POS 273-Lecture 16: Thinking about the Future of International Relations

00:36:44
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoSFWaFB6Mc

Summary

TLDRIn the final lecture of POS 273, the instructor discusses the major challenges facing the global community, including shifts in power dynamics, climate change, and the rise of extremism. The lecture highlights insights from three TED Talks by Joseph Nye, James Hansen, and Maajid Nawaz, each addressing these issues from different perspectives. Nye emphasizes the importance of soft power in adapting to global changes, Hansen warns about the urgent need for action against climate change, and Nawaz advocates for non-violence and democracy as a counter to extremism. The lecture encourages students to think critically about these challenges and consider their roles as informed global citizens.

Takeaways

  • 🌍 Global power dynamics are shifting, requiring adaptive strategies.
  • 🌡️ Climate change poses significant risks that demand urgent action.
  • ✌️ Non-violence and democracy can counteract extremism.
  • 📚 TED Talks provide accessible insights into complex issues.
  • 💡 Critical thinking is essential for understanding global challenges.
  • 🌱 Individuals can influence change through informed actions.
  • ⚖️ Policy implications arise from discussions on global issues.
  • 🤝 Collaboration among various actors is crucial for addressing challenges.
  • 🕰️ Time is of the essence in tackling climate change.
  • 📝 Final assignments encourage reflection on course learnings.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    In the final lecture of POS 273, the instructor Robin Glover discusses the course's conclusion, focusing on three main questions: the biggest challenges for the global future, whether humanity has the resources and will to confront these challenges, and how to apply the course's learnings to become better global citizens. The lecture emphasizes the importance of TED Talks as a medium for exploring these issues.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The first speaker, Joseph Nye, a Harvard scholar, discusses the changing dynamics of global power distribution, advocating for the use of 'soft power' rather than traditional military approaches. He emphasizes the need for a diplomatic response to the shifting power landscape, suggesting that fear-driven policies can lead to dangerous outcomes.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    James Hansen, a climate scientist, addresses the urgent challenge of climate change, highlighting the need for political action and changes in consumption patterns. He presents a compelling case for the impacts of climate change, urging awareness and action to mitigate its effects on the planet.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    The third speaker, Maajid Nawaz, shares his journey from extremism to advocating for non-violence and democracy. He discusses the allure of extremism and the importance of presenting compelling narratives that promote democracy as a counter to violent ideologies, emphasizing the need for societal engagement in democratic processes.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    The TED Talks collectively present complex global issues with significant implications, encouraging critical examination of underlying assumptions and the exploration of policy implications. The instructor urges students to think about how these issues can be addressed through various levels of analysis, from global to individual perspectives.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    The lecture also revisits the concept of levels of analysis in international relations, illustrating how Hansen's climate change perspective is global, Nye's focus is on state relations, and Nawaz's approach is societal and individual. Each speaker's insights contribute to a broader understanding of how to navigate these challenges.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:36:44

    Finally, the instructor encourages students to remain informed about global issues, think critically, and consider their roles as active citizens. The course concludes with reminders about upcoming assignments and the importance of applying the knowledge gained to foster positive change in the world.

Show more

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What are the main topics covered in the final lecture?

    The final lecture covers global power shifts, climate change, and extremism.

  • Who are the speakers discussed in the lecture?

    The speakers are Joseph Nye, James Hansen, and Maajid Nawaz.

  • What is Joseph Nye's perspective on power?

    Joseph Nye discusses the concept of soft power and the importance of adapting to global power shifts.

  • What does James Hansen focus on in his TED Talk?

    James Hansen focuses on the challenges of climate change and the need for political action.

  • What transformation did Maajid Nawaz undergo?

    Maajid Nawaz transitioned from advocating violence to promoting non-violence and democracy.

  • What is the significance of TED Talks in this context?

    TED Talks are used to present complex ideas in an engaging and accessible manner.

  • What is the fee and dividend system proposed by Hansen?

    It is a system to attach a cost to carbon emissions to incentivize reduction.

  • What role do individuals play in addressing global issues?

    Individuals can inform themselves, engage in discussions, and take action to impact global issues.

  • What is the importance of critical thinking in international relations?

    Critical thinking helps analyze arguments, assumptions, and policy implications in global issues.

  • What is the final assignment for the course?

    The final assignment is a reflection paper on the icon simulation, due Sunday.

