Acquisition of Merril Lynch by Bank of America Essay

Acquisition of Merril Lynch by Bank of America - Essay Example The self-serve bias, one of the strongest biases faced in organizational decision-making, is a tendency to favor oneself. Generally people taking decisions with this kind of bias, credit themselves for success of their decisions while blaming others for their wrong decisions (Tosi, Mero & Rizzo, 2000, p.79). The aim of this essay to analyze if the decision taken by Bank of America’s executives was a result of self-serving bias. Background of the Problem Bank of America acquired the almost collapsed Merrill Lynch in January 2009 with the approval of shareholders of both the companies. The deal was worth $50 billion. The acquisition made the bank world’s largest financial service provider. However, the earnings released in the same month revealed losses of $21.5 billion in the fourth quarter of Merrill Lynch. The executives of BOA in the announcement before the voting by shareholders provided an unjustified and randomly projected losses rather than the actual analysis of Merrill Lynch. This called for two times infusion of money by the government. However, the executives of BOA in November testified in a Congressional Hearing that they relied on faulty data in order to gain shareholder vote on the acquisition. The forecasts of losses were faulty and some of the losses from collateralized debt obligations for the month of November and December, and various other illiquid assets were omitted. This omission of losses from the financial model used by Merrill Lynch, led to around $9 billion losses where the actual pre-tax losses should have been $18 billion (Cohan, 2009). The carelessness and absence of due diligence on part of BOA executives has had cost its shareholders and resignation of the chairman of BOA Kenneth D. Lewis who also happened to be the chief executive of the bank. However, there is another aspect of the situation faced by BOA i.e. the executives in their testimony also provided the reason for ignoring the significant losses to be press ure from the government to acquire Merrill Lynch before it declares bankruptcy. Analysis of Executives’ Behavior The BOA executives’ testimony in case of Merrill Lynch’s acquisition shows that they deliberately ignored to make a careful analysis of the accounting books of Merrill Lynch. The possible reason for this could be that they had already made up their minds about the acquisition and so ignored the basic principle of investment decision-making i.e. due diligence (Stowell, 2010, p.71). The motivation could be from the fact that the acquisition made BOA world’s largest financial services company and this could have been linked with the compensation and bonuses of the executives. BOA was also interested in buying the bankrupt Lehman Brothers, which was eventually taken over by Barclays. Moreover, BOA executives’ over confidence stems from another recent successful acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corporation that made BOA America’s b iggest home lender (Mildenberg & Keoun, 2008). At the time of acquisition announcement it was believed by many analysts that if BOA was able to restrict the bad assets, then Merrill Lynch’s retail distribution with sales force of 16,690 brokers managing $1.6 trillion of assets, could be the most profitable deal the bank had got during the financial crisis (Mildenberg & Keoun, 2008). Unlike Barclays’ acquisition of Lehman without its bad assets for a much smaller amount, the Merrill Lynch deal was a hasty decision by BOA’s chief executive Kenneth D. Lewis. Lewis had been the driving force of BOA’s success around the nation (The New York Times, 2009). In a study of self-serving bias in managerial decision-making, it

Numerical Precision Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Numerical Precision - Assignment Example 32 bits. Floating point numbers is composed of two components that is, the mantissa and the exponent. The exponent consists of eight bits value which ranges from zero to 255. On the other hand, the mantissa is twenty four bit long with 1 being its most significant bit which is usually never stored. Also, there is a sign bit (+ and -) which is used to indicate whether the number is negative or positive Floating point numbers in arithmetic calculations Floating point numbers calculations vary from machine to machine depending on the precision of the machine. Precision is the degree of correctness a given quantity can be expressed; this includes 32-bit single precision and 64-bit double precision that are stored as 8 and 10 bytes respectively. This representation makes it very easy for hardware manipulation. Assignment of these values doesn’t require the knowledge of how the various numbers are stored in memory. For calculation purposes, this requires the pulling of individual pa rts of the numbers involved and manipulating them accordingly. Floating point used in arithmetic computations are easy to work with since they are expressed to base 2 and the exponent is a decimal value that can be expressed as binary within the computer. The fixed number notation of representing floating point numbers may lead to loss of precision such as expressing results in form of 32 bits and they may be greater than 32 bits. Floating point arithmetic is slow and hence less efficient compared to integer arithmetic. Also, floating point arithmetic is less accurate due to round off errors. Floating point format is not memory efficient at all. This is because the results of computation will require additional storage in memory which may be limited. This is usually the case with majority of computers especially personal computers and it’s therefore advisable to let dedicated devices to perform floating point computations. Binary Coded Decimal format This format is a format f or representing decimal numbers such that each number is represented by a number of bits (four or eight bits).There is the packed and unpacked varied binary coded decimal formats. In the packed format, each decimal number is represented using 4 bits (nibble) while in the unpacked format each decimal is represented using a byte (8 bits). For example to represent a number like 41 in binary coded decimal format will be Packed format: 0100 0001 and the unpacked format will be 0000 0100 0001 The packed BCD format is more memory efficient since it reduces on the number of unused bits added to a number. Comparison of the BCD format to the floating point format Precision BCD values are very accurate as compared to floating point numbers. This is because BCD numbers are simply decimal numbers expressed in terms of bits and floating point number format is a scientific notation of large and small values. Performance in calculations BCD numbers are easy to convert and use in arithmetic hence th e overall arithmetic computation is always very fast and efficient. Floating point format numbers must undergo various steps of conversion before they can be used in any computation. These results in some overhead in terms of memory and time hence the computations will be slow. Memory Usage BCD format is efficient in memory usage if the packed version is used. The unpacked version results

