Questions
Effects of the global financial crisis on the global politics
The world was badly affected by the financial crisis that started sometimes in 2008. This had far-reaching consequences on the governments just like it had on the consumers. The causes of this economic crisis were mainly a result of people and governments borrowing and then failing to pay.
The crisis was a result of the financial trends that have been witnessed amongst the consumers and the governments. One of the worst hit countries was the United States and this almost caused the closure of huge financial institution. The government had to spend billions of money to rescue these institutions. There were job losses in all countries affected, as companies would no longer be able to pay these workers (Jovovic, 2012). The result is the burden on most governments has increase reducing the power these countries wiled on the global political platform. The economic crisis had its greatest effects on the west the countries that have had a huge say on the politics of the world. For a country to be able to influence the politics of other countries its financial muscle plays a huge role. That is the reason United States has been a dominant force in this area. Most countries have had their politics controlled by the United States largely due to the financial aids the countries have been receiving from the United States. The United States has over the years built a strong political network which coupled with its advanced military war weapons has given it a strong voice on the world politics. The dollar has been the most dominant currency in the world. That is a sign of the dominance of the united sates that has been on a spiral trajectory since the great depression and the vents of the Second World War. The decline of the American economy has coincided with the growth of the economies of China and India.
The huge growth of the economies of china and India has led to a shift of the political powers held by the United States and other members of the G7. The countries can no longer dictate the way governments run their activities because the countries no longer need America and her allies like they used to do a couple of years ago. An example is the recent elections in Kenya held in March where one of the presidential candidates was a war crimes suspect at The Hague. The west tried unsuccessfully to insist that if the Kenyan people elected this person the west would cut its ties with Kenya. The presidential candidate and his running mate insisted in their campaign that they were not in dire need of the west, they could do with the east and the resources that they have. This was proven right when the Kenyan people overwhelmingly elected Uhuru Kenyatta leaving the west with no choice but to respect the will of the electorate.
The economic dominance of the west was greatly affected by the financial crisis (Gamble, 2009). . The countries are still reeling from the effects of this crisis and having to deal with many issues such as unemployment as they try to improve their economy. China is one of the exceptions to this rule. Even though it was not affected by the financial crisis like the west countries, it has reported slow growth rate in the last financial year. China has initiated so many projects in developing countries earning itself a huge following. This has effectively challenged the political powers of the west thus affecting the world politics.
Causes of terrorism in the 21 century
Terrorism has been a problem that has faced most the countries in the world. Regardless of the measures put by these countries terrorist have not ceased completely form planning and executing their attacks. Terrorism has had some major changes in the structures of their organizations as most of the attacks are planned by organizations and then carried out by volunteers.
Terrorism greatest shift in the past few years has been the increase in growth of Muslim related attacks. Certain groups that are linked to Muslim hardliners have taken the headlines in terrorism. The al Qaeda is on one the groups that have carried out the highest number of terrorist attacks. The group had threatened to tear the world attack in the early 21st century but fortunately, that was contained after the reaction of the United States. The country reacted by deploying troops to Afangnstan which was seen as one of the countries that was hiding these criminals. Since then the attacks have reduced but not completely. The attacks of al Qaeda were mainly focused on the United States and its allies. The argument was that America was anti Islam and the Muslim people had to respond. They opposed the deployment of American soldiers into a base in Saudi Arabia saying that was disrespect for Allah. This has been the main cause of Islam related attacks. Certain terrorist activities are also used a used as a strategy to gain leverage in negotiations. For example, terrorist attacks are common in Jerusalem that are perpetuated by Palestinians seeking to be heard and their demands met. This therefore presents terrorism as a strategy that has devastating effects if effectively used by a weak partner in a negotiation.
The terrorist acts of the 21st century are different from the ones that were experienced a few years ago. The main causes are religion and as leverage tool in negotiations (McCauley, 2006). This has posed a new threat to the governments because they do not know when the enemy will strike next and take valuable lives in the society. The trends are not likely to change much with the above two mentioned causes likely to dominate this field for the next many years. Other terrorist acts will also be witnessed though on a rare basis that has different reasons. There are military groups that react by killing people in a country that they feel is interfering with their activities (Khan, & Azam, 2008). . This has been experienced in Africa especially in countries that are closely related to the Somalia conflict. The Al Shabab a group associated with the al Qaeda has bombed Kenya a couple of times killing a number of people. These attacks are a result of what the al Shabab feel was the wrong intervention of Kenya on the Somalia problem.
Terrorism has also been driven by attacks by people in the society who feel certain things are not done the way they ought to be done. This is common especially in countries where discrimination and tribalism are high. Certain regions are targeted for attacks if the government of the day discriminates a region that feel can only express its dissatisfaction by targeting the privileged groups. This is common especially in Nigeria where there are large groups of Muslims and Christians who have been colliding for the past few years. The conflict has caused deaths of many especially Christians who have been targeted by the Muslim terrorist groups.
Key theories of the post cold war era
The clash of civilization is one of the most common theories that emerged after the cold war. The theory stated that people’s cultural and religious identities would be the basic source of conflicts (Sørensen, 1998). This theory tries to exploit the belief that some of the causes of the previous war and conflicts may have changed but that has been replaced by a strong stand and belief in the cultural and religious identities of people in different societies. The theorist behind it believes that people are likely to get into conflict if their cultural or religious beliefs are threatened at any time. Huntington the guy who advanced this theory believes this will be the next major source of conflict due to the difficulties involved in trying to solve cultural or religious stand offs as compared to political ones (Sørensen, 1998). The theory though is poorly informed due to the nature of the world affairs, which implies that it is very hard for a cultural conflict to occur. Religious conflicts are possible but cultural ones are very hard to lead to a full-blown conflict between nations. Countries have accommodated more than one race and foreigners are so many in many parts of the world. This has introduced diverse cultures in these countries and people are comfortable with that. The freedom granted in the constitutions of many countries implies that citizens can change their culture at any time they feel is right.
Post modernism is another theory that has been advanced to explain the changes that take place in our thinking in this century. The theory contains two major ideas that try to explain the way people have changed their thinking. The idea views people as rational, autonomous individuals who think and act independently from other people (Patterson, 2003). The theory explains the changes and unique behavior that people possess in the post cold war era. The individual has developed unique thinking though this theory fails to find the connection between people who view things from the same perspective. The connection that has resulted from the networking that has emerged from technology has meant that people from different regions emulate others. This means the unique amongst all individual that the theory tries to advance does not really exist. The theory applies to a few individuals in the society.
The second major idea of the theory is the issue of scientific knowledge being the route for human freedom and happiness. The theory is true to some extent because advances and inventions resulting from technology have made our life worth living and the entertainment that has resulted has made people happy as it provides an avenue for people to release their stress and tension. People who feel marginalized by it have criticized the theory. This includes women, indigenous people, and working class people who do not have access to some of the fundamental elements that are described in the theory. The theory views knowledge as biased towards certain areas and that it is incomplete. The world is viewed as one that is moving towards certain universal goals. This theory has tried to explain and predict changes that are likely to be witnessed as the world progresses towards achieving a state of great development and technological knowhow.