View more video summaries

Get instant access to free YouTube video summaries powered by AI!
Subtitles
en
Auto Scroll:
  • 00:00:01
    [Music]
  • 00:00:08
    you
  • 00:00:10
    [Music]
  • 00:00:18
    everyone this is lecture 16 for POS 273
  • 00:00:22
    international relations and online
  • 00:00:24
    undergraduate course taught at the
  • 00:00:26
    University of Maine and I'm your
  • 00:00:28
    instructor Robin Glover
  • 00:00:29
    so today is our last lecture this is
  • 00:00:34
    kind of the final wrapping up lecture
  • 00:00:36
    for the course and we're going to look
  • 00:00:37
    specifically at three things one is what
  • 00:00:41
    are the biggest challenges that we will
  • 00:00:43
    face in our global future to is do we as
  • 00:00:46
    a species have the resources and the
  • 00:00:48
    will to confront them a third question
  • 00:00:50
    is how can we utilize what we've learned
  • 00:00:52
    in this class in the future to become
  • 00:00:54
    better citizens and more informed global
  • 00:00:57
    actors so put today you didn't have a
  • 00:01:01
    typical reading you didn't have a
  • 00:01:03
    chapter in the book that you're expected
  • 00:01:04
    to read I did ask you to watch these
  • 00:01:07
    three TED Talks and so we'll kind of go
  • 00:01:12
    through who these people are and say a
  • 00:01:14
    little bit about them then we'll dig
  • 00:01:15
    into the TED Talks themselves and try to
  • 00:01:18
    hopefully kind of explore what are the
  • 00:01:23
    underlying assumptions what are the the
  • 00:01:26
    assumptions that they're making about
  • 00:01:27
    how the world works what we can
  • 00:01:29
    accomplish how we accomplish it the
  • 00:01:32
    policy tools that we have at our
  • 00:01:34
    disposal to to accomplish some of these
  • 00:01:37
    large goals but let's first talk a
  • 00:01:40
    little bit about the three folks that
  • 00:01:41
    you watched for today so one first
  • 00:01:44
    gentlemen all the way to the left is
  • 00:01:46
    Joseph Nye Joseph Nye is a scholar of
  • 00:01:49
    international relations he's a
  • 00:01:51
    researcher at Harvard University and I
  • 00:01:54
    think it's safe to say that Joseph Nye
  • 00:01:56
    operates with what we would call a
  • 00:01:59
    liberal perspective on international
  • 00:02:01
    relations his talk specifically is about
  • 00:02:03
    power and the use of power but he
  • 00:02:06
    doesn't convey that in the kind of
  • 00:02:08
    typical realist way of you know
  • 00:02:10
    maximizing military force or ensuring if
  • 00:02:14
    parity with adversaries he thinks about
  • 00:02:16
    it a broader more diplomatic probably
  • 00:02:21
    more optimistic way or the he talks
  • 00:02:24
    specifically about soft power and he's
  • 00:02:27
    talking about power shifts that have
  • 00:02:28
    occurred globally and what the
  • 00:02:30
    proper disposition with the proper
  • 00:02:32
    response to those power shifts ought to
  • 00:02:34
    be your second speaker is James Hansen
  • 00:02:37
    James Hansen is a climate scientist he
  • 00:02:39
    worked for NASA for a number of years
  • 00:02:41
    and really was one of the pioneers in
  • 00:02:44
    the 1980s of some of the emerging
  • 00:02:48
    science around climate change the ways
  • 00:02:51
    that man-made impacts specifically
  • 00:02:55
    carbon emissions were producing changes
  • 00:02:59
    in our physical environment and some of
  • 00:03:03
    the impacts that those changes would
  • 00:03:07
    have at the time that he started
  • 00:03:09
    publishing some of his early analyses on
  • 00:03:13
    manmade climate change and the impacts
  • 00:03:15
    of manmade climate change people viewed
  • 00:03:17
    him as kind of pessimistic presenting
  • 00:03:22
    worst-case scenarios a lot of the
  • 00:03:24
    predictions that he made about sea level
  • 00:03:28
    rise and global average temperature rise
  • 00:03:32
    were dismissed they were viewed as
  • 00:03:34
    overly pessimistic or not well-founded
  • 00:03:36
    and subsequently some of those
  • 00:03:40
    pessimistic scenarios have been
  • 00:03:41
    confirmed and so he is really viewed as
  • 00:03:44
    a pioneer in climate science and one of
  • 00:03:46
    the first scientists that was going out
  • 00:03:48
    to make bold and ultimately well
  • 00:03:51
    supported claims about the impacts of
  • 00:03:54
    climate change the last speaker that you
  • 00:03:57
    have machine' Nawaz is of Pakistani
  • 00:04:01
    descent is his ethnic origins family
  • 00:04:06
    from Pakistan he grew up in the UK and
  • 00:04:11
    really is an interesting figure for a
  • 00:04:14
    long time he was involved in some
  • 00:04:18
    Islamist extremist groups and had a very
  • 00:04:23
    angry kind of fiery disposition towards
  • 00:04:27
    how Islam ought to be promoted
  • 00:04:29
    throughout the world the advocated for
  • 00:04:30
    violence he was active throughout the
  • 00:04:35
    world in organizations with terrorist
  • 00:04:38
    links and was even briefly jailed for a
  • 00:04:41
    period in Egypt but he
  • 00:04:43
    volved in involved with groups operating
  • 00:04:47
    really kind of transnationally in scope
  • 00:04:50
    and then he essentially had a 180 he
  • 00:04:54
    rejected the use of violence adopted a
  • 00:04:57
    more tolerant open kind of less extreme
  • 00:05:05
    disposition towards political change and
  • 00:05:08
    social change and has really become an
  • 00:05:10
    advocate for non-violence and as you see
  • 00:05:12
    in the TED talk an advocate for
  • 00:05:14
    democracy democratization as a way to
  • 00:05:17
    counter the appeal the allure of global
  • 00:05:21
    extremism so these TED talks if you
  • 00:05:25
    haven't watched them yet I want you to
  • 00:05:26
    pause the lecture and go and watch the
  • 00:05:29
    TED Talks TED Talks are relatively brief
  • 00:05:31
    and they're they're good examples of
  • 00:05:37
    communication or engaging they they ask
  • 00:05:39
    interesting questions they don't they're
  • 00:05:41
    not loaded with jargon they're to the
  • 00:05:43
    point they're compelling so I really do
  • 00:05:47
