Political Science Topics - Essay Example

Dairy around 10 paragraphs Contents Elections 3 Oligarchies 3 Military Coups 4 From Old Wars to New Wars 4 Post-9/11 Global Security 5 The Developmental State 5 From State-Planning to Free Market 6 The Global Economic Crisis or Simulation 7 Demographic Transitions 7 Transitional Justice 8 General reflection 8 References 10 Elections An election is a formally held decision making process through which a community, state or a country selects an individual for getting the right of official power of holding public office. An election is a mechanism that is used in the operations of modern representative democracy since the 17th century (Crook, 1997). The process of an election is commonly used in legislatures as well as in executive and judiciary sections for regional, local as well as national governments of different countries. Election is the most established mechanism used by modern democracies to select the representatives. Elections are considered to be oligarchic institutions. To elect means to make a decision or choose. Electronic voting is the most common tool used in elections in modern democracies (Basedau, Erdmann and Mehler, 2007). Oligarchies An oligarchy is a type of power structure in which power is in control of a small number of people. The term oligarchy was coined by Aristotle for referring to despotic ownership that was exercised by a privileged group in a society mainly for selfish or corrupt purposes. In case of classic oligarchies, governing people are recruited from hereditary elite ruling families (Burawoy, 2001). In states where oligarchy is practiced, the political power rests with a few royal or prominent families who can pass their influences through generations. However, inheritance is not necessary for applying the streaming down of power from one generation to another. The few people who are powerful in an oligarchic state are generally distinguished by factors like wealth, royalty, education, family ties, military, corporate or religious control. Oligarchies are commonly associated with tyrannical behaviour which means to rely on obedience of the public and to enforce operations in order to exist in the society (Eberlein, 2006). Oligarchy can be demonstrated by a privileged group as well which does not have connections to power with respect to bloodlines or wealth which is the common case in monarchy. Military Coups A military coup is a type of organization in which the armed forces in a nation can replace and overthrow the ruling government of the country. A military coup may be successful or unsuccessful, temporary or permanent depending upon the circumstances of its existence. A temporary form of military coup is one in which the military would release the powers in a short time while in a permanent form of military coup, the military would remain in power and control for a longer period of time. If the existing government is replaced by a military coup in terms of reigning power, then the military coup can be said to be a successful one (McGowan, 2003). However, if the ruling government stays in control and power despite the presence and attempts of the military coup, it would be deemed to be an unsuccessful military coup. A military coup is distinguished from a revolution. While a revolution follows a bottom up approach against the government, a military coup takes a top down approach in its actions against the government. Also, in a revolution, the main participants are generally non-governmental entities while in a military coup; the participants are usually actors from the existing structure of the state. A military coup is a generated and controlled form of organization. A military coup may deal with bloodless activities as well (Nugent, 2004). From Old Wars to New Wars War economy is a system which is totalizing, centralized and autarchic in nature. This was applicable to the total wars in the twentieth century. In the olds wars, administration was centralized to make the war efficient. This was seen in World War 2 in which Soviet Union and Britain received assistance from the United States to maximize their force base (Kaldor, 2007). The logic of new wars is different from that of old wars. The new type of economy in war is based on globalization wars which includes the decentralization and fragmentation of the state. This leads to low participations which decrease the frequency of battles and makes cooperation among warring factions much common. New wars involve international wars or civil wars which display a low intensity of conflict (Kalyvas, 2001). Post-9/11 Global Security The period after September 11, 2001 was characterized by extensive emphasis on the global securities. After the 9/11 incident, a tendency has evolved in the global security environment to put more stringent practices in place. This is aimed at ensuring that suitable measures are taken to prevent any similar kind of mishap (Abrahamsen, 2004). However, the practical implementation of security systems has not been as established as it was expected to be after the collapse of the World Trade Centre. The international relations among different nations have been hugely impacted by the changing global security environment. The foreign policies of the United