Silk Road Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Silk Road - Essay Example â€Å"Both terms for this network of roads†, as Joshua J Mark notes, â€Å"were coined by the German geographer and traveler, Ferdinand von Richthofen, in 1877 CE, who designated them `Seidenstrasse’ (silk road) or `Seidenstrassen’ (silk routes)† (Pars. 1). After its establishment during the Han Dynasty in 130 BCE, the commercial routes have been regularly used by different peoples until the Ottomans imposed blockade on the routes in 1453 CE in order to cut off the Europeans’ commercial relation with the East. Along the passage of time, the routes have played significant roles in the international military as well as cultural relationships among the ancient and medieval nations. At any given point of history, the â€Å"Silk Routes† also have â€Å"played the role of a determiner of international relationship† (Elisseeff 45). Therefore, the routes have undergone various transformations, additions and often contractions according to the natures of the existing socio-political, geographical and cultural milieus of the world. Early History of the Silk Routes Historians popularly believe that the â€Å"Silk Routes† had been established in 130 BCE during the Han Dynasty. But in reality, its history dates back in the 5th century BCE to the 3rd century BCE, when the commercial relationships among the nations were being determined by the imperial influences and control over countries and nations. Before Alexander’s military enterprise began to expand eastward, the commercial relationship of Europe with Eastern nations was not that deep and intense. Instead, the Greeks and the Romans would maintain their commercial and trade relationship with few of the Middle Eastern nations such the Syrians and the Persians who were then in control of the Achaemenid Empire, and sometimes, with the Indian nations through the â€Å"Persian Royal Road† which would â€Å"come to serve as one of the main arteries of the Silk Road, was established during the Achaemenid Empire (500-330 BCE)† (Mark pars. 2). In fact, the commercial route between the Greeks-Romans and the Middle-Eastern had been facilitated by the Mare Internum maritime route, in the Mediterranean Sea, which easily connected the Greeks and the Roman City states with the Middle East, and by the Syrian-Persian Terrain which was much friendly to the merchants. This western commercial route, which stretched to the Indian Subcontinent, achieved individuality because of its contribution to the growth of regional commerce among those countries (Elisseeff 56-62). Though the Persian Achaemenids maintained intermittent trade relationship with the Chinese, it was not as frequent as it was with the Greeks and the Romans. After Alexander the Great conquered the Persians in 339 BCE, the root of the ‘Persian Royal Road’ (the predecessor of the Silk Routes) further became solidified. Yet the west’s commercial relationship wit h China did not open up. By the time, the Greco Bactrian was ruling in Fergana Valley of Neb of Tajikistan, Central Asia, the Han Dynasty was struggling against the nomadic Mongolian invaders of the Xiongu on the north-western border of China. The harassments

Ardiff - Regeneration of cardiff, what it offers to business Essay

Ardiff - Regeneration of cardiff, what it offers to business - Essay Example The paper will discuss how culture and heritage is developed for purpose of tourism activities. Another important area analysed is role of culture and diversity for an organization like Motorpoint arena Cardiff. The report will shed light on ethical considerations while conducting tourism activities at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff and how it affects all stakeholders. Since every business does lack challenges, the report will also examine management challenges in operating business in leisure industry. An appropriate conclusion and recommendations are also provided. Cardiff and Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Cardiff remains to be one of the most vibrant cosmopolitan European capitals that are regenerating at a fast rate in economic, social and in infrastructural development. Its location provides it the best opportunity of being accessible within a few hours from London. It is connected by train to London. Reflecting on the growth of Cardiff as capital city of Wales it has an enthralling past a nd an exciting future. It has conserved its history in the great museum and various attraction sites like Roman fortress. It is a country filled with the history of Romans, Normans and Victorians who were a great help in shaping Cardiff city. Cardiff castle and Cardiff bay which is considered as meeting place and where the city comes to rest. The city hosts several international games including inshore race and harbour festivals (Kim & Robert, 2002, pp.45-49). Motorpoint Arena Cardiff is located at the centre of Cardiff. It was usually known as Cardiff International Arena before it was bought by Motorpoint. It provides the largest exhibition space in Cardiff and has a capacity of over 7,500. Its ability to hold international events, comedy performances, sports and concerts gives it the attraction that motivates tourists into visiting it. Its location is one of its advantages in that it is located within commerce centre of Newport and a shot walking distance from the Millennium Stadi um. It is located at entrance of Wales giving it a chance to be accessed by M4 motorway. It provides all catering services including 24 hour lounge menu for hotel residents. Regeneration of Cardiff and what it offers to business Economically Cardiff city provides almost 20% of GDP of the country. Regeneration of Cardiff was due to increased demand in coal which was a necessary raw material in production of steel and iron. It has attracted foreign direct investment and hence stabilizing its economic standards. Since it is a country that conserves its history it attracts tourists into the city who come to study their culture and way of existence. They have made it possible for construction of accommodation facilities hence increasing standard of economy in the country (WTTC, 2002, np). Infrastructure development is one sector that Cardiff has invested in. This ranges from transport sector, sports and communication development. It is one of the best transport links indicating its good location for business. Location of the city close to M4 motorway and the junction improved its

Quotes that Will Change the Way You Think Essay Example for Free

