Nuclear Disarmament: The Case Against
As US President Barack Obama outlined his ambitious vision of a world without nuclear weapons, this essay proposes to analyse whether nuclear disarmament is indeed a more serious policy option today than at the dawn of the atomic age in 1945 or at the height of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
Do You Agree that Acquiring a Replacement for Trident from the United States will Perpetuate Britain’s Role as America’s ‘poodle’?
With Trident up for renewal and the replacement looking more than likely to be of United States origin, the ‘poodle’ theory seems unlikely to be dismissed. But is it fair to argue that, in acquiring a replacement for Trident from the United States, Britain’s role as America’s ‘poodle’ will be perpetuated or should Britain look to move from the role of loyal chorus to that of candid friend?
Mexico: Democracy Without Citizenship?
The relationship between citizenship and the quality of democracy has become an increasing concern to Mexico’s democratic transition.
The Significance of the Dreyfus Affairs on Politics in France from 1894 to 1906
The Dreyfus affair helped the French Republic reassert her power over the army and those parties who wanted to topple the democracy.
What Makes a Failed State? Examining the Case of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe, unlike its neighbour Botswana, has emerged as a predatory state; clinging on to state power has become the main objective of the political elite is to cling on to state power.
Deconstructing the Causes of the Iraq War
When asking what has caused a particular war, we are in a way constructing these causes. There are no such things as objective causes but only those that we construct in hindsight; in the future.
Violently Repressive Authoritarian Regimes and Legitimacy
Any government, even a violently repressive authoritarian one, can be legitimate given that its people believe it to be so.
A Road to Cultural Imperialism: An Examination of Winch’s Language Games
In his essay, “Understanding a Primitive Society” Peter Winch claims that cultures are enclosed in language games which are both mutually unintelligible and equally valid. In doing so he is trying to prevent anthropologists from concluding that a culture is ‘wrong’ about reality (i.e. their belief system and how that informs their daily life) (Winch 79). Winch sees such judgement as an open door to cultural imperialism; if a culture is wrong than it stands to be corrected by the culture which judges it as such. He has every reason for such a noble pursuit. Writing in the time of African decolonization, he had born witness to the colonialists’ domination of innumerable cultures. Justified out of a ‘need’ to civilize the inferior savages and support the superior Europeans (through slaves and natural resources) this unequal cultural relationship allowed for utter destruction on the continent.
Is the Growing Criticism of the International Monetary Fund Justified?
The IMF is an international organisation that causes much debate. The neo-liberal ideological agenda, the control of the policy agenda by wealthy countries, and the conditionality attached to the loans it provides, all form the basis of worthy criticism.
Did the Sexual Revolution of 1968 influence Women’s Political Emancipation in Switzerland?
The fight for women’s suffrage in Switzerland dates back to the 19th century. Yet, it may seem surprising to learn that women, in one of the oldest modern democracies in Europe, lacked the right to express their voice on national matters well past the middle of the 20th century.
