Discussing posters from WWI, WWII and revolutions (Russian) Essay

Discussing posters from WWI, WWII and revolutions (Russian) - Essay Example Thus, fundementally, the presence of social problems don't always ignite a war; it's the inability of the governing body to contain these issues that ignites it. Then again, it will take more fuel for wars to actually begin and sustain itself. This is where propaganda comes in. Looking at the two major wars in history - World War I and World War II, you would find countless of various forms of propaganda urging the people to support these wars. It could take take form of a compelling speech, a passionate hymn or an intruging poster, which will essentially get the people's support or sympathy. When used right, propaganda can be a very powerful fuel that would drive the success of a war or a revolution. Of course, that would depend on which side you're looking at. In the course of history, you would find external wars between countries, and internal wars within a specific region. Different ways and styles of propaganda had been used for these battles. World War I erupted in the year 1914. Years of power struggle and policy conflicts between the world's super powers - The Triple Entente and Triple Alliance powers - led to one of the deadliest conflicts in history. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne by the Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip was the breaking point. This triggered Austro-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia and a whole series of events leading to the spread of conflict worldwide (Marshall, p 1). Looking into the history of World War I, you would find various reasons why it even began. Depending on which side you're studying, you'll find different propaganda's making the other side as the evil enemy. Countries involved in the war used propaganda to raise people's support and morale. Externally, it was also used to gain allies. The involvement of US in World War I is one example of how propaganda worked externally among countries. Initially, the US had made a bold stand to stay out of the war. However, the sleeping super power had been put under pressure by its allies. At the same time, Germany had attacked U.S. naval ships. The tipping point was when the British governement revealed to the U.S. the Zimmerman telegram, which was a proposal of Berlin to Mexico to join the war as Germany's ally against the U.S. All these compounding events led to the participation of America three years after the war started. During the war-torn years, various propaganda materials came out in America to reinforce the decision why the country joined the war in the first place. An independent agency, called Committee on Public Information, was established specifcially to influence public opinion regarding the US intervention in WWI. Since 'propaganda' has such a bad image for the Americans, the committee's leader, George Creel, defined their activities as "not propaganda as the Germans defined it, but propaganda in the true sense of the word, meaning the 'propagation of faith' (Crumm, 19). Under this group, America's most famous illustrators such as James Montgomery Flagg, Joseph Pennell, and Louis D. Fancer had gathered together to create some of WWI's most compelling and influential images. The most popular propaganda poster was of Uncle Sam - personification of US - which encouraged

Reseach (criminology) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reseach (criminology) - Essay Example Campbell (1981) suggested that males were expected to be prosecuted, whereas females are overlooked. Pollak (1961) indicated that females’ offences were hidden and guilty offenders signified only a small fraction of female crime. Heidensohn (1985) suggests that: A qualitative research design was used in the study. The reason for not using a quantitative research design is that it involves extensive surveys and field researches, which was beyond the scope of the present study. For this paper, extensive research of the available literature on the subject was carried out. Widely representative samples of journals related to the topic were selected. Furthermore, recent data from the British Crime Survey was also used in the study. Secondary data in form of fifty journals and recent facts and figures from the British Crime Survey was used as a research method in the study. The reason for this was that the authors of the journals used in the study had already carried out extensive empirical researches on the matter and their findings could be analyzed to get a comprehensive view of the area under study. Also, the British Crime Survey provided an overall view of the number of crimes committed by men and women. The data collected for the research w as both valid and reliable as empirical research had already been carried out by the authors of the journals selected in the research. Moreover, the British Crime Survey is a reliable source of data. Once the journals had been carefully selected, a careful content analysis of the articles was carried out using the Nvivo software which is a valuable tool in interpreting unstructured qualitative data (QSR international 2010). The limitations of the research are that firstly, the British Crime Survey only provides reported crimes. This means that the there could be variance in the data if the unreported crimes were also included in

