Sunday, September 14, 2014

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. 

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a problem that has existed since the 19th century and to this day tension continues to grow. But before we delve into all the different issues the Palestinian and Israeli conflict has, lets discuss the history of how the conflict all began. During the 19th century, the land was inhabited by Palestinians which consisted of 86% muslims, 10% christians, and 4% jewish, all living in peace. It was during this time that the rest of the world began to distinguish themselves as nations and demand national rights (Weir, 2014). Since the Jews were spread all over the world, they wanted a nation that they could immigrate to; this is known as the Zionist movement. The first Zionist movement occurred in 1882, when the first wave of European Jews migrated to Palestine. Palestine seemed to be the best place to create a Jewish homeland since it was the site of Jewish origin, or the holy land. At the time, Palestine was part of the Ottoman empire. As the Ottoman empire sided with Germany in World War I, the British supported the Arab revolt of the Ottoman empire and promised them self rule. However, the British also promised the Jews a homeland in Palestine, this is known as the Balfour Declaration (the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 2014). After WWI, Britain became mandate over the area known as Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. In 1947, the United Nations intervened and recommended giving 55% of Palestine to the Jewish state, although the Jews only represented 30% of the population and obtained under 7% of the land. This caused the 1947-1949 war which resulted in Israel conquering 78% of the land. Then again, in the six day war in 1967, the Israelis conquered the final 22% of Palestine. However, it is illegal under international law to acquire land under war. These regions are merely occupied by Israel (Weir, 2014). It wasn't until 2005 that Israel left these parts in Palestine. Soon thereafter, a group called Hamas took control. Much of the world sees Hamas as a terrorist group since it refuses to recognize Israel as a state. The Hamas group wants Palestine for the Palestinians, as it once was, and has and will continue to use violence to implement this idea. After Hamas won elections in 2006, Israel has had Gaza under a blockade. In 2008, Israel sent soldiers into Gaza where 1,300 civilians in Gaza and 13 Israeli soldiers were killed. During an 8 day long Israeli operation, about 167 Palestinian and 6 Israelis were killed. More recently, over 2,200 people--most of them palestinians--were killed during the 51 days of attacks on Gaza. On August 26, 2014, a ceasefire was agreed upon by Hamas and Israel (Guide, 2014). Although there is has been a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel over Gaza there are still many issues between the Palestinians and Israelis that are far from being solved.
In this picture you can see the transformation of the land of present day Israel and how this has affected the issue of land loss. As time progressed the Israelis occupied more land and the Palestinian land decreased.  (http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/new/)
As you can tell from the complex background history, there isn't simply one problem that this issue consists of, but rather a multitude of them. The main issues focus on land, more specifically , the city of Jerusalem. Both, Israel and Palestine, want control over the city because for both groups, it is a focal point of religious significance, however the conflict has grown to be bit more complex than that. (Reiter). In addition to conflict involving land, the Palestinians argue that they are being oppressed, imprisoned, and in some cases tortured by the Israeli occupation. It is even said that this occurrence is “producing an escalating a humanitarian crisis” (Weir, 2014). Israel claims that all that they wants is to be recognized as a Jewish state and to live in peace. It is the Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims do not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Another issue that has caused this conflict is that neither state will recognize one another as an independent state causing the borders to become questionable. Due to these issues, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is an ongoing problem  that is becoming more difficult to resolve.
Beneath the tragedy of the war and the complications of the politics, the conflict between Israel and Palestine is a matter of national identity. With the recurring tensions of Israel and Palestine coming to the surface over the summer of 2014, the two countries struggle to see a compromise over the continuous land disputes. The lack of identity for Palestine has left the country in a confused and belittled state having to be governed as a singular country with Israel. Professor Annick Wibben defines identity politics as an “inspir[ation] by the interest of, and intended to benefit, a particular group with a shared identity” (Wibben, 2013). However, the two nations do not identify as one country but are governed as so. Palestine is not identified as a separate country but as a territory within one, creating animosity towards a nation that once was.  The brokenness of Palestine and Israel causes grief and strife between the two countries because they have pride over their land. According to Elena Barabantseva, nationalism serves “to maintain, sustain, and normalize the socio-cultural boundaries of the society” (Barabantseva, 2013). Our nation does not necessarily identify us but it does give us a sense of realm; yet, with the recurring land disputes the two countries have non-existing peace. With so many negotiations and meetings to help ease the tensions, the animosity and resentment will fuel to the fire of a hopeful separation of the two lands creating a new sense of nationalism and identity.
















