BPSC 107
PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WORLD HISTORY
IGNOU BPSC 107 Solved Free Assignment
BPSC 107 Solved Free Assignment July 2023 & January 2024
Assignment-I
Q. 1. Briefly describe the major trends in the study of International Relations in the post-war years.
Ans. Since the end of the Second World War, International Relations have broadened its area with various processes. The following are briefly described:
Structural Changes:
The change is divided into two parts: changes in the nature and role of the nation-state and structural change in global policies.
Changed Nature of Nation-State: Nation-State was the centre to the activities of International Relations.
Earlier international system continues to be constituted by interacting among the sovereign nation-states acting at sub-regional/bilateral, regional and global levels, but the state has undergone total transformation.
In today’s time, the increased interdependence and interconnectedness make a nation-state keep its power and objectives under control.
The nation-state gives little protection to the life and property of its people against Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
It affected their role in international relations badly. Many new sovereign nation-states emerged after decolonization in the 1950s as new partners in world politics. But their new problems and unrealized development ambitions have failed.
So they failed as powerful participants in world politics. Economic development and globalization have forced many countries to form regional economic associations for securing their development objectives.
The Western European states formed the European Unions. The rise of world public opinion, people to people contact, global peace and development movements have changed the role of nation-state.
The decision- makers who have powers on the behalf of their sovereign states find it tough to ignore these new powerful forces.
They accepted it as a need of an hour to establish collective regional economic institutions and obey their directives principles for the development needs of their people. They express interest in the form of internationalism or universalism.
For example, the freedom of the Indian Ocean is demanded by the Littoral states in the name of international peace and security.
The import of technology is taken care of as the right of all nations to share benefits of the technology revolution.
The nation-state’s sovereignty is restricted by world public opinion, international morality, international law, increased global interdependence, world peace, less use of military weapons as means of security and national power.
Structural Change in Global Politics
The consequences of the Second World War gave birth to the Cold War conflict between the USA and erstwhile USSR. They organise their camps to strengthen their positions in international politics.
The United States brought the liberal democratic capitalist countries in one bloc – the American bloc with regional alliances like NATO, SEATO and others. The Soviet Union organised the socialist states under the Warsaw Pact.
Their cold war between the two superpowers and their blocs divided the world vertically into two groups that were named as bi-polarity.
The American camp got weakened due to France’s attempt to become an independent power. And on the other hand Yugoslavia wanted to remain Non-aligned and the differences of Sino- Soviet made the Soviet camp weak.
The emergence of new centres of power, the European Community, Japan, Germany, China, India and NAM weakened the bipolar system of the 1950s.
This changed bipolarity into multipolarity or polycentrism. This bi- multipolarity transformed into a virtual unipolarity in 1990 with the USA as the only surviving superpower along with NATO.
It started dominating the inter-national system, particularly the UN Security Council.
No other superpower was there to challenge US power so the US kept on playing the dominant role. Unipolarity got strengthened with neoliberal ideas gaining influence in international economic relations.
In the beginning of the 21st century, the G-20, Russia, China, Japan, European Union, India and all began to reappear of polycentrism. They decided to resolve to secure and maintain the multipolar character of the international system.
Economic Transformation
Globalisation is the process of increased interconnectedness among countries. The rich economic development is gained because of the increased interaction among countries which results in better standard of living.
Globalisation is grabbing the interest and the attention of the nations. It has come up as the shared objective and contem- porary international system. It is accepted universally as an objective of international relations.
Emerging Regional Economic Groupings
The concept of Western European Economic Integration is the source for other nations.
The Western European countries formed big economic, industrial, and technological development by establishing supranational institutions.
They gained success in making Europe a single economic zone with a common currency and banking service.
European Economic Community or European Union came out as a powerful supranational institute in contemporary international relations.
The doom of the Socialist bloc and changes in Eastern European countries in the 1990s started a new meaningful life and great economic help among all the European states.
Countries cooperate with each other in political and security areas and form regional groups.
The South Asian states follows ASEAN which is the 8 member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Nine states of West Asia and Central Asia have formed Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO); Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) brings together China, Russia, and central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and India and Pakistan.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), African Union (AU), and Arab League were formed with a variety of objectives.
