Discussion Board 5 - International Relations - Essay Example

Hegemonic decline refers to a lessening of the influence of a given nation in a designated economic and political sphere. There are rival theoretical interpretations regarding the nature of the hegemon as well as the rise and fall of hegemonic power. The realist aspect of this phenomenon is argued in ‘Hegemonic Stability Theory’ by Keohane (Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S., 2001), proposing that the international system is stronger if a benign dominant power exists. Decline (and death of the system) may occur when the hegemon no longer has a vested interest in this role (realism), or the system may continue to exist in a different form without the hegemon.

Keohane argues that the USA is still a hegemon despite its troubled economy because it has what he calls ‘soft power’ – the power to legislate and the power to persuade (Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S., 2001) Although the Bush administration has severely damaged the image of the USA as a credible hegemon, there is little doubt about the status of the USA as a hegemon in 2011. Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S., (2001). Power and Interdependence, 3rd Ed. New York: Addison–Wesley. 2. What is Comparative Advantage?

Given the case studies of Japan, the United States, and Costa Rica, in which products do you feel they have the comparative advantage? Comparative Advantage is a concept developed by David Ricardo during the early 19th century, which refers to trading exchanges between entities, where each entity benefits most if it produces those products where the comparative cost are lowest. In the case of Japan and the United states had a comparative advantage in food products, aircraft, chemicals and in optical and digital instruments.

Japan in turn has a comparative advantage in the high technology area (although for items with low entry capital). Concerning the trade between the USA and Costa Rica, the latter has a comparative advantage in sugar, whereas the USA has a comparative advantage in the case of rice. Ruffin, R., David Ricardo’s Discovery of Comparative Advantage. History of Political Economy. Vol. 34,4. 2002, pp 727-748 3. The GM and Chrysler bailouts were not part of any strategic economic policy. They were emergency plans put into place with lightning speed to save what amounted to a large part of the US automobile industry.

Proceedings were assisted, however, by the fact that TARP was in existence, the “Troubled Asset Relief Program’, legislated in 2008 by George W Bush jr. in response to the prime mortgage crisis. Whilst this can be seen as a strategic economic plan, it was originally designed to buy back real estate and not to rescue manufacturing industries. Whilst free market advocates were appalled at the rescue, Steven Rattner, who headed the rescue, claimed that the ensuing catastrophe would have been of unthinkable proportions.

In relation to globalization efforts, there seems to be consensus that this is a one-off incident and as such is unlikely to have serious impact on the general globalization undertaking. However, there is also consensus that the problems that led to the crisis are systemic within the US auto market and are unlikely to have been solved by the rescue. Saho, M., The 2009 US Auto Bailout was Necessary, Argues Rattner. Stanford GSB News. Stanford Graduate School of Business, March 2011, Retrieved 5.4.2011 from http://www.gsb.stanford.

edu/news/headlines/rattner_bailout_2011.html 4. Intellectual piracy is not something that is immediately obvious in the life of ordinary people. Nevertheless, we all daily take advantage of someone else’s intellectual outpourings, from intellectual products to CD’s and videos, there are elements that filter down to all people. It is particularly in the latter area that new technology has made it possible to download media – often without paying the royalties due to the creator. Whilst this may seem a small issue, it is rather major factor in creating disincentives to share intellectual property.

The result may be to be denied access to the intellectual fruits of others altogether, merely because the just rewards are not forthcoming for the producer. On an international basis this extends into copyright and patents and legal frameworks are in place globally to regulate this important area. Peters, M., 2005. Piracy of Intellectual Property, retrieved 5.4.2011 from http://www.copyright.gov/docs/regstat052505.html