POLS170 Group 2

  After writing my analytical essay, I find myself spending a lot of time thinking about the Tannenwald essay,  Stigmatizing the Bomb; Origin of the Nuclear Taboo .  There is a lot of coverage in the media on Nuclear Weapons. The United States has them and they most certainly want other less reliable and peaceful countries, such as North Korea, not to have them.  It has been over 75 years since nuclear weapons were used in combat. Tannenwald’s essay ponders whether the use of nuclear weapons is taboo.  From my point of view, that is an emphatic, “yes, way too far” !  It is clear that there is a broad public fear associated with the use of nuclear weapons - a universally agreed upon opinion.  This is due to the fact that their usage comes with unthinkable mass casualties and destruction.   But, there is rationale as to why governments strive to create such brutal weapons. One main reason is because their existence serves as both a great deterr...

 In the first couple weeks of this class, as we begin an introduction to international politics, I have found there to be some unique takeaways that I had not previously considered going into the course. For one, our discussion on "Of the Culture of White Folk" was particularly eye opening for me considering how old it was, but how accurate some of the points Dubois made. This relates to one of our lectures describing how international relations are typically stable and do not vary much over time. Despite this being typically true, we can still observe the general trend of adaptation and conformation to the norms set forth by society based on the wants and needs of people.  Delving more specifically in this reading and our discussion of it in class, we can observe the impact of colonialism on the world. For example, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries we can observe the desire for Western expansion into smaller territories or attempts to claim land in Africa through the Be...

       Kelebogile Zvobgo and Meredith Loken’s “Why Race Matters in International Relations” is a critique on the study of international relations as a whole, and the racist foundations that the study is rooted upon. The article discusses how the foundational approaches to the study of IR, through realism, liberalism, and constructivism, fail to acknowledge the weight they place on white imperialism. The three approaches, particularly liberalism and realism, fail to realise that the “invented binaries are used to explain subjugation and exploitation around the globe” (Zvobgo & Loken, 1). To properly study and understand international relations, while simultaneously incorporating and including the discussion of race, I argue that it is essential to utilize a constructivist approach. The complex history of the world can no longer be explained by realism, nor liberalism alone.  To begin, it is important to understand the difference between the three approaches...

  Race and International Politics The opening of the article defines race as a driving factor in International-Relations, but to me it seems as if it is correlation, not causation. The article talks about the driving areas of study revolving around Europe and the white man. For much of history Europe has been the center of the world and has been the catalyst for world events, and the leader in technology and innovation. It is important to note that the world can still racist and Eurocentric, but as we talked about in class in regards to the history of international relations, these ideas came to be in Europe. The history of IR is based on World War One and two, and aims to prevent another catastrophic event on a global scale.  World War Two was predominantly fought in Europe and would destroy much of the global powers in terms of both land and resources. The global scale that encompasses International-Relations is often dictated by the winners of the conflict and those that ...

When reflecting on W. E. Burghardt Du Bois’ literature, “Of the Culture of White Folk,” there must be major considerations examining how the issues brought up in his work connect to present-day issues. Du Bois brought up ideas around how power manifests, how Eurocentric the world is, and the exploitative activities of Europe. He noted the major “exploitation of darker people” by Europe and how the United States “rushed into preparation for war and conquered tropical colonies” to show that the world war is just a race to see who can exploit more (Du Bois 440, 445-446). Despite being written in 1917, there are seemingly significant parallels to how the United States behaves today. And although this is mostly in the context of colonization, I argue that US corporations are taking part in modern exploitation through their use of sweatshops and factories around the world. Western countries have maintained their power through exploitation, especially in South East Asia, and this is precisely...

     The study of international relations is based primarily on a sexist and racist foundation. According to the work of Du Bois, “Of the Culture of White Folk” and Ann J. Tickner’s “Morganthau’s Principles of Political Realism: A Feminist Reformation,” the analysis of international politics is based solely on the views of white men. Throughout Du Bois’s work, he critiqued that the study of international politics existed before sociology, political theory, law, and colonial development. Tickner critiqued the work of Hans Morganthau and his Six Principles of Political Realism, which Tickner argued were “a partial description of international politics because it is based on assumptions about human nature that are partial and privilege masculinity” (Tickner, 431). Regardless of what one studies, the basis of that historical foundation is most definitely based on the views of a white male. Whether it is the study of science and using Einstein’s studies, US History, the Foundi...