Foreign Policy Essay Example for Free

Foreign Policy Essay This paper seeks to analyze and discuss American Foreign Policy in relation to globalization. This paper will include a review of the history behind the issue being debated and its relevance to American foreign policy and will be followed by a summary of the arguments in favor of the American foreign policy and the last will attempt to make on personal opinion or conclusion on the issues discussed. 2. Analysis and Discussion 2. 1. Review of History on American Policy and Globalization It may be stated that the primary historical process that has affected international relation in the recent past is globalization. Globalization is not a new development; it has been progressing for most of human history Globalization is the integration of human activity across geographic space. This covers many areas of human activity including, social and cultural contact, environment, and economics. (University of Arizona, 2007), It is a process and not an event as it continues to take place across time. It is also multidirectional and not smooth as it could progress and retreat as may be seen by the fact that some areas are more affected than others. However, it affects all actors in international relations, but with different consequences. Globalization in the modern era, for purposes of simplicity is divided into several categories as follows: economic, social, cultural, military, and environmental (University of Arizona, 2007) As a result foreign policy which a realm in politics affects and is affected by all these areas. It may also be observed that all five areas are driven by technology. As communications, transportation, and production technologies improve it becomes easier to interact across geographic space. This could be illustrated or observed in the industrial revolution spread a new form of production that has made transportation and communication easier via rail and water transport. This also caused the creation of control of particular resources that are vital for military security such as in the case of coal, iron, and others (University of Arizona, 2007). Global integration has accelerated in fits and starts for the past 150 years with the World Bank having focused on economic integration and which has identified three â€Å"waves† of globalization. The first wave covers the period 1854 to 1914 and is characterized by: (a) industrial revolution and colonialism both economically and militarily thus causing the integration of the global economy that came from the integrated colonial systems under European, the US and Japanese domination and (b) economically integrated world as felt today in terms of capital transfer and movement of persons. University of Arizona, 2007) The period between 1914 to 1945 may be considered an interregnum due to a few world wars and a depression. It must be stated however that the IMF was born on December 27, 1945 to address the 1930’s depression. The IMF was later found to assume more rules in globalization waves after World War II. The second wave therefore is from 1945 – 1973, where the following are observed: (a) economic integration resumes, but under divided conditions; (b) integration of Soviet bloc in a command economy system and of US bloc under the Bretton Woods System; and (c) integration of the Western bloc causing it to become generally market-driven (University of Arizona, 2007). The third wave of globalization is the post 1973 era ,where the following events could be observed: (a) the East-West division which started strongly and only to fade in the mid 1980’s and to fall apart by the 1990’s; (b) material and big changes in production and communications technology and economic integration. The shift towards more global integration may be seen with more states opting to adopt the Western Institutions which may be explained as follows: The mid 1980’s saw the tide turning to the US in the Cold War; and (b) more freedom was made possible as the US block has become very free. This particular wave is characterized also by the emergence of market-driven integration, hence one could see the integration of the global economy spreading further to a much larger part of the world, and thus accelerated after the Cold War ends (University of Arizona, 2007). It is from this wave that the World Trade Organization came into existence on the basis of the conduct of its negations through the so called rounds as the Uruguay Round has commenced in September 1986 and has continued until April 1994. WTO’s current works basically started from these negation and there were subsequent ones and have until today. 2. 2 Summary of arguments in favor of globalization Democracy presupposes free enterprise and free enterprise could only be back bone of globalization hence for US to support globalization it must support democracy not only in its country but also all over the world. Given this theoretical frame, it is not hard to appreciate the consistency of the US in supporting democracy all over the world. Even today many will readily see how the US states are showing its support for democratic nations since this best support US national interests. It could therefore be argued that for the US, democracy is the one national interest that will help to secure all the others. Democratically governed nations would have their governments decided by the right thinking citizens as against the whims and caprices of dictator and this would likely â€Å"secure the peace, deter aggression, expand open markets, promote economic development, protect American citizens, combat international terrorism and crime, uphold human and worker rights, avoid humanitarian crises and refugee flows, improve the global environment, and