Quotes that Will Change the Way You Think Essay In your quiet moments, what do you think about? How far you’ve come, or how far you have to go? Your strengths, or your weaknesses? The best that might happen, or the worst that might come to be? In your quiet moments, pay attention to your thoughts. Because maybe, just maybe, the only thing that needs to shift in order for you to experience more happiness, more love, and more vitality, is your way of thinking. Here are 60 thought-provoking quotes gathered from our sister site, Everyday Life Lessons, and from our blog archive that will help you adjust your way of thinking. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. Don’t think of cost. Think of value. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly. Too many people buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have to impress people they don’t know. Read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying. If a person wants to be a part of your life, they will make an obvious effort to do so. Think twice before reserving a space in your heart for people who do not make an effort to stay. Making one person smile can change the world – maybe not the whole world, but their world. Saying someone is ugly doesn’t make you any prettier. The only normal people you know are the ones you don’t know very well. Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it. The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. As we grow up, we realize it becomes less important to have more friends and more important to have real ones. Making a hundred friends is not a miracle. The miracle is to make a single friend who will stand by your side even when hundreds are against you. Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak, sometimes it means you are strong enough and smart enough to let go and move on. Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, etc†¦ If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. Don’t choose the one who is beautiful to the world; choose the one who makes your world beautiful. Falling in love is not a choice. To stay in love is. True love isn’t about being inseparable; it’s about two people being true to each other even when they are separated. While you’re busy looking for the perfect person, you’ll probably miss the imperfect person who could make you perfectly happy. Never do something permanently foolish just because you are temporarily upset. You can learn great things from your mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them. Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In life, if you don’t risk anything, you risk everything. When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come. There isn’t anything noble about being superior to another person. True nobility is in being superior to the person you once were. Trying to be someone else is a waste of the person you are. You will never become who you want to be if you keep blaming everyone else for who you are now. People are more what they hide than what they show. Sometimes people don’t notice the things others do for them until they stop doing them. Don’t listen to what people say, watch what they do. Being alone does not mean you are lonely, and being lonely does not mean you are alone. Love is not about sex, going on fancy dates, or showing off. It’s about being with a person who makes you happy in a way nobody else can. Anyone can come into your life and say how much they love you. It takes someone really special to stay in your life and show how much they love you. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion; today is special. Love and appreciate your parents. We are often so busy growing up, we forget they are also growing old. When you have to start compromising yourself and your morals for the people around you, it’s probably time to change the people around you. Learn to love yourself first, instead of loving the idea of other people loving you. When someone tells you, â€Å"You’ve changed,† it might simply be because you’ve stopped living your life their way. Someone else doesn’t have to be wrong for you to be right. Be happy. Be yourself. If others don’t like it, then let them be. Happiness is a choice. Life isn’t about pleasing everybody. When you’re up, your friends know who you are. When you’re down, you know who your friends are. Don’t look for someone who will solve all your problems; look for someone who will face them with you. If you expect the world to be fair with you because you are fair, you’re fooling yourself. That’s like expecting the lion not to eat you because you didn’t eat him. No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention. Many people are so poor because the only thing they have is money. Learn to appreciate the things you have before time forces you appreciate the things you once had. When you choose to see the good in others, you end up finding the good in yourself. You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there. It’s better to know and be disappointed than to never know and always wonder. There are things that we don’t want to happen but have to accept, things we don’t want to know but have to learn, and people we can’t live without but have to let go. Happiness is not determined by what’s happening around you, but rather what’s happening inside you. Most people depend on others to gain happiness, but the truth is, it always comes from within. If you tell the truth, it becomes a part of your past. If you lie, it becomes a part of your future. What you do every day matters more than what you do every once in a while. Read The Power of Habit. You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one. Things turn out best for people who make the best out of the way things turn out. If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.

What Are The Weaknesses Of Democratic Transition Theory Politics Essay

What Are The Weaknesses Of Democratic Transition Theory Politics Essay Throughout the 20th century, democracy has gained its status as the predominant and most legitimate form of national governance. Through complex and diverse processes of democratization, not all successful, increasingly more states embedded democratic characteristics and procedures into their governance systems. Consequently, democracy and democratization swiftly became the subject-matter of extensive academic literature, widely referred to as Democratic Transition Theory (hereafter: DTT), which aims to scrutinize various aspects of emerging democratic regimes and democratic transitions. This essay will focus on the question What are the weaknesses of democratic transition theory. It will assess, while using the case-study of democratization processes in the former-Yugoslavia states, different shortcomings of existing DTT, which arguably undermine its theoretical validity and call into question the extent to which it is useful in explaining contemporary democratic transitions First, at the theoretical level, DTTs incoherent and diverse use of concepts, variables and methods, which weakens its internal validity. Second, at the empirical level, DTT is inapplicable to contemporary variants of democratic transitions mainly due to the impact of globalization processes on notions of statehood and citizenship in post-conflict situations, which weakens its external validity. Third, at the practical level, DTT blurs boundaries between academic accounts and policy prescriptions as well as between descriptive and normative perspectives, which calls into question its utility as a guiding principle for democratization policy. Based on these three critiques, I will argue that we should differentiate between notions of DTT as an academic theory and as a political paradigm. As an academic theory, we should perceive it as an open project and thus further develop it in order to suggest plausible explanations of contemporary transitions. As a political paradigm, we should acknowledge the theoretical limitations in using it to underwrite democratization