Topics in International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Topics in International Relations - Essay Example This policy of realism sufficed when confronted with the situation in World War II when Germany was expanding into other nations and exterminating the Jewish population. It was also effective at keeping the Cold War in check. Realism was the property of the right, and as such promoted free trade and ignored human rights and social structures (Barber 7). However, the new world of globalization presents transnational forces that have no borders and non-intervention is no longer practical. The post 9/11 thinking has shifted from sovereign territory to sovereign ideals. According to Barber, "Idealistic internationalism has become the new realism. We face not a paradigm shift but the occupation of an old paradigm by new tenants. Democratic globalists are quite abruptly the new realists while the old realism — especially in its embrace of markets — looks increasingly like a dangerous and utterly unrealistic dogma" (7). International intervention in an effort to reduce the thr eat has gained momentum over past thinking in terms of what constitutes power. Sudan is a country in Africa that borders Egypt in the North, the Red Sea, and Ethiopia to the East. It has been the victim of civil violence almost continually since its independence 5 decades ago (Sudan UNMIS). Much of the fighting has taken place in the Province of Darfur, though almost nowhere has been without heavy fighting. Since their independence in 1956, there have been several attempts at implementing a ceasefire with limited success. The fighting has been, for the most part, between "Government and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), the main rebel movement in the south, fought over resources, power, the role of religion in the state, and self-determination" (Sudan UNMIS). Neighboring countries, fearful of the violence spilling over into their territories, have