States have been dynamically altered after this incident. The United Nations Security Council developed different stringent systems and regulations to ensure that any kind of terrorist attacks are prevented (Barkawi, 2011). There were steps taken to disarm the different weapons of mass destruction held by powerful nations like Iraq. The Developmental State In political economics, developmental state is defined as the phenomenon of microeconomic planning led by the state. This has been started by the East Asian states in the twentieth century itself. A developmental state is important is terms of economic development because it plays an active role in facilitating economic development and also enhances the use of resources available in a country in order to meet the demands of the people living in the country (Chang, 2002). A developmental state aims at balancing the economic growth with social developments. This kind of a state used the state influences and available resources in order to mitigate social issues like poverty while expanding the economic opportunities. Thus, the role of a developmental state is crucial in shaping up the output and structure of an economy (Doner, 2005). A state needs certain organizational, strategic and technical capabilities and resources to act as a developmental state. From State-Planning to Free Market A state planned market is a type of economic system in which the production and investment decisions are integrated within a plan that has been formulated by the state or central authority. This authority is generally a public authoritative body like a government agency. This type of market is commonly established in a command economy (Fine, 2001). A state planned market is a centrally planned economy which may be based on centralized and decentralized types of economic planning. The main objectives of state planned economy are to enable the planners to use information resources and economic resources and subsequently improve coordination and productivity in the market. A free market is a system of market in which the prices of goods are determined freely by the sellers and the buyers in the market. This market takes into consideration the factors of demand and supply and there is no intervention from the government or any other authority (Kivinen and Chunling, 2012). This is supportive of private ownership and high competition in the markets. The Global Economic Crisis or Simulation The global economic crisis refers to the great financial crisis of 2007-2008. This is considered to be the worst financial downturn after the great depression of the 1930s (Crafts and Fearon, 2010). This economic crisis led to the collapse of many financial institutions, a downward trend in the stock markets around the globe and also the bailout of various reputed banks by the governments (Cinzia and Gros, 2011). The crisis also caused the slowdown of the economic activities, declines in the wealth of consumers as well as the failure of large established businesses across the globe. This financial crisis was studied from various dimensions to identify the reasons behind the crisis so as to prevent such a crisis in the future years. A number of weaknesses and discrepancies in the existing financial and regulatory systems were identified post the global economic crisis. This created the need for risk management and complexity management in investments and the operations of the financial institutions across the globe. Demographic Transitions Demographic transitions indicate the alteration in the fertility, make up and mortality of a population over time (Kugler and Swaminathan, 2006). Demographic transition does not take into account factors like effects of migration on the composition of a population. As per the demographic transition theory, there are three stages through which a developed society passes and which can affect the sex and age distributions of the populations of the society. These three stages can be demonstrated through the use of a hypothetical population pyramid. Stage 1 is indicative of the first phase of demographic transition in which the population is young and fertile with high mortality rate. The stage 2 represents a decrease in the mortality rate while fertility rate remains high. In stage 3, fertility rate is less and an even distribution of age and sex is noted in the population (Castle, 2008) Transitional Justice Traditional justice includes a range of judicial measures as well as non-judicial measures used to address the massive violations of human rights in different countries. These judicial measures may include truth commissions, reparation programs, criminal prosecutions and other type of institutional reforms (Snyder and Vinjamuri, 2003). Traditional justice is an approach for achieving justice during the times of transition in a state resulting from repression or conflicts. Transitional justice aims to provide proper recognition and identification of the rights of the victims to establish the democratic roles with respect to law and to facilitate civic trust. This is done by focusing on redresses and accountability of the victims. Transitional justice is significant in the society because the violation of human rights done through crimes does not affect only the victims