policy and therefore revisit its prescriptive and normative strands. (A)Democratic-Transition-Theory: A-Historical-Background DTT is a field of study that focuses on exploring the political phenomenon of regime transitions. In this sense, DTT is a fairly coherent research program, which encompasses various studies which aim to scrutinize the process by which a state attempts to embed democratic features in its formal and informal patterns of governance. DTTs contemporary incarnation evolved in light of the democratic transitions in Latin America and South Europe starting in the mid 1970s. These processes, which Huntington-(1991) dubbed the third wave of democratization, begat a prominent line of DTT studies (e.g. Huntington, 1991; ODonnell and Schmitter,1996), suggesting various explanatory frameworks for these transitions. Nevertheless, studies on democracy as a form of governance emerged before that. Seminal works of American scholars in the 1960s articulated the first configuration of DTT, which aimed to scrutinize the structural settings that arguably explained democratic patterns, these usually focused either on economic factors, like modernization and economic development or on cultural factors, like political culture. These were nevertheless more of an attempt to empirically identify the structural conditions that shape specific modes of political institutions and focused less on the studying the process of democratic transition itself. The political processes of the-Third-Wave, have generated a new approach to DTT, which diverted the focus from strictly structural explanations to agent-oriented ones. This new approach emphasizes the role of political elites as agents that realize and execute democratic transitions (for an overview on DTT, see Bunce,2000: 705-715) The study of democratization expanded in light of democracys worldwide expansion. Multiple regional and cross-regional studies were performed in various attempts to deduce theoretical generalizations regarding democratization. Altogether, these studies explored a common type of transition, characterized as the process through which a breakthrough of an authoritarian regime in a certain state results in transition toward democracy (Carothers, 2002:). In this sense, DTT studies differed in the various causal explanations of the factors that facilitate the political phenomenon of regimes transitions. By focusing on the processes features rather than on its diverse origins or potential outcomes, these studies suggested a certain and limited prism on democratic transitions. This prism, based on retrospective empirical evaluations of concrete and deliberated democratization processes in Latin America and South Europe, painted a picture of relatively sequenced and pre-determent patterns of democratic reforms within nondemocratic states. The criteria for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of theories are typically based on assessing their internal and external validity. Internal validity refers to the strength of the causal links a theory suggests in terms of conceptualizing, measuring and qualifying its variables-and the relations between them. External validity refers to the extent to which theories can be generalized and applied to situations other than those examined. In the next section, I will evaluate-both the internal and external validity of DTT. First, internally in terms of concepts and methodology, and then externally in terms of its applicability to explaining more recent regime transitions- specifically, the fragmentation of Yugoslavia from 1990-1999. (B)DTT-Weaknesses: Internal-Validity DTTs main weakness in terms of internal validity is the lack of sufficient coherence in its concepts, variables and the links it suggests between them (Munck,1994). DTT as a research program encompasses various studies aiming to explain democratic transitions; however, these studies define democratic and/or transitions in different ways. This in turn creates a situation in which theories that allegedly claim to offer alternative explanations to the same phenomenon, actually explain different phenomena. For example, the book of ODonnell and Schmitter (1986), a seminal DTT work, posits in its first paragraph that it deals with transitions from certain authoritarian regime toward an uncertain something else' (ODonnell and Schmitter, 1986:3). Huntingtons book, probably the work that is most identified with the DTT, declares in its preface that it is about the transition of some thirty countries from nondemocratic to democratic political system (Huntington: 1991, 3). Linz and Stephen (1996), present a third approach, which attempts to revisit the traditional DTT and explore how the character of different nondemocratic regimes affects, or does not affect, the paths that can be taken to complete a transition to a democratic regime (Linz and Stephen, 1996: 3). These three examples reflect three different conceptualization of democratization: ODonnell and Schmitter focus on the origins of a political transition, Huntington examines the factors that shape the process of democratization, and Linz and Stephan illuminate the final phase of the process, the consolidation. These different explanatory frameworks, although complementary to a certain extent, are incomparable in terms of evaluating the strength of their arguments and their plausibility. Furthermore, DTT studies not only conceptualize democratic transition differently, but-also conceptualize democracy differently. This illuminates two major disagreements that hinder the internal validity of DTT. At the conceptual level, DTT theorists disagree over which democratic features should be used to signify the degree of both existence and success of democratic transitions. At the methodological level, they-disagree on how these features can and should be measured. For example, while Huntington prefers to stick to the minimal definition of democracy as a political system in which decision-makers are selected through fair, honest and periodic elections (Huntington,1991:7), Linz and Stephan choose a wider definition comprising behavioural, attitudinal and constitutional elements (Linz and Stephan,1996:6). The challenge of defining and operationalizing democracy indicators corresponds with the extensive academic literature of democratic theory. The latter, a close relative of democratic transition theory, focuses on highly contested questions of defining, measuring and qualifying democracy both procedurally as a form of government and conceptually as a conduit of specific values and norms (e.g. Beetham, 1994). The challenge for DTT in this sense is obvious. If there is no consensus on how to define democracy, how to qualify it and how it can be measured, how could DTT attempt to portray the trajectories of transition to democracy, let alone explain the factors that shape them. For example, the common explanation of elite-driven transition, which emphasizes the essential role of political elites in the transition process, fails to explain the relations between democracy and political elites, namely to explicate why, and under what conditions, political elites will be motivated to perpet uate political transition (Bunce,2000). These are just several examples of the