Introduction
The events of September 11, 2001, have changed the modern world eternally. The phenomena like terrorism, Islamic extremism, etc. went their way from being pure abstractions to the issues specifically concerning the safety of people all over the world (Azios, 3). After the 9/11 attacks, the United States Government and President Bush Administration started their comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign but the world community perceived the practice of US preemptive attacks on countries allegedly connected with terrorist organizations controversially (Kenny, 2007). While some countries like the United Kingdom supported the idea and admitted the US right to defend its citizens, other countries and the United Nations expressed concern about the aggression against the countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. Needless to say, the supporters of each viewpoint have their own arguments to back up their opinions.
Right for Preemptive Attack
However, to start the discussion of the effects of the US preemptive policies, it is necessary to consider the dispute that takes place among scholars regarding the very right for preemption, especially in the military sense of the word. The definitions of preemptive attacks and preemptive war differ but the common points in them can be summarized as follows: “Preemptive attack – and attack initiated on the basis of incontrovertible evidence that an enemy attack is imminent” (Westphal, 2003, p. 2). Thus, the preemptive attack is a type of self-defense.
But, the latter is allowed by international law and Article 51 of the United Nations Charter only in case if the attack takes place. The UN admits self-defense as an “inherent right of individual and collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security” (Cullinan, 2002). Thus, opponents of the US preemptive policies claim the illegality of the latter based on the fact that no attacks have been committed on the US, and accordingly, there is no need for self-defense.
Preemptive Policy History
Nevertheless, recent history presents examples of other countries using preemptive attacks to defend their citizens. The most notable examples include the Israeli attacks on the Iraqi nuclear bases in 1981, the preemptive measures of the Israeli army against the Palestinian terrorist groups in 2001, 2004, etc. Russia resorted to preemption in 1994 in Chechnya as well (Westphal, 2003, p. 15). The recent examples of the US preemptive actions include the Iraq war and the invasion of Afghanistan that were labeled campaigns for protecting US citizens from terrorist threats abroad. Thus, although legal dispute about the right to preemption is still in progress, numerous countries exercise this right to protect their citizens and the positive effects of the US preemptive policies that such a right should be given to the countries.
Positive Effects of US Preemptive Policies
Fighting Terrorism
Thus, the positive effects of the counter-terrorism campaign started by the Bush Administration can be seen nowadays. The two major areas where they are observed include the state of the process of fighting terrorism and the safety of ordinary people. As for the first area, fighting terrorism is a vital necessity of today and the obvious right of the US because “Terrorist groups are metastasizing all over the globe. Al Qaeda has re-established its bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Hizbullah, Hamas and other radical Islamic groups are gaining strength” (Zakaria, 37). The research works by American civilian and sociological organizations prove that the tragedy of September 11, 2001, was the result of the constantly growing threat of terrorist attack that was observed in the world in the late 1990s and early 2000s: “the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terror (MIPT), says that the annual toll of fatalities from terrorism grew 450 percent (!) between 1998 and 2006” (Zakaria, 37). Drawing from these data, counter-terrorism campaigns could be viewed as something natural and self-evident because the lives of people were seriously endangered, and the US Government exercised its right and duty to protect citizens.
Accordingly, when Bush Administration started implementing its National Security Strategy of the United States of America claiming that the US needed to “Strengthen alliances to defeat global terrorism and work to prevent attacks against us and our friends” (NSS, 5), the actual threat of terrorism and rate of deaths from it declined considerably: “In both the START and MIPT data, non-Iraq deaths from terrorism have declined by more than 40 percent since 2001” (Zakaria, 37). Therefore, the main aim of the Bush Administration was achieved as the threat of terrorist attacks was actually decreased, while America proved that it had the right to attack terrorists before they attack America.
Security of People
The effects of the counter-terrorism campaign were positive for ordinary people’s safety as well. One of the major goals of the National Security Strategy of the United States of America was “defending the United States, the American people, and our interests at home and abroad by identifying and destroying the threat before it reaches our borders” (NSS, 6). Drawing from this goal, people and their protection were placed in the focus of the counter-terrorism military campaign as the US Government proclaimed its right for the preemptive attacks on terror for its own security. The results of this for lives of people can be observed not only in the United States but in other, even Islamic, countries: “In Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, where Al Qaeda has based, support for Osama bin Laden plummeted from 70 percent in August 2007 to 4 percent in January 2008” (Zakaria, 37). Accordingly, observing the actions taken by the American government and Military Forces, people acquire a clear understanding of the correctness of those actions and their rightfulness. Citizens of purely Muslim countries express less and less support to terrorists and agree that only strict counter-terrorism measures can ensure their security over years and that countries attacked by terror once have the right to preemptively fight with terror in the global scope.