Immortal Technique: The 4th Branch

Immortal Technique: The 4th Branch This discourse analysis will focus on Immortal Techniques song called the 4th Branch published on his 2003-released CD Revolutionary Vol. 2. This paper will start by portraying the artist, focusing on his inspirations, followed by a brief description of discourse analysis and the definition of content analysis which is used to study the lyrics. Finally, this work will regard the main concepts of the power of discourse, the media and Islamophobia together, by acknowledging the link in between these terms, building a critical approach towards American actions and values. Felipe Andres Coronel is a hip-hop artist known as Immortal Technique as well as a political activist, born in Peru. After immigrating to the United States at a young age due to a civil war in his native country, he was raised in Harlem, New York (viperrecords.com). The artist describes himself as a revolutionary and socialist guerrilla, influenced by historical events and political figures such as Malcolm X, Che Guevara or TÃ ºpac Amaru (immortaltechnique.info). Mainly his raps involve critical issues such as global and local poverty, racism and religion (immortaltechnique.info). Turning down a deal by a major record label, and signing with a smaller label (Viper Records), he expressed his desire to remain in control over his music, avoiding the influence of mass production (immortaltechnique.info). Method In the recent decades, discourse analysis affected social psychology research on not solely textual analysis, but also areas such as films, speeches or policy documents. Accordingly, it introduced new methods in order to explore objectively tendencies and pattern of meanings within documents and focus on the interaction between e.g. the speaker and addressee (Antaki, et al., 2003; Stemler, 2001; Fairclough, 1992, p.3). Researchers often use computer programs known as CAQDAS (Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software) to study qualitative analysis (MacMillan and Koenig, 2004, p.181-182). These computer-based methods for qualitative data analysis, help organizing and coding the data (Fielding and Lee, 1996, p.242). This paper will use content analysis to study the artefact and is characterized as a systematic, replicable technique for compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding (Stemler, 2001). Weber determines category as a group of words with similar meaning or connotations (Stemler, 2001). This study is defined as any technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specified characteristics of messages by Holsti (Stemler, 2001). This evolves an inductive reasoning, in contrast to deductive approaches. Due to observations and measurements, regularities are explored, followed by the proposition of a hypothesis, out of which a theory or a general conclusion can be drawn (Trochim, 2006). The procedure of this analysis allows to describe the centre of individual or groups as well as institutional or social attention (Stemler, 2001). After having coded and categorizing the words or the families of terms into groups, u nderlining topics and issue become clearly visible. If applied properly, content analysis is an influential data reduction technique due to its systematic, replicable technique for compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding (Stemler, 2001). Analysis of the artefact 1000 words This discourse analysis focuses on the artefact of a song-text. Quantitative and qualitative key words in text give hint to main terms of soft power, religion and American actions and values. In order to receive the most objective result, this analysis was coded independently three times and the average result is considered. Furthermore, it only regards the first and second verse as well as considering the chorus only one time. Discourse and American values, actions This analysis starts by referencing to the ideas of discourse. Twenty-three times the families of words linked to American actions and values are found. When talking about discourse, Michael Foucault plays an important role. He claims that knowledge is interconnected with power. Discourse as the production of knowledge is linked to variety degrees of power; how some voices get heard whilst others are silenced (Pinkus, 1996). It explains the change of language and its construction, linked to the social and cultural process (Fairclough, 1992, p.1, 6). It uses the principle of othering to establish self-identities, achieved by creating a language of dislike and fear in this case towards non-Americans and terrorists (Jackson, 2005, p.59-61). These binary categorizations are sufficient enough to capture the publics support against terrorists constructed as intolerable threats (Jackson, 2005, p.61, 72; Benjamin and Simon, 2003, p.385). Additionally, the U.S. are portrayed as fighters for j ustice, while the Middle East and its population is defined as uncivilized. Immortal Techniques asks: fighting for freedom and fighting terror, but whats reality?, hence, it is important to acknowledge the standpoint out of which terms are illustrated (Sakamoto, 2003, p.39). In addition, America often acted in disregard to their moral values which partly destroyed