In this 'short' last week, you will read three essays. Two of them (O'Connell and Prashad) tackle the issue of 'terrorism' and 'counter-terrorism' by looking at historical and current realities in the arc of nations from the Fertile Crescent (Syria, Iraq) through Iran and Afghanistan to the Indus Valley (Pakistan). The key issues raised here are a) the importance of international law (esp. laws on proportionality and sovereignty), b) the reality of civilian deaths and the logic of recruitment by non-state actors (e.g., ISIL, etc.), and c) the historical continuities of policy, practice and political alliances that are at the root of today's global problems. The third essay by Nobel Laureate economist and philosopher Amartya Sen is an interesting call for us to view globalization in its complexity - as not simply a clash of civilizations (West v non-West - as many people think about it) - but as a contradictory historical relationship between different parts of the world in the making of the present, a history in which the 'non-West' has had an enormous yet relatively unacknowledged positive contribution thus far.
Your task for this week is: Referencing at least two of the three essays, reflect on: What needs to happen in the domain of 'politics' and 'identity' for globalization to be based on a sense of fairness, justice and mutual respect? Justify your claims with reference to the essays.
You will be graded as follows: Degree of engagement with reading (0-1, 2-3, 4-5), Level of argument in relation to question (0-1, 2-3, 4-5)