Negative Effects of US Preemptive Policies
Lack of Freedom
However, the opponents of the preemptive measures and military attacks carried out by the United States against the countries allegedly connected to terrorist groups claim that such war on terror is more a political than a defensive measure and the US had no right to attack others, especially having no proofs of their having weapons of mass destruction or ties with terrorism. For instance, Harper (2009) argues that “The United States has experienced over 1,350 terrorist attacks since 1970, peaking in the mid-1970s with 120 attacks per year” (Harper, 2009). Surprisingly, none of those attacks received such public attention as September 11 events did. What Harper (2009) sees in it is that the Government tries to limit people’s freedom by threatening the US citizens with terrorism and not exercising its right to protect the citizens.
Moreover, the attempt is made by the Government to distract the public attention from more actual issues like the economy, social initiatives, etc.: “The complex, visceral and increasingly politicized issue of how to combat the terror threat is now leading the mainstream news agenda, even pushing out the economy” (Harper, 2009). People should be focused on fighting with an allegedly existing enemy while the matters that concern them directly, i. e. healthcare, senior citizens’ care, etc., are left without attention. Thus, freedom of thought, speech, and choice is taken away and substituted by the eternal fear of terrorist attacks.
Danger of Invasion
Moreover, the danger of the potential invasion of the US Military Forces into another country thought to have ties with Al Qaeda, Hamas, etc. is another dangerous and strictly negative effect of the Bush Administration counter-terrorism campaign (FCNL, 2006). The latest events in the US political life give the opponents of the Bush war on terror the hope that the situation will change but the threat of the US invasion into Iran, Libya, Northern Korea, etc. are still real according to the messages of the international news agencies and printed media (Peatling, 5).
The situation is complicated, according to FCNL (2006), because irrespective of the numerous deaths of the US soldiers in the Iraq war, Bush Administration still planed further preemptive attacks on other countries (Pace, 2006). The international condemnation of such aggressive policy was also unable to change the firm commitment of George Bush and his Government to start counter-terrorism campaign in other allegedly terrorist countries like Iran, Northern Korea, etc. that were reported to possess weapons of mass destruction and to be able to use them against America and its citizens (FCNL, 2006).
Correctness of Bush’s Doctrine
Having considered all the pros and cons of the counter-terrorism strategy implemented by President Bush and his administration after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it can be observed that the results of the strategy prove that the US has the natural right to respond to attacks by preemptive measures (Pace, 2006). The above reported negative consequences of counter-terrorism preemptive military attacks cannot even be compared to the good they bring. For example, the alleged lack of freedom that Bush opponents stress is nothing but the reluctance of people to focus on several issues at once. It is not forbidden for US citizens to be interested in economic or social issues, but their comprehensive awareness of terror threats adds to their protection against the latter (Pace, 2006). Moreover, the Government feels it to be its right and duty to inform people of the latest advances in the war on terror. As for the possible invasions to other countries, these are not facts but assumptions of certain people or news agencies.
Compared to these negativities, the favorable effects of fighting terrorism cannot be overestimated. Thus, people all around the world feel more secure and protected against terrorist attacks. As well, the overall support of terrorist organizations in the regions where it is traditionally high has been on the decrease over the past two or three years (Pace, 2006). Finally, the figures that showed a 450% increase in terrorist actions occurrence before the counter-terrorism strategy was implemented have been on the steady decrease since 2002. No tragedies like the one on September 11, 2001, have happened to the US or its citizens since that time, and it is the achievement of the Bush Administration and the President’s strategy of fighting terrorism. So are the recently reported improvements in relations between the US and the Muslim world, as the latter have understood that the US fights not Muslims but terrorism irrespective of the religion it worships (Aurora, 2009). As for the preemptive invasion, if the US starts those attacks it would mean that the threat of terrorist attacks becomes evident and the Government actually exercises its right to protect people in America and all over the globe.