    encourage you to watch these I will say
  • 00:05:50
    a little bit about the format of TED
  • 00:05:51
    Talks if you're familiar with this TED
  • 00:05:55
    Talks
  • 00:05:55
    Ted stands for Technology education and
  • 00:05:58
    design and this format really you know
  • 00:06:03
    got under way a little over a decade ago
  • 00:06:06
    the idea was to take smart people with
  • 00:06:10
    expertise in some area and really kind
  • 00:06:12
    of train and coach them to be more
  • 00:06:14
    effective communicators and the
  • 00:06:16
    guidelines that you get when you give a
  • 00:06:17
    TED talk are essentially to give the
  • 00:06:20
    best stock of your life to you know
  • 00:06:22
    present what you know in a way that's
  • 00:06:24
    compelling and to the point is simple
  • 00:06:29
    enough for people to understand even if
  • 00:06:31
    you're talking about something very very
  • 00:06:32
    advanced like quantum physics or
  • 00:06:36
    computer programming or
  • 00:06:39
    nuclear war genocide whatever it might
  • 00:06:42
    be you should convey that information in
  • 00:06:44
    a way that's comprehensible for people
  • 00:06:46
    and they tend to be they tend to
  • 00:06:51
    generalize a lot and they tend to be
  • 00:06:53
    relatively optimistic rarely will you
  • 00:06:55
    watch a TED talk and come away thinking
  • 00:06:56
    oh you know everything is hopeless and
  • 00:06:59
    there's nothing I can do about it the
  • 00:07:02
    most TED talks that you see present you
  • 00:07:04
    with some sort of action steps something
  • 00:07:08
    you can do or some behavior you can
  • 00:07:10
    engage in to begin to address a problem
  • 00:07:13
    or a challenge and I think that's really
  • 00:07:16
    the case with the three talks that you
  • 00:07:17
    had for today they're not saying here is
  • 00:07:20
    this challenge that confronts us and
  • 00:07:22
    it's hopeless but they're saying here
  • 00:07:23
    are some ways in which human beings can
  • 00:07:25
    adapt to challenging circumstances so
  • 00:07:28
    let's talk a little bit about what
  • 00:07:31
    specifically they're discussing each
  • 00:07:35
    speaker really presents a difficult
  • 00:07:38
    challenge and all of these challenges
  • 00:07:41
    have global implications
  • 00:07:42
    I say difficult some of these things are
  • 00:07:45
    nearly overwhelming right there they're
  • 00:07:47
    the type of thing that you just kind of
  • 00:07:50
    kick it around in your own head for a
  • 00:07:52
    little bit you might become overwhelmed
  • 00:07:54
    thinking about it so what are they
  • 00:07:56
    talking about well-nigh like we said is
  • 00:08:00
    talking about the future of the global
  • 00:08:01
    power distribution he's saying that the
  • 00:08:03
    global power distribution is changing
  • 00:08:07
    it's shifting and there's a certain type
  • 00:08:09
    of way that we can adapt to those
  • 00:08:12
    changes that is positive and good and we
  • 00:08:15
    ought to adopt and then there are other
  • 00:08:18
    ways that we can think about that
  • 00:08:19
    changing power distribution that are
  • 00:08:21
    dangerous or threatening right so
  • 00:08:24
    specifically what he's advocating for is
  • 00:08:26
    a the use of what he calls soft power
  • 00:08:29
    and we'll go into that more in a sec
  • 00:08:34
    Hansen is talking about the challenge of
  • 00:08:36
    global climate change which we just
  • 00:08:38
    dealt with in the lecture on the
  • 00:08:39
    environment probably you know one of the
  • 00:08:42
    most difficult and thorny challenges
  • 00:08:47
    that that human beings have faced in our
  • 00:08:49
    history
  • 00:08:50
    and he is trying to paint the potential
  • 00:08:55
    impacts of global climate change in a
  • 00:08:57
    way that is you know really kind of
  • 00:09:00
    indisputable and then what that compels
  • 00:09:03
    us to do in terms of action and
  • 00:09:06
    consumption and policy and then Nawaz is
  • 00:09:10
    talking about global extremism and ways
  • 00:09:15
    that we can counter that global
  • 00:09:17
    extremism he says that you know there's
  • 00:09:19
    this this kind of battle for the hearts
  • 00:09:22
    and minds of individuals everywhere and
  • 00:09:25
    global extremism and the path to
  • 00:09:27
    violence is very very tempting and in
  • 00:09:30
    some ways has been packaged and marketed
  • 00:09:32
    in a way that is superior to
  • 00:09:34
    non-violence and so how can we counter
  • 00:09:37
    that that trend towards global extremism
  • 00:09:42
    specifically you know he's talking about
  • 00:09:44
    in the context of you know Islamic
  • 00:09:48
    extremism but I think especially now
  • 00:09:51
    we're seeing you know extremism really
  • 00:09:54
    run through every society we could talk
  • 00:09:57
    about the rise of the far-right in
  • 00:09:58
    Europe to talk about some of the
  • 00:10:01
    violence against religious and ethnic
  • 00:10:03
    minorities that we see in the United
  • 00:10:05
    States right now that's particularly
  • 00:10:07
    troubling the resurgence of you know neo
  • 00:10:11
    Nazism and and other forms of political
  • 00:10:15
    extremism and so you know his message
  • 00:10:19
    about global extremism that I think he
  • 00:10:21
    was making in the context of the post
  • 00:10:23
    9/11 environment is we can really be
  • 00:10:27
    extended even more broadly so these are
  • 00:10:31
    big complex issues I think all of them
  • 00:10:33
    have global implications they're not
  • 00:10:36
    simply limited to you know one country
  • 00:10:39
    or one region but they expand really to
  • 00:10:43
    encompass the entire world and hopefully
  • 00:10:45
    the way that you're thinking about these
  • 00:10:48
    issues after taking a class like this is
  • 00:10:50
    in a little bit more sophisticated way
  • 00:10:53
    and so you should be asking yourself
  • 00:10:55
    after taking this class after working
  • 00:10:57
    through this material
  • 00:10:59
    and learning more about international
  • 00:11:01
    relations and some of the ways to
  • 00:11:03
    understand international relations do I
