- Cultural Region (Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania, or Latin America)
- MLA Citation
- Concise (no more than 5 sentences) summary with a clear thesis statement
Monday, January 30, 2017
FI Question #49 - "Current History" Article Summary
To complete question #49 on the "Foundations Investigation," select an article from a PRINT issue of Current History. Your comment should include the following:
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ReplyDeleteStohl, Rachel, and Rhea Myerscough. “Sub-Saharan Small Arms: The Damage Continues.” Current History, May 2007, pp. 227-32.
The article "Sub-Saharan Small Arms: The Damage Continues" by Rachel Stohl and Rhea Myerscough is about how there are several problems in Africa regarding firearms and rules regarding them. Although Africa has less firearms than most countries, the lack of rules and laws regarding them cause violent actions to occur, such as peacekeepers being shot. This article explains the consequences of these weapons and how violence has almost become a culture. Overall, this weapon situation in Africa is becoming to violent for laws and regulations not to be made.
Cultural Region- Europe
ReplyDeleteDismore, Jane. "The Good Duchess." History Today, vol. 66, no. 10, pp. 4-5.
The death of Anne duchess of Hamilton has contributed to the knowledge of a noble house 300 years ago. Her excellet record keeping and preservation has allowed valuable information on housing in that time to be revealed. She made records of everything that went on in a noble household, this produced a legacy of the work involved in running a noble household. Her death has allowed this information to surface, and her artifacts and bed can be viewed in the National Museum in Edinburg.
Cultural Region: East Asia
ReplyDeleteArmstrong, Charles. “Can the Korean Princelings Make Progress?” Current History, vol. 112, no. 755, Sept. 2013, pp. 242-43.
North Korea is one of the four states in Northeast Asia to have descendants of notable family members as the current leaders of their state, however North Korea still poses a problem to many countries. China, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea's leaders all have family members who we in charge of the state before. North Korea and South Korea have bad relationships and the relationships are worsening. Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea eventually started negotiating with South Korea in the summer of 2013 which were some of the first friendly exchanges between the Koreas. Park Geun-hye has also tried to improve the relationship with North Korea and has shown commitment. Lastly, North Korea continues to increase their nuclear weapon potential.
Matsaganis, Manos. "To the Brink and Back in Greece." Current History, Mar.
ReplyDelete2016, pp. 108-13.
In the cultural region of Europe, Greece has been faced with multiple economic challenges causing them to make a decision to leave or stay in the European Union. They decided to stay in but with that they got a lot of baggage. They now do not have an abundant amount of money and citizens can only take out 60 euro per day. Money is tight and they are trying to replenish themselves slowly with Varoufakis in charge of the economy.
Cultural Region: South Asia
ReplyDeleteSnellinger, Amanda. “Nationalism and Exclusion in Postwar Nepal.” Current History, vol. 115, no. 780, Apr. 2016, pp. 154-56.
In southern Nepal’s Parsa district the people there are dealing with post civil war restructuring of their government. The employment rate in Nepal is very low and most jobs taken by the youth of the nation do not seem to fit their current education level which in turn causes outmigration, and in some regions strikes against the government in order for citizens to achieve recognition in the new constitution. In addition, the government is failing to acknowledge eight regions that reside within it and only accounts for six on its maps, and this causing the Tharu population in the southwest and the Madhesi in the south-central regions of Nepal to turn violent against police. Moreover, the government neglecting to take control of its agitated groups along its borders resulted in India stopping border traffic along the bridge that connected the two countries, and this blockade was only accomplished because of the support from the Madhesi who opposed the new government and favored India instead. Nepal is struggling to restructure its government, which is supported by how the country’s younger generation is migrating out of the country to find work, how the country refuses to establish provinces for two populations of its peoples, and how it is unable to control its border with India.
Etkind, Alexander. “The Decay of the Russian Public Sphere.” Current History, vol. 114, no. 774, Oct. 2015, pp. 278-81.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, the Russia public sphere decayed under Putin's reign for various reasons. To start, how news and television are presented has changed for the worse, because of the hateful messages they convey. Also, the Russian government tries to control what types of social media people use, and has even created nuisances called troll factories, which torment and interrupt social media users. Putin has also tried to bring back aspects of Stalin's Russia to help secure himself more as a leader, which hasn't worked because the people are not primitive and are not easily controlled. In short, the public sphere of Russia has deteriorated mostly because of Putin and the government, not because of the Russian people.
Angelas Merkel is the chancellor of Germany and has received immense praise for her pragmatic attitude, her ability to push new reform, and her opinion of global cooperation. She was a scientist and applies the rational thought process to the politics as well as avoiding emotional effects on her decision making. Merkel's reform has strengthened her platform and her parties values. Finally, she understands the German public opinion of Bush, but knows that cooperation is the only way to achieve greater prosperity. All in all, Angela Merkel is a breath of fresh air into the European politics in the eyes of many because of her science-based thought process, the reform in Germany under her command, and her globalized view on international politics.
ReplyDeleteJanes, Jackson, and Stephan Szabo. “Angela Merkel’s Germany.” Current History , vol. 106, no. 698, Mar. 207ADAD, pp. 106–109.
Region: East Asia
ReplyDeleteChan, Anita. "Migrant Workers' Fight for Rights in China." Current History, vol. 115, no. 782, Sept. 2016, pp. 209-13.
In recent decades, the explosion of China's industry has had some negative impacts on the employees that drive it. These migrant workers have suffered long hours, intense physical labor, meager pay, and few rights from their employers. However, in the past few years, as these workers have become more skilled and more educated, they have begun to strike back, demanding rights and raises. This has worked in some cases, but Chinese President Xi Jinping has been pushing back against these protests. This tension is setting up a scenario for violent protests to emerge.
