Political Science

The American public, without question, is absolutely bombarded with popular media images of lawyers, the legal system, and abstract notions of justice.  There are syndicated legal programs on television, blockbuster movies at the cinema, and bestsellers that crowd the public consciousness and affect perceptions of the topics portrayed.  This poses little problem in terms of the main purpose, which is entertainment, but it raises interesting questions regarding accuracy and how these portrayals ultimately influence public perceptions and confidence in Americas lawyers and its legal system.  This essay will argue that media depictions of lonely lawyers pursuing justice in a legal system in which the legal system rewards wealth and political power rather than justice significantly diminished public trust and confidence in the legal system as it pertains most significantly to legal trials.  In support of this thesis, this essay will examine two novels by John Grisham, The Pelican Brief and Rainmaker.  

John Grisham in The Pelican Brief creates a plot which revolves around the killing of two judges of the United States Supreme Court.  This is much more significant than the killing of two state judges or federal judges sitting in lower federal courts for several reasons.  First, the United States Supreme Court is composed in nine total judges thus, even the loss of one judge can significantly affect the philosophical and ethical orientation of the highest court in the United States.  Second, Grisham provided that these were fairly ethical judges who valued the rights of the American citizens and the principles of justice more than the influence of wealthy corporations and powerful politicians.  The death of these particular justices, as a consequence, was in many ways a means for Grisham to portray in a metaphorical way the murder of legal ethics, judicial neutrality, and objective approaches to justice in the United States of America.  Finally, rather than creating protagonists in the form of large law firms or the Attorney general of the United States, Grisham instead chose two marginal players in Americas legal system.  He chose, to be precise, a law professor in far-off Louisiana and one of that law professors law students.  Structurally, the novel creates a monolithic legal system in which justice is ignored by the mainstream of the American legal system and it is only through the life-threatening efforts of a couple of legal idealists that justice has any hope of prevailing.  It is, in many respects, a David versus Goliath battle and the legal system is the immoral and indifferent Goliath whereas the little people struggling for justice are the Davids .  Justice is a casualty, ostracized as considerations of wealth and political power predominate, and the American public is left to wonder how justice can ever prevail in a system so heavily weighted against justice and toward commercial interests and selfish political aspirations.

Some might argue, viewing the novels portrayals and depictions more optimistically, that justice does prevail in the end.  Such an argument is problematic for several reasons.  As an initial matter, Grisham portrays this victory for justice because that is what is expected in the popular media.  Novels and Hollywood movies overwhelmingly have happy endings and sad endings do not attract large commercial audiences.  Second, and a more salient flaw, is that the protagonists are depicted as exceptions rather than standard types of lawyers.  Their pursuit of justice, the identification and arrest of the wealthy masterminds behind the murder of the two United States Supreme Court Justices, is constantly fraught with risk and obstacles.  Indeed, because these protagonists dare to pursue justice where it is not desired, the killers also want to kill the protagonists and they succeed with the law professor.  Finally, there is a comprehensive and pervasive resistance to the pursuit of justice in every branch of the American government.  The novel provides that the President of the United States will appoint more commercially-sensitive judges to replace the murdered judges who advocated fairness and justice.  Judges will allow bias and ambition to affect their judicial functions in order to ascend to more prestigious positions within the legal hierarchy.  Legislators will support the judges that their generous campaign donors recommend.  What emerges, rather than justice prevailing through a happy Hollywood ending, in a vast government infrastructure motivated by greed and political aspirations. The happy ending, in effect, is irrelevant and the dominant theme of the novel is that justice is of tenuous applicability and that it is dangerous to pursue justice in the United States.  The American public can derive no firm type of confidence from these portrayals.

A more specific series of depictions and portrayals is provided by John Grisham in his novel, Rainmaker.  Rather than premising his plot on murders, he frames his plot in terms of a poor family whose son has died as a result of an insurance companys unethical and illegal behavior.  The death has been caused by the insurance companys refusal to pay for the sons medical treatment, this treatment it is implied would have saved the boys life, and the insurance contract obligated payment for the medical treatment.  Justice is again at stake and there are striking parallels in the depictions that Grisham makes in Rainmaker and The Pelican Brief.  First, the denial of justice is metaphorically represented in the boys death.  Second, commercial interests function to resist the pursuit of justice and to influence the legal and the political systems.  The novel provides, for example, that judges are reluctant to rule against the insurance companies because this may negatively affect their changes for promotion within the legal system.  Finally, the protagonist is once again an individual on the margins of the legal system with virtually no political influence and not truly a member of the legal elite.  Instead, Grisham depicts the pursuer of justice in the form of  new law school graduate.  This new law school graduate gets a decent job immediately thereafter, however, this law firm is purchased by a wealthier law firm and he loses his job.  It is while working for a low-class lawyer that he meets the family whose son has died as a result of the insurance companys failure to honor its contract.  His pursuit of justice against the insurance company is once again a dangerous and risky decision personally and professionally.
The dominant theme which emerges from both of these novels is that the American legal system is influenced and dominated by the wealthy and the politically power.  Justice is denied in a variety of forms.  Judges that disagree can be killed or denied promotions.  Lawyers and FBI agents who investigate these crimes can be killed or denied promotions.  The American legal system does not tolerate threats to the wealthy and the politically powerful.  This confirms the thesis of this paper, that some media depictions of the pursuit of justice function to diminish confidence in the American legal system, because the representations are ones of naked greed and hypocrisy.  There are additional facts that support this conclusion and these facts have to do with the authors background and professional experiences.  These novels were not written by a detached artist, a political radical, or a Hollywood screenwriter looking to make a name for himself.  Quite the contrary, John Grisham is the ultimate insider to the American legal system and its peculiarities and hypocrisies.  He is a licensed attorney, he has practiced law for many years, and he is familiar with the topics he addresses and the depictions he deliberately makes.  He understands the differences between the idealism of law school students and the more competitive world of experienced lawyers and judges.  These make his media portrayals seem more authentic and legitimate to the American public as a result, the effect if diminishing confidence in notions of justice is even stronger because the depictions and portrayals are coming from a knowledgeable and trusted insider.  If Grisham believes that Justice has been ostracized, then the public will likely share the same sentiments.

In the final analysis, these novels are rich in depictions and portrayals which doubtlessly affect and influence public perceptions of the American legal system and its alleged devotion to justice.  The implications are that the pursuit of justice is frequently dangerous and seldom successful.  A more hopeful message, if one is to be found, is that these media depictions also attempt to identify the main problems.  Grisham seems to be saying the judicial integrity and justice can only be promoted in a system in which commercial interests are withdrawn and in which politics is excluded to the extant possible.  These seem reasonable means for attempting to bring justice back into the American legal system.

For this assignment, first read the article, An Unnecessary War, by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. You can find the article by clicking on the link above or by following the link from the on-line Work Schedule.

Mearsheimer and Walt published An Unnecessary War just before the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. The article refers to or touches upon several concepts that appeared in Chapter 3 of our textbook, including preventive war, deterrence, and credibility. For this assignment, respond to the following questions. Write one paragraph for each question and number your responses. Your paper may not exceed two pages.

1. Our textbook, World Politics, explains the logic of preventive war. How well does the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq fit the books definition of preventive war According to Mearsheimer and Walt, what did those who advocated an invasion of Iraq seek to prevent

Those who advocated the invasion of Iraq was trying to prevent the biological and chemical or a possible nuclear war. The article gives several reasons which were given by the advocates of the invasion of war and the counter arguments have been presented by Mearsheimer and Walt to avoid even a preventive war.

The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq doesnt fit quite rightly into the definition presented in the book. Every reason that has been given for invasion of Iraq seems to be unreasonable. The Saddam Hussain was at many times intimidated and it was certain that by using coercion and threat of deterrence his expansion or destructive aims could have been totally stopped hence there was no logic to attack
For example the proponents of the invasion claimed that if Saddam would have gained the nuclear weapons he might give it to Al-Qaeda, but it has been shown and proved at various occasions that both the parties didnt had any link or affinity for each other and it was highly unlikely that Saddam would do such a thing because of a possible retaliation by the US.

The biological weapons were not used by the Iraq against any time during the gulf war although Iraq could have as the US forces were continuously bombing and inflicting huge losses to the Iraq. These all show that that Saddam didnt had the courage to undertake a WMD or a nuclear war.

2. Mearsheimer and Walt argued that deterrence would work against Saddam Hussein, that Hussein could be deterred. According to the textbook, deterrence is a type of threat and threats only work if they are credible. For American deterrence to work against a nuclear-armed Saddam Hussein, what threat would have to be credible Why did Mearsheimer and Walt think that American deterrence of a nuclear Iraq would be credible

Even if a country is able to achieve nuclear weapons, it cannot use it against any other nuclear nation or even against any other nation which has an ally country having nuclear power. The same is true when the Soviet Union and USA were at war, cold war, even though Soviet had nuclear power it couldnt use it because of the retaliation from USA.