Conclusions
Concluding this paper, it is necessary to state that the events of September 11, 2001, have changed the modern world eternally. Terrorism became one of the greatest threats to mankind, and the American Government headed by President Bush took up the struggle with this threat exercising their eternal right to protect the people. Although widely disputed and, according to some scholars, the controversial strategy of the war on terror had both supporters and opponents, its basic positive effect cannot be ignored. Thus, it is obvious that the US has the right to preemptively protect itself from terrorist attacks by fighting the countries accused of sponsoring or supporting terrorism internationally.
References
- Aurora. “After the chill of the Bush era, ties between America and Islam can only get better—but how much better?” The Economist, 2009: A3.
- Azios, T. “’What Makes a Terrorist’ and why the popular theories may be wrong.” Christian Science Monitor, 2007: p. 13.
- Cullinan, J. F. “The Preemption Doctrines: On international law.” National Review Online, 2002.
- FCNL. “Iraq: The Human Cost of War and Occupation.” Washington Newsletter. 2006: p. 8.
- Harper, J. “9/11 ‘misleads’ Americans’ view of terrorism; Analysis shows most attacks small, amateurish, non-lethal.” The Washington Times, 2009: AO5.
- Kenny, V. “Muslims and martyrdom.” The Irish Times, 2007: A3.
- NSS. The National Security Strategy of the United States of America. President of the United States of America. White House, Washington, 2002.
- Pace, P. National Military Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Washington, DC 20318, 2006.
- Peatling, S. “Labor wages war on language of terrorism; Terms tying Islam to attacks targeted.” The Age (Melbourne, Australia), 2007: p. 5.
- Westphal, S. D. “Counterterrorism: Policy of Preemptive Action.” USAWC Strategy Research Project. 2003: pp. i – 32.
- Zakaria, F. “The Only Thing We Have To Fear…; If you set aside the war in Iraq, terrorism has in fact gone way down over the past five years.” Newsweek, U.S. Edition. 2008: p. 37.
Understanding Individual And Group Behavior In Business
Problem Statement
The Superior Slate Company experienced the drastic decrease of its productivity, and the company’s CEO Mr. North and superintendent Mr. Williams connect the issue with the formerly started technological modernization of the slate mill. For Superior Slate Company, technological modernization brought the results opposite to the expected ones.
Analysis
Meme’s Theory
The major problem raised in the case study of the Superior Slate Company is the decrease of productivity that followed the erection of the large slate mill that housed all slate splitters and trimmers employed by the company. To inquire about the reasons of the productivity decline, the theory of memes can be of use as the theory explaining how people build their ideas about the phenomena of the reality and how the actual way the things develop often contradicts the imagined results. There are three major meme groups that include distinction, strategy, and association (Silby, 2009). From this viewpoint, the issue of Superior Slate Company can be considered as non-coincidence of the memes of Mr. North and Mr. Williams who were confident about the progress that the large mill will bring to the company but obtain productivity decrease.
Rational Emotive Behavior
Rational emotive behavior theory can also be used for this case analysis, as the theory assuming that human actions are conditioned by feelings and assumptions about phenomena of reality rather then by the phenomena as such (Froggatt, 2005). Drawing from this, the problem of Superior Slate Company can be viewed as the issue of perception rather than actuality. In more detail, before launching the large mill, the company’s officials had no guarantee of the instant positive feedback from the idea. The potential progress of the company was rather an assumption and a hope cherished by Mr. North and Mr. Williams. So, they acted according to this assumption, as rational emotive behavior theory presupposes (Froggatt, 2005), but the results of their activities did not meet their expectations.
VABEs (Values, Assumptions, Beliefs, and Expectations)
The VABEs theory is another way to try to explain what caused the problem in Superior Slate Company. According to RZ (2008), VABEs is the third level of the human personality that combines basic values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations about the world. Drawing from this, the contrast between the expected and actual outcomes of Superior Slate Company modernization can be viewed as the result of non-coincidence of those assumptions held by Mr. North and Mr. Williams and actual outcomes of the activities they took up. If VABEs are used to view the situation, it might be supposed that the company’s officials unconditionally connected technological modernization with productivity increase but failed to consider other factors relating to their company exclusively (like preferences of Welsh workers for manual work contrasted to machine-based one, etc.)
