Oka Conflict in Canada

The Oka conflict which took place in Quebec in 1990 is considered to be among the most prominent show of Native fight for their land rights in Canada. This is mainly because of the fact that it was a protest against the government of Oka’s decision to expand a golf course into land claimed by the Mohawk people without even consulting the latter and ignoring their pleas. The members of the Mohawk community who led the protests and established barricades barring any form of construction from taking place were labeled as being savages and individuals who spread chaos in the town by a significant population of the town of Oka. The racist remarks, which were made towards these individuals, who were only protecting their environment and land rights from destruction, led to the realization that despite the advancement of the Canadian society, racism was still prevalent within a significant portion of its white population. The media also played a role in downplaying the events which took place during the Oka conflict and he suggests that the media did so mainly because it was an issue involving the natives of the land. The lack of importance that was normally given to the concerns and issues involving the First Nations of Canada may have prompted the media to act the way it did because it was believed to be just another skirmish which would be quickly be resolved. However, he concludes that despite everything, the media also worked towards exposing the crisis on the world stage and this enabled the Canadian government to come to a peaceful resolution of the conflict with the Mohawk people whose rights had been violated.

Had the government been more diligent in its duties towards the First Peoples and the conservation of their environment as well as the protection of their land rights, this confrontation would never have happened. In addition, he states that the actions taken by the mayor of Oka from calling in the police and military forces to deal the situation created a situation where the government turned its military forces towards fighting domestic protestors instead of its main duty of dealing with external threats. The Oka conflict proved to be a turning point in the relationship between the Natives and the Canadian government because the latter came to recognize the importance of having native support before embarking on any projects that were to be conducted on land and reserves claimed by them. The confrontation at Oka marked a turning point in the relationship between the native and non-native people of Canada and this is mainly because it acted as a prelude to further conflicts of their kind in the rest of the country over native land rights and usage. Most of the places where these confrontations took place were not only burial grounds for the native people, but also pristine natural environments which had lain undisturbed for generations. The fight by native people to conserve these areas were the reason for the confrontations which took place because the Canadian government only considered the economic gains from developing these areas and not the deprivation of native rights and degradation of the environment.

The Oka conflict and its aftermath was the beginning of the reconciliation between the rights of the natives and those of the non-natives of Canada. It led to the development of a national dialogue concerning the rights of natives and the need to preserve these rights against any form of economic considerations which might be harmful not only to them but also to their environment. The fact that this and other events took place because of the threat to their land rights and usage ensured that all the parties involved had to come to terms concerning the best way through which the land issue in Canada would be solved. This has come to significantly affect the formulation of government policies towards the environment as well as the native people. Martin declares that the native people of Canada, as a result of these conflicts, have come to be more involved in their own government, with a reduction in their isolation in government, and an increase in programs intended for their empowerment. The fact that these people are being brought into active political life is a clear picture of a change in the Canadian government policy where the process of assimilation is reduced in favor of one of acceptance. The government has come to the realization that the integration of the native peoples in the entire country is important since they represent the cultural heritage of the nation.

After the Oka protests took place, the government came to reverse its methods of dealing with the native people within the country. She considers the fact that while in the past, the government often pursued a policy based on assimilation among the native communities, because of the belief that the latter’s way of life was inferior, this has slowly changed. This is because it has come to be realized that the native are an integral part of the country and that through the Canadian government’s protecting of their rights, interests, as well as their way of life, it is also playing a role in ensuring that its interests in the entire country where natives are present, are protected. In addition,  the Canadian government has set out to work in partnership with the native communities in an attempt to ensure that its position among them is strengthened through the lessening of any antagonism between it and these communities; instead embracing a new spirit of cooperation between them. This has ensured that the land and environmental rights of the native people of Canada have come to be respected and protected by the government.

Raging Bull (1980)

Among the greatest films of the drama genre is 1980’s Raging Bull, which starred Robert De Niro as the boxer Jake La Motta and all the evidence from the film suggests that De Niro paid a lot of attention to the details concerning La Motta’s life so as to be as close to the historical record as possible. The making of Raging Bull seems to pay a lot of attention to the issues concerning realism, history and artistic truth, which are the main ingredients in the making of successful dramas. The way through which the actor perceives his role on screen allows him to make an accurate depiction of the emotions that a real life individual, such a Jake La Motta, experienced. The heart of Raging Bull is based on the ability of De Niro to recreate the life of La Motta in particular moments of his life since this enable his to portray the truth concerning La Motta’s daily reality. In the making of the film, De Niro had to immerse himself into the various aspects of La Motta’s life during the different periods of his life, from when he was at his peak to when he was at his worst, and this was with the aim of ensuring that he understood the realities of the role that he was playing. De Niro seems to have take to heart not only the emotional depictions of La Motta but also his physical ones since he worked towards achieving a physique that was as close to La Motta’s as possible. These attributes enabled De Niro to become a living representation of the life of La Motta on film and it allowed Raging Bull to become a critically acclaimed success for many years.

The immersion of De Niro into the life of La Motta is evident in the film as seen through the way he portrays La Motta’s life from the peak of his success as a boxing champion, to his marriage, the jealousy that he has over his wife’s affairs, his estrangement from his brother, and his eventual fall from grace as he has bad encounters with the law. In addition, De Niro took up a training regimen to ensure that he had the body and the making of a boxer and this can be attested to in all the fight scenes in the film. According to La Motta’s own account, De Niro trained with him on a daily basis for over a year in order to achieve the required physical form for the film. The film attempts to recreate all the major fights that La Motta had ever fought in his career in a way that is as realistic as possible and this allows it not only to bring La Motta closer to the audience, but also serves the purpose of showing the level of dedication that De Niro had in preparation for filming. It is evidence for the dedication needed for the filming of drama such as Raging Bull, from the actors who have to completely change their lifestyle so that they can achieve both the physical and emotional form that it needed for the accurate depiction of the various themes involved in the film. The result of such dedication is often the realistic depiction of the film which enables it to be able to connect with its potential audiences at a personal and empathetic level that is as close as possible to their daily real life problems.

Among the biggest concerns of actors who have been selected to portray characters in drama films is whether they can be able to be convincing to the audience. The same thing happened to De Niro and this is the reason why he sought to gain some experience in the boxing ring in preparation for the filming. In addition, De Niro accurately depicts La Motta’s obsession with weight throughout the film and he does this through gaining and losing weight in real life so that he can also adequately depict the emotional dilemma that La Motta had concerning his weight. In the film, De Niro attempts to recapture the specific gestures that La Motta made during his fights as a way of ensuring accuracy and these are used to underline the actor’s naturalistic and historically informed depiction of his role in Raging Bull. Each of the scenes in the film, even the fight scenes, is highly emotional affairs which enable the audience to become directly involved with La Motta, understanding his motivations as well as the circumstances behind the successes and failures that he experienced in his life. This film, however, works towards the clearing of some of the negative images of La Motta during his public and private life as a professional boxer. It attempts to show that, like any other person, La Motta was also human, with all faults and failings that are associated with the race. The image of La Motta that is brought about by the film is that of a person with many complexities. It partially burnishes the common public image of La Motta as being a ruthless boxer who would stop at nothing, nor hesitate in the ring in order to achieve victory. It shows that although his actions seemed to be ruthless on the outside, La Motta still had a conscience, and he often reflected on these actions. Another image of La Motta that comes forth in the film is that of being a player in significant historical events, which ended up being disastrous for him in a personal manner since he ended up losing almost everything that was important to him. La Motta shows some regret for some of the actions he took in his belief that he was doing his best to ensure that he was not only successful professionally, but that his family was also maintained. Despite this, La Motta not repentant, and it is quite possible that the regret he displays is the closest thing to an apology that he is going to make to his fans and admirers for his actions. The film gives a rare glimpse at a man who was both enormously respected and admired by many.

