Daniel Aaron Lazar » World Civ-Modern Global Dilemmas

21st Century Slavery

Dan Lazar — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:47:29 +0000

Today, 27 million men, women and children are held, sold and trafficked as slaves throughout the world. In Slavery: A 21st Century Evil, Rageh Omaar embarks on a worldwide journey to uncover the truth about the flourishing 21st century slave trade. Episode by episode, his investigation will expose the brutal reality of modern slavery and unpick the reasons why this age-old evil persists.

Check out this series and the accompanying web archives from Al Jazeera

Friend or Foe? A Special Report on China’s Place in the World

Dan Lazar — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 22:11:13 +0000

four-part special report from the Economist, with a compelling conclusion

A Nation of Racist Dwarfs: Kim Jong-il’s regime is even weirder and more despicable than you thought

Dan Lazar — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:03:08 +0000

Unlike previous racist dictatorships, the North Korean one has actually succeeded in producing a sort of new species. Starving and stunted dwarves, living in the dark, kept in perpetual ignorance and fear, brainwashed into the hatred of others, regimented and coerced and inculcated with a death cult: This horror show is in our future, and is so ghastly that our own darling leaders dare not face it and can only peep through their fingers at what is coming.

Hitchens reflects on a trip to North Korea in Slate

One World Under God?

Dan Lazar — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:59:14 +0000

For all the advances and wonders of our global era, Christians, Jews, and Muslims seem ever more locked in mortal combat. But history suggests a happier outcome for the Peoples of the Book. As technological evolution has brought communities, nations, and faiths into closer contact, it is the prophets of tolerance and love that have prospered, along with the religions they represent. Is globalization, in fact, God’s will?

Read on from The Nation

Why is the modern view of progress so impoverished?

Dan Lazar — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:47:59 +0000

In the rich world the idea of progress has become impoverished. Through complacency and bitter experience, the scope of progress has narrowed. The popular view is that, although technology and GDP advance, morals and society are treading water or, depending on your choice of newspaper, sinking back into decadence and barbarism. On the left of politics these days, “progress” comes with a pair of ironic quotation marks attached; on the right, “progressive” is a term of abuse.

The Economist’s nuanced view of modern progress

Video: Chomsky on Emerging Framework of World Power

Dan Lazar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:58:58 +0000

Noam Chomsky discusses the war on terrorism, US involvement with Afghanistan, and the long-term implications of America’s military attacks abroad. Exploring the repercussions of the attacks on September 11, 2001, Chomsky talks about the war on terrorism, US involvement with Afghanistan, and the long-term implications of America’s military attacks abroad. His extensive knowledge of American foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia sheds light on the new contours of world power while posing important and troubling questions about our country’s role in international affairs.

Watch it Here

What the Hell Just Happened? A Look Back at the Last Eight Years

Dan Lazar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:28:03 +0000

As we move into the next era of American history, we need to reflect on the bizarre sequence of events we’ve experienced since 2000, and on how we – and not just George W. Bush – handled them.

More form Junod at Esquire

The World is Bumpy: Deglobalization and its dangers

Dan Lazar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:07:05 +0000

In the 1990s and early 2000s, nations around the world witnessed the sweep of globalization–the growing integration of economies, societies, and political systems–and the democratization of trade, migration, technology, and information. In many developing nations, governments threw their countries’ agriculture, resources, and services open to global competition and slashed subsidies for their domestic producers to force them to compete in global markets. Many countries provided incentives for the poor to migrate from farms to cities, where they began to manufacture goods for export to the West.

Many economists believed this global integration had become so deeply rooted it could never be undone. They were wrong. As the global financial crisis deepens, the world is undergoing exactly the reverse of the 1990s–a wrenching period of deglobalization in which governments throw up new walls and the ties binding nations together rapidly unravel. Nations like the United States, Japan, and Germany may suffer, but they will survive, as will powerful developing nations like China or Brazil that have large cash reserves, diversified economies, and enough political clout to protect their industries. On the other hand, poor and trade-dependent countries that remade their whole economies to take advantage of globalization will be devastated. Having opened up, these nations are now highly vulnerable to global financial currents, without the cash on hand to weather the storm. Perhaps even worse, these financial shifts are likely to spark massive social unrest and could take down one government after the next. If you thought globalization was destabilizing, just wait to see what deglobalization will do.

