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Monday, August 30, 2010

Week One Reflection

As an activist in the anti-human trafficking movement, I automatically contemplated the issue of HIV/AIDs, presented in the Wednesday lab, in the context of human trafficking. As I learned Wednesday at PEPFAR and from our student presenter, HIV/AIDS is transmitted through semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk and blood. This fact reveals the ease with which HIV/AIDS can enter the world of the sex trade and the magnitude of the horrors that ensue. I began to ponder how the spreading of the disease could be halted once entering the sex trade and how it could be prevented from penetrating the sex trade in the first place. The typical means of preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS during intercourse is the use of a condom. When discussing prevention, our group was informed to protect ourselves. How are women who are given no choice about their life situation, sex lives, and especially their sexual health supposed to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and STIs? They have no say in protective measures and are given no access to condoms! On the other hand, preaching to johns about using condoms during intercourse, or rape as most humane persons call the grotesque act, would seem just as contradictory as needle exchange programs, which seem to promote an illegal and immoral act in a truce between safety during said practices and the effort to squelch the existence of said practices in the first place. Though needle exchange programs have been, in many cases, a successful means for slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS, the program is run through a defeated attitude that the drug users will do drugs despite the illegality and the other seemingly endless list of cons. I understand that the cause is noble from an HIV/AIDS prevention mindset, but it still promotes something immoral. I cannot even begin to approach the issue of HIV/AIDS in trafficking with that same mindset. In no way can condoning trafficking, even if just to distribute condoms, be positive or healthy. This presents a horrifying dilemma when thinking about the global impact an intricate trail of HIV/AIDS could have in hurling the nations of our planet into pandemic hell.
When contemplating the affects globalization has had on the trafficking scene, I shudder to think of the ease with which persons are transported between nations and the simplicity with which persons can gallivant on sex tourism escapades. Surely this newfound freedom betwixt the markets, governments and communications of the world has only created a stronger anti-freedom which allows for the enslaving of persons and the exploitation of those persons on a larger and more devastating scale.

Reflection, week 1

I found our assigned reading, How Soccer Explains the World, to be highly informative. As the average American, I have been exposed to almost none of the football culture common in the rest of the world. As a result, I was quite shocked at how much of a political and cultural entity the sport is for the rest of the world. U.S. sports teams aren't really associated with a specific ethnicity, religion, political party, or socioeconomic class. So, the fact that Tottenham is associated with Jews, or the two biggest teams in Honduras are associated with the conservative and liberal movements really surprised me.

It also seems like in some places, soccer is a socially acceptable way for people to express their hatred for others, like in the case of the Rangers and the Celtics. That's just odd to me; just because I'm a Steelers fan doesn't mean I actually hate Ravens fans (usually), and when Steelers and Ravens fans get into fights or arguments, it's pretty much strictly game-based.
 
from: steelersdepot.com

I also found it very hard to follow some parts of the book because of my profound lack of knowledge of modern history. Particularly in the Serbian chapter, I had absolutely no background information on the political tensions and violence in that area of the world. 

Reflection #1 (8/23-8/27)

For me, the biggest event this week in World Politics (the class) was reading How Soccer Explains the World and discussing it in class. But there were, of course, other events but the biggest was the book and the ensuing discussion. But first, let's touch base on other events.

I admit, the first day of class was a bit of a chore. Just sitting there and listening to the syllabus being read was not a terribly fascinating experience. I understand it had to be done, but at the time I couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous about how future classes would go down. What gave me the most hope though, was the idea of star wars and lolcat references in the class.



But to the meat of the week: the book. I admit, I did not personally find the book that enjoyable; nor do I think he did a very good job of showing how soccer "explains" globalization. He did a good job (sometimes) of showing how soccer is influenced by globalization (ex Glasgow) but never really showed how soccer can be a useful analogy for the fact that we have, for example, an American company, run by a Japanese man born in the US, financed by sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf, building computers in Taiwan, using technology from Chinese labs, and selling them to the French who use them and dispose of them in garbage dumps in Niger.

Also, I didn't like the Jim Rome hate. I like Jim Rome! Sure, he can be a bit of a blowhard but he's a decent guy who gives colorful commentary.