Saddam had the knowledge that if he would use nuclear weapons against American soil or interests, he wouldnt be spared hence, rightly, Mearsheimer and Walt thought that the use of nuclear war was totally out of the question.

The threat that US would use nuclear weapons, in the case Saddam would use it, was sure and in that case Iraq would have been destroyed completely by a few US nukes only.

3. Why do you think that Mearsheimer and Walt paid considerable attention to the question of whether or not Saddam Hussein was rational How rational would Hussein have to have been in order for American deterrence to work

They paid great amount of thought to prove that he was or wasnt rational because this was the determining factor in a preventive war. If the Saddam would have been rational the war was evident but if he is not then the US invasion of Iraq could have been avoided.

They tried their best to prove that he was not rational and could be contained to use WMD or nuclear weapons and in the past Saddam waged war only when his country was vulnerable, hence there was no reason to wage war against Saddam as he could have be threatened and controlled.

I have always wanted to affect other peoples life in meaningful and positive ways. My intention to do Master of Public administration emerges from the fact that I have always been interested in administering the public policy so that their public lives could be improved. I have always done this with responsibly and devotion. My first professional experience about public administration came about when I first helped in organizing a large volunteer group to package food for the relief of people affected by tsunami.

I have always been among the top ten position holders in school as well as in college. In school, I was involved many times as a successful team lead and always came with innovative solutions to the problems. I have gotten several awards and have been recognized at several places. I have extensive professional experience and my resume speaks volumes about my professional experiences and leadership roles. One of the main experience as a student I would like mention is being the chair of the English Department Student Union, I helped led a successful program organizational fund raising for the poor people. For that particular event I had to design a policy and manage the people so that maximum fund raising could be gain for the advantage of the poor people.

An uncle in my family was one of the first people who influenced my intention to purse MPA. My uncle works in a government department. I always seen him working day in and day out to influence the public policy in his own city and he has contributed a lot. Due to his services he not only gained on a personal level but has also helped in changing the peoples lives in the city where he is the administrator and I realized the fact that people always looked up to him whenever in problem, I would like to be the same, I want to gain respect and honor by helping people and contributing as a leader in the public policy making.

Lastly I have chosen the School of Public Administration, University of New Mexico for my master of public administration for its outstanding faculty and their excellent academic papers. My inquiry has led me to conclude that I would be able to contribute greatly to the research programs at school because of my passion of public administration and great interest in it.

I hope to gain a lot from this program and after I finish my program I plan to be associated with the United Nations WHO program to help the suffering people in the remote parts of the world. I am interested in changing the leadership style in the NGOs working to help the health in Africa. My masters in English will definitely help me in achieving this object as I an converse with them in a better way.

In the past I have worked as an Assistant to CEO of a fast growing company. I have the ability to multi-task in a high-pressure, deadline-driven environment and have wide experience in working with numerous, diverse global cultures.

I am also looking for a graduate student assistantship so that I can concentrate more on the studies because if I go out for work I will not be able to study in depth and give time to studies , with my experience as an assistant chief executive officer. I am confident that I will be able to contribute big time to the department.

I have found that I could contribute greatly to the research work of Dr. Mario Rivera, his research areas especially public sector innovation and ethics has been something in which I can relate to very well and contribute greatly. Another of my research areas in which I can relate to is environmental policy and administration and I have also found that Dr. Uday Desai, the director of school of public administration has done a tremendous amount of work in that area and has work published too in the same area. I am confident that I will be able to participate and learn more if I am given a chance to work under him.

 I am an honest, capable and a tireless student and I expect that I will not only benefit from this program but also help others learn from my professional experience.

In his speech before the cadets at the nations premier military training institution, President Barack Obama reiterated the reasons that members of Americas military are about to launch themselves  into a conflict aimed at paralyzing the instigators of one of the most ruthless terrorist organizations on the planet. But Obama was quick to point out that the conflict they are  forced  to fight was not one of their own choosing, citing the hijacking of four American planes and using them as bombs that claimed more than 3,000 American lives, more if not for the efforts of passengers on one of the flights, despite the knowledge that they themselves will be killed, saved more for getting killed or injured on that star-crossed day. In his speech, Obama cited the provisions of the NATO treaty, that the attacks on one of the members of the alliance was deemed as an assault on all the members of the organization. At home, Obama pointed out that the Congress, both houses, voted overwhelmingly to use military action against the members of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, 420 to 1 and 98 to 0, in the House and Senate, respectively.

In his speech, Obama claimed that as a result of sending American troops into Afghanistan, the Al-Qaeda terrorist group is in fast retreat and that the attacks were made with the end goal of giving the people of Afghanistan a reason for hoping after decades of a brutal Soviet occupation and several more under the radical Taliban regime, a known supporter of the Al-Qaeda in the region. That the government in Afghanistan be restored and strengthened to be able to lead the nation once the Americans pull out of the country, this remains in the opinion of President Obama to be one of the strategic goals of the occupation of the country and ward off any remaining threats to the elected government of President Hamid Karzai.

In the implementation of the war against terrorism, President George W. Bush misappropriated the use of a doctrine that was heralded as a  progressive theory in international relations-liberalism or liberal internationalism- to justify sending over thousands of American military personnel in a unilateral fashion. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the Bush administration and the conservative foreign policy that was crafted had one clear goal, that of fighting terrorism, effectively address any imminent threat to the security of the nation and affirm the position of the United States that they can act in a unilateral fashion to address these issues.

But what is liberalism In the book Understanding International Relations , the author Brown defines the theory as the adaption of a broad set of liberal political structures to manage the international system (para.). Or in another definition, LiberalismLiberal Internationalism is based on the innate goodness of the people, favoring the free exercise of civil as well as political freedoms, espousing a government of laws that is formed with the approval of the governed and freedom from arbitrary authority. In the aftermath of the end of the Cold War, liberal internationalism has been on the upsurge in recent times as the new set of Western academics  and members of the higher echelon of politics seek to discover avenues by which to manage the world in an ever expanding global era.

In comparison with other theories in international relations, we must seek to dissect the speech given by President Obama at West Point. In his speech at the Point, Obama mentioned that the offensive initiated by the United States was taken under the auspices of international unity buttressing his argument with the invocation of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, stating that an attack on one member of the group constitutes  an attack on all the members of the organization. The NATO provision was built on the argument that an attacking force was taking territory from the aggrieved nation, hence commanding the attention of the NATO in asking for assistance to  fend off the aggressor. But the conflict is not pictured in the context of the NATO definition for the invocation of Article 5 as supported by the 51st Article of the Charter of the United Nations. If these elements were all found in the speech given by President Obama, then the applicable theory would be that of  collective defense .

Though many realists have rebuffed the concept of liberalism as a type of idealism, the principle has enjoyed a renewed focus especially after the Gulf conflict and the collapse of the principle of Communism in the defunct Soviet Union. The theory of liberal internationalism stands on the premise that  international relations will acquiesce itself with the models of freedom, peace and prosperity that is found within the models practiced in the United States. But an expansion of the influence of one country and its practices unto another would be defined as imperialism.

In the terminology of the political arena, the term is called  Pax Americana , or roughly translated to  Peace Americana . In the opinion of Council of Foreign Relations-based neoconservative author Max Boot, the deployment of American troops to Afghanistan, or to any foreign shore, as stated in the so called Bush Doctrine, is actually attempt to take to the global stage the tenets of the Monroe Doctrine. In the provisions of Monroe, the declaration was designed in an effort to affirm the authority of Washington over the Americas. This was supported by the 1904 Corollary of then President Theodore Roosevelt, stating therein that Washington reserved the right to address any threat that it deems so.

Again in reference to the West Point speech of President Obama, the President averred that the goal of the Afghan military action is that of turning over the country to that governmental structure, and that America has no interest in staying or occupying the country longer than what is deemed responsible. That would fall into another factor of liberalism, that of espousing a government of laws elected by the Afghan people. In the assumption of the principle of liberalism as endorsed by then United States President Woodrow Wilson, this is the base in which Wilson anchored his Fourteen Points for the First World War.

As the theory of Liberal Internationalism dealt with the issues in the aftermath of the first global conflict, they discussed the practice of Liberalism in that context and to come up with a set of factors drafted to avert another war. The first issue, and another part of the definition of the liberalism theory, is that it believes in the inherent goodness of the people. That is the issue of politics on a domestic scale. One of the basic and integral tenets in the belief of Liberalism is that people will avoid war at all costs people are engaged in conflict only as a result of their leaders who are hawks, or their desires for nationhood are being blocked by imperialist, autocratic and non democratic forces.

It is stated that the neoconservative policies employed by the Bush administration in the conduct of American foreign policy has been nothing short than a gargantuan failure, even by neoconservatives themselves. The previous foreign policy, as earlier stated, was nothing more than the expansion of the Monroe Doctrine, based on a global hegemony, a blatant disregard for international laws and a change of government using military force. In the definition of the schools of thought of liberal internationalism, there are the democratic hegemonists and the liberal imperialists.