their positive image. Iraq was invaded in 2003 after the U.S. failure to receive UN approval; self-interested military actions and its ignorance towards international law portrayed Americas unilateralism (Taylor, 2010, p.313; Sakamoto, 2003, p.35). Human rights violations, we continue the saga is prove of this critique and is e.g. linked to Americas treatment of prisoner in Guantanamo Bay as well as in Abu Ghraib. Media and soft power The following section will develop this idea by looking at the notion of soft power and the use of media. The data refers twenty-two times to the families of words linked to factors such as manipulation, propaganda and representation. Due to the title and line the fourth branch of the government AKA the media, it is essential to explain the other three branches of the American government. The first branch is the executive one, responsible for implying the nations laws, while the second branch is concerned with judicial matters, followed by the third, legislative branch (USA, 2011). The artist refers to the media and its influential power as the forth branch, which eventually leads to soft power. Nye explains his as a method to reach diplomatic solutions and co-operations without coercion, emphasizing on shared political values, communication and understanding (Wagner, 2005; Ilgen, 2006, p.27). Moreover it is a sort of propaganda, capable of influencing and shaping behaviours and perc eptions of others, deriving from the attractiveness of a countrys culture, political ideals and policies (Nye, 2004, p.x; Ilgen, 2006, p.75). This form of power is contrasted to hard power, defined as the employment of threats and coercion, enforcing national interests on to other actors (Nye, 2004, p.2; Wagner 2005). Hence, the media is vital for American politics. Furthermore it plays a crucial role in constructing images and categories and helps to justify and explain American actions. It establishes an everyday and political language into the nations culture due to its role as channel between society and politics, while the average citizen, made to be, blind to the reason through media censorship and manipulation (Jackson, 2005, p.59, 66, 164). Religion and Islamophobia Nine lines are concerned with the topics of religion and difference between Western and Islamic traditions, such as a fake church called the prophet Muhammad a terrorist. This implies a critique of Christianity and refers to the notion of Islamophobia, which is defined as the mostly Western intolerance and fear of Muslims and Islamic otherness; it emphasis on its differences, defined as inferior to the West and unresponsive to change (Islamophobia Watch; Gottschalk and Greenberg, 2008, p.2). It is a form of religious discrimination based on prejudice other than race and ethnicity (Sheridan, 2006, p.317, 331). After the events of 11/9, Islam and its followers are seen as violent and threatening, supporting terrorism and military advances towards to West (Islamophobia Watch). Due to the fact that the mainstream media does not inform about the nonviolent Muslim perspectives, this hatred is hardened and alienates Muslims from other communities (Gottschalk and Greenberg, 2008, p.2). Muslims appear as executioners of violence, in the name of Islam, hence Americans conclude that all Muslims act out of religious reassignment and define the religion as dangerous (Gottschalk and Greenberg, 2008, p.10). Additionally anti-Muslim hostility is justified as normal. Christianity and Judaism are defined as Western religious traditions, alienating themselves from Eastern religious tradition (Gottschalk and Greenberg, 2008, p.6). The way Muslim are portrayed in the West, creates tensions leading to anti-Americanism, conflicts, clashes, misunderstandings and injustices; seemingly they to do share any common interests or values (Gottschalk and Greenberg, 2008, p.3, 10). After having categorized the lyrics into three main divisions, this analysis builds its theory; the artist seeks to demonstrate the power of propaganda through the media and soft power, and the ideas indoctrinate in American minds about their nations values and actions. Due to discourse, the representation of Islam in the mainstream media and through political actions, hatred against Muslims was triggered, which led to the construction of the War on Terror, as well as anti-Americanism throughout the world. American actions were justified trough lies such as Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction in order to implant fear among their citizens and gain their empathy (Gottschalk and Greenberg, 2008, p.7, 8). The song ends with the artists demand to his listeners, to turn off the news and read; hence to broaden ones horizons, avoiding being influenced by certain (manipulated) ideas or deprived from the whole truth. To conclude, this work uses content analysis to study the lyrics of the artist Immortal Technique. This research method focuses on use of the dominant families of words which in this artefact are discourse, false American values and actions, soft power, media, religion and Islamophobia. In addition, this approach endeavours to find the link between them, which is the power to alter representation and language in everyday life and hence, establishes a critical view towards American society, its politics and its media.