Economic and trading blocs like NAFTA and APEC and groups like ARF, G-8, etc. focus on the growing importance of economic relations and forces of regional economic integration.
Bilateral, international and regional institutes have been cropping up for establishing guiding, directing and coordinating mainly non- political, non military socio economic and cultural relations among the nations. It is based upon the principle of through joint efforts.
Living Through Financial Crisis of mutual benefits.
The world has been facing a global level financial and economic recession since 2007-08. The economies of the developed countries like the USA, Japan, UK, Canada, the European Union States and Australia have been facing economic and industrial slowdowns.
They saw the cases of bankruptcy of banks and insurance companies. They are experiencing negative inflation, negative industrial growth, and unemployment and job losses.
The domino effect is caused due to the global financial crisis. These countries have been facing economic and industrial pressures.
Transforming the United Nations
The post-Cold War era, the US came to be an only superpower and a bigger player in international relations. It shaped the world by selling ideas of market economy and democratizing all countries from Haiti to Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Gulf War operations were the US operations under the UN flagship coalition with multinational forces.
Immediately after the post-Cold War period, Russia and former republics of the erstwhile USSR became weak but the position of the US became stronger in UN security.
Many UN decisions like sanctions against Iraq, measures against Libya and the decision to absolve Israel by pushing the resolution that Zionism and apartheid are not one, etc.
This created US dominance and influence over the world. It was thought that the UN was more like one of the departments of US administration. Third world nations kept on checking the attempts of the US to keep hold of the UN.
Demand for Democratization of the UNSC
East European states became free of Soviet control with the disintegration of the Soviet bloc. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania became sovereign independent states.
East Germany integrated with West Germany, the socialist republic of Yugoslavia divided into several independent republics after long and bloody wars in the early 1990s. The number of countries increased from 190.
This gave strength to the UN General Assembly whereas the UN Security Council continued to have only 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members.
The People’s Republic of China is the only Asian country which had only one permanent veto seat. Many countries had started experiencing economic growth due to globalization from the second half of the 1990s.
India, Brazil, South Africa and China showed continued growth. Germany, Japan, India, Brazil, South Africa and Egypt deserved a permanent seat in the decision making community at the international level.
Brazil, Germany, India and Japan formed G-4 securing and broadening the composition of the UNSC.
G-4 countries should be included in the UN Security Council as permanent veto-wielding members which will make it more democratic.
Some suggested that permanent membership of some states is the need of the hour. The new permanent members should be non-veto members.
But others said that the existing permanent members should share their veto power with sovereign equality of all states peacefully.
They would exist with them peacefully otherwise the new members should also be given the veto power.
Problem of Nuclear Proliferation
The Nuclear point brought big change in international relations. The nuclear powers in the USA, Russia, Britain, France and China are in a mess. They have the power but they cannot use it for securing their aims.
The nuclear powers signed chemical Weapons Abolition Agreement, INF, START 1 and START 2 and they accepted the need for arms control and disarmament, they have been maintaining their nuclear weapons.
But they want the non-nuclear nations to stay away from nuclear proliferation. Since 1998, India and Pakistan have been developing their Nuclear weapon capabilities.
Iran, Israel and North Korea may have developed nuclear weapons or their projects are in the pipelines.
Brazil and Argentina refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In the 1990s, they joined NPT and agreed to terms that they will use their nuclear programs for peaceful purposes only.
Emergence of Non-Traditional Security Threats
The Problem of International Terrorism: International terrorism took place in the different departments like: Cross- border Terrorism, Religious Terrorism, Fundamentalist Terrorism, Narco terrorism, Jihadi Terrorism.
Places like Kashmir, Chechnya, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Washington, London, Paris, Mumbai, Delhi and many more places experienced deadly and dangerous face of terrorism.
The terrorist groups are highly organised and motivated groups. The international community is more serious about controlling this deadly game. They have the potential to disturb international peace and security.
The International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999) and follow up UN Security states to prevent and suppress the funding of terrorist groups.
urity Council to call Problem of Narco-Trafficking: Drug trafficking is an illegal trade which involves the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution and sale of products which are banned.
