By reference to specific case-law and political examples, critically Essay

By reference to specific case-law and political examples, critically examine the extent to which this statement accurately reflects the development as well as the content of Public International Law today - Essay Example anda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia in Africa; Bosnia and Kosovo in Eastern Europe; state-sponsored ethnic cleansing in East Timor in Asia and extreme violence on the North American island nation of Haiti. These were the â€Å"new wars† at the end of the 20th century. Although ethnic conflict and humanitarian crises have existed since the dawn of time, for the first time ever images of extreme bloodshed, violence and even genocide were broadcast into the homes of the viewing public through international television stations like the Cable News Network (CNN), Fox and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Images of children being slaughtered, women raped and people brutalized were beamed into the living rooms of people all over the world, for all to see. For the first time, the public was confronted, on a near daily basis, with images of carnage and humanitarian crisis. People pressed their congressmen, parliamentarians and state representatives to act and, in varying degrees, a groundswell calling for a decisive role for governments in ending these humanitarian crises and conflicts emerged. Although some wanted direct military action, often French, British or American, in ending a particular conflict, most governments have traditionally favor ed other instruments of diplomacy: political pressure, economic sanctions and imposed settlement through international bodies such as the United Nations. While support for military intervention was certainly not the operative interventionist choice for most in the cases mentioned in the introductory paragraph above – for example, how many Americans or Frenchmen before the genocide could locate Rwanda on a map? – in each case presented above, the international community did consider some type of military intervention in ending the respective crises (Boettcher, 2004). Are human rights a key determinant of foreign policy? If so, how does the protection of human rights on a global

American Popular Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Popular Culture - Essay Example 2. How have popular culture trends and electronic media formulated your views regarding the following topics: social responsibility and civility; family obligations; the human body; justice, law, and order; sexual identity; friendship and love Popular (pop) culture is literally defined as the vernacular culture that prevails on any given society. â€Å"The content of popular culture is determined by the daily interactions, needs and desires, and cultural ‘moments’ that make up the everyday lives of the mainstream.† (â€Å"Wikipedia†, 2006). Culture is a way of defining oneself, and is accepted or regarded by each person in their own way, and yet mass media and mass culture also lets people define themselves in relation to everyone else in mass society. How Have Popular Culture Trends and Electronic Media Formulated Your Views Regarding the Following Topics: Social Responsibility and Civility; Family Obligations; The Human Body; Justice, law and Order; Sexual Identity; Friendship and Love? Popular culture trends are a significant part of all of our lives, and greatly affect the way we feel about ourselves, and about each other, on a daily basis. Whether or regardless of if we recognize it or not, popular culture reflects on us all in way or another. In regards to social responsibility and civility, I believe that due to the heightened propaganda status, or in other words the fact that the media is such a huge part of all of our day to day lives, our assumption and beliefs of what our personal social responsibilities should be have dropped somewhat. In the past, there was a certain aura of politeness and classiness if you will; characteristics which do not seem to be as evident in today’s world. When discussing how pop culture trends have formulated my views regarding family obligations; this is another subject that I would say relates highly to social responsibility and civility in a way. If we take