Connecting to youth through music in Nigeria

Despite all the problems of violence, corruption and disorder we have covered in this class, the music scene in Nigeria is one of the most thriving in all of Africa.  This article is an uplifting and welcome departure from all of the negative news we have covered in a developing nation with so many of it's people in poverty.  Check it out!  You might become a fan!

Also, this is the first optional post for the 4th quarter.

Life and Debt

Clearly, this documentary shows the dark side (or biased side, depending how you look at it) of globalization.  Did this documentary change the way you view globalization?  Overall, is globalization a good or bad thing for the global economy?  Are very low wage jobs (like those provided at the free zones), better than no jobs at all?  Should self sufficiency be discouraged for economies that could potentially have difficulty competing on a global scale?  

This is the goal of the IMF according to their website:

"The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world."

If many of these results are not being achieved, should the debt incurred from these structural adjustment programs be forgiven?

These are not meant to be yes or no questions.  Please be sure to explain each of your answers. 

Globalization, Democratization and Political Violence

Find an article that illustrates concepts surrounding each of these ideas.  Give the link, briefly describe the article and focus on explaining how and why your article illustrates each of these concepts.

What do you think?

When studying Mexico, three related major issues always seem to be at the center of the discussion, immigration, drug trafficking and gang violence. Watch the following segment from BBC and read or listen to at least three articles about immigration from NPR.  Read/listen to one about violence (there is a good article about Juarez), one about immigration and another about the one you found most interesting.  Give a brief summary of the articles you read and then tell me what you think.  Some guiding questions you might consider are: Should deportees be allowed a chance to come back to the US?  What is the root of the violence that is so prevalent in many border towns?  How are these three issues related?  How can these major issues be solved?  How is the Mexican government trying to solve these issues?  What are the public attitudes in Mexico about these problems?  Are there any Mexicans that are sympathetic to the cartels for the stability they might provide?

Again, you need not answer all of these questions, I am looking to find out what you think about these issues.  Try and provide analysis of the problems as opposed to descriptions of the problems.  You should post three different posts (one for each of the articles you chose).

Crimussia?

It's official (as of about a week ago), Crimea has voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia in a move largely criticized by the West as illegal, but there it does not seem that there is much that can be done about it.  Should military force be used to drive Russian forces out of Crimea?  Do you think the economic sanctions will have any bite and force Russia to withdraw their troops?  Does the election (which has largely been viewed as a legitimate reflection of the sentiment in Crimea) justify the secession of Crimea from Ukraine or is Russia illegal imposing on the sovereignty of a foreign nation?  Has Putin gone too far?  Is America (or the West) not doing enough to stop it?  So many questions to consider!! Go to the BBC Europe page (there are plenty of interesting articles on this crisis) to do a little more research and comment on the crisis below, using the questions above as guiding questions (or pose your own!).

Also, here is a link to an NPR Planet Money piece (audio only) that describes the process of imposing economic sanctions (asset freezes, black lists, it sounds like a House of Cards episode) that is very informative and interesting.  

Investigating Iran and Navigating Nigeria

Go to the BBC country profile for Iran and Nigeria and answer the following questions:
1.  What is the most interesting analysis you came across in the "Overview" section?  Why?
2.  Choose a fact from the "Facts" section that you think helps to explain a general theme that is prevalent in each of the countries.  Why did you choose this fact and why is it particularly illuminating?
3.  Identify and explain one similarity and one difference between the media in Iran and Nigeria.  How can these comparisons help to better understand the dynamics of each country's political systems?
4.  Compare and contrast the influence of religion and oil in these two countries.
5.  Comment on at least one of your classmates responses.

Gastrodiplomacy

Read this NPR article about a new trend in teaching international relations, teaching through FOOD!  Would you want to take a class like this? Do you think it detracts from the academic rigor involved in the study of international conflict?  Let me know what you think below!