The Connection between A Bug’s Life and The Chosen People Essay example

The Connection between A Bug’s Life and The Chosen People In the essay The Chosen People, Stewart Ewen, discusses his perspective of middle class America. Specifically, he explores the idea that the middle class is suffering from an identity crisis. According to Ewen’s theory, â€Å"the notion of personal distinction [in America] is leading to an identity crisis† of the non-upper class. (185) The source of this identity crisis is mass consumerism. As a result of the Industrial Revolution and mass production, products became cheaper and therefore more available to the non-elite classes. â€Å"Mass production was investing individuals with tools of identity, marks of personhood.† (Ewen 187) Through advertising, junk mail and style industries, the middle class is always striving for â€Å"a stylistic affinity to wealth,† finding â€Å"delight in the unreal,† and obsessed with â€Å"cheap luxury items.† (Ewen 185-6) In other words, instead of defining themselves based on who they are on the inside , the people of middle class America define themselves in terms of external image and material possessions. A Bug’s Life is an animated Disney film that tells the story of how a colony of ants fight back against and overcome the domination and oppression of the bullying grasshoppers. When looking at the movie through the lens of Ewen’s theory about identity, several connections concerning identity are found between A Bug’s Life and The Chosen People. Furthermore, by looking at identity issues in A Bug’s Life under this new light, Ewen’s theory becomes incomplete. In the Chosen People, Ewen fails to explore the positive aspects of conformity, gender in relationship to identity or the correlations between tradition and identity. Under the microscope of Ewen’s theory, A Bug’s Life changes from an everyday kid movie to a film riddled with identity issues. The first connection between A Bug’s Life and The Chosen People occurs when Ewen is explaining the rise of industrialism in the United States. He asserts that â€Å"For those laboring in many of the factories, industrial conditions systematically trampled upon their individuality and personhood† and that â€Å"artisan craft and small-scale manufacturer fell to an emerging economy of larger scale.† (187) The ants of the colony can be seen as beings who have had their â€Å"individuality and personhood† trampled because of the grasshop... ...nd less likely to change. Ewen does suggest that the trends of the middle class are becoming increasingly ingrained in the values and mindset of the middle class because of World War II and the â€Å"yuppie culture of the 1980’s.† (196) Yet, Ewen’s trends, fashions and styles that could be appropriately deemed traditions, are not explored from the perspective of tradition. Upon comparing the issues of identity crises suggested in A Bugs Life with those in Stewart Ewen’s The Chosen People, the sources and characteristics of identity crises in Ewen’s essay are found incomplete. Ewen limits his exploration of the sources and characteristics of identity crises of the middle class to consumerism and materialism as well as the obsession with image, style and fashion. By restricting his analysis to these issues, Ewen overlooks the perspectives of identity crises in relationship to tradition, the positive aspects of conformity and gender roles. Bibliography: A Bugs Life. Walt Disney and Pixar Productions. 1998. Ewen, Stewart. â€Å"The Chosen People.† Literacies. Ed. Terence Brunk, Suzanne Diamond, Priscilla Perkins and Ken Smith et al. New York:: Norton, 1997. 183-97.