The Self Concept Theory
Going further, one might want to explain the problem of Superior Slate Company using the dual perspective, meaning that not only higher officials but ordinary employees are also involved in the problem emergence. For this purpose, the self concept theory might be addressed as the way to approach the possible implicit conflict between the self concepts of the company’s CEO and superintendent and ordinary employees. Thus, every person has three ways he/she assessed and perceives him/herself (Self Concept, 2009). The point here might be that the company officials perceived themselves as the progressive leaders aimed at keeping with the modern reality in slate production, while the workers, especially the skilled Welsh ones, were committed to their tradition of manual work and identified themselves with this activity only. As the result of the modernization, the self concept of the Welsh workers was disregarded, and this resulted in their implicit incompatibility with machine production. Although in other conditions such technological modernization might succeed, in Superior Slate Company the workers did not identify themselves with machine production and because of this their productivity was steadily falling.
Defense Mechanisms
In connection to self concept theory, the defense mechanism can also be applied to the situation in Superior Slate Company. The discussed productivity decrease in the company might be the result of the workers’ using protective mechanisms against the company’s attempts to modify their identities. According to Grohol (2007), there are primitive unhealthy unproductive, dangerous, moderately productive, and healthy productive defense mechanisms, and Superior Slate Company workers might have used the dangerous or primitive unhealthy unproductive defense mechanisms including denial, acting out, and passive behavior, which resulted in the decrease of the company’s productivity. If so, the blame for the company’s problems is on the CEO and Mr. Williams who failed to monitor the overall attitudes of the workers towards the modernization and launched their idea without taking into account the needs and preferences of their workers.
Nature vs. Nurture
Further on, the attempt to explain the productivity issue in Superior Slate Company can be made through the nature vs. nurture theory. According to Powell (2006), human behavior is conditioned by both genetics and environmental influence. Assuming this is the case with Superior Slate Company, the productivity decrease observed after the launching of the new large slate mill might be viewed as the domination of nature over nurture in the personalities of the Welsh workers on whom the very productivity depended. In the case study, there are numerous examples of the commitment the Welsh workers had to manual work that was their nature. When faced by the need to change for the machine production, the nature of the Welsh manifested its influence and resulted in them producing fewer amounts of slate given the conditions for producing more.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The concept of self, personality and its inherent traits might also be applied to the analysis of the Superior Slate Company problem using the hierarchy of needs by Maslow (Van Wagner, 2009). Maslow singled out five levels of human needs among which physiological needs are the lowest, while self-actualization is the supreme need for all human beings. Drawing from this theory, the situation in Superior Slate Company might have formed as the result of the Welsh workers’ perception of manual work as their inherent value and the way towards self-actualizing. Therefore, aiming at satisfying this supreme need, the workers might have ignored purely materialist physiological or social needs that could be satisfied if the company’s productivity and their wages grew (Beswick, 2009).
Management by Objectives (MBO)
To approach the problem discussed from another side, the MOB theory might be used as a tool to explain why Superior Slate Company failed with technological modernization and large mill implementation. Thus, MBO is the practice according to which the company’s goals, objectives, and means of their achievement should be identified and delivered to all employees before the process of achievement is actually started (What is MBO? 2009). As Superior Slate Company intended to increase productivity but failed, it might be supposed that the goals of the organization were not agreed among all the levels of its organizational structure and were confronted by the goals of such groups as management, Welsh workers, etc. As a result, the Welsh workers pursued their goals that included the need to prove the priority of manual work but not productivity increase.
Emotional Bank Account
One more perspective to consider the problem in question, is the emotional bank account theory according to which any relations between people, in this case between employers and employees, are based on deposits and withdrawals in the forms of activities taken by one side to satisfy another and the expected outcomes of those activities (The Emotional Bank Account, 2009). The more people deposit, the better relations they built; respectively, the more they expect to receive as a feedback, the worse the relations become. Such pressure might have served as the reason for the workers of Superior Slate Company to either willingly or unconsciously rebel against the situation when they do not receive anything in the form of emotional deposit but are only to reply to the activities of their employers with effective work (Coussey, 2000).
