Cold War
Name : Saw Hsar Lwe Program : OUHK - Cetana (Myanmar) Course : SS201 Student No : 10399429 Assignment : TMA 05 Date : 15th, 9, 2010 When it comes to observing political history, the Cold War and post-Cold War seem to be worthwhile to give a try. Cold War is not a war. It is an ideological conflict between Communist and non-Communist countries. It means that one side uses every means, to defame or to weaken the other side but without directly fighting a war. Thus, in terms of this essay, I will firstly approach the passing of the Cold War, and move on to nine models that seem to be constructive in explaining the functioning of the post-Cold War. Finally, by dint of my own model I will give attempt to draw the picture of the post-Cold War era. The cold war started after World War II (1939-45) when the Allies (United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union) disagreed over how to govern occupied Germany. Soon after the Second World War both the United States and the Soviet Union became "super powers." The term "super powers" referred to the U.S. and the Soviet which both possessed military might and economic resources superior or equal to the combined strength of any group of countries of the rest of the world (Suter, 2003). Thus, they were called super powers. Countries such as Britain, France, China, Japan, and Germany were not regarded as super powers. The
Plato Analysis. This passage of the Republic is outlining how, in Platos ideal state, an analogy for the soul, there should be the abolition of private property for the guardians of the state
Plato: 'In the first place, none of them is to have any private property, except what is absolutely indispensable. In the second place, none of them is to have living quarters and store rooms which are not able to be entered into by anyone who wants to. ... There will be shared mess halls for them to go to, and their lives will be communal, as if they were on campaign. We'll tell them that the permanent presence in their minds of divine gold and silver, which they were granted by the gods, means that they have no need of earthly gold and silver as well.' (Republic, Book 5, 416-417) This passage of the Republic is outlining how, in Plato’s ideal state, an analogy for the soul, there should be the abolition of private property for the guardians of the state who make up part of the tripartite system. Plato argues that it would create divided interests, whereas the guardians would be able to work solely for the interests of the city if they were not accumulating wealth. The latter part of the passage refers to the “Noble Lie”, where the citizens are told that they are either born with gold, silver or bronze in their souls. The guardians and auxiliaries, therefore, won’t require private property as they already have wealth in their souls. Plato’s key argument in the city/soul analogy is that justice equals to harmony. As the analogy is representative of the soul, greed
Aristotle on Politics
Politics Summary All associations are formed with the aim of achieving some good. The Greek city-state, or polis, is the most general association in the Greek world, containing all other associations, such as families and trade associations. As such, the city-state must aim at achieving the highest good. Aristotle concludes that “man is a political animal”: we can only achieve the good life by living as citizens in a state. In discussing the economic relations that hold within a city-state, Aristotle defends the institution of private property, condemns excessive capitalism, and notoriously defends the institution of slavery. Before presenting his own views, Aristotle discusses various theoretical and actual models current at his time. In particular, he launches lengthy attacks on Plato’s Republic and Laws, which most commentators find unsatisfying and off the mark, as well as criticizing other contemporary philosophers and the constitutions of Sparta, Crete, and Carthage. Aristotle identifies citizenship with the holding of public office and administration of justice and claims that the identity of a city rests in its constitution. In the case of a revolution, where the citizenship and constitution change, a city’s identity changes, and so it cannot be held responsible for its actions before the revolution. Roughly speaking, there are six kinds of constitution,
Power. A gets B to do something that he or she would not otherwise do. Does this sum up the essence of political power?
Intro to Politics – Essay 1 (Term 2 Week 5) ‘A gets B to do something that he or she would not otherwise do’. Does this sum up the essence of political power? As a whole, this statement sufficiently provides an overarching view of political power in the presence of conflict. However, according to Steven Lukes, we need to acknowledge the existence of various other conceptions of political power, especially in the absence of a direct conflict of interest. This essay will attempt to use his arguments to demonstrate the nuances that underpin political power and will contextualize using the various case studies ranging from the politics in China to Latin America and USA. It will also examine the political paradigms from a micro scale, within a constituency for example to the macro scale, on the global arena. Ultimately it will demonstrate that political power has evolved in accordance to the sophistication of the population and this has demanded radical shifts in the way those in power govern them. This of course is not to say that the above said view of political power is defunct, on the other hand, it is still widely enforced and rather the method in which it is achieved has evolved greatly in certain parts of the world. Analysis of Definition Provided Before approaching the concept of political power in depth, a brief analysis of the statement given is in order. The
A critical analysis of Wollstonecraft's reaction to Rousseau
Page of A critical analysis of Wollstonecraft’s reaction to Rousseau Jean-Jacque Rousseau’s novel Émile, or On Education, was first published in 1762, during the period of Enlightenment. Although the book provides a fairly comprehensive treatise on the nature of man and education, it is Chapter V of the book that will be the focus of this essay, as it is in this section that Rousseau discusses the role of women in society and outlines his ideas on how they should be educated. It is the controversial concepts discussed in this chapter that have gone on to draw criticism from feminist thinkers, not least from Mary Wollstonecraft in her various novels on women, which built on and developed Catherine Macaulay’s Letters on Education[1]. Although Wollstonecraft and Rousseau were like-minded liberal thinkers in many respects, she strongly challenges his views on women at a time when middle-class women, a new social phenomenon, were just emerging into civilisation. In the past, the role of women had not been an issue because they had played an important role in the agricultural economy and therefore had an identity. However, this new arrival of middle-class women gave rise to questions over their role in society, as they were often well-educated but had no clear value in society other than as a marriage commodity. This essay will briefly discuss Rousseau’s argument in
