Monday, January 27, 2020

Role of Neutral States on CFSP Development

Role of Neutral States on CFSP Development Introduction The topic of my master essay is The role of the EU neutral states (Austria and Finland) in the development of CFSP, their impact on the elaboration of the European Union. Even today, it is a very actual issue for the Union, because it is connected with the integration process, security and defense problems of this organization. The main object of my research is to identify the impact of the neutral states (in my case, Austria and Finland) to the common security of the European Community, whether its pacifist or â€Å"neutral†. It should be noted that the issue of security and defense of the EU, its ability not only to protect its member states, but also to resolve the conflict situations is very significant. I decided to write about such representatives of the neutral states like Austria and Finland. First of all, these countries have more similarities than differences, which I will try to describe and characterize during the writing of my thesis. The aim of my work is: Describe the foreign policy of Austria and Finland and identify their similarities and differences; Identify the contribution of the neutral states towards a resolution of the international crises; Describe the opportunities of the CFSP to be a full-fledged superpower during the international crises and its effect on the policy of neutrals; The research question of my master thesis is If the European second pillar CFSP has had any effect on the development of the neutral states (Austria and Finland) and whether emerging these neutrals has had an effect on the Common Foreign and Security Policy? Hypothesis: a) The admission of the neutrals in 1995 did not significantly affect the trajectory of the development of the CFSP by making it more pacifist or neutral. b) The CFSP had a significant impact on the development of its neutral Member States (Austria and Finland). What I am proposing is basically in line with Alex George and Andrew Bennets method of a focused structured comparison. So, I will write two country-case study chapters asking the same questions and using the same set of CFSPrelated events or documents to answer them and then sum up your findings in the concluding chapter. So, the master thesis consists of 5 chapters. I. Foreign Policy of Finland The first country which I will touch upon in my research paper is Finland. I will illustrate and represent the foreign policy of this state from 1970, i.e. 2-3 decades before becoming the European Union member and will describe the foreign policy of this state. But first, it is necessary to note that for the long period of time Finland was under the yoke of the Soviet Union, this period covers from 1809 to 1917 and declared its independence only since 1917. If we compare with Austria, Finland due to its geographical position has always had a close relationship with Russia and could remain unoccupied during the Second World War because of this fact. In 1948 Finland had signed the Treaty of Friendship[1], Cooperation and Mutual Assistance with the Soviet Union. On the basis of this agreement both countries had agreed not to participate in any military actions against each other, and Finland, in turn, couldn’t be involved in the allied relations with the opposingsides of the Sovi et Union. Finlands neutrality was not implemented on the basis of the international law. In 1955 the state became a member of the Nordic Council and the United Nations. And after 4 years it was successfully signed an Association Agreement, and also an agreement with EFTA, which could guarantee the economic priorities for Finland (export of forest products). Later in 1971-1972, Finland, as a member of EFTA started the trade negotiations with the European community, but as a result Finland had to delay the ratification process because the Soviet Union showed their doubts and fears about such cooperation. It could be achieved only in year. The Soviet Union actively involved not only in the developing of the foreign policy of Finland, but in the internal as well. The proof of this is the reelection of the Finnish president in 1973, as Urho Kekkonen was a faithful ally of the USSR. I should also add that Finland had signed free trade agreements with the East European States. Finland economy was dependanton theSoviet Union, which was it’s the main oil supplier and then the finished products were exported to the Eastern European countries. From all of this I can conclude that economic development and influence has always been a valuable factor of the development of foreign policy. These all explain the reason of such a close cooperation with the Soviet Union. From the middle of the 1980 Finland began rapprochement process with the European Community, and in 1988 Finland submitted the White Paper to the European Parliament, EFTA must play the role of direct intermediary between Finland and the European Community. The White Paper contained the willingness and readiness of Finland of joining the European Community and also the economy compatibility of the state (four freedoms). Till 1990, Finland was entirely dependent on the Soviet Union, but after the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the situation began to change drastically. The West was used as the benchmark for Finland, the proof of this was the EEA negotiations. The neutral state began the preparation for the new report to the Parliament, in this time it covered not only the economic relations, but also the foreign affairs and considered the international aspects, namely, the issue of safety and concluded that the decision-making process should be based on a national basis, without prejudice to the rights of the state†. Since 1991, Finland started talking about the entering EU, it was first mentioned by Petti Paasio, the Chairman of the Social Democrat Party. This politician declared that the country needed to begin the process of accession to this Union, also noted that the country should not be involved in any military action. The Finnish Center Party was ready to consider Finlands membership if the security issue of the country would be accepted based on the national decisions of neutral country. In November 1991, Finland began the negotiations with the Soviet Union about a signing of new treaty the Treaty of Good Neighborliness and Cooperation, but which was interrupted due to the prevailing circumstances, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of an independent communist country. Further Finland continued the negotiations with the newly formed Russian Federation. It recognized the Russian state as a successor to the Soviet Union. In December 22, 1991 Finland and the Soviet Union issued a new agreement The Agreement on the Foundations of Relations, which did not contain the military obligations like in the Treaty of 1948, it certified non-aggression and nor allowing third countries to entry into its territory and use the military force. In March 18, 1992, the Finnish Parliament on the basis of the choice of the majority vote, decided to join the European Community. Similarities and Differences between Austria and Finland During the WWII Finland and Austria were