The American government is hailing the Iraqi mission a success. Having captured
Saddam Hussein and removed the threat of weapons of mass destruction,
the Americans prepare to withdraw from Iraq. All is well in the world
now, isn’t it? Hmm…debatable.

A recent article on BBC’s website brought
attention to a growing and alarming trend in Iraq, and it wouldn’t
surprise me if it started becoming a trend in other war-torn countries
as well. Iraq has a high proportion of young widows, often with
families, often with no earning capacity, and a shortage of young,
unmarried men. As a result, some people in Iraq are looking to polygamy
as a solution for war widows. The women of Afghanistan are in a scarily
similar position, where they can no longer financially support their
children and often leave them at shelters and orphanages. I have a
feeling this won’t be the last we hear of such trends.

The woman in the article, Hanan, thought she was marrying a divorced
man, only to find out after marrying him that he was in fact still
married. And although she is one of the rare few who can raise her
family on her single income, she – and many other women like her -
believe that she needs a “man-shelter”. As a young Indo-Canadian
woman, although the importance of marriage in my own heritage is
paramount, the idea of a ‘man-shelter’ is very foreign to me. It
could be cultural tradition that supports this belief in Iraq, but it
can also be fear: fear of the unknown; fear of being alone, particularly
in a male-dominant, conservative Islamic society; and possibly even fear
of succeeding in such a society and challenging the cultural traditions
and beliefs upon which a whole peoples is based.

Setting aside the “man-shelter” idea for a moment, it is concerning
that women feel they need to remarry in order to survive and to feel
secure, and it is even more concerning that some politicians are
actively promoting the idea of polygamy as a solution by putting forward
a proposal awarding financial incentives for men who take on a second
wife. Instead of supporting polygamy, why not use this as an opportunity
to build capacity among women? Those same financial incentives could be
more efficiently used to develop culturally-appropriate educational or
micro-financing programs that allow women to support their families
without having to become dependent on a man as his second wife. But have
no fear…the American government said that the Iraqi mission was a
success.

A few weeks ago I returned from a 2 week visit to Shanghai, China. It was not my first time to Asia, as I have been to Singapore and Malaysia a number of times. But this was my first time to China. I was there on a field study with 13 other students and my professor to learn about some of the initiatives that Chinese industry and government are taking to meet emission targets set following the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. We also went to the Shanghai World Expo – where the focus of each pavilion was on environmental sustainability. One of the pavilions we toured called the Carbon pavilion showcased a number of efficient technologies that have been developed that use wind, solar and bio-mass energy in new construction projects in various parts of China. Windcowls, solar powered panels and green roofs with Photovoltaic panels are being incorporated into new energy-efficient communities minimize energy consumption and water demand and use energy sources in nature to provide energy without using non-renewable resources such as oil and coal.

Overall, the Expo and some of the other companies we visited were nothing short of impressive. The same goes for the city’s night life! Shanghai’s skyline lights up and sparkles and makes for an incredible view whether you’re on the ground at the Bund (the Waterfront) or at a club up on the 92nd floor of the Financial Tower. Without a doubt, the Chinese know how to make an impression, and they let you know that they are not to be taken lightly!

But given all the investments in the World Expo and alternative energy technologies and industrial zones, how much energy is actually being saved? How much energy is being consumed to light up Shanghai’s entire skyline every night, not to mention Beijing, Hong Kong, etc etc? What will become of all of the pavilions when the Expo closes in October 2010? Some will remain standing while others will be torn down and Shanghai will continue to light up while other areas in China’s northeast struggle with electricity every day. That doesn’t seem very energy efficient to me.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my professors took our Political Risk Analysis class on a field trip to visit Eurasia Group. They are a New York-based organization that undertakes political risk analysis for their clients looking to invest in emerging markets or regions where political and economic fundamentals matter equally.

To my surprise, this industry is still quite small, with only 10-12 consulting firms focused entirely on political risk. Some of the regions they focus on are: Europe & Eurasia, Africa & the Gulf, Latin America and the US with particular focus on emerging markets in Brazil, Russia, China, Turkey and China. As well, they research topics like climate change, regulations, and public health to name a few.

These guys don’t just crunch numbers to provide recommendations about the investment climate in a particular region. They focus on researching  the current political climate of a given region and the impacts it will have on the region’s economic climate.

(http://media.economist.com/images/na/2009w12/Political.jpg )

How does it work?

• The organization is approached by a client and asked for a political risk report on a particular region. They discuss the client’s investment opportunity, their interests and their views of the market.
• Research begins using a variety of sources: country reports, credible articles and reports, and local connections in the region.
• Analysts will travel to the region, an essential part of the process, to obtain accurate information and build a strong, reliable network of sources. Political analysts spend a great deal of time in the region, meeting and speaking with media, key government policy-makers, IMF and corporate decision-makers to get real and unbiased information.

