Category Archives: Politics and Society
How to Keep Iran Out of the Nuclear Game
A common disciplinary measure against ‘rogue’ nations or, more specifically, nations that operate counter to international orthodoxy, is the placement of sanctions. One such nation, Iran, is exemplary of such a measure. Regardless of whether or not Iran is a rogue nation having many sanctions placed against it, do these sanctions really work or do they only feed the flame of resentment and hostility against the participatory nations? Given the events (or lack thereof) of recent months on the part of Iran, the answer suggests that sanctions do more harm than intended – to the dismay of those favoring the coalition of the willing. Continue reading
On-Screen Interview with Chris Brown on Alternative Energy
The Lexington Universal Circuit interviews Chris Brown, a China energy consultant with Guymard Consulting, on the domestic and international future of alternative energy. More specifically, Mr. Brown delves into the obstacles that obstruct the global shift away from oil and other fossil fuels. A great deal of discussion is focused on the positions China and the United States of America’s have on this issue. Special thanks to the Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute for hosting the interview. Continue reading
The Severity of Iran’s Nuclear Program: Rubbish or Real?
Mounting unpredictability of nuclear threats to the United States of America and the international community are inciting global unrest. As the Islamic Republic of Iran (hereafter referred to as Iran) continues to demonstrate defiance in its nuclear advancements, the international community is struggling to sanction the efforts from the radical state. A collaborative effort is necessary to thwart Iran’s capacity to develop nuclear weapons. Although Iran insists that its nuclear program is a peaceful one, Western governments are intensely skeptical. This essay will seek to explore Iran’s nuclear program by succinctly reflecting on the origin of its nuclear program and the successive events as an effort to understand the current deliberations and determine how severe of a threat Iran really is.Iran’s nuclear program established its roots in the 1950s—a turbulent decade for the country. Dispute over oil operations amassed when Britain expressed ardent dissatisfaction with Iran due to opposing views about who should profit and how the profits should be distributed regarding oil production. Mohammad Mossadegh, Iran’s first democratically elected Prime Minister, believed that the country had the right to garner profits from its oil reserves and subsequently nationalized the industry [1]. Britain adamantly opposed this resolution and claimed that Mossadegh was violating the legal rights of Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. An impressive effort was made by the British government to persuade oil consuming nations to boycott Iranian oil. Consequently, Iran’s inability to sell its primary export forced the country into a dire financial crisis [2]. Continue reading
Scott Brown is America’s New Superman
In a shocking victory, Republican Scott Brown was fortunately the candidate to replace the Democratic 46 year veteran, Teddy Kennedy, for the Massachusetts Congressional Senate seat. Given that Brown’s opponent was Martha Coakley, a Democrat who held the prestigious position of Massachusetts Attorney General, he really should have lost. Though some might disagree, Coakley was probably better suited for the Senate seat because of her laudable background. However, this particular election was not just a regular Senatorial election, but rather the election that decided the fate of the monstrous healthcare bill in Congress.
First, Scott Brown really only ran on one platform: to shut down the year long discussion on healthcare legislation. According to the Senator’s website, Brown writes, “I believe that all Americans deserve health care coverage, but I am opposed to the health care legislation that is under consideration in Congress and will vote against it. It will raise taxes, increase government spending and lower the quality of care, especially for elders on Medicare. I suppo Continue reading
Political Language
George Orwell once wrote that “if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought”[1].i Sixty years later, political prose is as insidious as ever, with 80% of Americans kept politically illiterate mostly due to the propaganda of Fox News and the disinterest stemming from our thoroughly inept leaders [2]. For a civil society to prosper, its citizenry must master political language in order to have meaningful debate with clearly understood words. Instead, the trend of our century has been the devolution of the English language. With this comes an inability to properly understand the world around us. As Kung-tzu (Confucius) once said, “If names are not correct and do not match realities, language has no object. If language has no object, action becomes impossible — and therefore all human affairs disintegrate” [3].Instead of continuing this meandering tirade, it is best to point out a few minor instances of inaccuracies in political language. The first is the lack of distinction between a government and its people. In the years following the US invasion of Iraq, anti-American sentiment rose to new heights, with its descent occurring only recently. Surprisingly, Europeans hold the same misunderstanding of Americans, as Americans have about foreigners. Chiefly, Europeans make the simple mistake of assuming the policies of a democratic government is aligned with the general opinion of its people(!) However similar to American views, Americans take it a step further into absurdity by assuming the same of countries ruled by authoritarian regime. Last year, after months of Republican demonization of Iran, they were blind-sided by the pro-democracy, modern, progressive, college student uprising following the Continue reading
Misconceptions: A Vital Component of Historical US-China Relations
Misunderstandings between individuals are some of the greatest sources of conflict that can enter a relationship. Friendships have ended because one person thought that the other meant something else; marriages have broken because of misconceptions about the other partner’s intentions or actions. This holds true not only for individual relationships, but relationships between different cultures and nations as well. Such things become clearer when one views relationships between nations already in conflict, such as the United States and China. To examine this relationship, we must look at a misconception that arose as a result of legitimate worry and anger, concerning American imperialism.