Works Cited:


The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A brief history. (n.d.). Retrieved September 5, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/flash/0,,720353,00.html

Black, I., & Tran, M. (2007, June 15). Hamas Takes Control Of Gaza. Retrieved September 1, 2014.

Barabantseva, Elena . "How do people come to identify with nations." Global Politics: A New Introduction 2nd Editon. 2nd ed. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2013. 246. Print.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (2014, July 8). Zionism (nationalistic movement). Retrieved October 17, 2014, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/657475/Zionism

Guide: Why are Israel and the Palestinians fighting over Gaza? (2014, August 27). Retrieved September 5, 2014. from http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/20436092

Prager, D. (2014, April 28). The Middle East Problem. Retrieved September 1, 2014. from

Primer on Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict | Middle East Research and Information Project. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2014. from http://www.merip.org/primer-palestine-israel-arab-israeli-conflict-new

Sherwood, H., & Balousha, H. (2014, August 26). Gaza ceasefire: Israel and Palestinians agree to halt weeks of fighting. Retrieved September 1, 2014, from  

Reiter, Y., & Khalaf, M. (2001, January 1). Jerusalem’s Religious Significance. Retrieved October 16, 2014, from http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=169

Weir, A. A Synopsis of the Israel/Palestine Conflict. (n.d.). Retrieved September 5, 2014, from http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/

Wibben, Annick. "Who do we think we are?." Global Politics: A New Introduction 2nd Editon. 2nd ed. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2013. 85. Print.
Posted by at 3 comments:
Labels:

The Impact of China on International Politics

Miles Bierylo & Corey Norell




The Joint Chinese-American Naval Flotilla During the 2014 RIMPAC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5f-Bt3DXfU 

The emergence of China on the world stage has had a number of implications for the future of international relations. Since the era of trade liberalization under Deng Xiaoping, China’s state led industrial might continues to grow at an unprecedented rate–and with it, the global economy becomes increasingly intertwined with China’s. Because China’s domestic goals of value-added, export driven growth rely so heavily on certain regions and their resources, they view their expanded role in international politics as necessary to their national interest. At the same time, political and economic frictions have put China at odds with the Western sphere of influence and has prevented a consensus from being reached on a number of pertinent issues. While China believes this tension to be borne out of a Western desire to contain China, Western policy makers perceive it to be a rational reaction to China’s challenging of the longstanding world order.


Conflicts as geographically diverse as Syria and Iran to the Ukraine and North Korea are all greatly impacted by China’s foreign policy. Both China and Russia’s support of the Kim and Assad regimes in the way of investment and arms has created a major counterweight to the US hegemony. The proliferation of Chinese made weapons throughout the Middle East and Africa–even in the face of UN sanctions–has fueled numerous sectarian conflicts in those regions. Similarly, Russia’s capital void–left in the wake of US and European sanctions following Crimea–may soon be filled by Chinese bonds, rendering the sanctions counter-productive. China also holds a large degree of political leverage over the Western order because of it's permanent membership on the UN Security Council. In the past, they have used this power to veto resolutions that would have condemned the Assad regime and have also threatened to use it against 
sanctions on North Korea. 
Whats perhaps more promising though is the willingness of China to cooperate on issues of economic and environmental importance such as the cutting of carbon emissions and bilateral trade agreements. As a consequence of China's highly integrated economy, they realize that it is in their best interest to maintain good relations both with their neighbors and their trading partners (and vice versa). Hopefully this paradigm will be enough to keep China and the West from direct confrontation.



References:


Hachigian, Nina. Debating China the US-China Relationship in Ten Conversations. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2014. Print.