the proponents of Germany, and Austria was under its full control. Major role in their abstention from further participation in military blocs played the USSR, which withdraw Finland from the war, defeating it. Austria was also occupied by the USSR army. These countries paid for their freedom by receiving the neutrality status. Austrias neutrality was prescribed by the international law. These two states do not use a term such as neutrality, they always mentioned about the non-alignment. That is, the non-participation in military alliances and the opportunity to participate in military conflicts. This ambiguous phrasing had ceased to have meaning in 1995, after the three countries joined the European Union. By the laws of all countries of the Union are obliged to help other members of the EU in the event of any military conflicts and operations. These countries outside the EU, but wishing it different from other members were special. They belong to the Alliance, but remain neutral. Finland and Austria are in invariable cooperation with NATO; participate in the joint exercises and programs. However, the states considered the opinion of the population which is crushingly against of joining NATO. Austria and Finland are observers of the WEU. 2. Security Policy and the Military capability of Finland From a military aspect, Finland was out of the superpowers’ interest; the state doesn’t have the rich natural resources, has the harsh climatic conditions, and belongs to the northern Europe. In 1947 Finland signed a Peace Treaty and tried to hold on to the policy of neutrality before the Second World War. Because of its geographical and strategic position Finland had a close relationship with the Soviet Union, which helped to protect the integrity of Finland and escaped from the occupation. The neutral state was able to return Porkkala, the territory which had been in the possession of the Soviet Union for 40 years. According to the Treaty of Friendship, Assistance and Mutual Cooperation, the two countries agreed on mutual assistance in case of danger, so this treaty can be regarded as a Mutual Pact. According to this pact Finland was prohibited from using its territory as a transit pass, in other words it provided the protection for the USSR from invading its territory with the armed force of the warring parties. Therefore Mutual Pact was the guarantee for contribution peace in the northern Europe. Finland had a close relationship with other Northern European countries, Sweden like its neighbor is a neutral country, and Norway and Denmark are relatively political weak countries of the Northern Europe. Finland tried to keep the discharge between the states; thereby it joined the CSCE, in the final act of which is mentioned about the country’s right in choosing a neutral policy. Country with a small population (4.7 million people) could not protect its own territory and keep sovereignty. Finnish Defense Forces have been gradually developing; it was emphases the role of naval air weapons, which because of extreme domestic shortages had to be imported from abroad. Finland since 1956 began to take part in the UN peacekeeping operations and its officers were the military observers in the two organizations of the United Nations. Finland is the only EU Nordic country, which did not become a member of NATO. During the Cold War, the Finnish Government adopted a decision of increasing the countrys defense. These led to the commissioning of several new weapon systems and strengthen the defense of Finland, while establishing new garrisons. And in 1968, the Finnish government has adopted the doctrine of territorial resistance, which covering the large territories in case of extreme military emergency. If we assume approximately 16,000 Finnish soldiers were participating in the various military operations of the United Nations, whose purpose was to maintain peace in regions. I will discuss latter about the valuable Finnish peacekeeping operations. According to statistics, in 2003 the Finnish army consisted of 27,000 soldiers, 435,000 reservists who participated in annual military exercises, weapons were presented by battle tanks (235), a marine fleet force consisted of patrol vessel and coastal battalion, landing craft. 3. Populations opinion As in the case of Austria, the population of Finland endorsed the EU membership. Such positive attitude connected with the difficulties in the Balkan, especially the Yugoslavian crisis, which broke out in 1994, the Finnish population began to think about the security and defense issues and becoming the member of the EU. What were the main benefits for the country’s joining this organization, first, it became a part of the EEA, i.e. obtained the corresponding advantages as a member (the four freedoms), and the second and the most important, became a part of a unified decision-making process. But the main Finnish opponents of the EU membership were the Finnish Central Union of Agricultural Producers, and among the political parties Left-Wing Alliance and Christian Union. In January 1994, due to the presidential elections, the population had changed the viewpoint and increased the number of voting in favor (almost 50%), both leaders of the presidential candidates (Paavo Vayrynen and Martti Ahtisaari), were the pro-European orientation. In the same year, it was designed a  «national package » for the Finnish farmers. And so, according to the referendum, which was celebrated in October 16, 1994 , 56.9 % of the population voted in favor , 43.1% voted against. If we compare with Austria Finnish youth was set up much skeptical about membership. Increasing number of the private sector workers voted in favor, while the public sector workers â€Å"against†. Social Democrats endorsed the pro-European orientation. National Coalition Party strongly sustained the EU membership. Center Party – voted â€Å"in favor† by 40%. Greens voted voted â€Å"in favor† by 20%. South votes in favor, in contrast to the North. Internationalists voted in favor, in contrast to the nationalists. 18 % of people worried about the future of the Finnish language. Among the main issues disturbing the population were the future economic development of Finland, the reduction of unemployment rate, security problem, and resolving all these issues according to the status of â€Å"nor war involvement†. 4. Peace-keeping operations Finland, as well as Austria, in order to conducting the anti crisis struggle became an active member of the UN, participated in the peace settlement in Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yugoslavia. Latter, I will describe the most significant of them. Lebanon crisis was one of the severe crisis of the 1990-s, during which two neighboring countries, Israel and Lebanon. The conflict described a series of military clashes, when the states weren’t able to share their borders. Since 1978, Finland became interested in this conflict situation. Finland endorsed Lebanon’s position and its purpose was restoring peace and security in the Southern Lebanon, assist the Lebanese government for creation the fair and democratic government. In this context, Finland actively required from Israel to withdrawing its military forces from the occupied territory. [1] 1400