protect human health. (Washington Post, 2006) . The US support for democracy could be appreciated from the words of Former President Bill Clinton saying: Ultimately, the best strategy to ensure our security and to build a durable peace is to support the advance of democracy elsewhere. Democracies dont attack each other. (Clinton, 1994) It is believed by many that democracy is also good for business since nations that embrace political reforms using democratic principles are more likely to pursue economic reforms that improve the productivity of businesses. This could be evidenced by the fact since the mid-1980s, an increase in levels of foreign direct investment going to emerging market democracies relative to countries that have not undertaken political reforms has been recorded (Childs, 2007). The United States has maintained by its declaration about its support for democracy and human rights through several means although its commitment to human rights is doubted and questioned by human rights organizations (Satter, 2007). As regards to those who oppose globalization, it may be asked: â€Å"If globalization is not promoted or supported, what could be the possible alternative? Could countries isolate themselves? † One could see what happened with North Korea. At the guise to trying to show to the whole world that it cannot be made to submit to stop its nuclear program, it recently made a declaration for its need of help such as oil from the other countries and so the US was willing to lend a hand. The WTO is one of the organizations that would help promote globalization. It has the stated goal of improving the welfare of the peoples of its member countries, in bringing down trade barriers as well as promoting trade negotiations as it main mission is has to do with ensuring smooth and predictable trade flows This main mission is further specified in certain core functions serving and safeguarding five fundamental principles, which are the foundation of the multilateral trading system (Lowenthal, Abraham ,1991), which include (a) overseeing the execution, administration and operation of the covered agreements; (b) providing a forum for negotiations and for settling disputes. (c) reviewing the national trade policies, and to ensure the coherence and transparency of trade policies through surveillance in global economic policy-making (World Economic Outlook, 1994). WTO assists developing, least-developed and low-income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and is a center of economic research and analysis and cooperates closely with the IMF and the World Bank under the principles of the trading system which may be considered to promote globalization. Since the WTO also establishes a framework for trade policies but not to define or specify outcomes, it must be concerned with setting the rules of the trade policy games and part of these principles include: First is nondiscrimination which includes two major components the most favored nation (MFN) rule, and the national treatment policy. Although these components are part of the main WTO rules on goods, services, and intellectual property, their precise scope and nature still manifest variability on different e areas. The MFN rule necessitates a WTO member to apply the same conditions on all trade with other WTO members. When one grants someone a special favor to someone and the said country must have to do the same for all other WTO members, too. National treatment on the other hand requires that imported and locally-produced goods must be treated equally, which must start after the foreign goods have entered the market at the minimum (Wold, 1996). Another principle is reciprocity which reflects both a desire to limit the scope of free-riding that may arise because of the MFN rule, and a desire to obtain better access to foreign markets. This must be done as requirement in terms of reciprocal concessions in order to ensure that the gain from doing so (from multilateral liberalization is better r than the gain available from unilateral liberalization; intend to ensure that such gains will materialize. The person objecting to the benefits of globalization may find it hard to contradict the existence and application of these principles and alternatives available could not be as good as asserted. Another challenging question that may be posed against the opponents of globalization is this: â€Å"How the problem of the environment could be solved with out a world effort that could be best helped by globalization? † It may be argued that globalization promotes not only economic interactions but also social and environmental ones. Global warming is never a national problem alone. It has become a global problem that requires global attention (Gardiner, 2004). With countries forming their alliances and organizations they also make rules to protect the environment. An isolationist has therefore no place in this globe. 3. Conclusion Globalization is a phenomenon. It was not made by America. Rather it has been a natural phenomenon that the expansion of knowledge has brought to mankind. Even early philosophers may have seen it birth long time ago and it still continuing. It could be reduced into simple proposition â€Å"no man is an island†. By the same analogy it is hard to see a country isolating itself from other countries. This could be seen in the history of mankind it self. Even those countries which were at war are now trading partners because there are more tendencies to help each other and live than killing its other. For the US therefore to go against globalization in its foreign policy would be the most inconsistent and absurd thing to happen since allied with globalization are its other interest which must also be attained.

