POLS 2401: Key Actors & Ideas on the World Stage
nationalism and religion:
- can be considered the 2 most powerful forms of identification in the world today. - are generally considered the only two forces that can legitimate social violence (as opposed to personal violence).
Rifkin argues families, schools, governments, and businesses:
- can both repress and foster the core empathic nature in humans
what are the essentials in the toolbox of diplomacy:
- coercion - payment
the text identifies which type of actors as the most salient (or prominent) global players that we "continually" read about as they try to solve global issues:
- countries (states)
what is a common critique of multinational corporations (MNCs, sometimes called TNCs) as global actors:
- due to their economic strength and global networks, they exercise too much power
according to Jeremy Rifkin's video, humans are driven by many motivations, but the "first drive" is:
- empathy
the French Revolution:
- greatly strengthened the idea of popular sovereignty. - was an important moment in setting the roots of modern nationalism.
nations are best defined as:
- groups connected by a unique mix of shared etnhicity, language, religion, culture, history, and/or sense of civic community.
civic nationalism:
- has examples such as the United States and Canada. - is a more inclusive nationalism than ethnic nationalism.
group the following characteristics with their correct UN Organ:
trustee council: - was set up after WWII to promote self-governance in colonies. - has suspended its operations. international court of justice: - is the UN's main judicial organ. - settles legal disputes only between states. economic and social council: - is the central body for coordinating UN economic and social work. - coordinates the FAO, WHO, UNDP and other specialized organizations. secretariat: - has an international staff that takes orders from the Secretary General - administers the programs and policies of UN organs general assembly: - is the main deliberative organ; all member states are represented - can discuss any matter, except disputes being considered by the Sec. Council security council: - includes the ability to veto resolutions - has 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent members - may impose economic sanctions or embargoes - has the main responsibility to keep peace and security around the world.
match the far-right, nationalist leader to his country:
- Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro - Hungary: Viktor Orban - Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte - India: Narendra Modi - Turkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan
which of the following is NOT an international governmental organization (IGO)?
- Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)
which agencies does the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) coordinate:
- FAO: food and agricultural organization - WHO: world health organization - UNESCO: united nations educational, scientific, and cultural organization - UNDP: united nations development program
which country has the most negative rating of the UN (65% negative):
- Israel
which leader has used an executive order to give his government far-reaching and restrictive powers over non-governmental organizations, pulled his country out of a U.N. migration pact, made disparaging comments about women, and placed a significant number of military leaders in key government positions:
- Jair Bolsonaro
which individual actor led Liberian women in non-violent protests against the violence in Liberia, winning the Nobel Peace Prize?
- Leymah Gbowee
which leader has crushed dissent, jailed journalists, and sparked concern he is taking his country toward Sharia law:
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan
which leader has pushed anti-drug policies that have led to thousands of deaths (mostly of the innocent, poor, according to human rights groups), uses profanities with abandon, and has compared himself to Hitler:
- Rodrigo Duterte
the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council are:
- United Kingdom - United States - Canada - Russia - France
which leader has weakened the power of courts, curbed the media, and pledged to make his country a Christian homeland:
- Viktor Orban
nationalism is:
- a force that arises from different sources, such as shared ethnicity, language, religion, culture, and history. - a shared sense of identity that has a purpose of gaining or keeping control of a groups identity. - one of the most important forms of human identity.
while each of the leaders mentioned in the article has taken steps that concern proponents of democracy, they also generally claim to have:
- a pro-business agenda
in an interview with Secretary General Guterres, he argues that:
- humanity should be humble in the face of the COVID-19 crisis and this humanity should lead us to solidarity and unity. - there has been no unity in the strategy to fight the pandemic, and each country has gone its own way. - gridlock in the UN Security Council, which can pass enforceable resolutions, has stalled any real action on COVID-19. - the UN has limited tools to force a country to follow guidelines from UN agencies, such as the World Health Organization.
researchers across different fields have found that:
- humans are "soft wired" to show empathy.
Rifkin includes that:
- if we can't imagine our empathy extending to a planetary scale, we won't be able to save ourselves or possibly the planet.
international governmental organizations:
- include such organizations as the United Nations and the World Bank. - are formed by countries to achieve common goals that they cannot solve on their own.
nationalism:
- is a powerful tool which can liberate, oppress, or empower a people.
