972) To what extent does one need to mine more deeply to understand their action? Ensure you answer the question using the appropriate IR literature, to include respective IR theories and levels of analysis. To determine whether or not a state can be recognised as a ‘rational actor’ depends on how that state makes choices. When considering if a states’ behaviour is consistent with rational actor theory, it is important to recognize what it means for a government or state to act rationally. It does not necessarily suggest that other governments see the world the way we do, or make the decisions we would make. Principally, as Allison and Halperin outline, there are certain characteristics that determine whether or not a state is rational; that decisions are arrived at ‘through a process of logical reasoning and thought; that the decisions made are the best ones given the options available, and that the costs and benefits of each alternative are considered.’[1] As Slanchev claims rationality doesn’t carry any connotations “of normative behaviour. That is, behaving rationally does not necessarily mean that one behaves morally or ethically.”[2] This being said, though theoretically Iran can be seen in some lights

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking in the Arab- Israeli Conflict.

Peacemaking Connie Grubb May 19, 2012 PSY/400 Dr. Julee Poole Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking It is impossible for societies, factions, cultures, ethnicities, and genders to exist together in perfect harmony at all times. Issues and problems will create conflicts, if not outright wars. Although it is difficult to settle conflicts, it is worth trying to settle differences no matter how trivial or numerous they appear. Doing so promotes goodwill and peace among humankind. This essay examines at one such conflict and determines how successfully (or unsuccessfully) the attempts at peacemaking and resolution have been in this instance. A Look at the Conflict The history concerning the Palestinian and Israeli conflict continues to be defined through a continuing cycle of accords, treaties, and agreements that subsequently dissolved. In Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat and by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed the Hebron agreement. Eventually, the agreement was dissolved. The failure occurred because of Israel’s continued construction and occupation of new settlements in what was considered Palestinian territory (Handelman & Pollak, 2007). In August 1993, the Oslo accord both leaders signed the Oslo accord. It contained a 1999 deadline calling for peaceful resolution concerning remaining outstanding points,

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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How Nixon's Southern Strategy changed the political alignment of the Republican Party

How did Nixon’s Southern Strategy effectively realign the Democratic Party, which resulted in a change of the party’s allegiance from Democratic to Republican? Kendall Jennings Norcross High School Candidate Number: Candidate Code: Date of IB Exams: May 2012/2013 Subject: Politics Supervisor: Barbara Bartow Word Count: 3502 Abstract The question that drives this essay contains many parts. It examines how Richard Nixon and his campaign strategy known as the “Southern Strategy” effectively caused the Democrats in the South to change their allegiance and realign themselves with the Republicans. During the 1960’s and 70’s, political parties were undergoing major shifts, and this paper will assess how each party reacted. The South was the base of the Democratic Party for many years and heavily relied on this region for secure electoral votes in presidential elections. Democrats lost control of their party and their dominance in the South when their supporters began to align themselves with Nixon, a Republican. The former Southern Democrats felt as though their wants and desires were not of significance anymore to their once trusted elected government officials. When investigating the effects Nixon and his political tactics had on the South and the United States as a whole, it is important to address all aspects of society, not only political, but

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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What are the main causes of Voter Apathy in the USA?

Student Number. 1112470 What are the main perceived causes of voter ‘apathy’ in the U.S. and to what extent are these considered damaging to the quality of American democracy? Voter apathy has been a cause for concern throughout western democracies, it is often deemed the greater the participation of the electorate the more legitimate the government in place. This is no different in the United States of America, Bernard Berelson has criticised democracy with relation to voter apathy with the following, “there are those who consider this a serious malfunction of democracy.”[1] Voter apathy is defined as the non-participation of eligible individuals in elections at all levels. Voter turnout throughout recent history in the USA is at an incredible low, as recent as in 1996 over half (50.9%)[2] of the eligible citizens of the USA refused the opportunity to vote in the Presidential election when the incumbent Bill Clinton beat Bob Dole to the White House. However a contrasting argument suggests that voter apathy can be a blessing in disguise as often the un-informed are those who abstain from voting. Another weak argument to prevent compulsory voting within democracies is that several people elect not to vote, as they are content with the system in place. This essay will highlight the main causes of voter apathy whilst discussing their effect on American democracy.

  • Word count: 2094
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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