Exam Questions

Posted: January 4th, 2023

Student’s Name

Tutor’s Name

Course Title

Date

Exam Questions

Question 1 – Deterrence

Despite the escalating global efforts to stop or constrain Iran’s programs, there is escalating evidence that the country in the Middle East is dedicated to become a nuclear weapon country. Many nations are worries that if the situation is not stopped or if it can only if the intervention can be pushed to a later date, the U.S. and other countries will face the reality to cope with a nuclear-armed state and to contemplate the repercussions of the situation for America and its partners and the deterrence plan. It is widely alleged that that a nuclear-armed Iran would shaken stability in international security and in the potentially fragile Middle East. How Iran overcomes the nuclear threshold, together with the types and scale of nuclear mechanisms that it chooses to use become essential elements in considering how to contain or deter a nuclear-armed Iran. The teams that aspire to deter Iran from becoming a nuclear state should be ready to overcome some of the challenges they are likely to experience during the process.

A challenge the U.S. and other states are likely to experience in deterring Iran is how to prioritize and adequately communicate particular Iranian behaviors that the Western powers seek to change or halt. The Westerners understand that the Iranian culture is different and their religious and cultural practices create some differences in the way people think and act. Furthermore, the ideologies between the countries that support and do not support deterrence may not be the same, which could derail the attempts to create a plan that would persuade Iran into changing its approach to issues that could interfere with global security. The Americans may perceive the right approach in this case to be deterrence by denial where they lower the physical ability of the Iranians to make their plan successful. The Americans together with the other teams calling for deterrence may go ahead to inform Iran that they may not win the war and putting more resistance could only devastate its well-being.

The second challenge in deterring Iran surrounds the development of adequate awareness of major Iranian players and the function each plays in making security decisions at the national level. The challenge makes it hard to create deterrent plans that can be channeled purposely to manipulate those sources of influence and powers. Lack of adequate information on the real people behind the plans may lead the U.S. and other teams calling for deterrence to use forceful measures to restrain the Iranians from implementing their plan that could have devastating global impact. The Americans, for example, may see that the only way to overcome the challenge is to use deterrence by punishment, which entails the use of implied threats and military strikes. President Trump has launched several attacks against the Iranians with one particular one being on December 29, 2019 when an American Air Force aircraft bombed several camps of the Hezbollah group, killing twenty five militias. Unfortunately, the technique could have adverse repercussions in terms of economic, political, and security growth.

The teams aiming at deterring Iran’s actions are likely to encounter considerable constraints forming international coalitions capable of presenting Iran with a logical set of reasonable threats of attacks and punishments as well as appealing incentives that would stop Iran from implementing its nuclear program. The process will require immense financial input as well as other resources, which may be difficult to get. Other nations and individuals may have different views concerning the deterrence and may not be part of the plan to deter Iran. A suitable typology of deterrence that would help to overcome the constraint would be to offer appropriate concessions, inducements, and reassurances to Iran. A suitable inducement would be to tell Iran that it would get the chance to sell its products at the global market, particularly in the West. The U.S. and other countries supporting the deterrence plan should reassure Iran that it will support it develop better strategies to boost its securities, and that their relations will be stronger.

The parties involved in the deterrence fight may consider the political, diplomatic, and military solutions and settle on the most appropriate design. The political approach may entail putting sanctions against each other, while diplomatic approaches may require the bringing together of representatives to find amicable solutions. Military solutions, on the other hand, may entail send troops to attack each other in the battle field. The warring sides should settle on diplomatic relations because the approach is more peaceful and engaging.

Conclusion

The U.S. and other nations are dedicated to deter Iran from becoming a nuclear state but must overcome the challenges they may encounter while developing the plan. The parties calling for deterrence must come up with an effective plan to convince the Iranians that their desire to form a nuclear state is wrong, must identify the real forces behind the plan, and must for effective coalitions to champion for deterrence. The U.S. and the other teams that want Iran to halt is nuclear program should apply the suitable typology of deterrence to achieve the desired goals.  

