‘Into A Mirror Darkly’

Author(s):  
Judith Rauscher

This chapter argues that contemporary representations of border crossing on screen engage with a specifically 21st-century U.S. manifestation of what Lora Wildenthal in following Valerie Amos and Pratibha Parmar calls “imperial feminism.” It examines how the most recent product of the Star Trek franchise, the TV series Star Trek: Discovery (2017–ongoing), interrogates the legacies of U.S. imperialism and, less overtly so, of U.S. imperial feminism. The analysis focuses on the geographical as well as the metaphorical border crossings that occur in the series when the crew of the Federation starship Discovery jumps to an alternative universe which is dominated by the fascist Terran Empire. It argues that Star Trek: Discovery can be read as a feminist text that exposes the limits of two very different kinds of post-sexist futures: one, the Mirror Universe, in which the empowerment of women depends on openly imperialist and racist ideologies and another, the Prime Universe, in which these ideologies threaten to make a comeback in the context of violent conflict. By contrasting these two possible futures and by connecting them through instances of border crossing, Star Trek: Discovery not only speaks to issues of intersectional feminist critique, it also responds to the political, social, and cultural changes in the United States leading up to and associated with the Trump administration.

Author(s):  
W. W. Rostow

I have tried in this book to summarize where the world economy has come from in the past three centuries and to set out the core of the agenda that lies before us as we face the century ahead. This century, for the first time since the mid-18th century, will come to be dominated by stagnant or falling populations. The conclusions at which I have arrived can usefully be divided in two parts: one relates to what can be called the political economy of the 21st century; the other relates to the links between the problem of the United States playing steadily the role of critical margin on the world scene and moving at home toward a solution to the multiple facets of the urban problem. As for the political economy of the 21st century, the following points relate both to U.S. domestic policy and U.S. policy within the OECD, APEC, OAS, and other relevant international organizations. There is a good chance that the economic rise of China and Asia as well as Latin America, plus the convergence of economic stagnation and population increase in Africa, will raise for a time the relative prices of food and industrial materials, as well as lead to an increase in expen ditures in support of the environment. This should occur in the early part of the next century, If corrective action is taken in the private markets and the political process, these strains on the supply side should diminish with the passage of time, the advance of science and innovation, and the progressively reduced rate of population increase. The government, the universities, the private sector, and the professions might soon place on their common agenda the delicate balance of maintaining full employment with stagnant or falling populations. The existing literature, which largely stems from the 1930s, is quite illuminating but inadequate. And the experience with stagnant or falling population in the the world economy during post-Industrial Revolution times is extremely limited. This is a subject best approached in the United States on a bipartisan basis, abroad as an international problem. It is much too serious to be dealt with, as it is at present, as a domestic political football.


Author(s):  
Enrique Dussel Peters

The socioeconomic and political relationship between Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) with China has become increasingly significant for both since the beginning of the 21st century. This article analyzes proposals by the United States and China in their bilateral relationship and the political effects of their increasing tensions on LAC. Consistent with the proposed framework of analysis of the socioeconomic LAC–China relationship—at least in terms of trade, financing, overseas foreign direct investments, and infrastructure projects—the article examines in detail these conditions, as well as providing an in-depth example of trade. The final part of the article discusses the important potential and challenges of China for LAC’s development and concludes that so far, and based on the in-depth analysis of the trade relationship, the LAC–China relation is closer to a core-periphery than to a South–South or win–win strategy. The document proposes to understand that the political economy within the United States, particularly of its private sector, have shifted substantially against China. In addition, the structure for analysis of the LAC-China relationship in the 21st century with a concrete structure of analysis in terns of trade, financing, Chinese overseas foreign direct investments (OFDI) and infrastructure projects. In light of current discussions, the analysis suggests for the inclusion of a group of new concepts –such as the “the new triangular relationships” and the “globalization process with Chinese characteristics” with a group of effects in LAC. The impact of the increasing China-United States tensions, from this perspective, generates massive challenges in LAC, independently of their diplomatic relationships to China.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Ayson