This is an emotional film to watch because it does not have any action but it instead deals with the emotional aspects of the people within it. It has a powerful plot which curiously creates an environment that displays the day to day lives of the characters. When one watches this film, one comes to the conclusion that life is a journey which has its ups and downs and that the best way to handle this transition should not be resistance, but acceptance. In addition, the self-destructive acts that leads to the end of La Motta’s professional career, something which he depends on to earn a living, is highly symbolic. The film itself is not boring because of the heavy drama which is involved in every scene. The camera work is done so well that this film can be considered to be a rare phenomenon in the American film industry of the 1970s. In conclusion, it can be said that this film is highly revelatory of the life and times of Jake La Motta. 

Understanding the Global Community - Liberalism/Neoliberalism

School Ties (1992)

School Ties is movie that seeks to address the anti-Semitism prevalent among the upper classes of American society, as seen in the exclusive learning institutions. This anti-Semitism is displayed through the story of a young Jewish man who is awarded a scholarship to a prestigious school that is essentially WASP dominated. This scholarship is awarded to him not because he would have otherwise been allowed into the school, but because of the fact that he is extremely good at football. His being allowed into the school is for him to be used as a quarterback to ensure that the school wins the competition. The administration of the school, despite the fact that it is as anti-Semitic as most of the students who attend it decide to allow the young man, David, into the football team on condition that he does not reveal his religion to anyone. This movie is the story of how David struggles with his conscience in order to attain recognition from his colleagues as well as acceptance. By hiding his religion, he manages to attain everything he wishes for because his fellow teammates not only accept him, but his prowess in the field enables him to attain stardom. His popularity is enables him to mingle freely with those students who come from more privileged backgrounds from his, and despite the initial jealousy towards him, Charlie Dillon, who had been put aside in favor of David, comes to become his friend. At this moment, David has reached the apex of his popularity and acceptance within this institution.

Things, however, begin to go wrong for David when he comes to discover that the school’s administration is just as bigoted as the rest of the students in the institution. When he misses an important Jewish festival for the sake of a match, he is found by the principal praying privately and the remarks the latter makes are certainly not flattering. In addition, David becomes attracted to and starts seeing Charlie’s girlfriend behind his back, and the jealousy which the latter feels leads him to seek David’s destruction. When he finds out, by chance, from a member of staff that David is Jewish; all hell breaks loose as Charlie spreads the word among the other students. David suddenly falls from grace, as he comes from being one of the most popular people in the school to being the most discriminated against. Even his own roommate ends up avoiding him. His girlfriend, who had only been a part of his life just because he was popular also, leaves him and in the end, he is left in a lonely place, with no one around to support him. All the discrimination that he faces is not because he is any different from his fellow students, but because of his religious beliefs, because he is a Jew. This discrimination sends a powerful message to the American society, that anti-Semitism is not the way of the American society. The anti-Semitism that is prevalent should be avoided because Jews are not beasts but human beings who have feelings and emotions. Their religious beliefs should not be a reason for the harsh treatment which they receive.

Charlie, always the underachiever who tries to uphold his family’s reputation in the school, decides to cheat in an exam and drops the piece of paper he was using on the floor. The teacher notices this paper and asks whoever dropped it to confess otherwise, the entire class would be failed. David and Rip are the only ones who know that Charlie is the culprit but they choose to keep quiet. Charlie takes advantage of this, and probably because of his hostility towards David, denounces him. Despite the fact that he is obviously innocent, his being a Jew condemns him because everyone prefers to believe that one of them would never cheat in an exam. Rip, however, takes the initiative and tells the principal the truth, therefore saving David from expulsion. It is at the principal’s office that David comes to the realization that no matter what he does in the school, he will never get the acceptance and recognition of any of the people within it. he realizes that since he is being used to advance the school’s football team,, he should also use the school to advance himself in life. The final part of the movie is based on the empowerment which David attains when he stops to care what other people think about him, and instead, he comes to put his own personal interests first.

Gran Torino (2008)

Gran Torino is a film that depicts the relationship between Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran who has been recently widowed, and Thao Vang Lor, a young neighbor of Hmong origins. The anger and bitterness that Walt feels towards the world and his family dives him towards living a lonely life alienated from almost everyone else. Thao is a young man who seeks to join a gang led by his cousin with the latter encouraging him to steal Walt’s Ford Gran Torino as an initiation ritual into the gang. When Walt foils his attempt, he and Thao end up developing a wary friendship with the former acting as a mentor for the young man. This is a story that shows the life that ethnic minorities in the United States have to live because they have very few opportunities to ensure that they improve the circumstances in their lives. Gran Torino is a film that seeks to ensure that there is recognition of the cultural diversity that exists in the United States and the need for there to be cultural understanding in order for social cohesion to take place. The multicultural relationship between Walt and Thao can be considered to be an illustration of what can be achieved through cultural understanding while Walt’s family’s seeming disapproval of the Hmong’s community attending Walt’s funeral can be considered to be a sign of the cultural alienation that Hmong in the United States have experienced since their arrival. Gran Torinoallows for a unique view of the Hmong community in the United States as well as advocates for a need for the development of cultural cohesion in the nation.

One of the most important cultural relationships that are depicted in Grand Torino is that between Walt, Thao and Thao’s Hmong family. Walt, a recently widowed white American, ends up striking a friendship with Thao’s family and becomes a mentor for Thao and his sister Sue. Sue also helps Walt learn Hmong culture and this cultural understanding brings him even closer to the Vang Lor family as well as to the rest of the Hmong community in the neighborhood. Furthermore, it should be noted that Sue goes against cultural isolation through her choosing to date Trey; a young white man. Walt becomes so involved with the Vang Lor family to such an extent that they become closer to him than his own family: the latter who he considers to be emotionally detached from him with their only interest being on his estate. Walt’s involvement with the Hmong community also opens his eyes to the cultural diversity that is present in his neighborhood and this allows him to ensure that he not only feels like a part of this community, but also seeks to protect them from Spider’s gang.

The process of acculturation is one where communities, mainly migrant, adapt to the culture of their new countries in order to fit in with the rest of society. This is normally done in a diverse number of ways from matters concerning diet to such aspects as language and names. In Gran Torino, it should be noted that a significant number of individuals in the Hmong community have come to adopt diverse aspects of American culture. Among these, as seen in this film, is that of dating, where both Thao and his sister Sue date; a situation which is not common in Hmong culture. Another aspect of culture that is seen in this film is enculturation, which is a situation where individuals learn the requirements of a new culture and adapt to aspects of its language and rituals to ensure social acceptance. This is the case with Walt who, with Sue’s help, seeks to ensure that he learns aspects of Hmong culture in order to better interact with the community.