Psychological Contract
The notion of the psychological contract is close in its essence to the emotional bank account theory as it is also based on the expected and communicated inputs and outputs from both sides, i. e. from employers and employees (Smithson and Lewis, 2003). If this theory is used for the case analysis, the productivity problem in Superior Slate Company might be treated as the matter of unsatisfied expectations and violated psychological contract (Kickul, Neuman, Parker, & Finkl, 2001). The employer might claim that the employees violated the contract according to which the work efficiency is their input to the company – workers cooperation. At the same time, the employees might argue that satisfactory working conditions are the supposed employer’s input to the contract, which was violated by leaving the manual work and transferring the production process to machinery (Conway & Briner, 2002).
Recommendations
Thus, the productivity decrease in Superior Slate Company might be approached from several different points of view. However, irrespective of the approach the major points that might cause the problem include the lack of intercommunication of the management and the employees of the company, lack of attention paid to the goals of the employees, as well as to their personal and cultural preferences. As the main cause of the problem is supposed to be the lack of communication and cooperation between ordinary workers and managers, Superior Slate Company is recommended to improve this component of its work.
Specifically, the first step the company could take is introducing educational courses to deliver the organizational goals and mission to all levels of the company structure. After this, the surveys need to be conducted on the regular basis to monitor the levels of the employees’ understanding of the information delivered through the courses. Third, separate classes might be introduced for managers and employees so that the former could learn more specifically the importance of employees for the company, while the latter could understand all the benefits of technological modernization in theory. After this, another attempt of modernization should be taken and assessed within, suppose, six months with the help of the designed measurement scale in which a certain figure of productivity would be taken as a landmark for success assessment.
References
Beswick, D. (2009). Management implications of the interaction between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic rewards. Web.
Conway, N., & Briner, R. B. (2002). Full-time versus part-time employees: Understanding the links between work status, the psychological contract, and attitudes. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 61, 279-301.
Coussey, M. (2000). Getting the right work-life balance. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Directors.
Froggatt, W. (2005). A Brief Introduction to Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. Web.
Grohol, J. (2007). 15 Common Defense Mechanisms. Web.
Kickul, J. R., Neuman, G., Parker, C., & Finkl, J. (2001). Settling the score: The role of organizational justice in the relationship between psychological contract breach and anticitizenship behavior. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 13(2), 77-93.
Powell, K. (2006). Nature vs. Nurture. Web.
RZ. (2008). VABEs. Web.
Self Concept. (2009). Web.
Silby, B. (2009). What is a Meme? Web.
Smithson, J. and Lewis, S. (2003). Psychological Contract.
The Emotional Bank Account. (2009). Web.
Van Wagner, K. (2009). Hierarchy of Needs. Web.
What is MBO? (2009).
Bauman’s Concept Of Globalization In Understanding The Rise In Human Displacement
The 1990s saw the term globalization become more apparent in the west mostly in the disciplines of politics, sociology, mass media, and economics. Various definitions have been developed in an attempt to fully capture all the elements inherent in the process. Generally, it is seen as the process through which relationships among human beings have increasingly become global mainly covering the entire demography as well as the geography of the world. More recently, the feeling has been that globalization has taken a more important role in influencing the lives of the people.
The term has been repeatedly used to depict the social process which is strongly shaped by advances in technology, the increasingly faster transportation systems, and the information outburst resulting from the internet. These ‘shapers’ have brought a revolution by enabling contact among a great number of social actors in cultural, political, economic, and even communication forums previously happening in isolation. The isolation resulted from geographical differences as well as the various forms of barriers both cultural and social (Beck p4).
Zygmunt Bauman is the most important authority as far as literature on globalization is concerned. Born in 1925 in Poland, his family escaped the invasion of Nazi-German troops at the start of World War II. He has resided in the UK since 1991 where he is a professor of Sociology at the University of Leeds. He is very popular for his comprehensive and informative analysis of the relationships between modernity, postmodern consumerism, and the Holocaust. This paper discusses the concept of globalization as viewed by Bauman. It also assesses the help offered by the concept in understanding the increasing numbers of refugees, asylum seekers, and economic migrants in the world today (p4).