Myanmar and Laos are major sources of heroin in South-East Asia, and Afghanistan produces opium in South Asia.
Balkan and northern routes are the major heroin trafficking corridors which have links with Afghanistan to the markets of the Russian Federation and Western Europe.
Other important routes include Tran, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.
It is the market of billions of dollars. Cocaine is majorly consumed by North America and Europe. America gets it from Cambodia to Mexico by sea, air, and land. Europe gets it by sea in containers.
Growing Ethnic Conflicts: Armenia and Azerbaijan are in ethnic wars and Russia and Georgia are involved in local ethnic wars.
Tamil ethnic problem is yet to be solved even after the fall of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
A great loss of human life was experienced in bloody former Yugoslavia. The inter-tribal conflict resulted in the death of several hundred thousand people in Rwanda.
Killing of children, women and men in the name of religion is the truth in contemporary times.
The potential centres of ethnic conflicts and wars are: Angola, Cyprus, Somalia, Middle-East, South Africa, Russia, etc. Issue of Humanitarian Concerns
All the members of the international community have accepted securing sustainable development, environmental protection and the protection of human rights as their aims to be accomplished in the near future.
Economic development in the age of science and technology has badly affected our environment and transformed our mother earth into an insecure, poorer and excessively polluted place to live. Its natural resources are overly exploited.
The current aim is to secure sustainable development, practical and enduring development which helps future generations to develop fully. The damages will be repaired and the environment will become healthier.
The use of eco-friendly technology to keep our environment healthy is the current aim.
Importantly, protection of human rights of all the people living in the whole parts of the earth for letting them enjoy equal benefits of natural resources of the earth. They must gain from technological advancement.
Q. 2. What were the reasons for the outbreak of the First World War? Elaborate.
Ans. The war started in the wake of the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the Hapsburg throne. He was killed by a group of Bosnian radical nationalists on 28th June, 1914.
The causes of war include the politico-economic developments that took place in the international area since the Franc-German war of 1870. Economic rivalries, dispute over colonies and the conflicting alliance system arose in Europe.
Economic Rivalries
European powers had been engaged in wars and in competition for overseas markets. The tariff war was going on between Italy and France, Russia and Germany, Austria and Serbia and so on.
Competition was going between Great Britain and Germany. In the 19th century, Britain was the supreme economic power.
It had a powerful navy and army. Germany became a great economic power in Europe after its principalities unified as a nation-state.
It became a strong competitor for the overseas market where Great Britain had great stakes. It created political problems too.
The competing countries built strong navies for safeguarding trade routes and merchant shipping.
Germany too formed a strong army which gave support to its economy. It became intolerant to Britain.
Colonial Disputes
The European powers get involved in conflicts for overseas colonies to safeguard their markets for their surplus capital and industrial products. Germany was new to this race. It became aggressive in the demand for the overseas colonies.
It could grow their economy. Germany’s struggle to get the colonies was hampered by Britain. All other powers were involved in the mess which preceded the First World War.
The European powers collided over Africa and Asia for colonies. These collisions grew more serious and made the relation more hostile between the states in European.
Conflicting Alliance Systems
The struggle in different parts of the world between the powers invited the formation of conflicting alliances. Germany signed the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary (1879).
This alliance aimed to strengthen Germany against a French attack for recovering Alsace-Lorraine.
On the other hand, the Alliance gave protection to Austria-Hungary against Russia with which Austria had clashes in Balkan region. It became the Triple Alliance in 1882.
Italy too joined in their alliance to get protection in the struggle for colonies against France. The partners of the Triple Alliance saw this attempt to dominate Europe and to isolate other states from each other.
France and Russia entered an entente in 1893. It was aimed to handle the Triple Alliance and Britain against whom France and Russia had disputes over the colonies. But their dispute got resolved after some time.
First, the Anglo-French entente (1904) was signed, and then Anglo-Russian entente (1907) was signed. Together they formed the Triple Entente.
Europe was divided into two conflicting alliances i.e., Triple Alliance and Triple Entente which exaggerated the already disturbed international relations.
