Иностранный язык (английский). Political and social matters. Учебно-методическое пособие
.pdfСпецифика отношения к Китаю Мне не требуется Олимпиада, чтобы донести до китайского
правительства свою позицию.
Джордж Буш В начале июля Джордж Буш, несмотря на призывы целого ряда
конгрессменов, правозащитников и претендентов на Белый дом от Демократической партии Барака Обамы и Хиллари Клинтон, решил присутствовать на открытии Олимпиады 8 августа.
"Я могу говорить китайскому руководству о свободе до Олимпиады, во время Олимпиады, после Олимпиады – что я и делаю. Мне не требуется Олимпиада, чтобы донести до китайского правительства свою позицию", – объяснил он.
Через несколько дней отступил и самый активный критик Пекина, президент Франции Николя Саркози.
За участие в Олимпиаде высказались главный организатор бойко- та-1980 Джимми Картер и бывший руководитель рабочей группы Госдепартамента по организации бойкота Игр в Москве Нельсон Ледски.
У такого отношения мирового сообщества к Китаю есть несколько причин.
Одна из основных – это то, что Китай, в отличие от СССР эпохи позднего застоя, способен производить не только полезные ископаемые и является важнейшим экономическим партнером Запада и одной из ведущих мировых экономик.
Кроме того, как бы ни относиться к событиям в Тибете, большинство признают их внутренним делом КНР. Советский Союз, в свою очередь, в конце 1979 года оккупировал соседнюю страну.
Наконец, хотя в последние годы оборонные расходы Китая растут огромными темпами, вызывая обеспокоенность в Вашингтоне, китайская военная мощь сейчас не идет в сравнение с советской конца 1970-х годов. Москва тогда официально ставила перед собой задачу быть сильнее "любой коалиции возможных противников", то есть фактически всего мира вместе взятого.
Прецедент для Сочи?
По мнению правозащитников, чтобы избежать кризисов олимпийского движения, не нужно изначально отдавать право проведения Игр странам, к которым имеются вопросы по части прав человека.
Однако Олимпиады давно стали крупнейшими коммерческими проектами, и МОК смотрит в первую очередь на финансовые возмож-
ности страны и состояние спортивной инфраструктуры.
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Власти Китая празднуют победу. Агентство Синьхуа и главная официозная газета "Жэньминь жибао" публикуют комментарии под заголовками наподобие "Фарс не может затмить блеск олимпийского огня".
Многие российские СМИ рассматривают проблему под своеобразным углом зрения: по их мнению, "провал попыток бойкота Олимпиады в Пекине" делает призрачной возможность подобной акции в отношении Зимней Олимпиады 2014 года в Сочи.
Неясно, правда, что такого в оставшиеся шесть лет может предпринять Россия, чтобы подобный вопрос мог возникнуть на повестке дня.
Адрес статьи на bbcrussian.com http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/–
/hi/russian/in_depth/2008/olympics2008/newsid_7517000/7517744.stm
Дата и время публикации: 2008/07/25 11:59:32 GMT
Follow-up:
Role-play “Who is to stage the Olympic Games?”
Participants:
1.Cities wishing to stage the Games („Applicant cities‟)
2.The IOC Executive Board
The procedure:
1.Applicants make a presentation of their cities to be elected to stage the next Olympic Games.
2.The presentations are followed by the question and answer session.
3.The IOC Executive Board then selects a number of applicants to be considered 'Candidate Cities'.
4.Finally, one city is chosen by a vote of the IOC session.
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UNIT II. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Part 1
Pre-reading task
1.Could you give any definition to International Relations? Compare your definition with that given in the article.
2.When did the necessity of International Relations appear?
3.Which factors make a negative influence on international relations? Will they make a substantial impact on the situation in the world?
4.How will you characterize the world: unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar?
Read the text and make true or false statements to it. Render it in English.
Introduction
International Relations is the study and practice of political relationships among the world‟s nations, especially their governments. International relations may also refer to the interactions between nongovernmental groups, such as multinational corporations (companies that operate in more than one country) or international organizations such as the Red Cross or the United Nations (UN).
