Introduction Why do nations fail? This is a topic of popular debate with many economists and a question many scholars have struggled to find an answer to. Global poverty is an issue that economists Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson investigate and provide an alternative insight for in their book: ‘Why Nations Fail’. Acemoglu and Robinson investigate inequalities that exist across countries and why nations are an epitome of success and others, failure. They come up with an alternative explanation for why standards of living differ across countries, and why a gap exists between the rich and poor. The book introduces an example of two cities that are separated by a border: Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora. On the American side of the border, the income of the average household is $30,000, the population is relatively healthy, and the citizens live prosperously (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012). On the opposite side of the border in Mexico, majority of the population do not own a high school degree, poor health conditions exist, poor infrastructure and unfortunately, high infant mortality rates (Acemoglu & Robinson 2012). How can situations on opposite borders be so different? The basis for Acemoglu and Robison’ s thesis for this phenomenon is that of institutions. They propose that that there is a strong correlation between economic and political institutions. That is, inclusive political institutions support inclusive economic institutions, and extractive political institutions support extractive economic institutions (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012). Democratic institutions generally allow opportunities for the majority, leading to positive economic growth. Political institutions that look after a narrow elite is reinforced with stag... ... middle of paper ... ...esult, 1000 civilians died, but majority of the fundamentalist group was taken out. In 2009, Goodluck Jonathan assumed presidency when Umaru Yar’Adu died (BBC News Africa, 2013). In 2011 elections, Goodluck Jonathan took majority of the vote against military opponent, Muhammadu Buhari. Observers have stated this election is the most fair it has ever been in history, but Buhari’s supporters opposed the results. Quickly after, the fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, made resurgence and there were daily attacks in the country. As a result, the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency and dispatched troops. In January 2012, Goodluck Jonathan removed the country’s fuel subsidy to repair the tattered economy, but only caused fuel and food prices to rise. In response to the rise of prices, Nigerians began to protest, which eventually led to reinstating the subsidy.
As stronger nations exercise their control over weaker ones, the United States try to prove their authority, power and control over weaker nations seeing them as unable to handle their own issues thereby, imposing their ideology on them. And if any of these weaker nations try to resist, then the wrath of the United States will come upon them. In overthrow the author Stephen Kinzer tells how Americans used different means to overthrow foreign government. He explains that the campaign & ideology of anti- communism made Americans believe that it was their right and historical obligation to lead forces of good against those of iniquity. They also overthrew foreign government, when economic interest coincided with their ideological ones (kinzer.215). These factors were the reasons behind America’s intervention in Iran, Guatemala, South Vietnam and Chile to control and protect multinational companies as well as the campaign against communism with little or no knowledge about these countries.
“The Alliance” by Gerald N. Lund is about a man named Eric who vows to take down The Alliance, also known as the AFC, The Alliance of Four Cities, after him and the rest of his village get kidnapped with implants included. He wants to take it down because of a cruel man named Major Denison. The citizens of the four cities have a microchip implanted into the base of their skulls. This chip prevents them from being angry, feeling prejudice, or committing crimes. This implant makes the AFC a brainwashed and mind controlled society under the Major’s rule.
I felt like the author could clearly show the true contributing factors of the civil war. As an admirer of history, I could use utilize his book for references later on in my academic studies. The book is 127 pages chronicling the events that led to the civil war. Holt gives novices history readers a wonder firsthand look into the world of young America pre-civil war. His book brought out new ways to approach the study of pre-civil war events. The question whether the Civil War was inevitable or could have been derailed was answered in The Fate of Their Country. Holt places the spotlight on the behaviors Politicians and the many congressional compromises that unintendedly involved the actions of the residents of American. These factors at hand placed the Civil war as inevitable. Most of the politician’s views in The Fate of Their Country were egotistical and shortsighted which left gaps in American’s social future. To consider the subject of why, first we need to understand the contributing causes, America’s great expansion project, the Manifest Destiny the driving factor behind the loss of virtue and political discord.
War has been a consistent piece of mankind 's history. It has significantly influenced the lives of individuals around the globe. The impacts are amazingly adverse. In the novel, “The Wars,” by Timothy Findley, Soldiers must shoulder compelling weight on the warzone. Such weight is both family and the country weight. Many individuals look at soldiers for hop and therefore, adding load to them. Those that cannot rationally beat these difficulties may create Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tragically, some resort to suicide to get away from their insecurities. Troops, notwithstanding, are not by any means the only ones influenced by wars; relatives likewise encounter mental hardships when their friends and family are sent to war. Timothy Findley
Yapa, Lakshman. "What causes Poverty? A post-modern view." Annals of the Association of American Geographers Dec. 1996.
David M. Potter’s, “Fire-Eaters, Fugitives and Finality” in The Impending Crisis is a secondary source describing the events that followed up to the civil war and the impact the South and North both had on the issue of slavery. Potter who was born in Georgia in 1910 studied for most of his life Southern culture and ideology especially during the Civil War era. He argues that it was institutionalized cultural differences that prevented the South and North from agreeing to settle the tension with slavery as a whole country. He proposes that the significance of the slavery in the culture and society in the South was so critical that effort to preserve that way of living, the South would have no other choice but to separate from the North. Potter utilizes political ideology to articulate that it was due to significant decisions by congress that fueled violence and increasing tension for both halves of the United States. David M. Potter also engages in referencing personal liberty laws and arguing how if it wasn’t for Prigg vs Pennsylvania there would be more strict slavery enforcement in the North.
