Modern Western Civilization Report

Steevens, Warrington. With Kitchener to Khartoum: After the Conquest. London and Edinburg: William Blackwood and Sons, 317-325. Print.
Steevens article “With Kitchener to Khartoum: After the Conquest” offers a critical analysis on the conquest of Khartoum from the Egyptians who administered it during the period prior the conquest. The article’s thesis is that the conquest of Khartoum from the Egyptian administration was beneficial as it was equally detrimental. Precisely, the article centers on the premise that conquest of Khartoum was costly, but it served for the benefit of Egypt. In supporting the above-mentioned thesis, the author offers a wider array of evidences. With regards to the notion that the conquest was beneficial, Steevens pg. 318 notes that Egyptians gained despite losing the battle for the control of Khartoum in that the Egyptians gained self-respect since they had often hoped to stay clear from Sudanese affairs. In fact Steevens (pg. 317-318) asserts “we have gained precious national self-respect.” Steevens further notes that the loss of Sudanese territory by the Egyptian was not substantial because Sudanese territories were mere deserts, which offer little benefit to the Egyptians. With regards to the notion that Egypt lost after the conquest of Khartoum, Steevens notes that apart from the fact that the Egyptians were humiliated, they lost significantly in various terms. Steevens suggest “ a nations of shopkeepers should have cut its loses and turned to better business elsewhere.” This is a substantive evidence on the fact Egyptian should have invested elsewhere instead of banking on a venture that was deemed foolish from the beginning. The loss in the conquest in itself was detrimental for Egyptian as it depicted its weakness in military terms. The current text was interpreted in class to mean that westernization served to negatively impact on other nations. I concur with the notions based on the primary fact that if it were not for the influence of the British, Egypt would not have gone to the conquest; hence, it would not have suffered defeat, which was detrimental to Egypt as a nation.
Asdal, Kristin. “The Problematic Nature of Nature: The Post-Constructivist Challenge to Environmental History,” History and Theory 42.4 (December 2003): 60-74. Print.
The current article offers varied insights regarding pertinent environmental matters. Precisely, the article argues in support of the thesis that recent influences from post-constructivism in the history of science and anthropological studies of science and technology offer a comprehensive platform that could solve various environmental challenges that are being experienced in the contemporary world. Environmental scientists has opposed the above-connoted notions based on the premise that constructivism’s tends to push away historical analyses, far away from the concerns of the physical world. Asdal offers various evidences that support the article’s thesis. More importantly, Asdal pg. 62 supports the article’s thesis by indicating that treating the challenges from the post-constructivists seriously will be the first way in which environmental history will be taken seriously as an historical discipline. The current article further justifies its thesis by referring to notion on environmental history, which are contained various texts. Asdal reflects on Worsters book Natures Economy, which opposes hypothesis on environmental science devised regarding by modern ecology. In the book, Worster notes that insights and ideas from the field of ecology could explain pertinent environmental issues of the past. This evidence supports Asdal’s thesis that environmental history is yet to be strongly established within various contexts. In a nutshell, various factors aligned with environmental science are not unitary in nature. This is because of the fact that certain factors aligned with environmental science are not pure science. This is perhaps the main reason as to why post-constructivism could provide a feasible solution to certain environmental matters. The current reading was interpreted in class to mean that western enlightenment, rationality, and progress tends to be jeopardized by ecological movement. Nonetheless, it can be deduced that various discrepancies notable in the context of environmental science may be resolved by harmonizing economic ecology and biology.
Orwell, George. “Chapter One: Homage to Catalonia.” pg. 1-187. Print.