The second issue in the discussion of Liberal Internationalism is that of the framework of global international structures. In the context of the first global conflict, the premise is that the chaotic structures before the war did not help in the contribution to the achievement of peace. There was not operating principle in that era except for the concept of the balance of power-  a concept that operated in the realm of political power. In the theory, this surmises that swift changes in the power and status of nations- as when one country invades another-will have a counterbalancing effect, thus the maintenance of that balance will ensure the stability of the relations of the states.

Liberalism believes in the application of the rule of constitutional government and the supremacy of the law as basic facets that is levied upon domestic politics and the international framework . Obamas decision to deploy 30,000 more military personnel is founded on Liberalism, in that the American Commander-in-Chief is believes that the action is inclined on the tenets of the chosen theory. It believes that the Afghan people are inherently good, that they were forced into this war by the Al-Qaeda, that the ultimate goal is the creation of a government based on laws. This government will be selected by the people, thus giving their approval for the government. Lastly they will be liberated from the tyrannical rule of those who are only after power and not the welfare of the people.

Hungary is one of the democratic republics found in the Eastern Europe that begun the multi-party system of leadership in the 1980s. This is located to the South of Slovakia, South East of Austria, East of Slovenia, North West of Croatia, North of Serbia and Romania and South West Ukraine. The State was still under strong leadership of communist even up to 1980s when there was a strong push for human rights in the East-Central Europe.  The transition to multi_ part statehood was historically remarked a peaceful one in 1989.  We may however want to explore whether the democratization process had any incumbent impact in the history of this country.

The government of Hungary and its opposition held peaceful negotiations that set up agreeable parliamentary election terms by 1990 March that would serve to solve the problem of the ruling party systems influence in the judiciary, military or at places of work.  The nation had by December 1989, already registered about fifty political parties among which six had an appreciable support from the citizens. It was undisputable that Hungary had already made progress in democracy by the time the election took place in March 1990.
 
There was the formation of a coalition government in which the Hungarian Democratic Forum (HDF) with Jozsef Antall, the prime minister took power. However, the president was Arpad Gonsz chosen from the party of Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ). The selection of the president was based on the agreement and ruling of the negotiations between the ruling party and the opposition.

Hungary in 1983 had already come up with a law that would allow for multi- party system, with 352 seats of the parliament.  This law was further amended in the 1985 to reflect a more powerful and political parliament in future which would outweigh the government decision making.   The first step to the formation of a more liberalized system of governance in the state was attained through the formation of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (HDF) in 1987.  There was also the formation of the Federation of Young Democrats in 1988 which paved way for a youth oriented political group which would compete with the Communist Youth League which was already in existence.  The Network of Free Initiatives, was also formed on March 1988 with the aim of connecting some social groups of the liberals.  This competed fairly with the MDF in policy making debates as well as the organization of demonstrations.

This network, in 1988 changed itself into the Alliance of Democrats (SZDSZ), to strategize best on politics. The transformed political groups were favored by the reformers in the system because they were considered better in their orientation and appealing intellectually.  The environment within the reformed groups was liked most because of its provision for a wider room for expression of interests in large numbers within the party or in parliamentary seating as speculated.  The national assembly (1988) in return then made draft legislation against party reforms but allowing the association, strikes and assembly rights.  The tension between the press and government was now easing and there rights would be considered by mid 1989.

The more active evolution on the democratic formation struck in the mid 1988, when a conference named the MSZMP was headed in culminating in the replacement of the Party Secretary General, Jonas Kadar by Karoly Grosz. In addition, 8 members of Politburo who retired were replaced by six others.  Miklos Nemeth, an economist and a youth reformist became the head of Ministers Council.  Unfortunately, although the governing party had made some new reforms to suit the citizenry in Hungary by early 1989, it was terrified by the fact that they could no longer convince the citizens after along period of communists rule. Political dominance was now becoming history to the party.   This struck the party with new responsibilities of the formation of the draft constitution that would be used in March 1990 for the election proceedings.  Therefore, a meeting was held in February 1989, which would look in to the advancement on the political scene by strategizing appropriately with new mode of attack to the new parties so as to strike dominance over opposition parties during the forthcoming elections.

The change over drama by the Hungarians, at this time would only be effected through the reconsideration of the revolution of Hungary in 1956 which had resulted in the death of a prominent personalities Nagy. This resulted in numerous praises to the late Nagy, a former revolutionary by the Hungary communist who sought to use the leader as a sign of national reform hence commemorated on by an anniversary, a strategy used to develop the politics of the day. The leader and his followers were reburied and hundreds of thousands of Hungarians attend the ceremonies to pay homage to the revolutionaries as a sign of national healing from the effect of the revolution of 1956.

Now, the ruling party would use this time to address reforms in the country. For example, a moving speech given by Viktor Orban, an old representative of the FIDESZ, demanded troops of the Russians to be evacuated from the nations authority because they deserved a blame for only allowing the reburial of the former activist leaders to be done after thirty years of rule.  This being a heated campaign time, the government had no option but to finalize on the reforms required before the election time.

1990 was the election year set aside to breed changes in the nation and by that time, it was distinctively clear that all the opposition parties that were against communism had already ganged together in agreement that transition must have gone through. Additionally, due to the worrisome nature of the deteriorated economy and the high inflation rates, they would only support market economy and business privatization.  Most of the political parties took a firm stand in there politics in support for the adoption of new economic strategies for a future improved economic system in the country.  There was however an influx of new members is the opposition parties because they captured the public interest and preferences that would otherwise satisfy the desires of the members. A realization was later approved that the parties were more destined to tribalism membership and friendship than the policy development strategies and the satisfaction of organization. No wonder, the slogan by Gaspar Miklos, a free Democrat, that politics in Hungary was politics by tribe. This was a likely danger to the future of the nations unity.

Politics in Hungary was better shaped by the memorable 1945 free elections, the 1956 revolution, and 1968 tentative reforms. The communist regimes was fairly defeated in the election in March 1990 while a peaceful transition was felt as the formation of coalition leadership between the MDF party and others with the opposition being the MSZP party, SZDSZ party, and FIDESZ party.  In September 1990, the nation voted in the local and municipal authorities thus marking a full pledged leadership in place at Hungary.

The nation was now an independent state under the rule of law. Nevertheless, the law needed some amendments to deal with cases of past crime this was possible by 1991 when a bill was passed in the Hungarian parliament with a provision on the limiting factors to prosecuting individuals on civil crime. Hungary has since its democratic movement formation been credited for her respect for humanity as well as stability in politics. The constitutional court has made a step ahead especially in its progress and the strong upholding of distinctive respect for law.  The nation is recognized for its strife in the management of a peaceful transition unlike most of her neighbors who have not been able to achieve it due to political differences, tribalism and civil unrest.

Its however unknown if the process of democratization in Hungary is going to escape without a blame for there are some struggles in the division and definition of power roles of different organs in the society and the government.  The freedom of expression in the media is still problematic.  There are cases of tension form tribal and racial prejudice, violence and isolation of foreigners which beat the core rule of human rights and the no discrimination strategy in the State.  The political stability of the coalition leadership of the nation is likely to be deteriorating since the death of the former Prime Minister, Jozsef, in December 1993. Thus, there is a proposition that there is need for some quick reforms required.

Generally, it can be stated true that democracy in Hungary has significantly moved the nation steps ahead since it can only be compared with democracies in the West rather than the Eastern Europe.

Overview
Like many companies, Riordan Manufacturing faces the challenge of the changing forces of the economy.  The company, which produces a range of plastic products for the automotive parts, aircraft and appliance managers, beverage makers and bottlers, the health industry and the Department of Defense, intends to reach the 50 million mark in terms of its sales by increasing its sales to its existing customers and to expand to new markets.  Currently, Riordan operates in California, Georgia, Michigan and China with annual earnings reaching  46 million.

Economic forces have been fluctuating over the years cited factors influencing profitability are the effects on costs and value caused by GDO growth, the value of the dollar, inflation rates, labor costs, and overall sales across the industries.  Hence, in the entire supply chain, Riordans success depends on the demand of its existing customers and the success of its market expansion.

Recommendation
The summary of the strategy is to expand the operations in China.  As the US dollar is projected to get weaker over the years, in addition to the increasing market and industrial activities in China, the country is going to be the next sensible market to target and its peripheral regions.  This will be an easier approach as the Riordan already has production operations in China.  In addition, other markets in the Asia Pacific can be targeted as well, especially as outsourcing productions target the region due to less expensive labor and operational costs.

Overseas expansion, in this regard, can be regarded as the main strategic element that Riordan needs to implement because the US market reaches the point of dilution in addition to the fact that the economy has been hit with critical forces such as recession and financial downturns.  Moreover, globalization has enabled companies to explore new markets and to expand its opportunities by doing business with developing and emerging economies.

Although the next big step for the firm is to enter new foreign markets, it is also important for Riordan to stabilize, sustain, and then eventually pick up the business activities on the home front.  The US economy has been volatile in the past years, and since that the chain of demand for Riordan products relies on the long chain of demand from certain industries (i.e. the appliance sector lies in the dynamics of the housing market), it is important for the company to make sure that Riordan manages to stabilize its sales in these sectors.