  • 00:11:06
    do I look at this in a different way do
  • 00:11:08
    I look at this in a slightly more
  • 00:11:09
    sophisticated way so for instance you
  • 00:11:13
    know a social scientist when Nye is
  • 00:11:16
    making a claim about powers shifting
  • 00:11:19
    from from east to west and there are
  • 00:11:21
    these structural changes in the
  • 00:11:23
    character of international relations a
  • 00:11:26
    good social scientist would look at that
  • 00:11:27
    and say okay you know like there's
  • 00:11:29
    something interesting there he seems to
  • 00:11:31
    be making a compelling Hardy net but how
  • 00:11:34
    would I go and investigate that further
  • 00:11:36
    how would I conceptualize power and then
  • 00:11:38
    go out and try to measure power and
  • 00:11:40
    maybe this global power distribution
  • 00:11:44
    that he sees is real and maybe it's not
  • 00:11:47
    we need some more sophisticated evidence
  • 00:11:50
    to go out and understand what is
  • 00:11:52
    happening with regard to the
  • 00:11:54
    distribution of power globally and then
  • 00:11:56
    that more solid understanding can be the
  • 00:12:00
    basis for our action and our behavior or
  • 00:12:04
    nawaz for example is another good
  • 00:12:08
    example he talks about how the current
  • 00:12:10
    era in which we live has been
  • 00:12:12
    characterized by a real diffusion of
  • 00:12:16
    communications communications technology
  • 00:12:19
    has been democratized so I put in the
  • 00:12:21
    hands of the many and so you now as an
  • 00:12:24
    individual can reach a global audience
  • 00:12:28
    and make a global appeal and the case
  • 00:12:32
    he's making is that the extremist
  • 00:12:36
    elements in the world the world the
  • 00:12:38
    element of the world that would push us
  • 00:12:40
    to violence and push us to engaging in
  • 00:12:43
    you know violent behavior has been more
  • 00:12:48
    effective at marketing itself as you
  • 00:12:51
    know the right way to respond to global
  • 00:12:53
    changes then the nonviolent helman right
  • 00:12:58
    the element that privileges peace and
  • 00:13:01
    democracy and diplomacy and here again I
  • 00:13:04
    think you could say well you know is it
  • 00:13:07
    accurate
  • 00:13:07
    how would we go out and investigate that
  • 00:13:10
    how would we explore that
  • 00:13:12
    and kind of try to develop some
  • 00:13:16
    compelling evidence as to one just you
  • 00:13:20
    know the extent to which communications
  • 00:13:22
    has been democratized and made more
  • 00:13:24
    diffuse and to the underlying argument
  • 00:13:29
    that global extremism is more compelling
  • 00:13:32
    and makes more compelling case for for
  • 00:13:36
    individuals who are experiencing
  • 00:13:39
    tremendous and unsettling change so
  • 00:13:42
    hopefully you found yourself kind of
  • 00:13:45
    critically examining arguments
  • 00:13:47
    critically examining assumptions as
  • 00:13:49
    you're listing these TED Talks and
  • 00:13:52
    that's a tool that you've managed to
  • 00:13:54
    hone a little bit and taking this class
  • 00:13:57
    we can talk about these issues that the
  • 00:14:00
    three speakers are discussing in a
  • 00:14:02
    couple of different ways one concept
  • 00:14:05
    that I want to kind of reintroduce or
  • 00:14:07
    harken back to that we talked about
  • 00:14:09
    earlier in the course is levels of
  • 00:14:11
    analysis talked about these different
  • 00:14:13
    levels in which we can understand global
  • 00:14:17
    issues and I think what you're presented
  • 00:14:18
    here presented with here in these TED
  • 00:14:22
    talks is really three levels of analysis
  • 00:14:24
    I think Hansen is dealing with the most
  • 00:14:28
    wide-ranging issue his issue of climate
  • 00:14:30
    change is really global its planetary in
  • 00:14:34
    scope it encompasses the entire world so
  • 00:14:37
    the question he's asking is how we as a
  • 00:14:40
    species may need to alter a resource
  • 00:14:43
    consumption specifically related to
  • 00:14:45
    energy and fossil fuels to preserve a
  • 00:14:48
    livable planet for future generations
  • 00:14:50
    that has implications for all of us as
  • 00:14:53
    individuals but it's the type of issue
  • 00:14:55
    that is so large in scope that we can
  • 00:14:58
    really only address it meaningfully if
  • 00:15:00
    we think in those terms if we think in
  • 00:15:02
    terms of the planet the globe and move
  • 00:15:05
    away from localized membership in a
  • 00:15:08
    country or you know a specific region of
  • 00:15:10
    the world we really need to have a wide
  • 00:15:13
    rate approach to this sort of issue
  • 00:15:17
    now I think is primarily dealing with
  • 00:15:19
    changes to the state system and
  • 00:15:22
    interstate relations so what he's really
  • 00:15:26
    concerned about what he's compelling his
  • 00:15:28
    audience to think about is how we as
  • 00:15:31
    States need to rethink some of the
  • 00:15:33
    concerns about the global power
  • 00:15:35
    distribution to avoid miscalculation and
  • 00:15:39
    inaccurate fears you're saying look
  • 00:15:41
    power is changing power is shifting from
  • 00:15:44
    west to east powers changing in ways
  • 00:15:47
    that the former super powers no longer
  • 00:15:51
    have the same level of control over
  • 00:15:55
    global outcomes that they did before one
  • 00:15:58
    way that we can respond to that is this
  • 00:16:01
    kind of visceral reaction Airy fear in
  • 00:16:05
    which we try to hold on to power in any
  • 00:16:07
    way that we can and potentially even
  • 00:16:10
    engage in violent behavior or
  • 00:16:14
    confrontational behavior to hold on to
  • 00:16:16
    that power and now is really pushing
  • 00:16:18
    against ice saying that's that's the
  • 00:16:20
    wrong approach a shift in the global
  • 00:16:25
    power distribution does not have to be a
  • 00:16:27
    bad thing and we do have ways in which
  • 00:16:31
    we can use power that are that are
  • 00:16:32
    underutilized so there is this realm of
  • 00:16:34