While values often evoke noble aims, groups of countries sometimes use statements about the values they share to coerce others. Allies coordinate around their shared values talk to apply reputational pressure on adversaries. Examples include attempts by the United States and its liberal democratic allies in Asia to coerce China and by EU and NATO members to coerce Russia. Shared values talk can also be used to discipline wayward allies who are supposed to be committed to the political principles in question. EU leaders and some of Washington’s NATO allies have sought to place such pressure on the Trump Administration. Participating in shared values talk may also be self-coercive. But if values talk is to be an effective form of coercion, it must impose costs that the target deems important.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Ayson

While values often evoke noble aims, groups of countries sometimes use statements about the values they share to coerce others. Allies coordinate around their shared values talk to apply reputational pressure on adversaries. Examples include attempts by the United States and its liberal democratic allies in Asia to coerce China and by EU and NATO members to coerce Russia. Shared values talk can also be used to discipline wayward allies who are supposed to be committed to the political principles in question. EU leaders and some of Washington’s NATO allies have sought to place such pressure on the Trump Administration. Participating in shared values talk may also be self-coercive. But if values talk is to be an effective form of coercion, it must impose costs that the target deems important.


Author(s):  
Linda K. Nozick ◽  
George F. List ◽  
Mark A. Turnquist ◽  
Tzu-Li Wu

Between 1991 and 1995, trade between the United States and Canada increased 55 percent, and trade between the United States and Mexico grew 68 percent. This growth in traffic has strained the available capacity and has led to frequent delays as vehicles pass through congested border-crossing facilities. Delays at the border may be reduced through the use of information technologies. A generic simulation model was developed of a border crossing that can be used to evaluate the benefit of information technologies to speed the processing of commercial vehicles at the border. This model is tested with input data that are reflective of the Peace Bridge, which links Buffalo, New York, with Fort Erie, Ontario, to develop general relationships between the penetration rate of advanced technology in the commercial vehicle traffic and the benefits to be achieved. This analysis indicates that the effective use of information technologies can significantly improve the services offered and reduce the amount of resources needed.


Author(s):  
Benjamin C. Waterhouse

This chapter situates the transformation of the politics of business during the 1980s at the intersection of two interrelated trends: the realignment of global capitalism, particularly the rise of finance and the decline of industrial manufacturing in the United States, and the political and cultural changes that spawned a new power structure and the proliferation of professional lobbying firms. The collective influence of employers' associations began to wane during the Reagan administration, even as their ideological perspective became increasingly integral to political discourse. Neoliberal doctrine about the supremacy of the market and the debilitating effects of government “intervention” in the economy came to dominate policy deliberations not only among conservatives and Republicans but, increasingly, among liberals and Democrats.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. e60375
Author(s):  
Maria Beatriz Oliveira da Silva ◽  
Ana Elisi Carbone Anversa ◽  
Thomaz Delgado De David