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Streetcar :: essays research papers

The play centers around Blanche DuBois, who has been fired from her teaching job, and arrives unannounced at the small two-room apartment of her pregnant sister, Stella Kowalski. Stella, who lives with Stanley, her rough and domineering husband in a poor section of the French Quarter in New Orleans, welcomes her older sister. Although Blanche portrays the part of an aristocratic young woman, in actuality she is nothing more than an aging Southern belle who has come to tell her sister that she has lost everything, including their childhood home, Belle Reve. Stanley’s suspicious nature causes him to assume that Blanche is keeping money from Stella and immediately puts him at odds with her. Stanley’s nature is violent and Blanche sees him as "common" in every way, so advises her sister to strike out against him. Stanley overhears this and cannot forgive Blanche, realizing her as a threat to his marriage. The two argue about everything, causing Stella to choose be tween them. The main problem comes when Stanley unearths Blanche’s sordid past. Mitch, Stanley’s gentle friend, has gradually been seeing Blanche from the time of her arrival. As a last resort to save herself from Stanley and poverty, Blanche expresses her hopes to marry him. Blanche’s past however, is tainted due to her promiscuity and her affection for young boys. She blames this on her ex-husband, whom she found lying with another man and soon afterward killed himself. On her birthday, Stanley informs Mitch of her many affairs, causing the deterioration of their relationship and killing Blanche’s hopes for the future. This causes a scene between Stanley and Stella, and as a result, she goes into early labor. The final conflict comes when Stanley and Blanche are alone in the apartment waiting for Stella to come home from the hospital. Stanley decides to take advantage of the situation and when he expresses his intentions, Blanche tries in vain to defend herself. The scene ends with her brutal rape by Stanley.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