Women can only be properly represented politically by other women. Discuss
The claim that women can only be represented politically by other women is one that assumes that women and men act differently in terms of politics. It is a claim which starts with the differing socialization of men and women and ends with the assertion that as a consequence only women can politically represent other women. By focusing on the relationship between descriptive and substantive relationship this statement suggests that an increase of female descriptive representation would consequently lead to an increase in the substantive representation of women. Whilst measuring the descriptive representation of women is straightforward, its relationship with substantive representation is not proven. The aim of this essay will be to analyze the extent to which the having women as representatives is the only way to achieve women’s substantive representation. Firstly this essay will focus on the extent to which there can be such a thing as ‘women’s issues’ in politics. . It will then go on to assess the extent to which women act differently to men in politics, and the extent to which this difference is beneficial in ensuring women in the electorate are properly represented politically. This essay will finish by highlighting the broader structural factors within which women’s descriptive representation takes place, and suggest that in order for women to be properly
Negative and Positive Freedom, How these two Concepts are related to Different Notions of the State and Democracy
Negative and Positive Freedom, How these two Concepts are related to Different Notions of the State and Democracy POLS 1000 Ammad Mustafa 2013,11,12 Government is often viewed as the enemy of individual freedom, while others argue government action is needed to provide the basis for people to be free to develop their individuality (Mintz, Close, and Croci, 2011, pg.60). Individual freedom in a democracy is having the right to act as we please, having the freedom to do as we may with our government. Freedom is often defined in terms of the ability to act as one wants without interference, restraints, or coercion (Mintz, Close, and Croci, 2011, pg.53). Freedom can be understood in two different aspects, positive and negative. Negative freedom entails having no physical or legal restraints on the actions of individuals (Mintz, Close, and Croci, 2011, pg.60). Negative freedom in a state, is the freedom of government interference. An individual may do as he may, without having to deal with any legal or physical implications. Before the establishment of government it was widely believed that individuals had been free, but lacking in the settling of disputes (John Locke 1632-1704). Advocates of negative freedom believed the role of government should be minimal and limited in its powers (Mintz, Close, and Croci, 2011, pg.53). Freedom in this perspective was achieved, when
What did Nationalism mean to the revolutionaries in Italian and German lands in 1848?
Assignment for Term One Revolutions What did Nationalism mean to the revolutionaries in Italian and German lands in 1848? Index * Introduction............................................page 4 to 4 * What did nationalism mean to the revolutionaries in Italian and German lands in 1848?....................................page 5 to 8 * Conclusion...............................................page 9 to 9 * Bibliography............................................page 10 to 10 * Work Made By........................................page 11 to 11 Introduction In this essay, I am going to discuss what nationalism means to the revolutionaries in Italian and German lands in 1848. I will begin by making a brief historical view before the revolution in Italy and Germany. Then, I will explain what nationalism meant to them, and finish with a short historical view after the revolutions. For the conclusion, I will answer directly to the main question of this essay. But firstly, I would like to give the definition of Nationalism by the sunysuffolk site. "Nationalism is a sense of identity with the nation. It is similar to tribalism, and like the family, is held together by a sense of kinship. [...]The original use of the term nationalism refers to elite groups, but in modern usage it refers usually to a very large group, sometimes as large as an empire. A nation differs from a tribe
Was Thatcherism anything more than traditional Conservatism adapted to the conditions of the 1980s?
Was ‘Thatcherism’ anything more than traditional Conservatism adapted to the conditions of the 1980s? When Margaret Thatcher took up her position as the first female leader of a Western democracy, few would have envisioned the profound effect she would have in reshaping the political landscape. British politics had been in a state of near consensus across the main political parties since the Second World War ended, but Thatcher’s arrival on the political scene marked the death of the ‘ancient regime’. It was also the end of Keynesian Economics, subsidized welfare and trade union power. Before Thatcher there was a general agreement across the political middle ground on many issues; such as a Keynesian interventionist economic policy with a focus of minimizing unemployment and a firm commitment to public spending on the Welfare State. This was at odds with Thatcher, who said herself in 1981 that, "political consensus seems to be the process for abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies”. It was in keeping with this declaration that Thatcher swiftly moved the Conservative party away from this political centre and to the radical new right. [1] Furthermore, this quote can be seen as an indication of ‘The Iron Lady’s’ unwavering, unflinching public personality that came to dominate and influence much of the social change in Great Britain across the
What is politics?
WHAT IS POLITICS? Approaches to Politics Studies 07/08 On hearing the word politics, claimed and enhanced by dictionary definition as "the practice of the art or science of directing and administering states or other politics units" 1 what usually springs to mind are images of government, politicians and their policies or more negatively the idea of corruption and dirty tricks? The actual definition seems to have been obscured and almost lost by such representations and clichés that tend not to pinpoint the true essence, which defines this thing, called politics. Politics in its broadest sense appears to be the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. Although conversely, Politics is also an academic subject- sometimes identified by the use of "Politics" with the capital P- it is clearly the study of this apparent activity. Politics can thus be claimed to be inextricably linked to the phenomena of conflict and cooperation, since on the one hand, the existence of rival opinions, different wants, competing needs and opposing interests guarantee disagreement about the rules under which people live. On the other hand, people recognise that, in order to influence these rules or ensure that they are upheld, they must work with each other; hence Hannah Arendt's definition of political power as "acting in concert".2 :
