Colombia and Peace: Final thoughts and reflection

Throughout the semester, my group has examined the decades of conflict in Colombia beginning in the 1950s and into the present day surrounding current peace negotiations. The ongoing conflict between the revolutionary FARC rebels and the Colombian government has hindered Colombia’s domestic and international progress for too long. Our group has explored the origins and history of conflict from both FARC and the government’s side with an objective perspective. While FARC is easy to deem as the antagonist, our group has showed that the dynamic is much more complicated and there are some legitimate grievances on both sides. FARC began in the 1950s as a result of the privatization of agricultural lands and oppressive state control but has now developed into a violent guerilla group, which utilizes illegitimate tactics. The conflict in Colombia emphasizes important political complexities that we have examined in class and poses questions about the legitimate uses of force and the role of the state.

            Because the conflict has persisted for so long, in conducting our research, our group was forced to search for both old and recent sources and news reports. There were adequate sources documenting the history of the conflict but finding more current updates was more difficult because of the media’s selective coverage of the conflict. Our group was dynamic in contributing different kinds of sources, each person bringing their own perspectives, ideas, and knowledge from other classes or experience with the conflict. Because the blogs are published with the sources, it was important for us to have accountable, recognizable sources to assure the reader that our information is legitimate and defendable.

            When I think about what I have gained from this assignment, the gains are diverse. Not only did I garner knowledge about my topic but also important lessons for working with people and applying in class material to outside subjects. In studying the conflict in Colombia I realized how what we’re learning in class is applicable to things going on all over the world; for example, with Colombia, I can relate it back to our discussions about legitimacy and the relationships states hold with their citizens. Furthermore, the topic of Colombia, in contrast to some of the other group’s topics, was less in the media and less talked about when I picked my group so I was fortunate to have a group that was willing to due more extensive research and hold discourse on such complex political intricacies.

            

ISIS: A Reflection

This semester, my group members and I researched the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). For our first blog post, we gave a general overview of ISIS and provided pertinent background information that would aid readers in understanding ISIS’ goals. In the second blog post, we analyzed the role of women in ISIS specifically the recruiting of women to the organization (often internationally). The third blog post dealt with ISIS’ finances. We discussed their sources of income, such as oil sales (from the stolen oil refineries) and extortion. Finally, our fourth blog post examined ISIS’ usage of social media to recruit potential soldiers as well as their war tactics (kidnapping and extortion primarily).

My group and I would discuss potential topic ideas and narrow it down to three related subjects. We would then assign two people to a topic, and they would then summarize and analyze each topic. I primarily researched my subject matter online, specifically sources like The Guardian and BBC as they provided more coverage and more detailed reporting compared to other news outlets. We shared our research and work on Google Docs. This was helpful as it allowed us to edit and communicate easily.

Beginning this semester, I had a very basic knowledge of ISIS and their motivations and international presence. However, having this opportunity to research and write on specific topics (like their online presence and the growing role of women) allowed me to analyze ISIS and their influence globally. I really enjoyed going in-depth and found ISIS, but also the Middle East, fascinating. This, in turn, prompted me to further research the Middle East, which eventually culminated in my changing my minor to Middle Eastern Studies. In relation to my group, I learned how to effectively manage my time and make sure my share of work was done in a timely fashion.

China in the World: A Reflection

Unlike many of the other topics you will read about on this blog, the question of China as an emerging power has been unfolding for many decades. From Nixon and Kissinger’s normalizing of US-Chinese relations in 1972 to the ongoing talks over carbon emissions and trade partnerships, its significance has evolved from something out of the periphery of the Cold War into what has become one of the most important bilateral relations of the 21st century. Since September, our group has been closely analyzing the most critical issues challenging the stability of this delicate relationship as they’ve been developing. Conflicts ranging from that age old standoff between North and South Korea to those now emerging in northern Iraq and Syria are all put into new perspective as we explore just how they are drawing these two powers closer and closer into contention. We also look at various aspects of strategic security including China’s development of anti-ship missiles and cyber espionage both of which have more directly revived some Cold War era tensions. In every post we try to identify potential points of conflict and cooperation.

The workflow of our group generally resembled that of an organized publication, with two or three people doing research and drafting a summary, two or three synthesizing the analysis, and an editor. After agreeing on a subject that relates back to our classroom discussions, everyone works on their own segment at their own pace and on their own time. By Friday or Saturday the disparate patchwork of bulletpoints, graphs, pictures, and paragraphs gets handed down to the editor who then forges a cohesive piece complete with citations, hyperlinks, images, and finally submits it. Our research was conducted exclusively online for the purposes of continuity and convenience.