theorys internal shortcomings. Alongside others, these examples raise questions regarding the ability of DTTs causal explanations to depict a complete picture of the specific transitions they aim to explain (Munck, 1994). This by itself is a sufficient reason to question the transferability of the theory and the ability of applying it on other transitions (Pridham, 2000:1-3). The next section will focus on democratic transitions in the Balkans as a case-study to illustrate the limitations of using classic premises of DTT as plausible theoretical lenses for explaining political transitions in contemporary post-conflict situations. (C)DTT-Weaknesses:-External-Validity Yugoslavias disintegration and the Balkan wars (1990-1999) that followed led to the creation of seven new independent states (including Kosovo). All were required to face the complex mission of reconstructing (actually constructing) basic political and economic state-infrastructures. This mission is composed, according to Offe (quoted in Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic,2006: 226) , of triple transition: (1) At the societal level, nation-state building (which can be separated into two different building processes state-institutions and the nation); (2) at the economic level, economic liberalization and (3) at the political level, democratization (see also Blunden, 2004:22-23 and Hippler, 2008). These are not separated transitions. In practice, they not only overlap and intertwine, but they also affect each other and are shaped by similar factors. In this respect, democratic transitions in the Balkans cannot be examined separately from the context of concurrent transitions on one h and and of the historical circumstances and legacies that generated those, on the other (Pridham, 2000:9-15). Herein lays DTTs main deficiency: it is almost blind to the importance of different contexts, at both the domestic and international realms which could potentially affect democratic transitions. . For years, DTT studies explained democratization from the inside, whether by structural variables like economic and cultural factors, or by agent-oriented approaches, which focus on political elites and their role in redesigning political institutions. By that, DTT largely refers to the transition as an isolated process that is dependent on the confluence of a set of (rather contested) driving forces that arguably promote democracy. It thus ignores the specific contexts and preconditions within which it takes place, as well as the related external forces (Carothers, 2002; Whitehead, 2002). I will elaborate only on the two contextual impediments of DTT, which seem most relevant for explaining political transitions in the global era: (1) the role of statehood and citizenship and (2) the international dimension. Both of these factors gain extra significance if one accepts the common understanding that processes of globalization for the past couple of decades have challenged classical no tions of the states legitimacy and authority. One of the main indicators of democratization processes in the Balkans is popular elections, which were held in all of the emerging Balkan states ever sense the-aftermath of the Balkans-wars. Even if we will accept the disputed assertion that elections endow a polity with the label democratic, the statehood of these polities still remains questionable (Edmunds, 2007; Krastev, 2002). The puzzling phenomenon of democracy preceding statehood, simply does not meet the basic premises of DTT, hence highlights the latter inapplicability to post-conflict political transitions. One of DTTs core assumptions is that the polity in transition is not only a state, but also a consolidated one. It assumes that the transition is occurring within the framework of an existing infrastructure of political institutions and is reconstructed through the transition process (Carothers, 2002). The case of the Balkan states imposes a new challenge to this. When former Yugoslav states declared independence, they not only lacked effective and legitimate governments, but were also locked in a state of ethnic conflict. Both conditions have fundamental effects on subsequent democratization processes. Democratization in the Balkans was essentially entwined with processes of state-building and nation-building, and thus was framed more as means to empower forces who wanted to shape the future nation-state and less as an independent aim. This argument could be applied to both nationalist forces operating within quasi-states and to the participating international and transnational acto rs (Blunden, 2004; Pridham, 2000). The fragmentation of Yugoslavia and subsequent wars created a great political and social vacuum in its former republics. Opposed to the basic assumptions of DTT, the political transitions in this region were not a consequence of a regimes breakthrough but rather of a state. This did not lead to processes of political reconstruction, but rather a fundamental need to construct social, economic and political institutions. The post-conflict vacuum, characterized by a great sense of social insecurity, facilitated a competition between various forces over power and authority within a given territory (Hippler, 2008). This competition was embodied in the Balkan conflicts and in the reconstruction processes that followed them. Subsequently, post-war processes of state-building in the Balkans became associated with nation-building processes evolving around ethnic-fragmentation. Given the legacies of the failure of the prior state-authority to maintain its statehood and conflicts that generated from that, the post-conflict situation in the Balkan illuminated the attractiveness of state authority alternatives in the form of nationalism and identity politics (Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic,2006:229-230; 2009; Smith,1996: 2-3). Consequently, crucial power shifts within the realm of the state allocated more power to exclusive ethno-nationalist groups than to inclusive ones (Zakaria,2003:15). For example, In Bosnia-Herzegovina(BiH), since 1996 the parliament has been dominated by the wartime nationalist parties, reflecting popular support for ethnic divides and separatism (Waters,2004). This demonstrates the inability of the new state systems to create what Smith (1996) calls a balance between the civic and ethnic dimensions of nationalism (Smith,1996:97-102). Constant disagreements over the definition of the people and the transformation from a Westphalian d efinition, which is based on bordered territory, to an ethnicity-based definition of people, undermined the ability of any state representative to establish equilibrium and therefore to consolidate effective and legitimate democratic states. Furthermore, nationalist groups use democratic practices to recreate the nation and national identity rather than create a functioning state (Smith, 1996:80-82). For example, in 2004-5 Serbian and Montenegrin nationalist group used the political institutions in Serbia and Montenegro (unified state back then) as part of their as part of their struggle for independence and separation (Edmund, 2007). Under the circumstances of weak and fragile states, these ethnic fragmentations just could not be accommodated under any