Rising Nationalist Aspirations
The subjective minorities remained unfriendly with their imperial rulers in Europe. They were restless against foreign rule. They were demanding the right of self-determination.
The French people in Alsace-Lorraine were against German rule over their territory. Subject minorities were showing their anger to the Hapsburg Empire which was ruled by the Austrians and the Hungarians.
Italian, Romanian, and the Slavic people living in the Austro-Hungarian Empire too demanded self-determination with their neighbouring states. The nationalist movements turned into military revolutionary movements.
Secret radicals and militant organizations spreader in different places in the Balkan region. Belgrade is the capital of Serbia. They cracked the conspiracy to kill Archduke Francis Ferdinand in 1911.
He was on an official tour in Sarajevo. Principle killed him. The Outbreak of War After the killing of Archduke, Austria issued a final notice to Serbia on 23 July in 1914. Serbia had very less knowledge about the conspiracy to kill Archduke.
The final notice included the demands for apologies, crushing of anti-Austrian movements and participation of Austrian officials in the inquiry for conspiracy.
But Serbia refused to include Austrian officials in the inquiry. Austria did not accept the Serbia reply and declared war against Serbia on 28th July, 1914.
Russia favoured Serbia and joined the war. This brought Germany into the war. The war was declared against Russia and France by Germany on 1st and 3rd August. Germany planned to attack France by defeating Belgium angered Britain.
Britain declared war on 4th August. The war broke out on a large scale between the two blocs.
First bloc contains Austria, Hungary and Germany which were named as Central Powers and the second bloc contains France, Britain and Russia. Which were named as the Allies.
Assignment-II
Q. 1. What is critical theory and how has it enriched the study of International relations?
Ans. This term is given by Max Horkheimer. It is a theory where human emancipation from slavery seeks to create a world which satisfies the needs and powers.
The critical theory is the combination of many other theories like neo-Marxism postmodernism, feminism and postcolonialism.
These are inspired from different sources like Marx, Hegel and Foucault. These theories support few features like their commitment to post-positivist methodology,
their dedication for change and liberation of unliberated people or class of society, the thinkers said that knowledge cannot be objective. It cannot be independent of social context.
The theorists criticized the positivists’ way of framing elements. Critical theory says that it questioned the sources of prohibition, violence and defeat and to plan radical strategies for domination.
Critical theory in the context of Marxism has two streams – the first one is by the Frankfurt School of Marxism by Jurger Habermas while the other one by Italian activist and theorist Antonio Gramsci.
The Frankfurt school was set up in 1923 as the Institute for Social research in Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany to study Marxism.
The institute was moved to Paris from Germany when Nazi party came to power in Germany.
After Germany’s invasion in France, it finally moved to Columbia University in New York in 1935. Max Horkheimer’s essay Traditional and Critical Theory (1937) is an agenda-setting work of the school.
He said that the existing social institutions are described on the basis of traditional theories. And their analysis has the indirect effect of legitimating repression.
Through the study of the larger historical and social context, the critical theory would expose the system’s false claims to legitimacy, justice and truth.
Jurgen Habermas was the most influential philosopher of the 2nd generation thinker. His theory of communicative action and discourse ethics are the foremost critical to IR theory.
He was not in support of the positivist method to gain knowledge in social sciences. According to him knowledge gained by positivism set out the purpose of social control. The real aim of knowledge should be liberation.
He criticised Karl Marx for not giving importance to the use of language and manipulation of facilities with collective learning in developing class among the proletariat and understanding their relations with other social classes.
Andrew Linklater and Mark Hoffman developed the critical theory of IR based on ideas and concepts of the Frankfurt school.
Linklater used Habermas’s theory of communicative action and discussed ethics to develop different views in world politics and new research in agenda.
Linklater imagines that critical theory analyses the prospects for universal liberation. He stated three main functions of critical theory which are based on concepts like freedom and universality.
Second critical theory must find out the important barriers in developing an alternative world order.
Third, critical theory should work to bring liberating practise to develop a new world order.
Linklater’s main theme was the Emancipation. He interrogates up to what extent the state system supports or denies the possibilities of human emancipation.
