Term Paper on "Genocide Is Considered on an International Level"

Term Paper 8 pages (2221 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Genocide is considered on an international level to be the worst possible crime committed by a nationality or group. It is the mass killing of a group of people, or as defined by the UN as "any acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Numerous genocides have been committed within the last century, the most notable of which include the Holocaust, Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. The apt question of why Genocide occurs is a very complex and diluted issue. The first is to understand that Genocide as a practice is not unique to modern society; it is an ongoing process that has spanned since the beginning of time. Genocide was consistently conducted throughout Greco-Roman society, the Orients, and much of the rest of the world. Genocide arises out of a combination of many complex socio-political circumstances. Conflicts inevitably begin with differences and formation of groups. It is much easier to divide and separate along racial, religious or national lines and as a result, most groups have a uniting homogenous characteristic. Combined with an intense competition over resources or land, the catalyst for genocide already exists. The root cause for genocide within our modern world can be attributed to two essential reasons. The complex competition for limited resources given population pressure, which was exactly what happened in Rwanda and Yugoslavia. As well as a consistent political pressure to instigate conflict in order to draw blame away from central government failures. Just as Hitler attempted to attribute all of the problems of the Germans on the Jews, Serbia attempted the same with Yugoslavia.

Globalization has had multiple meanings and forms over the past three centuries. The common understanding of globalization refers to the increasing global connectivity, integration and interdependence in many different socio-economic-political spheres. Its significance for the modern world is that it has caused for greater cohesion and interdependence on the world stage. American consumers are buying Chinese products, and Chinese consumers are driving Japanese cars. Energy resources are being traded all over the world, and in general the economy of each nation is dependent in part or whole on the economies of many other nations. This level of globalization has occurred organically through a myriad of coincidences and the force of inevitability. It began the technology and communication revolution that has allowed the globe to communicate simultaneously and without delay. It also has occurred because of strategic alliances and the shifts of geo-political power struggles. The United States has allied the Americas, and Europe has formulated itself into the European Union. However, the organic result of globalization does not mean its roots are not entrenched in imperialist aims. In the early 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries globalization could very well have been synonymous with imperialism and enslavement. It is the same practice that created the British Empire, the control of the Orients, and many other practices that should be considered imperialist in nature. However, globalization has a whole can never be considered imperialist for the very reason that countries change and advance with foreign investment. Just as India and China have now become super powers, other nations that were originally "imperialized" took advantage of the economic and political reform to institute their own measures of reform that eventually have made them into relevant world powers.

Imperialism in both concept and practice has changed significantly over the past century. Traditionally imperialism refers to the policies of Western nations to take control over the economic, political and social institutions of lesser-developed nations. In the past these measures have largely been instituted through force or the threat of force. Colonies were created which caused clashes between western and non-western cultures. In the past confrontations between these two entities have shown the weakness of the colonization strategy. Almost all of the Empires of the Western world collapsed because of rebellion from their host countries. In practice, western nations attempted to force their own cultural, political and economic values upon their host and as a result, caused grave resentment within these nations. They also created themselves to be higher in status based upon race rather than qualifications. The inevitable result is that conflict resulted in warfare and eventual liberation in most colonized nations. However, modern imperialism of the 20th century has been both more successful and subtle. Imperialism as executed by the United States is based upon the concept of using economic and political drivers to manipulate internal national politics. In practice this means the United States will loan a significant amount of money to developing nations and use this as leverage to pressure them into ceding over territory as well as political influence to the United States. Furthermore, the U.S. has employed underground militaristic measures such as assassination to reach their intended agendas. This can be exemplified by the American control of South America, where they leveraged financial loans into gaining political control in the region specifically in gaining oil rights to places such as Ecuador. In general this practice is undemocratic because it undercuts American public input on such practices. However, few people know or care about how America gains its current political clout in the world.