Cultural relativism is the judging of an alien culture through its own understanding of its practices rather than one’s own. This is opposed to ethnocentrism which is the judgment of a different culture based on one’s own cultural perspective. Subcultures are the practices conducted by a small group of individuals in a bid to ensure that they differentiate themselves from the larger cultural grouping. In Gran Torino, all these aspects of culture are dealt with, as seen through cultural relativism where Sue encourages Walt to develop and understanding of Hmong culture. This is in contrast with Walt’s previous opinion of his Hmong neighbors where he often judged them based on his own culture and cared nothing for them. A sub-cultural perspective is where Spider’s gang conducts its own rites of initiation into the group and acts to punish those it believes are turning away from its culture. This is especially the case with the gang’s attempt to punish Thao for failing in stealing the Ford Gran Torino that would have allowed him to join the gang.

In conclusion, the discussion above has sought to show that Gran Torino is a film that portrays the diverse aspects of culture in the United States. Most of the instances that take place within this film are based on culture and its aspects such as ethnocentrism, acculturation, enculturation, as well as subculture. All of the latter are shown in the film through the interactions that take place between Walt, the Vang Lor family, and Spider’s gang and this ensures that there is greater cultural understanding; especially in relation to Hmong American culture. The film shows that cultural isolation is detrimental to individual development, as seen in the hostile attitude that Walt has towards his neighbors before the beginning of his interaction with the Vang Lor family and Hmong culture. Therefore, one would suggest that Gran Torino is a film that seeks to show how greater cultural interaction between the mainstream and minority cultures in the United States would allow for greater social development. Not only would it bring out the best of these cultures, but it would also lead to a situation where there is an advancement of social cohesion which is a desirable trait in any nation.

The Hunger Games (2012)

The Hunger Games is a film directed by Gary Ross and is based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins, and it should be on the top ten list for movies of the year for any reader of Critical Thinker magazine because it deals with many themes, such as hunger and poverty, which are pertinent in modern society. The success of The Hunger Games and the wave of interest it has generated has inspired the development of two sequels. Before its official release, this film generated a lot of interest among the prospective audience because of the difference in concept to the other films that had recently come from Hollywood. It can be said that the concept, upon which the film is based, is highly unique and extraordinarily few films have been created using the same concept. This film employs a vibrating abruptness that is hardly ever found in the work of Hollywood directors, and this can be said to bring the film closer to the realities of life. It has some cold bloodedness that is hard to find in many contemporary films, and this makes it one of a kind. When the film was released, it did not disappoint those who had expected it to have the qualities that were unique and fun, and at the same time made the film a serious picture to watch. It looks at the relationship between an authoritarian state and its citizens in a new perspective that many would consider impossible. This film is, therefore, worthy of the adoration that many of its fans have had, and continue to have, for it.

The motion picture gives the viewer a glance into the life of Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the post-apocalyptic state of Panem. In this state, because of a past rebellion, its twelve districts have to provide two tributes, a boy and a girl aged between 12 and 18 annually to fight to the death in an arena, with the sole survivor being declared the winner. Katniss takes the place of her younger sister in the games and because of her skill in archery is able to survive some of the worst attacks by her fellow competitors. In addition, she has a love interest in the form of Peeta, who before they get into the arena declares his love for her in an interview. The plot revolves around the relationships that Katniss develops throughout the film, from the one where she seems to love Peeta to her friendship with Rue, a girl from a different district who saves her life. Katniss looks upon Rue as a little sister and form a partnership with her, but this does not last for long as Rue is killed by a member of another district. It is from this point that we seen a change in the character of Katniss as she becomes more assertive and dares to challenge the authority of the government of Panem through various actions. It is through these actions that Katniss is able to force the hand of the government, to change the rules of the game so that individuals can work as teams. It is as a result of this that Katniss and Peeta emerge as winners, and the film ends with the president of Panem pondering on how best to deal with the emergence of defiance in the games.

There is a sense, around the main characters of the film, of being disconnected and alienated by the government and this helps to increase the excitement that one feels when watching it. This feeling keeps one wondering what is going to happen next, ensuring that one fully concentrates on the film, so the later scenes are not missed out. The characters are, unknowingly, brought together at the beginning of the film, each not having a hint of how interconnected their lives truly are. The participants in the games have to deal with not getting too close to the people around them for fear that they might find it harder to kill them when the time comes, since there must only be one winner. This situation keeps them alien in their new environment as they are not able to form the bonds of friendship, with the people around them, as would happen had they been in a normal situation. This film dares its audience to decide who the hero or the villain is because even those individuals who form partnerships, such as Peeta and Katniss, do not know exactly what the other is about. Despite the fact that they work together hand in hand to keep them alive, there seems to be no hint, especially from Katniss, that she does not have any feelings for Peeta until almost at the end of the film. From the beginning, these two characters are accepted as they are with no questions being asked, their behavior being taken for granted.

What makes this film special is not its plot, but the way the various actors starring in it portray the characters. Katniss is shown to be a woman who would have made a different choice in life had the responsibility of saving her younger sister by participating in the hunger games had not been thrust upon her. She is seen as a tortured woman whose life has been chosen for her, and there is no way for her to get out of this purgatory except as the winner. The lives of some of those involved in the games, such as Peeta, Rue, and Katniss are seen as a form of torture for them, and it is this shared torture that makes them come together to ensure their survival. Their motivation is to do the best they can in order to survive in situations which the fates have thrust upon them. Both Peeta and Katniss, through their acting up their love for each other do extremely well in the situations within which they are placed. Both of them go through the fights, killing all their rivals until they eventually become the joint winners of the hunger games. Therefore, neither of these characters can be described as being either good or evil, and instead, they can be said to be working for their own survival.

This is indeed a bold film which deals with the lives of individuals whose lives are going in a way which they did not expect. It focuses on Katniss’ desire to break away from the chains that are holding her and her society back, and this is despite the fact that if she manages to do so, then it might lead to her destruction. One can also say that the film is a tragedy because characters such as Rue end up dying and these results in a lot of grief for Katniss, with whom she had developed a close friendship. It can, therefore, be said that this film manages to capture the different aspects of human life. It shows the audience the futility of some of the actions that people take in their lives, teaching that one does not always get what they want. It is a film of revelation, as the characters get to assess their lives in different situations and come to find what it is they desire in their lives. The plot, as well as the skills displayed by the actors, has made the film one of the best to be made in recent years. The movie also has emotional twist, as seen where Katniss seems to be confused about her feelings for Peeta, and when the latter realizes that Katniss has been faking her affection for him throughout the games, he is terribly disappointed. Their seeming love affair is played out throughout the film and this receives high ratings from the audience, who are in full support of the couple.

Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

This is a movie whose plot is set to address the ongoing issues, in Taiwan, concerning the changing ways of the people or society from the traditional Chinese to the more western ways. The plot of the movie is unique, because the conflict in the change is centered on food. It is a story of a retired chef who lives with his three single daughters until the time comes when they meet the loves of their lives. One of the daughters loves cooking like her father and it is her secret desire to become a chef like him. However, this is a challenge for her because it is rare for women to be allowed into the profession, which is male dominated. Despite the fact that the daughters look upon their father’s cooking for them as being too traditional, the meals they share serves to bring their family together, something which is extremely rare indeed in the modern society. Another daughter shows a lot of cynicism towards men until such a time as she meets a volleyball coach to who she is attracted. This daughter completely breaks with tradition by actively pursuing the man that she desires. The youngest daughter is a college student who is quite sexually adventurous and her escapades result in her getting pregnant. The chef’s wife has passed away sixteen years prior to the plot of the movie, and the lack of a mother in the household is something which is realized throughout the film. Had there been a mother’s presence in the family’s life, then the troubles which this family is undergoing would be nonexistent, or minimal.

One of the major themes of this movie is one of self sacrifice as seen when Jia-Jen decides to stay at home and look after her father and her sisters. She lives a single life because of this selflessness on her part and it can be said that she fills the role of the mother in the household. Her sister, Jia-Chien, is the direct opposite of her sister due to her selfish nature; not wanting to be bothered by the affairs of the family as long as all her needs are fulfilled. Jia-Ning, the youngest sister, lives a very carefree life and it can be said that this is because of the lack of guidance that she would have received from her mother had she been alive. Chu, their father, is a well meaning man who has chosen not to remarry for the sake of taking care of his daughters himself. He is a man who, despite the fact that his daughters have grown up and are supposed to move out of the home, continues to live with them. This is a sign of a caring father who, instead of choosing the modern way of letting his children go, decides to follow the traditional way of letting his daughters stay at home until such a time as they get married. The fact that his adult daughters are still living at home creates a lot of tension between them; a conflict that can be considered to be one between traditionalism and modernism.

This is an emotional film to watch because it does not have any action but it instead deals with the emotional aspects of the people within it. It has a powerful plot which curiously creates an environment that displays the day to day lives of the characters. It is similar to the the scenes that are increasingly becoming common in Taiwan, where the traditional way of life is coming into conflict with the modern ways. While some people are trying hard to retain their culture, the younger generation seems to be moving away from it. When one watches this movie, one comes to the conclusion that the old ways are losing out and that the best way to handle this transition should not be resistance, but acceptance. In addition, Chu’s slow loss of his sense of taste, something which he depends on to earn a living, is highly symbolic. The sense of taste can be said to be a symbol of the traditional way of life and the way that it is inevitably going to come to an end. The film itself is not boring because of the heavy drama which is involved in every scene. The camera work is done so well that this film can be considered to be a rare phenomenon in the Asian film industry, because the films from this region tend to have very little camera movement. In conclusion, it can be said that this film is highly revelatory of the way of life, and the dilemmas it brings with it, in modern Taiwan.

Infernal Affairs (2002)

Infernal Affairs is one of the best films to have come out of Hong Kong in recent times, and its success has been so well noted that it has helped to revive the Chinese film industry, which until the making of this film, was considered to have been lacking in creativity. The production of Infernal Affairs proved the critics of the Hong Kong film industry wrong, and illustrated the fact that China does indeed have what it takes to produce successful films. The success of Infernal Affairs and the wave of interest it generated inspired the creation of a prequel and a sequel to the film. Before its official release, this film generated a lot of interest among the prospective audience because of the difference in concept to the other films that had recently come from Hong Kong. It can be said that the concept, upon which the film is based, is highly unique and extraordinarily few films have been created using the same concept. This film employs a vibrating abruptness that is usually found in the work of the writer and director Michael Mann. The theme of this film uses the techniques which Mann used in the film Heat and this theme can be seen almost to the last detail. It has the same cold bloodedness that was displayed in the latter film and this, indeed, makes it one of a kind. When the film was released, it did not disappoint those who had expected it to have the qualities that were unique, fun, and at the same time made the film a serious picture to watch. It looks at the relationship between the police and the criminal underworld in a new perspective that many would consider impossible. It set a new record which many Hong Kong films of the same genre from that time on have been trying to reach. This film is, therefore, worthy of the adoration that many of its fans have had, and continue to have, for it.

The film gives the viewer a glance into the criminal underworld, that is dominated by the Triad, where criminal mastermind Hon Sam believes that he can make his gang live outside the law. To achieve this feat, he sends a group of young men to join the police academy so that when they become police officers, they will be able to keep any attention from his activities from the police. The main aim is to keep ahead of the police, by getting to know what moves the police are planning against him before those plans can be executed. In this way, he will be able to run his operations safely without any fear of getting caught. Unknown to Hon, the police are planning almost the exact thing against him. They want to place a mole within his organization so that the mole can tell them the moves that Hon makes, hence ensuring that he is caught red-handed. Under the supervision of Superintendent Wong, Chan is chosen to become the mole in Hon’s triad organization, and to achieve this, there is a public demonstration where Chan gets kicked out of the Academy despite being the best student. This leads him to enter the criminal underworld as an undercover cop, with only two people in the police department knowing his true identity. The duty, which has been assigned to Chan, is a perilous one indeed because he is tasked to remain with the triads until such a time as they are brought down, no matter how long it takes. Within the same academy as Chan is one Lau, who is a Triad mole tasked with keeping Hon up to date about the police movement against him.

The entire movie is based on the parallel lives which Lau and Chan live as moles in each other’s organizations and how these lives come to profoundly affect them personally. There is a sense, around the main characters of the film, of being disconnected and alienated and this helps to increase the excitement that one feels when watching it. This feeling keeps one wondering what is going to happen next, ensuring that one fully concentrates on the film, so the latter scenes are not missed out. These two characters are, unknowingly, brought together at the beginning of the film, each not having a hint of how interconnected their lives truly are. Both of these men have to deal with not getting too close to the people around them for fear that they might be found out for who they actually are. This situation keeps them alien in their new environment as they are not able to form the bonds of friendship, with the people around them, as would happen had they been in a normal situation. The mental torture these two men undergo in their adopted environments is further examined in the film through the study of the women who have been in their lives, both in the past and present. One woman, Lau’s girlfriend is a novelist who is not able to decide whether a character she is writing about and has modeled on her boyfriend should be good or evil. She does not realize how close to the truth her fictional character is to the reality of her boyfriend’s life. On the other hand, there is an ex-girlfriend who chooses to hide the existence of her daughter from her father for fear that he might be a destructive influence. Finally, there is a therapist, who has conflicting emotions concerning her patient, on one hand desiring him while, on the other, she knows that he might not be the man for her on account of his being a gangster. Chan also has feelings for his therapists, and it is only in her presence that he feels secure enough to be able to sleep. When not in her presence, Chan has insomnia, due to the burden which he has had to carry in the ten years in which he has been a mole within the Triad organization. The use of these three women in the film is done to show the various complications which the two main characters have to go through in their daily lives. They further provide an insight on the individual characters of these two men, and what inspires these women to behave towards them as they do.

