The Mirage of Sovereignty

While sovereignty movements in the Caribbean may be based on strong sentiments of solidarity, unavoidable external forces will significantly hamper success.  In defining the accomplishments of a political struggle, protestors must thus look beyond the failure to achieve impossible feats and instead emphasize the “‘unspectacular’ transformations that abound in the daily re-creations of ordinary life” (Bonilla 2015:172).  Simply put, activists must not be fooled by the mirage of sovereignty.

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A Strategy to Defeat the Islamic State

The United States must escalate its military campaign against ISIS proportionate to the group’s increasing capabilities, but that a full-scale intervention is neither advisable nor the most effective US strategy.

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The Relevance of NATO in the Modern World

The eventual collapse of the Soviet Union deprived NATO of its common purpose: no longer was there an imminent, existential threat to the capitalist countries of Western Europe. Many would argue that NATO, with its original rationale for existence made inapplicable years ago, is irrelevant in the modern era.

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Statehood and the Kurds

This piece seeks to address the feasibility of an establishment of a Kurdish state in the Middle East. The conclusions reached are that (1) the prospects for the creation of a Kurdistan are rather bleak and (2) the present state of the Kurdish population varies significantly from country to country.

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East Asia versus Latin America: The Literature in Review

I intend to focus on the comparative economic developments in these two regions. Significant academic discussion has been devoted to understanding how East Asia was able to sustain its economic growth throughout the twentieth century while Latin America showed clear signs of mitigated progress and stagnation.

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Iranian Energy Potential

The conclusions reached are that (1) Iran’s massive natural gas reserves and tremendous oil resources make it a top energy player and (2) the lifting of sanctions would catalyze a dramatic increase in Iran’s energy output, thus bolstering Iran’s future energy prospects. Iran was chosen because international sanctions have devastated Iran’s energy sector, and repealing sanctions will considerably improve the Iranian economy and energy production.

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Privilege and Power in Colonized North Africa

Providing certain groups with privileges and power in a colonized state may serve to control in the immediate sense, but playing favorites only serves to create tensions in an oppressed society that will return to ultimately hurt the imperial force.

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THE POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA

Today, the nature of U.S.-Russian relations is recognized as precarious by both policymakers and business leaders. What are the political and financial consequences of America’s current sanctions on Russia? Who will gain from this policy? And, more importantly, who will lose?

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Corruption and Income Disparity Plague Investors in China

China has grown to the second largest economy in the world and the seventh largest retail market. With brisk economic development and an expanding middle class eager to spend its newfound wealth, Wal-Mart and other retailers perceive great potential in expanding their companies into China.

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