3 essential components (types) of power identified by Nye include:
- military power - economic power - attraction (soft) power
multinational corporations (MNCs, sometimes called TNCs) are:
- non-state (non-governmental) actors, focused on profit
pro-state nationalism can also be considered:
- official nationalism, linking the people with their legitimate government.
soft power:
- often comes from civil society (such as NGOs, universities, cultural institutions)
the drawing of state borders on maps during the age of exploration and colonialism:
- paved the way for rulers to exert sovereignty over specific areas, as opposed to the fuzzy boundaries found under feudalism.
a founding objective of the United Nations is to:
- promote economic development and human rights. - maintain peace and security
nation-states (one nation within one state):
- rarely exist in the strictest sense of the term, if national identity is based on ethnicity.
what are the sources of identity that can contribute to a sense of nationalism?
- religion - geographic proximity - feelings of civic community - historical memory
according to Rifkin, people are "soft-wired" for
- sociability - attachment - affection - companionship
individuals serving as actors on the world stage include:
- social activists such as Leymah Gbowee and Malala Yousafzai - political leaders, such as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping - celebrities such as Beyoncé and Angelina Jolie - industry leaders, such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg
Nye points to the 2003 invasion of Iraq as possibly undermining the United States':
- soft power
using the attractiveness of a state's reputation to encourage international cooperation is an example of:
- soft power
Rifkin argues that:
- technology helps us "eliminate time and space" and build empathy beyond religious and national ties. - our social consciousness evolves and we can extend it to the entire biosphere, allowing us to survive as a species.
according to the Pew survey, people in ___________ had the highest (most percentage positive) opinion of the UN:
- the Philippines - South Korea - Sweden
state sovereignty started to become a cornerstone of international affairs after the signing of which treaty:
- the Treaty of Westphalia
the Secretary General of the UN is:
- the UN's chief bureaucrat, with some standing and diplomatic soft power.
all of the following are non-governmental organizations (or NGOs) except:
- the United Nations
which of the following is NOT an example of "hard" power?
- the capacity to work within multilateral coalitions and inspire other countries to find avenues for cooperation.
what is "smart power":
- the hard power of coercion and payment, combined with the soft power of persuasion and attraction.
anti-state nationalism can be considered:
- the ideology of people who want to overthrow what they see as an illegitimate government. - a driving force of anti-colonialism - the type of nationalism that sparked uprisings against governments in the Middle Easy starting in 2010 (the "Arab Spring").
the video speaks to building an empathic civilization based on:
- the recognition that life is fragile and the human inclination to show solidarity.
state sovereignty is:
- the right of states to self-government, with political leaders determining the rules, laws, and processes within their territories
which is true about views in the U.S. toward the UN:
- they are increasingly partisan, with Democrats having a more favorable view of the UN than Republicans.
according to the video:
- we all descended from the same ancestors in Africa and we must broaden our identity to one human family
which statement is true:
- younger people across the globe are more likely to have a favorable view of the United Nations (UN).
which leader has pursued laws that hurt his country's minority Muslim population and curbed the operations of NGOs, such as the Ford Foundation, Amnesty International, and Greenpeace:
Narendra Modi
group the quality of nationalism under either civic or ethnic nationalism:
ethnic nationalism: - is a more exclusive form of nationalism, with membership limited by the unique elements of the groups. - has the Kurds, Pashtuns, and Ibo as examples. - society is united by a common language, religion, culture, and historical memory. civic nationalism: - has the U.S. as an example, as witnessed by the country's diversity and founding ideals. - a more inclusive nationalism, as anyone could become a member of the nation. - society is united by territory, citizenship, and legal rights and codes transmitted to all members of.
group the organizations into the broad organization type:
multinational corporations (MNCs, also referred to as transnational corporations or TNCs): - Apple - Wells Fargo - Coca Cola nongovernmental organizations: - Care - Amnesty International - Greenpeace - Doctors Without Borders international governmental organizations (NGOs): - The World Bank - OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) - European Union - UNICEF - United Nations
match the types of power with the examples:
soft power: - peace negotiations - promoting international law through diplomacy hard power: - economic sanctions - military operations