...th what little they have, however; why is it left to the poor to have to suffer the consequences of these political choices. The persistence of extreme poverty and social ills speak to a situation that bears for a different approach. It is clear that capitalism and free market solutions cannot spread wealth as advocated. American governments have shown their reluctance to admit this discrepancy through the strategic creations of welfare policies and welfare reform coupled with placing blame upon the citizens who possess little power to change market decisions that govern and effect their lives.
Landes, D., 1999. The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 38-59
Making decisions is a routine in our daily lives, these actions contribute to how we operate in our society. “Why did history take such different evolutionary courses for people of different continents?” was the question that fascinated Diamond to reveal the patterns of human history. According to the professor of Geography at the University of California Los Angeles, Jared Diamond, in his article “Why do some societies make disastrous decisions?” he describes the factors in failures we commit that have led to societal collapses by breaking it down as a road map. The author makes a strong suggest that “First a group may fail to anticipate a problem before the problem actually arrives. Secondly, when the problem arrives, the group may fail to perceive the problem. Then, after they perceive the problem, they may fail even to try to solve the problem.
Abubakar, A. (2013, April 29). Deepening democracy in Nigeria: Implications for Africa. . Retrieved July 16, 2014, from http://theeagleonline.com.ng/deepening-democracy-in-nigeria-implications-for-africa-by-atiku-abubakar/
On October 1, 1960, the Federation of Nigeria achieved independence, initially as a constitutional monarchy. In June 1961, the northern part of the United Nations Trust Territory of British Cameroons was incorporated into Nigeria's Northern Region as the province of Sardauna, and in August 1963 a fourth region, the Mid-Western Region, was created. From the outset, Nigeria's ethnic, regional, and religious tensions were magnified by the disparities in economic and educational development. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was adopted on October 1, 1963. At the same time, Nigeria became a member of the Commonwealth and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of the NCNC took office as first Nigerian's first President. On January 15, 1966, a group of officers overthrew the government. In May 1967, Lt. Col. Emeka Ojukwu, the military governor, declared the independence of the Eastern Region as the "Republic of Biafra." After General Muhammed was assassinated on February 13, 1976, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became head of state. Seven new states were created in 1976, bringing the total to nineteen. Several military rulers followed, ending with the sudden death of General Sani Abacha in June, 1998. He was succeeded by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who held elections in 1999 leading to the election of Olusegun Obasanjo, who took office in May, 1999.
Robert D. Kaplan’s article “The Coming Anarchy," is best summarized by the following quote, which identifies the different factors that he evaluates throughout his article, “To understand the events of the next fifty years, then, one must understand environmental scarcity, cultural and racial clash, geographic destiny, and the transformation of war.” (Kaplan, 1994) This is the framework that he uses to make his supporting arguments and thus this summary will be broken down into these four main parts.
The Failure of the League of Nations In this essay I am going to explain whether I agree or disagree with the following statement: 'The league failed in the 1930's simply because it faced greater challenges than it had faced in the 1920's. The League of Nations was formed in 1919 just after the First World War. The. It was the initial idea of Woodrow Wilson, the president of the USA, and was formed as an international police force to keep the peace.
The question to be answered in this paper is to what extent has the resource curse affected the Nigerian economy and government? Resource curse is a term that states the observation that countries that have a plethora of natural resources (e.g. oil, coal, diamonds etc.) usually have unstable political and economic structures (Sachs, 827). Nigeria is categorized as a nation that has succumb to the resource curse as it has an abundance of, and an overdependence on, oil, and a decreasing gross domestic product (GDP) (Samuels, 321-322). Nigeria is known for its specialization and overdependence on oil and according to Ross, nations of such nature tend to have high levels of poverty, large class gaps, weak educational systems, more corruption within the government, and are less likely to become democracies (Ross, 356). The political instability and regime change in Nigeria will be observed in this paper. The resource curse has greatly weakened Nigeria as it has led to the numerous regime changes, the hindering of the nation’s democratization, corruption in the government, as well as, civil conflict.
In life, you have individuals who where giving the grace of being born with better economical opportunities, and you also have those who unfortunately where born in the other side of the economical spectrum. Some individuals have managed a way to overcome those economical obstacles and have succeeded in the market, abandoning their old life standards and moving into a higher step in the economical ladder. As well as humans, nations suffer a similar economical situation. Some nations have acquired more wealth than others through out time, and the disparity of wealth between some nations is somewhat shocking. To show this broad disproportion, scientists have divided the world in two parts, the North and the South. “The North- South Divide is the socio-economic division between the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as “the North,” and the poorer developing countries as “the South.”… The North is home to four out of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and all members of the G8.”(1) As nations become economically developed, they may become part of the “North,” regardless of geographical location, while any other nations, which does not qualify as a developed nation, it is considered to be part of the “South”. The day when the economical situation in the South slightly compares to the wealth of the North is the day when most of our current international conflicts will disappear.