Category Archives: Global Politics

Cultural Relativism vs Universalism

The task at hand was to discuss the pros and cons of both cultural relativism and universalism. After researching the topics individually we had to take a stance on what we personally supported. In my opinion, I would support the use of cultural relativism ideally based on the fact that in this globalized world there are various different religions and cultural differences however it is essentially immoral to segregate a particular religion from being “good” or “bad”. Hence, I would say that it is justifiable that cultural relativists fight for the rights of those oppressed and take action against promoting the equality of all cultures.

 

Engagement Activity

Throughout my engagement activity experience I had focused on the development disposing Electronic Waste. Electronic waste has a been a huge contributor to a lot of the environmental problem across South East Asia specifically Singapore. I have been in contact with various different E-Waste companies, “Global E-Waste, NEA, Starhub”. As a result of expressing my views on the E-Waste project I had requested Global E-Waste to place electronic waste bins within my condo. This was a tough process as I had to come in contact with my condo manager and she had to get approval from the council in order to permit the use of E-Waste bins. In addition I had contacted Starhub about placing the E-Waste bins within school they had replied letting me know that the bins were already in place within our school and placed effectively. Starhub has however agreed to place further E-Waste bins within my condo itself however the process has taken a lot longer has their bins are in high demand. The Starhub distributors had a more persuasive bin as well as the bins were more accessible towards the public which is why it was my ideal option to get those placed within the condo.

While I had contacted multiple agencies there was not to say that there were challenges that occurred. A lot of the local E-Waste companies had only focuses on helping those who attend local schools and focus on developing the knowledge within them. Many of the companies i had talked to did not know that I was a Singaporean Citizen which drastically changed the way I approached them after I had told them I was. I have interviewed and talked to a sales manager of the company “Global E-Waste” asking about the effects of E-Waste and what the process was like. The process for this company was that it had just recently started off so getting permission from the NEA and government was a challenge however there main objective was to spread awareness as much as they could in order to help them promote the issue. Overall the engagement activity was a great process for me to raise awareness about the issue setting up surveys and sharing these effects with peers and family friends. I was glad to take a part in this political issue.

Global Politics Engagement Activity

E-Waste within the Singaporean Community

Undoubtedly electronic waste has been a major environmental issue for not only various communities but as an international crisis only adding onto the devastating affects of global warming. So what is e-waste? E-waste is simply the disregard of electronic devices that are either expired or require recycling. While developing into a modern based era it has only become more evident that the use of technology is only growing at an exponential rate. Meaning that a load of individuals will lack the proper knowledge of how in fact to get rid of their devices efficiently. The majority of cell phones and devices manufactured usually contain toxic chemicals that are damaging to the environment. The disposing of these devices the same way we would per say dispose rubbish would eventually be disposed in the same manner. Within Singapore the e-waste that isn’t disposed of correctly is sent of to burn off with the rest of the rubbish realising those toxic chemicals into the atmosphere not only damaging the environment but the population as well as they can be extremely harmful. This political issue is one of many that I find extremely interesting. I hold a huge passion towards understanding the importance of how our environment should be treated with care. However not only that but the levels of theoretical disparities this issue could cause on a global basis. E-waste is a global catastrophic phenomenon that in my opinion is taken very lightly and links towards key theoretical concepts such as globalisation, interdependence and the legitimacy of legislations or regulation to prevent such actions.

I feel that the issue at hand has been one that has been taken quite lightly by not only people within my community but on an international basis as well. The majority of individuals are unaware of how to dispose e-waste effectively despite the various different recycling stations around a community which they might live in. Singapore for instance, has multiple e-waste recycling programs for individuals and households across the country. The lack of awareness within the society despite the efforts made my non governmental organisations leaves the crisis in a position where nothing can be done. I really feel that I personally can help make an impact towards this ongoing problem even the action is enough to get a few changes present such as allowing small communities to gain awareness it will only lead to a positive influence towards bigger societies.

