After several years of intense American involvement, NATO was established as an effort to tackle the spread of communism in Europe. After it was signed and ratified, the United States of America...Show moreAfter several years of intense American involvement, NATO was established as an effort to tackle the spread of communism in Europe. After it was signed and ratified, the United States of America was instantly became the hegemony and it affects two European superpowers namely France and Britain. However, these two countries showed different reaction in response to the American hegemony in NATO. Due to the Special Relationship, the British under the leadership of Harold Wilson, was more inclusive towards the US involvement in the European politics. On the other hand, Charles de Gaulle showed different reaction towards the American hegemony where he clearly rejects the American involvement in the European soil. This paper will show how crucial the analysis of country’s leader as the political figure that able to decide the direction of a country. There are some parameters that are utilized to analyze the leader such as the political background, political party such as well as the national political system, and lastly the interest of the leader. The two events such as the French withdrawal from NATO and the British withdrawal from the Suez but rely on NATO is the perfect example to show the two contrast ambition of the two leaders. These two are also the perfect cases in order to provide a better understanding about how crucial an analysis of the leader as a person might affects a country’s political direction.Show less
The Yugoslav Wars that plagued the 1990s saw horrors that many thought were inconceivable in modern Europe. There are two leading schools of thought as to what caused the conflicts. Though both...Show moreThe Yugoslav Wars that plagued the 1990s saw horrors that many thought were inconceivable in modern Europe. There are two leading schools of thought as to what caused the conflicts. Though both schools of thought are quick to accuse Milošević of playing a large part in the instigation of the conflicts, there has been a lack of literature analysing how Milošević helped to instigate the conflicts.Show less
The purpose of this research paper is to identify the relation between economic policies implemented and post-war reconstruction in East and West Germany after the Second World War. At the end of...Show moreThe purpose of this research paper is to identify the relation between economic policies implemented and post-war reconstruction in East and West Germany after the Second World War. At the end of the Second World War, the economies in both halves of Germany were destroyed. Yet, within a short period, West Germany started to experience high economic growth rates while East Germany's economic growth was low. Scholars have used different theories to explain why economic growth differed in East and West Germany. This paper argues that the economic policies implemented in both halves of Germany after the war laid the framework for the contrasting economic growth in East and West Germany.Show less
The thesis will propose an analysis of the social movement theory and a comparison of the political and social contexts of the two Green Movements in East and West Germany. The resemblances and...Show moreThe thesis will propose an analysis of the social movement theory and a comparison of the political and social contexts of the two Green Movements in East and West Germany. The resemblances and differences will then be linked to the social movement theory and be justified. As a matter of fact, the social movement theory will be used as a tool to explain the similar formation of the two Green Movements. This will allow studying the Green Movements in East and West Germany with an innovative sociological vision completing the already existing historical analysis of both movements. The formation of the movements that corresponds to the gathering of the core elements necessary for collective action to be qualified as a social movement, are the focus of the thesis.Show less
Although many academics agree nationalism represents one of the main causes of the 1990s war in the Balkans, there remains a clear divide in the opinions of where the emerging nationalism...Show moreAlthough many academics agree nationalism represents one of the main causes of the 1990s war in the Balkans, there remains a clear divide in the opinions of where the emerging nationalism originated from. The thesis works to fill the gap in this debate by focusing on the influence of nationalist leaders on the ideology emerging at the time of the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Through the discussion of two methods with which Slobodan Milošević affected the raising nationalism, in the early 1980s and early 1990s, this thesis performs a detailed analysis of the academic theory of 'ancient hatreds' and 'new' nationalism. The paper offers the reader a better understanding of the possible influences nationalist leaders might have on the emerging ideologies.Show less
Public opinions, political visions and international interference were important aspects of the duration of the decolonisation wars in Indonesia and Algeria after the Second World War. These three...Show morePublic opinions, political visions and international interference were important aspects of the duration of the decolonisation wars in Indonesia and Algeria after the Second World War. These three factors influenced together the events that formed the wars. This thesis concentrates on these three aspects and shows how they are combined and explain the duration of the wars.Show less
During the first years of the Cold War propaganda became the quintessential tool with which the US government implemented on a national level to sway the public into accepting the nuclear arms race...Show moreDuring the first years of the Cold War propaganda became the quintessential tool with which the US government implemented on a national level to sway the public into accepting the nuclear arms race. Through the use of the fifth anti-communism fifth news filter of the propaganda model which was developed by Edward S. Herman’s and Noam Chomsky one can come to understand the winning recipe behind the US domestic propaganda wide-reaching influences between 1945 and 1968. By spreading anti-communism, soothing language, and disinformation the American people were reminded of the price of failure in the nuclear arms race. This parallel to a war on ideas virtually obliging the populace to favor a spending shift from education and other civil services to defense spending and nuclear production. By imprinting the ideological and cultural superiority of American values and the tyrannical intentions of the Soviet Union, domestic propaganda warned Americans against communist indoctrination and restricted artistic freedom. Additionally, through the print media, education, television, and film the Cold War was presented as an epic, but losing struggle between American freedom and Soviet tyranny. Movie producers, magazines, news broadcasters, and artists were financed by governmental organizations to propagate strong messages of American ideologies such as freedom and create a nationwide anti-communist sentiment aimed to justify the increased nuclear spending that was diverted from public resources. Those who objected to the US government’s actions were diagnosed as extremists or pro-Soviets and were targeted by the state and society alike.Show less
Despite many warning signs, two of the deadliest genocides in modern history occurred right under the noses of the United Nations (UN). The Hutus in Rwanda killed approximately eight hundred...Show moreDespite many warning signs, two of the deadliest genocides in modern history occurred right under the noses of the United Nations (UN). The Hutus in Rwanda killed approximately eight hundred thousand Tutsis and Hutu sympathisers in 1994. A year later, Bosnian Serb forces were attempting to gain territory in Bosnia, and attacked Srebrenica. After taking over the town, the forces executed roughly eight thousand Bosnian Muslim men and buried them in mass graves. UN peacekeepers had been stationed in Rwanda and Srebrenica at the time of most of the killings, but were unable and unwilling to get involved in the conflicts. The UN high command had opportunities to intervene and stop the executions that were taking place because of ethnic differences, but they failed to do so. The international community was also indirectly involved in the genocides, as their inaction made it easy for the perpetrators to continue on their bloody path. The Dutch state has recently been held accountable by the Netherlands Court of Appeal for three hundred deaths that occurred during the Srebrenica massacre. However, no state has been taken to court by any plaintiffs for any of the deaths during the Rwandan genocide.Show less
Francis Fukuyama's "End of History and The Last Man" hypothesis has become a much maligned and often misused one. Here, his concept of Thymocracy is tested against a non-Western society, Singapore.