This film dares its audience to decide who the hero and the villain is because even those women, with whom these men are involved, do not know exactly what they are about. Despite the fact that they work hand in hand with their coworkers on a daily basis, none of these coworkers even has an inkling that these men are moles in their respective organizations. They accept these two characters as they are with no questions being asked, their enigmatic behavior being taken for granted. The film helps to show just how alluring the life of the underworld can be, and how one can be tempted to go in and never want to leave it again. What makes this film special is not its plot, but the way the two leads starring in it portray the characters. Lau is shown to be a man who would have made a different choice in life had the responsibility of being a mole for the Triads, among the police, not been thrust upon him when he was younger. Lau is seen as a tortured man whose life has been chosen for him, and there is no way for him to get out of this purgatory. The character of Chan, on the other hand, is made to be the mirror reflection of Lau, whose duties as a mole among the Triads have been placed on him at a young age. Chan is also shown to undergo mental torture as he struggles with the temptation of forgetting himself and getting absorbed into the underworld. The lives of these two moles are seen as a form of torture for both of them, and it is this shared torture that makes them so similar. Their motivation is to do the best they can in order to survive in situations which the fates have thrust upon them. Both of these men have done extremely well in the situations within which they have been placed. Lau quickly rises through the ranks of the police, while Chan also rises among the Triads to become one of the most trusted lieutenants of Hon, the Triad boss. Therefore, neither of these men can be described as being either good or evil, and instead, they can be said to be surviving.

Since the film is in Cantonese with English subtitles, there are certain aspects of the film which are lost in translation. This is because it is difficult to translate certain idioms, which are humorous in one language, to another language, as in most cases, the humor tends to be lost. Despite this fact, however, the movie can be said to be excellent, and perhaps may encourage those who would like to get the whole picture of the movie to want to learn Cantonese, the language in which it was made. This is indeed a bold film which deals with the lives of two men whose lives are going in a way which they did not expect. It focuses on their desire to break away from the chains that are holding them back, despite the fact that if they do so, then it might lead to their destruction. One can also say that the film is a tragedy because when the truth about the two men comes to light, it is too late for either to redeem himself. Although Chan accomplishes his mission within the Triad organization by helping in the destruction of Hon, he still ends up getting killed by one of the moles planted by Hon in the police. Moreover, despite the fact that both men strive to redeem themselves through the destruction of the Triad organization, none of them gets the redemption because Chan gets killed while Lau ends up getting arrested when it is found out that he was the mole among the police for all the years that Chan was undercover. It can, therefore, be said that this film manages to capture the different aspects of human life. It shows the audience the futility of some of the actions that people take in their lives, teaching that one does not always get what they want. It is a film of revelation, as the two characters get to assess their lives in different situations and come to find what it is they desire in their lives. The plot, as well as the skills displayed by the actors, has made the film one of the best to come out of Hong Kong.

African Americans and Japanese Americans During WWII and its Aftermath

African Americans and Japanese Americans had a long history of discrimination in the country and this became worse during and after the Second World War when many of them came to be segregated along racial lines. The history of discrimination against these two communities tended to be extreme because they were treated as lesser human beings who had no rights. Therefore, despite having been in America for several generations already, these groups came to face many challenges especially during the war and post-war period.

When the African Americans who had been to the war returned home, they came with new ideas acquired from their experiences in the warzone in Europe. While they were in Europe, they had been treated on an equal basis by the white people of that continent and this made them realise their rights as human beings. Those from the south had a new mindset which would eventually lead them to ensuring that their rights as human beings were respected and that the Jim Crow South did not remain as it had been previously.

The fact that African Americans came to realise their rights and demanded them did not go down well within the white dominated society. This period came to see heavy attacks on the African Americans by the white establishment, especially in the south where many were attacked in broad daylight in full view of the police who did nothing to protect these people (Hobson, 356). It was the escalation of these attacks as well as the discrimination in other sectors of the social and economic life of the United States that there developed the Civil Rights Movement whose main purpose was to fight for the rights of the African Americans.

After the Pearl Harbour attacks in the United States, where the Imperial Japanese navy attacked the United States on its own soil, it was the Japanese Americans who came to face the brunt of the public anger that developed. The Japanese Americans were innocent of any involvement in these attacks yet they were increasingly viewed with suspicion by the mainstream American society. This situation became worse once the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies, since the Japanese Americans were made to leave their homes and moved into detention camps because of the suspicion that there were Japanese spies among them (Staub 1238).

The fact that they were detained by their own government despite having lived in the United States for generations and having broken all ties with Japan was a sign that they had not been fully accepted into American society. Those who were detained in these camps, when eventually set free, were much traumatised because they failed to see the reason why they had been detained in the first place. Just because they looked different form the rest of the American people and that their ancestors originally came from a country which had attacked the United States was not a valid reason for their discrimination and this they came to realise as a violation of their fundamental rights as Americans.

LGBT Rights in Russia

The Russian government has been involved in the abuse of the rights of the gay community within it, and this has been done through the introduction of laws which have led to the outright discrimination of this community. The absolute power of the state of the state has ensured that it has been able to develop anti-gay laws which are completely discriminatory towards the gay people in Russia. This has created a situation where many people of homosexual inclination within the country have been forced to hide their orientation for fear that they might become victims of the anti-gay propaganda that has become prevalent. However, while the government has and continues to be a foremost perpetrator of the discrimination against gay people in the country, there has also developed an increasing threat from many of the ultra-nationalist groups that have come into existence. The members of these groups have been known to attack, murder and display other forms of violence against gay people in the belief that the latter are going against the cultural values of Russia by being open about their sexual orientation. The fact that some cultural values can be discriminatory towards some members of the society does not seem to occur to them, with a majority holding the belief that gay people in Russia have to be exterminated. Moreover, the government has been a passive supporter of the actions of ultra-nationalist gangs through not taking any of the cases concerning the victimization of gay people seriously. The fact that the government is able to stand by and do nothing to contain abuses against its citizens, despite their being gay, is evidence that these gangs are conducting their activities with its approval.

The Russian state is one of the biggest perpetrators of abuses against the gay people living in the country and this discrimination seems to be done with the intention of ensuring that they are completely suppressed. The fact that the state is the main sponsor of laws which prevent gay people from being open about their orientation and from having the same rights as other Russians has become a source of widespread concern for the gay community in Russia. The government has worked towards portraying homosexuality as being foreign to Russian cultural values and that it is propaganda from the decadent West which seeks to undermine the Russian state and people. While these claims by government officials can be considered to be preposterous, the fact remains that many Russians have come to be influenced by them and recent years have seen many individuals being openly discriminatory towards gay people. Gay people in Russia have come to be labeled as foreign agents whose aim is to bring chaos to Russia through the spread of gay propaganda that corrupts Russian people, especially the children. The fact that many gay people are not even politically active and whose only wish is to be accepted in the society is hardly ever taken into account and this has created a lot of problems for gay people in Russia. One would say that it has become very dangerous to be gay in Russia since the laws which have been passed by the Russian parliament against them as well as the actions of ultra-nationalist groups have made being gay taboo in the society.