Norman Rockwell and Aaron Copland: Great American Artists Essay

Illustrator Norman Rockwell along with composer and musician Aaron Copland were two well known American artists; each having an enormous impact on society with their art and music. Rockwell’s paintings and illustrations depicted the perfect and serene American way of life; a style for which scholars criticized him for. Copland was considered an outsider in many ways; he was the first American composer to give the United States and its people their own distinct musical language. Norman Rockwell and Aaron Copland each contributed a wonderfully unique and meaningful form of art and music, each are distinctly American in every sense of the word. Norman Rockwell’s The Four Freedoms Norman Rockwell was one of the most well known American artists of the twentieth century. Rockwell’s style as an illustrator and painter was used purposely to portray a happy and carefree life that was full of American nostalgia; a clean and simple country lifestyle. As a young adult his goal was to land a cover on the Saturday Evening Post for which he eventually illustrated 321 covers in over 47 years. As a proud American, Rockwell was a tremendous supporter of his country and the United States military. When World War II arrived President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a speech to congress which defined the four essential freedoms for all Americans. Inspired by President Roosevelt’s words, Rockwell decided to illustrate the speech through four paintings called The Four Freedoms (Biography Today, 2010). Norman Rockwell’s works generally touched upon the simple country life without controversy, fear, anger or ugliness involved. However with the outbreak of World War II Rockwell felt compelled to do something for his country. The Four Freedoms had both social and political effects on the war effort and brought Rockwell into a different realm from which people were used to. The Four Freedoms represented Freedom of Speech and expression throughout the world; Freedom from Fear in hoping for a reduction in armaments so that the world may live in peace; Freedom of Worship so that each person can worship their God in their own way; and Freedom from Want an economic understanding throughout the world that every nation will enjoy peace and security. Freedom of Speech is a painting that is represented by a working class man standing up to speak publicly. While Freedom from Fear portrays a couple tucking their children into bed; the father is holding a newspaper with a headline speaking of the war. Freedom of Worship portrays many different people in individual prayer; and finally the most well known of the four, Freedom from Want is a painting of an elderly woman placing a roasted turkey before her happy family. Each painting eventually made its way into the Saturday Evening Post and was accompanied by an essay written by different authors. Carlos Bulosan, a Filipino-American writer composed the essay for Freedom from Want and expressed so eloquently what he felt was the American ideal; â€Å"It is the dignity of the individual to live in a society of free men, where the spirit of understanding and belief exist; of understanding that all men are equal; that all men, whatever their color, race, religion or estate, should be given equal opportunity to serve themselves and each other according to their needs and abilities. † (Janairo, 2011). After the Saturday Evening Post published The Four Freedoms in their magazine the paintings began a tour around the United States in an effort to support the war eventually raising more than $133 million in war bonds and stamps. Stephanie Plunkett, the deputy director and chief curator of the Norman Rockwell Museum stated that Rockwell as an artist was known for giving more attention to life’s simple moments. However, with The Four Freedoms there was an opportunity for Rockwell to leave an enormous impact on Americans and their feelings for what was occurring in the world during that time. Plunkett states that the images were of great inspiration to our nation at a time when it was needed. Today The Four Freedoms continue to resonate the importance of society and the world condition, carrying the same messages that Rockwell had intended when he painted them over 70 years ago (Janairo, 2010). Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring Aaron Copland was probably one of the best known and well respected American composers of the twentieth century. While Copland studied composition overseas in France his desire was to make a unique American musical style; he accomplished this by incorporating traditional American music such as jazz and folk into his classical compositions. Copland set American classical music apart from all other styles and gave Americans a music to call our own. Due to his unique avant-garde style Copland was approached by American choreographer Martha Graham. Graham asked Copland to compose a ballet that would sum up the lives of people living through times of peace and struggle. This resulted in Appalachian Spring, a 14 movement work depicting a Shaker wedding and the emotions and events associated with it (Scher, 2005). Copland worked under the title of Ballet for Martha which he used throughout his creative process. However, just days before the debut performance Graham decided to change the title to Appalachian Spring simply because she â€Å"just liked the name†. In fact, Graham was inspired by this phrase from poet Hart Crane; â€Å"O Appalachian Spring! I gained the ledge; Steep, inaccessible smile that eastward bends And northward reaches in that violet wedge Of Adirondack! – wisped of azure wands†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Copland complied with the name, as well as with numerous plot revisions by Graham with no change to the music (Scher 2005). Following several performances