International relations is a broad and complex topic both for countries engaged in relationships with other nations, and for observers trying to understand those interactions. These relationships are influenced by many variables. They are shaped by the primary participants in international relations, including national leaders, other politicians, and nongovernment participants, such as private citizens, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations. They are also affected by domestic political events and nonpolitical influences, including economics, geography, and culture. Despite all of these other influences, the primary focus of international relations is on the interactions between nations.
To understand these interactions, one should look at the world as a system of nations whose actions are guided by a well-defined set of rules. This system is called the interstate system. The interstate system has existed for less than 500 years and is based on a common understanding of what a nation is and how it should treat other nations. But recent changes in technology and international norms have caused some scholars to question whether this system will continue in the future, or be replaced by some other system of relationships that is not yet known.
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Until the 1970s the study of international relations centered mainly on international security studies–that is, questions of war and peace. It was believed that a nation‟s military power was the most important characteristic in determining how that nation would relate to others. As a result, the focus was on the relative military strength of one nation compared to others, alliances and diplomacy between nations, and the strategies nations used to protect their territories and further their own interests.
Since the 1970s the importance of economics in international relations has grown and the study of international political economy has received increased attention. It is believed in this field that the primary force driving the interaction between nations is economic, not military. They focus on trade and economic relations among nations, especially the political cooperation between nations to create and maintain international organizations which benefit all nations involved, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
In both security studies and international political economy, it is important to explain patterns of conflict and cooperation among nations. Conflicts among nations are inevitable since their political and economic aims and interests often diverge. Cooperation does not refer to the absence of conflict but to the ability of nations to peacefully resolve their differences in a way that is acceptable to all parties involved. When cooperation fails, conflicts often escalate into coercion and ultimately war.
Read the text and underline the key words in it. Then make a summary.
History
The history of international relations is often traced back to the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, where the modern state system was developed. Prior to this, the European medieval organization of political authority was based on a vaguely hierarchical religious order. Westphalia instituted the legal concept of sovereignty, which essentially meant that rulers, or the legitimate sovereigns, had no internal equals within a defined territory and no external superiors as the ultimate authority within the territory's sovereign borders. A simple way to view this is that sovereignty says, "I'm not allowed to tell you what to do and you are not allowed to tell me what to do." Classical Greek and Roman authority at times resembled the Westphalian system, but both lacked the notion of sovereignty.
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Westphalia encouraged the rise of the independent nation-state, the institutionalization of diplomacy and armies. This particular European system was exported to the Americas, Africa, and Asia via colonialism and the "standards of civilization". The contemporary international system was finally established through decolonization during the Cold War. However, this is somewhat over-simplified. While the nation-state system is considered "modern", many states have not incorporated the system and are termed "pre-modern". Further, a handful of states have moved beyond the nation-state system and can be considered "post-modern". The ability of contemporary IR discourse to explain the relations of these different types of states is disputed. "Levels of analysis" is a way of looking at the international system, which includes the individual level, the domestic nation-state as a unit, the international level of transnational and intergovernmental affairs, and the global level.
What is explicitly recognized as International Relations theory was not developed until after World War I, and is dealt with in more detail below. IR theory, however, has a long tradition of drawing on the work of other social sciences. The use of capitalizations of the "I" and "R" in International Relations aims to distinguish the academic discipline of International Relations from the phenomena of international relations.
Read the text and make notes on the most important characteristics of each actor.
Actors in international relations
The participants in international relations, often called actors, have a great influence on the relationships between nations and on world affairs. The major participants include the nations themselves, the leaders of those nations, substate actors (groups or organizations within a nation), transnational actors (organizations operating in more than one country), and international organizations.