    soft power that is can be tremendously
  • 00:16:38
    influential and important and we tend to
  • 00:16:41
    think of power only in a certain way we
  • 00:16:44
    tend to think of it in more militaristic
  • 00:16:46
    confrontational terms and that's
  • 00:16:49
    potentially problematic I think we see
  • 00:16:52
    that particularly now in the era of the
  • 00:16:55
    the Trump presidency right is that I
  • 00:16:57
    think Trump has this notion that the
  • 00:17:00
    United States is is in decline relative
  • 00:17:05
    to previous periods and the United
  • 00:17:07
    States is being taken advantage of by
  • 00:17:09
    some of these rising powers like China
  • 00:17:11
    for example and he really wants to
  • 00:17:14
    aggressively assert US dominance and try
  • 00:17:18
    to rebuild the the u.s. that existed in
  • 00:17:22
    the 1950s the 1960s and I think now I
  • 00:17:25
    would push back against that and say no
  • 00:17:27
    that's that's the wrong approach you
  • 00:17:28
    need to be adaptive power is always
  • 00:17:30
    fluid power is always changing and if
  • 00:17:32
    you miscalculate what it means to
  • 00:17:35
    exercise power in the world and you base
  • 00:17:38
    your foreign policy on fear and trying
  • 00:17:41
    to hold on to whatever power in the
  • 00:17:44
    traditional sense that you have you can
  • 00:17:46
    get yourself into dangerous situations
  • 00:17:48
    Nawaz I think is digging down into the
  • 00:17:51
    really the societal and even the
  • 00:17:54
    individual level so he's looking at how
  • 00:17:57
    we in societies and even as individuals
  • 00:18:00
    should respond to extremism in what he
  • 00:18:02
    calls the age of behavior says that it's
  • 00:18:05
    really today patterns of behavior and
  • 00:18:08
    not necessarily like ethnicity or
  • 00:18:11
    national identity that is driving
  • 00:18:13
    people's sense of belonging we've
  • 00:18:16
    expanded the scope of communications
  • 00:18:19
    such that we we think of ourselves in
  • 00:18:23
    terms of other like-minded individuals
  • 00:18:25
    that engage in the types of activities
  • 00:18:27
    that we engage in and are excited by and
  • 00:18:30
    drawn to the types of activities that we
  • 00:18:33
    are excited by and we're drawn to and so
  • 00:18:37
    that means that you know what we have to
  • 00:18:40
    do is Mark it really you know kind of
  • 00:18:44
    advocate for ways of behaving in the
  • 00:18:47
    world that are not extremists that are
  • 00:18:49
    not violent we have to think about how
  • 00:18:52
    we encourage people to engage with one
  • 00:18:56
    another respectfully and in terms of
  • 00:18:59
    equality in terms of democracy really
  • 00:19:02
    kind of you know almost build a social
  • 00:19:05
    movement that is a force fighting for
  • 00:19:10
    non-violently you know the most
  • 00:19:13
    democratic the most peaceful the most
  • 00:19:15
    equal society that we have and that
  • 00:19:18
    transcends any kind of national project
  • 00:19:21
    right and really gets down to the
  • 00:19:24
    societies that we construct the
  • 00:19:25
    individual decisions that we make and
  • 00:19:27
    how we interact with the rest of the
  • 00:19:29
    world so I think there's some different
  • 00:19:31
    levels of analysis that are presented
  • 00:19:33
    here and that's kind of interesting
  • 00:19:37
    we could also dig into the underlying
  • 00:19:38
    assumptions of these of these three
  • 00:19:40
    speakers I think Hanson the underlying
  • 00:19:44
    assumption that drives his talk is that
  • 00:19:46
    if we can make human beings aware of the
  • 00:19:50
    risks of climate change and hopefully
  • 00:19:53
    compel them to jar them enough with
  • 00:19:57
    those risks that we stimulate political
  • 00:19:59
    action then we can change consumption
  • 00:20:02
    patterns I mean there is even though
  • 00:20:04
    Hansen's predictions and his assessment
  • 00:20:07
    of the world is pretty dark I think
  • 00:20:10
    there is this underlying optimism that
  • 00:20:12
    if we reach enough people and compel
  • 00:20:16
    them to engage in political action we
  • 00:20:18
    can change their consumption patterns
  • 00:20:20
    I think Knives underlying assumption is
  • 00:20:23
    that bad decisions by States that
  • 00:20:26
    threaten global security are ultimately
  • 00:20:28
    rooted in fear and miscalculation he
  • 00:20:31
    doesn't think that there's this enduring
  • 00:20:34
    human nature that engages us in warfare
  • 00:20:37
    that compels us to be fearful and be
  • 00:20:41
    distrustful he thinks that those things
  • 00:20:43
    are rooted in miscalculation and so it's
  • 00:20:46
    really how we conceptualize power how we
  • 00:20:48
    think about the exercise of power has
  • 00:20:51
    really really important implications for
  • 00:20:53
    what the world looks like and whether
  • 00:20:56
    it's you know primarily diplomatic and
  • 00:20:59
    peaceful and adheres to kind of the
  • 00:21:01
    liberal framework or it is you know
  • 00:21:06
    driven by violence it's characterized by
  • 00:21:09
    warfare and it adheres more closely to
  • 00:21:12
    the realist framework but he doesn't
  • 00:21:14
    think that the realist framework is
  • 00:21:17
    immutable he doesn't think that we're
  • 00:21:19
    stuck in this position of fear and
  • 00:21:21
    conflict he thinks that that's
  • 00:21:23
    ultimately rooted in miscalculation so
  • 00:21:25
    he's compelling people to think about
  • 00:21:27
    power in a slightly different way and
  • 00:21:29
    then Nawaz I think his underlying
  • 00:21:32
    assumption is that if you present human
  • 00:21:34
    beings with a compelling and authentic
  • 00:21:37
    and localized narrative about the
  • 00:21:39
    importance of non-violence the
  • 00:21:40
    importance of democracy they will choose
  • 00:21:42
    democracy over extremism
  • 00:21:44
    so the problem of extremism is not that
  • 00:21:48
    individuals inherently are drawn to
  • 00:21:50
    extremism and violence it's that the
  • 00:21:53
    competitors the other ways of
  • 00:21:55
    understanding the world and the other