Aztec Warrior Essay -- History, Aztec Military Training

According to the legend, the Aztecs, who referred to themselves as the Mexica, spent years wandering through central Mexico in search of a homeland. In AD 1325, the Aztecs founded their new capital Tenochtitlan (Moctezuma, 9). Years later, the Aztecs started to build their renowned empire. The Aztec Empire was made up of the Triple Alliance: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan (Moctezuma, 55). Agriculture was the basis of the Aztec’s economy, but conquest and warfare lead to economic expansion and the accumulation of tributes from conquered towns (Moctezuma, 21). War was vital, for it maintained and expanded the economic and religious basis (Moctezuma, 55). The Aztec warriors were the driving force of much of the Aztec empires success because of their training, weaponry, wardress, sacrificing, and combat. Aztec military training starts when a male child is twenty days old. There are two separate military training schools, Telpochcalli and Calmecac, whichever school the child entered was weighted heavily by heritage. Commoners usually went to Telpochcalli, to become soldiers, or Calmecac, to become a priest. Nobles, (privileged status from heritage), could become a priest, political, or military leader at Calmecac, which involved rigorous training of intellect and the training taught at telpochcalli. From here the youths would train until ready to be sponsored by veteran warriors that would take the youths to battle and watch over them. The youths would experience the war early to learn to courageously face death on the battlefield. Warfare provided commoners an opportunity for social advancement. Achievement on the battlefield would offer elevation of social status, honor and material awards. A distinguished military care... ...presenting Aztec gods). The eagle represented the images of the sun while descending and the jaguar represented the death of the sun (when the sun was not present in the sky). â€Å"This solar association refers to the Aztec warrior’s primary function, acquiring victims to nourish the sun† (Pasztory, 82). The ixcahuac, obsidian stone knives can be found in the Museo Nacional de Antropoligia, Mexico. Atzec Atlatls can be found at the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico two feet in length and one and a half inches thick with a hook at the upper end (Hassig, 76). The darts used with the atlatl, where made of wood and the butts were feathered, they would be fire hardened, and had obsidian, fishbone, copper, or flint points. Stone engravings of a warrior with an atlatl, dart, and shield originally from Tenochtitlan, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico, (Hassig, 78). Aztec Warrior Essay -- History, Aztec Military Training According to the legend, the Aztecs, who referred to themselves as the Mexica, spent years wandering through central Mexico in search of a homeland. In AD 1325, the Aztecs founded their new capital Tenochtitlan (Moctezuma, 9). Years later, the Aztecs started to build their renowned empire. The Aztec Empire was made up of the Triple Alliance: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan (Moctezuma, 55). Agriculture was the basis of the Aztec’s economy, but conquest and warfare lead to economic expansion and the accumulation of tributes from conquered towns (Moctezuma, 21). War was vital, for it maintained and expanded the economic and religious basis (Moctezuma, 55). The Aztec warriors were the driving force of much of the Aztec empires success because of their training, weaponry, wardress, sacrificing, and combat. Aztec military training starts when a male child is twenty days old. There are two separate military training schools, Telpochcalli and Calmecac, whichever school the child entered was weighted heavily by heritage. Commoners usually went to Telpochcalli, to become soldiers, or Calmecac, to become a priest. Nobles, (privileged status from heritage), could become a priest, political, or military leader at Calmecac, which involved rigorous training of intellect and the training taught at telpochcalli. From here the youths would train until ready to be sponsored by veteran warriors that would take the youths to battle and watch over them. The youths would experience the war early to learn to courageously face death on the battlefield. Warfare provided commoners an opportunity for social advancement. Achievement on the battlefield would offer elevation of social status, honor and material awards. A distinguished military care... ...presenting Aztec gods). The eagle represented the images of the sun while descending and the jaguar represented the death of the sun (when the sun was not present in the sky). â€Å"This solar association refers to the Aztec warrior’s primary function, acquiring victims to nourish the sun† (Pasztory, 82). The ixcahuac, obsidian stone knives can be found in the Museo Nacional de Antropoligia, Mexico. Atzec Atlatls can be found at the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico two feet in length and one and a half inches thick with a hook at the upper end (Hassig, 76). The darts used with the atlatl, where made of wood and the butts were feathered, they would be fire hardened, and had obsidian, fishbone, copper, or flint points. Stone engravings of a warrior with an atlatl, dart, and shield originally from Tenochtitlan, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico, (Hassig, 78).

