Spring Harvest of Debt for Parched Farms in Southern China

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/05/world/asia/05china.html?scp=4&sq=&st=nyt

Spring Harvest of Debt for Parched Farms in Southern China

By MICHAEL WINES

Published: April 4, 2010

The Yunnan and surrounding provinces of China have been struck with a severe drought over the winter months. This poses a problem for many living in this area as not only do they not have enough clean drinking water but since the area is primarily agricultural they also have trouble raising enough money from their crops to feed their families. Apparently, this drought is the worst to hit southern China in almost 100 years. 24 million people do not have enough water, and agricultural losses are near $3.5 billion. However, as “serious as the dry spell is, it affects only about 6 percent of China’s farmland and a tiny portion of its 1.3 billion people. Government officials say that its impact on inflation and food supplies is expected to be minimal.”

I found this article to be an interesting example of the topics of critical theory we have been discussing. The author attempts to include the stories of real individuals like Huang Jianxue who has had “to borrow money to send his 7-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter to school.” This perspective contrasts with the government’s cold statement that the overall effect of the drought is expected to be minimal. Like the critical theory authors we have read argue, reducing real suffering to statistics and numbers is a poor way to address an issue. Therefore, I found it refreshing that both the statements from the government and statements from those personally dealing with the drought were included in this article.

Pirates seize South Korean tanker

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/04/05/somalia.tanker.hijacked/index.html

This article deals with a pirate attack on a South Korean tanker. The hijacking occurred Sunday about 690 miles from the Somalian coast, an area where piracy is unusual. The tanker was revealed to be heading from Iraq to the United States carrying about 2 million barrels of oil, worth about $170 million. Combined Maritime Forces released a statement praising the successful reduction of piracy in resent times, in areas near Somalia. However, they warn that pirates are going further from their strongholds in search of "easier commercial targets", as they make most of their money from ransoms. The South Korean government however, has already stated it will not negotiate with the pirates, and this was up to Sahmo Shipping (the company with ownership of the tanker).

This article could be used as a critique of realist theory. Realism argues that states ought to only concern themselves with the actions of other great powers as they are the only ones that have an impact on international relations. Furthermore, realist theory argues that the individuals are unimportant in the grand scheme of international relations. When applied to this article one may see that realism is flawed as the Somalian pirates are not a not a nation or a great power, thus according to realist theory they ought to not have any effect on international relations. However, in this situation this is not the case as the European Union has entered into the conflict by cooperating with the Combined Maritime Forces in an attempt to stop the occurrence of piracy. Furthermore, realism does not account for the occurrence of multi-lateral agencies such as the Combined Maritime Forces, as realism is based on the ideology that there is a limited amount of power in the world and states are interested in the retention of as much of it as possible. In this situation however the involvement of the multi-lateral agency "Combined Maritime Forces", which is concerned with the safety of various country's maritime travel. Thus, this organization has some amounts of power which may not be explained by realism. As a result realism is unable to explain the reason the pirates has an effect on the international community, as well as why several countries have an organization which assures all of their travel by sea.

Haiti Struggles to Reopen Its Schools After Quake

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/04/05/world/international-uk-quake-haiti-schools.html?_r=1

Many schools in Port-au-Prince are still unable to reopen due to lack of supplies stemming from extreme poverty. Haiti’s education ministry insisted that classes resume 12 weeks after the quake, however many sections of Haiti were completely destroyed. Thus, some schools are using tents as substitutes for classrooms and others simply don’t have the staff or materials ready to re-start schooling sessions.

Yet, is the United States doing enough to assist?

I found one answer to this question particularly shocking and selfish. Garrett Harding (as expressed in Pasha) argues in favor of “lifeboat ethics”, which makes an analogy between drowning people clamoring for a lifeboat and impoverished people clamoring for financial assistance. Just as with lifeboats, we can only save so many before pulling ourselves under as well.

A critical theorist would argue that we are simply looking at poverty in the wrong way: Pasha argues we need to stop viewing ‘the poor’ as a mere number because this distances us from the acuteness of their suffering. “Numbers have the distinctive ability to sanitize the subjective side of human misery” (Pasha). Perhaps this is a problem US citizens face when dealing with Haiti: we need to stop thinking of the suffering in Haiti as merely flashes of light across the television screen.

The impoverished of Haiti seem to be the puppets of social policy. Thus, with their failing government comes an inability to be the authors of their owns lives. Likewise, if Haitian schools are unable to re-open in a timely manner because of poor government coordination, it will be the Haitians who lose their basic right to an education.

Haitians skeptic and frustrated with Promises of Aid

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1977287,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/world/americas/01haiti.html?scp=8&sq=haiti&st=cse

A recent agreement between donor states and the United Nations has pledged billions in aid to Haiti. This monetary aid will be monitored by the World Bank and a commission headed Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. Aid money will go the Haitian government for development projects, a decision that angers many Haitian people who are still living in the dirt and rubble left behind from nearly 3 months ago. The Haitian people are also frustrated by the corruption from their own government that has prevented the effective distribution of aid. Local government officials were caught selling food coupons for food aid that was free. While hearing news of billions in donations, many Haitians are still dealing with the earthquakes devastation. The Haitian people are tired of talk about change when nothing is being done.

