Term Paper on "Empirical and Theoretical Debate of Political World Affairs"

Term Paper 8 pages (2284 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

International Affairs

Political Science - International Relations

The objective of this work is to write concerning an event or element in international affairs post-1989 and to employ all levels of analysis, systemic, and sub-systemic, and then, through use of a theory, to consider the direction which the event of situation is headed in relation to world affairs. This work will then answer the question that asks: "What reinforces the issue and will the reactions noted be of a realist, liberalist, globalist, and etc. nature?"

The period referred to as the "Cold War" era was a time characterized by competition between the East-West as well as a time full of tension, conflicts with hostility being mutually perceived on the political and military alliance levels. After the death of the Russian President Stalin, the relations between the East and West were characterized with first the element of confrontation and then relaxed into a more comfortable interaction but the pendulum would swing back and forth between these two for many years.

Finally, after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the occurrence of a collapse of the Soviet-backed regimes in Eastern Europe, the cold war came to an end. In the latter part of the 1980s and in the earlier part of the 1990s a partnership begin budding between the post-Communist Russian Republic and the United States. This partnership held as its' focus a unity in addressing the problems that were of a global nature that were being experienced throughout the world.

Challenges presented themselves in terms of U.S. policy first in the situation in the Panama Canal and the subsequent capture of Manuel Noriega, and then further challenges came to the surface with the refusal of Saddam Hussein to surrender in Kuwait. Challenges were noted as well in the area of international affairs and relations due to "Desert Storm." U.S. officials were wary of unilateral involvement with other countries following the Cold War Era and chose to remain multinational in their relations which were in the form of "humanitarian interventions" (The Post Cold War Army, p. 36)

Methodology

This research will be qualitative in nature and will be through a review of relevant and peer-reviewed literature.

Hypothesis

1: Russia, though seemingly at a low in terms of economic opportunity is in actuality a country of opportunity and unrealized financial possibility.

2: The U.S. foreign policy is of a nature that may destroy the face of American independence and may be that which renders the U.S. ineffective in its' quest to spread freedom and liberty throughout the world.

3: Warnings of terrorism attacks, threats and other terror based actions which are broadcast through media sources is an effective way of removing the rights of the individual through a purported 'protection focused' type of legislation.

Research Questions

Can Russia emerge as a Superpower once again?

Can the U.S. experience its' own demise due to international policies and most specifically those which appear to violate the Geneva Convention?

Has terror been used in the initiative to remove rights of the individual American Citizen, and if so has this been effectively perpetrated?

Background to the Problem

Although unknown to the average American citizen, Saddam Hussein was installed in his office of President of Iraq by the United States. What began as "humanitarian interventionist peacekeeping activities on the part of the U.S. military has, according to all reports, turned into a grim echo of prisoner torture camps which deny basic and individual rights in due process. The policies of the U.S. have quite simply been of a grandiose nature lacking reality and substance and indeed, justice in the dealing with Iraq citizens. Perhaps just as vividly is the gross injustice carried out in Afghanistan which has effectively put the opium business in Afghanistan back into full operation.

The allies upon which the United States has been able to depend have not played their usual roles and have failed to back the U.S. In its' foreign policy concerning Iraq. Furthermore, the loss of over 2,000 lives in the armed services during this 'offensive' has further soured public reaction as well as international relations. All of these lives, and the billions upon billions which have been spent with the only results in evidence being the jailing and trial of Hussein who states he is still the President of the uranium poisoned country of Iraq with no order, much less civil justice and independence in sight for the small war-ravaged country which is the site of the first culture known as Mesopotamia.

U.S. foreign policy has always dictated intervention on behalf of the underdog or the innocent citizen of nations that are under dictator or communist rule. However, the new foreign policy of the U.S. which chooses to strike on the offensive and tortures war prisoners with echoes of 'bring-em-on' is a policy that in many ways denies all of those fine and better things for which the U.S. Constitution and its' accompanying Bill of Rights stands. In the meantime, business is growing in Russia with corporations and large companies opening shop in the country where labor is much cheaper.

The economies of the U.S. are presently unstable with the U.S. dollar being worth less and less with each passing days stock market closing and American voters are beginning to note that they have been lied to, they have voted with miscounted and disregarded results after elections and they are noting as well a manner of dealing in international affairs that is quite foreign to the 'American ideal' upon which the standards and principles of the United States of America was originally and traditionally based. The Iraq War, occupation, liberation and rebuilding effort is all but null and void in any realistic terms of effectiveness and public opinion polls show that confidence in the present administration is at an all-time-low and dropping swiftly to new depths as each day and each new revelation passes. Therefore, the likelihood that Russia might emerge yet again as a superpower is not as unrealistic as some would believe and in fact due to their position in terms of energy resources, if used wisely the country of Russia might indeed yet rise again.

Discussion

According to recent news, science, economic and other relevant journal reports, it is highly likely that the Soviet Union will see renewed economic status in the post-Cold War Era due to the concentration of businesses setting up shop due to the availability of cheap labor in the country. Projections in relation to the country's economic outlook are stated in a recent 'Country Analysis." The analysis brief states that "Russia is important to world energy markets because it holds the world's largest natural gas reserves, the second largest coal reserves, and the eighth largest oil reserves. Russia is also the world's largest exporter of natural gas, the second largest oil exporter, and the third largest energy consumer." (eia.dov.gov: Russia, 2005 Feb) During 2004 the GDP of Russia noted growth by approximately 7.1% which surpassed average growth rates in other G8 countries which was the "country's sixth consecutive year of economic expansive." The growth rate in Russia is stated to be "fueled primarily by energy exports....and relatively high world oil prices during the period." Russia is holder of the largest natural gas reserves in the world with a total of 1,680 trillion cubic feet in reserves which are almost twice the reserves in Iran. Russian's state-run gas monopoly 'Gazprom' holds almost one-third of the total nature gas reserves worldwide which is the producer of almost 90%o of natural gas in Russia and is the operator of Russia's natural gas pipeline network. Russia also possesses the "second largest recoverable coal reserves, behind only the United States, which holds roughly 274 billion short tons. However, years of poor management during the Soviet era, and a sharp decline in demand for coal during the early 1990s, significantly undermined the Russian coal sector. In 2004, Russian energy ministry sources estimate total coal production was 308.6 million short tons, less than one-third of U.S. production." (Country Analysis: Russia, 2005)

Can it be mere coincidence that the Euro is gaining on a steady basis against the U.S. dollar? Furthermore, the EU is becoming more military oriented with the taste for power seen to be emerging among the countries of the EU. Stated in the work entitled " is "Now Europe is about projecting the voice of Europeans on the global stage; it is about the emergence of the European Union as a counterweight to the United States; it is about Europe's place on a geopolitical map of the world. That is taking place because younger Europeans, who didn't live through World War II or the fall of the Berlin Wall, have no past from which they seek to escape. Thus the legitimating refrain of the European process of integration is about the future, not about running away from the past. It used to be only the French who used that imagery of Europe as a counterweight to the… READ MORE

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