Implementation Plan
Objectives
Main objective To reach the  50 million selling mark.
To identify other opportunities that will increase company sales by means of increased transactions with existing customers and to expand opportunities in new markets.
To determine the most workable strategies based on the projections of the performances of certain markets.
To protect the company by making the firm less vulnerable from economic instabilities brought by exchange rates, oil prices, and labor costs, among others.
 To formulate strategies based on the dynamics of related industries.

Functional Tactics
To initiate country and regional analysis for potential overseas expansion of sales.  As the company already operates in China, research and analysis can be conducted from the country.  It is also important to identify potential new market entries in the region.

Calculate the costs of entering new markets, or at the least, the costs of expanding the operations in China, and to open new sales venues there.

Source information on the performance of the relevant industries in the United States.  As the companys main customers come from specific sectors, the demand for Riordans products depend on these markets performance.  Market and industry research is therefore an important step that should be implemented now especially as projections for production for specific markets need to be calibrated according to anticipated demand.

Identify the project management team and sub-teams that will be mobilized for these sets of initiatives.

Action Items
Identify the project management teams.
Translate the objectives into a set of structured plans and sub-plans.
Contact operations in China and conduct a feasibility study on expanding operations to include sales.  Explore potential markets in Asia Pacific.
Conduct current market and industry research in the US and identify the potential critical points that can affect current production strategies.
Explore diversification.  Examine other plastic products that the company is not producing yet which can be deemed to increase demand in the long run.
Calculate costs of expansion andor diversification and then the eventual ROI.

Milestones
Sales and marketing activities in China and Asia-Pacific prior to the establishment of the China sales office.

Establishment of the sales arm in China and the possible expansion at the Asia-Pacific.

Restructuring of sales operations in the United States.

GANNT CHART
JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPTOCTNOVDEC123456789
1. Market and industry research for current US sales sector.
2. Feasibility study for China sales and the rest of Asia-Pacific region country analysis.
3. Computation of resources allocation and projected return of investment for foreign market entries.
4. Preparation for the expansion of sales arm in China and Asia-Pacific.
5. Sales and marketing activities in China and Asia-Pacific.
6. Establishment of the sales arm in China which will serve the Chinese and the Asia-Pacific market.
7. Adopt strategic production operation output, and sales and marketing efforts in the US.
8. Explore potential product diversification points for bot the U.S. and foreign markets.
9. Implement the integrated and coordinated strategies for the U.S. and China operations.

Literature Review
Peace is not simply the absence of war  Ronald Regan
Reflecting on the quote provided by Ronald Regan it is very clear that the context of peace does not imply about problems relating to violence in war but also in other context such as economic stability. Hence, other forms of peace are dependent on the view point of various sectors in a country.

Furthermore, issues within the economy arise in the discussions regarding peacefulness. Thus, in the view of the current international community the concept of neoliberalization had been viewed as the most important theory utilized by different countries. Through neoliberalization, the concept of privatization is introduced which pertains to introducing foreign investors to devote their funds to a certain country to enhance the economic capabilities of such state.

In assumption, states that practice privatization are assumed to have robust economies through the help of foreign investors. Some cases prove that having foreign direct investments in a certain country would improve the state of a struggling economy however, most cases present otherwise. Seeing through a perspective of the developing countries, foreign direct investments could be of help to countries however the current situation of some these countries do not present the growth which had been promised to them. Moreover, there are countries that fail to progress and have a much faster downfall. Hence, there is an assumption that through economic interdependence states that it could provide peace and stability (Barbierre, 2006, p. 31).

During the time of the 1980s, the world was at a downfall wherein the price of gasoline had tremendously increased. Thus, many countries struggle to maintain their economic status. In order to eradicate and somehow mend this situation, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) had provided loans for different countries to recuperate from the collapse of their economy. Hence, after the loans were given various results came about. Seeing the Latin American region, problems had arisen in different countries which led to huge difficulties regarding their economy (Timmer, 2008, p. 1).

One of the main causes of these issues is regarding the cultural and social construct of the country. Given that the IMF and other international organizations which provides funds, these are all handled by developed countries which has stronger economies. Hence, the studies they create are much more applicable for developing nations (Momani, 2006, p. 17). Moreover, international monetary institutions are not able to view the cultural and social perspective of state before providing policies. For culture and society is fluid, certain policies created by these institutions are inapplicable for different developing nations depending on their culture and society. Furthermore, these set of institutions neglected the fact that society is able to manipulate the process of economy hence it must be applicable to the policies of the country (Ayesul, 2008, p. 1098).

One example is the country in Asia, Philippines. For many years, the Philippines had been a developing country due to its economic stature. Provided this, the government of the country is not able to provide subsidy to its agricultural products. Hence, the goods which are locally produced are much expensive (Wooten, 2007, p. 46). On the other hand, developed countries such as the United States of Australia are able to provide subsidy for their products which helps lessen the cost of production. Due to this, products coming from Australia or the United States could be sold cheaper than goods in the Philippines due to the amount of subsidy provided by developing countries to their products. Through this, the competition in production of goods becomes much intense due to the policies which are provided by different countries. Evidently, developed states are able to provide more goods with higher quality due to the technology and subsidy provided. Therefore, economic interdependence is not fully applicable to attaining peace and stability because of subjectivity of culture and society of a country.

Methodology
Based on the literature review regarding the relation of economic interdependence and international peace and stability, it shows that economic robustness is necessary in order to achieve stability and the true meaning of a culture of peace. However, economic interdependence does not always result to international peace and stability because there are instances wherein the economic interdependence of countries resulted to problems, which even leads to conflict. The failure to analyze economic interdependence in the social and cultural context is the main reason as to why economic interdependence does not necessarily lead to international peace and stability. Due to this, the major theoretical approach in international relations, which will be used in this research, is the Social Constructivist approach.

Social Constructivism asserts that the different and important aspects of international relations like peace and stability are not merely inevitable outcomes of human nature and other factors in international politics. The main argument of social constructivist is that the core aspects of international relations are socially constructed in a sense that these aspects emerged and are established through the continuous processes of social practice and interaction. One of the most famous and influential social constructivist theorists is Alexander Wendt. Wendt emphasizes and elaborates on the two basic principles of social constructivism. First, the structures of human association are mainly identified through shared ideas and not by material forces. Second, the identities and interests of the purposive actors in international politics are created by shared ideas rather than their given nature (Jackson and Sorensen, 2007 p.167-169). In this sense, the tenets of social constructivism give due importance to the social and cultural context of respective countries as well as the vital role that it plays in international politics. Being the case, social constructivism would be able to address the weakness of economic interdependence when it comes to the aspect of not giving due importance to the cultural differences of countries in international relations.

The existing problems when it comes to the methodologies of theoretical approaches is that most of it simply focuses on one specific theory in order to examine an issue or subject matter that is related with international relations. There are cases wherein the realist theory would be used in order to study the conflict that exists among countries and it would only use the principles of realism in contrast with other theories like neo-liberalism. However, in this research study, instead of completely criticizing the neo-liberal perspective, the researcher will use social constructivism in order to enhance its argument that economic interdependence is a way by which international peace and stability could be achieved by means of putting economic interdependence in the social and cultural context.

Since the study will deal with enhancing the theory of neo-liberalism when it comes to economic interdependence through the use of social constructivism, this study will contribute on theory rather than policy. By means of enhancing neo-liberalism through the help of social constructivism, this study will also substantially enhance the new methodological approaches in the study of international relations because it will use two theories in order to enhance its principles rather than contrasting and criticizing each other.

Furthermore, there is an ample amount of resources that could be used in order to gather the necessary data for this research. Since the greater interdependence of countries, especially in terms of the economic realm is already greatly observable there are already many studies that are devoted to it. This is exemplified by the various researches and peer-reviewed journals that are available. In addition, the government of different countries are also informing the public of their corresponding policies when it comes to economic relations, which would indeed help in this research in order to analyze the economic interdependence of countries. Being the case, this research will use both primary and secondary sources.

Iran
The Islamic Republic of Iran, formerly referred to as Persia, lies to the west of the vast Asia towards North-East of the Strait of Homuz and the Persian Gulf. These region forms a critical maritime route for the transportation of crude oil. Iraq and the former Ottoman empire of Turkey fall to the west of Iran while to the North are to be found Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan as well as the Caspian Sea. Afghanistan and Pakistan border Iran towards the East (House of Commons Library 2009). Iran has an area coverage of approximately 1,531,595 Km2 which, compared to any western European country, is not large, though much of the country s land mass is a desert. The country s terrain primarily consists of rugged mountainous rims, an elevated central basin with mountains as well as deserts together with little non-continuous plain lands along the coasts of the Persian Sea and Gulf of Persia. The country s climate is primarily semi-arid or completely arid. Along the coast of the Caspian Sea, Iran experiences sub-tropical climatic conditions (House of Commons Library 2009).

