The Process Of International Relations

The United States is the oldest recognized democracy in the modern world. It has stayed strong for such a long time because this type of government protects the interest of citizens, promotes equality, and prevents a monopoly of power. The American Democracy, like all systems of government, has strengths and weaknesses in relation to the power, politics, and people in the country.

The United States elects a president that is both head of state and head of government. In other democracies, the leader of the government is not both head of state and head of government. In the American form of democracy, there are only two major political parties, in other governments there may be multiple parties represented (IIP Digital, 2008). Our president, and other government officials are elected for a specific period of time, whereas other governments may call an election at any time (IIP Digital, 2008).

Well-known professor of American history, William Appleman Williams, crafts The Tragedy of American Diplomacy to illustrate that there is more to history than what meets the eye – more than what most Americans have been taught. He argues that there is a tragic past when the history of American diplomacy is analyzed. Throughout crucial periods of time in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Williams explores and analyzes instances in which American diplomacy was challenged, policy was deficient, actions were hypocritical and the structure of the system proven inconsistent.

many elect the few who govern. Pure or direct democracies (countries in which all the citizens

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln spoke the timeless words ??government of the people, by the people, for the people?. He might not have known they were the undercurrent of a war that was fought eighty-two years prior in 1781; a war fought one hundred and forty-eight years in the future in 2011. I truly believe that the government floats by the ebbs and flows of its citizens will and opinion. Their will can drive us to war or their will melts away not remembering why we went to war in the first place. The peoples will is the rudder steering the Diplomatic, Information, Military and Economic ?DIME? spectrum maneuvering its way across the governmental swamp. The peoples will to vote and protest shape our diplomatic outcomes. The peoples

The United States is considered to have the world's greatest democracy, however, every four years when Americans go to the voting polls to select a presidential candidate, the controversy of our voting system arises. The United States voting system consists of many components and is referred to as Electoral College. The Electoral College has remained in place for the past two centuries after our founding fathers created it. Fundamentally, the Electoral College consists of 538 electors. This specific number is made up of 435 Representatives, 100 Senators, and 3 electors from the District of Columbia, who are responsible to vote for a specific presidential candidate. According to the 23rd Amendment, the District of Columbia is referred to as

Three levels of analysis, each with its own distinct strength, reveals three different ways of understanding international relations. The first states that all nation-states behave similarly, the second emphasizes the unique internal factors of a nation-state, while the third level of analysis focuses on the individual deciding a state’s course of action. Each level of analysis is useful in the study of international relations. Indeed, used all together, it is not long before arriving at a point where a vast number of explanations for the actions of a country are brought to light. However, to best understand international relations, one level of analysis is more useful than the rest, because it provides the most comprehensive

Democracy is a form of government which dominates the western world. In democracy, every person is given equal input into matters of the state, although this does happen to varying degrees. There exist many different types of democracy. Absolute or direct democracy occurs when each citizen personally participates in all decision-making processes. This system is difficult to maintain due to the vast number of people and the necessity for all people to be informed, logical, and educated when making many decisions. This form of democracy has not existed in significant sized populations. Representative democracy is a type of government in which the people elect government officials to make decisions concerning the state. The two most prevalent types of representative democracy are democratic republics and parliamentary democracies. In a democratic republic, such as the United States or Canada, the people elect both their representatives in government and their head of state. In a parliamentary democracy, such as the United Kingdom or Australia, the people elect their representatives and their representatives elect their head of state.

The United States uses plurality voting for a traditional election method for presidential candidates. Plurality voting is when each voter submits a ballot with one candidates name. The candidate that wins a plurality of votes wins. Sounds simple enough. The idea is reasonable when there are just two candidates, obviously it’s one or the other, but when you start to introduce several candidates, it’s get a bit more complicated. However, when it comes to the electoral, plurality voting can have several disadvantages and some advantages.

Politics in the world are considered extremely powerful because politics establish how majority of countries are governed. Global trends began to increase the effect on political

In understanding international relations and world events, understanding the theories and principles through which to view these events is a good start. However, it is also important to ask yourself how you intend to use the theory. These theories can be applied to contemporary situations in order to understand the actions and reactions of various parties relevant to a specific issue. The theories can also be used to look at current events and attempt to predict future events. Another use for the theories is to apply them to past events, in an attempt to explain and understand why the events happened, and why various parties, or states, executed certain decisions.

The final level of analysis Morgenthau considers to be important is whether or not the power is legitimate and moral or if it is illegitimate and immoral. Legitimate and moral power carries considerable weight in the international community. However, if the power of a state is derived from illegitimate sources such as a dictatorship the international community will be less responsive to that state, weakening its power. Weak or small states may enter into alliances with stronger states to increase their power and influence within the international community (Kleinberg 2010, 33-34). Morgenthau also believed that the charisma and personality of a leader was very important when reviewing the balance of power and understanding a state’s self interest (Kleinberg 2010, 32).

Kegley and Raymond stated: “The shape of the world’s future will be determined not only by changes in the objective conditions of world politics, but also by the meanings people ascribe to these conditions.” Terrorism is presently a major factor in international relations and has impacted the world to change in many significant ways. Terrorism is a political ideology that has been problematic in defining definitely because of its various interpretations around the world, as well as the fact that it is constantly evolving. Since the terrorist events of 9/11, the lives of many have been changed forever. A small group of individuals, which are a mere fraction of the population of the world, have managed to impact and shape the way international and domestic relations are looked at and handled. People question how secure and safe they feel due to uncertainty of public safety because of events such as 9/11. The war on terrorism in the 21st century has certainly and inevitably changed the landscape for global politics. However, the relationship between terrorism and global politics is troublesome and in ways problematic to describe accurately. Both terrorism and global politics individually are complicated phenomenon. It is erroneous to propose that one is responsible for the other or vice versa, but they are inextricably and inevitably linked. In the study of international relations, there are multiple theories and theoretical perspectives. In this essay, realism and liberalism

In international relations, constructivism is regarded to be the starting point of the institutionalization of values that leads to the development of collaborative behaviors within the international community. Constructivism is based on the following core principles:

As one of Europe’s oldest democratic countries, the United Kingdom consequently has one of the oldest voting systems, a plurality system often called First-Past-The-Post. The system relies on a basic principle; voters can vote for only one candidate and the candidate who receives the most votes wins the seat. (UK Parliament Website, 2014) As the quotation from David Cameron shows, the system is often hailed as one of the simplest voting systems possible, and is mainly used in the U.K for national elections.