Film Genre, Narration, Reality Tv Essay

â€Å"Types of films are commonly referred to as genres (pronounced â€Å"zahn-rahz†). The word genre is originally French and simply means kind or type.† (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 108). Genre groups films, which share similar filmic qualities and themes, into various subsections according to the type of film they are associated as. Various film genres are recognisable by the way they are presented and patterned or the way that they portray a certain emotion or feeling, as those of humour or horror. There is no distinct way by which we can define genre. Some films incorporate various aspects of different genres, thus we cannot define exactly what kind of text-book definition genre it is and being that all people are different, a comedy to one person may be a complete bore to the next. In a sense, certain films portray their genre as a subjective opinion. Film genre, in the modern filmic world today, is also very reliant on the actors that star in the feature. Automatically we, as viewers, would associate brawn and large stature with an action film, but occasional films tend to meld these characters into completely different subgenre, giving the film a very hybrid, generic feel to it. Genres are ways of providing films with the intended associations. It is a convention in which people can refer to initially grasp the notion of a film, â€Å"for the vast publicity system that exists around filmmaking, genres are a simple way to characterize film. In fact, reviewers are often central in gathering and crystallizing notions about genres.† (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 110). Genres are helpful in the general public as they give spectrum to different people and their different tastes. It also accommodates for any mood one may be in if they wanted to watch a film. It characterizes the films and sorts them into place for the viewer’s pleasure, â€Å"At all levels of the filmmaking and film-viewing processes, then, genres help assure that most members of society share at least some general notions about the many films that compete for our attention.† (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 110) Most genres share specific genre conventions. Stereotypical plots or certain predictable characters are expected to appear during a film of a desired genre. These are the conventions which group films into subgenres. Other than visual and audio conventions, those concerning mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, lighting and editing, genres often also make boundaries around the type of thematic notions that are presented within films. Interweaving and altering certain genres, film producers create hybrids of genres that are incorporate mixture of different filmic techniques implemented by different genres. These subgenres, as with conventional genres are not always effective. â€Å"The periods in which a genre remains popular are called cycles.† (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 115). Genres can only be portrayed so many times before they become old, such as with anything else in the world. Film Narration (Researched from â€Å"Film Art: An Introduction† by D. Bordwell and K. Thompson.) According to D. Bordwell and K. Thompson, a narrative is considered to be, â€Å"Â…a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space,† (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 69), otherwise also known as a story. The narrative of a film begins with an instance and throughout the film’s time and space alters in story and elements in such a way that the final narration is the end product. The narrative of a film is structured in a way that we, the viewers, can identify with and understand what is going on in the film. The sequences and events are arranged in an order such that to portray the notion of a flowing story. Causality, time and space are the governing factors behind this story or narration. The story undergoes a â€Å"cause and effect,† (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 69) situation where one event leads onto another. â€Å"A narrative may cue us to draw parallels among characters, settings, situations, times of day, or any other elements.† (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 69) The way in which the narrative of a film is revealed can lead the viewer to make connections between certain elements in the film such as interlinking character backgrounds or settings. What the viewer sees onscreen is mechanically fed into the back of his/her mind and slowly they start tying in different aspects of a film as they are uncovered one after the other. By the actions or method of speech certain characters have in films, for example, the viewer can achieve a comprehensible understanding of the character and how he/she fits into the, sometimes social or other, hierarchy of the narrative of the film. This is a contributing factor towards the plot development of a film as the characters are to have an affirmative role that the viewer should be able to understand. â€Å"Â…the film’s plot may contain material that is extraneous to the story world.† (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 71). D. Bordwell and K. Thompson use the example of nondiegetic intro music being a form of narrative to the story plot as it does set a pace and a mood for the story. The film’s plot and story are not the same thing but are closely linked in aspect. The plot mechanically uncovers a film’s storyline and events while the film’s story adds complexity and body to the film as a whole through diegesis. The Bordwell and Thompson CD-ROM addition describes diegesis to be, â€Å"Â…the world of the film’s story. The diegesis includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces not shown onscreen. See also diegetic sound, nondiegetic insert, nondiegetic sound.