Global Situation and Prospects for the Future

The global economic situation

The global economic situation has recently changed, with a number of socioeconomic fault lines signaling regression. Cyber-attacks and espionage have expanded significantly, affecting the well-being of many governments. This necessitates an increase in the security of technological features. Overlapping jurisdictions for energy access are also becoming a growing issue. The main difficulty with these jurisdictions is that as energy prices rise, everything else in the economy suffers. Because of climatic fluctuations, water tables are fast lowering, which is causing concern for the near future. The emissions that are released into the atmosphere by heavy production machinery and vehicles, have made the climatic conditions unpredictable. A lack of water can be catastrophic considering the rise in world population (Glenn, 1-4).

The State of the Future indexes

The state of the future two thousand and fourteen to two thousand and fifteen indexes has critical variables for analysis. Unemployment, together with economic income inequality, are a good basis for explaining the regression experienced in most of the economies worldwide. The life expectancies at birth and infant mortality rates help in the prediction of how the population will grow in the near future. High rates of infant mortality rates indicate that the future generations are at risk of being underpopulated. Life expectancies, on the other hand, help indicate how long a generation can expect to live. These are important aspects of the economy and they give an opportunity for an economist to predict the future. Energy efficiency is another significant variable which explains the price levels, which consequently contributes to the computation of the poverty headcount due to the implications it has on the living standards. Carbon dioxide emissions help economists understand how the climate can be safeguarded to maximize productivity, which essentially reflects the improvement of water sources. The literacy rate is similarly important for the purposes of communicating vital economic information to the people concerned (Glenn, 5-12). Illiteracy burdens the economy because most illiterate people have limited options of how they can contribute to the economic development.

Planet-Oriented Trends

The most important trending issues in decision-making that are planet-oriented include technology and energy needs. These two aspects help in the development of industries which promote the growth of the economy. Energy influences the prices of commodities because it is used in the production processes. This is an important factor of determining the fate of economic activities. Climate is also a major issue bearing in mind that the water levels are influenced by how good or bad the climate is in the world. Population growth and gender equity contribute to the labor market and the distribution of jobs amongst men and women, which consequently results in the growth of the economy (Glenn, 5-10). The population is the source of labor force that helps in carrying out activities that lead to the development of the economy.

Francis Fukuyuma's Idea of the End of History

Francis Fukuyama's idea of the end of history is relevant to the contemporary international system because of his argument of liberalism. Liberals believe that the cooperation among states is made possible through the role played by international institutions. Fukuyama's idea helps economists understand how important international institutions can enable the coexistence of states. China, Russia, and Iran are considered revisionist powers because of their ability to convert an unconsented status quo into a contested on. These three nations were generally not contented with the post-cold war settlement and that is why they resort to creating a contested status quo (Mead, 69).

Obama's Foreign Policy Goals

The major foreign policy goals of the Obama administration revolved around the war on terror, environmental conservation, and trade (Seliktar, 161). The September nine-eleven incident in the United States propagated Obama's agenda of dealing with terrorism. The environment was a key agenda in this administration in that the trends on climate were not indicative of a good future at the time he took over power. Establishment of free trading zones was also one of the major issues the Obama administration had in mind when taking over power so that the American people could find a conducive environment for trade (Seliktar, 167). Obama's main mistake in the Middle East, however, was the invasion of the Iraq nation in two thousand and three. This invasion radicalized the Iraqis thereby leading to the birth of insurgency. The Middle East war looks like Europe before First World War because these countries are investing in their military power in a move to safeguard their territories. Such failures are what cause political dysfunction, and in the United States, this can be described as the failure of political institutions to produce the expected outcomes. This is important for the policy formulation of America (Indyk, Lieberthal, and O'hanlon, 32-40).

Week 3 Part 3

Maritime Conflicts Effects on Japan and China

The maritime conflicts of the oils in the seas have seen Japan change in terms of the improvements in the military. The military has changed in favor of Japan but on the same note conflicting with other nations like china, for the purposes of safeguarding its maritime claims. The competing legal confusions are justified from the claims made by Japan. China, on the other hand, has emerged as a force to reckon in the sense its military has advanced all in an effort to safeguard the resources they claim are china's, in the maritime conflicts. It is important to understand that the role of the United States in the maritime conflicts is to keep a peaceful and predictable maritime order so that a better reconciliation process can be adapted to avoid any chances of war. America acts as an international mediator in these conflicts (Klare, 153-156).