Lynch, Colum. "China Vows to Veto North Korea Sanctions - The Spokesman-Review." Spokesman.com. The Washington Post, 13 July 2006. Web. 13 Sept. 2014.

Lynch, Colum. "China's Arms Exports Flooding Sub-Saharan Africa."Washington Post. The Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.

"United Nations Security Council - Veto List." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.

Gates, Bill. Chinese Arms Exports to Iran (1998): n. pag. Web.

Korby, Boris. "Russia's $20 Billion Bond Void Filled by Nations From China to Mexico." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 19 June 2014. Web. 13 Sept. 2014.

Images:


Latuff, Carlos. "Drawing Controversy." Al Jazeera. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201401290053-0023426

Renfroe, Sharon. Coastguard Compass. N.p., n.d. Web. 
<http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2014/08/rimpac-2014-aligning-maritime-forces/>.
Posted by at 3 comments:
Labels:

Crisis in Ukraine

Our topic will be covering the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and the history of the two nations that has led us to this crisis.


This event emerged from the recent Euromaidan protests that began in November of 2013. The protests were sparked by the Ukrainian government signing an agreement that sought closer ties with Russia. The problem with this is that many citizens especially in Western Ukraine were under the impression that Ukraine would be pushing to join the EU. By signing the agreement with Russia many Ukrainians felt betrayed and some even felt fear, remembering what the Soviet Union once was. The Euromaidan continued through the frigid Ukrainian winter and into the spring of 2014. It was in this period of time that the Euromaidan protest turned into the 2014 Ukraininan Revolution. The protests in Kiev turned violent as police and national guard ordered by President Viktor Yanukovych to disperse the protesters; whom many have occupied many regional administration buildings across the country. Ukrainian protesters were shot and many were killed. After many bloody days and months of conflict power within the government finally shifted and a new coalition government was formed. Viktor Yanukovych was ousted and he subsequently fled the country to Russia along with many of his advisors.
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/euromaidan-ukraine%E2%80%99s-self-organizing-revolution
After the formation of a new government with elections on the horizon it was during this time that new protests erupted in Eastern Ukraine. But this time Pro-Russian protesters stormed and occupied regional administration buildings. Also as the crisis got worse and worse in Eastern Ukraine. Russia occupied the Crimean peninsula with it’s armed forces. All of the armed forces occupied Crimea without any insignia claiming that they are local Crimean residents with armored tanks and helicopters at their disposal. The region held a disputed referendum that annexed Crimea to Russia. It is this intervention by Russia that the crisis in Eastern Ukraine hasn’t been resolved. Many Pro-Russian militant groups control the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk along the Russian border. It has taken some time for the Ukrainian authorities to regain control over much of the territory but the Separatists remain. It is here that Russia has been accused of being involved yet again. Pro-Russian Separatists have long depended on hand-me down AK-74s and various pieces of captured Ukrainian military equipment. But when the situation deteriorated, the Pro-Russian Separatists responded with highly sophisticated anti-aircraft weaponry (Flight MH17) and GRAD rocket barrages.
links:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/12/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh17-most-likely-shot-down-from-ground
http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-separaatists-sophisticated-weaponry/25462211.html

We feel this topic is of high importance because Russia’s actions in violating international law really question the actions and integrity of countries around the world. If Russia does not feel the need to respect other countries sovereignty and respect international law, why should anybody? The United Kingdom could take over the whole country of Ireland, China, as well as all the islands in the South China Sea, and if you respond and tell them no you can not, they will show you their military might. China would show Vietnam the second largest military in the world and Vietnam would have no choice but to back out. So the little guy loses, and the balance of the world yet again depends on military might.This is an issue that is extremely important because it gives us insights of how the world could change in the future, what forces shape it,  and the interests that the leading nations of the world have. If we look very close at this problem there are many factors that have led us to this point; The cultural identity, the natural resources, and the contrasting military forces, etc.