Nationalism is a concept that has been perpetuated ad infinitum since the inception of governments. It is the understanding and devotion to one's own nation and its interests over that of all other nations. In a historical sense, nationalism has always instilled a competitive environment for resources and power on the international stage. In the past, it has led to power struggles between Western nations as well as Eastern nations. The fundamental understanding of nationalism is that it takes the shortsighted approach of protecting internal assets at the cost of hurting external ones. By always placing the interest of one's own nation first, nationalism oftentimes goes counterintuitive to the success of global welfare. Nationalism has never been as contentious in any period as in today's society. Globalization has created an environment where there is an ever-expanding period of transparency in how nations deal with each other. With the onset of globalization, some nations are reaping tremendous rewards, while others are losing some of their former luster. As a result, nationalism has changed substantially from protecting internal assets to looking out for the long-term interests of individual nations and protecting their identity. Nationalism has changed to protecting the interest of individual nations to protecting the interest of consortiums with a long-term view for the success and failure of internal assets. For example, the European Union now seeks to empower each individual nation rather than attempting to protect the specific interest of individual nations. Nationalism has played both a role as a uniting force and divisive force.

Following War World I, there was a significant attempt made to create an international consortium that would ensure no international conflict would escalate to warfare ever again. As a result, the League of Nations was ratified on an international level to be this consortium. However, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty that would establish this league, the Treaty of Versailles. The impact of their decision was that the treaty lacked any real power and became completely irrelevant and non-entity over the next twenty years. The Senate did not want to be restricted by an international body to oversea their plans. This is particularly true because the senate believed that moving towards an international consortium would restrict their ability to act autonomously within the Americas, which they viewed their own territory. The U.S. also believed that since they were the major victors of the First World War, they should have gained exclusive privileges that were not conferred to the other member states. They did not approve of several specific terms of the League of Nations. First, they did not approve of an international dispute adjudication court system that would determine all issues of international conflict between member states. The Senate believed that such a provision, if it made decisions final would curb their ability to influence economic and political policies in Central and South America under the Monroe Doctrine. In the final analysis the net result of their inability to come to terms with the League of Nations is that it lacked any real power to be relevant. This ultimately led to the untimely response to the rise of Nazism in Germany and the Japanese expansion movement. As a result, it could be argued the U.S. veto resulted in the actual events of World War II.

Islamic Fundamentalism is a unique byproduct of the changing dynamics within the Middle East. While up until the 20th Century and the explosion of oil interests in the Middle East the region was generally very traditional in their religious, cultural and political processes, modernism has caught up to them. Technology, socio-economic pressure and the changing political landscape have created an environment of rapid evolution towards modernity within the Middle East. Their access not only to more information but an untold supply of wealth… READ MORE

How to Reference "Genocide Is Considered on an International Level" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

International Law Traditionally Term Paper

International Law

Traditionally, International Law was defined as "the body of law that governs the legal relations between or among states or nations." ("The Free Dictionary"). In this definition, the… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1475 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA Topic: Law / Legal / Jurisprudence

---

Genocide Is a Traumatic Part of World Essay

Genocide is a traumatic part of world history. The term genocide was coined in the aftermath of World War II. When the world learned that more than six million Jewish… read more

Essay 3 pages (894 words) Sources: 3 Topic: World History

---

Genocides in Rwanda and Darfur When People Research Paper

Genocides in Rwanda and Darfur

When people of modern genocide, the event that comes to mind is the Holocaust, and society tends to ignore the genocide that occurred in Rwanda… read more

Research Paper 4 pages (1406 words) Sources: 2 Topic: World History

---

International Relations Political Science Term Paper

International Relations -Political Science

The issue of the international law, of the human rights, and of international justice is one of the most debated areas of discussion in the world… read more

Term Paper 10 pages (3322 words) Sources: 8 Style: Chicago Topic: Law / Legal / Jurisprudence

---

Is the International Order an Increasingly Liberal One? Term Paper

international order that is emerging and will be present in the future. The concept of international order or world order is nothing new; however technological innovations have created a world… read more

Term Paper 15 pages (4028 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Government / Politics

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>