Russia is a signatory of several human rights documents such as Universal declaration of Human Rights as well as the European Convention on Human Rights, but while this may be the case, the Russian state has not necessarily been bound by these international laws in its treatment of the gay community. Instead, despite being bound by these laws which prohibit any form of violation of the rights of individuals within Russia, the government has gone ahead and passed laws which are in contravention with international laws. Russia has completely disregarded the above-mentioned human rights laws, both binding and non-binding in its bid to ensure that the gay community is completely suppressed within the state. The importance of international laws when dealing with gay rights in Russia has been ignored as the government has continued to determinedly move ahead with its agenda, which is the total removal of the gay people and voice from the society. The fact that in June 2013, the Russian parliament passed a law banning any form of propaganda aimed at minors and promoting nontraditional sexual preferences is one of the steps that the government has taken against gay people. That this law is in contravention of the basic human rights of all the gay people in Russia has not been put into consideration and the fact has remained that it is being ruthlessly enforced. Many Russians of gay orientation have over the past few years found themselves in trouble for the most minor of offences and this has been because of the over-zealousness of government officials and law enforcement agencies in their bid to enforce the anti-gay propaganda law. Because of the vague wording in the law, government officials have made broad interpretations concerning it and the arrests and prosecutions that have been taking place have ensured that the voice of the gay community within Russia has been stifled. The ability of the state to disregard international laws that protect the rights of its people has created a situation where it has now become possible for the Russian government to continue conducting its repression of the gay community in its territory without any serious consequences from the international community.

In the case of LGBT rights in Russia, international law seems not to be able to protect them because of the government’s unwillingness to protect these rights. The Russian government has been a consistent opponent of the gay people in the country being able to enjoy equal rights to those of their fellow Russians and while this stance has been condemned by the international community, it has largely been ignored. The massive popularity that the Russian government currently enjoys has ensured that the bulk of the population has remained staunchly behind the law, with some individuals going as far as to take matters into their own hands by directly attacking gay people. The result has been that members of the gay community in Russia have continued to be under siege since their future within the country has increasingly become uncertain. It is currently in the hands of the Russian government to determine and assure the future rights of the gay community in Russia and this can only be done through the repealing of all laws which criminalize homosexuality.

Taboos and their relevance in society

Taboos have existed in all the cultures in the world for thousands of years and they can be considered to be as old as man has practiced culture. There exist taboos for a very wide range of things and all of these depend on the culture within which it is put in practice. Examples of these are food taboos, taboos on topics to discuss and which not to, sexual relations among many others. Different cultures have different taboos which are strictly observed and it is indeed a very rare thing for a person to break the taboos of the culture within which one was raised. The taboos of various cultures are mostly linked to the environment within which they live, the influences from other cultures, and most of all, from their history. These taboos are learned by the people who practice these cultures from a very young age and in fact, they are learned at almost the same time as they learn their language. Taboos therefore become a part of a person’s state of mind and it is an integral part of their growing up process and due to this, it remains with them for the rest of their lives. In some cultures, if a person breaks a taboo, punishment can be very severe and these tend to be shunned by the rest of their society and at times even banished or killed. Taboos are an important part of our culture and even if they are discarded by people who practice them, it is inevitable that other taboos will come up to replace the discarded ones.

It has been said that incest and patricide are the most universal taboos and that these are the basis upon which human societies are founded. Although these and many other taboos are universal in a majority of cultures and societies, it has been found that no taboo is completely universal and that there are exceptions in certain societies. The most common taboos in many societies are restrictions against killing fellow human beings, sexual relationships such s incest and bestiality, the killing of unborn children, cannibalism and the most common of all, dietary laws. Taboos have also come to affect language because every society has certain words which are deemed inappropriate to talk about and those who use such words are often looked upon with disapproval. This has resulted in people using euphemisms and other words to replace taboo words in their speech. Taboos serve many functions and they have a tendency of remaining in effect in their respective cultures long after the original reason for their enforcement has been forgotten by those who practice them. It has been argued that taboos can be used to reveal the history of those societies which have no existing written records and many have tried to relate taboos to the ecologic and economic conditions which prevail in those societies which practice them. These attempts have rarely achieved any meaningful results because it is very difficult to determine the origin of a taboo when even those who practice it do not know anything about it. The result of this is that all conclusions end up to be just mere speculation because there are no facts to them up.

The rise of rationalism and the sciences have reduced the power of many taboos in modern cultures and today, it is a very common thing for people to discuss subjects such as sexuality which were previously considered to be taboo. The increased understanding brought about by rationalism has made certain medical disorders which had been previously considered to be taboo to be treated more analytically and this has ensured that such conditions are well managed and that those affected live a normal life. However, this change in the perception of old taboos is also very ripe ground for the breeding of new taboos. The end of such things as slavery, the prohibition of alcohol, and the acceptance of homosexual relationships have forced many to employ euphemisms which are politically correct. This has been done to ensure that all forms of open discrimination through language are avoided although this has at times proven to be unsuccessful. Modern culture has also raised a great debate on the previously taboo subject of incest with some seeking for the normalization of all consensual adult relationships despite the degree of blood relationship while others have made it harder for such things to happen by setting up laws restricting such relationships. New taboos have come up today due to the fact that many societies feel the need to remedy the effect that injustice has had on modern society such as neocolonialism. Taboos have been established when discussing such matters as race, ethnicity, and even nationalism because these are perceived to be very sensitive issues which should be carefully handled to avoid conflict between the concerned parties.

The history of taboos in the West is quite a long one and as a conclusion, we shall look at some examples of these. In Ancient Greece, adultery was a very serious taboo whose punishment if caught, was death either through starvation or by being dragged to death by horses. In medieval Europe, sex was not considered to be for pleasure and instead, it was only reserved for procreation; this meant that premarital sex was a criminal offense which was often punishable by death. Homosexual activity of any kind in medieval Europe was looked down upon and those caught were either heavily fined or imprisoned. It was taboo, especially in the North American colonies until recently, for there to be marriages between people from different races and laws were put in place to enforce this taboo. In the modern world, the mainstream society has tended to discriminate against those who undergo sex change operations and this is still a very controversial topic to this day. These people have become a new taboo in the society and it will likely be a very long time before they come to be accepted by the mainstream. 

The Shaping of Gender Roles

Gender roles have existed for almost as long as the human race has existed and it is quite possible that they will continue to exist in the foreseeable future. They are a part of our daily lives and is manifested within the society by observable factors such as how one behaves or appears. They are patterns of feelings deemed appropriate or inappropriate because of one’s gender and they derive from the social expectations of how members of the different genders should behave. For example, if a person considers themselves to be female, then she would be expected to display the characteristics which are typically associated with being female, such as being gentle, dependent and expressive of their feelings. There are various factors that are used to determine the gender roles in society and the most important of these are biological, social, and cultural factors.

The biological make up of an individual in society has long been used to determine how that person should behave. However, there is yet to be proof of the fact that whether one is male or female, he or she is born with the innate knowledge of the characteristics that are often ascribed to their gender. In fact, those who support the idea that biology determines gender roles cannot explain how or why some males become very emotional and cry in situations where they are expected to be strong and unemotional. This helps to show that biology does is not necessarily a determining factor in gender roles.

