The International Political Climate - Essay Example

POWER IN FILM Throughout human history people have been fascinated by power, a political concept, and how it has been exercised. Power is one large concept but it is derived from various forms. For this reason there are many lessons that contemporary leaders, especially those in business, can learn from historical figures, especially those of the ancient world. This is fertile territory for exploration. It really shows that there very little has changed over the last few thousand years regarding power. Some is derived from brute force, some from moral leadership. Power is definitely a political form. Who were some of the most powerful leaders in history? People such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Xenophon, and todays American presidents. These mens lives have lessons for us today but also in a way parallel the lives of some of the most significant business leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries. Business leaders and generals and political leaders all lead high stress lives. Many people depend on them for everything and their decisions have enormous impact. It is therefore very useful to understand what works and what doesnt. Indeed, what happened in the past is the best predictor of what will happen in the future. A limitation that seems apparent in this analysis is that while there are similarities between business and war they are not the exactly the same. Sam Walton is not Alexander the Great. If things go bad for Sam, he loses money (Burns 45). If things go bad for Alexander, he and his soldiers are killed and his country destroyed. There is an important difference. When Hank Greenberg was voted out of AIG by the board of directors because of some of the mistakes he made with management, his penalty wasnt exactly the same as Julius Caesars. Life and death are rarely at stake in the business world (although sometimes they are). Power is a complex thing. For me personally power and leadership means a number of things. Powerful leaders dont need to be bigger than life. They dont need to be historical figures. They are sometimes just people in your local community. Something that has had a big influence on me is the idea of integrity and leadership. I believe integrity is the most pressing leadership issue of today. To me it means having sound moral principles and being honest and upright. In our contemporary world it is clear we have a serious lack of these important principles. But it is not enough to say that it is important to have integrity—we must take steps to instil it where it is lacking. To begin with step one: discerning what is right and what is wrong is not an innate behavior or characteristic; it is learned (Kouzes 67). Education is key to building up this moral faculty and becoming powerful. This faculty is built up through experience and through principles. In a country as politically complicated and as diverse as the United States, this takes a lot of work. We can’t shirk from hard work; we must embrace it. Step two: Sometimes integrity means acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost. In our society, one would call a person who discerns and acts on what they have witnessed or experienced a “snitch”. Many times in the justice arena a person who has witnessed a crime or an altercation, definitely could inform at personal cost—whether jeopardizing their lives or the lives of loved ones. The choice is a hard one; turning to faith is the best way to find an answer. Step three involves saying openly that you are acting on your understanding of right from wrong. Even if it costs you personally, it is important to be honest. When looking at Power it is important to look at the international political climate which is very important for business too. What kind of leaders we have and how they approach the world is vital for the Wests continued success. In todays world it seem that America has to fight alone to preserve stability and peace around the world. Its businesses are more profitable and its military guarantees the peace. This is leadership, but other countries and blocs are depending too much on the United States. Certainly someone like Steve Forbes would agree with this statement (Forbes 34). America is much more technologically advanced and that it can attack safely other countries because it has the means to do so with technological warfare. However, as has been seen over the last few years in Iraq, American military power can get very tied up and may not always be very effective; it can sometimes limited in its ability to reshape a society or political system. The Europeans need to take a page from this book and their leaders need to take advice from some of the great men of history to take a more proactive, robust role in the world today in order to help solve all the problems. It’s important to ask the question, What is power? Many believe, and men like Alexander the Great surely believe that it is purely military force. The US is the lone power in the world with the ability to conduct expeditionary warfare on multiple fronts across the globe whenever it wants to. As was demonstrated in the Balkans in the 1990s, Europeans aren’t able to project a credible military force even within Europe. Therefore the Europeans resort to the only thing they have for managing international conflicts, international institutions such as the UN. The