  • 00:21:58
    things that would drive their actions
  • 00:22:00
    are just not presented in a compelling
  • 00:22:03
    enough way and so if you reach enough
  • 00:22:04
    people with a compelling authentic
  • 00:22:07
    localized narrative of the importance of
  • 00:22:10
    democracy and importance of the quality
  • 00:22:11
    then they will choose that and I think
  • 00:22:14
    he would use his own case as an example
  • 00:22:16
    I think he does in the TED talk that his
  • 00:22:18
    his experience was once he was presented
  • 00:22:22
    with a compelling narrative favoring
  • 00:22:25
    democracy he moved away from extremism
  • 00:22:27
    the last way that we could look at this
  • 00:22:31
    in a way that really I encourage you to
  • 00:22:33
    be thinking about generalized arguments
  • 00:22:37
    like this is in terms of policy
  • 00:22:39
    implications right when you make an
  • 00:22:42
    argument about a global issue even if
  • 00:22:45
    you're not directly articulating this
  • 00:22:48
    there are always policy implications
  • 00:22:50
    there are always public policy choices
  • 00:22:54
    foreign policy choices that would flow
  • 00:22:57
    from the way that you think about the
  • 00:22:58
    world I think here Hansen is probably
  • 00:23:00
    the most explicit he proposes what's
  • 00:23:03
    called a fee and dividend system
  • 00:23:05
    essentially what he is trying to do is
  • 00:23:07
    attach a cost to carbon emissions hansen
  • 00:23:12
    is from a framework which essentially
  • 00:23:13
    views carbon emissions as waste right
  • 00:23:16
    it's waste in the same way that you know
  • 00:23:19
    byproduct of industrial production that
  • 00:23:22
    is is produced would be waste it's waste
  • 00:23:27
    in the same way that you know
  • 00:23:30
    restaurants leftover oil from the
  • 00:23:32
    frialator is waste it's waste in the way
  • 00:23:35
    that when you change the oil in your car
  • 00:23:36
    you have to pay an extra fee so they can
  • 00:23:39
    safely dispose of the waste oil you
  • 00:23:42
    think the carbon emissions is something
  • 00:23:43
    that we've never really attached a cost
  • 00:23:45
    to it is a waste product but we don't
  • 00:23:47
    bear the costs of carbon emissions and
  • 00:23:49
    so therefore there's not an incentive to
  • 00:23:52
    decrease use and to develop technologies
  • 00:23:54
    that are less intensive in terms of the
  • 00:23:56
    carbon that they emit
  • 00:23:57
    so the fee and dividend system is really
  • 00:24:00
    an attempt to attach some sort of cost
  • 00:24:02
    to carbon emissions and that would have
  • 00:24:05
    to be something that would be
  • 00:24:06
    implemented globally it would impact
  • 00:24:08
    some economies more than others but we
  • 00:24:12
    have to be a global approach I think 9
  • 00:24:17
    you know what you come away from diets
  • 00:24:19
    in terms of policy implications is
  • 00:24:21
    really a Liberal foreign policy that
  • 00:24:24
    doesn't view powers 0 Sun so you know
  • 00:24:28
    the fact that power is shifting and
  • 00:24:30
    China has more economic power and more
  • 00:24:35
    political power than it did 50 years ago
  • 00:24:37
    the fact that we have you know rising
  • 00:24:41
    powers like South Korea or you know
  • 00:24:45
    Kenya Nigeria India economies that 30 or
  • 00:24:52
    40 years ago were still experiencing
  • 00:24:54
    famines political systems at 30 or 40
  • 00:24:57
    years ago we're still very unstable are
  • 00:24:59
    starting to to become more stable or
  • 00:25:02
    change that doesn't mean that because
  • 00:25:05
    other countries are achieving new levels
  • 00:25:07
    of power we are losing power
  • 00:25:08
    Enochs that power can shift and it can
  • 00:25:11
    become diffuse in ways that we should
  • 00:25:13
    not immediately view as threatening the
  • 00:25:16
    fact that India and China have
  • 00:25:18
    experienced this tremendous growth and
  • 00:25:20
    now have more power in the global
  • 00:25:21
    political system doesn't mean that we're
  • 00:25:24
    losing power and so as a result he
  • 00:25:26
    thinks that you know really a lot of our
  • 00:25:29
    foreign policy efforts should be
  • 00:25:32
    targeted at cultural diplomacy you know
  • 00:25:35
    being the example of the culture that
  • 00:25:37
    people respect and admire and also
  • 00:25:40
    diplomacy trying to manage and negotiate
  • 00:25:43
    conflicts and tensions where they arise
  • 00:25:45
    and address them through communications
  • 00:25:48
    as opposed to what we call
  • 00:25:51
    saber-rattling fray just kind of tough
  • 00:25:54
    talk and building up your military
  • 00:25:55
    capacity to attempt to scare the other
  • 00:25:57
    side or outright conflict engaging in
  • 00:26:00
    violence
  • 00:26:02
    nawaz it's tough to say that these are
  • 00:26:04
    really policy implications but I think
  • 00:26:06
    nawaz's position leads to supporting
  • 00:26:09
    social movements around the world that
  • 00:26:11
    would promote those localized narratives
  • 00:26:13
    of democracy and it leads to some sort
  • 00:26:15
    of policy of democracy promotion
  • 00:26:18
    all right supporting democracy really as
  • 00:26:20
    a broad-based framework for decision
  • 00:26:23
    making at all levels rather than simply
  • 00:26:26
    an electoral choice so when he says
  • 00:26:28
    democracy you know you might be thinking
  • 00:26:31
    of going down to the local highschool
  • 00:26:34
    gym and making your choice for who your
  • 00:26:37
    representatives are going to be but he
  • 00:26:39
    means something more intensive than that
  • 00:26:41
    he means democracy not just at the
  • 00:26:44
    ballot box but democracy in schools
  • 00:26:46
    democracy in our workplaces democracy in
  • 00:26:50
    our communities and engaging with one
  • 00:26:53
    another as a way of life and a way of
  • 00:26:56
    making collective decisions rather than
  • 00:26:59
    simply choosing the people that are
  • 00:27:01
    going to lead us so all of these
  • 00:27:04
    arguments even a TED talk is about as
  • 00:27:06
