Sunday, February 23, 2020

Academic freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Academic freedom - Essay Example The problem highlighted by the author here relates to identity, authority and freedom of speech and expression in the world in general. The fact that, nothing in this world is seen in isolation but is relative to other things or dependent on other elements such as culture, religion, geographic similarity, religion, nationality or politics. In light of social sciences and humanities, the author considers race, gender, ethnicity and religion as political factors that hinder learning and knowledge at all levels especially in the academia which is suffering from a lack of academic freedom as the author terms it. He believes that academics forms a basis of what the students would later be like once they leave the academic institute and the social, political and general environment is what defines their future and how they deal with adversities. The realities of social life are bitter but a lot of it can improve if academic culture is transformed. It needs to not teach about a specific dom inant culture and its superiority but it needs to teach people about other cultures and nationalities, about developing tolerance and appreciation for others, about learning what other religions, races and geographically diverse ethnic groups are about. The author argues over the lack of democratic rights, free press and a missing feeling of well-being exists in places like Saudi Arabia, too full of their national pride and religious superiority. In comparison to Arabia, the American academy is seen to be more liberal and diverse, giving the feeling of confidence and freedom to those who belong there. The difference is vast and it is what creates disparities amongst people at a late stage. The argument is in favor of a liberal form of enhanced academic freedom which can help solve problems like national and cultural  intolerance, ethnocentricity and stereotyping.  

Friday, February 7, 2020

Are traditional approaches to security correct to position the STATE Essay - 1

Are traditional approaches to security correct to position the STATE as the referent object of security - Essay Example One should ask themselves whether it is plausible to include other parameters like demography, environment and resources. (Daniel, 1998) This means that the concept of international relations must be redefined; this is because there may be other underlying assumptions that have governed it. There are common strains and factors that have broken national borders. It must also be remembered that communication and information has undergone rapid changes. Besides, finances and capital are flowing all around the world. The clear dividing line that separated foreign and domestic policy is now distorted. This has now caused states to deal with problems in international forums rather than domestically. (Paul, 2000) Security perceptions may either be narrow or wide. Narrow concepts focus on power as the main agenda while wide concepts focus on cooperation. It must be remembered that human rights and international law are crucial determinants in this analysis. There are a number of occurrences that have sparked this debate. The first was the unification of Europe and Germany in the year 1989. Shortly after, there was the September eleventh attack in the year 2001 that posed new challenges to the American government. The security concept is now widening from national security to human or individual security. It has also expanded to include other factors like; actors, food, energy, health and other sectors. (Mathews, 1993) In opposition to the view that national security is of prime importance, other bodies like the United Nations Commission of Human Security have endorsed and proposed the idea of human security. However, traditionalists argue that this concept is too wide. It does not provide a clear outline of cause and effect like national security does. In addition, these conservatives further claim that the concept of global security is a mere complication of an already