The country has a population of approximately 66.43 million people, of whom a significant proportion, eighty nine percent falls within the Shi a branch of Islam that Iran considers its official religion. Nine percent of the population is Sunni while Christians, Jews and Baha i communities constitute the remaining 2. Persia is the most populous ethnic tribe constituting fifty one percent of the entire population. The Azeris form the minority with 24 and occupy northern Iran. Other tribes include Mazandarani as well as Gilaki (8), Kurds who constitute seven percent, Lurs (2), Arabs (3) as well as Turkmen and Balochs (2 each) (Abrahamian 2008).

Persia was governed as a monarchy during the Shah s reign who was an emperor in the sixteenth century under an established national constitution that spelt out a national assembly. Qajar Dynasty ruled over Iran until the nineteen twenties, a period that saw the deposition of the Shah in a military coup that was under the command of Reza Khan, a Cossack officer. Reza Khan acquired his monarchial title Reza Shah Pahlavi and in 1935 he changed Persia s name to Iran. The allied forces unease over claims that insinuated the Shah s backing of Nazi Germany resulted into allied forces occupying Iran in 1941. Consequently, the Shah abdicated power by force in favor of his son Muhammad Pahlavi Shah. The allied forces, both Britain and America, withdrew their troops in 1945 while the former Soviet Union withdrew its forces the following year. The period following the war witnessed increased public pressure that favored nationalization of the country s petroleum industry. Prior to the war, the country s petroleum industry was domineered by the Anglo Iranian Oil Company. Iran s National Consultative Assembly in 1951,  passed a vote to nationalize the oil industry. This policy faced vehement opposition from Britain and other western governments and later, the major campaigner for the nationalization Mohammed Mossadeq, in a military coup organized by British and American intelligence, was deposed.

In the fifties, the Shah asserted his authority whereupon he assumed far reaching dictatorial powers in the 1963 White Revolution. His major opposition came from mass land owners together with the conservative segment of the Islamic clergy who were infuriated by the Shah s policy to redistribute land to small-scale peasants as well as his granting of the right to vote to Iranian women. It was only a matter of time as in 1965, Hassan Ali Mansour, Iran s then prime minister, was assassinated by an alleged supporter of the leader of Shi ite Muslims Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeini vehemently opposed the Shah and as a result of this friction with the shah, Khomeini lived in Iraq in exile.

The prevalent popular dissatisfaction of the Shah s rule diminished during the seventies as the country witnessed an elevated growth of its economy. Towards the end of the seventies, the diminished economic growth this came in part as a result of the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia, consequently lowering the price of Iran s major export, enhanced increased opposition to the Shah s rule. As such, the increased opposition to the regime came with anti-government go-slows and demonstrations. Ayatollah Khomeini Islamic led group came up as the most vehement, organized and effective. Ultimately, in January 1979, the Shah was forced to go into exile which allowed Ayatollah Khomeini to come back to Iran and assume power. Khomeini set up a provisional government to lead the country. Alongside this government, was a fifteen member Council of Islamic Revolution. Iran was declared an Islamic republic on the 1st of April 1979.

The final political and religious authority rests in the power of the Supreme Leader, generally referred to as Vali-e-faqih. The supreme leader holds the position till death. The Khomeini defined the Supreme Leader as a singular executive whose mastery of Islamic religious practices as well as laws is the basis of his authority (Clawson, 1997). The supreme leader s authority is divine and as such, it is bereft of infallibility. The Supreme Leader is obligated with leading Iran in instances where the twelfth Imam is not present. Shiite Muslims believe that Al-mahdi is the genuine successor to Prophet Muhammad.
Iran s president is only the second highest authority in the country. He acts as the government s chief executive. One of his obligations is to present nominees for cabinet appointment to the Majlis. All candidates for presidency are democratically elected for a term of four years and can only serve for two terms. The country s current president is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who came into power in 2005 and was controversially re-elected in 2009. In its governance structure the constitution derives a ministerial council, a Supreme National Security Council, a parliament, a Council of Guardians, the Expediency Council, Assembly of Experts as well as the Judiciary (Yonah and Hoenig).

The Iranian Economy was the planet s 22nd largest economy in 1980 but fell to the 39th position in the period between 1994 and 2000. In 2007, as a result of steady economic growth, Iran s economy has been raised ten positions to the 29th position. With a fiscal value of 286 billion dollars, the country s economy is lager than South Africa s and falls below Denmark s (International Monetary Fund 2008).
Iran s foreign policy has been a subject of debate for a long time. Its international outlook in modern times is based on an array of factors with some adding up to its adventurism in foreign affairs while others enhance both caution as well as pragmatism. Over time, adventurism that was enhanced on a platform of revolutionary Islam as well as traditional nationalism that characterized Persia has resulted into confrontation of the Iranian state with almost all neighboring states, Islamic governments together with America and its allies. The country s pragmatism has been as a result of its home instability, economic weaknesses and in recent times, the development of a desirable geopolitical atmosphere for Tehran. The swing between pragmatism and adventurism has been as a result of personalities as well. A whole array of factors has swayed the substance as well as direction of Iran s diplomacy. Among them are five major core factors that are revolutionary Islam, Persian nationalism as well as economic weaknesses and opportunity together with personalities (House of Commons Library 2009, Ehteshami and Zweiri 2007).

Change Management is a way to monitor change that comes in an organization and it has to be looked upon in order to implement it and derive the desired results from the change that can be brought about in an organization.

Change is about converting and implementing some other state of happening. Change is vital for the survival of the organisations and it is also very necessary to supervise the change and make sure that every thing is under supervision is performing just the way it has to be.

Green Peace International
The organisation that would be looked upon regarding the change management is Green Peace. It is a non governmental organisation made to look upon the environmental issues which are being faced by earth. It is present in more than 41 countries and providing its services to save the environment and earths resources from exploitation (Green Peace, 2009).

Green peace was founded in through oil protests that took place in British, Vancouver and Columbia in 1971 and the first campaign was launched against the nuclear energy devices as they posed a mortal harm to the humanity and earth. The head office of Green Peace is in Amsterdam, Netherlands and has nearly 28 regional offices (Green Peace, 2009).

Drivers of Change
The corporate world of today is well aware of the fact that businesses do not remain static and they are prone to changes in some way or the other. He changes they go through vary from place to place and organization to organization. They encounter situations and have to mould them accordingly hence, changing themselves. All the reasons which compel the organization to go through a change are called drivers of change. These drivers will be further investigated in Green Peace that how the drivers affected the organisation to go through the change.

Competition
Competition is one factor that triggers an organisation to change. If the competitor organisation is going ahead of the organization and is grossing more sales, the company must realise that it should also bring about a change in their strategies to continue further with the business. As the global market place evolves, and organisations aims are changing, so would their strategies. Moreover, these strategies might push up their net incomes. Green peace does not face any hard core competition that would compel to change.

Nature of employees
Being an international organisation does not bring benefits only but can give some harm too. The cultural diversity might seem as a major advantage but in reality in inside an organisation, conspiracies can come up and difficulties can be faced (HYPERLINK httpwww.amazon.comexecobidossearch-handle-urlrefntt_athr_dp_sr_15FencodingUTF8search-typessindexbooksfield-authorTaylor20CoxCox , 1994). It also happen that cultural diversity and organisational culture is put at stake when the Board of Directors change in nay organisation.

This is the problem being faced in Green Peace. The previous director completed his term of work and now the Board has elected a new director. It is said that the new director will not enforce the culture that already existed in the organisation and will change it. He has also said that some of the employees of the organisation will be laid off and new emergent employees will take their place as costs of the organisation are rising and they will have to find some way to cut them down.

Economic Downturn
The recent recession has given the organisation some economic shocks. The fluctuating oil prices, the credit crunch and less availability of funds have spiked up the costs by large percentages. These issues have made the new director implement a new strategy and he would lay off the senior employees to make others take their place.

Climatic Changes and Political Scenario
The recent conference held at Copenhagen, Denmark was assumed to be a failure with no concrete steps taken forward to assume the responsibility to work for conservation of resources and to reduce the global warming affect. Green Peace being an environmentalist organisation has decided to device a different way to launch their campaign and for that they will need new recruits to come up and give their input.

Resistance to Change
There are two forms of resistance to change. They are Individual resistance and Organisational Resistance. Individual resistance is due to the habits, economic factors, unknown fear and security.
All the senior employees in the organisation would display this sort of resistance. They will not be willing to leave the organisation they have served so long. They will also not stop considering them as a part of it. Economic factors mean that the loss of income they will face. It might be that an employee is single and does not have any one who can look after himher. This is the reason an employee might resist to accept the change. Fear of the unknown will also be encountered as the rest of employees would feel apprehensive to work with the new director or head. It would be the case when the employees will feel that they might be treated the same way in near future. Employees who will move up on the ladder of hierarchy would fear about their job security five year down and would consider themselves job less in next five years.