Sub-Saharan Africa
ReplyDeleteGrignon, François, and Daniela Kroslak. “The Problem with Peacekeeping.” Current History, vol. 107, no. 708, Apr. 2008, pp. 186-87.
Many African countries have recently moved towards having more peacekeeping troops to protect citizens among unrest in the country. Due to land, resource, and political power struggles, many countries like Somalia, Chad, and the DRC have sent peacekeeping troops to protect citizens as the countries try to figure out their issues. However, not all support the peacekeepers as they are thought to be quick cover ups for larger mistakes, and because of that not much money is donated to the program. With that, not many missions have been successful, like in the DRC where political differences blinded leaders, leading to hundreds of civilians killed.
Prince, Ruth J. "Public Health and Global Interventions in Africa." Current
ReplyDeleteHistory, vol. 115, no. 781, May 2016, pp. 163-68.
This article is about concerns and progress regarding global health initiatives in Africa. Global health interventions are composed of philanthropic and donor funding, social responsibility initiatives, internatinal activism, and more. They help when they feel a specific circumstance or disease needs it by deploying services, administering medicine, and training health professionals. Global health initiatives also prefer not to work with government organizations and barely cross paths with national public health systems. Some of tthe biggest challenges of countries in Africa is that they are often unprepared for diseases striking, like ebola. Another concern that spreads even farther, is cancer, which is a major global health issue. Also, overstretched hospitals is an issue because African countries often rely on global health or government facilities which makes it extremely difficult to imorove the health conditions in many places. Along with these concerns, there is a debate about whether or not the targeted intervention/vertical strategy is the best thing for these countries. This presents a choice for the future, as these outbreaks will definieltely not cease to exist yet, which asks how global health initiatives should proceed in helping African countries.
Region: South Asia
ReplyDeleteIn Nepal's Parsa area there is being reconstruction over the previous civil war it recently endured. Due to the civil war employment rate has been at an all time low causing various protests and riots against the Nepalese government. The Government of Nepal also is not helping the situation with the angry Nepali people causing them to migrate out of Nepal and into India. The mass amount of people who migrated created a massive problem regarding to Nepalese and Indian boarders where India created a blockade in favor of the Madhesi group who favored India's government rather than Nepal's. Overall, one can see how problematic Nepal's state is right now regarding to it's government and people, there is no cooperation with either sides not allowing any compromises to benefit Nepal's economic state. Snellinger, Amanda. “Nationalism and Exclusion in Postwar Nepal.” Current History, vol. 115, no. 780, Apr. 2016, pp. 154-56.
Region- South Asia
ReplyDeleteVladimir Putin has declared that he wants to return for a third term as the president of Russia. Their government has changed, and he seems more in control than ever. Russia has been protesting agaist him returning to the presidency.
Treisman, Daniel. "Can Putin Keep His Grip on Power?" Curren History, pp.
251-53.
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa
ReplyDeletePrince, Ruth J. “Public Health and Global Interventions in Africa .” Current History, vol. 115, no. 781, May 2016, pp. 163–168.
Africa is sufficiently cutting down on people in the continent who need to be taking anti-retroviral treatment (ART). Many ART programs are free, and offering treatments to cover HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The health of Africa has always been a problem, in that many diseases are very common there, and few people can receive treatment. Although, when the Ebola outbreak happened, few were prepared and killed around 11,151 people in Africa.
Region: Europe
ReplyDeleteCitation: Luedtke, Adam. "'Crisis' and Reality in European Immigration Policy." Current History, vol. 114, no.
770, Mar. 2015, pp. 89-94.
European immigration policy is being criticized for its lack of accomodation for the refugee crisis. The unrest in the Middle East created a refugee crisis, which has many countries scrambling for a way to deal with the influx of immigrants coming to their countries. Many see the EU's lack of accomodation for refugees as a product of xenophobia after terror attacks in France and other parts of Europe.
In light of recent developments in the US, this seems like a very relevant article.
DeleteRegion: Latin America
ReplyDeleteShifter, Michael. “The US-Cuba Thaw and Hemispheric Relations.” Current History, Feb. 2016.
The US-Cuba relationship is stronger than it has been in years. In December of 2014 Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro announced that they would move toward normalization. In August 2015 the first US Senaor went to Cuba since 1945. The US-Cuba rapproachment offers a fresh climate and an important opportunity for a more productive and balanced hemispheric relationship.
Sub-Saharan Africa
ReplyDelete"The Jobs Crisis behind Nigeria's Unrest." Current History, vol. 112, no. 754, May 2013, pp. 169-74.
Despite returning to democracy in 1999, Nigeria has continued to be enveloped in turmoil and violence because of high unemployment, slow growth, and corruption. Due to their high number of people under 25 (63%), there are not enough jobs to support all the young and upcoming citizens, which is bad for the economy. Violence due to the Arab spring has also carried over to Nigeria. This violence has cut their oil production in their regions of the Niger Delta by 25 percent. Terrorists groups such as Boko Haram have killed over 3000 people in the past four years due to their destructive attacks, and the only way to stop this growing trend of violence and crime is to set up programs to restore jobs to people, give education, and rase wages to fair amounts.
Religion: East Asia
ReplyDeleteDudden, Alexis. "A Push to End Pacifism Tests Japanese Democracy." Current History, vol. 114, no.
773, Sept. 2015, pp. 224-28.
Shinzo Abe's decisions and bills passed recently have sparked outrage in many Japanese citizens. What was the most protested against was his small, gradual attempts to erode Japan's pacifist strategy. For example, small actions were slowly accepted, such as helping the UN in Sudan. Over time, by "slicing salami", as they called it, he aimed to fundamentally change Japan's ideals.