The debate of the carrying of arms in the United State and the role of the NRA (National Rifle Association)
Essay - 4 pages - Political science
The question of the regulation of handguns is 'one of the most divisive social issues in American society' because 'firearms in general, and handguns in particular, are emblematic of individual autonomy and freedom from government intrusion' . This debate is actually centered on...
Mel Lastman, Mayor of a Megacity (Toronto: 1998-2003)
Essay - 5 pages - Political science
Melvin Douglas 'Mel' Lastman was born to Polish-Jewish immigrants in 1933. He entered into politics in 1969, after having created a chain of stores in the area of Toronto. According to legend, at the age of 22, he borrowed $2,000 and a truck to open his first appliance store; and the...
Security and emancipation
Essay - 4 pages - Political science
The 20th century has witnessed many struggles for emancipation, and a strong emphasis put on security agenda in many countries. Regarding emancipation, many examples come to our mind like the decolonization era, after World War II, the feminist struggles for equality between genders all over the...
How does Gramsci understand social cohesion and consent?
Essay - 5 pages - Political science
Antonio Gramsci is without doubt, a spiritual follower of Marxism. Drawing the consequences of his experiences of worker's movements and communist party politics, as well as of his numerous readings and philosophical influences, he has greatly contributed to the evolution of Marxist thought...
Three ideas of contractualism : the ones of Locke, Rousseau and Rawls
Essay - 8 pages - Political science
“The great non sequitur committed by defenders of the State, including the classical Aristotelian and Thomist philosophers, is to leap from the necessity of society to the necessity of the State” , noted the American anarcho-capitalist Murray N. Rothbard (1926-1995). Indeed, what...
The provision of welfare in the United Kingdom
Essay - 9 pages - Political science
Among all the typologies, which exist within Welfare States, most authors classify the United Kingdom as a 'liberal state'. For example, Titmuss sees the United Kingdom as a 'residual model of social policy', where the needs are met by the state only when the private market and...
How useful are Marxist theories of Capitalist world hegemony?
Essay - 5 pages - Political science
Even if the word "hegemony? linguistically comes from the Greek "egemon? meaning leader or ruler, one can find the roots of this word in Marxist thought as it was first used by Russian Social-Democrats from the late 1890's through the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. Nevertheless, since the...
What is the role of IO's - IGO's and NGO's - regarding hostage takings and kidnappings in the world?
Essay - 7 pages - Political science
Today hostage taking is considered as a crime or as a terrorist act. Indeed, hostage taking is one of the many ways of action of the terrorists because, by this way, they can put pressure on States and thus obtain an important media coverage. The hostage taking is one of the favourite ways of...
Case study: To what extent did the democratization process cause Côte d'Ivoire to collapse?
Essay - 5 pages - Political science
Between 1960 and 1990, Côte d'Ivoire was regarded as a model of state stability and state efficiency. But in 2002 the Ivorian State completely collapsed. At the same time the level of democracy in Côte d'Ivoire went up between 1990 and 2002, leading the country from a paternalistic...
Differences and similarities among the contemporary security policies in Nordic countries
Essay - 9 pages - Political science
“Since 1720, all the Nordic countries have remained minor powers on the international stage. As such, the Nordic states have had to adapt to the constraints that are usually beyond their control.” This statement could summarize the geopolitical situation which has shaped the security...
Cosmopolitanism according to Kant, Negri, and Hardt
Essay - 4 pages - Political science
What is cosmopolitanism? The etymology of the word goes back to Ancient Greek, and is composed of the words kosmos, world, and polites, citizen. Cosmopolitanism should therefore be a theory of world politics, of a world in which a single shared political order would rule and of which every...
What is governmentality? Is it a useful concept?
Essay - 4 pages - Political science
Although the concept of governmentality was elaborated in Foucault's last years, its philosophical premises are to be found in many of his earlier publications. From 1961 (Madness and Civilization) to 1984 (The History of Sexuality) , he explored various forms of powers and constraints, in...
Should Turkey be admitted into the European Union ?
Essay - 14 pages - Political science
Although many people believe the debate regarding the admission of Turkey into the European Union (EU) is recent, it actually dates back to 1959, just two years after the signing of the Rome Treaty, which created the EU (see appendix 1). In July 1959, Turkey asked for an association agreement...
The subprime crisis
Essay - 10 pages - Political science
Edward Gramlich in his presentation during the Jackson Hole yearly central bankers symposium of August 31, 2007, said that, 'productivity often improves in fits and starts, in other words, booms and busts play a prominent role. In the 19th century, the United States benefited from the canal...
Is realism still a relevant theory?
