About Geopolitical Affairs

Executive Orders are legally enforceable directives issued by the president as the leader of the Executive to Federal agencies. Article II of the constitution allows the president to make executive orders. The orders are frequently published when the president or governor wishes to bypass Congress on specific critical issues.
There were some reactions to the president's executive order prohibiting worldwide non-governmental organizations that support abortion from receiving government funds in the United States. For example, Carol Tobias, the chairwoman of the National Committee for the Right to Life, praised President Trump for banning federal funding for abortion. However, critics maintained that the order mirrored the new regime’s ignorance of women’s rights to reproductive health.

The withdrawal of America from the Trans-Pacific Partnership was one of Trump’s election campaign pledge, which he argued harmed manufacturing andAmerican workers (Jeremy& Dana, 2017).Democrats and leaders in international centers all over the world have been forced to come onboard of Trump’s protectionist executive order to avoid risking losing reelection.

Regarding the Dakota Access and Keystone XL Pipelines, Trump supporters say that the infrastructure projects will ease the movement of fossil fuels across Northern America (DiChristopher,2017). However, lawyers warn that Trump could face persistent legal battles over the regulatory law. According to Sarah Krakoff, a tribal and resources law professor at the Colorado Boulder University, the executive orders breach legislative establishments (DiChristopher, 2017).  

In response to Trump’s border security and enforcement of immigration issues, the Homeland Department Secretary Johnson Jeh argued that this policy will offer a clearer and more practical guidance in addressing illegal immigration (Alvarez, 2017). Anti-immigrant groups seem pleased with the government’s orders.

The law of protecting the country from the entry of foreign terrorists into the country has hit and devastated immigrants from the affected countries who are now U.S citizens. The immigrants cannot save their people or family.

The 2017 Global Risk Report video on YouTube video mentions five main global challenges the globe world faces. These are:

Economic growth and reform: Inequality is considered as the top trend in the next important global trend in the next ten years.

Rebuilding communities: Rapid economic transformations have widened gaps and amplified issues of national identity. Politics is increasingly defined by a “Post-Truth” climate, which are emotive political debates meant to divide public opinion. The challenge is now finding general ways to close cultural divisions while maintaining individual rights.

Managing technological disruptions: Technological innovations are changing the world. Consequently, there are many job losses due to automation. Jobs are at risk as work is being transformed. There is a need to minimize disruptive social disruption.

Improving global cooperation: There were indications of fraying devotion to global collaboration and renewed weaponry creation. The creation of bilateral agreements has decreased. There has been a general loss of faith in collective security mechanisms.

Accelerating action on climate change: Despite ratifying the Paris agreement, the situation is still critical because the past sixteen years have been the warmest. Thus, there is a need to reduce global emissions by 40-70 %. It is important to collaborate across all sectors to create an inclusive future for all.

Different governments that have been U.S. allies view Trump differently. On one side, the German chancellor considers the executive orders as unjustified. The UK Prime Minister Theresa May is embracing Trump by nurturing a close relationship with him (The Economist, 2017). Iran is sidelining the U.S. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is reassured about the U.S. foreign policy.

1) The “Four Pillars” are restricting travel from several Muslim countries, America’s pledge to resettle refugees, declaring TTP a dead deal, and building the Mexican wall.

2) The major powers are Britain and Germany. They are considered as first-order states because of their close working relations with the U.S (The Economist, 2017).

3) Regional powers, which have the potential to becoming a first-order state is the Gulf region.

4) Soft power is developing a soft stance in areas of foreign policy. The Obama has used soft power by considering Iran as part of the solution whereas the Trump administration considers Iran as the challenge(The Economist, 2017).

5) The dissimilarity between continental and maritime settings is that in a marine environment, less temperature variation is experienced whereas, in a continental one, the climate does vary to the extent that winters are frigid while summers become scorching.

POL 100 Exam #1

The UN

The UN Security Council has a visiting mission such as traveling to Vietnam and Cambodia in 1964 for preventive diplomacy, obtaining original information, maintaining peace processes, and facilitating mediation. The Security Council’s permanent members are the Big Five, and they include the U.S., the UK, China, Russia, and France. These members are the five victors of WW II. The International Criminal Justice Court is located in The Hague (Holland).

Some examples of UN specialized units are Food and Agriculture Organization, Global Fund for Agricultural Development, and Global Civil Aviation Organization.

The UN Human Rights Declaration is a landmark document for protecting fundamental human rights.

The G8 comprises a group of eight composed of France, Canada, Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the U.S. G8 represents leaders from the world’s eight most powerful states in the globe. Russia was suspended from the group over Crimea’s annexation.

The states with the largest economies worldwide are the U.S., China, Japan, Germany, UK, France, and India.

The two largest religions practiced worldwide today are Christianity (close to 2.1 billion followers) and Islam (about 1.5 billion believers).

The state Department defines terrorism as the illegal use of violence and forces against property or individuals to coerce or threaten the civilians, a government, or any segment in a bid to advance social or political goals.

Supranationalism is defined as a collaboration of3 or more states for their respective military, economic or cultural gain while devolution is the disintegration of a state into smaller regions because of a conflict in the country.

There are many terrorist groups, which operate in different areas and they perpetuate various attacks against governments and civilians.

Abu Sayyaf Group: The group is an Islamist separatist organization that operates in the southern Philippines. Its noteworthy attack was in Basilan on 16 June 2015 wherein a military vehicle encountered an ASG created an explosive device. After the attack, one soldier was killed and eight wounded. The ASG terrorists then ambushed the vehicle.

Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA): The group is grounded in Southwestern France and North of Spain. On 1 December 2007, ETA killed two Spanish Civil Protectors working to counter-terrorism in Capbreton.

Hamas: The group operates mainly in Gaza district as well as Samaria and Judea. From September 2000 at the start of the Palestinian violence, the group instigated 425 different terrorist attacks killing 377 Israelis and wounding 2,076 citizens and soldiers.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE): The team is grounded in northeastern of Sri Lanka. It has participated in civilian attacks such as the Anuradhapura, Kebithigollewa, and Aranthalawa massacres.

Al-Qaida: The group is based in Afghanistan. A notable attack was bombing the Tanzania and Kenyan embassies in 1998.

Boko Haram: the group is grounded in North-eastern Nigeria as well as in North Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. Boko Haram militants killed about 86 people and injured about 62 on 30 January 2016 in Dalori Village in Nigeria.

Reference

Alvarez, P. (2017). How Trump Is Changing Immigration Enforcement. The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 February 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/trump-executive-order-immigration/515454/

DiChristopher, T. (2017). Trump signs executive actions to advance Keystone XL, Dakota Access pipelines. CNBC. Retrieved 15 February 2017, from http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/24/trump-to-advance-keystone-dakota-pipelines-with-executive-order-on-tuesday-nbc.html

Jeremy, D. & Dana, B. (2017). Trump signs order withdrawing from TPP. CNN. Retrieved 15 February 2017, from http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/23/politics/trans-pacific-partnership-trade-deal-withdrawal-trumps-first-executive-action-monday-sources-say/

The Economist,. (2017). Many American allies are troubled, and threatened, by Donald Trump’s foreign policy. Economist.com. Retrieved 15 February 2017, from http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21716081-alliances-and-institutions-half-century-making-seem-imperilled-many-american-allies-are