Orwell’s article is a reflection on the experiences and observations of the Spanish Civil War. As the article begins, Orwell delves on his observation of an Italian militia who exhibited dire military skills. In fact, Orwell notes that the soldier seemed like someone who could sacrifice their lives for the sake of a friend. In a nutshell, the current article focuses on the thesis that life in the event of a war is comparable to anarchy and less comparable to communism. The author of the current article offer various reasons and evidences that justify the articles thesis. Firstly, Orwell notes that the Italian soldier he was observing exhibited ferocity and condor, which are some of the disincentive features depicted by persons who have dire respect for the bureaucratic system of governance that are eminent in an anarchy. Orwell (page 1) asserts “Obviously he could not make head or tail of the map, obviously he regarded map reading a stupendous intellectual feat.” Despite the features depicted by the Italian soldier, Orwell still managed to develop a fascinating admiration for the soldier. Another evidence that Orwell offers as a substantive proof of the anarchical nature of Spain during the war is the fact that even the working class were overburdened by a number of challenges. This is contrary to normal situations whereby the middle class should be able to exhibit financial freedom and reduced challenges. Orwell further notes that even the workers did not approve of tips as it should in a non-dictatorial society. Apart from the above connoted evidence, which suggest the highly anarchical nature of the Catalonia, Orwell gives a glimpse of the poor working conditions that the Catalonian military were subjected to. Notably, the Catalonian militia; precisely the POUM workers’ militia did not have adequate weapons and teens as young as sixteen and seventeen years were recruited in the military oblivious of the fact that such teen had no knowledge on what war meant. In conclusion, the current article centers on the highly anarchical nature of Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War period.
Drake, Aaron M. “Current U. S. Air Force Drone Operations and Their Conduct in Compliance with International Humanitarian Law—an Overview.” Denver Journal of International Law and Policy 39 (Fall, 2011): 629-661. Print.
Drake’s article focuses on the legality in the use of drones for war purposes. Worth noting is the fact that the recent past has experienced a significant rise in the use of drones in the battlefields. While it is true that the use of drone strikes has been of much essence n curbing various crimes, especially terrorism, it is of the essence to note that there should a legal basis for the use of the drones. The current article seeks to answer the question as to whether the use of drones or targeted killings conforms to international human rights law. In the quest to answer this question, the current article does not dwell on the legal basis for the use of targeted killings by the United States. Instead, the article focuses on the operations of the United States Air Force. Evidently, the scope of Air Force operations is command and control. Any operation by the Air Force and perhaps any other military arm calls for command and control. As such, command and control component of the United States Air Force calls for the availability of ground safety checks to ensure smooth and efficient operations by the air force. Precisely, the Air Force often sets ground control component that controls the aircraft strikes. Military operations carried out by the Air Force are often carried out by various number of aircrafts depending on the complexity of the operations. There are certain cases where one aircraft is used, and such operations are referred to as Combat Air Patrols. The use of one aircraft is mainly evident during monitoring of battle space, which can be land, air or sea. Irrespective of the form of operation carried out by the air force, there is always a need to assure conformity with fundamental principles, which are clearly spelt out by the International Humanitarian Laws. In conclusion, the use of targeted killings as employed by the United Air Force should be scrutinized to ensure conformity with International Humanitarian Laws.
Schmitt, Carl. “On the Contradiction between Parliamentarism and Democracy,” (Preface to the Second Edition) in the Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy. pp. 1-17. Print.
The current article dwells on various issues regarding parliamentarism and democracy. The article is founded on the premise that parliamentarism has created the notion that factual and calm debates that do not entail party based politics do not generate any interest from various audiences. Instead such discussions or debates are often perceived to be naïve and impractical. In fact, various audiences find it relatively difficult to comprehend such debates. Nonetheless, an ideal society or audience should realize the essence of objective discussion on different political concepts. Deductively, the modern world has outgrown the belief in openness; hence, open discussions are often feared. This calls for the need to have a new foundation for parliamentarism that is guided by openness. In fact. Parliament as a respected institution in the society should exude characteristic ideas aligned with justice and truth. In conclusion, the principles of openness in the context of parliamentarism has been anchored with the constitution (Schmitt 7). Despite this, the principle is seldom employed in practical parliamentary discussions. Democracy should be the basis on parliamentarism whereby it should be noted that not all individual are equals. Therefore, homogeneity should be promoted, but heterogeneity should be considered depending on ensuing societal conditions. Equality should be anchored with parliamentarism as a way of enhancing liberalism.