Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has often threatened Western nations that he is willing to use the Russian nuclear arsenal in Ukraine. Putin clearly said that the Russian territory cannot be violated by NATO because the conflict could turn into nuclear warfare. Besides, several political science experts think that if Russia is going to lose the war, Putin could use nuclear tactical weapons on the battlefield to force Ukraine to surrender.
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The Scottish National Party leads a majority government in Scotland supported by the Green Party under a confidence and supply agreement. Both parties want to reverse the U.K. decision to leave the European Union by promoting the separation of Scotland from the U.K. Still, 62% of the Scottish people wanted to remain in the European Union. In 2014, the SNP promised a ¨once in a generation¨ referendum which meant there could not be any other independence referendum before 40 years; however, the SNP broke this promise by planning a second referendum in October 2023. Consequently, the British government refused to allow a second referendum and the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Surgeon, asked the U.K. Supreme Court to overrule the refusal of holding a second referendum by the Truss government. The Truss government does not intend to break down the 300-year-old union between Scotland and the rest of the U.K. British Prime Minister Liz Truss would not push back the nation into a divisible over the national unity. The matter has been referred to the Supreme Court, the highest court can either allow or reject a second referendum and a decision is expected to be made in autumn 2022 or in early 2023. Nevertheless, most constitutional experts argue that Scotland cannot legally hold a referendum without the legislative approval of the Westminster Parliament; thus, any refusal from the Supreme Court to grant Scotland a referendum might only help the separatist flame to keep burning within the separatist movement. However, the British unionists should try to transform the U.K. into a federation which will give regions more powers while Westminster keeps powers relating to national and international matters. A federation could get some separatists back into the union movement which promotes national unity.
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Even though the purpose of NATO has always been to safeguard the Allies’ freedom and security by political and military means, Russia has always felt uneasy with this alliance. This is probably because Russia cannot fully exercise its influence over Europe. President Vladimir Putin took advantage of this common misbelief in Russia that NATO is a threat to Russia. Even if, everyone knows that NATO simply is a collective security agreement between European and North American nations. Putin used this fear of NATO to increase his power over the Russian Federation by waging an illegal war against the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Neither NATO members nor Ukraine has ever been a threat to the Putin regime. For instance, the Reagan administration maintained good relations with the Gorbachev administration and several European nations were good economic partners for Russian businesses. In the early years of the Putin Presidency, Putin wanted to repair his country’s relationship with Western powers by going as far as asking to join NATO in the early years of his presidency. Nevertheless, the pandemic affected the mind of Putin; for instance, in early 2022, the Putin administration declared an illegal war on Ukraine using the pretext that NATO broke a promise to never expand its membership to former Soviet republics. On the other hand, the Soviet Union and Russia asked twice to join NATO, but they got a negative answer from the organization; if NATO would have accepted the Soviet Union or Russian membership in the 1950s or early 2000s, the Russian-Ukrainian War might never have happened. These days, Putin seems to want a buffer zone between NATO and Russia. In contrast, NATO should try to find a way to peacefully end the Ukrainian War by finding a common ground between Ukraine, Russia, and Western powers. The Russian-Ukrainian War has cost the lives of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians. Sadly, no one knows when this unjustified armed conflict will end.
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Queen Elizabeth II reigned over the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms from 1952 to 2022. The monarch greatly influenced the World throughout her reign. She is the longest reigning monarch; she holds the record of the longest time as head of state in the World. She became a head of state after King Emperor Edwards VIII abdicated to marry a divorced American woman. Queen Elizabeth II is a member of the Royal House of Windsor that is one of the most powerful families in the World. Queen Elizabeth II had several powers, but she always used her powers in accordance with constitutional conventions. In addition, she owned castles, land, and the Crown Estate. She was the head of state of several Commonwealth Realms such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Jamaica, etc. In short, she was highly influential on the World stage because she is a symbol of stability, the rule of law, and the Westminster parliamentary system. Consequently, she contributed to the maturation of the most effective system of government which is the constitutional monarchy.