constellation of democratically-elected government (Edmunds, 2007; Krastev,2002:49; Waters,2004; Zakaria, 2003:113-155). As a result, the emerging Balkan states emphasized their ethnic components and therefore provoked processes of hyper-nationalism, ethnic-centralization and exclusion (Smith,1996:105-106), all of which are essentially counterproductive to state-building processes. The lack of a civic component, which essentially defines the relationship between the state and its citizens, imposes more challenges for DTT, which presupposes the existence of statehood and in particular, clear definitions of citizens and citizenship. In this respect, citizenship is acknowledged as prerequisite to democracy, not to mention one of its constitutive elements. After all, if democracy is literally the rule of the people, without agreement on who are the people there cannot be a democracy. Thus, if one embraces Grugels concept of democratization as the establishment of democratic practices of citizenship (Grugel,2003:250), the absence of a clear civic component in the Balkan states questions the mere existence of democratic transitions within them and emphasize their embedded weakness (Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic,2009). In terms of DTT, this emphasizes the need to expand its explanatory frameworks to cases in which there is not only a regime transition but also a transition (or construction) of a state, which entails differentiating between the constitutive elements of democracy citizenship and statehood and its procedural practices, like elections. Another neglected dimension of DTT, which arguably has crucial impact on contemporary post-conflict transitions, is the international dimension (Schmitz,2004). International forces, and external forces in general have always had some impact on domestic democratization transitions as demonstrated by US efforts in the Alliance for Progress (1961) and various foreign aid schemes for democratization states in Latin America. Nevertheless, although prominent DTT scholars acknowledged the role of the US in third wave democratization processes (Huntington,1991:91-100), and recognized ,its part in the history of democratization, the role of external forces or superpowers was not incorporated into DTTs explanatory frameworks thus was absent from democratization theory (Schmitz,2004). More than that, the DTTs reliance on firm division between the external and domestic realms overlooks the involvement of external, international, global and transnational elements in these transitions and thus ign ores their role in shaping the course of contemporary post-conflict transition. Here again the political transitions in the Balkans reveal the inapplicability of the DTT to contemporary conflicts because of its tendency to decontextualize the political phenomenon it aims to explore. The DTT treats democracy and democratization as unitary concepts that have firm meanings regardless of time and space constraints, and thus assumes they can be defined and measured via objective and positivist lenses. Nevertheless, since democracy as a set of political procedures is the manifestation of set of ideas and concepts, its meaning is dynamic and interpretative, that is constructed and socialized by social institutions and actors under specific social and historical circumstances. An important shift in the ideas and meanings of democracy and democratization has occurred in the past few decades (Whitehead,2002:7-9). The end of the Cold-War marked for many the triumph of democracy as a desirable idea. This, accompanied by recently emergent ideas of human security, generated a paradigm shift in the academic and political agendas toward the need to embody and realize notions of human, liberal and political rights. President Clinton articulated this trend in its first inaugural speech (1992): [O]ur greatest strength is the power of our ideas, which are still new in many lands. Across the world, we see them embraced, and we rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, our hands, are with those on every continent who are building democracy and freedom. Their cause is Americas cause.  [1]   In light of these notions, NATO, under U.S. leadership, framed its involvement in the Balkan wars at both diplomatic level (e.g. the Dayton Agreement, 1996) and military one (e.g. NATOs Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo,1999). Another example for the ideational framework of the external forces in the Balkans is the involvement of NATO the UN, the EU, and GCS bodies in managing reconstruction and state-building tasks in the region. The official objectives of these tasks illustrate their aim to develop in these states the civic components of statehood and democracy. For example, the mission of NATO-led stabilization force in BiH articulates that its legal and political framework was determined in light of Dayton Agreements goals (1996): To provide a safe and secure environment; To-establish a-unified, democratic Bosnia-and Herzegovina.; To rebuild-the-economy.; and To allow the return of displaced persons and refugees to their prewar-homes.  [2]   The mandate of the UN-Mission in BiH (1995) emphasizes the role of law enforcement, whose main tasks include: Monitoring, observing and inspecting law enforcement activities and facilities; advising law enforcement personnel and forces; assessing threats to public order and advising on the capability of law-enforcement agencies to deal with such threats  [3]  . It also makes its assistance to specific parties in BiH conditional and declares that it will: Consider-requests from the parties-or law-enforcement agencies in-Bosnia and Herzegovina for-assistance, with priority being given to ensuring the existence of conditions for free and fair elections. The objectives of the UN peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR, 1999) are also similar: Support the-establishment-of civilian institutions, law and order, the judicial and penal system, the electoral-process-and other-aspects of the political, economic and social life of the province.  [4]   The main-problem though, is that these forces by attempting to design and supply the civic components of the state in-light-of western models of statehood and democracy, served as substitute for the state and practically empowered the anti-statist forces in the region, namely the ethno-nationalist groups as a by-product of democratization (Waters, 2004:424-427). The American diplomat Richard-Holbrooks expressed his concern from this implication in the course of the 1996 Bosnian-elections: Suppose the election was declared free and fairà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and those elected are racists, fascists, separatists, who are publicly opposed to [peace and reintegration]. That is the dilemma. (Quoted in Zakaria,2003:17-18) As exemplified above, this has realized in practice, and the institutions that the external forces aimed to achieve in the Balkans, were used by ethno-nationalist movements as a platform to fuel trends of populism and claim their authority in the name of an exclusive ethnic majority (Smilov and Krastev, 2008:8-10). The above examples illustrate two important notions regarding the weakness of DTT to theorize the role of external forces. First, its indifference to the fact that international and transnational forces play a significant role in processes-of democratization and state reconstruction (Lewis,1997). Second, its indifference to the significance-of contextual and ideational-evolutions in concepts of democracy, as shaping and determining-this role. A comprehensive theoretical account on democratic transitions thus has to consider both the ways in which external forces fulfill their role in the transitions and the material and ideational factors that motivate them to do so. By further scrutinizing the role of external forces in democratization processes, DTT, could perhaps suggest refined and crystallized notions regarding the relations between external and internal forces in contemporary democratic transitions as well as provide further insights regarding the appropriate ways to manage and execute these transitions (e.g. Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic,2006; Schmitz, 2004). The first question to be asked, in this respect, is if DTT in its essence is adequate to serve as a guiding policy tool for democratic transitions. (D) DTT: Between-Academic-Theory-and-Political-Paradigm: The relative success of the third wave of democratization coincided with the end of the Cold War, conferred extra normative weight upon concepts of democracy and democratization and anchored democratization processes to the conception that democracy is good and desirable. This conception developed in light of historical and social circumstances that generated specific normative perceptions and-interpretations of democracy. DTTs main theoretical and empirical assertions were combined with similar normative notions regarding the merits of democracy. It was thus shifted from a merely descriptive and explanatory framework to a prescriptive one, representing a new paradigm, in the academic and political realms, regarding the prospects of democracy promotions (e.g. Diamond, 2003; Fukuyama, 1992). Consequently, more and more entrepreneurs of democracy promotion framed and justified their policies via a mixture of normative and descriptive notions of DTT, as the paradigmatic foundation for attempts to support and encourage democratic transitions around the globe. The essential question thus is if indeed DTT is designated to serve as the theoretical basis of democratization policies in general and of contemporary post-conflict transitions in particular. The democratization attempts in the Balkans can shed light on this question. The attempts of the international community and GCS networks to democratize the Balkan states by emphasizing the virtues of elections as a platform for democracy and of law enforcement mechanisms as a platform for constitutionalism, exemplify the limitations of DTT. The overall success of these attempts is questionable as much as-the democratic transitions in the Balkan states are questionable due to, alongside other reasons, the theorys deficiencies pre sented above. First, in terms of cause and effect, these attempts were-based-on incoherent means and methods that were incompatible to the aim they wished to-achieve. Second, they were inapplicable under the ontological features of the political transitions in the Balkans, which were shaped by the new and unfamiliar context of globalization, manifested in non-statist (i.e., sub-national, transnational and global) trends and patterns of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction (Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic,2009; On the EUs Europeanization-approach to the Balkans see Kostovicova and Bojicic-Dzelilovic,2006). These patterns demonstrate the blurred trajectory DTT has taken in recent years and calls into question its ability to serve as the theoretical basis for policies of democratization. This, I wish to argue, has less to do with DTT itself but rather with its transformation from academic theory to political paradigm. As argued above, the end of the Cold-War served as a normative leverage for democracy and democratization as political concepts. Those consequently gained normative weight, which altered the concept of democratic transitions from being a mere dependant variable in terms of DTT to aspired political objective. In this sense, DTT was politicized and shifted from being a framework, which aimed-to understand and explain reality into a framework which ascribed its shape and designed desirable political realities. Furthermore, DTT became a tool to justify and frame policy, migrating it from the academic sphere to the political one. Nevertheless, DTT was not simply applied to new c ases of political transitions as a guiding principle, but rather was translated and rephrased. Different entrepreneurs stripped DTT of its original theoretical constructs and rephrased them as both public conventions and political convictions (see also Ish-Shalom,2006 on the migration process of the Democratic Peace theory.). I use the word strip since once a theory migrates from academic to political discourse, it is detached from the skeptical and cautious discourse to which it was originally anchored. Academic theories are essentially specific adhered-to standards that qualify it to participate in the academic discourse. Among these requisites are expressed notions of cautiousness and skepticism that frame theorizing processes more as a set of probabilistic assertions than as a natural law. In return, theorists usually refer to-their theories as-project that is open to interpretations, refutations and further developments. More than that, theorists set the conditions under which their theories can-be-applied, and-by that acknowledge the limitations of theoretical generalizations (Ish-Shalom, 2008:683-685). This, for example, is clearly a part of the theorizing process of the DTT in its original setting as an academic-theory, which was explicitly cautious regarding its ability to serve as a model, rather than an explanation. Huntington for example, clearly states that his account of the third wave of democratization is limited-to the specific cases he selected for the study and thu s questions his own theorys external validity (Huntington,1991:xiii). ODonnell and Schmitter explicitly suggest in their books title tentative-conclusions and point that although there is a normative strand to the DTT that recognizes democratization as desirable, one has to acknowledge that transitions are essentially disordered and thus difficult to theorize and deduce to concrete generalizations. Democratic transitions thus should not be regarded as either linear or deterministic in their nature (ODonnell and Schmitter,1986:3-5). Interestingly, Carotherss critique (2002) The End of the Transition Paradigm implicitly acknowledges the theorys migration process by referring explicitly to subject under critique democratic transition paradigm rather than to democratic-transition-theory. It is important to stress the differences between theory and paradigm. A paradigm is a worldview composed of a set of axiomatic, possibly normative, notions regarding facets of the world. Theory on the other hand is the result of complex process of systematically organizing paradigmatic conceptions into sets of assumptions, testable hypotheses, and feasible arguments usually framed by conditioned if and then matrixes. DTT, in this sense, shifted from being a theory, constrained by the common standards of academic theorizing, into a political paradigm that embodies a specific set of values and norms. Consequently, the use some would even argue abuse of the idea of DTT as a paradigmatic-framework for democratization policies is inadequate given its initial purposes and limitations as a theory. This use can be seen as a selective, even distorte