but also negatively impacts the overall society. The core elements of transitional justice are criminal prosecutions, truth commissions and institutional reforms (Sriram and Pillay, 2011). Other measures like renaming of public spaces and memorialization are also significant elements of transitional justice. General reflection The political science topics discussed above are relevant and useful in the international relations of nations. These topics are essential for coverage in the study of international relations. The great financial crisis of 2008 and the great depression of 1930 are two key events in the world which have impacted the economies and activities of different nations, irrespective of whether they are developed or under developed nations. These crises have subsequently impacted the business and investment relations between nations across the world. In this respect, the topic of global economic crisis seems to be a highly relevant and meaningful topic in international relations. Other topics like election and oligarchies are helpful in providing an insight into the functioning of modern democracies and to draw a parallel between the functioning of nations in previous times and in the modern days. Developmental states and comparisons between planned and free economies are critical for understanding modern business environments and economic developments of different nations. The global security issues arising out of the 9/11 attack have also largely impacted the international relations. The topic of old wars versus new wars can be adequately representative of how the changing viewpoints and objectives of the global societies have changed and how these changes have affected the conflict resolution and cooperation level in the relations between different nations. Also, this would help to understand how the aspects of the wars between nations have evolved over time and impacted the war economies of the nations. Demographic transitions are critical for understanding the population composition of any nation. Transitional justice is a legal aspect which is taken up by many nations across the world and finds much importance in the global societies where continuous steps are being taken to prevent violation of the human rights. All these topics are relevant and widely discussed topics in the domain of international relations and there remains scope for a number of researches in this domain. A number of social researches can be carried out in the topics of election, oligarchies, global security after the 9/11 attack, transitional justice, free market versus planned market economy, old wars and new wars, demographic transition etc. References Abrahamsen, R. 2004. A Breeding Ground for Terrorists? Africa & Britains “War on Terrorism. Review of African Political Economy. Vol.31 (1). Barkawi, T. 2011. From War to Security: Security Studies, the Wider Agenda and the Fate of the Study of War. Millennium. Vol.39 (3). Basedau, M. Erdmann, G. & Mehler, A. 2007.Votes, Money and Violence: Political Parties and Elections in Sub-Saharan Africa. Uppsala: Nordic African Institute. Burawoy, M. 2001. Transition without Transformation: Russias Involutionary Road to Capitalism. East European Politics & Society. Vol.15 (2). Castle, S. 2008. The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Chang, H. J. 2002. Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. London: Anthem. Cinzia, A. & Gros, D. 2011. Great Recession versus Great Depression: Monetary, Fiscal and Banking Policies. Journal of Economic Studies. Vol. 38(6). Crafts, N. & Fearon, P. 2010. Lessons from the 1930s Great Depression. Oxford Review of Economic Policy. Vol.26 (3). Crook, R.C. 1997. Winning Coalitions and Ethno-Regional Politics: The Failure of the Opposition in the 1990 and 1995 Elections in Côte d’Ivoire. African Affairs. Vol. 96(1). Doner, R. F. 2005. Systemic Vulnerability and the Origins of Developmental States: Northeast and Southeast Asia in Comparative Perspective. International Organization. Vol.59 (1). Eberlein, R. 2006. On the Road to the States Perdition? Authority and Sovereignty in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Journal of Modern African Studies. Vol.44 (4). Fine, B. 2001. Neither the Washington Consensus nor the Post-Washington Consensus. London: Routledge. Kaldor, M. 2007. New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era, Cambridge and Malden: Polity Press. Kalyvas, S. N. 2001. ‘”New” and “Old” Civil Wars: A Valid Distinction?’ World Politics. Vol.54 (1). Kivinen, M. & Chunling, L. 2012. The Free-Market or the Welfare State? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Kugler, T. & Swaminathan, S. 2006. The Politics of Population. International Studies Review. Vol.8 (1). McGowan, P. J.2003. African Military Coups d’Etat, 1956-2001: Frequency, Trends and Distribution. Journal of Modern African Studies. Vol.41 (3). Nugent, P. 2004. Africa since Independence. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Snyder, J. & Vinjamuri, L. 2003. Trials and Errors: Principles and Pragmatism in Strategies of International Justice. International Security. Vol.28 (3). Sriram, C. L. & Pillay, S. 2011. Peace versus Justice? The Dilemmas of Transitional Justice in Africa. Oxford: James Currey. Read More