Essays

Is Security “Civilising”, as Argued by Loader and Walker?

Sebastiano Sali • Dec 30 2009 • Essays

Loader and Walker reveal a very interesting dynamic, in which they put citizens in a position to somehow educate the state, to secure themselves and avoid the state developing as a threat to them. However, I would say that they do not develop this notion far enough, and are subsequently unable to overcome the concept of the state as the main actor of security.

The Political Realism of Thucydides and John Mearsheimer

Philipp Sorgenfrei • Dec 28 2009 • Essays

Thucydides’ and Mearsheimer’s views on political Realism resemble a mirror’s reflection; Displaying the same, yet a closer look reveals their inverse nature. In the course of the following essay, the modern, theoretical image of John Mearsheimer’s Aggressive Realism and its ancient reflection as found in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War will be extracted, compared and contrasted

Aesthetics and Politics: Tragedy as a Paradigmatic Category

Elisa Narminio • Dec 18 2009 • Essays

Although conceptual boxes strip analysis of depth, how do we live, study and explore the world without any guidelines or pre-manufactured tools? And assuming this to be possible, isn’t tragedy only accessible to the few elites that are read enough to extract the very substance of tragedy that can be useful in our contemporariness?

Transnational Crime and Canadian Criminal Intelligence

Paul Knight • Dec 16 2009 • Essays

Crime in the 21st century poses a major asymmetric threat to Canadian society, demanding enforcement that is flexible, responsive, and grounded in defensible strategic goals. This will require solutions beyond standard bureaucratic shifts, necessitating a broad change in organizational mindsets, shifting the emphasis of enforcement from a “statistics-based policing” model to a more strategic, long-term approach.

‘Conflict Management Sows the Seeds of Future Conflict’ A Case Study of the Kashmir Conflict

Amritben Bagia • Dec 8 2009 • Essays

India and Pakistan have come no closer to resolving their disagreements than what was attempted in 1949 because they are firmly grounded in a solution that is zero-sum, state centric and plagued by internal domestic political pressure.

What does Locke Mean by “Trust,” and Why is it so Important to him?

Tan Wei Kee • Dec 2 2009 • Essays

Trust in the Lockean sense is the embodiment and projection of popular sovereignty. It symbolises the political power and legitimacy that a government which is trusted by the people possesses. A government without trust is akin to a knight without his armour, powerless and redundant. In view of this, it is no wonder that trust is so important to Locke’s construction

What was Roosevelt’s ‘Vision of Europe’?

Tatiana McArthur • Nov 30 2009 • Essays

Roosevelt had a wide reaching and aggressive plan for planning post-war Europe. The formation of a strong Anglo-American alliance was critical for both parties during and after the war. For the United States, Britain was necessary in promoting democratic ideals and policing the states of Europe, something it was in a better geographical position to do. The signing of the Atlantic Charter in the early 1940’s cemented the partnership that has continued up to present times.

Clausewitz: War, Peace and Politics

Jordan Lindell • Nov 26 2009 • Essays

With tactics from Vom Kriege used widely as military doctrine and foreign policy around the world based on Clausewitzian theories such as the paradoxical trinity and the center of gravity, it is apparent that Clausewitz’s lessons live on. Because of this continued application to the modern world, even over 150 years later, it is difficult to disagree with Clausewitz and the concepts of war, peace, and politics set forth in his work.

When and Why did Opinion Shift Decisively from Favoring the Bretton Woods System to Floating Exchange Rates?

Joe Simone • Nov 15 2009 • Essays

Shifts in opinion from favoring the fixed regime to favoring the floating regime illustrated that something fundamental changed in the 1960s and early 1970s. The fundamental change was that the international post-war economic system was on the verge of collapse.

Sustainability and Water Resources in the Middle East

Caroline Smith • Nov 9 2009 • Essays

The Middle East is one of the most water-short regions in the world: almost all countries in the region (with the arguable exceptions of Iran and Turkey) have less (in most cases, significantly less) water available – through rainfall and other sources – than the 1,000 cubic metres per person, per year, which is traditionally taken to be a minimum human requirement.

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