Organisational resistance come through the groups formed in the organisation. The labour union might become a hurdle for the organisation and they might start up strikes to show their resistance. People might not like the set up and they might not co operate with the management.

All of the analysis done above is the force field analysis which determines the forces that drive to change, i.e., towards a goal and they are the forces of change and all the forces that hinder the change are the change resisters. This way, organisations can learn and understand what they will do to implement the change and how will they overcome the resistance.

Lewins Three Step Model of Change Management
The case discussed above was about the Change of Director at Green Peace. Here, the strategy of managing changes was basically done according to the Lewins three step model of managing change. The three step model of Lewin suggests that change comes in three phases. The model can be illustrated as (Robbins, 2003)

Unfreezing Movement Refreezing                                              
The model above illustrates how the change comes through the organization and the way it can be managed. The unfreezing stage is the beginning of the change coming into an organization which also hints the part where resistance would come. This phase throws light on the fact that people of the organization will be prepared about the change that will come. Senior employees knew that Director of the organisation would change and they also knew his strategies that would be implemented through out the organisation, thus the employees knew that most of the organizations setting will tend to change. Movement illustrates the fact that change has come and it has been implemented. It is the basic change activity which has come and it will remain to be that way. The change in this case was the commanding of new Director, and when it did so, the change actually came and people saw their system getting altered and their work systems went through a transformation too.

This change has come and will remain. The status quo of the organization has been disturbed and if it has happen just the way company desired it to, refreezing would begin and people will start to perform in the manner the way organization wants, hence the organization will not want to disturb the new status quo that has been formed.

The case discussed has seen the same thing happen. The organization had to deal with change and it found solutions to the problems. The change agents managed the transformation of the organization by keeping the people the human element of the company together. They used several strategies and offered negotiations to overcome the change and were successful in managing the change that has come (HYPERLINK httpwww.amazon.comEsther-CameroneB001HCWC5Grefntt_athr_dp_pel_1Cameron  HYPERLINK httpwww.amazon.comexecobidossearch-handle-urlrefntt_athr_dp_sr_25FencodingUTF8search-typessindexbooksfield-authorMike20GreenGreen , 2004).

Emergent Strategy by Mintzberg
Strategy is the way to design and come up with ways to solve the matter, and a strategy looks upon the aims, the means and the ends that would be reached in a certain time and certain point in an organisation. Emergent Strategy as suggested by Mintzberg is a kind of strategy which is devised over time but it is not meant to be intended, but it takes place, and it happens only when there is absence of goals and aims. That is why is called emergent, because it emerges over time. In our case of Green Peace, recession, costs and cultural diversity did not emerge in one day but it took gradual time to reach the point. The organisation was learning what it will do, but it did not intend to do it unless it observed the change in patter. The recent Copenhagen conference is an example of such. In response to the failure, the management has decided to change the director and bring one who is more competent and will device an action plan that would help organisation revive it original goal of being present and being vigilant.

The five Ps of strategy making as suggested by Mintzberg are to Plan, Ploy, Position, Pattern and Perspective. Planning is most important for devising a strategy. It has been decided that director will lay off the senior management, but it must plan as to what reasons would be identified to the lay off and how can the over come the problem in some other way. Ploy means to find a way through and coming up with different alternatives. Position means assessing the environment and then taking the action and then making a plan for it. Pattern can be described as the way to implement the strategy that would be realised in near future. Perspective deals with opinions. The opinion of all members on the new strategy might be negative and disheartening, but, a way must be sought the over come the resistance and implement the change (Mintzberg, 1992).

Change Management Action Plan
Overcoming Resistance
It was known to the employees of the organizations that the system will change. The resistance will be strong mostly from the old employees of the organization.

The new employees who showed less resistance, their resistance would be overcome by the strategies of educating and communicating. The employees of Green Peace would be resistant about the change of system through and through, they were not able to understand the system and they found it difficult to learn the new environment as the culture of the organisation would be formalised. Those employees would be given a hand book explaining the new customs that would now be incorporated. Even though the resistance will there for some time, but it will be short lived. The major resistance which came was from the people who will be laid off. They would be upset about losing their job and they would want to stay as a part of the company. That problem would be efficiently resolved too.

The old employees who will resist the change would be given careful treatment by the change agents. They will be given the advantages of having a new system and they will be asked to give suggestion as to recommend what further changes were to be brought. The employees who would be laid off will stay the part of organisation and they will be asked to serve as advisors to the board. The new senior employees would be assured that their jobs are not threatened and their expertise would be enhanced and improved.

Coercion and manipulation is not a suggested option overcoming resistance in this situation. The company is going through a vast change and the organization is not a small entity but a vast one which has operations in more than 41 countries and hence their management is difficult.

Coercion would have made the matter worse and that would have triggered more conflicts in the overall organization, not only at the head office but also at other countries of operations.

Thus, negotiation and educating the employees was the most feasible option by which resistance of the employees was overcome (HYPERLINK httpwww.amazon.comexecobidossearch-handle-urlrefntt_athr_dp_sr_15FencodingUTF8search-typessindexbooksfield-authorGlenn20M.20ParkerParker , 2008).

Conclusion
The purpose of the change management is to organise the change in such way that the problems are solved, instead of creating them. Change is vital and is appreciative in all the organisations. It has to be maintained and managed to come up with better performance from the employees of the organisation.

According to Mearsheimer and Walt (2003), proponents of preventive war use numerous arguments to make their case, but their trump card is that charge that Saddams past behavior proves he is too reckless, relentless, and aggressive to be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction. Saddams attempts to assert absolute control in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War threatened regional peace and stability. In the 1980s, Saddam attempted to nationalize US-controlled companies in Iraq. With US interests in the region threatened, the United States increased arms export to Iran  the aim was to contain Iraqi power in the region. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, threatening American positions in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Saddams aggressive policies in 2003 seemed to eclipse American power in the region. To preserve balance of interests, it would be therefore rational for the United States to launch a preventive war against Saddam Hussein. One problem with this argument is the context in which Saddams aggression is situated (Mearsheimer and Walt, 2003 4). The belief that Saddams past behavior shows that he cannot be contained rests on distorted logic. Indeed, historical data shows that the US can contain Iraq effectively even if Saddam possesses weapons of mass destruction. The failure of the Bush administration to locate WMD in the country magnified this faulty reasoning. To this, the war in Iraq failed to justify itself within the bound of both international law and the concept of preventive war itself.

Historical data shows that Saddam Hussein could be deterred. During the Ira-Iraq War, the US was able to contain Iraqi ambitions by supplying arms to Iran. During the Gulf War, the US-led coalition forces decimated or captured a quarter million Iraq troops (Operation Desert Storm). Indeed, Saddams record in this regard is no worse than that of neighboring states such as Egypt or Israel. In addition, a careful look at Saddams two wars shows his behavior was far from reckless.

Suppose Saddam possesses WMD, still he could be deterred. Saddams record of chemical weapons use is deplorable. As such, if Saddam was a rational leader, he would immediately know that war with the United States was pointless  that the US could retaliate with WMD if Iraq ever decided to use these weapons first. In short, Saddam has no incentive to use chemical or nuclear weapons against the United States.

It is clear that the authors assumed that Saddam was a rational leader. Note that the authors concluded that Saddam has no incentive to use chemical or nuclear weapons against the United States because the latter could retaliate easily. This is a critical view of Saddams point of view. To the authors, Iraq did not declare war against the United States because Saddam viewed it as irrational. Indeed, note that it was the United States which opted to attack Iraq. It is therefore logical to argue that Saddam was indeed rational.

Even if Saddam was rational, he would not prevent the United States from launching a preventive war against Iraq because this event is beyond the rubric of personal viewpoint.

Democracy in the workplace means for me respect to human rights, freedom for everyone, participation and involvement purely based on shared values, equality, due processes, the rule of law, transparency and the proper governance within the company. In addition to this, democracy in the workplace should include such elements as the freedom of association, expression, and the access to all available pieces of information. It should also include the participation and the employees rights of comprehending whatever goes on at their workplace. In several nations around the world, democracy is not only being entrenched on the political arena but also in the workplaces. The main goal of workplace democracy is putting in place management systems that are effective and hence improve the employees productivity in their respective workplaces (Schreader, 2009).

Workplace democracy
The lack of democracy in the workplace can lead to an increase of the alienation of employees. In such conditions, the employees do not have an effective control over the roles that are to play in the organization. The workers are simply detached from such a workplace or the organization and thus be detached from the work they do. Without the workplace democracy, the workers lack the individual determination and self expression, and meaning and power of their efforts in the organization, since they feel estranged and isolated. However, by embracing democracy at the workplace, the alienation of workers at the workplace is greatly reduced if not eliminated. It is important to bear in mind that democracy at the workplace is not an extension of political democracy. Workplace democracy enables the employees of an organization to participate effectively in decision making process in their places of work. By ensuring that employees participate effectively in the decision making process of an organization, they feel that management is not imposing such decisions on them and hence they naturally do not resist them. This form of democracy leads to more control, power and ownership over the work they do in respect to career prospects and skills acquired (Scontrino, 1998).
 