Unhappy Countries After Wwi History Essay

Unhappy Countries After Wwi History Essay The end of WWI left many nations unhappy. The Germans were humiliated and lost territory and had war payments. The winning countries such as Japan and Italy did not gain enough land, but the Treaty of Versailles caused the war. Germans owed lots of money but could not pay debt and made only 1 payment 1921. This was three years after the war had ended. France sent troops into Ruhr Valley (rich) in Germany. Their goal was to take wealth from Germany. As a result, many Germans were angry and went on strike. Since the country was in debt, the government decided to print more money. Inflation was a result of too much money being printed. People had to take wheelbarrows of money to buy items because money had lost its value. The U.S and other nations created the Dawes Plan in 1924 to help Germany recover. This plan reduced the payments that Germany was to repay. The American banks loaned Germany $200 million to eliminate their debt. There were some good times that followed but they were sh ort-lived. Charles Dawes was an American banker who wanted to help Germany out of debt.. A depression is defined as a period of low economic activity when many people lose their jobs. Many of the factories during this time closed during the 1930s. Thousands of people were homeless and begged or food. People also started to vote for communist parties as a way to escape the ways of living. The cause o the depression was the stock market crashing. American companies produced much of the worlds manufactured goods. People wanted to make money so they invested their money, and the market boomed. Living was good. As a result, investors bought stock on margin paid a small amount of stock price and borrowed the rest of the money. As long as stock prices kept rising, buying on a margin was safe. Investors would sell stock when price increased, repay their loan, and keep the difference as profit. There were some factories that had problems selling goods. Many workers were not paid high enough wages and overproduction forced factories to slow production. Factories cut back on number of workers, and people were pressured to repay loans. When they failed to repay, the stock market crashed, prices fell and wiped out fortunes, banks collapsed, and people lost savings. Investors withdrew money and caused European banks to collapse. The worst year of depression was 1932 when people were out of work, people had been put out of their homes, and lived in shacks built out of cardboard or tin. Jobs during this time were very scarce, and food was not plentiful. As a way to help people Franklin D. Roosevelt developed the New Deal to provide people with money to buy food and housing and to put people back to work. The Civilian Conservative Corps(CCC) gave jobs to young people to plant trees and build facilities in parks. Also, the Works Progress Administration(WPA) paid jobless workers to build dams, roads, bridges, and hospitals. Roosevelt later convinced Congress to pass the Social Security Act which gave pensions and payments to people who were 65 or retired. This is still enforced today. Americans who were out of work were eligible to receive unemployment insurance which would help them until they could find a job. The New Deal did not completely restore economy but there was hope. The end of _______ left many nations unhappy. The _____ were humiliated and lost territory and had ____ payments. The winning countries such as ____ and _____ did not gain enough land, but the __________ caused the war. Germans owed lots of money but could not pay debt and made only ___ payment _____. This was _____ years after the war had ended. France sent troops into ______ ______ (rich) in Germany. Their goal was to take ________ from Germany. As a result, many Germans were angry and went on _______. Since the country was in debt, the government decided to _____ more ______. _______ was a result of too much money being printed. People had to take wheelbarrows of money to buy items because ________ had lost its _______. The U.S and other nations created the ______ _______ in 1924 to help ________ recover. This plan reduced the ________ that Germany was to repay. The American banks loaned Germany _____ million to eliminate their ______. There were some good times that followed but they were short-lived. ___________ Dawes was an American banker who wanted to help Germany out of debt.. A _________ is defined as a period of low _________ activity when many people lose their jobs. Many of the ________ during this time closed during the 1930s. Thousands of people were _________ and begged for food. People also started to vote for __________ parties as a way to escape the _______ of living. The cause of the depression was the ________ market crashing. American companies produced much of the worlds __________ goods. People wanted to make _______ so they ________ their money, and the market boomed. Living was good. As a result, investors bought stock on ________ paid a small amount of ________ price and _________ the rest of the money. As long as stock prices kept rising, buying on a margin was _______. Investors would sell stock when price ________, repay their loan, and keep the difference as ________. There were some ________ that had _________ selling ________. Many workers were not ________ high enough _______ and __________ forced factories to slow ___________. Fac tories cut back on number of _________, and people were pressured to _________loans. When they ________to repay, the _______ market __________, prices fell and wiped out __________, __________ collapsed, and people lost _________. _________ withdrew money and caused European banks to __________. The worst year of depression was ________ when people were out of _______, people had been put out of their ________, and lived in ________ built out of __________ or tin. Jobs during this time were very scarce, and food was not __________. As a way to help people ___________. Roosevelt developed the ______ _______ to provide people with ________ to buy _______ and _________ and to put people back to work. The __________Conservative Corps(CCC) gave _______to young _______ to plant _______ and build facilities in _______. Also, the Works _________ Administration(WPA) paid ________workers to build ______, roads, _________, and hospitals. _________ later convinced Congress to pass the _____ Security Act which gave _______ and payments to people who were __ or retired. This is still enforced today. Americans who were _____ of work were eligible to receive _________ insurance which would help them ______ they could find a ____. The New ______ did not fully restore the_________ but there was _____.