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China is the second largest economy in the World. The country is a socialist republic with a single party system headed by General Secretary Xi Xinping of the Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.). China became a great power on the global scale in the 1980s. Still, the People`s Republic of China was not greatly involved on the World stage before Deng`s Open Door Policy in the late 1970s. Nowadays, Chinese President Xi Jinping no longer wants that China keeps a low profile on the World stage. The General Secretary is looking for the future of the nation. Xi Jinping pushes for China to become a super power in World. China officially supports multiculturalism, global rules and norms, and environmental protection. Thus, Xi Jinping wants to take advantage of U.S. isolationism to make China the most powerful nation on Earth. Nowadays, China has to work with other nations to resolve a global pandemic while restoring the World economy. Chairman Jinping once said: ¨We say a sword is made on grinding stone and a man is forged in hardship.¨ Thus, Xi believes that great achievements only happen through challenges. COVID 19 is the greatest challenge China has ever faced for decades. China has been proactive in the fight over the novel coronavirus. For instance, China quickly provided the gene sequencing data to the World. China currently develops several vaccines and drugs to end the current pandemic. If successful, the People`s Republic could become a scientific World leader and it could become very powerful. Moreover, China could rescue the World economy by investing more than half a trillion dollars into the World economy. A successful handling of the World economic and health crisis by China could contribute to Xi Jinping`s dream of a scientific, militarized, economical, and political China.
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Humankind faces the greatest challenge since World War 2 which is the new pandemic. COVID 19 has spread throughout the World from China to Europe. Nations from around the World are working together to get rid of this coronavirus. This virus puts national health systems worldwide under extreme pressures. The future of the World depends on the healthcare workers and scientists. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said: ¨Never was so much owed by so many to so few.¨ Health professionals work tirelessly to fight this virus; the World greatly relies on health professionals. Humankind has never been more united against this invisible enemy that is COVID 19. Nations have developed a national plan to fight COVID 19 that is to use social distancing and flattening the curve in order to allow the national healthcare systems to treat patients infected by the virus. Several nations work on treatments, drugs, and vaccines to put an end to this pandemic.
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Canada has one of the most flourishing economies in the World. The nation is the 10th largest economy with $1.7 trillion in GDP. Canada is a member of the G7; therefore, Canada has some influence on the World stage. Canada is considered as a middle power with powerful close allies like: the United State, the United Kingdom, and France. As a result, the roles and responsibilities of the Prime Minister of Canada are substantial. Canada is a multicultural nation with two official languages and the nation is the second largest country in the World. One of the most important political groups has been the Conservative movement that formed several governments on the national level and in many provinces. Nowadays, the Conservative Party is looking for the right leader to win a general election and to form a national government. Jean Charest might be one of the contenders of the 2020 Conservative leadership contest. The former Premier of Quebec is seen by many as the right person to lead the nation. They think he could defeat Trudeau`s Liberals and he could form a government that responds to the needs of Canadians. Jean Charest is fluent in English and French; he has been a head of a provincial government for 9 years between 2003 and 2012. Nevertheless, he led a government with very low approval ratings and his provincial government triggered the largest student strikes in Canadian history. Nevertheless, he is a master in the art of winning elections; he is an outstanding performer in TV debates and he won most of his elections. Therefore, he could be the right candidate to get a Conservative government in power. Jean Charest has more experience in election campaigns and TV debates than Prime Minister Trudeau. In sum, Charest is a great political manager and an expert in winning elections.
