China--

            *NOT MY BELIEFS—JUST WRITING FOR ASSIGNMENT*

         

The Chinese economy has been growing at a pretty rapid rate, in fact so rapidly that individuals including myself are beginning to fear that China may possibly become the most powerful world power within the next few years. With their increased military spending, high exportation rates, and increase in foreign investments, China is on their way to success and the US must buckle up and enhance the country’s economic stability.

            According to BBC News, “China now has the world's fastest-growing economy and is undergoing what has been described as a second industrial revolution.” Thinking back to how the industrial revolution enhanced America and Europe’s socioeconomic conditions with the creations of new jobs and ideas of creating more and more efficiency, comparing the Chinese economy to this means a lot. The industrial revolution occurred in over a span of about one hundred years because it occurred from the 18^th to 19^th century, however according to BBC, China’s economy was stagnated for the past two decades but are still expected to launch ambitious programs by the year 2020. China is essentially rapidly enhancing in a shorter period of time, than the industrial revolution which is incredible, incredibly scary at how fast their economy is moving. A major part of their fast paced expansion has a lot to do with the fact that there has been a wide expansion with foreign trade and investment.

            A prime example of this that I experienced first-hand was when I visited the country Sierra Leone about a year ago compared to when I visited ten years ago. There was a huge Chinese impact with businesses and the government in general. While individuals may think that this may not be a great investment because it is such an undeveloped country that has not prospered much in the past few decades, this belief is not one hundred percent true because of the mass amounts of natural resources that the country as. China’s investment strategies in foreign countries will be one of their strongest actions that aid in the prosperity of their country.

            One of our strongest features in our government in the US is the fact that we have such a strong military. However China’s military power is on the rise, their military has grown at a rate of about 12 percent over the past 10 years which is extremely significant considering the fact that their GDP has not even grown that rapidly in this time frame. If China’s military continues to advance, there is a great chance that within the next few decades it could surpass ours.

            Let’s also consider the fact that the labor force is extremely different from the US in the sense that we have stricter laws for human rights in order to not abuse the rights of workers. Whereas, in China, cheap labor is very common, and as a result they produce products cheaper than other countries aiding in their economic prosperity. While this is unfair and is not in compliance with international labor laws, it is still allowed in their country.

            There are many aspects of government that make can make one country more powerful than the other, China is in the run of advancing in the majority of major categories.

References

"China Increases Military Spending 12 Percent: Should We Worry?." US News. U.S.News & World Report, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/03/05/china-increases-military-spending-12-percent-should-we-worry>.

"China profile." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13017877>.

China Trade With Sierra Leone to Climb on Iron-Ore Demand." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-20/china-trade-with-sierra-leone-to-climb-on-iron-ore-demand.html>.

"Labor Rights in China." AFL-CIO. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://www.aflcio.org/Issues/Trade/China/Labor-Rights-in-China>.

China: New Great Power, New Threat

When thinking of the Great Powers of the world, some easily ready names come to mind. Obviously the United States, Great Britain, Russia perhaps, and as of recently—China. Yes, as the years have progressed, China has transformed from a strict powerless communist state in the international realm, to an economic powerhouse. AS China has begun to gain more and more power, especially within their region, they have also had the ability to evoke more influence towards other states in the world. It is this influence, based both on their rising economy and size that has seen China emerge as a possible threat to some of the Great Powers of the world. Yet some still argue whether China is a truly “Great” Power. A number of people may say that China lacks the ability to be classified as a Great Power because of the primitive state of their military capabilities. However, I would argue that the potential for China’s military might to match that of Russia and some of the other Great Powers is growing. China, with their growing economy and massive population will easily be able to create an advanced standing army in the future capable of allowing them to be labeled as a Great Power. Even today, we can see that this evolution of China’s military power and economy is putting pressure on other Great Powers. In the U.S. specifically, leaders and the public are worried about China’s growth. They are worried that as China grows stronger and their economy grows bigger, that they will soon challenge the U.S. as the world hegemon. While all of this may be true, can China be classified as a Great Power? Or are they simply threatening the norms of the other Great Powers?

            If one is looking at whether to classify China as a Great Power or not, they must first ask the question of what qualifies as being a Great Power. Is it military capabilities? Is it Economic Prosperity? Is it having a public that is well cared for and is able to live comfortably? Or is it rather a combination of all of these that would create a state that is a Great Power. After these questions are asked, it has to be determined whether or not Chinas has acquired (or can acquire) all of these. In terms of economic prosperity, China has clearly proven that they are a global superpower. Militarily, China has the potential to create one of the largest fighting forces in the world. However, if you are gauging whether or not China is a Great Power based on the advancement and welfare of its people, then they are clearly not there. Yet, in my own view, the way a state’s people live does not matter in terms of whether they are a Great Power or not. It is clear that China has begun to pose a threat to some of the other Great Powers because of their growing power—an idea that would be supported by a realist. This threat is not unheeded. As a Great Power, China may be able to have more influence over world policies. Not all of this influence may be in line with the ideals of the other Great Powers—a situation that poses the greatest threat. Yet with China already a part of the group, the other Great Powers will have to quickly adjust to respond to the Chinese.