audience members commented to Copland that they could imagine the Appalachians and feel spring, neither of which he had initially envisioned when composing the score (Kennard & Saffa, 2006). Aaron Copland’s social and political belief of the Shaker peoples was evident in the context of Appalachian Spring. The Shakers as a group of people incorporated dance and music into their everyday lives, similar as to how the ballet portrays them. Appalachian Spring is an extended metaphor on peace and war. During the time that Copland was composing the piece there was much turbulence occurring within America and the world; World War II was reaching its climax, while America and Japan were on edge with one another. This is reflective as the ballet begins with an atmospheric almost ethereal sound, like little wisps of fog early in the morning. Eventually it clears up and things give way to a wedding, which most of the ballet is compromised of. Following the wedding a demon-like creature made of fire and brimstone arrives to tell the just happily married couple that they will have to sacrifice something in order to remain happy together. When the creature departs, the couple reflects on their newfound knowledge and they live happily ever after; we are then reminded that with happiness and freedom there is a price one must pay (Kennard & Saffa, 2006). Copland and Graham were both modernists, determined to move their respective fields of art forward. They first collaborated in 1931, when Graham did a solo dance to Copland’s controversial and extremely challenging Piano Variations (written in 1930) entitled Dithyrambic. Later, the two worked together on another dance project, entitled Lamentations. Appalachian Spring is the first ballet in which the two collaborated by featuring a full ensemble, there were multiple dancers and the music was easier to listen to. The original ensemble was to be made up of 12 musicians due to the fact that the ballet was short in length and the music and dance were both simply done. However, Copland insisted on a group of 13 musicians; in later years the piece would eventually be arranged into a suite for full orchestra. The score consisted mainly of a sort of theme and variations on the old Shaker dance tune â€Å"Simple Gifts†, which arguably gives the piece its ultimate American feel. Copland scholar Howard Pollack stated that the piece Appalachian Spring made both Copland and Graham renowned artists (Scher, 2005). Norman Rockwell and Aaron Copland were both iconic American artists in their own rights. Each of these men brought a very specific â€Å"Americana† to their works touching upon the heart and soul of all Americans. Rockwell expressed through his illustrations and paintings pure and simple American nostalgia. Copland on the other hand gave Americans a musical language that we could finally call our own. He possessed an ability that allowed for the listener to paint a picture of a great America in their mind when listening to his majestic compositions. Both Norman Rockwell and Aaron Copland were wonderful artists who have left a very specific and indelible mark on American culture and society; their artistic contributions will forever be woven into the fabric of the American dream.

Global North-South economic Essay

Why is there a Global North-South economic divide in world politics today? There have been and still are many problems in the world of politics today. The Global North-South economic divide is just one of them. In order for this essay to be answered, it needs to be split into several sections accordingly. Firstly a definition of what the ‘North-South’ divide will be offered, however there are many types of North-South divides (like digital divide, knowledge divide) but this essay will be looking at the economic divide. Secondly and the pivotal part is the reasons as to why the divide still exists in world politics today with reasons such as colonialism and trade. Finally a conclusion will be given summarising the essay and also provide ways to bridge the ‘gap’ in the North-South economic divide as for many states the divide has more disadvantages than advantages. The North-South divide is the socio-economic and political division which exists between the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as â€Å"The North†, and the poorer developing countries, as â€Å"The South†. Although most nations comprising the â€Å"North† are in fact located in the Northern Hemisphere, the divide is not primarily defined by geography. The term was coined to differentiate the cultural divide between East and West. As nations become economically developed, they may become part of the â€Å"North†, regardless of geographical location, while any other nations which do not qualify for â€Å"developed† status are in effect deemed to be part of the â€Å"South†.1 For more than a generation, the North-South divide was central to the explanation of world inequality and poverty. From the 1960’s until the late 1980’s, the image of a world split between the wealthy developed countries of the North and the poor developing countries of the South fuelled the activity of policy makers and scholars alike.2 Through the 1950’s and 1960’s, countries regarded as developing nations were weighted down with unequal trade agreements, multinational pricing practices, debt burden, pre-capitalist appropriation of labour, capital flight, the looting of natural resources and local corruption. As well, it was harder for the developing countries to compete and work in an economic system that favoured the northern countries.3 The international financial institutions, the stock markets, the commodity cartels and the monopoly structure of global capitalism stacked the cards against the developing world, in favour of tilting the economic wheel of prosperity towards the North. As a result, the pillage of the third world continued, even after the