The idea that the US is still an imperialistic power tainted the Chinese perspective of American actions during the mid- to late twentieth century, despite the fact that American expansionism ended decades before. Just as important, American fear of Soviet communism during the mid-twentieth century resulted in the refusal to accept a Communist China as a sovereign state, viewing the People’s Republic of China as a pawn of the Soviet Union and thereby refusing to work with them. Avoiding these two misconceptions and focusing on cultural similarities and understanding, as has become a focus in more recent years, has improved relations between the two nations immensely. Continue reading
China Plays Dominoes Well
History is marked by a series of conflicts – kinetic and potential; Chinese activities in Central Asia are exemplary of this. On December 14, 2009, Turkmenistan began its exportation of 40 billion cubic meters (bcm hereafter) of natural gas to the Chinese Xinjiang Province, with contributions of 10 bcm from both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan over 30 years. Historically, Turkmenistan has exported gas through Russia en route to China yet this particular deal conveniently bypasses Russia. To complicate matters more, the European Union shares an interest in this region vis-à-vis their Nabucco gas line planned to run through southern Europe into Turkey. Needless to say that while much commotion is made over oil and gas bonanzas in the Middle East these days, nations like Turkmenistan and other central Asian countries have untapped oil and gas reserves and naturally stand as open targets as both potential trading partners and secondary allies for nations such as China, whose intentions are altogether unknown. As such, the benevolent guise of trade very easily becomes the hook by which nations such as China are able to rally seemingly insignificant states to their side. In essence, while the powerful nations of today are playing hard politics in the Middle East, China is playing soft politics in Central Asia as a precursor to the domino effect in that region with Turkmenistan as the battlefield for trading rights.
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Proactive Helplessness
The Northwest Airlines Flight 253 bombing attempt, now known as the Christmas Day bombing attempt, shows us a situation in which all parties involved have remarkably failed. As someone who will be flying from New York to Arizona in early January, my optimism from going from 37° to 73° is disturbed by the knowledge that I am no safer in the air now than as I would have been on September 10th, 2001. The singular question asked about this incident is “Who messed up?” That list is longer than you think. Continue reading
U.S. Foreign Policy: Time to Plant Olive Trees in China’s Backyard
Shortly after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it became unquestionably clear that the United States of America had eluded the lion’s share of World War 2’s unprecedented damage, and emerged a superpower. In light of the rapid technological and economic developments America had undergone during and after the post-war period, the country’s borders had transformed themselves into gates which opened into the kingdom of heaven. The nation was not only recognized as the land of abundance and prosperity, but was also given the great responsibility of acting as the world’s sole guardian and protectorate. Uncle Sam even established himself as the de facto policeman of the global community, orchestrating everything from the international flow of wealth, to the political affairs of any one nation Continue reading
Let’s be Realistic About the International Social Interest
The United States of America has often taken what should be considered a very idealistic view of the world, particularly when one considers the can-do attitude that persists despite economic troubles or war. This outlook was seen clearly through President Barack Obama’s electoral campaign and his focus on belief, hope, and change. However, this idealism—while it persists in people’s thoughts and hopes—has not always followed through in their actions. Looking back through history, interactions between people are not easily explained just by looking at their beliefs—questions arise regarding motivation. Why do some conflicts lead to war but not others? Has the growing focus on human rights throughout the world affected the ways that countries interact with one another? Historians and scholars have looked at such interactions and formed paradigms on how the world works and why. Over the past few centuries, the prominent view has been realism, focusing on national security and interests as the driving forces behind countries’ actions. However, in more recent years the Idealist view has become more popular. Yet while the approaches Continue reading