One of the most profound ideas about globalization brought out by Bauman was that “globalization cuts both ways”. He argued that globalization valorizes most local aspects culturally and also defines the local as being tribal. Globalization enhances the patterns of domination already in existence. It is more of a reallocation of the world’s vagaries of life in the form of poverty as well as a stigma by the elite than seeking their solution. Today, the community of social science accepts the myth that globalization lacks deliberate or political meaning. Some see it from the surface and assume that observing the pattern of results from globalization is adequate. Others see a challenge requiring political, intellectual as well as deliberate policy reactions (p6).
Indeed globalization is not merely hinged on the most touted symbols in commerce such as the development of global enterprises. It is firmly engraved in the common experiences of certain events such as wars and revolutions regardless of the fact that they happen to specific communities. History shows that the formation of the existing united power blocs especially in the west resulted not from commercial interest but rather from the Cold war in the 1940s. The results have been the drastic reduction in the state’s sovereignty in favor of a larger more powerful union. Globalization is actually inclined towards placing the world under a single free-market capitalist economic framework (Bauman, p8).
According to Bauman, mobility remains a very powerful aspect of globalization. He states that the ongoing war for space will only be won by those with the ability to freely move from place to place. The losers will lose due to their immobility and confinement within territories (p22).
Displacements
Various forms of displacements occur worldwide. Refugees are those displaced by wars and civil strife back home. They may be displaced to live external to their home country. They may also be displaced but stay within their home countries. The baseline is that they are displaced by war. Asylum seekers are those who flee their home countries for fear of victimization by undemocratic regimes or those who flee in pursuit of ways to escape justice. Economic migrants on the other hand are those who migrate from their home countries due to economic reasons such as to find work or do business (Wolf, p13).
A fundamental overriding argument in the use of the globalization concept as presented by Bauman is the understanding that globalization creates global networks which are used to further the interests of the elite leaving behind the commons. This creates an increasingly widening separation between the elite and the less endowed in the world.
Bauman argues that a company is owned by the investors and not the workers, suppliers, or even the locals in the place of situation. He emphasizes that most wars occurring in the last century resulted due to the act of entrepreneurs investing in local taxes. These companies took no responsibility for workers who they termed as ‘invalids’ and ‘human waste’ (pp6-19)
The process of globalization involves trade, the state, finance, technology, and ideas. It is known to significantly impact people. A myriad of benefits emerges from the process of globalization. Economic development is listed as the most visible benefit of the process. The economic value of globalization is simply immeasurable. Traders from one corner of the world can conduct trade with counterparts hundreds of miles away. Still, the benefits of improved trade and economic value can trickle down to the most remote parts of the world due to the existence of extensive communication networks.
The other side of the coin presents a different story concerning the process of globalization. Many negatives, social, economic, or political are said to either emanate from the globalization process or are aggravated by the process.
Economic globalization in the current world is defined by the speedy changes in technology. Technology especially in communication has collapsed time as well as space. It has prompted the establishment of global players who have facilitated major restructuring processes for both states and people. It has steadily increased the levels of trade among nations. Government deregulation is a critical element of globalization that has resulted in a high rate of capital mobility. The past two decades have experienced the lessening of government intervention in the market globally. Most of his actions are not voluntary but rather through pressure from global institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Structural adjustments involving deregulation, privatization, and liberalization have been enforced mainly through sanctions. Huge spending reductions, credit restrains in the public sector well as export trade liberalization, and capital flows have become the norm. On the face of it, they appear to be rational steps but close examination brings out some underlying and potentially explosive weaknesses especially among the poorer countries (Hochschild, p15).
The freedom to invest in any economy propagates a very unequal global economic system. The developed nations are better endowed with capital and less endowed with labor. This means that they are able to move into the less developed nations and invest there depriving the locals the right to reap profits from their localities. They employ workers from the local communities and pay them dismal wages. All the profits are repatriated back home. In this case the rich get richer while the poor get even poorer. Sadly, it is this same poor people who are least able to adapt to the competitive environment brought about by the process of globalization. This prompts economic migration of the workers from their poor countries to the rich countries. The movement is defined by the economic disparities playing out between the two divides. Technology facilitates the migration by offering fast transportation methods. The governments facilitate the migration of the workers by allowing cross border movements of people. The combination of these factors directly leads to a higher number of economic migrants. This is in line with Bauman’s assertion that globalization best serves the interests of the elite (p19).