    abstract and generalized as an argument
  • 00:27:10
    can be there's always a point to a TED
  • 00:27:12
    talk it tends to be very very fuzzy just
  • 00:27:16
    because it's a it's a compressed time
  • 00:27:17
    format you don't have a lot of time to
  • 00:27:19
    really develop a sophisticated detailed
  • 00:27:22
    argument but I think you can go and dig
  • 00:27:25
    deeper in these sorts of talks and pull
  • 00:27:28
    out policy implication and hopefully
  • 00:27:30
    this class is giving you tools to do
  • 00:27:31
    that this class has given you the tools
  • 00:27:34
    to when you listen to a speech by a
  • 00:27:36
    political candidate or you listen to you
  • 00:27:39
    know a journalist or a writer on the
  • 00:27:41
    radio who's talking about some
  • 00:27:42
    international issue you can dig deeper
  • 00:27:45
    and see what the policy implications of
  • 00:27:47
    their views would be and and kind of map
  • 00:27:54
    them out even if they're not articulated
  • 00:27:56
    explicitly
  • 00:27:58
    so the last piece here is and the thing
  • 00:28:02
    that you should be thinking about
  • 00:28:03
    particularly once you get to the level
  • 00:28:05
    of policy implications is resources and
  • 00:28:08
    will to confront these issues so the
  • 00:28:12
    three sets of policy implications these
  • 00:28:14
    are types of questions you could ask you
  • 00:28:16
    might say okay you know what role is a
  • 00:28:18
    state going to play in addressing these
  • 00:28:20
    issues one of the core themes of this
  • 00:28:23
    class has been that the state is playing
  • 00:28:24
    a different role and there are other
  • 00:28:26
    actors operating at the global level
  • 00:28:28
    whether it be regional intergovernmental
  • 00:28:31
    organizations or NGOs or citizen
  • 00:28:35
    activists or civil society groups
  • 00:28:38
    celebrities who weigh in and influence
  • 00:28:41
    public opinion on important issues what
  • 00:28:44
    other sorts of actors will need to be
  • 00:28:46
    involved and think about that in terms
  • 00:28:48
    of Hanson and I and and was like what
  • 00:28:52
    types of actors which you need to
  • 00:28:54
    involve probably certainly the state
  • 00:28:57
    right but what other types of actors
  • 00:28:59
    would need to get involved
  • 00:29:01
    - what frameworks for global cooperation
  • 00:29:03
    on these issues exist so the great thing
  • 00:29:06
    about so many years of international
  • 00:29:09
    interaction is that we don't have to
  • 00:29:11
    reinvent the wheel we have certain
  • 00:29:13
    institutions certain norm certain
  • 00:29:15
    frameworks certain bodies of
  • 00:29:17
    international law that already exist so
  • 00:29:20
    what frameworks on these issues exists
  • 00:29:22
    what ones would you need to create and
  • 00:29:24
    this is really important particularly
  • 00:29:26
    when we think about global climate
  • 00:29:28
    change how long will it take how much
  • 00:29:31
    time do we have the clock is ticking on
  • 00:29:34
    some of these issues
  • 00:29:35
    and we don't create frameworks for
  • 00:29:37
    global cooperation it might be too late
  • 00:29:39
    to actually address the issue and
  • 00:29:42
    prevent really really serious and
  • 00:29:45
    dangerous consequences for Humanity and
  • 00:29:48
    then lastly what political will exists
  • 00:29:51
    to address these issues sometimes
  • 00:29:53
    there's an important issue that everyone
  • 00:29:56
    recognizes is important but the scope of
  • 00:29:59
    doing something about it is so extreme
  • 00:30:01
    is so overwhelming that the political
  • 00:30:04
    will just doesn't exist to address the
  • 00:30:06
    issue
  • 00:30:08
    sometimes there's organized and powerful
  • 00:30:10
    interests that
  • 00:30:11
    a block change and they don't represent
  • 00:30:13
    the majority of society they don't
  • 00:30:14
    represent the majority of the global
  • 00:30:17
    population but they have a lot of power
  • 00:30:19
    and they have a lot of influence and
  • 00:30:21
    they can shut down our attempts to
  • 00:30:22
    address certain issues so what political
  • 00:30:26
    will exist to address these issues and
  • 00:30:28
    if it is absent if it is not there how
  • 00:30:30
    do you try to create it what is the
  • 00:30:33
    method that you use to try and foster
  • 00:30:35
    that political will so that's kind of
  • 00:30:38
    the next stage once you think through
  • 00:30:40
    assumptions once you think through
  • 00:30:41
    policy implications then you dig into
  • 00:30:44
    these questions of like okay what would
  • 00:30:46
    it actually look like to confront some
  • 00:30:48
    of these global issues and your
  • 00:30:51
    interpretation might be optimistic it
  • 00:30:53
    might be pessimistic so that hopefully
  • 00:30:59
    has giving you a sense of how you can
  • 00:31:00
    use some of what you've learned in this
  • 00:31:03
    course hopefully I know there's a lot of
  • 00:31:06
    information and we cover it quickly but
  • 00:31:07
    hopefully you're getting a sense of this
  • 00:31:09
    stuff does matter like it helps you be
  • 00:31:13
    an informed citizen it helps you be an
  • 00:31:15
    informed consumer and gives you an edge
  • 00:31:18
    a certain degree of sophistication in
  • 00:31:20
    thinking about these issues that others
  • 00:31:22
    might not have so how can you continue
  • 00:31:24
    to use what you've learned in this
  • 00:31:25
    course one I would say inform yourself
  • 00:31:29
    about global issues a lot of what we've
  • 00:31:31
    discussed in this course has been
  • 00:31:32
    conceptual frameworks theoretical
  • 00:31:35
    frameworks concepts ideas ways of
  • 00:31:39
    thinking and ways of interpreting the
  • 00:31:41
    world the reason I focus so much on that
  • 00:31:44
    in an introductory level class is
  • 00:31:46
    because those are the tools that you
  • 00:31:47
    keep using as you try to understand
  • 00:31:50
    global issues the specific details of
  • 00:31:53
    some nuclear non-proliferation treaty
  • 00:31:56
    yeah that's important right but really