My Secret: Pacific Rose

When I think about art I see Picasso. I see faces, colors, things that should never be together are now one, a happy one: collages, statues, weird figures everywhere. Art is an adventure through expression, style, and creativity. When I say adventure I’m speaking of a safari mixed with a survival of the fittest, spitting out only greatness and uniqueness. In Charlotte, North Carolina’s Mint Museum there were many that attempted this adventure but one in particular who made it through was Jon Kuhn; his adventure was backed up by a breathtaking piece called Pacific Rose. Jon Kuhn’s background makes him seem as if he is a world renowned artist. Yet he is a very underrated artist with an array of accomplishments. Kuhn’s specialty is glass work but unlike other artists who use molten and blown glass, Kuhn uses cold glass that is cut, polished, and fused into many shapes from the outside in (Kuhn). This unique style of work has lead Kuhn to be featured in over 40 international museums, and a few public and private residences. One of his greatest accomplishments is having a few of his pieces claimed by the White House’s permanent collection. With such a broad resume Jon Kuhn should be a household name, yet Kuhn enjoys and would rather play the background underrated artist who â€Å"brings light and joy to those who experience them† (Kuhn). When you see Jon Kuhn’s work you are sure to know it’s his. Kuhn likes to take a shape and make it where it absorbs light while reflecting a diamond like appearance (Kuhn). This is what captured my attention when it came to his amazing piece Pacific Rose. This piece was no bigger than roughly four feet and yet had such a loud, strong, engaging voice. When I first saw it I was amazed at how bright and colorful it was but the more I looked at it I saw something more, something deeper. Pacific Rose is four foot upside down, elongated, clear pyramid with two pyramids and a cube hanging freely within it. When one first looks at the shapes it looks like a bunch of small brick red, gray, black, and turquoise blocks put together to make the shapes. But the deeper you look into the figure you see that each small square has hundreds of layers. Also within the layers are scribbles and writing that take the piece to another level. I then walk around the piece to get a better view and I feel as if I’ve been tricked. The solid shapes that I saw on one side are no longer solid. This is where the bright lights shining on the figure plays a huge role. In actuality the shapes look as if they have been annihilated, like an atomic bomb was dropped and the shapes are exploding. But the unique thing about these exploding figures is that all the while that they are exploding they somehow manage to keep their shape. This figure makes me want to get inside of the clear upside down pyramid and take a walk through the little figures within. This figure showed the exact path and journey Jon Kuhn took on his adventure through expression, style, and creativity. It not only showed this but also explained as to why he is featured in so many great places. His work is so amazing and extravagant that a part of me is happy that he is so underrated, for I would love to keep his beauties a secret and all to myself. But I know this is impossible for his work speaks so loud and with strength so strong that you must listen. It is only time before Jon Kuhn is being used as a household name. Jon Kuhn is now my new definition of art. Works Cited Page Kuhn, Jon. â€Å"Artist Jon Kuhn.† Kuhn Studio. N.p., 2002-2011. Web. 21 Dec 2011.

Friday, January 3, 2020

My Creature Of The Black Lagoon Critical Analysis

Josue Vasquez English 1 Professor Bonar 24 September 2017 Academic Standard or not in â€Å"My Creature of the Black Lagoon† When it comes to determining whether a paper is considered academic or not there are certain standards set in place that must be met in order for the paper to be considered an academic piece of work and if the paper itself doesn’t meet these standards then it isn’t considered academic. When it comes to Stephen King’s essay â€Å"My Creature from the Black Lagoon† it is a well written article however, it doesn’t meet all the standards expected from academic essays written for this class. King’s article fails to meet the standards expected in an academic essays in four ways .This paper will discuss how King’s paper fails to†¦show more content†¦This clearly shows King’s lack of structure which is expected from academic essays as the topics change without any type of transition. As King’s essay is further examined its organization also appears to be lacking compared to the type of organization seen in an academic paper in which it is a key component of what makes an academic paper stand out. King’s information in his article is well thought out and as seen by how much information and details he uses in his paper but he does begin to ramble randomly as his paragraphs don’t have any clear transition between each other as seen in the ending of paragraph eight â€Å"It is old enough to feel the dowser suddenly come alive, grow heavy, and roll over in your hands, pointing at hidden water.† (Paragraph 8) and by the beginning of his next paragraph â€Å"My reaction was to the creature on that night was perhaps the perfect reaction† (Paragraph 9) it is clear his paragraphs don’t transition clearly which comes off as jarring from an academic standpoint. Most of King’s paragraphs in the beginning do not connect with on e another as he leaps around from paragraph to paragraphShow MoreRelatedCompleting All Of My Assignments For Writing1281 Words   |  6 Pagesof my assignments for Writing 102, I have learned to manage my researching and synthesizing skills in a different way. Furthermore, I now have a better understanding of what I should include in my synthesizing process. After reviewing the learning objectives, I have found that integrating evidence, synthesizing, and producing research-based writing in context are now familiar to me. When I had passed in my first synthesis, a lot of the feedback that was given to me was to further evaluate my contextRead MoreMineral Resources18511 Words   |  75 Pagesto air flows and variations in climate, temperature and rainfall in different parts of the earth. It is a complex dynamic system. If its nature is disrupted it affects all mankind. Most air pollutants have both global and regional effects. Living creatures cannot survive without air even for a span of a few minutes. To continue to support life, air must be kept clean. Major pollutants of air are created by industrial units that release various gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and toxic