† Therefore the understanding of the film’s narration will have a different, more in depth meaning to someone like the director as opposed to the viewer. Thus it is the director’s duty to arrange the narrative in such a way that it would portray a desired notion or motif through the way it is presented. Causality, time and space are the overall key factors governing the convergence of film narration. Precise sequencing and technical usage of these three elements is what brings about a good story narrative. Reality T.V (Researched from â€Å"InfoTrac Onefile† online journal.) â€Å"The term ‘reality TV’ was first coined in the USA, and was used to describe television programmes based on film footage from police forces and the emergency services, usually featuring dramatic car chases and accidents.† (Joan Garrod, 2004). Reality is a rather new and very different hybrid of television genres that are encountered daily. It totally abolishes the rules and regulations of standard acting and filming procedures. Whereas other forms of televisual entertainment make use of camera and acting synchronisation, reality television goes one step ahead to disrupt this congruency and allow the action and camera to work individually creating a, once-unnatural, different form of filmic entertainment. â€Å"The main reason viewers give for their interest in reality TV is that it is not as predictable and formulaic as ‘mainstream’ television dramas and sit-coms.† (Mark Andrejevic, 2004). This factor is what binds viewers to their television sets when a new hit reality show is broadcast. The fact that this stream of entertainment is still rather new and unpredictable, viewers become completely absorbed and over-obsessed with their new favourite show, â€Å"Â…13 million people in the UK watched the final of I’m a Celebrity†¦Get Me Out of HereÂ….† (Joan Garrod, 2004). That is a colossal quantity of viewers for the UK alone. Reality television it considered by some to be an insult to their intelligence. It requires no previous acting skills at all and has the habit of creating stars almost as popular as ones we would find in our everyday Hollywood films, â€Å"Here, in short, are people becoming famous for  doing nothing much at all, but doing it where everyone can see them.† (Salmon Rushdie, 2004). It is easy to notice why various media critics are ‘insulted’ by this form of television entertainment. They are coming from backgrounds with the art of media has been cultured to such a fine point that an entertainment of this nature would be, just plainly, unacceptable. Certain critics have made note that reality TV, as well as having negative repercussions on the viewers, have negative repercussions on the participants as well. â€Å"Â…participants become psychologically weakened and more easily manipulated, and are thus more prone to be subject to the authority of the producers.† (S. Brenton and R. Cohen, 2003). Many participants often enter a â€Å"distressed state† and, invariably, leave the show early. Mark Andrejevic, a Colorado PhD student, goes on to find other aspects of reality TV that are beside the norm. He states that because the participants, in reality TV, are ‘real people’, more and more viewers are adapting to identifying with them as opposed to acted characters in conventionally produced film. He also states that reality TV is a new advancement in â€Å"televisual interaction†. It gives the viewers the option to choose how they would like the ending to happen. This is silly however, as what would be the point of watching a reality series in the first place? Reality TV is a diverse and upcoming television genre in the future. Critics predict it to be around still for an extensive amount of time. So many ideas and manipulations from real life can be brought into action on the screen and we, as mindless, malleable viewers, will eat up all the Americanised filth that is brain-fed to us through our television setsÂ… an unhappy ending to a debatably unhappy story. Bibliography David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson, (2004) Film Art: An Introduction, The McGraw-Hill Companies: New York. P 69, 71, 108, 110, 115 David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson, (2004) Film Art: An Introduction, The McGraw-Hill Companies: New York Ââ€" CD-ROM attachment. Joan Garrod (2004). Author of news article, â€Å"What is reality TV and why do we like it?† Sociology Review journal, Feb 2004 v13 i3 p14(3) S. Brenton and R. Cohen (2003) Shooting People: adventures in reality TV, Verso. Mark Andrejevic (2004) Salmon Rushdie (2004)

Emotion As Described And Theorized By Antonio Damasio

In this essay I will discuss the particulars of emotion as described and theorized by Antonio Damasio. First, I will explain Damasio’s three-stage definition of emotion, and then apply this definition to an evolutionary perspective of emotion; more specifically, the evolutionary and biological benefits of an organism possessing emotion. Next, I dive deeper into Demasio theory of emotion, by distinguishing between his idea of primary and secondary emotions. By way of Damasio’s three-stage definition of emotion and an experiment he conducts on brain damaged patient, I will then discuss whether or not humans are always aware of how their emotions influence their behavior. Next, I will temporarily suspend my focus on Damasio’s work to explain how Block and Chalmers distinguish between conscious awareness and conscious experience. Subsequently, I will resume my focus on Damasio’s work, by evaluating how the aforesaid experiment applies to Damasio’s brain damaged patient. Finally, I will conclude by reflecting on the overall picture of emotion and emotional experience, and use it to discuss the prospects and motivations of building emotional machines. Antonio Damasio considers the phenomena of emotion and feeling on a continuum that consists of three discrete stages that distinguish different types of emotional processing: state of emotion, state of feeling, state of feeling made conscious. The first stage, state of emotion, is the body and brain’s automatic and nonconscious