  • 00:31:59
    what's most important is to have tools
  • 00:32:01
    that you can continue to use and
  • 00:32:03
    continue to analyze these issues but to
  • 00:32:07
    do that you need to inform yourself
  • 00:32:09
    about the global issues so you need to
  • 00:32:11
    read about global news you need to
  • 00:32:14
    continue to be up to date on current
  • 00:32:16
    events and issues happening throughout
  • 00:32:18
    the world you probably need to kind of
  • 00:32:21
    be a voracious consumer of media and
  • 00:32:24
    information
  • 00:32:25
    and at the same time the discerning
  • 00:32:28
    about where you get your information
  • 00:32:31
    there's a lot of misinformation about
  • 00:32:34
    global issues that is out right now
  • 00:32:36
    particularly with what Nawaz talked
  • 00:32:39
    about the democratization of
  • 00:32:41
    communication so you have to be careful
  • 00:32:42
    about where you're getting your
  • 00:32:43
    information but informing yourself is
  • 00:32:46
    just really really critical you should
  • 00:32:49
    continue to think deeply and critically
  • 00:32:50
    about these issues and you should try to
  • 00:32:52
    approach the issues from multiple angles
  • 00:32:54
    and seek out information on the issues
  • 00:32:57
    that matter most to you you can't read
  • 00:32:59
    everything you can't be knowledgeable
  • 00:33:01
    about everything but the things that
  • 00:33:02
    matter to you the issues that you care
  • 00:33:04
    about you should seek out information on
  • 00:33:05
    those issues and try to think about it
  • 00:33:08
    from from different points of view here
  • 00:33:12
    in this class we talked about
  • 00:33:13
    theoretical perspectives we talked about
  • 00:33:15
    how if you have a liberal versa realist
  • 00:33:18
    versus a constructivist force a feminist
  • 00:33:21
    perspective you're going to arrive at
  • 00:33:23
    really different conclusions about the
  • 00:33:25
    way that the world works or really
  • 00:33:26
    different interpretations of current
  • 00:33:28
    events we'll continue to do that right
  • 00:33:31
    and in particular when you're talking
  • 00:33:34
    about an international issue and there's
  • 00:33:36
    a point of view that you're confronted
  • 00:33:39
    with that you just can't understand you
  • 00:33:41
    can't wrap your head around it why would
  • 00:33:42
    someone think that way try to empathize
  • 00:33:45
    try to think about okay what is it that
  • 00:33:48
    is making this person say that you know
  • 00:33:51
    this policy is a good policy or this war
  • 00:33:54
    is a just war or this you know this
  • 00:33:59
    treaty is a good treaty whatever it
  • 00:34:01
    might be try to really dig into those
  • 00:34:05
    issues and those positions that you can
  • 00:34:09
    understand and think about what would
  • 00:34:11
    make an individual feel this way and
  • 00:34:13
    then lastly think about action think
  • 00:34:15
    about the steps that you can you can
  • 00:34:16
    take to continue to have an impact or to
  • 00:34:19
    begin to have an impact you play a lot
  • 00:34:21
    of different roles right now you're
  • 00:34:24
    playing the role of a student but you're
  • 00:34:26
    also citizens your consumers your social
  • 00:34:29
    agents meaning that you go out and you
  • 00:34:30
    interact with people and you probably
  • 00:34:32
    have people in your life that value your
  • 00:34:34
    perspective and want to hear
  • 00:34:37
    you think about things and you're a
  • 00:34:39
    human being on this earth right so
  • 00:34:41
    therefore you matter you have rights you
  • 00:34:46
    have an ability to voice your opinion
  • 00:34:48
    and you have ability to vote with your
  • 00:34:51
    political vote or vote with your dollars
  • 00:34:53
    and so there are ways even if it's a
  • 00:34:55
    minor everyday sort of impact there are
  • 00:34:59
    ways that you can impact these issues
  • 00:35:00
    even if it's just down to your personal
  • 00:35:03
    choice so think about the steps that you
  • 00:35:04
    can take to have an impact on these
  • 00:35:06
    issues and really I just I hope that at
  • 00:35:10
    the very least you continue to to think
  • 00:35:12
    actively about what's happening at the
  • 00:35:14
    global level if you do that then
  • 00:35:16
    hopefully you know I've done my work in
  • 00:35:19
    this course if you continue to care
  • 00:35:21
    about these issues and seek information
  • 00:35:23
    about them so we will wrap up there for
  • 00:35:27
    next time think about what you've
  • 00:35:29
    learned in this course and reflect and
  • 00:35:31
    consider those steps that you might take
  • 00:35:33
    next they're really this is the last
  • 00:35:35
    lecture so there isn't another lecture
  • 00:35:38
    to move on to there's just the remaining
  • 00:35:40
    assignments for the course reminder that
  • 00:35:42
    you do have the exam on Friday format is
  • 00:35:45
    basically the same as the midterm exam
  • 00:35:47
    and you'll have slightly longer to take
  • 00:35:51
    the final exam and the study guide is
  • 00:35:54
    available on the course website on
  • 00:35:56
    blackboard so if you have any questions
  • 00:35:58
    feel free to reach out to me if there's
  • 00:36:00
    any material you're unclear on feel free
  • 00:36:02
    to reach out to me and then the very
  • 00:36:04
    last assignment for the course is your
  • 00:36:06
    final reflection paper on the icon
  • 00:36:08
    simulation just a reminder that that's
  • 00:36:10
    due Sunday by the end of the day in the
  • 00:36:13
    assignment Dropbox on blackboard so
  • 00:36:15
    again if there's any issues you run into
  • 00:36:18
    you have any questions feel free to
  • 00:36:19
    reach out reach out to me otherwise I
  • 00:36:22
    wish you all the best I hope you've
  • 00:36:24
    enjoyed the course thanks very much
  • 00:36:28
    [Music]
  • 00:36:34
    you
  • 00:36:37
    [Music]
Tags
  • International Relations
  • Global Challenges
  • Soft Power
  • Climate Change
  • Extremism
  • TED Talks
  • Joseph Nye
  • James Hansen
  • Maajid Nawaz
  • Informed Citizenship