The Study of International Relationships Term Paper

The Study of International Relationships - Term Paper Example Waltz discusses, in answer to some questions about the value of theory, how the use of theory in framing international relations is one of the biggest struggles that students face. He uses the study of economics as a parallel example of how theory is both useful and confusing, in that it requires social scientists to separate the subject from its context. Some say this separation dismisses the relationship of other factors to the subject, yet Waltz insists that it is necessary to use this fantasy separation in order to interpret and classify what is being studied—whether it is economics or politics. He says that international relations really is a struggle with the facts, and that it is hard to create theories because the field is full of complexities. Complexities, however, do not rule out the use of theories, says Waltz. On the contrary, they invite the use of theories to explain this complexity. The necessity of theories is supported by Rosenau and Durfee, who describe it a s something that must be done, but tentatively. They also talk about the use of the question â€Å"what is this an instance of?† This question, they say, helps us go up the rungs of a ladder to classify politics into some larger theory, and thus leads us to some sort of understanding, however temporary it may be. Buzan also discusses some of the challenging facing international relations, and cites one of the greatest of them as the need to connect the field with both history and sociology. Without history, says Buzan, one is stuck in a box of thinking of states as the only actors—a Westphalian idea. Buzan also explains something similar for sociology, which is important because it suggest the idea of an international society that goes beyond a simple group of states. When discussing realism, Buzan cites its flexibility—it allows for change and focuses on the human condition. However, as realism focuses on states, we realize how other theories can collide with i t. International relations, says Buzan, is full of paradigms that we develop as a way of explaining and understanding how the system works at different times. These paradigms include Realism, idealism, Marxism, and even the English school to which Buzan is attracted. Overall, Buzan sees realism as a good starting point for theorizing and observing the system. The English school itself is described more in detail by Linklater. He describes how the English school focuses on international politics as defined by a community of sovereign states with no greater level of authority, and find it amazing that this community exists in an anarchical condition. While in any state level society a lack of government would lead to total chaos, the English school is focused on the fact that this chaos is absent in the international, anarchical system. However, says Linklater, this should not be seen as a form of realism, but rather as a middle ground between realism and idealism. The major founder o f the English school, however, is Grotius. In his discussions he illustrates this school as one that takes a middle way. It recognizes international anarchy, but also gives credit to the play of power in rational, realist thinking. He mentions war often, but also moves toward the idea of an international society that emerges from the international anarchical system, dividing his thoughts from strict realism but definitely refusing to

Formal Analysis of Gao Jianfu (1879-1951)s Buddhist Pagodas in Burma Essay

Formal Analysis of Gao Jianfu (1879-1951)s Buddhist Pagodas in Burma - Essay Example In 1939, Gao Jianfu was one of the Chinese artists who founded the Awakening Art Academy. The main purposes of the academy were to produce skilled artists who could document the war crimes in form of paintings, and to host art exhibitions in the southern cities of Macao and Hong Kong (Hung 148). During his time, Jianfu not only spearheaded establishment of national art academies, but also produced iconic paintings of ruined cities and buildings. Succeeding sections of this paper contains formal analysis of two paintings on the theme of ruins and destruction by Jianfu. In one painting on page 151 of the chapter The Birth of Ruins, Jianfu uses ink and color on paper to depict a Chinese city in ruins. On page 153 of the same chapter, there is a painting by Jianfu depicting the burning of the Afong Palace. With respect to the painting of a city in ruins, Jianfu work shows the architectural remains of two adjacent buildings, clustered debris on the ground, and white and orange smokes soaring up to the skies. The city in ruins painting contains diagonal lines. Edges of the destroyed walls are diagonally aligned with respect to the ground. In addition, debris and smoke streams are tilted with respect to the ground’s horizontal and vertical planes (Hung 151). Similarly, the painting of Afong Palace depicts dust, ashes and smoke rising in a tilted manner. In both paintings, Jianfu employed the use of diagonal lines to convey a feeling of instability. Diagonally represented structures means they are either unstable, or are wobbling from the effect o f instability (Whitney 58). By using diagonal lines, Jianfu wanted to concisely represent the destroying effects of Japanese invasion in the city painting, and the detrimental state of the Afong Palace in the second painting. With respect to the formal analysis concepts of shape and form, Jianfu depicted both paintings in three dimensions. By viewing the city ruins and the Afong Palace painting, one