Tabakian Pols 5 - Fall 2014. Western Political Thought

1. Western Political Thought
John Paul Tabakian, Ed.D.
Political Science 5
Fall 2014 – Power Point #9

2. COURSE LECTURE: WEEK 9 (1)
Today’s Lecture Covers The Following:
• Muckrackers – Upton Sinclair
• How The Masses Perceive The Parties
• Pluralism Example – Obama Vs. Apple
• Conflict, Violence & War - Causes Of War:
1. Nationalism
2. Ethnicity
3. Religion
4. Culture
5. Natural Resources

3. COURSE LECTURE: WEEK 9 (1)
• “Kin-Country” Syndrome
• Redefining Civilization Identity
• West Versus The Rest
• American Military Power
• Ethical Issues
• Unconventional Military Options:
• American Biological Weapons Program
• Public Influences Policy
• Legislatures

4. UPTON SINCLAIR’S “THE JUNGLE”
•Upton Sinclair was a poor reformer who sought to write the Great
American Novel.
•“The Jungle” examined the unsanitary methods of Chicago’s
meatpacking industry of Chicago. It was released in 1906.
•President Theodore Roosevelt received advanced copy. Used his
influence to push Congress to pass a law establishing the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA). Roosevelt coined the term “muckrakers”
to describe Sinclair and other reformist crusaders.
•Roosevelt’s phrase was not meant to be wholly complimentary.
•Muckrackers are journalists who expose political and commercial
corruption.

5. HOW THE MASSES PERCEIVE THE PARTIES
Activists are most likely to participate in
campaign activities. These are the most
partisan among typical voters. Two of the
most common activities aside from
voting is donating personal labor and
financial resources. Political pandering
refers to how parties cater to their core
base of activists. Those found in the
Republican Party tend to be more
conservative than the average
Republican voter. Democratic activists
on the other hand tend to be more liberal
than the average Democratic voter.

6. HOW THE MASSES VIEW THE PARTIES
Let us now see how Hollywood views the parties from the perspective of the
average Joe or Jane. Our example comes from the movie “Bulworth” starring
Warren Beatty. Two scenes are shown to demonstrate pandering as seen from the
perspective of Hollywood. What are your thoughts after watching these clips? Do
they coincide with your personal belief systems in any way?
Hollywood + ReligionRace Based Politics

7. BULLWORTH – RELIGION

8. BULLWORTH – HOLLYWOOD

9. OBAMA & APPLE
Constituents have witnessed influential campaign advertisements
that are authored by the average person. The clip on the left was
created from an Obama supporter with commonly available computer
equipment who manipulated the famous 1984 Apple commercial that
introduced the world to Macintosh.

10. OBAMA & APPLE

11. OBAMA & APPLE

12. CULTURAL CONFLICT - NEW COLD WAR?
• Tensions between civilizations are supplanting the
political and ideological rivalries persistent during the
Cold War.
• Samuel Huntington argue, "the values that are most
important in the West are least important worldwide.”
• World politics will be directed in the future by
conflicts that according to Kishore Mahbubani
will be between "the West and the Rest".
• Samuel P. Huntington adds "...and the
responses of non-Western civilizations to
Western power and values.”

13. CONFLICT, VIOLENCE, AND WAR
1. Non-Western civilizations isolate themselves from the
Western-dominated global community.
2. "Band-Wagoning" can lead non-Western countries to
join with the West and accept its values and
institutions.
3. Non-Western countries can attempt to "balance" the
West by developing an alternative economic and
military power and ally with one another to effective
counter Western dominance.

14. CAUSES OF WAR
• Nationalism
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Culture
• Natural Resources

15. “KIN-COUNTRY” SYNDROME
• States try to rally support from states that
share a similar culture.
• Replaces political ideology and traditional
balance of power as the principal basis for
cooperation and coalitions.

16. REDEFINING CIVILIZATION IDENTITY
Samuel Huntington’s Three Requirements For Torn
Countries To Redefine Its Civilization Identity:
• The Country’s economic and political elites have to
enthusiastically endorse the transition.
• Its public has to endorse whatever new definition is
adopted.
• Dominant groups in the recipient civilization have to
embrace the convert.

17. WEST VS. THE REST
• Samuel P. Huntington stresses that civilization-
consciousness is increasing and that global politics will
be focused on "the West and the Rest".
• This applies to conflicts between the Western powers,
especially the United States, against "others".
• The first conflict(s) will be between the West and
several Islamic-Confucian states.
• Samuel Huntington made these arguments in the
article “The Clash of Civilizations (1993)”.

