The focus of this reading, written by Phillip Spencer and Howard Woolman, is the distinction between healthy and unhealthy varieties of nationalism that have developed over the course of the last few centuries. The very concept of ‘nation’ is a modern one, having found meaningful expression within the last two hundred years of world history. …
Category: Politics
All the articles that come under politics domain.
Constructivist Approaches: A review of Benedict Anderson’s article “Imagined Communities”
Benedict Anderson’s essay titled Imagined Communities offers a historically informed analysis of nationalism. He asserts that the rise of nationalism was facilitated by the simultaneous decline of key cultural conceptions of great antiquity, which had erstwhile had a profound effect on humankind. The first of these changes had to do with the role of language…
The Instrumentalist approach to ethnic and national identities: A review of D. Ronen’s ‘The Quest for Self-Determination’
D. Ronen’s scholarly work The Quest for Self-Determination further explicates the nature of ethnic and national identities. In order to illustrate the complexities involved in ethnic and national identities, Ronen constructs a new conceptual framework which he calls “aggregations”. According to this theory, political discourses relating to human communities refer to the latter from one…
A review of the US housing market crash of 2007-2008 & forecasts for the future
The severe decline in the state of world economy in the last two years is a culmination of several factors. But the bursting of the housing bubble in the United States alongside a precarious credit crunch situation have played major roles in precipitating the latest episode of economic recession in many countries. While the advanced…
Has globalisation exacerbated the problem of trans-national terrorism?
The multinational business enterprise and its attendant economic phenomenon of globalisation have become ubiquitous in the new neo-liberal world order of the last few decades. However, all too often, these enterprises’ activities have lacked prudence and foresight in terms of the consequences for the local populations. Moreover, the loopholes of international business law allow these…
Critical Analysis of ‘Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century’ by Jeffry Frieden
Jeffry Frieden’s book Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth century is a highly relevant topic today. Consistent with Frieden’s hypothesis, global economic integration has grown to new levels during the last century. Several arguments could be forwarded supporting the merits and demerits of this new economic order and its overall value as…
Sicko by Michael Moore: A Critical Analysis
Michael Moore has acquired a reputation for himself as a producer/director of award winning documentary films. Films such as Fahrenheit 911 and Bowling for Columbine were acclaimed by critics and the general public alike. So, when news came of yet another venture from his production company in 2007, expectations were quite high. The film Sicko…
Comparing Samuel P. Huntington’s ‘The Clash of Civilizations’ and Edward W. Said’s ‘The Clash of Ignorance’
Samuel Huntington’s book The Clash of Civilizations has evoked a broad range of responses from political commentators both in the United States as well as abroad. Huntington asserts that the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989 had marked a new beginning in the history of international politics. While prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union…
To what extent is the media independent of state?
The dependency between government and media is a contentious issue in contemporary times. The media, once termed the Fourth Estate due to the unique role it plays in society, is supposed to be the conscience of the First Estate, namely the government. Yet, a simple analysis of the functioning of media organizations makes obvious that…
What historically inspired Patrick Henry to write the speech “Give me liberty or give me death”?
Patrick Henry is still regarded as the ‘Homer of Orators’ within the American literary canon. He is most renowned for his words ‘Give me Liberty or Give me Death’ which he uttered to his followers on the eve of the Declaration of Independence. A recently taken public opinion poll by Gallup found that nearly one…