The workplace democracy is not a means of compromising work ethics and competitiveness of organizations. Instead, it assists in humanizing the work environment.  Increasing workers participation in their places of work, acts as a means of enhancing the human development of the workers and that the employees have to be engaged frilly with sufficient power, positive altitude, social support, relevant training and having influence in the decision being made in the organization, which affect them directly and hence enable the employees to avoid any alienation sense. Such a work environment that is humanized boosts greater harmony in the workplace, which in the end benefits the employees, employers and indeed the entire consumer society. Workplace democracy extends to workers involvement in job tasks planning, setting acceptable practice standards and solving the problems that are emerging and hence improve productivity at the workplace both in terms of quantity and quality (Mayer, 2000).

In the workplace where democracy is upheld, every employee should be entitled to the right of self expression. The management should not under any circumstances impose undue influence, apply coercion or intimidation in denying the workers their right of expressing themselves in their workplace. Employees working in a workplace that is democratic should be in a position of expressing their views freely without the fear that the management will victimize them. This will enable the employees to enjoy their freedom of self expression, which is a fundamental right. In addition, both the employers and the employees of such an organization stand to benefit significantly from the freedom of expression since any emerging problem gets a chance of getting solved amicably before it can grow into a much bigger problem. However, the right to self expression given to workers in a democratic workplace should be used for the right purpose. The workers should not abuse their right to self expression by using it irresponsibly. All rights given to workers in a democratic workplace should be accompanied by the right responsibility and therefore there should be checks and balances in a democratic workplace, which ensures that everyone does his or her role without infringing the rights of another person within the organization (Beckman, 1990).

The workplace democracy should always ensure that there is a good governance and transparency in the organization. The management should not subject workers to bad governance in which they are treated unfairly without following the due process of the rules and regulations stipulated in the organization. Again, the management should not use their power in the organization to make policies, rules and standings that are capable of instilling bad governance in the organization. This therefore implies that the workers should not be compelled to follow such policies, rules and standings that are inconsistent with those stipulated in the company laws that govern organizations. In workplaces that uphold workplace democracy, transparency should be one of the main pillars. A democratic workplace should be one that is free from all the economic and social evils. Such practices as harassment of junior staff and corruption should not be condoned in a workplace that claims to be democratic. By condoning these types of practices basically means that the basic principles of democracy are not followed or observed and this is a major drawback to the tremendous achievements that have been made in making workplaces experience the true taste of democracy. Everything in the organization should be done in a transparent manner in which everyone in the workplace, whether it is the subordinate employees or the senior managers should be fully aware of all that is taking place. Employees should therefore have the right of questioning various actions that are being carried out and indeed get the right information (Schreader, 2009).

Everyone in a workplace that embraces the principles of democracy should have the right to his or her human rights. No employee should be denied any human right under any circumstances in a workplace that respects democratic principles. This therefore means that no employee should be subjected to a dehumanizing punishment, be sexually abused or assaulted, discriminated against or be victimized as a result of expressing his or her views in regard to various matters in the workplace. All the workers in the workplace should be treated with dignity by their superiors. Whenever there is need to take an action against an employee who in one way or another has broken the rules of the organization, the due process should be followed to ensure that such an employee is not unfairly dismissed or punished (Scontrino, 1998).  

The right to association for everyone is very essential and it applies to workers just as it is applicable on every other individual. In a workplace that claims to uphold and observe democratic principles and ideologies, no worker should for any reason be denied the right of association. The workplace should therefore be one that allows both formal and informal groups to operate within the organization. The management of an organization claiming to observe democratic values should not interfere with the rights of the workers to associate freely by dictating on them the people they should associate with at any given time. However, the workers should use their right of association in the right manner. This means that workers should ensure that they remain responsible and focused towards the attainment of the goals for which the organization hired them for in the first place. It would not be in order for the employees to make use of their freedom of association to blackmail their organization and therefore jeopardize its future. This therefore means that for a workforce to be truly democratic, each individual within it have to play his or her role. It is not just the duty of the management to ensure that the workplace is democratic they should only spearhead the process of democratizing the organization (Beckman, 1990).

In the workplace that is truly democratic, there should be no single employee who is denied the right of accessing information that he or she is entitled to. The management should not be oppressive by denying their employees the right of accessing any information they are entitled to. Again, the employees should not be required to bribe in any way in order to access such information. Just like it applies to the employees, they should also not hide any information at their disposal from the management who has the right of accessing and knowing such information (Schreader, 2009).

For a very long time, the workplace environments allover the world have practiced discrimination especially against women workers. For a workplace to be said that it is truly democratic, then it has no alternative but to take affirmative action. This means that such a workplace must continuously ensure that women working in them do not face any gender based or any other form of discrimination. Women in such a workplace should just like their male counterparts be given a chance of serving in various positions based on their skills, techniques and academic qualifications. Promotion and recruitment in the workplace should not be based on gender but on merit. Therefore, it is the academic qualifications, experience and skills that should be applied in such instances and not ones sex or any other trait that makes people be discriminated against and, thus, face prejudice. All employees in an organization should also be compensated in the right manner and merit. People should not simply more than others because they are in good terms with the management and other senior employees. Everyone should be remunerated according to the standard scale of the organization which has to be fair in all aspects (Scontrino, 1998).  

Conclusion
The workplace democracy is crucial in improving the work environment of all employees. It reduces instances of the employees alienation which might have very negative effects on the productivity of the workers. The benefits of upholding good democratic principles in an organization do not only help the employees but in deed the entire organization. It should therefore be in the interest of the management and the employees to ensure that the right democratic principles are being observed in the organization. Workplace democracy ensures that everyone in the organization is given a chance of taking part in the decision making process and this reduces instances of imposing decisions on some segments of the workforce and therefore create unnecessary conflicts and resistance.

Competitive elections happen and the electorate chooses their representatives in a fair manner. The results of the democratization process are enjoyed by the citizens, some of which include a growing economy, improved infrastructure, better health facilities and improved international relations. As defined by Abraham Lincoln, a former US President, democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people (Febebebo, par.2) .Promotion of democracy is an important process in countries which are subjected to suffering due to lack of freedom from its government. Promotion of democracy in Nigeria and Zimbabwe will be compared and contrasted in regard to the different strategies that they use.

Democracy Promotion in Nigeria
In the 1970s, Nigeria led in re-democratization in Africa. Two decades later, autocracy and political violence emerged. A country that was known of having a strong liberation voice changed and became violent and corrupt in its form of leadership (Joseph 360). When the renowned Chief Olusegun Obasanjo became the president of Nigeria in 1999, the citizens had hope in promotion of democracy and an end to a corrupt military rule. However, there was a sharp rise in political violence including riots that occurred to protest the proposal to hold the Miss Universe Beauty pageant in the Nigerias northern region (Hauss, par.10).

President Olusegun Obasanjo at one time in a seminar ordered one of his aides to silence a social critic, Bala Usman, for expressing opinions which are contrary to the state opinions. Obasanjo also sacked a national chairman of the ruling party for giving unpopular views about the government. This showed how the president disregarded democracy (Offor 1).

Critics have described the electoral process in Nigeria as defective.  The elections held in April 14 2007 were characterized by rigging, manipulation of the electorate and several acts of violence which led to the election of President Alhaji Umaru YarAdua. Since Nigerias independence in 1960, there was handing over of a civilian government to another, and not through a military coup for the first time. Consequently he set up the Uwais Electoral Reform Commission in a bid to discard the system that brought him in, as he claimed it was flawed and characterized by electoral offences. This act clearly shows there is lack of democracy in Nigeria (Febebebo, par.8).

The ruling party of Nigeria, PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) has been dismissed as a podium for gangsters. A well known Barrister in Nigeria who is the head of the Senatorial party Ogun, Adegbuyi, stated that the nation has been pushed into a situation which is unavoidable. According to him, the Nigerian constitution is faulty in that there is no time span given to the government leaders on the period they should be away from leadership. This is demonstrated by the situation of the president who is currently bedridden in the hospital. He dismisses the fact that a large country such as Nigeria cannot be ruled from the hospital by whatever means. (Amodu, par.1-4).

Despite of the fact that Nigeria has oil resources and exports about two million barrels each day, poverty still exists at a high percentage. This is because ninety three percent of the revenue gotten from oil is directly transferred to the government, and there lacks fair distribution of the oil revenue. As far as economy is concerned, Nigeria is the second largest in the African continent. However, seventy percent of the Nigerian citizens live below the poverty line. They lack proper education, electricity, generators and clean water. It is also ironical that there are poor areas near the compounds of the oil companies (Reihing, par.5-6)

Focus on the political components in Nigerias democracy promotion
Democracy helps a nation to prevent cruel leadership by autocrats, ensures great freedom, provides the citizens with the freedom to choose their own rules and provides an opportunity for determination (McFaul 148). Nigeria has focused more on its political components in a bid to promote the democratization process. There has been a remarkable improvement in promotion of democracy and accountability to the target community in the past. (Khakhee 1).