success of European integration and solving the "German problem" has led a lot of Europeans to believe that they live in a Kantian paradise where international institutions can banish war forever. Americans have a different historical reality, and think of the world as a Hobbesian jungle where hard power rules. All of this I agree with. These too are the lessons that history teaches us. Yes, Europeans don’t have a right to tell us that the use of military force in some situations is morally wrong and no you can’t do that, because they really do depend on us, but they are also somewhat correct in being apprehensive about our decisions because they are so significantly affected by them. It is better for them to have an iron in the fire to sit outside of the campfire and complain about the lack of heat reaching them. They should take more responsibility. That in part is the essence of leadership: responsibility and integrity. When considering these arguments it is vital to remember that power is not only power in a military sense. Power is also economic power. Europe is economically strong enough to trouble the US when it wants to, especially when it comes to important trade issues that can seriously affect American technologies and industries. Also, nowadays with the American Economy in so much trouble, it is important to look at the ways military power and economic power are interwoven. With America’s massive debt and deficit it is hard to imagine how it can also continue to police the globe without some serious economic restructuring. If you can’t pay for your military equipment you can’t fight with it. Europe, of course, is in a similar situation. These are some of the biggest leadership questions in the world today. The badly need a good answer. Contemporary films allow viewers to consider what Alexander or Julius would do in such a situation, how they would take a wide view of the situation and approach it with both foresight and boldness. They also show modern leaders in all the travails of power. Indeed, for as long as film has been around, power has been an important theme (Ames 34). There are a number of useful films that show how power can be represented in culture. In the movie W, for example, power is an important concept. This biopic of George W. Bush directed by Oliver Stone provides a great deal of food for thought. How did a man who appeared to be a failure reach the pinnacle of power. The story is very interesting, but the characters feel like cartoons. The director has no real distance from his subject and doesnt really explain his rise. He is more interested in Bushs non-power personality than the mechanisms that lifted him to greatness. Another useful example is Wall Street 2. This is a good example of how money can make power. The thing about money that this movie (also by Oliver Stone) makes clear is how fickle it is. Money, like power, can be gone in a day. And people become a slave to both power and money. This movie is a good example of how the quest for power can destroy a person. This is the best example of what power can do and what it cant. All the Presidents Men is a fine example of power as a political concept. This historical film is another example of this theme, but it also shows how people react to power and how they can take action to reign in the effects of power gone astray. The Nixon White House was behaving with impunity and was drunk on power. Two men fought to bring down the President. Another useful example of power as a political concept is the film 300. This historical film about Greece and Persia has a lot to say about power and leadership. It shows that countries (like Europe) who dont take power seriously can be overridden. It also shows that those who are in powerful who believe themselves to be invincible can quickly be destroyed. The recent action flick Salt has a lot to say about international politics and power. People often feel very comfortable when they are in power, but there is often a worm, eating them away. This movie makes clear that there is always someone seeking the crown and that those in power have to watch out. A final useful example of power as a political concept is the film Bulworth. This odd movie starring Warren Beatty as a wayward American senator has a different take on power. It suggests that the systems of power are highly sclerotic and separate from the people. Senator Bulworth tries to bring the peoples story to the centre of power. Works Consulted Ames, Richard Sheridan. "The Screen Enters Politics." Harpers Monthly Magazine 170 (1934:Dec.-1935:May) Bolam, Sarah Miles. The presidents on film : a comprehensive filmography of portrayals from George Washington to George W. Bush Jefferson, N.C : McFarland & Co., c2007. Booker, M. Keith. From box office to ballot box : the American political film. Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2007. Power, Marcus and Andrew Crampton, eds. Cinema and popular geo-politics. London ; New York : Routledge, 2007. Forbes, Steve and John Prevas. Power Ambition Glory. New York: Crown Business, 2009. Burns, James MacGregor. Transforming Leadership: A New Pursuit of Happiness. Grove/Atlantic, 2003. Kouzes, James M. and Barry Z. Posner. The Leadership Challenge, Credibility, Encouraging the Heart. 3rd ed., Jossey-Bass, 2003. Wheatley, Margaret J. Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World Revised. Berrett-Koehler, 2001. Read More