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The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order The summary After the Cold War, the world politics would be multi-polar and multi-civilizational while nation states remain the most pivotal actors in world affairs. Although there are other alternative paradigms for the future of world politics, such as “one harmonious world”, “two worlds”, “184 states, more or less” and “sheer chaos”, the civilizational approach can solve the others’ deficiencies and incompatibility. Seeing the world affairs from the fault lines of civilizations can maintain the simplicity of the paradigm because there are only 7 or 8 major civilizations. Moreover, this approach can predict the emerging conflicts. There are 7 or 8 civilizations: Sinic used for the common culture of China and the Chinese communities, Japanese, Hindu, Islamic, Orthodox, West, Latin American and perhaps African civilizations. Civilizations, since ancient times, have encountered, competed against one another, and interacted...

The background of the conflicts Roommate problems have been a nightmare for most college students. Good roommates would become a person’s best friends for life, but the discord between roommates could cause a lot for students who aim at studies. International Student House (ISH) is a private dormitory founded by Quaker Foundation, accommodating up to 100 people. Paulina, Li-Ting and Jackie share a triple room in ISH. Three girls sleep in a big room; there is a bathroom and a walking closet in the room. Three girls are from different continents: Li-Ting is Taiwanese, Paulina is from Finland and Jackie comes from South Africa. They are getting along well because they can talk about many things and enhance the global understanding. However, some problems have emerged. First of all, Li-Ting found out that three people’s schedules are very different and sometimes their schedules clash. Paulina and Jackie need to go to work early in the morning while Li-Ting is still in bed. Pauli...

Recently I feel my life can also fit into the international politics theory. Such theories are after all empirical. It’s proper to say that the strong man has the legitimacy to exist. I think sometimes it’s even better for the public good. Mass democracy=Mass stupidity Mass democracy means that the mass/ people decide where the whole group is going. People aggregate their view and then they formed the final decision. However, if this mass is an organized one, the group would be easily misled. If a person said something, other people think that they also think the same thing. This is a sort of decision that would easily go wrong because the process of forming the consensus without the deliberation is dangerous. At the same time, it’s also perilous if the people have all sorts of opinions. The opinions can be so divided that the mass cannot go anywhere. Because everyone is equal in the system, everyone could just doubt one another’s opinion and propose an alternative. In this sense, the ...

I represented Vice President Jamie Jackson in the Casino case and the environmentalist group in Harborco. The Casino conversation is a more simple negotiation in terms of numbers of people involved because there were only two people whereas the Harborco involves the whole class. Harborco was more complicated since it’s a multiparty negotiation. However, the Casino is really very difficult, personally speaking. Despite the difficulties that I have intrinsically, I think I still managed to reach a successful result. One of the reasons why I felt a greater difficulty during the Casino talk is that the two parties were supposed to talk about not only their professional performance but also their relationship. I am not very good at handling the relational problem but it happened to be the most important part of this difficult conversation. In my childhood, my parents rarely had intimate talks with me or with my brother and then the children are not encouraged to share the deep most emotions...

The first connection that I have with conflict resolution is that I was born in Taiwan, an island in constant tensions and conflicts with Mainland China. I have been an independent person since high school. After the age of 15, I lived by myself in Taipei, 400 kilometers away from home. I travel a lot; I don’t travel with a group, and I travel many times alone, which allows me to see the world the way it is and allows me to go to places where there are not many tourists. I have a global orientation, traveling to more than 17 countries and living in France, England, USA and Taiwan. I have lived in France for more two years. When I was in high school, I spent one year in the province of France. I spent my senior year in Paris, studying International Law and Organizations. As a result of traveling intensively, it’s easier for me to get used to a new culture. I also took a class in Cross-cultural communications at GWU, in which I learned to communicate with the people from different nation...

暑假也可以去牛津晃晃，學學人權法，還有溫習高中在牛津的日子，看著圖片，突然很想去，所以今天一定要快快申請，下星期一截止，加油加油～～ The GW/Oxford Program in International Human Rights Law has been developed by the University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education and The George Washington University Law School. It is intended to prepare students to contribute to the improvement of human rights conditions in their homelands and around the world. For the 2006 session, the program has assembled an internationally recognized faculty offering courses on the philosophy, history, doctrine and practice of international human rights law. The program emphasizes advocacy and dissemination skills, as well as formal knowledge of human rights law, the means of its enforcement and its status in a contentious world. In addition to an introductory course on the fundamentals of international human rights law, the program offers an advanced seminar on human rights lawyering and afternoon electives that address important contemporary issues in the field. These ...

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: For thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

Introduction When the rioters burned the buses in suburban Paris, the Frenchmen and the world were shocked. When French President Mitterrand was reported to have a mistress, the world was amazed by the indifference shown by the French public. Famous photographer Robert Doisneau captured romantic couples in Paris. What kind of people is this? There are some clichés about the French people and the life in France. Are they really arrogant? Are they really bad at learning English? Do they dislike the USA and the fast food? Are they romantic? How can we explain their reaction? In this essay, I want to show an image of France without bias and stereotype by giving the French way of communications first. French way of communication is not a “French exception”. It comes from somewhere deep in the culture. While analyzing the specific way how French people communicate with one another, I will also use some culture factors to explain the communication characteristics. I will also seek for a littl...

