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Global Consumption
2008-03-09 04:16:00
The world economic system is based on development, on enrichment. To achieve this, it is necessary to trade by getting materials by extraction of resources to transform them into products for selling or simply by exporting raw materials for the best price possible. The main difficulty is that this obligatory expansion requires resources such as oil, wood, coal and water and the use of land, sea and atmosphere as a deposit of waste. Thus, the problem is that there is an imbalance between the economic demand and our restricted supplies (Snarr & Snarr 2005: 237).When we put light into “sustainable development”, it is clear the presence of two emphases: a) to protect and conserve the resources of the planet and b) to improve technology to enhance growth (with less impact in global resources). There is also who says that there is incompatibility in the concept since to develop is unsustainable in the way it is now (Snarr & Snarr 2005: 237-8).Having elucidated this, it is possible to ...
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What about global risks?
2008-03-09 04:12:00
We live in an interconnected world. The implementation of risk and security strategies has become common when it comes to deal with global risks. It can be seen as problematic since it affects many parts of global relations as economic, social, political and cultural exchanges. One single incident can influence many countries at the same time and can unleash different problems or reactions worldwide. A national problem can become global since the country has any kind of connection to another country.One good example is the policy adopted by the USA after 9/11. The so-called ?war on terror? radicalized policies and turned Arabic descendents into probable terrorists and potential killers. These policies created a scenario of distrust and fear and unleashed a series of national borders protection strategies in a way never seen before. These barriers, created to avoid other attacks with the proportions of what happened in New York, feed the extremist sentiment against ?the West? or the ...
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Globalization: Good or Bad?
2008-03-08 17:40:00
I would be a fool if I would state globalization as simplistically good or bad. Such complex subject must be carefully analyzed. Obviously, for this maybe-too-short paper, it won?t be possible to examine all the aspects I would like to, but I will make a simpler frame to this issue.Globalization can be thought as a very intricate game with many gains and losses to all players. However, there are nations and countries that can ?gain more ground? than others, whether by better controlling institutions and mechanisms or by using their already achieved positions in this game (i.e. prosperity achieved by colonialism), and take advantage of these positions, manly if we refer to economic globalization directly connected to the advance of global trades. Going deeper, the game scenario is constantly changing, and not only to the favor of the ?riches side?. Being thus, the most important analysis is not if globalization would be good or bad, but when it is considered good or bad.Opinions chan...
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Globalization: Dead or Alive?
2007-10-26 16:13:00
The last years, liberals more intensely stated about globalization as the free movement of goods and capital and stressed its benefits to the world. Very important matters were forgotten in the struggle for opening markets. Besides the exchangeable items and money, there can be also a free movement of people and ideas. Moreover, the way cultures (we can read people(s) also) react to this process differs immensely, and the costs of being engaged in this movement can be too much high to economies, countries and also to globalization itself.Some countries join to globalization movement with all their capacities, trying to bite off important spaces (i.e. China). Some strive for a better international political voice by integrating forces in humanitarian or peace missions. Brazil, for example, is trying to achieve a permanent seat at UN by leading a peace mission in Haiti. Others, like Iran, try to call world?s attention trough possible threats of nuclear attacks. And yet others run coun...
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Globalization: new or old?
2007-10-01 20:05:00
After several personal problems, this author is now back to the business! I am so sorry I couldn't advise you in advance. A higher power avoided me to keep writing for this blog for a while, but now everything is all right.I'll come back to the subject analized before, but to not let the readers with "empty hands" I'll also post many articles about Globalization and its consequences, influcences, trends, etc. , one of the most discussed phenomena(on) (?) in these days.Globalization: new or old?The answer for the question of globalization ? is it new or old? ? lies on many aspects that should be considered and analyzed. There are various studies that show globalization as an old economic/social/etc. movement but with a multiplication of its effects because of the increasingly technological expansion. However, there are numerous scholars that defend that this phenomenon is new as so as some of its consequences.Frank and Gills (2000) state that what people call globalization (even t...

Sovereignty
2007-08-24 01:48:00
The Treaty of Westphalia led to a revolution in the notion of sovereignty and made possible to develop the concept to what we understand as sovereignty in contemporary international relations. Much of this expansion of the perception about this important theme is found in the writings of Jean Bodin, an important French philosopher from 16th century.In Bodin?s 1576 treatise Six Books on the Republic, sovereignty is presented as the ?absolute and perpetual power vested in a commonwealth.? This power resides in a state and not in an individual; thus is perpetual. It does not expire with its holder. To him, sovereignty has limits although it is absolute. Its exercise is only in the public sphere, and not in the private sphere. The sovereign is a ruler beyond human law and subject only to the natural or divine law. The ruler is also limited by the type of regime ? ?the constitutional laws of the realm? ? be it a monarchy, an aristocracy or a democracy. Discussing about Bodin?s treatise, ...
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The Treaty of Westphalia
2007-08-18 07:27:00
If you study, work with or just like to read about the International Relations (IR), you know the importance of the Treaty of Westphalia for the contemporary concepts in IR, and not just for that, but also for the strengthening of many institutions of our days.The Thirty Years War (to know about the war, click on the link) devastated Europe from 1618 to 1648. The Treaty of Westphalia ended this conflict and had a profound impact on the practice of IR.There are three key developments caused by the treaty:1) The notion and practice of sovereignty;2) Growth of centralized control of institutions under military;3) Emergence of capitalist economic system.This week I am opening a discussion window to make knowledge exchanges possible about these three points, so we can understand how the notions that we have as core concepts in IR were "born" and how they are presented to us today.Please, don't hesitate to comment and give your opinion about this subject. Regards,GustavoREAD HERE THE COM...

International Relations & this blog
2007-08-06 20:13:00
International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs).It is both an academic and public policy field, and can be either positive or normative as it both seeks to analyze as well as formulate the foreign policy of particular states.Apart from political science, IR draws upon such diverse fields as economics, history, law, philosophy, geography, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and cultural studies. It involves a diverse range of issues, from globalization and its impacts on societies and state sovereignty to ecological sustainability, nuclear proliferation, nationalism, economic development, terrorism, organized crime, human security, and human rights.By developing all this fields (at least the most of them), I intend to share conte...
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