Let us glance at what is brewing on the world stage today.
Henry Kissinger: is the world we live in his making?
On May 23, as western support for Ukraine remained united, Henry Kissinger, a man who defined half a century of American diplomacy, said that Kyiv should consider conceding territory to reach a peace deal. To understand his statement, one needs to dive deeper into his worldview. @
Mindset 🧑🔧
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Do we really need governments?
Despite our belief in free will, there is one entity we generally heed without question - the government. There might be a healthy (or unhealthy) dose of skepticism leveled against authority but generally, we accept government authority. Why is that?
Society 🏛
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Why Do We Wage Wars?
Despite our claims of modernity, wars have not stopped being a recurring feature of our times. Here are some of the most popular (but not exhaustive) answers to the age-old question on why wars are waged: @
Military 🎖
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The End of History or the Clash of Civilizations?
In 1991, as the Soviet Union fell apart, Francis Fukuyama declared the “end of history”. By this, he did not mean the end of events or the study of the past, but the end of an ideological war between communism and liberalism, with the latter emerging victorious.
Society 🏛
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Could the “East Asian Miracle” work anywhere?
The East Asian Miracle is the name given to the pronounced growth of East Asian economies in the post-Second World War era. The economic advancement of these countries seemed to defy both liberal modernization theory and development theory.
Economy 💹
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Is colonial baggage halting development? Dependency theory in a nutshell
In response to liberal modernization theory (see my Memo below) which suggests the same linear method of development to all countries, some leftist scholars from Latin America created an alternate model of development which factored in the power dynamics between states.
Politics 👁️🗨️
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How can a country achieve development? Rostow’s 5 stages
In his 1960 book “The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto,” W.W. Rostow listed out five stages a country must go through to achieve development: traditional society, preconditions for take-off, take-off, drive to maturity, and age of high mass consumption.
Politics 👁️🗨️
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The pandemic hasn't changed history, it’s accelerated it
Richard Haass’ article in Foreign Affairs, “The Pandemic Will Accelerate History Rather Than Reshape It” drew inspiration from his 2017 book “A World in Disarray.” Haass argued that pre-COVID trends were not being overturned by the pandemic; rather, they were being accelerated.
Economy 💹
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