State is an exclusive and inclusive both part of the political community. It is inclusionary because it gives equality to every citizen and equal rights to every citizen.
It is exclusionary because it rejects equality to foreigners and outsiders. He believed that individuals have a dual moral identity. One he plays as a citizen and the other role is of a world citizen.
He wants to transform the political community from the state to a new form of democracy based on cosmopolitan citizenship. According to Linklater a critical theory of International Relations has four achievements.
First, critical theory is doubtful of the positivist method and assumes that knowledge is dependable on social context and researchers can have knowledge via involvement with the elements.
Second, critical theorists believe that structure can be altered. But those who don’t want to alter it want to maintain the status quo and preserve the discrepancy of wealth and power in world politics.
Third, the weaknesses in the Marxism theory are learned by the critical theory. He regards the state as a basis exclusive on the basis of citizenship as the state includes a smaller number of people as citizens and non-citizen are exclusive.
Fourth, critical theory investigates social arrangement to start an open dialogue with all the people.
Q. 2. Examine the role of anti-imperialist movement in India in shaping its foreign policy.
Ans. The pre-independence foreign policy activities of the Indian National Congress can be distinguished in two parts.
First the way in which Congress leaders interacted with the international community all the way.
Second, the Congress leaders thought of the ideologies that free India should opt for. The outside will be involved but in what manner and how much will be decided by the leaders.
As per Bipin Chandra three methods came into notice in the nationalist foreign policy before World War I.
First is to support the nations which are fighting for their independence.
Second, Asia should get its identity.
Third, a trend with growing understanding of the economic rationale behind the growth of imperialism.
After, 1914, the nationalist foreign policy opposed political and economic imperialism and cooperation among all the nations for the prime motive of peace.
The first phase from 1947 to 1962 was named as Optimistic Non-Alignment period where a bipolar world was setup and different camps were headed by the US and the USSR.
India opposed the decline of its sovereignty and wanted to rebuild its economy and strengthened its integrity.
India participated in the setting up of the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) in 1961 which was the solidification of Third World.
In the second period between 1962 to 1971 India made political changes along with security changes.
India was forced externally on the issues of Kashmir from the US and UK. It did Tashkent agreement in 1965. The agreement stated that both Pakistan and India would withdraw all armed forces to pre-war positions.
It would result in restoring diplomatic relations. They had to discuss economic, refugee, etc, matters related to them. The agreement did not contain no-war pact as Pakistan was an ally of the US. So, India moved towards the USSR.
This period was named as the decade of Realism and Recovery. India did not get correct intentions of China and Pakistan and fought Indo-Pak war in 1948 and Sino-India war in 1962 and lost control of part of Kashmir and Aksai Chin to Pakistan and China.
India came to know that soft power diplomacy would not work in order to protect the country. So, India created the post of Chief of Defence Staff which was a right step in security issues solution.
The collapse of the USSR and the economic crisis in 1991 forced India to focus on the principles of domestic and foreign policy.
The USSR was India’s ally. And its collapse and other factors brought balance of payment crisis in India.
The congress set up the British Committee to reach out to the world during colonisation. The major aim of this step was to convince the British public of the freedom for Indians.
It failed and the committee dissolved it in 1920 by the Nagpur Congress. They wanted a strong action in India through the Non-Cooperation movement because the movement was showcasing their cause to the world.
Nehru knew that Indians were not liked by countries like China, Egypt, Afghanistan and Burma and many others in the Middle East.
Britishers sent Indians as manpower to the Middle East in the British Army or the police. Nehru believed that these Indian soldiers and policemen must be removed from foreign countries.
And it must set the environment of friendship and brotherhood with India. Bipan Chandra (1989) writes that the Indian National Congress was concerned about unanimity with abroad to fight against imperialism.
He writes that Congress leaders in India raised their voices and showed aggression on British policy of conducting wars with India’s neighbours and increasing their territories.
Indian leaders opposed the annexation of Burma and called it an immoral act. Surendra Nath Banerjee condemned the British act of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-80).
The attack on Tibet in 1903 by Lord Curzon too was criticised. The ideas of non- alignment movement existed before independence.