Learning to Live With Radical Islam

Dan Lazar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:15:30 +0000

The militants are bad people and this is bad news. But the more difficult question is, what should we-the outside world-do about it? That we are utterly opposed to such people, and their ideas and practices, is obvious. But how exactly should we oppose them? In Pakistan and Afghanistan, we have done so in large measure by attacking them-directly with Western troops and Predator strikes, and indirectly in alliance with Pakistani and Afghan forces. Is the answer to pour in more of our troops, train more Afghan soldiers, ask that the Pakistani military deploy more battalions, and expand the Predator program to hit more of the bad guys? Perhaps-in some cases, emphatically yes-but I think it’s also worth stepping back and trying to understand the phenomenon of Islamic radicalism.

Read on from Fareed Zakaria and respond to these Qs

Tom Friedman on Hot, Flat and Crowded

Dan Lazar — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:11:18 +0000

Friedman brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilizing climate change and rising competition for energy—both of which could poison our world if we do not act quickly and collectively. His argument speaks to all of us who are concerned about the state of America in the global future.

Friedman proposes that an ambitious national strategy—which he calls “Geo-Greenism”—is not only what we need to save the planet from overheating; it is what we need to make America healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure.

Enjoy an hour with Tom

A ‘Postcard’ View Of China’s Global Prominence

Dan Lazar — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 09:25:09 +0000

Journalist James Fallows explores China’s recent rise to power and what it means for the US in his new book of essays, Postcards Tomorrow Square.

A National Correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, Fallows has been reporting on the economic and political transformation taking place in China since 2006.

Listen to this interview with Fallows

“A World Without Power”

Dan Lazar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:01:25 +0000

Critics of U.S. global dominance should pause and consider the alternative. If the United States retreats from its hegemonic role, who would supplant it? Not Europe, not China, not the Muslim world—and certainly not the United Nations. Unfortunately, the alternative to a single superpower is not a multilateral utopia, but the anarchic nightmare of a new Dark Age…

Unfortunately, the world’s experience with power vacuums (eras of “apolarity,” if you will) is hardly encouraging. Anyone who dislikes U.S. hegemony should bear in mind that, rather than a multipolar world of competing great powers, a world with no hegemon at all may be the real alternative to U.S. primacy. Apolarity could turn out to mean an anarchic new Dark Age: an era of waning empires and religious fanaticism; of endemic plunder and pillage in the world’s forgotten regions; of economic stagnation and civilization’s retreat into a few fortified enclaves.

Opposing Perspectives: The Impact of the Collapse of the USSR on the Global Balance of Power

Dan Lazar — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:48:09 +0000

The Breakup of the USSR Makes the US the Leader of the World (Elliot Abrams)

The Breakup of the USSR Signals the End of US World Leadership (Zoltan Grossman)

Write a 1-2 page, single-spaced position paper which adheres to the following:

I. Short Intro with a Thesis (specific, complex and refutable)

II. Summarize the ideas of the author with whom you do NOT concur and explain why his ideas are disagreeable (clearly demonstrate that you have read and understood this author’s ideas). Do not feel compelled to disagree with this author entirely as there surely is some truth to his argument.

III. Summarize the ideas of the author with whom you DO concur and explain how his ideas are superior to the other author (clearly demonstrate that you have read and understood this author’s ideas).

IV. Conclude by restating your thesis and exploring the significance thereof.

Please bear in mind that your goal is to illustrate that you have read BOTH documents and that you have thought about them. Be prepared for a healthy debate in class.

