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Luis Manrique Dr. Bendeck INS3003

Kenneth Waltz “Why Iran Should Get the Bomb” Foreign Affairs, 2012

Summary: This summary centers around the article "Why Iran Should Get the Bomb" by Kenneth N. Waltz. This article starts with a limited quantity of foundation data regarding the matter. It gives that the ongoing situation in the middle east is a "Heated discussion" between the United States and Iran. Iran is motivated to become a nuclear power. The United States is also entangled with Israel which are their allies, Israel stands completely against Iran having Nuclear weapons at all(Pg.1). In this article Waltz records the potential results of this situation and which result he thinks will make the area more stable. His predicted results are the following, Severe penalty or sanctions that will lead to make Iran not want to be an atomic power any longer, Iran will continue exploring the possibility of nuclearization, or Iran will continue their quest of gaining the knowledge about becoming a nuclear state (pg.2) Waltz mentions that the initial argument is not very likely to happen and can end up making feel more insecure and will end up aiming to nuclearize. Waltz believes that the following predicted scenario is more likely to happen. He also stated that it may not satisfy Israel since Iran can now nuclearize in a quick manner. The last alternative Waltz predicted states that it has the potential to create a balance of peace in this area between Israel and Iran. Although the U.S. and Israel condemn this scenario Waltz states that since the Nuclearization of Israel other countries in their region have felt intimidated since they are the only nuclearized country in the area.

Word count: 265 words

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Analysis:

Waltz does an excellent job when introducing and explaining his main arguments. He uses these arguments to back up his main point excellently. Waltz effectively shows the reader what his argument is from the get-go. He does his by expressing his predicted outcomes for the conflict of Iran's potential nuclearization. Waltz explains his three possible predictions for what can possibly happen with the Nuclear arming of Iran effectively. For every predicted scenario he showcased examples of similar cases in other countries and that allowed for a better understanding of the situation. An example that the author used in the article was North Korea and how the United Nations forced sanctions on them and still were not fazed enough to stop the process of nuclearization. Waltz was very informative and persuasive with the arguments he spoke about but, they could have used a bit more background information as to how and why this whole conflict began in the first place. Furthermore, it was clear that he had some bias towards Israel's previous behaviors. Waltz emphasized these behaviors when he was arguing for Iran's nuclearization. One of Waltz's main arguments was that the motive for Israel's involvement in the denuclearization of Iran was that they wanted to be the solemn nuclear presence in the region. Even though Waltz provided a few examples of events in the past where Israel has used nuclear weapons to attack other countries that were in the process of nuclearization, there may be further motives for the United states and Israel to not want Iran to become a Nuclear power. Waltz mentioned that Iran was not likely to provide terrorist organizations which they supported with nuclear arms, but this statement did not have enough support for it to be convincing. Waltz goes against his own argument by stating that no one could be sure what the true motives of Iran were (pg.3). It is apparent that Waltz is speaking from a realist point of view because realist themes

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consist of states counting on themselves for survival and self-defense. Waltz speaks from a perspective in which he aligns himself with these realist themes when it comes to the nuclearization of Iran. This article was well written and contained some very persuasive points. It is also apparent that this is a very well researched article except for a few arguments which needed some additional evidence.

Word Count: 402 words

Luis Manrique Dr. Bendeck INS3003

Joseph E. Stiglitz “Globalism’s Discontents”, 2002

Summary:

Stiglitz starts this article by explaining the term globalization. This term has a wide range of implications and meanings everywhere around the world. He expresses that globalization has impacted many countries in a variety of ways(pg.1). Stiglitz states that in most situations’ globalization has brought Many benefits to the few and few benefits to the many. Also, he mentions that countries that use their government to manage and control globalization ensured that they reaped huge benefits and that those benefits were equally shared(pg.1). Stiglitz utilizes east Asian nations to provide an example of countries that used their government to manage their economies. He states that the only reason why these states benefited off of globalization is because of their authority over markets and the economy as a whole. Stiglitz's leading argument is that when International organizations like the IMF step in to help countries manage their economies, they are usually not successful. These financial organizations stand for the market liberalization of developing state's economies. He claims that market liberalization negatively affects developing democracies since it is originally meant to aid countries that have already developed. Stiglitz states that in many cases market liberalization in developing nations has left them in a worse position that they were before. He lists some reasons as to why this happens. First, because the international organizations are designed to benefit wealthy corporations in the north, these corporations invest money into these young underdeveloped markets and quickly withdraw it when they see a small risk. As a result, this leaves these developing countries in an

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economic devastation(pg.3). Stiglitz mentions that states that are still developing must have strict regulations to have a powerful economy. He provides the example of how the U.S. focused on the construction of infrastructure and working on making the cost of transportation cheaper via government regulations(pg.4).