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Wikipedia.org Liberalism has greatly influenced the nation because modern Britain is based on liberal values. The Liberal Party dates back to 1859 in Britain and this party promoted balanced budgets, low taxes, and free market. In the early 20th century, Liberals made some progressive reforms by creating programs of health insurance, unemployment insurance, and pensions. These were the early times of the British welfare state. However, Liberals lost very much of their popularity after the Great War and the party merged with the Social Democratic Party in the early 1980s. Nevertheless, the Liberal Democrats did not have much success since their creation, except through different alliances with parties in government. There are several reasons for these political failures. For example, several Liberals vote for the Labour Party or for the Conservatives that welcomes Liberals and Social Democrats. Besides, a union between two different groups of political ideals might not be the best way to build a political organization. Liberals are in favour of individual rights while the Social Democrats prefer supporting collective rights. Nonetheless, Liberals have made significant political contributions to British society over the 19th and 20th century. Nowadays, the Liberal Democrats still are trying very hard to get in power, but with little success. However, Liberals and Social Democrats, as a merged party, seem incompatible because they often have to support some of the policies advocated by the Tories and the Labour Party.
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Www.wikipedia.org Political parties rule the nation by forming governments; these organizations have a great deal of power in the Westminster parliamentary system. Until 1832, governments used to be formed by coalitions and people rather than by political parties. However, the decline of the Crown influence gave more power to party leaders. British politics has started to favoured a two party system. The Labour Party and Conservatives were two main parties contesting elections. In addition, the Labour Party was founded in 1900 outside Parliament. Every British socialist leader joined the Labour Representation Committee, now known as the Labour Party. The Labour Party became a powerful political force in British politics that united the progressive supporters. The Labour Party was modernized by Tony Blair that rejected state owned industry and by reducing trade union influence in the 1990s and early 2000s. Nowadays, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn turned back the party to the left wing of political spectrum. Corbyn is a strong advocate for more government nationalization and for a trade union friendly government. Jeremy Corbyn wants more investments in social programs. He strongly believes in social democracy and in greater government interventions. Under Corbyn`s leadership, the Labour Party is a progressive party that considers a second referendum is needed to settle Brexit. However, this might be very hard for Corbyn to get a mandate to govern because he is not a centrist politician who could unite many moderate voters to support his reforms. Jeremy Corbyn is seen as a radical politician by many voters; thus, this might not be an easy task to get a Labour government elected with Corbyn`s socialist ideals. The Labour Party could have campaigned on a centrist political platform in order to have better chances to a form a government. The Conservatives want to get Brexit done regardless of national unity. If Brexit gets done, Scotland and Northern Ireland could leave the union. As a result, a Labour government is needed in order to protect national unity by settling the never ending Brexit saga through a people`s vote. Besides, national unity could easily be safeguarded by cancelling Brexit which is not a line with national unity because Northern Ireland and Scotland does not support Brexit of any kind.
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The British nation has been dealing with the Brexit issue since 2016. British people are fed up of hearing the ¨Brexit¨ word on a daily basis. Brexit divides families and friends; everyone has an opinion on the issue. Besides, Brexit also has triggered a constitutional crisis and Brexit pushed the executive branch and the legislative branch to be on a different page. The new Prime Minister does not work with MPs to find common grounds on Brexit. The head of government does not want to respect the will of Parliament. For instance, Parliament enacted the Benn Act to compel the Prime Minister to ask Brussels for a Brexit delay. In sum, Boris Johnson fails to unite the nation with his Brexit deal. The U.K. is still deeply divided over the Brexit issue. Hard Brexiteers do not agree with soft Brexiteers who prefer that the country keeps some free trade and a border with limited restrictions with the European Union. Northern Ireland unionists want that their British region leaves the European Union with the rest of the United Kingdom while the European Union is concerned that Brexit does not respect the Good Friday Agreement. Boris Johnson introduced a withdrawal agreement to Parliament which gives a veto power to the Northern Ireland Assembly to protect the Good Friday Agreement, but the unionist Democratic Union Party is strongly against Johnson`s deal. Prime Minister Johnson strongly believes in Brexit and he thinks that the best way to get Brexit done is to have a general election in order to get more Conservative MPs elected to support his Brexit plan. Johnson wants to get his deal ratified by Parliament. In short, Johnson desperately needs to get a majority government to make his Brexit plan happen.
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