I did like the discussion format we used in class on Friday, it really seemed to be conducive to a free flowing format that allows everyone to speak and give an opinion. As we get to things I feel more passionately about, this may be a problem for me, but I do think it's the best system for our needs as a class.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Human Trafficking: The Most Significant Crisis in World Politics

The most important and pressing issue in world politics is undoubtedly the horrors of human trafficking. The Polaris Project (http://nhtrc.polarisproject.org/materials/Human-Trafficking-Statistics.pdf) estimates twenty-seven million people are enslaved in our world today and 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders annually. These numbers have reached this magnitude due to a lack of adequate governmental policies addressing trafficking, both domestic and transnational, and due to an overwhelming amount of corrupt governments and individuals worldwide. Though some nations have pledged anti-trafficking positions, not enough is being done to halt trafficking. There is a large number of countries whose trafficking rings encompass political figures, and the police, creating areas of the world where trafficking is reinforced opposed to a focus on the apprehension of the traffickers.
The necessity of attention toward human trafficking stems from two major areas; moral obligation and the economic industry it feeds. Former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, stated that “human trafficking is a great moral calling of our time.” A world where men, women and children are exploited at the merciless hands of others is a world that desperately needs to focus its priorities on what its moral obligations are.
Human trafficking generates a yearly profit of 32 billion dollars (Polaris Project). In other words, trafficking humans is a major, booming industry that continues to thrive because of its economic successes. There are, of course, those who directly supply this chain of money. They are the brothel owners, transporters, recruiters, pimps, business owners who traffick their workers, johns (sex customers), etc. As consumers, however, we encounter the traces of trafficking in unexpected and usually unknown ways. Articles of clothing, canned goods, or any other item that can be purchased may have passed through the hands of an enslaved person along the way. Many corporations focus only on the price they pay for the goods that stock their shelves. Many times, the sources from which a corporation purchases their goods is one that uses child labor or trafficked persons to produce their goods. This cycle feeds the trafficking industry and only prolongs the horrendous and volatile acts inflicted upon trafficking victims.
The urgency of the issue is that developed and developing societies alike must grasp the reality that this a world where human beings are enslaved unto others and thus neutrality, or lack of action on any level only signifies one’s condoning of such a rampant evil. As Dante Aligheiri’s famous quotation ensures, “the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis maintain their neutrality.”

People Are the Problem

In my opinion, the biggest issue in world politics is overpopulation. Almost everything is easier to deal with when there is a smaller population. It is easier to deal with a famine when less people are starving, easier to control the spread of a disease when there are less people to catch and spread the sickness. Most importantly, I believe, it is easier to conserve natural resources and live sustainably if there are fewer people drawing off of the earth.

The best way to combat overpopulation is by educating people in third world, overpopulated countries about birth control. The graph below shows the demographic transition that a country goes through as changes from being unindustrialized to developed. At stages one and four, completely preindustrial and completely industrial respectively, the birth and death rates are roughly equal, leading to a stable population. Many third world countries, however, are in stages two and three. They have access to enough modern technologies that death rates are dropping, but families continue to use the mentality that each couple must produce many children, because not all of them are going to survive to adulthood. If the people were educated on family planning and the fact that it is no longer necessary to have quite so many children, birthrates could drop.




Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Poverty Within the United States

As we begin our studies examining various current domestic and world issues, the question as to what the most important issue in world politics arises.  While numerous prevalent matters define our world, determining a sole issue that surpasses others in importance can be arduous.   Regardless, I believe that the most important issue in world politics are the persons living in poverty within the United States.



Current poverty levels within the United States range from approximately 13% - 17%.  While this appears to be a domestic issue concerning only U.S. residents, these populations play a vital role in globalization and American capitalism.  In the status quo, the poor are excluded from ownership society. This policy, proposed under the Bush administration, attempted to allow the masses to gain a larger stake within the nation which subsequently would produce a more self-sufficient population that did not require government policies.  The inability to attain and control assets has produced a wealth inequality     that has been gradually growing (Molseed, 2006).  As the inequality gap increases, wealth is concentrated within the richest population which prevents less wealthy populations from scaling socioeconomic ladder.  American capitalism cannot be sustained by a few wealthy hands.  The ability to effectively compete and sustain a life, also known as the “American Dream”, within an economy is an essential component of capitalism.

The reason why this is a world issue is because countries mimic the U.S. economic model (EPI, 2008).  Countries throughout the world attempt to emulate the U.S. economic model in hopes that their society can attain an autonomous and economic role in world issues.  A credible U.S. model that can engage persons living in poverty within American capitalism can foster economic growth, interdependence, and cooperation (Posen, 2009).  A lack of economic mobility would undoubtedly cause a domestic backlash against globalization as a larger size of the U.S’ population becomes functionally excluded from the economy.  A backlash against globalization would prevent effective multilateral economic policies from arising between the U.S. and emerging markets worldwide.  Numerous empirical studies have explained the importance of economic leadership and multilateral economic policies. Economic leadership is key to prevent economic collapse (Mandelbaum, 2005), war (Gartzke, 2005), warming, and nuclear proliferation (Matthews, 2007).  Globalization has the unique ability to bind new players in the world economy together and it creates industries which have the ability to deter threats throughout the world.  Addressing domestic U.S. poverty is the first step towards economic leadership and a future that can effectively deal with pressing problems.

