In 1993 Ghana initiated the partial liberalisation of its most significant economic export, cocoa beans. Having resisted World Bank pressure to liberalise fully, the Cocoa Marketing Board retained its monopoly on exports through the Cocoa Marketing Company. It thus sustained its farm-to-port quality control system of every sack and its authority to determine the terms of trade
If the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes has been called a “father of Realism”, then the Greek historian Thucydides must surely be its forefather. This essay is going to compare Hobbes’ and Thucydides’ opinions on the sources of state-behaviour with respect to Realist standpoints, questioning whether they can justifiably be classified as belonging to this school of thought.
The proposition that democratic states do not fight interstate wars against each other is one of the most influential ideas in international politics in recent years. Since 1974 eighty-five authoritarian regimes have ended. Yet of these, only thirty states have survived as fairly stable democracies. It seems the shift away from dictatorial rule towards a form of governance offering a more liberal and democratic stance has not always concluded with the construction of peaceful domestic and international relations
There have been many attempts to help increase the quality of life for the Dalits through development focused on enrolment in primary education. But, can education-based development programs work?
If Britain were to break free of Europe it would flounder as the rest of the world passes by, carrying Britain in its current, with Britain having no control over its heading. This would mean that the citizens of Britain, rather than being active entities whose actions and ideas are amplified by the EU, would be reactive to forces outside of their control in a small and powerless, but foolishly proud, nation state.
Despite growth, women continue to constitute only 19% of all parliamentarians worldwide. Quotas are a diverse set of measures that can reach the political agenda for both feminist and non-feminist reasons, leading to diverse effects on the election and empowerment of women. Whilst necessary, more systematic research is needed in order to determine their impact on women as a group.
Pierre Gallois, an advisor to Charles DeGaulle, argued that the mere possession of a nuclear arsenal was enough to deter other nations from waging a war, and as a result he argued that the spread of nuclear weapons would increase international stability. Colin Powell may have been naïve when he said that he wished to see zero nuclear weapons in the world, but hopefully true debate from a practical and realistic perspective will help to make the world a better place
Cluster munitions consist of a ‘container’ that contains a number of smaller sub-munitions or ‘bomblets’ which scatter over a large area and explode on impact. The Convention on Cluster Munitions 2008 is set to come in to force on the 1st of August 2010; hailed as an historic addition to International Humanitarian Law, it seeks to prohibit to use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions.
The 21st century has continued to promote multiculturalism, increased communications cross-border and a greater level of interdependence. The influence of regional institutions has meant that quasi-supranational institutions such as the European Union have been able to challenge the influence of globalisation particularly in the form of ‘New Regionalism’ which is taking shape in a far more multi-polar world order.
Deterring terrorism is too vague a concept. Deterrence as a counterterrorism strategy depends on a bottom-up approach; a top-down approach, at best, creates a negative trickle-down effect. States must deter problematic socio-economic systems in order to prevent the individual from seeking out extreme measures for self-worth, which will, by extension, ultimately deter the terrorist organization.
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