Bimla Prasad (1962) writes that on 7th September 1946, Nehru declared that India would keep itself away from the power groups.
It would keep friendly relations with every nation and would not have enmity with any of the nations. It was an ideology behind the non-alignment movement which had roots before 1947.
Manu Bhagavan states that non-align Nehru’s main aim. When the Second World War was ending, an attempt was made to set up an international organisation to promote world peace.
Nehru took advantage of it and spread Gandhi’s message of nonviolence and peace to the world in the form of One World. Madam Vijaya Lakshmi too presented this during the setting up of the UN.
The foreign policies of all nations display the valuation of opportunities, risks, rewards and restrictions.
A little miscommunication and incorrect information which is not considered can cost a huge loss. For example, India approached the UN with the intentions that international society would listen Pakistan’s aggression on Kashmir.
But the UN advised Ceasefire which invited the problem of PoK which is still a problem in today’s period.
India’s foreign policy post decolonisation was based on four principles which are mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference, equality and mutual benefit.
Nehru in his speech, Tryst with Destiny in 1947 said that India’s foreign policy goal of having autonomy from foreign powers focuses on maintaining sovereignty and territorial integrity of its borders.
India refused to join International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and refused to sign the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). This action reflects that its foreign policy goal of being recognised as a great power.
Q. 3. Enumerate the core assumptions of the Marxist approach to internatioal relations.
Ans. IR is a complex phenomenon where change in an aspect affects the functioning of other elements. In the famous book, The Poverty of Philosophy, written by Karl Marx he states that the relations of production of every society form a whole.
Society and culture are part of a country’s economic system. A change in economic structure takes place when an economic factor changes. Marxists IR theorists believe that totality can help to study world politics than in isolation.
Robert Cox, neo- Gramscian theorist said that it is necessary to breach important interdisciplinary boundaries to conclude history, sociology and geography to have proper understanding of global issues.
Marxism was against neorealists’ distinction between domestic and inter- national and constructive thesis to differentiate between material and ideational variables.
Social science is divided into subjects like history, sociology, political science, economics and IR disturbs our understanding of world politics. Immanuel Wallerstein criticized the artificial division of social science.
IR always questioned the main actors in international politics. Realists believe that states are the main actors but Marxism believes that classes, social movements and economic market forces are the main actors of world politics.
In the capitalist world economy the capital-rich states form a social class i.e., middle class. They own the means of production.
But the capitalist poor states form the lowest class which do not have these means of production.
The lowest class contributed cheap labour and raw material to capital-rich states and provided a market of finished goods for the middle class.
World system consists of the state system and world economy. It is called by different names by different theorists. Realists call it an international system whereas English School calls it international society.
Neo-realists focused on distribution of power in discovering the structure of the international system. For them structure can be given different names of polarity such as unipolarity, bipolarity or multipolarity.
Marxist believes that the structure of the capitalist world system is controlled by capital and means of production. World politics is constrained by the structure.
Realists and liberals take the nature of the international system as anarchic. Marxist believes that the world system is characterized by conflict and disagreement.
It is because the capital-rich bourgeois class and capital-poor have conflicting interests. Both classes work for control of the capital, technology, natural resources and market. This competition provoked conflicts.
Realist theorists use natural sciences based on positivism and explain the given process. Critical theorists use post-positivism and emphasize on understanding an issue rather than starting an informal relation.
Constructivists believe in constitutive and interpretive techniques. The Marxist approach uses historical materialism to discuss and understand contemporary world politics.
Neo-Marxists like Gramsci and Robert W. Cox stated that ideas and institutions play a major role.
Assignment-III
Q. 1. NGOs in the UN system.
Ans. The Article 71 of the UN Charter stated the role of the NGOs. They represent the conscience of the people. They raise their voices on several global issues with civil societies. Thomas Weiss explained it as a Third UN.
Innis Claude described that the first UN has member states, debates, makes advice and decisions. The Second UN has the UN and specialized agencies secretariats.
The third UN has research, policy analysis, promotion of ideas and public support. Its members are all members of the UN. More than 5000 NGOs are working with the UN.
Q. 2. The concept of Global Village.
Ans. The on-going development in tele-communications and data processing are the strongest factors in world affairs. Revolution in tele-communication and computers bound the whole world into one village.