Question 2 – China’s Peaceful Rise

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Hu Jintao, introduced an official policy dubbed China’s peaceful rise. The term is mainly used to reassure the U.S. and the countries of Asia that China’s rise in economic and political domains will not have any threat to the stability and peace, and that other countries will benefit from China’s increasing influence and power. The Chinese developed the policy as response to a widespread perception that China was less aggressive, and was not in a capacity to defend its military, economic, and political interests. The Chinese are dedicated to implement the policy through harmonization of the society, and by creating peaceful relations with international partners. The country aspires to implement the notion of China’s peaceful rise by adhering to the provisions of the five principles of peaceful coexistence, and by doing so it will create the opportunity to improve the economic, political, and security areas that are fundamental for the country’s growth and sustainability.

The Chinese hope to implement the concept of China’s peaceful rise through mutual respect for autonomy and territorial integrity. The government does not intent to violate the policies, treaties, and laws of other countries, especially those that safeguard their autonomy. Even as China adopts the plan to transcend the old practices to become a super power as enshrined in the doctrine of China’s peaceful rise, the country does not intent to indulge in the political affairs of other countries, and does not wish to be the cause for territorial disputes.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) aspires to achieve the goals of China’s peaceful rise through mutual non-interference and non-aggression in the affairs of others. The policy advocates for less aggressiveness and assertiveness in dealing with border disputes such as those affecting Southern Tibet. PRC through its China’s peaceful rise program hopes to find effective solutions to some of the issues that could affect relationship, and believes that the approach shall create more avenues to ascend to power.

PRC is committed to implement is peaceful rise strategy by promoting equality and mutual benefits among all parties. China, for example, is committed to mend its ties with Japan despite the difficult relations that have strained diplomatic ties between the two countries for so long. The Chinese government is committed to fight any form of discrimination as it applies its strategy with the belief that promoting equality will cause mutual gain.

The Chinese are dedicated to form peaceful coexistence with other nations while implementing its peaceful rise strategy. The doctrine stresses the benefits of soft power and is based on the notion that forming peaceful ties with its neighbors will improve rather than affect China’s Comprehensive National Power. The desire to maintain peace as it interacts with its international partners is evident in the way the country handles its border disputes with Russia. China always consults with the Russian authorities and would not want to tarnish the Sino-Russian relationship that commenced prior to World War II and became stronger after the Cold War ended in 1992.

China hopes to rise while upholding fairness, cooperation, sovereign equality, and peaceful development with all partners. The Chinese, for example, try to build fair and peaceful trading practices with its international partners with the objective of achieving development for all parties. The trade war between the U.S. and China does not deter China’s commitment to promote fairness and peaceful development with the Americans. The Chinese seem to understand that putting blame on others may worsen the situation thereby affecting the country in so many ways.

Striving to achieve China’s peaceful rise while focusing on the five principles of peaceful coexistence will have considerable implications on the political, economic, and security domains. Respecting the autonomy of other nations is likely to promote economic and political growth because others will see China as a country that does not mean any harm thereby attracting investors and foreign political leaders who may offer valuable insight into how to manage people and state operations. Upholding peace is likely to promote development in the political, economic, and security domains because other nations will not see any threat in relating with the Chinese. Upholding peace with other nations is not likely to cause any problems for the military personnel who will have to react when China enters into war or conflict after indulging in practices that violate the peace or security of other countries. The Chinese authorities should put much emphasis on promoting equality and mutual benefits across all parties to attract investors and to give the Chinese better opportunities to explore new markets. Acting in a selfish manner would not only deny Chinese traders and investors the chance to penetrate internationally, but would also create a negative perception for the country. The Chinese authorities mandated with the tasks of ensuring China’s peaceful rise is successful should not relent in achieving the provisions of the five principles of peaceful coexistence to continually improve its politics, economy, and national security.