 

Pandemic Post

Pandemic Board Game 

Pandemic was an elaborate board game that was able to test our knowledge on globalisation and interdependence. At first the experience was rather confusing to get a hang off the instructions were quite different from other board games. Pandemic is a simulation having the objective essentially aiming to terminate certain diseases spread across the globe to prevent global catastrophe. Each player gets 4 actions that have to be made every turn. Each player can make informed decisions such as building a research centre moving to another country and help cure a disease or use some of the possible perks to fly to certain areas which would not be in reach by driving and thus curing the disease in that specific area. Everyone was distributed a role card in order to grant certain perks that could help the game progress successfully. In terms of connections to globalisation the way each player had to make informed decisions that partook in everyones resources was very important in order to benefit everyone. The international relations grown on a global scale were proven evident in the board game, an example of this would be how I had the majority of resources to get rid of a disease in a certain region. Another member of the board game had a certain resource that would have given me the ability to eliminate the disease and thus that was exactly what she did. In connection we can relate this to globalisation as the different parties needed to improve relations together to focus on a common goal. Interdependence is evidently the idea of having mutual reliances between sovereign nations giving both parties the ability to achieve a mutually common goal. The specific role players had shown how the informative decisions that they were making together was done so in a coordinated form in other to maintain the best possible outcome.

Overall the pandemic board game was a great experience and it definitely had a strong basis of the political key concepts, globalisation and interdependence. I felt that it was a great way of allowing students to understand how important these political concepts are in real life situations and how we gain a perspective and insight towards how we can improve situations on a macro scale.

Is liberalism in retreat?

Examples of Liberalism in Action?

A clear example of how liberalism has been and currently is in Action could be expressed through these two specific intergovernmental organisations. The EU and NATO. Both these organisations tend to support the Liberalistic point of view and how the aspect of having strong international relations is very important for nations to grow.

Why is Liberalism believed to be in Retreat?

Liberalism has taken a huge turnover especially due to the recent presidential election. Trump has played a significant factor in towards shifting the mindsets of not only Americans but other sovereign states as well from a more liberalistic point of view to a more realist point of view in order for the benefit of their own countries. Despite the persuasion given by Donald Trump as it is evidently working for certain countries others tend to completely ignore having a realist view and tend to continue holding the liberalistic point of view.

Examples of liberalism in retreat?

I believe that recently we have definitely seen liberalism in retreat, specifically in the western world. Two major examples of this would be the American elections, where Donald Trump, a realist, was appointed the president. As well as this UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Both of these show large steps backward in the western world. Excluding the western world, a major example would be the ongoing Syrian conflict. However, in contrast, the growth of the liberal democracy continues suggesting against a retreat in liberalism. Therefore, I believe that although it may not be to a great extent as yet, there is definitely evidence of liberalism in retreat.

Personally I do feel like due to the current events and affairs, the presidential election being a main one Liberalism has definitely retracted due to the change of mindsets. However I still hold a strong opinion that especially with the help of the United Nations and intergovernmental organisations liberalism does still hold a strong principle in todays global society and is very beneficial towards international relations between countries. I think that once the global society start to notice a downfall in having strong relationships with other countries especially negative ones that may lead to conflict and violence can be a prominent indicator towards liberalism being retreated.

 

 

  • Arvish Gandhi G11
  • UWCSEA Glopo

For UWC day during Global Politics we had to write a few post it notes focusing on the UWCSEA mission statement and the course of Global Politics itself.

The photo below shows all of the post it notes that I made. I feel that all of these posts are interrelated as they all show positivity and optimism. The mission itself is one of the most optimistic mission statements allowing students and viewers to understand the mission of UWC and how it creates such a strong impact.

I felt that my peers and I were able to connect well while collaborating with each other, we had discussed how we felt about particular methods of the global politics being a way to unite people and abolish conflict.

 

The question I would like to ask the reader is how they would act in certain situations whether it might be a political choice an emotional choice or physical choice?