colonizers departed and, supposedly, left free, open and independent societies. In the process, however, the developing countries were left with depleted resources, a barren land, stagnate economies, financially ruined governments and impoverished people.4 From the 1960’s until the late 1980’s, the world split between the wealthy developed countries of the North and the poor developing countries of the South fuelled the activity of policy makers and scholars alike.5 One of the foremost reasons for why the north-south divide exists is because of colonialism. For a long time many countries in the North held colonies in the South as assests and prevented them from developing so that their power was retained. A good example is Zambia, which only gained independence in 1954. Up until then, Zambia was suppresed since over 70% of profits from copper went overseas and only $60 million of capital flowed into the country each year. Therefore the colonial power acted as a block to development. This is not the case now but there is something of a concern which is linked to colonialism which is multinational power. This is another reason why there is a global north-south economic divide today; multinationals like Nike and Coca Cola own many industries in the South. They exploit these countries through cheap land and labour as well as lax safety regulations.6 In Taiwan, many Nike employees have their rights suppresed and are paid ridiculous wages; to give an example of how much they get paid it is said that they work 10-12 hours a day, mostly every day and if they did this for a year they would earn roughly just à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,500.00.7 This is what generally people in the UK earn in a month. Safety regulations in relation to Multinationals are also lax in many southern states; because Multinationals, through less regulation do not have to worry so much about safety regulations such as; safety for their workers like they would have in more developed countries, pollution controls and physical overload (amount of hours worked). One of the major reasons that there is a North-South economic divide, is because the North have mostly cornered the market, thus causing it to developed while the South struggle. The South is trying to develop, but have the problem in trading with the North as they have more control over markets. The inability to trade is an important aspect as trade is an essential part to development since a favourable balance of payments can be achieved.8 This leads to the next reason why the divide still exists; currency. Although the recent introduction of the Euro across Europe has improved the economy is some areas at the very least, the South do not have this luxury. Different states in the South all have different currencies so thus the inability of the South to obtain foreign currency like the dollar or the pound is an important reason as to why the divide still exists today. The currencies in the South are unstable and therefore in order to trade they must obtain currencies used worldwide; like the dollar or the pound. This is often achieved through international trade but this is blocked through lack of available markets and through the imposition of tariffs and quotas upon exports coming from the South. To give an example; one of the major constraints for South Africa in their supply of textiles and clothing has been inadequate foreign currency reserve causing them the inability to cover industry import needs.9 Another concern brought about in regards to the deteriotation of exchange rates is that it increases the poorer countries debt problem.10 In addition, when payments are made, precious national resources that could be spent on developing fair and sustainable economies and societies are channelled back to the rich North. In other words, the international status quo is impeding sustainable development, income generation and poverty eradication.11 Another reason for the divide is resource dependancy. The reliance on one export can at first be successful and prosperous but then can lead to disaster. As already mentioned, Zambia had much reliance over their copper sales. In 1997, Zambia was relying on copper to be its main seller as it was 75% of their export earnings in the mining industry; the vulnerability of Zambia’s economy due to its reliance on copper mining has been exposed in the very recent past by the falling copper price and by falling production as a result of limited re-investment in the mining industry. 12 Another point to make in relation to resources is in regard to Africa and coffee beans. As it is well known the WTO (World Trade Organisation) allows tariff escalation; this means it is cheaper and easier for Africans to export coffee beans that it is to export processed coffee. Therefore Africa does not develop beyond coffee growers.13 It also allows for tariff peaks that are used to keep out goods where African countries have particular advantage like leather goods. So therefore, any move by Africans to develop manufacturing capabilities or to exploit comparative advantage to benefit meaningfully from their products meets with enormous obstacles and disincentives n Northern markets. These obstacles are legal and continue the colonial legacy of forbidding manufacturing in the colonies.14 Governments especially in the South prevent their states developing, thus adding to the divide. Too many underdeveloped states are spending too much on arms trade rather than on more resourceful aspects such as health and education. To give an example Iraq is spending 32% of their GNP of military, while Iraq has 19.2%; this is a slightly back dated estimate so it would be best to assume the percentages would be higher.15 As many states in north are aiding those in the south, this causes a detrimental effect on the south. Although, the states from the north are aiding with good intentions, any aid that helps a part of the economy that a government is trying to develop will only prevent development and not help the country get to grips with its true economic situation. There are serious deficiences in this ideology of ‘North-South’ divide. The North uses the free trade ideology as a means of domination over the resources and livelihoods of the people of the South. To bring about a change in ‘fortunes’ for developing states like Africa, a number of obstacles have to be overcome. The first being the ideology of ‘free trade’ that contaminates every level of policy making in many countries. Most officials and ministers ‘do not know they do not know’ or are ‘politically’ helpless in the face of free trade ideology. 