Word Count: 304 words

Analysis:

Stiglitz's article was composed very well and is exceedingly persuasive. He introduces powerful arguments and backs them up with interesting examples that make the points easier to understand. For instance, when he states that the use of heavy regulations in a state encourages growth, Stiglitz mentions that the nations in East Asia had their economies grow at a rapid rate due to these regulations. These countries began facing issues when the United States and the International Monetary Fund pressured them into removing these regulations (pg.2). Stiglitz makes it obvious that he is arguing from a liberal point of view. Even though many liberals tend to favor organizations like the IMF, UN, etc. Stiglitz makes a compelling argument as to why he does not support their intervention in the case of a developing country. He mentions that institutions like the IMF have been pushing for plans that mainly benefit northern economies. Even though throughout much of the article Stiglitz did not seem biased at all, there is a section where he shows some bias against the Washington Consensus where he describes it as standing for minimalist government, liberalization, and privatization (pg.2). Stiglitz makes the point that East Asian states reject the consensus. This point shows the bias against the consensus because it

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is a bit out of context. The Washington Consensus was meant to be used for Latin American countries that were going through a rough time with ISI (Import Substitution Industrialization). Stiglitz usage of this example may signal a bias in his points. Nonetheless, Stiglitz made sure to use supporting points to cover most of his claims successfully. Nevertheless, a few examples were lacking in background information which created a suspicion of bias within his arguments.

Word Count: 290 words

Luis Manrique Dr. Bendeck INS3003

Joseph S. Nye Jr. “Public Diplomacy and Soft Power”

Summary:

The main theme that Nye supports along this article is "Soft Power". He defines soft power as "the influence a nation has on others in order to attain the outcomes desired through desirability rather than payment or coercion"(pg.94). Nye's main point is that it is imperative to attract other nations when it comes to world politics and not scare them into changing by using hard power. He states that using soft power helps a nation achieve desirable outcomes by working with nations to achieve these outcomes rather than coercing and intimidating them (pg.95). Nye introduces the three main ways a nation can influence the behaviors of another. These ways are the use of threats, attraction, and payments. The focus of this article is the second way stated above, the focus in influencing behaviors through attraction. Nye believes that it is more efficient for countries to work together than to intimidate and coerce them. He states that nations should strive for other countries to see them as attractive when it comes to the following, values, culture, policies, and institutions. Nye states that one of the main reasons the U.S. has such a large influence in the world is because of its culture that has spread to other countries due to its attractiveness. Nye also argues that the primary reason as to why the cold war ended was due to Public diplomacy. Public diplomacy relies on the credibility, role of soft power, and the selfcriticism within a state.

Word count: 246 words

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Analysis:

Nye utilizes quite a liberal point of view throughout this article. He depicts that the end of the Cold War came because of President Kennedy's skill to utilize soft power and public diplomacy. However, this was not entirely the case. These tactics played a part in ending the cold war, but they were not the main reason. This war came to an end mainly due to the advantages the United States gained over Russia. By the end of the war Russia's economy was devastated and the U.S. had the superior military when it came to nuclear power. Even though Nye had some very compelling examples as to why he thinks that soft power is the more beneficial route compared to hard power, there was some bias regarding liberalist views and themes. As Nye spoke about how soft power is superior to hard power, he stated that the U.S. has quite an enticing culture. It is apparent that Nye's argument is exceptionally persuasive when it comes to public diplomacy. He states that this diplomacy relies on soft power, credibility, and self-criticism. Throughout the article Nye provides strong examples to back up his arguments. For example, Nye claims that due to public diplomacy the United States was able to view Germany as an ally. This is because public diplomacy allowed for both countries to communicate and reach a common ground. Nye is very effective in this article when it comes to supporting his claims and providing evidence to back up these claims. He does so by providing helpful examples to help the reader really understand what he is trying to say.

Word Count: 271 words

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Author Kenneth N. Waltz

Article Title Why Iran Should Get

Author’s thesis “Once Iran becomes

the Bomb

a nuclear power in

Agree? Yes

the middle east, since they have such a small number of weapons no country will want to acquire their own nuclear weapons because they will not see it as a threat. This would lead to the end of the crisis and a more

Joseph E. Stiglitz

Globalism and its Discontents

stable middle east”. “International Organizations have promoted a market fundamentalism that has proven to be ineffective when it comes to underdeveloped countries. The IMF has promoted these policies without looking into the future repercussions of the economy of such countries. These policies have held back emerging democracies from

Yes

Luis Manrique Dr. Bendeck INS3003

Joseph S. Nye Jr.

Public Diplomacy and Soft Power

developing.” ” It is imperative that nations have an agenda to attract other in world politics instead of utilizing hard power tactics to achieve a nations goal. Soft power makes people work together instead of coercing them.”

Yes...