This term was given by Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan and penned it down in his book The Gutenberg Galaxy, The Making of Typographic Man, and Understanding Media (1964).
The exchange of information within the world has made the world a small place. For example, the American television programmes and music video cassettes or DVDs can be found in the rural areas of Africa and Latin America and in the whole world.
The whole world is catching the technologies, lifestyle, values and themes of the west. They work through the internet, focused on global interdependence investment and raw material.
They find the solutions to global issues like environmental pollution, weather, water shortage and population migration with the cooperation of global cooperation. Globalisation is the key to form the global village.
The exchange of goods, raw material, services, capital and local cultures, etc. take place in the globalisation. It helps in connecting the diverse cultures among the nation-states and non-state actors of the world.
Q. 3. Judith Ticker’s critique of Realism.
Ans. Judith Ann Ticker presented the most important critique on the realist theory of international politics. It was published in 1988.
It was named Hans Morgenthau’s Principles of Political Realism: A Feminist Reformulation.
The first line of this article says “International politics is a man’s world, a world of power and conflict in which warfare is a privileged activity.”
She said that the main fields to the practice of IR are military, diplomacy and security services are ruled by men.
These are considered to be masculine but more women are taking up professions in the world. She challenged six principles of Hans J.
Morgenthau of the realist theory of international politics. She says that objectivity is related to masculinity but human nature is masculine as well as feminine.
She said that national interest cannot be only power because it has a polygonal concept where cooperation is needed globally. Power should be collective not dominant.
She rejects that political action and morality are separated. More focus is to be needed on moral elements of humanity to build an international community.
In the last she added that feminine issues should be added in the political areas but political areas are full of men and their domination.
Q. 4. The Versailles Treaty.
Ans. It was signed between the Allies and Germany. It was the most important treaty out of the five treaties. It had 440 articles.
It dealt with the territorial, military and war guilt of the Central Powers and the economic, political and other important issues related to peace settlement. Germany was declared responsible for the war and was dealt with strictness.
Emperor Kaiser William was blamed for the Holocaust caused by the war and for other crimes against humanity. Germany was asked to return around 40,000 square kilometres of territory.
Germany was deprived of natural resources due to the loss of three territories. These natural resources were important for its economic development.
Germany was asked to pay the war loss which was estimated at 33,000 million dollars. German colonies were taken away and were declared Mandated Territories of the League.
These territories were divided into France, Britain and Japan. Its army and military were cut and it weakened its power.
It was ordered not to form an air force and to have a merchant navy. Demilitarization was done on the river Rhine for 50 kilometres east of the river.
The Allied Commission was appointed to keep an eye on the whole process. Germany and Austria could not unite.
Hungary, Poland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, etc. were recognized as independent states. The treaty between Germany and Russia. The treaty of Brest-Litovsk was declared irrelevant.
Q. 5. The Pots-dam Conference.
Ans. It was held in July-August 1945. Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies. Manydecisions were taken regarding the future of Germany and the East European countries.
The conference was attended by Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, Chiang Kai-Shek and the US President Harry Truman. The conference took important decisions regarding the future set up in Germany.
Preparations were made to sign the peace treaty concluded with other defeated powers. Japan was yet to be defeated. Some parts would be constituted in the western parts of Poland.
Free and fair elections would be held in Poland. The Potsdam Conference decided that Allied forces would immediately withdraw from Iran and Tangier.
And they were to be declared an international area. Imperialism would be abolished and Japan would be disarmed.
The criminals of Japan behind the war would be punished. Allied military control took over Japan and democracy was declared. A democratic government would be set up. The sovereignty of Japan would be limited to four islands.
All foreign territories occupied would be liberated and transferred to the countries where they lawfully belonged. The conditions were denied by Japan.
The US dropped two atomic bombs on two of the cities of Japan. The US did not take a vote of confidence from the Soviet Union on this.
This started a Cold War immediately after the 2nd World War. In this way the US forced Japan to surrender unconditionally. And the Second World War came to an end.
IGNOU BPSC 111 Solved Free Assignment 2023-24