Alec Benedetti
Bartosz Rost
Sanish Shrestha
Magaly Velasco
Diego Jones
Keiko Jimenez
Hoyan Mok
References


Bezhan, F. (2014, July 18). Charting Separatists' Use Of Increasingly Sophisticated
Weaponry In Ukraine. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
Deeks, A. (2014, March 2). Here's What International Law Says About Russia's Intervention in Ukraine. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
Diuk, N. (2014, April 1). Euromaidan: Ukraine's Self-Organizing Revolution. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
Earnest, J. (2014, September 2). Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 9/2/2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17: 'most likely' it was shot down from ground. (2014, September 12). Retrieved September 14, 2014.
Wingfield-Hayes, R. (2014, September 9). China's Island Factory. Retrieved September 13, 2014.

Hill C., Fortell Q., (March 5 2014). 5 Ways Ukraine Could Affect US Consumers.Retreived September 13,2014
Posted by at 5 comments:
Labels:

Happiness By Country

Happiness By Country: An Introduction

The Dalai Lama’s official Facebook page (Llama 2013)
Happiness is an ideal that many strive for in life. In fact, some nations has mentioned the pursuit of happiness in their constitutions, such as the United States and Bhutan. While others like Brazil are considering to add happiness to their constitution. The discussion surrounding happiness is thus worthy of our attention because of its importance to the citizens of the world and the impact it has on global politics. It is essential to understand the variables that allow some countries to be so successful and happy, while others struggle daily just to survive, in order to see how happiness plays a role in the overall picture of our world. Everyone has an interest in being happy, so this is a topic that is relevant to every human being.  

             Our focus for this project will be on the major regions of Scandinavia, Asia, and South America. We will employ a specific focus in the nations of Bhutan in Asia, Finland and Denmark in Scandinavia, and Brazil in South America. We have chosen to focus on these areas
and nations, because of their strides towards achieving a high national happiness ranking. We will be evaluating the workings of culture, history, and governance, and how they shape a nation’s worldview. In what ways do a country’s laws and authority relate to the satisfaction of its people?  How does its cultural history have an affect on the country’s current well-being and stance in the world?  By examining countries with high populations of happy citizens and ones without, we will gain a better understanding of why people in some countries are happier than others, and what may be the best way to structure a successful country.

To begin, we examine how events may affect the happiness of a country, which in turn also affects its overall stance in the world. War and injustices committed by governments have highly influenced the happiness of citizens, and the socio-economic success of countries. As of right now, the unhappiest countries are mostly found in the war-torn Middle East. Despite them having relatively high GDPs, [Iran is in the top 30 highest GDPs in the world] and a myriad of natural resources, the area’s citizens are emotionally distressed as a result of war and unjust laws. According to the Gallop Poll dated in June of 2014, Iraq was declared the unhappiest nation, and was closely followed by Iran. In Katherine Faulders’ article, “Iraq, Iran Top World’s Unhappiest Countries List,” she states that both of these nations [Iraq and Iran] reported “a lot of anger, stress, sadness, physical pain and worry”. Based off of these statistics, we can see how happiness has played and can play an influential part in the development, as well as the overall status of a country on the global stage. Countries who endured more war and distress developed differently than a country without these hardships.

This desire for happiness amongst people isn’t a recent development, but dates back to the early ages of philosophers and religious leaders such as Aristotle, Socrates, Buddha, Confucius and more. For Aristotle happiness was achieved by virtuous actions, while for Confucius happiness was not a state of being or an attainment of a certain emotion, but an "ethical response to features of the world"(qtd. in Keener). As for Buddha, happiness begins with understanding the causes of suffering. One can end suffering by following the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Paths. The measurement of happiness is approached differently in most cultures, which leads to the difficult question of how we measure happiness and what is the best way to attain it. Throughout this project, we will focus in on the ways that some countries measure happiness and how that ranks them on the global stage of “happiness”.