Classification of Failed States

Jessica Nott

GVPT200—Blog 2—Failed States

26 October 2014

            States are considered to be weak or failing when the internal government loses control over them. That is an extremely broad definition that relates to all different aspects of controlling a country. This can refer to control of property, economy, military forces and the actual government itself. The dangers of these countries are how little people feel that the laws apply to them. They become breeding grounds for terrorist cells and extremist activist groups. Although their economy is failing and trade is questionable, the real danger lies in the lack of control over the land and the people. When this happens, like how it has been happening for years in the Middle East and Africa, the failed states become a serious threat to people’s lives all over the world.

            Failure of state can be describes many ways. It can be seen in genocide and lack of human rights or with lack of civil rights. It can develop because of different groups fighting to take power over the government or because of a civil war between the people of the country. It can also happen due to bad neighbors or interstate wars where insurgent groups can come in and rattle the stability of the government and take over. All of these are possible factors that lead to the breeding grounds for terrorist known as failed states. In all of these cases the government has little to no control over the land and the people.

            In places like Somalia, Iraq and Syria extremist groups have grown exponentially, causing further instability in the area. More recently, a group known as the “Islamic State”, a kind of spin off of even more extreme extremists from Al-Qaida has taken over a lot of land in the previously mentioned area. They are dangerous with no regard for human rights, and have outwardly taken responsibility for genocides, ethnic cleansings, and beheadings of American and British nationals as a threat to the United States.

            The United States involvement in the issue comes when the actions of the groups in the unstable areas directly effects the people and values of America. In the United States National Security Strategy from May of 2010, the president outs emphasis on the fact that the United States is not fighting a religion or terrorism as an idea, but the United States is fighting a group of out of control immoral people that have no care for people that are not like themselves. Since then, the problem has been exacerbated even though the United States has taken down a lot of the major players in Al-Qaida headquarters, which has led to a slow downfall of that particular group.

            The issue is, even when the United States takes out parts of major groups, like Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida, failed states like Syria and Iraq give these groups and new groups safe havens to rebuild themselves again. The lawless and ungoverned lands are breeding grounds for terrorist activist and radical groups to plan their actions and train their people. How relatively easy (key word being relatively because it is by far not easy, but it also is not easy for the United States to always track them down) it is for a terrorist group to meet up, plan and contact each other is what should be one of the top concerns when debating which state is a failing or weak state. Although many factors play into what is classified as a weak or failing state, the loss of control of the government and the land within the state to radical groups should be a top priority.

CHINA

CHINA

            Throughout the last century, the United States has been on the front lines of being one of the most powerful ‘Great Powers’ in the world. This is directly related to the country’s resources such as military power, economic wealth, and cultural influence. These factors that distinguish a countries power are commonly referred to hard and soft powers. As other countries are gradually increasing their hard and soft powers, China is a country that poses a higher risk. As China continues to rise, they can be seen as a threat to the United States and the rest of the world.

            China is the most populous nation in the world. A country with a more than a billion people accumulates to a military with over a million active frontline personnel. This large population allows the possibility of China becoming a hegemon. According to Measrsheimer, China has the potential to dominate Northeast Asia. Other countries in the area such as Japan and Russia have the capabilities to combat China but in the long run will fail. In recent years, China has limited their population by placing a barrier of how many children can be born. Even with this barrier China still remains on top in regards of population. Once China lifts this barrier and allows more reproduction, it will be regarded as one of the most feared nations in the world. It will have an even larger military, which will show the “threat of force” needed to be seen as a Great Power.

            Currently, China is placed as one of the wealthiest nations in the world. It encounters trades with many other nations including the Unites States. As recent years have passed, China’s GDP has escalated benefitting off of the capitalistic world. As China becomes wealthier, it will have the opportunity to use its wealth in military spending. It will be able to create its own state of the art weaponry and have a military with high combat skills. China will no longer need to rely on the United States for trade as Measrsheimer says that it will be even wealthier than the United States.

China is a nation of culture that surpasses many countries. Its history contains evidence dating back hundreds even thousands of years back. Chinese culture can be seen pretty much everywhere in common society outside of the country. In many large-scale cities, there are areas called “Chinatown”, which honors Chinese immigration to the United States. Chinese food is very popular, as it has identified China in many ways. The nation of China has deeply impacted many aspects of life, instilling social values into the world through Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, etc. Many of what they have given the world can be seen as soft powers, but these soft powers have been put into place before many us were born. A nation that has one of the oldest cultures should be seen in a different light, as it has ultimately paved the way for developing the social precedents exemplified in today’s society.

China is sure to be presence that threatens many nations. To combat these inevitable outcome nations should be prepared for ways of maintaining prevalence in the times to come. While China still faces problems internal problems such as communism and pollution, the United States and the rest of the world should implement a way of checking and balancing this sure to be hegemon of Northeast Asia.