Bauman is categorical in declaring that globalization as viewed today is negative. It has lead to the reduction of barriers, encouraged free movement of capital, information, crime and terrorism yet the judicial and political institutions remain firmly based on national sovereignty (pp14-26).
In addition the skewed demand of valuables brings up a different perspective towards globalization. The west has a high demand of valuables such as minerals and oil. Their need to develop further and improve their economic might in the face of increased dissent from the east presents a case for the need for more access to the above resources. In the scramble for the resources, conflicts emerge. Most conflicts in the world today are based on resources and the sharing methodologies. From African tribal conflicts to the stand-offs in the east (Marfleet, pp14-22).
The rate of modernization today is high meaning that the scramble for resources is higher. The result is increased conflicts in trying to gain control or gain access to the resources. In this process, displacements are inevitable. Various international players incite and secretly fund different factions of local communities. They do this from their far away countries using the existing transport and communication networks (Castles, p22).
A more recent and very disturbing twist in the globalization process is the entry of the act of terrorism. Terrorism is a global phenomenon which has introduced strife based on ideology. Reactive measures have largely been of great impact to the local communities. The September 11 bombing of the World Trade Center and Pentagon was a great milestone in globalization process. It crippled all the existing beliefs about globalization. It was a clear demonstration of the ability of poor regions to take advantage of globalization process to hit the central nerve of the developed west. The reaction was dubbed ‘war on terror’. Afghanistan was the first victim due to the declaration that Osama bin Laden instigated the attacks and Taliban refused to hand him over to the US authorities. As this went on, the war on Iraq started as Saddam Hussein was seen as threat to world peace due to supposed possession of nuclear weapons. First, the threat was deemed viable due to the level of globalization as the possession of the weapons meant a security threat to the west as the possibility of attack from afar due to technological advancement was a reality.
The decision by the Bush administration to go after terrorists and those who harbor terrorist ambitions including those with nuclear weapons has meant a drastic increase in people taking up the refugee status. The wars in Iraq produced over five million refugees half of them reside in the country while the other half fled the country and live in neighboring countries as the west was not willing to accommodate them. Afghanistan also has its fair share of people adopting the refugee status due to the bombings occurring there (Wolf, Par 2).
Bauman points out that the objectives of modern day global wars is not the expansion of geographical territories as has been propagated by many, it is to remove hindrances in the achievement of true global freedom of economics and emphasizing that trade barriers are not welcome (p42).
In deed the management of ethnic tensions in Eastern Europe has become more complex with globalization. There is increased focus on divided groups with close relatives residing in neighboring countries as a way of reviewing ethnic based politics as national borders become increasingly relevant in the conflicts both intra and inter-state.
Violence seems to have escalated with the onset of the modern day rhetoric about the global village. Estimates made in the year 2000 showed that there were more about 40 conflicts in 36 countries by the end of 1999. Most people to the north of the globe are used to living within areas which are constantly or occasionally hitting headlines as battle zones. Examples include the Palestine-Israeli conflict, the Rwandan bloody conflict and the more recent Darfur conflict in Southern Sudan. Africa has however been the leader in the number of armed conflicts. Countries like Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Chad, Algeria, Somalia, Angola and Ivory Coast. The Eritrean-Ethiopia war of the 1998 and 1999 caused many deaths and casualties as well as a massive increase in refugees. The Somali conflict is a decade old war that has left hundreds of thousands homeless and clogged the neighboring states such as Kenya with refugees. Asian countries like Indonesia have had armed conflicts between Christians and Muslims; India hosts three conflicts in Kashmir, the Northeastern region and (Andhra, Pradesh, Vries, Visscher, and Gerritsen Par 8).
Reports always indicate that most victims in the conflicts are civilians and not the combatants. Despite the use of guided missiles the largest proportion of casualties remains innocent people caught up in the war zones.
The rise in the violent conflict can largely be attributed to the predatory corporate globalization. Many global corporate especially those dealing with minerals know that they can only succeed in violence. They do this in two ways. The first is through incitement and sowing violence seeds and the second is through direct military action. It has been proved that “the invisible hand of the global market requires the military fist to suppress any opposition”. The main reason for the predatory corporate to create armed conflict is the social inequalities that result fro their actions. They undermine sovereign states, pollute ecosystems, disperse people as refugees and migrants and fragment communities. What appears as pure ethnic related tension is normally caused by predatory globalization (Eleazar pp14-21).