Due to a global desire for happiness, there has recently been an influx of lists in order to determine happiness [the Gallup Poll, Prosperity Group List, The United Nation’s World Happiness report, and many others]. The Gallup Poll is based on interviews asking 1000 citizens of a country how happy and positive they are; South American countries tend to be the happiest in the Gallup Poll. The Prosperity Group List is based on GDP, economy, jobs, education, health, safety, freedom, and government; countries from the Scandinavian region tend to be the happiest in this poll. The United Nations poll focuses on life expectancy, corruption, GDP, freedom, support, and generosity; the results are similar to those of the Prosperity Group list, with the Scandinavian countries leading in happiness, but also includes more South American countries in the top 20 [which the Prosperity Poll does not rank].

 So why are some countries so much happier than others? Throughout this project we will examine this question and delve deep into the inner most workings of why some countries thrive in the department of well-being and others do not. The happiness of a country tends to be easily overlooked as a factor of political and global importance. However, if we take time to reflect on it, happiness is perhaps the only thing that matters in terms of a country’s overall well-being. When well-being and happiness are not a priority, and are eschewed in favor of profit, problems begin to emerge within a population. With so much attention lent to the issues of our world, one may pleasantly take a step back to evaluate what is working well within a government to promote peace, prosperity, and ultimately the population’s happiness.

National Happiness Ranking Map (Dewey 2013).


Works Cited:

Clifton, J. (2014, May 21). People Worldwide Are Reporting A Lot of Positive Emotions. Gallup.com. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/169322/people-worldwide-reporting-lot-positive-emotions.aspx.

“Denmark Is Considered The Happiest Country. You'll Never Guess Why.” (2013). Huffington Post: The Third Metric. Retrieved October 16, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/denmark-happiest-country_n_4070761.html.
Dewey, C. (2013, September 10). A fascinating map of the world’s happiest and least happy countries. TheWashingtonPost.com. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/09/10/a-fascinating-map-of-the-worlds-happiest-and-least-happy-countries/.

Faulders, Katherine (2014). “Iraq, Iran Top World’s Unhappiest Countries List”. ABC News. Retrieved October 16, 2014 from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/06/iraq-iran-top-worlds-unhappiest-countries-list/.

Gross National Happiness (2014). “Good Governance and Gross National Happiness”. Gross National Happiness. Retrieved from October 17, 2014 from http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/9-domains/good-governance-and-gross-national-happiness/.

Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2013). World Happiness Report 2013. UNSDSN.org. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/WorldHappinessReport2013_online.pdf.

“History of Happiness” (2014). Pursuit-of-Happiness.org. Retrieved October 16, 2014 from http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/.

Huffington Post. (2014). “What Brazil Can Teach The World About Living Well”. Huffington Post: The Third Metric. Retrieved October 16, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/28/what-brazil-can-teach-the_0_n_4662253.html.
Kelly, Annie. (2012). “Gross National Happiness in Bhutan: The Big Idea from a Tiny State That Could Change the World”. The Guardian. Retrieved October 16, 2014 from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/01/bhutan-wealth-happiness-counts.
Lama, D. [Dalai]. (2013, July 2). Everyone wants a happy life without difficulties or suffering. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/DalaiLama/posts/10151506781277616.

Legatum Institute. (2013). The 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://www.prosperity.com/#!/.

Rattner, Ron. (2011). “Why Does Everyone Want Happiness?”. Silly Sutras. Retrieved October 16, 2014 from http://sillysutras.com/why-does-everyone-want-happiness/.

Sibaja, Michael. (2011). “Brazil Considers Adding ‘Happiness’ To Constitution”. Huffington Post. Retrieved October 17, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/02/brazil-happiness-constitution_n_817397.html.

Slauter, Eric. (2011). “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 17, 2014 from http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/07/03/life_liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_happiness/?page=1.

Sood, Suemedha. (2011). “Why Are the Finns So Happy”. BBC Travel. Retrieved October 16, 2014 from http://www.bbc.com/travel/blog/20110622-travelwise-why-are-finns-so-happy.

The United Nations Statistic Division. “GDP/Breakdown at Current Prices in US Dollars (All Countries)” (2012). The United Nations. Retrieved October 16, 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)#cite_note-12.

“What Role Have Natural Resources Played in the Politics and Economy of the Middle East?” (2002). PBS: Global Connections KQED. Retrieved October 16, 2014 from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/questions/resource/.
Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)