Introduction I attended a small seminar held by a grass root organization called One Voice a few days ago. This organization is funded by several Californian Jews, aiming at building the Israelis’ and Palestinians’ capacity. This organization held several peaceful manifestations to urge the Palestinians to vote. The long term goal is to provide the public a better understanding about the other side and induce the peace resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is merely one of countless examples which show us how the NGOs permeate our daily life and forge our agenda. In the 1990s, the terms of “third sector” and “civil society” are gaining the worldwide focus. Many people think the civil society is an elixir to every problem that the nation states cannot manage. However, the importance of the civil society is still debatable. To what exactly do we refer when using this term “civil society”? Do we overestimate its magnitude? Does this force undermine the exercise of sovereignty? ...

The Background and the conflict Li-Ting is a student in DC, and her boyfriend, Jason, is working in his father’s firm. Li-Ting and her boyfriend originally planned to travel somewhere this summer. They talked about where to go. They were thinking about going to either South America or Siberia. During the discussion, Jason asked Li-Ting about when the semester would end. However, when the final decision was revealed, Li-Ting found out that her boyfriend made a travel plan without taking her condition into consideration. Jason decided to go to Moscow through the Siberian railway and he thought they need to arrive at Moscow on the 5th June 2006 so he decided to take the Siberian railway while Li-Ting would still in the middle of her exams. They had a serious discussion about this trip. Jason insists on setting off from Beijing no later than early May but Li-Ting wishes for a later departure or a change of the plan proposed by Jason. Who is going to back down? Howare they going to deal wit...

13/02/2006 While chatting with friends, they have had some issues with love recently. Everyone is somehow puzzled by love. I held a different point from a friend, saying that in love gives and takes are not necessarily equal. However, she does not agree. I don’t think that there is an absolute right or wrong; this acquaintance and I view the relationship in different ways. Suddenly, I thought a about the verses from the Bible. The verses also talk about love. It would be a very good idea to write it down. “Love suffers long. Love is kind; it’s not jealous. Love does not brag and is not puffed up. It does not behave unbecomingly and does not seek its own things; it is not provoked and does not take account of evil. It does not rejoice because of unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.” These verses come from Corinthians 13: 4-7 and in the Bible this section is called the definition of love. I thin...

SONNET 116 Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved. http://www.japantimes.com/shukan-st/special/poem/po20030117main.htm

Languages In Japanese, people have a hesitation to say something clearly. People have tended to avoid saying anything directly; a listener needs to read between the lines. Recently, in lectures and speeches, Japanese people use more and more direct speech but still politicians would use a vague language. “I’d love to” means no in Japan. They expect others to be very sensitive to their facial expressions and changes in tone. Once a person fails to meet their expectations and misses the signal, this person is recognized as “unsocial.” Hereafter, he will not be expected to understand the proper Japanese conversation. “You” exists in 5 forms in Japanese. To the elder, people used another “you” to show the respect. The number 8 is lucky because the Chinese character of 8 signifies a broader future. In Korean, as well as in China, 4 is also a number to avoid because its pronunciation resembles to the death. 7 is the good number. “You” exists in 4 or 5 forms in Korea. However, Chinese has...

During this positional negotiation, I am not so at ease at first. I think it has to do with my lack of professional experience. I have rarely faced this kind of bargaining in real life practice so I don’t know how to cope with this situation. As an agent for Sally Soprano, I knew that I should act to meet Sally’s Interests. However, I didn’t know to which extent I should be aggressive or pushy. According to the Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument, I get 0 in competing, 7 in collaborating, 7 in compromising, 7 in avoiding and 9 in accommodating. I don’t like to get into discord with others. It does mean that I have a perfectly good temperament; I still have temper. Nonetheless, I have always tried to avoid the quarrel even though I feel the discontent because I am taught in this way and Taiwanese culture stresses a lot on the maintain of harmony. I am the eldest sister in my family, having a five-year younger brother. My mother had always told me to give in while my brother and I we...

The ideas proposed by Anthony Giddens In the book Conversations with Anthony Giddens-Making Sense of Modernity, I got to have some ideas proposed by Giddens throughout his academic endeavors. This book consists of 7 major themes, including his famous theory of structuration, modernity and his point view about the world politics. In this essay, I will try to look at some view points of Giddens’ and then I will try to address these problems myself with aid of his assertions. How about the modernity? The book is about making sense of modernity as it indicates from the title. Modernity is associated with a certain set of attitudes towards the world, a complex of economic institutions and a certain range of political institutions. These characteristics make modernity more dynamic as a social order. I think that modernity is actually at the center of gravity in his thoughts. His theory about the structure is generated because of the idea too. When he talks about the world politics, he also i...