Essay - 5 pages - Political science
International Relations have traditionally focused on the State and its ability to survive. Major theories of international relations try to adequately explain and therefore predict security developments and constructing international relations in the world in which we live. The predominant...
Can the proliferation of nuclear weapons of mass destruction be halted?
Essay - 4 pages - Political science
Proliferation is a traditional issue of International Security and has always been at the heart of strategic analysis. In the last few weeks, the International Community has been worried about the situation in Pakistan. General Musharaff proclaimed a state of emergency and convened general...
International Law and Organization: Weighing the Democracy Deficit
Essay - 5 pages - Political science
The history of the relationship between the United States and international law and organization has always been a love-hate one. While historically the U.S. has unquestionably been one of the strongest proponents of the development of international organizations such as the United Nations...
The American Declaration of Independence
Essay - 3 pages - Political science
On the 4th of July 1776, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress, the American Declaration of Independence, completing the Lee Resolution, that asserted the independence of the Thirteen Colonies. This Declaration proclaimed that the Thirteen British Colonies in North America were 'Free...
The World Trade Organization (WTO) law and the environment
Essay - 9 pages - Political science
In 1979 the Brandt Commission recommended that an international trade organization incorporating both GATT and UNCTAD was the objective towards which the international community should work. This dream came true in January 1995 when the World Trade Organization (WTO) became the successor to GATT,...
Why, according to Iversen, have the United States and Continental Europe adopted such different approaches to labor markets and social protection?
Essay - 2 pages - Political science
Published in 2005, Torben Iversen, tries in his book ?Capitalism, Democracy and Welfare', to build a general explanation on why within a group of countries labeled western type democracies there are such differences regarding economic equality and welfare protection. With an integrated...
UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and US multilateralism
Essay - 6 pages - Political science
The United Nations Security Council Resolution of 1559 was adopted by the Security Council on September 2, 2004 by a vote of 9 in favor (Angola, Benin, Chile, France, Germany, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom, United States), to none against, with 6 abstentions (Algeria, Brazil, China, Pakistan,...
Non-Governmental Organizations and the United Nations System History, Problems and Prospects
Essay - 8 pages - Political science
NGOs have been active in the United Nations (U.N.) system since its inception in 1945. Although the U.N. was created as an intergovernmental organization, there was a need since the early days of the Organization to allow representatives of the civil society to participate, through formal and...
Conflict assessment report: Lebanon
Essay - 16 pages - Political science
With its unique geographic location at the crossroads of three continents, Lebanon has always been a passageway to many different peoples and cultures. The coexistence of a dozen and a half of different religions in such a tiny territory has been a model for diversity. However, this diversity has...
Ireland: Culture, Religion and Identity
Essay - 9 pages - Political science
In this essay, we are going to see the relationship between culture, religion and the identity in Ireland. The first part of the essay focuses on the Irish culture. We are going to answer questions like: Does Ireland have a distinctive and homogeneous culture? What does it mean to be Irish...
Cook's resignation from the English government due to his rejection of the policy lead by downing street on the subject of the war on Iraq
Essay - 1 pages - Political science
On March 18th 2003, Robin Cook resigned from government because he did want to go to war in Iraq without a strong international coalition and a UN resolution backing it. To him, the British government went to war not because of British reasons but for the reasons that US had along with...
How were the 2006 labor protests seen in France and abroad?
Essay - 5 pages - Political science
On 9 December 1905, a law was passed in France separating the church and the state. However, today in the United States of America, the President takes an oath on the Bible to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic. To the French, it may sound...
Gender, sexuality and politics: masculinity - published: 29/09/2010
Essay - 6 pages - Political science
The art critic and author John Berger, known in particular for his introductory essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing , discusses a “promise of power”, which lies at the centre of a network of conventional masculine characteristics: authority, competitiveness, aggression,...
American Civilization and World History: an essay on American Exceptionalism
Essay - 4 pages - Political science
Alexis de Tocqueville was the first author to write that 'the position of the Americans' was 'quite exceptional.' But the modern notion of American Exceptionalism emerged in the 50s and 60s, and has been particularly challenged since then. This concept refers to the...
Critically discuss the legal theory of Austin - published: 29/09/2010
Essay - 3 pages - Political science
The existence of law is one thing, its merit or demerit is another. John Austin (1790-1859) defines the essence of positivism in this one sentence, which is generally cited as the standard exposition of the imperative theory of law, from his book ?The Province of Jurisprudence Determined'...
Public policies and Globalization: Classic liberalism, Economic Nationalism or Embedded liberalism?
Essay - 3 pages - Political science
The last World Trade Organization summit illustrated the inability of governments to reach complete free trade agreements. The increasing number of cases of conflict presented to the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO, shows that there is still a lot to do in the field of cooperation, and a...