This skepticism does not only stem from the knowledge that their own government is corrupt. The people do not believe that the wealthy donor states and international organizations will actually help them. Since the money is being funneled through the World Bank, conditions for the aid money will likely be attached. The US will also have a huge role in the reconstruction and development of Haiti in the future, through our role in the World Bank and Bill Clinton's influence in the commission overseeing funding. Like Chang argues, neoliberal policies will likely be forced on Haiti. Globalization will also create a situation in Haiti similar to Jamaica, local industries will suffer, while cheap food and goods will flood Haitian markets.

A Female Approach to Peacekeeping

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/world/africa/06iht-ffpeace.html?pagewanted=1

A special United Nations Peace Keeping Police Unit comprised of only women has been implemented in Liberia to regulate the streets. These women in strict and professional attire exert a military, as well as socially regulatory force in the streets of Monrovia, Liberia. The 100th International Women’s Day was on March 8,marking the United Nations intensifying efforts to recruit women for peacekeeping missions that seek to mend what war has wrought.

Many critical theorists argue that the presence of women as authority figures instills a respect and order in society. “When female soldiers are present, the situation is closer to real life, and as a result the men tend to behave,” said Gerard J. DeGroot, a history professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland who has written books about women in the military. “Any conflict where you have an all-male army, it’s like a holiday from reality. If you inject women into that situation, they do have a civilizing effect.” This situation exemplifies an approach to international politics that reaches outside the realm of traditional ideas about security, conflict and resolution. Manipulating pre-existing social standards (gender roles) in a situation of conflict is a way to change the way that people act, and react. Exemplifying critical theory, the implementation of women as peace keeping soldiers questions the "standard" or "common sense" response to most security issues surrounding war torn areas. Furthermore, inequalities are being recognized, as are the flaws that come along with social inequalities, and this article illuminates the affects when these inequalities are worked against.

Religion and International Relations: Bosnian colleges draw Turks seeking to avoid headscarf ban

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6343VJ20100405

For years, the right to wear the Islamic headscarf in schools and universities has been heavily debated. Although the issue is most discussed in terms of French schools, this article discusses the large number of Turkish students that have decided to attend university in Bosnia in order to avoid headscarf bans in Turkish universities. Over 1,000 Turkish students have left home in order to obtain the right to wear religious headscarves in schools, one they would not have if they decided to attend a post-secondary institution in Turkey.

Although economics and politics are two issues heavily discussed in international relations, conflicts dealing with religion are not as widely discussed. Yes, issues between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims appear in the news on an almost regular basis, but issues like this one, which deals with more day-to-day aspects of life, do not appear in the news as often. This is a tragedy of sorts, seeing as these daily issues affect more people than the large-scaled, overpublicized issues.

This issue is interesting for a multitude of reasons. First, it discusses a small-scale migration of sorts from one country to another cause by a ban that encroaches on the freedoms of religion. Personally, I find the notion that an entire group of people would leave one country for another based on issues of religion very interesting. Why do these countries let these people go instead of changing policies? The answer is simple. Governments would rather lose a small number of people rather than spend hours of tedious work changing policies. So, people who are persecuted by the law, aka Muslim Turks, are almost forced to leave the country in order to regain their rights.

My big question is this: how does the outflow of Turkish students to Bosnian schools affect the citizens and governments of Bosnia? The schools in Bosnia are funded by Turkish investors, but since these Turkish citizens are living in Bosnian territory, I wonder how Bosnian citizens react to the foreigners.

Overall, I feel that religious issues need to be more properly addressed in international relations as opposed to economic and political issues. Although I feel that economic issues and political issues are quite important to IR, I also think that religion is a topic that needs to be discussed more in depth as it does do a great deal with how countries interact with each other.

U.S. to Delay Chinese Currency Report

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/business/04yuan.html?scp=1&sq=china%20renminbi%20&st=cse
This article is concerned with the delay of a decision whether to declare the China a currency manipulator. The reason for this delay can be attributed to the fact that President Hu Jintao will attend a nuclear security summit meeting in Washington after China give consent of stricter sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program.
Actually, the reason for which the Chinese government is reluctant to let Renminbi appreciate is that the appreciation will lead to an increase in unemployment in southern China, where there are lots of factories produce goods for exports. If Renminbi appreciates to a large degree, these factories will definitely face a bankruptcy. The appreciation of Renmibi in the previous years has actually posed pressure on these firms. Actually, workers in these factories usually just earn a minimum level of living because the exports cannot bring these firms as many profits as many people expect. The Chinese government has been working on this issue for years to try to import some high technologies in order to upgrade these factories and improve the living standard of the workers. The appreciation of Renminbi in the previous years is actually a way to push these factories to upgrade themselves. But because of the depression, exports have decreased and unemployment rate has increased. The factories cannot survive if the Renminbi appreciates to a large degree. I think if it were not for the depression, this issue would not be the center of US-China relations because the Chinese government would let Renminbi to appreciate.