On Globalization

Dan Lazar — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:59:30 +0000

Read this article on Globalization and respond to these questions

We will explore your responses as well as these 20 questions in a class dialogue

Here is an article concerning the˜The Blessings and Challenges of Globalization” from Daniel T. Griswold from the CATO Institute (from ‘World and I’, October, 2000)

Benjamin Barber is a pioneering voice in studies of globalization. Read his essay, Jihad vs. McWorld

On the WWW

Dan Lazar — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:44:40 +0000

The Assignment:

1. Read Time’s Person of the Year 2006 and Respond to these questions

2. Watch Larry Lessig on Creative Media and take notes on his lecture. You will submit your notes as part of this assignment.

(Lawrence Lessig is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the school’s Center for Internet and Society. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty, he was the Berkman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and a Professor at the University of Chicago. He clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court.) Visit Lessig’s website

>> In class we will write an essay which explores how the web is impacting the world.

If this assignment is of interest to you, you might also appreciate this article

The Wisdom of the Chaperones: Digg, Wikipedia, and the myth of Web 2.0 democracy

Dan Lazar — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:58:15 +0000

Social-media sites like Wikipedia and Digg are celebrated as shining examples of Web democracy, places built by millions of Web users who all act as writers, editors, and voters. In reality, a small number of people are running the show. According to researchers in Palo Alto, 1 percent of Wikipedia users are responsible for about half of the site’s edits.

Read from Slate

Challenges of EU Enlargement

Dan Lazar — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:50:55 +0000

The impending enlargement raises several questions: How will an EU of 25 affect the United States? How will the EU manage an already cumbersome decision-making process with an even more diverse set of interests? And what sorts of policies will emerge from a wider EU?

The Challenges of EU Enlargement

TWE Is China a Threat to the West?

Dan Lazar — Tue, 22 May 2007 07:27:28 +0000

Use evidence from all three articles to write a formal 1-2 page single-spaced essay that explores the extent to which China is a threat to the West (and, in particular to the U.S.). Your primary focus is to demonstrate a mastery of of the content of all three articles.
China: Threat or Peaceful Rise?

Revving Up the China Threat

A Chinese Perspective from People’s Daily Online

Power Point: Is China a Threat to the West?

European Union Reading

Dan Lazar — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:14:44 +0000

You should not read too much into the EU. Despite its state-like attributes, it is far from being a state, since it lacks the monopoly over the legitimate use of force in its territory that most political scientists argue makes a state a state. What’s more, the shift toward a more united Europe is not occurring at an even or steady pace. It has evolved in a series of fits and starts in which bursts of growth have been followed by longer periods of doubt and criticism. That holds whether you focus on the EU’s broadening (adding new members) or deepening (adding new powers). Similarly, the organization is more “advanced” in some policy areas than others. Thus, the EU itself has the authority to make and enforce much economic policy over the wishes of the member states, including virtually everything involving international trade and, now, monetary matters. Such supranational powers are nowhere near as well developed in other policy areas, including the adoption of broad new policy initiatives, There, as we will see in more detail below, the member states continue to hold most of the power.

Read the article here and please be prepared to discuss the reading in class. Taking notes and creating discussion questions would be appreciated. It’s your final assignment.

Why Do They Hate Us?

Dan Lazar — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 14:50:58 +0000

To dismiss the terrorists as insane is to delude ourselves. Bin Laden and his fellow fanatics are products of failed societies that breed their anger. America needs a plan that will not only defeat terror but reform the Arab world

To the question “Why do the terrorists hate us?” Americans could be pardoned for answering, “Why should we care?” The immediate reaction to the murder of 5,000 innocents is anger, not analysis. Yet anger will not be enough to get us through what is sure to be a long struggle. For that we will need answers. The ones we have heard so far have been comforting but familiar. We stand for freedom and they hate it. We are rich and they envy us. We are strong and they resent this. All of which is true. But there are billions of poor and weak and oppressed people around the world. They don’t turn planes into bombs. They don’t blow themselves up to kill thousands of civilians. If envy were the cause of terrorism, Beverly Hills, Fifth Avenue and Mayfair would have become morgues long ago. There is something stronger at work here than deprivation and jealousy. Something that can move men to kill but also to die.

Read the rest of the Zakaria piece here and respond to these questions