Hum-06 and NS-06

We start out this week watching the great Charles Hill and Fouad Ajami discuss the struggles the international community and their governments face with overall support and the rising “rest”. Charles Hill states it perfectly in the novel, The Syrian Rebellion, quoting, “the task of reversing Islamic radicalism and of reforming and strengthening the state across the entire Muslim world..is the greatest strategic challenge of the twenty-first century.” This is what our RSO’s face today in national security policies and cooperation with other nations. Just following WWI the Middle Eastern region was brought into the national state system of the already developed world. Military regimes, hereditary monarchies, autocrats, and dictators all came into power in this time period within the ME. The rest of the modern world has been involved with the ME through wars and challenging diplomacy to make ME states more responsible for their actions and respectful of their citizens. It is interesting when Fouad Ajami states that it is important to teach the Arab World the rules of the Westphalian systems of the West, as this system is obtained practically worldwide. We must understand that the rise of the rest, or also the rise of the ME was built on a different platform than the US or Europe. The history of the Middle Eastern rulers or leaders were thieves and murders (Saddam Hussein) according to Fouad Ajami. These were working government's, yes, but they were not modern governments, nor is there any history of working democracy like that of the West. So, we are faced today with rising power of the “rest”, or according to Zakaria 2013 the global trend and further evidence that the Middle East is catching up to the rest of the world. Starting with the Arab Spring and additional uprisings in Northern Africa lead the rest of the world to see the new Middle East region that is no longer the playground of the great powers, as compared to years before. The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have proved to be unaccomplished in the Western World. We now have the Syrian war and the challenges that this will pose on future security policies. With the unstable ME, comes the spread of HIV/AIDS and global warming. According to Holstine 2017, HIV/AIDS and Global warming are problems that cannot be solved by the individual efforts of states but must be addressed and acted upon collectively. Arab petrodollars control many economies and keep them running, soon these resources will run dry. This is a major issue that will either bring the international world together or rip it apart. Additionally, the effect of the financial crisis has been a lower growth rate in the Western world and a higher growth rate in China, while the growth rate in Brazil and India is unchanged (Zakaria, 2013). Looking into the effects of global warming on natural resources the international community created the Kyoto Protocol and is an agreement under which industrialized countries will reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to the year 1990. We must consider other rising powers like China and Brazil when measuring the effectiveness of RSO’s and their commitments to global warming changes. China, India, and other developing countries were exempt from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol because they were not the main contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions during the industrialization period that is believed to be causing today's climate change. This has changed in recent years because these two countries are some of the top countries contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Eventually petroleum will not be available, as our resources wither away. I believe that with the declining of natural resources will come new renewable energy technologies. There will be a massive demand for these types of productions and will free some of these countries from the dependency of Arab petrodollars. New generations, technology, and globalization will help to make many ME countries into Pro-Westphalian systems.

References

Zakaria, Fareed . "Zakaria sees opportunity for the United States in ''The Rise of the Rest''." Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. 2013. Accessed 2017. https://edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/security-and-global-studies-common/NSEC608/The%20Rise%20of%20the%20Rest_.pdf.

Holstine, Jon. "The Changing Security Environment." Https://edge.apus.edu. 2017. Accessed 2017.

Uncommon Knowledge with Charles Hill and Fouad Ajami. Performed by Charles Hill and Fouad Ajami. 2012. Accessed 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bqe60_S1y0.

Response NS-02 ( one page)

Will soft power of Arab petrodollars or other resources available from Russia and China erode the effectiveness of RSO's?  What might India's position be in this larger picture - Pro-Westphalian or something else?

My opinion is this is possible in Africa.  China is purchasing many of the mining rights in Africa.  The influence of Chinese funds and a higher standard of living for countries and the population in Africa could have a negative impact on the African Union.  China is a world power with influence that may impact a continent that has wide spread corruption – trading of funds for mining rights.

The majority of the URL pages within the syllabus for week six have been deleted.  There is an HTTP 403, access forbidden error for the Uncommon Knowledge, Stanford University series video with Charles Hill and Fouad Ajami.  I’m not sure I have found the correct one on Google. My opinion is this is possible in Africa.  China is purchasing many of the mining rights in Africa.  .

Dr. Zakaria’s address The Rise of the Rest: The Post-American World address at Cornel University in 2012 discussed the world since the end of the Cold War and the United States involvement in the Middle East with the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.  Dr. Zakaria stated “that in the last 10 years the "frozen" system in the Middle East has thawed and the region is no longer the playground of the great powers, as it had been for centuries. The United States has lost its appetite for backing dictators in the Middle East because, "We're broke and are tired of supporting nation building," and has realized that the cost of subsidizing these regimes was the violent Islamic opposition that they spawned.” This premise was echoed by the Uncommon Knowledge, Stanford University video with Charles Hill and Fouad Ajami and their discussion of the Obama Administration and its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.  The discussion involved whether the United States government should be responsible for providing military support for democratic governments – Japan, South Korea, and Germany that have developed economies.  The general consensus was the United States government is responsible for providing economic and military support to those countries that have been invaded for the foreseeable future.  Considering the cost of these wars, the economic burden is astronomical. 

The address was given in 2012 but many of the points made are well-taken.  Dr. Zakaria stated the biggest challenge the United States faces is economic – providing employment for the population.  The comparison was Apple that employed 80,000 with $63B in revenue and a Taiwanese company that employed 850,000 with $63B in revenue.  The United States has provided employment and a higher standard of living for the populations of China, Taiwan, and India, but is losing its standard of living.

Dr. Zakaria discussed energy but was unable to predict the advent of Elon Musk and Tesla and the growth in the research and development of the lithium ion battery and the sales of electric vehicles as well as the development of solar storage cells for homes – partnership of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) and Tesla.