A Nations
The nations themselves are the most important actors in international relations. A nation is a territory with a defined border and a government that answers to no higher authority than its own. All or part of the population shares a group identity, often based on a combination of common ancestry, language, or culture. In 1997 there were 186 recognized nations in the world. There also are a number of political entities sometimes thought of as nations. These include territories that function independently, such as Tai-
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wan, which is officially considered a province of China; colonies, such as Martinique; and nations that are not yet recognized, such as Palestine. Also included in this list is Vatican City, which does not fit into any of these categories.
Nations vary in size and power–from the United States with a $7 trillion economy and China with more than 1 billion people to nations with fewer than 100,000 people, such as Andorra and Greenland. Size and power are two important variables in determining a nation‟s relationships with other countries and its influence in international affairs. The handful of the most powerful nations that control most of the world‟s military and economic strength are called great powers. The great powers include the United States, Great Britain, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), France, China, Germany, and Japan. These powers are the most important actors in international relations.
B Leaders of Nations
The most important individual actor within a nation is the top leader of that country. The top leader is the person who has the primary political power or authority in country. For example, the top leader in Great Britain is the prime minister, who is the head of government and has the most political power, even though the king or queen of that country is considered the head of state. The top leader in the United States is the president.
C Substate Actors
Besides the top leader of a nation, there are other groups and individuals within that nation that influence its international relationships. These domestic actors, called substate actors, include particular industries with distinct interests in foreign policy (such as the automobile or tobacco industry) and ethnic constituencies with ties to foreign countries, as well as labor unions, cities, and regions. All of these actors may be affected by international events differently from each other or the country where they operate. These groups can influence a nation‟s foreign policy in several ways, such as by lobbying political leaders, donating money to political candidates or parties, or swaying public opinion on certain issues.
D Transnational Actors
Organizations operating in more than one country are known as transnational actors. They often have specific interests in international issues that differ from those of any nation. Transnational actors include multinational corporations. They also include nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), such as Planned Parenthood and the Roman Catholic Church, which pro-
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mote their interests across international borders. NGOs often align themselves with particular nations that support their interests, and come into conflict with those that show lack of support. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are groups whose members are national governments. Examples of intergovernmental organizations include the European Union (EU) and the Intelsat Satellite Consortium. They are usually created to promote cooperation between different nations on a particular issue or in a particular geographic region. Nongovernmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations together are called international organizations.
Read the text and make true or false statements to the text. Render it in English.
Concepts in international relations
Conjuncture
In decision making in international relations, the concept of International Conjuncture, together with freedom of action and equality are important elements. Decision makers must take into account the set of international conditions in taking initiatives that would create different types of responses.
Systemic level concepts
International relations is often viewed in terms of levels of analysis, the systemic level concepts are those broad concepts that define and shape an international milieu, characterized by Anarchy.
Power
The concept of power in international relations can be described as the degree of resources, capabilities, and influence in international affairs. It is often divided up into the concepts of hard power and soft power, hard power relating primarily to coercive power, such as the use of force, and soft power commonly covering economics, diplomacy and cultural influence. However, there is no clear dividing line between the two forms of power.
Polarity
Polarity in International Relations refers to the arrangement of power within the international system. The concept arose from bipolarity during the Cold War, with the international system dominated by the conflict between two superpowers, and has been applied retrospectively. Consequently, the international system prior to 1945 can be described as multi-polar, with power being shared among Great powers. The collapse of the Soviet
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Union in 1991 had led to what some would call unipolarity, with the United States as a sole superpower. However, due to China's surge of economic success after joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, combined with the respectable international position they hold within political spheres and the power that the Chinese Government exerts over their people (consisting of the largest population in the world), there is debate over whether China is now a superpower or a possible candidate in the future.