The society plays a major role in determining the gender roles of the individuals within it. These individuals learn about their roles in society through their interactions with their family members, their socializing with their teachers and friends at school, and through the influence of mass media. The parents of a large number of people in society determine the gender roles of their children and rigidly enforce them. Therefore, these individuals grow up knowing the roles which are expected of their gender and are not allowed to choose for themselves because of the set societal norms.

Culture is another major factor that determines the gender roles of individuals in the societies within which they live. There are many different cultures around the world and each has its own expectations about what roles the members of each sex should undertake. While in most Western societies the male is expected to be dominant in society, in other cultures such as in some Asian communities, women are very powerful players within the society and major decisions cannot be made without consulting them.

The various roles that are ascribed to the various genders are mostly determined by the society within which one lives and by its culture. Biology only acts as a marker to determine how the society is going to socialize an individual to behave and it is not in itself a definer of gender roles. Within the modern world, gender roles are starting to become insignificant because it has been proven that women can take up the roles traditionally reserved for men with the same efficiency and the reverse has also been proven to be true. The gender roles are today slowly becoming blurred and they may cease to exist altogether in future.

The Need for the Legalization of Marijuana

The validation of the substance known as marijuana is one of the most divisive issues in the public stage today. Marijuana has, for a long time, been banned in many countries but those who advocate for it have recently gained ground. Some countries are decriminalizing the possession of this drug, with the aim of gaining control its movement. Opponents of this action state that marijuana is s harmful drug which comes to adversely affect the health of those who use it.

It is a fact that the public support for the legalization of marijuana has more than doubled since the 1970s, and this has created a strong case. The rise in public support can be attributed to the belief that the substance has become too common for it to be controlled. It has been found that a sizable number of Americans, some 38%, have at one time or another in their lives tried the drug and this may have contributed to its acceptance by many Americans. This shows that the American public, in general, is ready to accept the legalization of marijuana because it has become a basic part of their way of life.

The legalization of marijuana is an extremely desirable thing because of the fact that its consumption has not been found to have the lasting effects. While other drugs such as cocaine have adverse effect on the individuals who use them, marijuana’s effects are relatively mild. The legalization of this substance would ensure that the stigma associated with the use (medicinal or otherwise) and distribution of marijuana is done away with. In addition, the public acceptance of marijuana and its legalization will ensure that there is freedom of use for the substance, hence guaranteeing a basic human right of all adult Americans.

A benefit for the legalisation of marijuana would be the enabling of the elimination of the criminal market for the same substances. It is a fact that the production and use of some of marijuana creates an environment where organised crime becomes the norm as they fight to control the market for marijuana. The legalization of this substance would ensure that organised crime is forced out of its trade because they would be starved of their constant income. In addition, the legalization would enable the government to regulate and control the market for marijuana, ensuring that there are laws against selling the substance to minors.

In conclusion, as has been seen above, the fact remains that the legalization of marijuana is more beneficial than detrimental for the American society. The American society has become more accepting of the substance and the public support for its legalization may lead to its eventual acceptance. Marijuana is not the harmful drug to the extent that it has always been thought because quite a significant number of the American population has used it. The acceptance of the substance will also ensure the decriminalization of the trade in it since the cartels involved will no longer have the influence to control it. Therefore, the legalization of marijuana is a desirable development in the United States, since it will enable the sustaining of the right of Americans to make their own choices.

The Role of Art in Making Political Statements

Art has, for a lengthy time, been used to make political statements among the Rapanui. The art of the Rapanui, in particular the statues of Moai, are the last part of the ancient history of these people and because of this, they still have a special impact on then Rapanui. When the Spanish colonized the Easter Islands, they discovered the importance of these statues to the Rapanui and in order to make a political statement, these giant statues were toppled from their pedestals, to show that the Spanish were dominant on the islands. While this may have been the case, these statues have come to be recognized as a unique part of the Rapanui heritage and attempts have been made by the Chilean government, which governs the islands, to restore them. The Rapanui have made these statues their rallying point when agitating for political independence from Chile, which they consider to be an oppressive colonizer.

A similar political statement was made in the past by the English in a bid to establish their dominance over the Scottish people. The English, after defeating the Scots in battle, took the important Stone of Scone, which was an essential part of the Scottish coronation ritual, from Scotland to England. This was used as a symbol of English dominance of the Scots, but in this instance it does not seem to have worked since Scotland came to regain its independence later. In essence, art and objects of power have been used throughout history either as rallying points for political causes, or as means to dominate people who hold them in high regard.

Factors that Determine Regime Stability

Introduction

Political stability is a concept that is often discussed as an extremely valued condition because it brings about a situation where there is good political development. Instability, on the other hand, is considered to come about because of a lack of political development on the part of the state involved. This project presents a case study of the determinants of regime stability with specific reference to the Middle Eastern countries of Egypt and Iran, on one hand, and Mexico on the other.

Hypothesis

Most definitions of regime stability tend to be based on the prominence of regularity which has a positive effect on the system of government involved, and fail to consider that stability depends on the unique circumstances facing each regime.

Definition of key concepts

Regime – a government, especially one that is considered authoritarian.

Stability – the state of being stable, in this case political or concerning government.

The justification for dependent variable: positive representations of regime stability

A considerable number of studies present regime stability as the having a positive effect on the system of government involved. It is a means through which governments are assessed by internal actors and brings about a situation where there is the advancement of policies towards such regimes by external actors.

The justification for independent variable

Regime stability is dependent on the prevailing political conditions at home. Some regimes might seem to be highly stable yet prove to be quite vulnerable in the long run. Moreover, those that are seen as being highly volatile end up proving more durable.

Other significant variables

Lack of democratic space: despite the relative stability of a regime, there are instances where the population might end up revolting because they do not participate in politics.

Slow move towards change: the world is rapidly changing and this process has also come into politics. Lack of political reforms could lead to regime instability.

Influence from external actors: there might develop a situation where external actors seek to influence internal events, leading to considerable instability.

Review of Studies on the Topic

The belief in political stability is one that has for the most part promoted the policies of most countries towards others. This is because stability tends to be given more prominence than any other aspect of politics because it enables the achievement of goals that would otherwise be extremely difficult to bring about. Therefore, there is a constant need by countries, especially those that are international players, to ensure that they bring about the maintenance of regime stability in order to serve their own interests (Game III, 2011). Under such circumstances, predicting abrupt political change is often an extremely difficult task because it is often influenced by the way that political analysts conceptualize regime stability. Countries such as the United States and those that make up the EU have pursued varying policies in the Middle East with the aim of promoting a situation where their interests are based on the stability of the non-democratic regimes in the region. A consequence has been that whenever political changes have taken place, they have happened in such a way that has caught them by surprise. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that there is the advancement of greater efforts aimed at bringing about a greater understanding of the stability of regimes in the Middle East and other parts of the world in order to help in the development of more effective policies. There seems to have been a failure in the foreign policies of both the United States and the EU when it comes to understanding the determinants of regime stability in the Middle East and this has been an extremely costly mistake as seen with the events of the Arab Spring and their aftermath.

