Whether it be genocides, wars or revolutions, there still are tensions and conflicts occurring in the world today. These tensions and conflicts not only affect the country or region they take place in, they often affect the rest of the world. For this reason, the Contemporary World theme of Tensions and Conflicts was chosen. The critical concepts of this theme are ideology, human rights, demand, diplomacy, intervention and interference. There are many reasons why tensions and conflicts occur. However, most of their causes are very complex. Some of the causes include territory, resources, issues of identity and the quest for political autonomy. Nevertheless, some of the greater sources are ideological and human rights conflicts and demands that are advanced by the two or more parties involved. Ideological conflicts correspond to the differences in the type of government, the distribution of wealth or the economic development of a state. The concept of ideology can be defined as a set of ideas, opinions and beliefs that constitutes a doctrine and influences the behavior of individuals or communities that adhere to it. Some examples of ideologies are dictatorship, anarchism, democracy and communism. This concept can be seen in today’s world through tensions and conflicts. For example, on January 25, 2011, protests began against Egypt’s president’s and dictator’s, Hosni Mubarak, regime. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly young, were peacefully demanded the removal of Mubarak’s thirty year rule. They feed up with police brutality, lack of job opportunities and the rising food prices. They also did not want a regime that was harsh on the citizens. For all these reasons, the Egyptians organized a peaceful rebellion. Human righ... ... middle of paper ... ...ent we live in today is not the same as it was seven decades ago. The issues occurring in today’s world can all be linked such as politics, economics, culture and society. This assignment can be referred to Human Ingenuity considering that the initiation of a conflict may have positive or negative consequences. The conflict may either lead to a larger one, having an impact on the rest of the world or it may be resolved in peaceful and diplomatic means. This assignment can also fall under the area of interaction of Health and Social Education since the political landscape of the world is experiencing a time of transition. It is changing both rapidly and unpredictably. The tensions and conflicts seen are also changing. They can no longer be assumed to exist between the United States and Russia and their respective allies which have existed for the past seven decades.
Political violence is action taken to achieve political goals that may include armed revolution, civil strife, terrorism, war or other such activities that could result in injury, loss of property or loss of life. Political violence often occurs as a result of groups or individuals believing that the current political systems or anti-democratic leadership, often being dictatorial in nature, will not respond to their political ambitions or demands, nor accept their political objectives or recognize their grievances. Formally organized groups, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), businesses and collectives of individual citizens are non-state actors, that being that they are not locally, nationally or internationally recognized legitimate civilian or military authorities. The Cotonou Agreement of 2000 defines non-state actors as being those parties belonging to the private sector, economic and social partners and civil society in all its forms according to national characteristics. Historical observation shows that nation states with political institutions that are not capable of, or that are resistant to recognizing and addressing societies issues and grievances are more likely to see political violence manifest as a result of disparity amongst the population. This essay will examine why non-state political violence occurs including root and trigger causes by looking at the motivations that inspire groups and individuals to resort to non-conforming behaviors that manifest as occurrences of non-state political violence. Using terrorism and Islamic militancy on the one side, and human rights and basic freedoms on the other as examples, it will look at these two primary kinds of political violence that are most prevalent in the world ...
To say the cause of political friction in the Middle East is due to religious differences is too simplistic as well as unduly inflammatory. Other things come into play, such as protection of US interests involving energy production, and even control of the water supply by Israel and its neighboring countries. However, to say the violence has nothing to do with religious differences denies the past 4,000 years of history.
“We all fight on two fronts, the one facing the enemy, the other facing what we do to the enemy” (Boyden 199).
In both conflicts the main cause of each power nation's failure can be traced to a misunderstanding or lack of understanding the root cause of the conflicts. Which provided a basis for the insurgency
It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different ci...
Throughout the 20th Century, the world was engulfed in global conflicts, engaging in one war after the next. When looking at these different conflicts, interconnected themes and issues seemed to lead to the later conflicts. The first of the conflicts to affect the globe was the Great War. Since the Great War, numerous conflicts have followed including World War II, The Cold War, and eventually the War on Terror. These wars share similar goals and themes of gaining power and prestige, seeking revenge, and fighting ideologies. Each of these conflicts results in events that eventually lead to the next conflict, creating near constant warfare around the globe. The effects and fears created by these conflicts can still be seen today as we fight
Philosophers since the beginning of time have debated over the source and cause of violent tendencies in humans that in turn produce global conflicts, to solve the age old question, man or beast? Global conflict can with out a doubt be completely accredited to the human race, but what are the particular reasons for humans to cause such conflicts? There are many topics that have been argued by philosophers and historians over the connection between the reasons the human race and global conflict. One such topic is the gender based theories and sexual differences of men and women. Others believe that religion, with particular emphasis on monotheistic beliefs, is the major basis of conflict among the human race up to this day. Another important fact to take into consideration when attempting to understand why there is global conflict in the human race; is the significance of individual cultures amongst opposing or simply separated tribes, groups, states, and nations. Lastly, one must consider the physical evidence, for example, figuring out what can be learned about previous prehistoric societies from anthropology and paleontology. The basis of the debate is the nature of mankind; is it in our nature to be like wild animals with a lust to kill with the only difference between us and animals being intelligence, or is it that mankind over the time of existence have developed such things as material goods, religious belief systems, and all different ways of life that are responsible for violence and conflict throughout the history of the world. There is no clear cut answer to why mankind acts in such a way, but one can develop a very strong argument or theory which includes and relat...