16 The principles of ‘free trade’ which are presented as inherently good are unsurprisingly absent in the North’s approach to agriculture. In agriculture free trade is turned on its head, because the WTO allows the North to use ‘trade distorting’ subsidies – state intervention that distorts the market: the ultimate trade sin.17 What needs to be done is that developing countries need to learn about international trade, they need to fight and make sure organisations such as the WTO and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) give fair justice to all states whether developed or developing. There are other views on development that are simply not canvassed at all by governments because they do not realise that they do not know; meaning developing states do not have all the information or even have access to information, therefore do not know what areas they can improve on or what areas they can fight against the developed countries. To give an example, a developing state cannot fight against developed countries over injustice if they do not have the resources or right information; the problem lies in that they do not realise that they actually do not know about certain policies but they think they do. Problems can be solved if organisations such as the WTO actually provide service not just for the North but also for the South. According to Mr. Atkinson of Oxfam, to bring peace and equality amongst economies in the world there needs to be a global framework of rules; which the WTO can provide, but those rules have to allow nations of the South to catch up to nations of the North at their own speed.18 To conclude, this essay has looked at the global North-South economic divide and has provided reasons as to why it still exists in world politics today. Reasons such as colonialism and the given example of Zambia and their reliance on copper. According to Kurt Achin who writes for ‘Voice of America’, the global north-south economic divide remains the fault line in approaching the next world trade summit.19 So as it can seen, the global North-South divide exists today for a variety of reasons, and it will continue to exists in world politics until these reasons are put straight and rectified so that equality can be share with the North and South. However, this view is not shared by all, as those ‘powerful’ states would prefer to have this ‘divide’ so that their economies can stay dominant and powerful. Reference Martens, P. (2003), International Centre for Integrative Studies: The Globalisation Timeline, University of Maastricht, vol. 4, no.3, pp 137-144 Thierien, P. J (1999), Beyond the North-South divide: The two tales of world poverty, Academic Search Elite, vol. 11, no.1, Issue 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-south_divide http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/smileymi/Global%20History%2012/Global%20History%2012%20North-South%20Relations%20Overview.htm http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8392/8392.ch01.html http://www.1worldcommunication.org/labornews.htm#Nike%20Immorally%20Star http://www.intracen.org/sstp/Survey/textile/zimbabwe.pdf http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/2035.html http://www.zambia-mining.com/miningright.html http://www.seatini.org/publications/articles/2004/internationalpolicy.htm http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-12/2005-12-06-voa5.cfm http://www.boell.de/downloads/rio+10/worldsummit8.pdf 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-south_divide – 7-3-06 2 beyond the north-south divide journal – pg 1 of 18 – 2 tales of world poverty 3 http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/smileymi/Global%20History%2012/Global%20History%2012%20North-South%20Relations%20Overview.htm 4 http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/smileymi/Global%20History%2012/Global%20History%2012%20North-South%20Relations%20Overview.htm – 23 5 Thierien, P. J (1999), Beyond the North-South divide: The two tales of world poverty, Academic Search Elite, vol. 11, no.1, Issue 4, pg 1 6 http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8392/8392.ch01.html – 8-3-06 7 http://www.1worldcommunication.org/labornews.htm#Nike%20Immorally%20Star – 8-3-06 8 http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/wto/1061.html 9 http://www.intracen.org/sstp/Survey/textile/zimbabwe.pdf 9-3-06 10 http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/2035.html – 22-3 11 http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/2035.html 22-3 12 http://www.zambia-mining.com/miningright.html 10-3-06 13 http://www.seatini.org/publications/articles/2004/internationalpolicy.htm 23- 14 http://www.seatini.org/publications/articles/2004/internationalpolicy.htm 23 15 http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp – 15-3-06 16 http://www.seatini.org/publications/articles/2004/internationalpolicy.htm 23 17 http://www.seatini.org/publications/articles/2004/internationalpolicy.htm 23 18 http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-12/2005-12-06-voa5.cfm – 25 19 http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-12/2005-12-06-voa5.cfm 25