The culture of violence has become more pervasive. Globalization has encouraged the proliferation of the culture of violence. Most homes are the first hosts of violent cultures which then extend to the wider society.
The modern society driven by globalization largely promotes violence through the media. Song lyrics promote hatred, films and other visual arts promote violent solutions to conflicts, sports, toys and books depict violence as positive (Vries, Visscher, and Gerritsen, Par 4).
On the same note, asylum seekers are increasing by the day. The upcoming of political blocks and powerful international institutions has resulted from globalization. The political blocks may take a similar stand on a conflict and decide to pursue the perpetrators in search of justice for the victims. The perpetrators have to constantly seek help from nations with least friendly links with those who seek to pursue justice. Due to globalization, many warlords are able to successfully seek asylum in undemocratic countries to evade trials. The International Criminal Court is a global court which takes up matters relating to crimes against humanity and follows agreed legal procedures in pursuant of justice. Many countries are signatories to the statute creating it. Whenever there is an armed conflict, the court intervenes and charges the senior perpetrators. Clearly, the perpetrators cannot wait to be tried; they simply seek cover in nations which are not signatories to the Rome statute.
On the other hand, undemocratic governments are constantly faced with voices of dissent. Some prominent opposition may rise to threaten the status quo. Those in power fully understand the implications of any success in opposition can be dire. They thus employ violent tactics such as murder and false persecutions to silence the opposition. Faced with such challenges, many opposition leaders have been forced to seek asylum in friendly states and only return home when things cool off. The process of globalization is seeing an increase in the numbers of those seeking asylum in far away nations due to the proliferation of archaic leadership systems (Shaw, p14).
The numbers of economic refugees is also worrying. Food security is major factor in play for the increase in the number of refugees. Environmental reasons can lead to food insecurity but macro-economic factors are also very important. In Niger, the 2005 food crisis occurred in the midst of plenty. Accessibility to food was limited by the high prices and not scarcity as the country adopted the capitalism (Shaw, p16).
Economic refugees are known to largely constitute the current migration from poor to rich nations. Loss or unavailability of jobs, poverty and displacement from the agricultural sector are increasingly displacing people from their home countries. They more frequently end up being marginalized in the host countries increasing conflict levels.
Indeed, globalization is increasingly making the conception of economic refugees profitable. The factors pushing people from their poor home land to greener lands offers an extra stream of remittances back home. Estimates show that over $300 billion dollars was remitted by immigrants. This figure is three times more than the total amount of foreign aid globally. The gravity of the displacement on economic reasons can be seen by the report showing that North American Free Trade Association has displaced about 40% of Mexican small farmers. Low wages and inflation offer economic pressures for migrations (Haytor, p13).
The fact that guest workers and refugees promote profits for enterprises due to the low pays puts a question on the constantly rising conflicts with identifiable roots in the developed or economically powerful nations. There seems to be deliberate efforts to cause the hostilities and promote migrations. The added controls meant to limit illegal migrations only serve to make the victims even more exploitable (Haytor, p12).
A new category of migrants called environment Refugees is slowly emerging. They are people displaced as a result of climate change and environmental degradation. Draughts, flooding, water shortages, failed infrastructure and emergence of diseases due to temperature changes have risen. The blame for the environmental degradation and climatic changes is put squarely on the process of globalization. In this context, the richer nations engage in large scale production processes that pollute the environment. The pollution leads to global warming which has very adverse effects. Sadly, the poorer parts of the world are least capable of dealing with these effects. This further encourages migrations.
Conclusion
Indeed Bauman greatly assists in the understanding of complex payout of numerous factors that constantly determine global trends. The trends adopted largely define the direction and causes of movement of people in pursuit of better livelihoods. The basic premise in the analysis is that nothing is accidental. The act of God is negligible. Most forms of migration are related to the process of globalization. Despite the inhumane and sufferings undergone by the victims of some migration forms, there always exist some powerful deliberate motives underlying which cause the displacements. Globalization is only serving to increase the motives and further worsen an already dire situation.
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