Mingst, Karen A., and Jack L. Snyder. Essential Readings in World Politics. N.p.: W.W. Norton, 2013. Print.
Sørli, Mirjam, Nils Gleditsch, and Håvard Strand. "Why Is There so Much Conflict in the Middle East? ." The Journal of Conflict Resolution 49.1 (2005): 141-165. JSTOR. Web. 8 June 2011.
First, war is universal due to its violent nature, violence in its application knows no bounds, and it is the common factor that identifies the war and without it the war is nothing more than a diplomatic effort to reach the end. However, wars blow out only when the diplomacy fails. Violence is the war engine. Although the application of violence evolved through time and its severity varies according to communities, cultures, and the means and methods used. Demonstrating the violence through the application of force to subjugate the enemy is the central idea of war. “War is a clash between major interests,
The first paradigm of international relations is the theory of Realism. Realism is focused on ideas of self-interest and the balance of power. Realism is also divided into two categories, classical realism and neo-realism. Famous political theorist, Hans Morgenthau was a classical realist who believed that national interest was based on three elements, balance of power, military force, and self interest (Kleinberg 2010, 32). He uses four levels of analysis to evaluate the power of a state. The first is that power and influence are not always the same thing. Influence means the ability to affect the decision of those who have the power to control outcomes and power is the ability to determine outcomes. An example of influence and power would be the UN’s ability to influence the actions of states within the UN but the state itself has the power to determine how they act. Morgenthau goes on to his next level of analysis in which he explains the difference in force and power in the international realm. Force is physical violence, the use of military power but power is so much more than that. A powerful state can control the actions of another state with the threat of force but not actually need to physical force. He believed that the ability to have power over another state simply with the threat of force was likely to be the most important element in analysis the power of as state (Kleinberg 2010, 33-34).
Whenever world politics is mentioned, the state that appears to be at the apex of affairs is the United States of America, although some will argue that it isn’t. It is paramount we know that the international system is shaped by certain defining events that has lead to some significant changes, particularly those connected with different chapters of violence. Certainly, the world wars of the twentieth century and the more recent war on terror must be included as defining moments. The warning of brute force on a potentially large scale also highlights the vigorousness of the cold war period, which dominated world politics within an interval of four decades. The practice of international relations (IR) was introduced out of a need to discuss the causes of war and the different conditions for calm in the wake of the first world war, and it is relevant we know that this has remained a crucial focus ever since. However, violence is not the only factor capable of causing interruption in the international system. Economic elements also have a remarkable impact. The great depression that happened in the 1920s, and the global financial crises of the contemporary period can be used as examples. Another concurrent problem concerns the environment, with the human climate being one among different number of important concerns for the continuing future of humankind and the planet in general.
Conflict is energy, conflict is excitement, conflict is often driven by a passion that is necessary to progression. In other words, we need many of the characteristics that might cause conflict and conflict itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The important thing is learning how to manage
Why Nations Fight Wars have been fought for thousands of years, and they continue to happen today. Just about everyone can agree that war is tragic and that nations should do everything they can do to avoid war. But what we cannot agree on is why nations fight. Some would argue that geography, economics or taking another country’s geographical resources are the motives. However, nationalism needs to be considered as the root cause for many, if not all, conflicts between countries.
Global Politics The study of international or rather global politics, seeks to provide an account of politics in the broadest domain. The domain of international politics in the twenty-first century is characterised by the increasing number of actors pursuing common and personal interests. It is largely due to the globalised, interdependent nature of the current international political environment that the concepts of sovereignty and power deserve further evaluation. The exercise of authority and power are facts as old as time, throughout the ages men have tried to explain and understand how and why political authority is organised. Sovereignty is a concept used to explain political power, to attempt to understand the complex interactions that take place as man strives towards the most effective and efficient form of societal organisation.