Question 3 – Neo-Ottomanism

Turkey’s foreign policy towards the Middle East started to form after 1930 when the Turkish saw considerable opportunities in the Arabian region. The Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East traces its origins in the late 1930s when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk developed the Pact of Sadabad in 1937. The political activism towards the Middle East was suppressed when President Inonu Inonu embraced a passive policy in the regional matters on order to create a policy balance between the Jews and Arabs for geopolitical benefits. The Democrat Party redeveloped Turkey’s activities in the Middle East in the 1950s with the motive of forming NATO-Arab pact under Turkish leadership. Turkey’s idea was first to renew the terms of the Sadabad agreement with which the initiatives resulted in the formation of the 1955 Baghdad agreement. The second objective for forming the NATO-Arab partnership was to get Western, particularly the U.S.’s economic and security support. Other than security gains, the Turkish believed that their political activism in the Middle East could facilitate Western indulgence in the regional affairs and consequently could facilitate more economic assistance. Though Turkey acquired its political and economic gains through the West, the countries policies with the Middle East did not yield beneficial results.

The accession of the Turkish Justice and Development Party into power in 2002 created an opportunity to transform the Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East. Over the last one and a half decade, Turkey has emerged as a vital player in the Middle East in the way it has embarked on several missions aimed at mediating conflicting sides such as it appeared in the Iranian nuclear program and the Arab-Israeli clash. Some even feel that the new indulgence in the Middle East could be termed as a switch from the West in support of the East and as neo-Ottoman. Others have described the increased foreign policy towards the Middle East as a result of the disillusionment with the delayed EU succession process, or the interest to form an autonomous foreign policy from the Americans. The 2003 war in Iraq served as the initial test for the AKP government that had just entered office and was under immense pressure from the U.S. government to form a northern front against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein by permitting the passage of American forces through Turkish territories. Turkey seized the opportunity created by the war between the U.S. and Iraq to partner with Israel to strengthen its involvement in the Middle East. Both Syria and Israel depended on Turkey to run the talks with Iraq and the talks were termed as successful. Some of the transformations in foreign policy were formulated before AKP ascended to power in 2002. It is the AKP, however, who changed Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East more coherent. The AKP soon created what was called the “zero-problems with the neighbors” framework, which facilitated relations with countries in the Middle East, some of which had been perceived as enemies if not outright rivals to Turkey.

It is apparent that Turkey’s new foreign policy in the Middle East is driven by the desire to build Turkish economy from a local-based to a strong export-oriented one that participates engages in relentless search for markets. AKP is dedicated to change Turkey into a global player, which pushes the government to increase its political activism in the Middle East. Underlying Turkey’s improved foreign policy in the Middle East and other parts of the globe were pegged to the transformation of the Turkish economy, which reflect Turkey’s motive to enter the region in the 1930s. Recep Tayyip Erdogan saw the diplomatic ties as a chance to acquire new export markets for Turkish products. The AKP believes that the Middle East offers more opportunities for expansion as opposed to the European markets that were once appealing but their growth has stagnated in the recent past. Consequently, the exports from Turkey to the EU reduced from 56% to 46% between 2006 and 2010. Some of the worst hit countries by Turkey’s increased focus on the Middle East include the UK and Germany. The AKP hopes to secure more economic opportunities that would boost the country’s revenue by allowing visa-free travel to the Middle East and signing dozens of commercial agreements. Turkey’s economic quest in the Middle East satisfies a quote on neo-Ottomanism, which implies that Turkey in a neo-Ottoman perspective, does not aspire to create a neo-imperialist government focused at reviving the deeds and policies of the Ottoman Empire that were aimed at building state and national interests. Nonetheless, it is based on creating a foreign policy that would improve the Turkish economy, not its ideology.  

Conclusion

The Turkish formed political activism in the Middle East as early as the 1937 but the relations became stronger after AKP took leadership in 2002. The Turkish government sees its relations with Middle East as a chance to reestablish its policy by getting away from the Western and getting new markets. The Turkish, however, view their enhanced foreign relations with the countries in the Middle East as a way of realizing its dream of developing a robust economy that is driven by exportation.