Apart from the Middle East, another area of concern for the United States for decades has been Latin America (Holden & Zolov, 2000). The political instability in Latin America has been represented through the Roosevelt Corollary and the revolutionary movements that pervaded the Central American nations for decades (Ricard, 2006). A sense of urgency to ensure an understanding of the factors that lead to the development of stable political systems, especially when considering the extralegal means through which power has been seized in the history of some South American countries, has been a hallmark of American policy in the region (Hart, 1977). Despite these events, a study of the political development of Mexico can be considered an essential one when it comes to regime stability. This is because despite revolutions taking place in the country, unlike other Latin American countries, Mexico has been able to ensure that it enjoys a relatively stable political environment for more than half a century (De Janvry, Gonzalez-Navarro, & Sadoulet, 2014). Despite considerable pressure having been placed on its political system due to rapid economic growth as well as other challenges, Mexico has been able to ensure that it continues to remain stable. Under such circumstances, Mexico can be considered a country that has remained fairly stable despite facing similar challenges to its Latin American counterparts, which have not fared as well.

Presentation and Justification of Cases

Claude Ake promotes the idea that political stability is essentially the regularity in which there is the flow of political exchanges within a society (Ake, 1975, p. 273). This is especially the case considering that political stability can only come about because of the decision of members of a society to put restrictions on themselves in such a way that they conform to the limits that have been imposed on them through the expectations brought about by political roles. Moreover, there is need to ensure that there is no confusion between political stability and the lack of political change. Ernest Duff and John Mccamant define a stable political system as one that can essentially withstand change, but also within the political structure that has been developed in society (Duff & McCamant, 1968, p. 1125). Leon Hurwitz identifies five approaches to the study of political stability and concludes that the most effective is to study political stability as a multifaceted social attribute. This view sees political stability as systemic stability and is a synthesis or integration of the other approaches (Hurwitz, 1973, p. 449).

Stability is considered to be desirable for a vast number of reasons and these are based on the need to ensure that there is the provision of an advantage to external players when it comes to the predictability of government actions. The predictability of government actions can be considered to be essential in helping in the development of policy because it determines the direction that a government or regime is likely to take at certain times (Rodrik & Zeckhauser, 1988). Under such circumstances, it becomes possible to make sure that there is the advancement of a situation where external players are able to adjust their policies accordingly in order to bring about the achievement of the most advantage to themselves in their dealings with the regime. This is especially considering that dealing with a failing state can be an extremely daunting initiative, because it is often difficult to identify a counterpart that can be interacted with effectively in order to ensure that there is the establishment of strong policy initiatives. It is normal for countries to make use of a diversity of initiatives aimed at ensuring that their counterparts are able to accept their point of view and become influenced towards achieving desirable outcomes. However, in the case of an unstable regime, it becomes troublesome because the latter does not have full control over the state (Aisen & Veiga, 2013). Therefore, it becomes necessary for government to ensure that there are efforts to get as accurate an understanding of regimes and the possible risks surrounding them before undertaking to bring about a threat to their stability. The ramifications of an unstable regime can be catastrophic not only to the said state, but also to the region within which it is situated. There is need to promote the creation of a scenario where there are limited foreign interventions that might end up risking the stability of states, because regimes, especially authoritarian ones, can end up proving to be highly unstable whenever challenges by massive popular discontent.

The concept of regime stability is one that has a diversity of definitions and this creates a situation where they end up becoming quite controversial (Hurwitz, 1973). A broad definition of this concept is that it involves a situation where there is the absence of any sort of domestic civil conflict or widespread violence that might end up marring the functions of the state. Instead, the regime can be considered to be one that has essentially rid itself of instability in such a way that there are no systematic attacks on persons and their assets within the boundaries of the state. Furthermore, there is the advancement of a situation where there is need for the regime to ensure that there is the creation of an environment where it is in full control of the situation and it can enforce its will on its people. However, this definition might prove to be problematic, because there are instances where despite the political situation of a country looking stable at the moment, the entire system of governance can end up collapsing quite quickly. This means that despite there being no systematic attacks on individuals or property, the regime could actually be quite fragile; only awaiting an incident to trigger unrest and show its fragility for what it really is. An example of this situation is President Jimmy Carter in 1977 praising pre-revolutionary Iran as being one of the most stable countries in a region that was extremely troubled (Carter, 1977). At the time he made this statement, little did he know that the entire regime would end up unraveling within two years and that there would be a revolution in Iran that would overthrow the Shah. Thus, regime stability cannot be effectively defined based on the above definition because the signs of stability tend to end up actually being only a veneer that hides the decay that is actually being experienced within the political system.

Another interpretation of regime stability is one that essentially equates regime longevity with stability (Harymawan & Nowland, 2016). This is an extremely challenging definition because it involves the definition of a country that experiences constant changes in government as unstable. There is a failure to consider that there are some countries in the world that have experienced constant changes in government yet have for the most part maintained the same policies as their predecessors. Such states might even have very stable administrative systems that are not adversely affected whenever there is regime change. A country such as Italy, which had over sixty changes in government over a similar number of years, was able to maintain a fairly stable policy throughout this period without undergoing any form of instability that would have made the nation extremely vulnerable (Curini, 2011). Under such circumstances, this definition becomes redundant because there is a lack of consideration for those states that remain stable even when there is regime change. Another example is that of Belgium, which had to undergo over a year without a cabinet and would have ended up being ranked even lower that Egypt when it came to regime instability (Hooghe, 2012). However, these circumstances proved wrong because Belgium was able to ride out the storm through the ability of its institutions to not only weather the political storm, but also keep administrative activities going throughout the period. This can be compared to the uninterrupted thirty year old rule of the Mubarak regime in Egypt, which despite its longevity ended up falling within days of public protests in the country (Shehata, 2011).

Moreover, another approach to regime stability is based on the concept of lack of structural change (Maoz & Russett, 1993). This is an approach that seeks to promote the idea that a stable regime is one that essentially has the absence of internally or externally induced change in its basic configuration; resulting in a situation where it remains stable at all times. While this approach can be considered pertinent when it comes to the discussion of regime stability, it is also quite problematic because it promotes the idea of structural change, which is often quite difficult to define. Furthermore, there are instances where deep changes take place in regimes that despite the changes end up remaining quite strong to such an extent that there is a level of continuity in their economic, social, and constitutional formations (Eckstein, 1988). Therefore, the stability of regimes can be considered to be based on the unique situation of each state because there are instances where change can happen in a positive manner to such an extent that it leads to the advancement of stability rather than a failure of the regime. Furthermore, there are instances where it becomes possible for the progression of strong regimes through the development of locally induced changes that gradually bring about positive shifts in the power structure that enhance rather than break regime stability.

Speculative Conclusion

The review of literature above has shown that there is a diversity of definitions of the determinants of regime stability. This is because each regime has to be considered based on its own unique situation rather than being generalized. A study of the regimes has shown that those that seem to be the most stable could turn out to be extremely vulnerable and vice versa. It is therefore essential to make sure that the stability of each regime is studied based on its own unique development and the manner through which it has been able to develop towards the promotion of its institutions and their durability.

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