As blogging becomes a more professionally and academically accepted medium of analysis, thought, and expression in the field of international relations, I find the skills necessary to execute a comprehensive blog post to be of great importance to myself and my peers. Working with a group of this size to produce a product that incorporates text, images, citations, and hyperlinks was also extremely valuable to someone who hopes to be doing work of a similar nature in the future. Trading off between the roles of research/summary, analysis, and editing also helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses both in group projects generally and within the various tasks of blogging. Ultimately, this blog project was an excellent exercise in a number of important functions all of which I will have to sharply develop.

–Miles Bierylo

ISIS Group Reflection

ISIS Group Reflection

Through the ISIS blog assignment, my group members and I worked to gain and distribute engaging and informative information about the militant group ISIS. In the short amount of the time that we had, we were able to publish four different blog posts- each detailing different aspects of the organization of ISIS. First, we provided a short timeline and general overview of ISIS, explaining the origins of the militant group and events leading up to the formation of ISIS. Then, we explored the role of women in ISIS. This included explaining the deep social and political inequities between men and women in the extremist ISIS narrative, as well as exploring ISIS’ surprising use of women in combat- as seen in the example of al-Khansaa. We then revealed ISIS’ different sources of income- including robbery, the taxation of hostage communities, the selling of oil, and ransom money. Lastly, we discussed the use of propaganda via social media- including ISIS’ use of public beheadings of Americans as a recruitment tool for Western viewers.

Because of the ever-developing story of ISIS and Islamic extremism in the middle-east, our group relied heavily on breaking stories via the internet. For many reasons, this was an incredible resource and tool for us as we were able to access an array of stories and opinions from different countries and perspectives… but for those same reasons, we sometimes found it challenging to find stories that we felt were completely objective and true. But, I felt that in many ways we solved this issue by presenting the different perspectives that we felt came from reliable and reputable sources. To this same effect, working in a group setting helped our blog achieve a higher level objectivity and a broader sense of perspective. I felt that this was a result of the natural cross examination of sources and information that must happened when working in a group setting (as opposed to gathering information and writing the blog yourself).

From this blog project, I feel that I have become a better group member, that I have learned more about ISIS and it’s influence on middle eastern and international politics, and that I have learned/formed the habit of active and thorough research with scrutiny, especially when dealing with breaking news from faraway places. I felt that I became a better group members because this specific blog project require both independent research, as well as out-of-class group work- keeping each of us accountable for both the research and execution of every post. I felt that I learned a lot about ISIS and it’s influence in the middle east through my time investment in the issue through this assignment- whether it were for a specific post or not. Lastly, through research and exposure to so many different sources of information and opinion, I felt that I gained a certain level of academic scrutiny when dealing with international politics: learning to question the information I gather and understanding that no news is without bias.

Teamwork!

Final Reflection: Colombia & Peace

Throughout this last semester, my group focused on the peace talks that are taking place in Colombia between the Colombian government and the FARC. Within the past few days, the Colombian general, who was held captive by the FARC, was released, and peace talks are to resume. When talking about the issues between the Colombian rebels and the government, the security of the Colombian citizens, the affect of drug trade, and its relation internationally all need to be factored in.

When researching for the blog posts, I found myself relying more on local papers and news outlets in Colombia, and on international news websites as a secondhand source. The more and more that I researched, the more I realized how little attention the United States pays to the happenings of Colombian politics. The news was rarely updated on a daily basis. I greatly enjoyed working with my group and being able to discuss what was going on in Colombia with them.

Overall I enjoyed working with my group and equally splitting the work between the five of us. There were never any issues when it came to designating tasks and getting work done. In relation to the events in Colombia themselves, I find it fascinating how quickly things can turn around, specifically the peace talks themselves.Taking the readings that we did in class and applying them to the case here, specifically in relation with legitamacy, really paid off and helped gain a better understanding of the onging events in Colombia. 

Reflection On Happiness

Final Blog Post      
 

        What is happiness, and what does it have to do with global politics? Throughout the semester, my group and I came together to discover how happiness is measured in different nations. Due to the limited number of blog posts, we decided to choose a country in these three regions; Asia, Scandinavia, and South America. Our initial research found that these three regions had a higher national happiness ranking. Upon further research using The Gallup Poll, The Prosperity Group List, and the United Nations’ poll, we chose the nations Bhutan in Asia, Denmark in Scandinavia, and Mexico in South America. These nations also ranked higher on the happiness scale in their respective regions.