After-reading tasks
I. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and expressions: interaction, important variable, primary participant, primary force, welldefined set of rules, scholar, alliance, the International Monetary Fund, to escalate into coercion, to trace back, legitimate sovereign, defined border, group identity, common ancestry, political entity, domestic actor, ethnic constituency, top leader, to donate money to political candidates, conjuncture, an international milieu, coercive power, to exert power over, to deal with in detail, hard power, soft power, unipolarity, bipolarity, surge of economic success
II. Give English equivalents to the following words and expressions:
физическое лицо, внутренние политические события, союз, ведущая сила, неизбежный, различаться (не совпадать), модель сотрудничества, современная международная система, понимать слишком упрощѐнно, горстка могущественных государств, установленная граница, признанные государства, великая держава, внешняя политика, этническая общность, подпадать под категорию, продвигать интересы, «жѐсткая линия», распределение власти, многополярный, волна экономического успеха
III. Paraphrase the following word combinations: private citizen
aims diverge
to peacefully resolve the differences to escalate into coercion
great power
to lobby political leaders to sway public opinion common ancestry
to institute the legal concept of sovereignty ethnic constituency
International Conjuncture
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IV. Answer the following questions:
1.What do the International Relations refer to?
2.Which important variables influence the study and practice of political relationships?
3.What necessary condition enables the interstate system to exist?
4.Why do some scholars strongly doubt the future of the interstate system?
5.What does the International Relations centre on nowadays? What was its focus until the 1970s?
6.How can you reason the inevitability of conflicts?
7.What did the Westphalian concept of sovereignty imply?
8.What is the difference between the International Relations and international relations?
9.Enumerate the participants in the International Relations.
10.What is a nation? What is characteristic for a population of a nation? Are a nation and a political entity the same phenomena? Give examples of political entities.
11.Give the definition of the top leader as an individual actor.
12.Point out the spheres of interests of substate actors. What methods do substate actors have in their arsenal?
13.How do NGOs and IGOs function as transnational actors?
14.Why is it of great importance to take into account International Conjuncture?
15.In what way are the concepts of hard power and soft power opposed to each other?
16.What caused the appearance of polarity? What does polarity stand for? Can you characterize the polarity before, during and after the Cold War?
17.Name the countries which can be referred to the superpowers at the beginning of the 21st century.
V. Continue ideas from the text
1.The interstate system is ……………………………………………….
2.Conflicts among nations are inevitable ……………………………….
3.The history of international relations is ……………………………….
4.Classical Greek and Roman authority at times ……………………….
5.A group identity is often based on…………………………………….
6.The handful of the most powerful nation……………………………...
7.The concept of power in international relations can be described as….
8.Due to China‟s surge of economic success …………………………...
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Part 2
THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM
Pre-reading task
Practice the pronunciation of the following words:
infringe, interfere, debt, missile, hegemony, supremacy, deterrence, threat, retaliation, jeopardize, intact
Read the text and list the main features and functions of the interstate system. Make a summary.
While studying international relationships one should look at the world as a system of nations that interact according to a set of well-defined and long-established rules. They call this system the interstate system. The rules of the system govern how nations treat each other. The rules are based on common understandings of the rights of a nation. For example, according to the traditions of the interstate system, one nation should not infringe upon another nation‟s rightful territory or interfere in another nation‟s internal affairs. Many of these rules were codified in the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years‟ War (1618-1648) in Europe.
The system evolved because nations realized it was in their best interest to develop basic ground rules for dealing with each other in the absence of a central authority that could set and enforce rules worldwide. The lack of a central authority is the most important characteristic of the interstate system. It has meant that nations must look out for themselves first and has shaped the way they relate to each other. They cannot rely on any higher power to enforce the rules or make sure other nations play fairly. Instead, they must enforce the rules by themselves or form alliances with other nations and collectively enforce them. The rules are also enforced by the power of world censure.
One of the most important rules of the interstate system is that nations should respect each other‟s internationally recognized boundaries. Almost all of the world‟s land falls under the control of existing nations except Antarctica. Under the interstate system, no nation has the right to invade or take over another territory or interfere with the actions of a government within its own territory. But defining the borders of a territory is more complicated than it may first appear. For example, many of today‟s borders resulted from wars in which winners expanded their rule by taking territory from losers. Some nations have borders that were imposed upon them by another nation that colonized them before they gained independence. These borders can create many problems. They can create oddly shaped nations that lack ports or other resources. They can also split up previously existing
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