Mid-Term Exam Essay Examples

1. Greece is a nation that has recently been hurt by its geography. As the closest member of the European Union; over the last several years, Greece has been the main destination from hundreds of thousands of refugees escaping war and strife in the Middle East and North Africa. The United States, on the other hand, is a nation that has historically benefitted from its geography. For the majority of its history it has been on friendly terms with its neighbors. Moreover, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans provide a significant buffer against other threats.
2. Nationalism can be a positive force in international relations when it is used as a means to strengthen and expand the public’s interest in worthwhile objective such as the promotion of national unity and participation in government. For instance, the nationalism that was displayed in support of the Scottish National Party in Britain’s recent parliamentary elections increased the average Scottish person’s interest in their government. On the other hand, nationalism can also be an extremely negative force in international relations as when it is used by a government to turn the public’s attention away from domestic problems and towards traditional racial and prejudicial beliefs against other nations.
3. On the one hand, the UN can be seen as taking away U.S. sovereignty by forcing more and more multi-party, multilateral agreements where the U.S. is just one of a number of voices in determining the agenda or how problems should be solved. Under these conditions, the U.S. has less of an ability to influence or persuade others to follow its lead. On the other hand, the UN has supported and helped expand U.S. sovereignty by adding an important and influential vote of confidence or agreement to specific U.S. actions. Such as the war in Iraq. UN support for U.S. legitimized its actions and thereby facilitated its sovereignty
4. The only way to ensure long-term peace between the Tans and the Greens from a realist perspective would be to create two separate nations for each ethnic group separated by buffer zone between the nations that would be policed by, most likely Hegemonia. A peace settlement under these terms would most closely comply with the realist idea that international relations is a state of anarchy where each state is forever working to achieve its own interests to the detriment of its opponents. Under a realist view, it is unlikely that the Tans and the Greens will ever reconcile their differences in order to peacefully live together. Accordingly, they should separate and be allowed to seek their own futures. Separate Tan and Green nations most likely would not permanently stop fighting, as there is rarely permanent peace in a realist world view, but the buffer zone between the two by Hegemonia would allow immediate barriers to hsotilities. As the nation’s develop on their own, they will eventually, establish and develop their own balances of power in order to limit hostilities if or when Hegemonia decided to cease administering the buffer zone. Conversely, if the peace settlement was organized and administered by a liberal, it would most likely include a power sharing structure in which both sides are allowed to participate in and where leaders to the power structure are democratically elected by the whole population with would be a nation of Tans and Greens living under on flag. Most likely, in order to bring about such a power structure, Hegemonia would have to take control of Tan and Green terroritory and government administration for the time needed to arrange and establish the system. However, once the system is established, Hegemonia would not need to be further involved in the life of the Tans and Greens unless fight broke out again. Whatever system is established it would have to emphasis rule of law, human rights, and economic freedoms. Such a peace settlement would comply with the liberal idea that nations and peoples can work together for mutual benefit when they share a number of common bonds and ties.