China and the South China Sea

China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and rapidly expanding military represent a unique challenge today in world politics. No other issue is as delicate and has as much at stake; we face the very real possibility of large scale warfare between two nuclear powers (China and the US) if this issue is not carefully and deliberately managed.

China’s meteoric rise economically was not always matched by a rise in military capabilities; war is bad for business after all and with no serious challenger to her interests, there was no reason to develop a large and modern military. But recently, that has changed and China’s first goal has been to build up the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). For a long time, the PLAN had no “blue-water” capability to speak of, with only a moderately sized “green-water” navy focused on littoral combat and patrolling closely off the coast.

However, this has changed recently and on 26 December 2008 the PLAN deployed 2 destroyers and 1 supply ship to the Gulf of Aden to take part in anti-piracy operations with the other international forces. This marks the first deployment of Chinese warships outside Chinese territorial waters in hundreds of years.

The rest of the PLAN continues to rapidly expand and modernize with an emphasis on weapons systems deliberately designed to counter US capital ships and Carrier Battle Groups in the South China Sea and up to the first island chain. This is combined with the rapid proliferation of area-denial weapons such as the newly designed DongFeng 21 capable of reaching speeds of mach 10 and closing in on 2000km in 12 minutes. This weapon is designed specifically to destroy US Carriers by traveling so fast that it evades detection and interception by the increasingly sophisticated US anti-missile network. China is also modernizing and increasing its submarine fleet with an emphasis on nuclear attack submarines designed, again, to counter conventional US superiority.

On the bright side of all this, as was mentioned earlier, war is bad for business. China appears to not want war, what they want is to make the prospect of war so expensive that the US is dissuaded from standing up to China on issues like disputed islands in South China Sea, Taiwan and Tibet. China is aware that the US still maintains an overwhelming advantage in sea, air and land power and any actual sinking of a US Carrier, while it would be the worst naval disaster since Pearl Harbor for the USN, would be manageable and China would suffer terribly in any protracted war. China continues to maintain, as it did in the recent defense white paper that it, “unswervingly taking the road of peaceful development, unswervingly carrying out its policies of reform and opening-up and socialist modernization, unswervingly pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace and a national defense policy solely aimed at protecting its territory and people, and endeavoring to build, together with other countries, a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity.”

While this is broadly true, all things considered, it remains to be seen how long China keeps this low profile, problem free foreign policy. Recently, China has been showing growing assertiveness in how it handles its local diplomacy. When the US sold more weapons, as it does every year, China protested more strongly and longer than usual. China had normally taken these sales as a matter of course and only protested briefly but this most recent time reflected a much more hardline approach than we were accustomed to. China used the incident as justification for cutting off defense ties and exercises with the US.

So why the potential conflict between the US and China, why can’t the growing PLAN be regarded as a potential ally? Well, it can be but matters with China’s view of the South China Sea and its increasingly aggressive posturing in relation to the first island chain are a cause of great concern. For years under the Bush administration US policy in the South China Sea had foundered, and China was attempting a diplomacy blitz to win allies in the region. But recently the US has responded with a diplomacy blitz of its own, winning back allies afraid of a rising China. The US has re-established ties with Indonesia’s Special Forces and has announced or conducted military exercises with Cambodia, South Korea and Vietnam. China views the South China Sea as it’s historical domain and believes it has a special sovereignty over it, but it’s interests also run more pragmatic. If the PLAN was to successfully assert itself in the South China Sea and up to the first island chain, it would accomplish the dual use of keeping the other neighborhood up and comer, India, bottled up in the Indian Ocean. It has identified India as a potential trouble maker because of its similar meteoric rise in power and status as well as a historic enmity stemming from disputed territories in Xinjiang and Arunachal Pradesh and its close alliance with the United States.

Conflict is avoidable in the South China Sea, certainly, but the conflict between US, Chinese, Indian, South-East Asian interest has the potential to blow up into a the most serious military engagement since World War II. The results of any such conflict with not only be a tragedy for the thousands who would certainly die but would drastically alter the balance of power in the world and have severe consequences for the global economy as the two biggest economies in the world make war upon one another. It is for this reason -- the potential for violence and drastic changes in the regional and worldwide balance of power, that China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea is the biggest issue in world politics.