18. AMERICAN MILITARY POWER
• The main reasons for the US to maintain such a high
military expenditure are:
• US commitments on a global basis. US military forces
must be able to project power to regions located
thousands of miles away.
• US forces require high technology in order to defeat its
enemies with limited casualties.
• US maintains a much more expensive all-volunteer
force.

19. Human beings are the ultimate weapon. Biological
weapon development is presented in this PBS Special
“The Living Weapon. All slides from this point
incorporate information from the PBS website
dedicated to “The Living Weapon”:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weapon/index.html.
Chapter 1: (2:37)
"Teaser" introduction for The Living Weapon
on American Experience.
Chapter 2: (3:15)
In December 1942, the U.S.
government holds a secret meeting at
the National Academy of Sciences to
discuss a biological warfare program.
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS – ETHICS (1)

20. TEASER – THE LIVING WEAPON

21. SECRET MEETING – THE LIVING WEAPON

22. Chapter 3: (4:16)
During the summer of 1942, the British
conduct secret anthrax tests on the
Scottish island of Gruinard.
Chapter 4: (5:11)
American scientists begin secret biological
warfare research at Camp Detrick in
Maryland.
Chapter 5: (4:00)
New weapons of mass destruction are
deployed during World War II.
Chapter 6: (10:32)
Surprising news of German and
Japanese biowarfare research emerge
at the end of World War II.
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS – ETHICS (2)

23. BRITISH SECRET – THE LIVING WEAPON

24. CAMP DETRICK – THE LIVING WEAPON

25. NEW WEAPONS – THE LIVING WEAPON

26. SUPRISE – THE LIVING WEAPON

27. Chapter 7: (5:59)
The U.S. biological weapons program
escalates during the Cold War.
Chapter 8: (10:05)
In 1954, American scientists begin testing
biological agents on human subjects.
Chapter 9: (5:13)
The U.S. biological weapons program
comes under public scrutiny.
Chapter 10: (1:38)
The United States ratifies international
agreements leading to the end of the U.S.
biological weapons program.
BIOLOGICAN WEAPONS – ETHICS (3)

28. ESCALATION – THE LIVING WEAPON

29. HUMAN SUBJECTS – THE LIVING WEAPON

30. SCRUTINY – THE LIVING WEAPON

31. RATIFICATION – THE LIVING WEAPON

32. Title Unknown (Botulism) (9:43)
This experiment was conducted to determine
whether primates would make suitable research
subjects in a study of botulism. Researchers inject
a monkey with botulisum toxin to determine if he
will exhibit the same effects as human victims.
Operation Cover Up (9:04)
This film questions how long military
personnel would be able to remain in
protective suits and gas masks in the event
of an operation within a biological or
chemical weapons area.
Incapacitation by Enterotoxin (5:40)
The film shows the effect of enterotoxin, a
form of food poisoning, when delivered as
an aerosol spray to monkeys.
BIOLOGICAN WEAPONS – ETHICS (4)

33. BOTULISM – THE LIVING WEAPON

34. COVER UP – THE LIVING WEAPON

35. INCAPACITATION – THE LIVING WEAPON

36. • Foreign policies are the strategies
governments use to guide their actions in
the international arena.
–Spell out the objectives state leaders
have decided to pursue in a given
relationship or situation.
–Foreign policy process: How policies
are arrived at and implemented.
MAKING FOREIGN POLICY (1)

37. • Range of views on foreign policy issues
held by the citizens of a state.
• Has a greater influence on foreign policy in
democracies than in authoritarian
governments.
–Legitimacy
–Propaganda
–Journalists as gatekeepers
PUBLIC INFLUENCES POLICY (1)

38. • In democracies, public opinion generally
has less effect on foreign policy than on
domestic policy.
–Attentive public
–Foreign policy elite
–Rally ’round the flag syndrome
–Diversionary foreign policy
PUBLIC INFLUENCES POLICY (2)

39. • Comparative foreign policy.
–Study of foreign policy in various states
in order to discover whether similar
types of societies or governments
consistently have similar types of foreign
policies.
• Foreign policy outcomes result from
multiple forces at various levels of
analysis.
MAKING FOREIGN POLICY (2)

40. • Conduit through which interest groups and public opinion
can wield influence.
– Presidential systems; separate elections.
• Legislatures play a direct role in making foreign
policy.
• Different rules apply, however, to the use of military
force.
– Rally ’round the flag.
– May challenge the president if they have power
of the “purse”.
LEGISLATURES (1)

41. • Parliamentary systems; political parties are
dominant
• Often parliamentary executives do not need
to submit treaties or policies for formal
approval by the legislature.
• Call elections; new executive
• Legislatures play a key role in designing
and implementing foreign policy.
LEGISLATURES (2)