Making NATO’s Smart Defence Initiative Work
In the current financial crisis, NATO must encourage cooperation among its members via the Smart Defence Initiative to ensure better preparedness and increased operational efficiency.
‘Short term pain for long term gain’; In your Opinion, is this an Accurate Description of Structural Adjustment Programmes?
The spectre of a debt crisis, the first signs of which were seen in the Third World in the 1970s, and the fear of world finances’ disintegration, led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) to propose Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) to the developing world. This essay will start with a description of the long term advantages of SAPs, as advocated by the IMF and the WB (including elements of the neo-liberal philosophy presented as an ideological basis for the programmes) before assessing the short term disadvantages of SAPs – largely revolving around unsustainable growth.
Selectorate Theory and the Modern “Prince”
Rulers following Machiavelli’s populist model are better able to maximize coalition supervision, manage economic resources efficiently and maintain state security.
Compare and Contrast Contemporary Citizenship on the Left in Venezuela and Brazil
The resurgence of ‘the left’ in Latin America has received a great deal of attention from policy makers, academics and journalists alike. The November 2006 victory of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua is merely the most recent in a string of electoral triumphs which has seen Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia come under the control of leftist governments. Following five decades in which civil, political and socio-economic rights have been damaged variously by authoritarianism, neo-liberalism and clientelism, many hope that a new era may be on the horizon.
On the Effectiveness of Granting the Most Favored Nation Status to India
Until India decides to reduce its Non-Tariff Barriers the granting of MFN status to India will not do anything to benefit Pakistani traders and exporters.
The Global Relevance of Classical Counterinsurgency Strategy
The local roots of insurgency mean that properly applied classical counterinsurgency principles can effectively de-oxygenate the local environment that the global insurgent inhabits.
Clausewitz: War, Peace and Politics
With tactics from Vom Kriege used widely as military doctrine and foreign policy around the world based on Clausewitzian theories such as the paradoxical trinity and the center of gravity, it is apparent that Clausewitz’s lessons live on. Because of this continued application to the modern world, even over 150 years later, it is difficult to disagree with Clausewitz and the concepts of war, peace, and politics set forth in his work.
Roosevelt’s Path to the Second World War: Interventionist or Isolationist?
Stuck with an isolationist Congress and public, Roosevelt pursued a policy of appeasement while always entertaining the need for entry into the war.
Causes of the Sovereign Debt Crisis
The massive amount of debt in Southern European countries is not determined by weakness, corruption, and inabilities to deal with public deficits, but by systemic failures and illnesses.
Is Torture ever Morally Acceptable? If so, Under what Circumstances? If not, why not?
Torture can be defined as, ‘the officially sanctioned infliction of intense suffering, aimed at forcing someone to do or say something against his or her will.’ (Rodley, 2000: 7) Under international law it is illegal to use torture in any situation whatsoever. Although torture undoubtedly continues throughout the world, the moral argument prohibiting it was won during the enlightenment and the debate was closed by twentieth century international legal prohibitions. However, the question of torture has resurfaced in the context of the “War on Terror” as people face up to the possibility of WMD terrorism. The dilemma is most commonly expressed in the problem of the ‘ticking bomb terrorist.’