By assessing how each nation’s history, government, and culture may have played a part to their citizens’ happiness, we were able to gain an understanding on what happiness may be. Working together as a group also helped us gain different perspectives, which also opened our minds. Bhutan developed the Gross National Happiness Index, also known as the GNH. This concept is “a holistic and sustainable approach to achieve a balanced development in all facets of life which is essential to our happiness. The goal of GNH is happiness”. While according to the Happiness Research Institute, the Danish are happy due to their high level of trust, respect, social security, wealth, and freedom in speech, education, and in careers. In Mexico, the OECD Better Life Index reported that 82% of the Mexican population have positive experiences, over negative ones. Their sense of community, deeply rooted in their culture gives their citizens a higher satisfaction in life, which also helps them rank higher as a happy nation.

When the class first shared their topic ideas for blogs, I was fascinated on the topic of “Happiness by country”. I don’t think my group and I realized how broad the topic really is, which made things a bit difficult. Although we may truly never know what makes a nation “happy” due to differences in opinions, or perhaps even exclusive knowledge in a community, we may have an idea on what makes a nation happy, by looking at the workings of each nation’s history, government, and culture. With the help of my group, we found articles, academic archives, PDF book files to analyze. Even though we all researched the same topic content, each of us found something that contributed to our understanding on happiness in different nations. To read what my group and I observed during the semester, check out our posts on the topic intro, Bhutan, Denmark, and Mexico.

Dewey, C. (2013, September 10). A fascinating map of the world’s happiest and least happy countries. TheWashingtonPost.com. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/09/10/a-fascinating-map-of-the-worlds-happiest-and-least-happy-countries/.

Clifton, J. (2014, May 21). People Worldwide Are Reporting A Lot of Positive Emotions. Gallup.com. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/169322/people-worldwide-reporting-lot-positive-emotions.aspx.

GNH Bhutan. What is Gross National Happiness? December 5, 2014, from  

http://www.gnhbhutan.org/about/.

Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2013). World Happiness Report 2013. UNSDSN.org. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/WorldHappinessReport2013_online.pdf.

Kelly, Annie. (2012). Gross National Happiness in Bhutan: The Big Idea from a Tiny State That Could Change the World. The Guardian. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/01/bhutan-wealth-happiness-counts.

Legatum Institute. (2013). The 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.prosperity.com/#!/.

Macias, Amanda. (2014, Oct. 31). Mexican Are The Happiest People In A New Global Survey. Business Insider. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-happy-43-countries-are-2014-10.

Weiking, Meik. (2013). The Secret Behind Those Happy Danes. Happiness Research Institute. Retrieved from December 5, 2014, from http://www.happinessresearchinstitute.com/danish-happiness-explained/4578972751.

Happiness Reflection

Our group this semester followed happiness throughout the globe, focusing on certain regions and what type of statistics contributed to their overall enjoyment. Denmark has the highest happiness levels among the European countries. Bhutan has very high happiness amongst citizens, as well, claiming that its society tries to create an environment where each citizen has the easiest and best chances of being happy. Mexico, in addition is one of the happiest countries on the world scale and out of the Latin American countries. Some tests indicate that happiness may come from genetic factors. Others say that it has to do with environment, in that a beautiful landscape contributes to the way in which one enjoys life.  Either way, each of these countries had some different quality that allows its citizens to find great happiness.

            Working as a group influenced my approach for the better. By collaborating, we were able to get many more viewpoints and much more information circulated. We met in smaller groups if it was difficult to coordinate everyone’s schedule and worked together, bouncing ideas off of each other. This group work made the project much easier because we had more support and more input in reaching the final product.

            One of the most interesting things that I found during this research is that many of the countries with high happiness levels were disassociated from riches and material wealth that many Western countries place great value on. Mexico, for example does not have a greatly functional government, and many of its citizens actually live in poverty. However, its children are some of the happiest in the world and the culture has developed a strong emphasis on family and religion. Despite many of the hardships the country has experienced, its people have built a great relationship with the world around them and to each other. This makes the country unified and content. A resounding theme throughout this project proves to be that money does not equal happiness. Working in a group on this project allowed me to gain better communication skills and do better research. We were able to better elaborate on our ideas and encourage each other to put forth interesting thoughts. The group work was overall helpful.