Iran retracted its statement that they'd like to see Israel wiped from the map. From the BBC: Iran says it has no intention to attack Israel despite a call by its president to have it "wiped off the map". Iran's foreign ministry said Tehran respected the UN charter and had never used or threatened to use force. But it also rejected a UN Security Council statement condemning President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over his remarks. Oh no, our PRESIDENT doesn't speak for the sovereign nati...
Here is the promised essay for my Norwich University Master's degree program in Diplomacy: Comments and criticisms are welcome. Honestly they are. {singrdave} Norwich University application essay 23 November 2005 The question of spreading democracy is on the minds of Americans these days. Is our American way of life the greatest thing around? Is democracy truly the best form of government for all the world's inhabitants? Democracy encourages intelligence, equality, and crea...
In a bold, unexpected move, Hugo Chavez and Cindy Sheehan have aligned to oppose President Bush. From Yahoo! News : CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's left-wing president, Hugo Chavez, joined U.S. anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Sunday to attack President George W. Bush and the Iraq war at the close of the World Social Forum. Chavez, a former soldier known by his supporters as "El Comandante," has become a voice for many opponents of Washington who are drawn by his se...
The latest trend in Latin American presidential fashion? Miguel Caballero's anti-bullet cloth. Caballero's line of high-security cloth is proving popular among Latin American leaders. In an interview to the British daily The Guardian, the Colombian designer reported a yearly increase in sales from US$3 million in 2004 to US$7 million in 2005. From the Guardian.co.uk : "We mix trends and security," Mr Caballero beamed. "There are over 1,000 companies in the world who make bulletproof ja...
From Reuters : AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch troops helping earthquake survivors in Pakistan have complained that while they are subject to an alcohol ban, Spanish and British soldiers laugh at their austerity and turn up drunk at their campfire. "We were told before we arrived that alcohol was banned in this country or else very difficult to get hold of and we accepted this," one soldier told the Dutch daily De Telegraaf. "The Spanish drive around with cars full of Heineken ... and ...
Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is at it again. Mere months after threatening to blow Israel off the map with his soon-to-be-acquired nuclear weapons, the Prez of Iran is saber rattling again. From the New York Times : President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran expressed doubt on Thursday that the Holocaust took place and suggested that Israel be moved to Europe. His comments, reported by Iran's official news agency IRNA from a news conference he gave in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, f...
Is the balance of power at work in the world today? The balance of power is constantly at work, though not always involving the actors with whom we are familiar. And not always in ways that are obvious to the untrained eye. Our world can experience war, terrorism, bloodshed... or peace, prosperity, and understanding... and the balance of power is maintained. For our planet to have a balance of power, power must be concentrated in those nations who are willing to maintain the status qu...
What is power? What is the difference between political and economic power? Is there such a thing as cultural power? What is the difference between power and influence or power and force? Power, officially, is "control over the minds and actions of other actors in order to maintain the distribution of power that exists in a particular moment. More generally, the ability to control resources, to control the behavior of other actors, to control events, to control the outcomes of interac...
What is the role of international law in international relations? International law serves as an arbiter between the nations as they strive to one-up each other. Law provides "norms of permissible and impermissible behavior, sets a body of expectations, provides order, protects the status quo, and legitimates the use of force by a government to maintain order" (Mingst, 186). It keeps the Iraqs from invading the Kuwaits... again. International law establishes rules of conduct and order ...
Why is the concept of a system a powerful descriptive and explanatory device in IR? The Encyclopedia Britannica defines a system as a "set of formal legal institutions that constitute a "government" or a "state." This is the definition adopted by many studies of the legal or constitutional arrangements of advanced political orders." By encapsulating the power of the state into a system, scholars distill a complex nation-state down to its primal essence: a structure with a working dynamic...
Just as a nuclear physicist constructs a theory about the causes and effects of a project before going out to the test range and detonating, it's important that scholars and practitioners of international relations have a strong framework of theory before going out onto the UN floor. Trial and error is not an option, whether it's diplomacy or nuclear physics! Through international theory, we can examine scenarios and motivations regarding states to "understand the causes of events th...
How is state power measured? According to Mingst, state power comes in three ways: natural sources, like geographic, natural resources, and population; tangible sources, such as industrial development and access to resources; and intangible sources, like national image, public support, and leadership. (108-12) Natural sources of power are not available to all countries, and therefore very prized. To have a large nation chock full of resources and people is the ideal. However, for ...
In a stunning decision, the French have decided to stir up racial and ethnic controversy. As if they hadn't suffered enough from the recent riots , a French newspaper has decided that in the name of free speech, they would reprint the controversial, Muslim-bashing cartoons that plagued a Danish newspaper . From Voice of America : A French newspaper has published Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that have stirred outrage in the Muslim world. France-Soir newspaper say...
It was bound to happen sooner or later - Michael Moore's ritual destruction of politics, this time on both sides of the border. Now he's into Canadian electoral interference. Next time Moore comes to Canada, he should be charged with violating the Canada Elections Act s. 331: 331. No person who does not reside in Canada shall, during an election period, in any way induce electors to vote or refrain from voting or vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate unless ...
By the end of the Second World War (WWII), Europe and Japan were in shambles. The United Nations (UN) was established after WWII to prevent war from breaking out again. It was not founded to govern over the myriad nations of the earth, but rather to preserve the sovereignty of each through international oversight and action. All nations could have a seat in the General Assembly, but only five nations would comprise the UN Security Council: the United States (US), France, the United Kingdom...