The Origin of the Islamic State Group

The Islamic state group originated from the disagreements between Palestinians and Israelites. The Palestinians were angry because the Israelites took a piece of land that they claimed to be theirs. When the United States troops withdrew from Iraq the Iraqi nation remained without any form of order because the local authorities at the time were not in a position to maintain order (Seliktar, 174). This created an environment for the growth of the Islamic state group. However, the United States government accomplished their mission in Iraq even though at a very high cost. A lot of troops had to die for the mission of getting rid of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The Iraqi nation had reached a point of offering substantial threats to other countries and, therefore, the weapons had to be apprehended.

Russian Strategy towards the Post-Soviet States

The Russian strategy towards the post-soviet states was that it intervened in the break-away regions (Klare, 185). In most of the instances, Russia would undermine the territorial integrity of a neighboring state, with an aim of maintaining the influence they had over those particular territories. The strategy would most of the time fail whenever used. Russia generally did not succeed in the mission of implementing forced separatism in Ukraine (Klare, 186-188). This was mainly because of the Ukrainian armed forces that usually fought back every time the Russian government tried to make advancements. The Ukrainian forces had superiority over the Russian forces, which were at the time in a poor state. The Russian forces were not a compliment to the Ukrainian forces and that posed a threat to the Russian government. There were international sanctions at a period when the oil prices were low and this contributed to the failure of Russia in implementing separatism in Ukraine. The public opinion among the Russians was not supportive enough of the idea of ensuring separatism in Ukraine. Ethnic nationalism is not important to Russian, in relation towards the successor states. This is because nationalism may cause the successor states to turn against Russia and that will not be conducive for future generations, regarding matters to do with trade and the countries relate.

Week 2 Part 2

The Influence of Europe Internationally

The European Union holds a large percentage of share in the world economy, only second best to the United States. The role of Europe in international affairs can greatly decline if there could be negative changes on the demographic factors surrounding Europe. Most of its constituent nations have its troops and diplomats all over the world. Europe is not irrelevant to Asia because history books prove that when the Asian countries fall into problems the European Union usually assists financially and even in other possible means. In two thousand and eleven the European Union supported the Arab revolution financially to promote democracy. The likelihood of the union falling is very minimal bearing in mind the role it plays. The input that the European Union injects into the economy makes it less likely to fall any time soon.

The Relevance of Europe to Asia

Apart from the thirty-five developed countries out of the hundred and eighty tracked by the international monetary fund, the rest are still developing. Their economies have been lagging behind for decades now and that explains why the convergence of the economies of the developed and the developing countries is a myth. The developing countries' economies have been emerging for long never to hit a turning point. Brazil, Russia, India, and China do not have much in common economically. The main reason behind this is that these countries generate in different and competing ways such that some of the benefit from others. A good example is India which consumes energy from Russia and Brazil. The only common feature for the four countries is the economic superiority in their regions. China seems to have the potential to grow faster because of the high population which makes labor readily available. Their investment in technology also gives them a cutting edge for growth compared to the other three countries.

Liberal Democracy

Liberalism diminishes the weight of moral principles in daily lives of human beings. From a political point of view, liberal democracy puts so much trust in one person who might do something foolish or wrong and jeopardize the lives of other people. The limitation of liberal democracy intellectually is that the difference in thoughts of people is not embraced. This can be very detrimental in regulating practical conduct. The failure of the liberal democracy to respond to the changing world has made the dynamics of globalization and technology undermines the middle class people. The economic inequality created by globalization is that the middle cannot afford what the high class people afford and that has become problematic. The economic conditions prevailing currently indicate that the world economy is taking a different shape and it is the duty of the individual nations to take charge of their economy. Most countries are experiencing uncertain times with China recording a drop in the overall growth, a country that was anticipated to grow rapidly. The economic times ahead are not hundred predictable considering the issue of climate change that has seen a lot of countries come together to find a solution (Radke).

Works Cited

Glenn, Jerome C. "Our global situation and prospects for the future." The Futurist 48.5 (2014): 15.

Indyk, Martin S., Kenneth G. Lieberthal, and Michael E. O'hanlon. Bending History: Barack Obama's Foreign Policy. Brookings Institution Press, 2012.

Klare, Michael T. "The Growing Threat of Maritime Conflict." Current History 112.750 (2013): 26.

Mead, Walter Russell. "The return of geopolitics: The revenge of the revisionist powers." Foreign Aff. 93 (2014): 69.

Radke, Melissa. European Union influence on violent ethnic conflict in Europe: case studies of Northern Ireland, Pais Vasco, and FYR Macedonia. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2010.

Seliktar, Ofira. "The Obama Administration." Navigating Iran. Palgrave Macmillan US, 2012. 159-176.