Considerando as transformações do capitalismo e a reconfiguração do imperialismo, as Guerras Híbridas surgem no século XXI como parte de uma nova estratégia para a desestabilização política da periferia global. Sua tática mescla diferentes tipos de ataques, inclusive virtuais, com a finalidade de destituir governantes e realinhar politicamente os países atingidos aos interesses do centro global, especialmente dos Estados Unidos. À vista disso, o presente artigo objetiva identificar como as fake news foram instrumentalizadas na Guerra Híbrida contra a Bolívia, que culminou na renúncia do então Presidente Evo Morales, em 2019. Para tanto, emprega-se o método de abordagem materialista histórico-dialético, o método de procedimento histórico e a técnica de pesquisa documental. Os resultados obtidos apontam que a instrumentalização das fake news ocorreu de maneira sistemática, manipuladora e impactou a ocorrência do golpe em um contexto de Guerra Híbrida.Palavras-chaves: Guerras Híbridas; Bolívia; Estados Unidos.ABSTRACTConsidering the transformations of capitalism and the reconfiguration of imperialism, the Hybrid Wars emerge in the 21st century as part of a new strategy for the political destabilization of the global periphery. Its tactic mixes different types of attacks, including virtual ones, with the purpose of removing governors and to politically realign the affected countries to the interests of the global center, especially of the United States. Considering this, the present article aims to identify how fake news were instrumentalized in the Hybrid War against Bolivia, which culminated in the resignation of then President Evo Morales, in 2019. In order to that, the historical-dialectical materialist approach is employed, as well as the historical procedure method and the documentary research technique. The results obtained indicate that the instrumentalization of fake news occurred in a systematic and manipulative way and impacted the occurrence of the coup in a Hybrid War context.Keywords:  Hybrid Wars; Bolivia; United States. Recebido em: 10 jun. 2021 | Aceito em: 19/09/21.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-285
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Lesnau

In a world where global economies are increasingly interdependent, the United States, and its North American counterparts, Canada and Mexico, are booming sources of international trade. Now, more than ever, global competitiveness necessitates developments in U.S. infrastructure, especially at major border crossings where congestion and poor infrastructure create bottlenecks interfering with the free movement of goods. Questions pertaining to international border crossings circle the debate at the most crucial international border crossing in North America: the Ambassador Bridge, which spans the Detroit River between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. A legal battle rages over the proposed construction of a new publicly owned bridge that will compete with the eighty-six-year-old privately owned bridge. Many questions surround this topic, including whether the United States may allow the construction of a bridge that competes with a private individual’s livelihood. Is there a compelling case for a government taking in favor of public infrastructure? Should a private individual be able to own a major international border crossing? Additionally, in anticipation of construction of a new bridge, what will be the implications for the community that must give up its property to make way for the construction? This Comment will focus on the conflict over the construction of the New International Trade Crossing (NITC), also known as the “Bridge to the Future,” in competition with the Ambassador Bridge and its relevance to the conversation of border infrastructure. It will further demonstrate some of the pitfalls in the private ownership of an international border crossing—as well as some that inhere in government ownership—arguing for a new infrastructure model that promotes collaboration between the public and private sectors. Ultimately, this Article will argue that, like the NITC, future border infrastructure projects should be developed through the use of public-private partnerships (hereinafter “P3s”) to promote North American trade development.


Media-N ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diran Lyons

In this essay, I explore my latest series of digital collages titled Notes and Narratives. These works utilize additive, subtractive, and substitutive remix strategies to integrate Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque paintings with visages of Donald Trump and his associates. The series appropriates historical masterworks to interrelate the theologico-political foundations of the original paintings with the political turbulence experienced under the Trump administration.  Notes and Narratives foregrounds remix as a powerful and potent tool for disruption, change, and communication in the continuum of pedagogic praxes and remix studies. My previous artistic work was dedicated to creating political remix videos, and this body of work represents a fork in my creative practice. The immediacy of the collages draws upon intertextuality and remix strategies to reveal passionate polemical positions, positing contentious criticisms of the political leadership in the United States. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-153
Author(s):  
Adolphus G. Belk ◽  
Robert C. Smith ◽  
Sherri L. Wallace

In general, the founders of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists were “movement people.” Powerful agents of socialization such as the uprisings of the 1960s molded them into scholars with tremendous resolve to tackle systemic inequalities in the political science discipline. In forming NCOBPS as an independent organization, many sought to develop a Black perspective in political science to push the boundaries of knowledge and to use that scholarship to ameliorate the adverse conditions confronting Black people in the United States and around the globe. This paper utilizes historical documents, speeches, interviews, and other scholarly works to detail the lasting contributions of the founders and Black political scientists to the discipline, paying particular attention to their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and civic engagement. It finds that while political science is much improved as a result of their efforts, there is still work to do if their goals are to be achieved.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document