The key is to provide clients an objective snapshot of the country’s political climate. There’s no formula for getting it right. That is where social skills and judgment come into play  because dealing with politics of emerging markets is unpredictable. It’s risky business…

I apologize in advance for the length of this post. There’s just so much to say!

The study of international relations combines a whole slew of concepts such as the balance of power, national security, tools of statecraft and diplomacy, sovereignty, national interests and the like but the world of international relations is more than that. Underlying these concepts are theories that guide international relations, and provide the framework within which we can explain the world and the foreign policies adopted by various nation states.  

One of my favorite sessions was after class one day when a few of us engaged in a discussion with my professor about some of the various theories out there. Sounds boring, right? Not at all. It was one of the most philosophical and mentally stimulating ‘classes’ I’ve ever had. As you read through these theories, I urge you too to relate these theories to current events and which one best explains how you see the world. It’s a lot harder than it sounds…

Realism: Realism  is based on the notion of power. Who has it. Who wants it. How to get it. Realism says that individuals are fundamentally self-interested and pursue a preponderance of power. The realist believes that anarchy is at the heart of world order and that the only way to ensure order is for the State to pursue a “leviathan”. That is, individuals (or other nation-states) give over some of their personal liberties to the State to maintain order, nationally and internationally . The aim is to achieve security from a nation-states perspective.

Structuralism – Marxist/Leninist:  The other end of the spectrum is Marxist-Leninist structuralism that believes that capitalists are imperialists and that inequalities between individuals and states are the result of capitalism’s self-interest motivations. In short, the concepts which drive the free-market economy lead to waste, inequality and imperialism.

Liberalism:   Somewhere in between the Structuralist and Realist, you will find the liberal. Liberalism, based on the theories of Emanuel Kant, believes in shared principles and idealism. Essentially, individuals are not self-interested. They are willing to cooperate and that it is only when internal fears are exploited that we turn to survival and security. Kant believed that mutual interests are based on the global economy and commerce and that survival of a state depends on trade and integration and interdependence with a global economy. 

These three schools of thought are about the relationship between power, security and markets.

Next are the critical, philosophical schools of thoughts that really start to make it interesting. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, just a few of the perspectives we were able to cover:

American Constructivism:  Alexander Wendt’s American Constructivism believes that anarchy is what states make of it. Actors (i.e. key players such as states, heads of state, etc) have constructed the world as being anarchic and that it is essentially a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is what you make of it. If you remove the fear, you remove the anarchy. Essentially, anarchy is  a state of mind and the actors have the capacity to remove fear and anarchy from any situation.

Post Structuralism (aka European Constructivism): The world is so complex that we need a schema to understand it and the way we do this is by breaking it into two. Us, Them. Self, Other. The way we see the world is in relation to something else, something external, because it is the only way we are capable of comprehending reality. Further, everyone sees reality differently and thus world order is a clash of these realities. We construct boundaries to grasp reality, or in the case of nation-states, we have established borders to help us define our realities, outside which the ‘other’ exists.

Under post-structuralism there is an understanding that we are all different, and that our similarities reside in the fact that we are different, and our identities are based on what makes us different.  In the context of nations, national identity is constructed but is empty and so we project onto it the “ideal ego” – that which we hope to be. The same goes for symbols such as flags and anthems and we use them to identify ourselves from others. Nothing is real. Everything is changing. And the way we deal with this is by constructing boundaries and identities to differentiate ourselves.

I have not yet figured out where I fit. Initially, I thought I would definitely prescribe to the liberal school of thought, but my eyes have been opened to more critical schools which challenge those ideals and which are appealing to me. Somewhere between American Constructivism and Post-Structuralism, I believe my reality exists. It isn’t enough just to pursue studies in  international relations. You have to take a position about where it comes from because it is so fundamental and foundational to the world of international relations.  I am learning to train myself to think in these terms and to use these schools of thought to explain and make sense of the conflicts we are facing in the world today. Like I said, it is a lot harder than it sounds…

The next post won’t be as long…I promise!

For all the other MAIR students at Hult:

If you’re on LinkedIn, join the new MAIR for Hult Students LinkedIn Group! There’s a couple groups for Hult in general, but there’s alot of value for us to have our own group to network with our Alumni and with current students.

Join, start discussions, comment on discussions, and hopefully we can all gain something from this!

Welcome to Chandeep Bajaj’s personal space on the web!

Here, you’ll find out more about me, my interests, my current pursuits, and maybe even some personal experiences as they relate to my ambitions.

I encourage you to contact me if you have any inquiries! Also, feel free to comment anywhere on my blog!