Prior to the 2007 Nigerian elections, the Nigerian citizens were hopeful for the arrival of democracy and a government of the people. (Buhari, par.3). During the 2007 general election, President Yaradua was sworn in. However, his victory was as a result of rigging, which evoked mild violence in Nigeria. Therefore, what the Nigerians hoped that it would pave way for democracy was not achieved (Febebebo, par 8).

The Nigerian citizens believed that if there was an effective constitutional procedure whish scrutinized the manner in which the state power operated democracy would set in (Buhari, par.3). They were hopeful that under the leadership of President Yaradua, the constitution would be changed. Their dreams came true, but it was through hypocrisy. This is because after he rigged the elections and was sworn in, he ridiculed the constitution that brought him into power and formed another one. (Febebebo, par 8).
 
The Nigerians wanted an environment which would make business and investment in foreign countries an easy task. Nigeria has always had strong ties with Europe (Buhari par.3). The European Union realized that democracy promotion was not something that was advocated for by the Nigerian government. Oil is regarded as important followed by relations in trade. The European Union was also concerned over the issue of migration, the countrys fragile internal balance and delay in attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the country .It underlines that progress in the protection of human rights, good governance and democratization is fundamental for poverty reduction and sustainable development (Khakhee 2)

Zimbabwe and the coercion strategy
Zimbabwe is a country which has been talked of by every other news channel in the world due to its unstable economy and the far-reaching effects it has had on the people. Compared to Nigeria, it has adopted the policy of coercion so as to stir up the Mugabe leadership into positive action. The coercion in Zimbabwe is of a greater extent compared to Nigeria. Unlike Nigeria, Zimbabwe has not focused on political components of democracy so as to improve its democratization process.

Zimbabwe is a county which has demonstrated misuse of power at the expense of the economy of the country. There has been no democratization at all under the leadership of Robert Mugabe. Several parties are opposing the leadership of Robert Mugabe. One of those parties is the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which is led by Morgan Tsvangirai. It is the largest opposition group in the Southern Africa region. The MDC has been a great challenge to Mugabe and his party, Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU PF). Morgan advocated for mild coercion so as to put to a halt President Mugabes dictatorial regime. He stated that America should help the nation so that it can escape the grip of dictatorship. According to him, his party follows the American democratic principles and their democratic fight is universal. That is why he states that other countries should be involved so as to have a global solidarity in fighting dictatorship (Tsvangirai, par.1-17).

Due to the dictatorial regime of Mugabe, the country has been facing an economic crisis due to the foreign currency debt and fiscal crisis. Morgan states that the presence of the MDC in parliament is representing democracy in the country (Tsvangirai, par.1-17).There is need for the formation of a people driven constitution. According to him, America will help in the democratization process by helping in the developing of the civic movement which aids in any democracy. In the US, there exists a perception that the whites are hated by the people of Zimbabwe and it can lead to racial violence. This was instigated by Mugabe in a bid to justify land reforms (Themba, par.1-3).

Recently, the constitution amendment bill passed the ZANU party majority in parliament after Mugabe was sworn in. This was a high disregard of democratic rights and processes. A constitution is a national consensus symbol. Therefore, a consensus would only be established if the people are fully consulted .The ZANU party however never considered this so as to ensure that the political objectives of the political elite are preserved at the expense of the Zimbabwes citizens interests (Themba,par.1-3).
President Mugabe has contributed a great deal to the once hopeful and a rising economic power to one of Africas pathetic cases. The ordinary citizens, community workers, lawyers, and churches called on intervention of other super power states to help them resolve their humanitarian, economic and political crisis. The political deterioration resulted to civil and human rights repression and almost a collapse in the economy. There was also a cholera outbreak, poverty and hunger (Themba, par.1-3).

Another form of mild coercion which has been advocated is that intelligence agencies should take a new look on how they can pressurize Mugabe and his close allies. The UN will be very instrumental in assisting in the process. The world body has its policy that incase any national government does not protect its own citizens the national sovereignty has a duty to intervene. The UN secretary general went ahead and sent international observers so as to always be monitoring any election (Themba, par.1-3).
 China has for a long time had a crafty policy on Zimbabwe. China has always been behind Mugabe and has supported him as a political leader. Mugabe even requested ammunition from China which resulted to unrest of the trade unions and South Africa civic groups. China should therefore be stopped in supporting Mugabes dictatorial behaviors. It should also be subjected to coercion from the United Nations so that the Mugabe allies would not cause any war in Zimbabwe (Themba, par.1-3).

Conclusion
Though coercion has been used in Zimbabwe as a strategy, democracy has not been achieved because President Mugabe still maintains his dictatorial behavior. There still exists poverty, outbreak of diseases and an economic crisis in Zimbabwe. Democracy can only be seen if the country gets new leaders through fresh elections and strong coercion from the other states on President Mugabe. There is no hope for democracy for Zimbabwe in the near future. This is because he is still in leadership and will remain there for the next five years.

On the other hand, the strong tie that exists between the Nigerians and the European Union is seen as the only method of promoting democracy that has succeeded. This is because despite the corruption in the Nigerian state, Europe still trades with Nigeria. However, democracy has not yet been fully achieved in Nigeria. This is because the constitution does not cater for the needs of the Nigerian citizens. The Nigerians therefore are living on empty promises. Unless a new leader is chosen, and a new constitution is drafted, democracy in Nigeria has a long way to go.

Assessment of Haredim Request for Increase in Child Allowances
The policies and decisions of a government have a direct bearing on any communitys economic status and influence within a society.  In a lot of cases, the said community can influence the policy-making process to its advantage by virtue of its population size, geographic representation, political awareness, historical background, and participation in the political process.  Thus, in turn, allows it to further consolidate its political status and the resultant economic benefits within the societal milieu.  However, at the same time, it is a balancing act at best since those charged with making these decisions and policies also have to keep in mind the sensitivities of other communities, as well as the economic and political cost of any decisions to them.

Introduction
We must remember that any decision regarding child allowances has a direct bearing on the economic status of all of Israels population.  On the one hand, it increases or curtails the amount of child benefits available to certain communities, such as SephardiAsheknazi Jews, thus having a significant bearing on their economic well-being.  However, on the other hand, any such decision represents an increase or decrease in the indirect economic cost to be borne out by Israels other communities, especially those with smaller number of children.  Alongside economics, any such decision also has a significant bearing on Israels long-term demographic make-up, as well as its political orientation.

In Its the budget, stupid, published by the daily Haaretz in January, 2008, Nehemia Shtrasler( has succinctly argued that because of the very nature of their religious ideology and the weltanschauung that it espouses and promotes, those belonging to the ultra-orthodox Haredim community will continue having large families, irrespective of the amount of state support at their disposal.  He does, however, argue that the state can promote the rapid population expansion of the said community by increasing the amount of child support benefits  something that plays an important role in most Haredim households.  Of course, whether this would be a positive development or otherwise cannot be judged from the Haredim perspective alone.

In terms of demographics, the ultra-orthodox Jews represent only 7-8 of the Israeli population  making them a small minority, even when compared against the Israeli Arabs, who make up 18 of the population within the territorial confines of Israel proper.  However, as pointed out by Margalit and Halbertal(, they represent a cohesive community with a strong and densely populated territorial representation.  Furthermore, they represent a distinct way of life  often, sharply at contrast with the rest of Israels civic society  and herein lies the rub.

Basing their arguments on Kymlickas Liberalism, community and culture, Margalit and Halbertal( argue that even though the Haredim espouse an illiberal value system, sharply at contrast with the liberal aspirations of the modern Jewish state of Israel, the state still has an obligation towards this segment of this society to protect their way of life and to enable them to live in accordance with their cultural and religious beliefs.  They believe that in doing so, the liberal state has to abandon its neutrality in matters of societal nature in favor of the minority community while remaining neutral towards the dominant community groups.  This, in turn, means actively assisting, protecting and promoting the Haredi population through legislative and fiscal measures that may qualify as interventionist in nature.

They base their arguments on the principle of a communitys right to culture stating that because of their size  further complemented by their concentration in certain geographical locations  the Haredi population has a right to be allowed to maintain its way of life within these locations with their activities only limited by the principle of harm.  Furthermore, they do not only support the judicial and educational autonomy at the groups disposal, but also state that the government should actively support their way of life, for example, large families and active participation in non-economic activities, through fiscal assistance.

However, as stated above, this does not come without its contradictions.  First and far most, the liberal state will stop being so the very moment it decides to abandon its neutrality in favor of one specific group of individuals while maintaining it with reference to others.  Secondly, this will further deepen the economic contradictions already existing within the Israeli society.  In Sect, Subsidy and Sacrifice  An Economists View of Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Eli Berman( has used statistical data to highlight the economic consequences of any fiscal interventionist policies that the state of Israel has followed in the past  or may possible follow in the future  to assist the ultra-orthodox community, as favored by Margalit and Halbertal.

Berman has specifically concentrated on the consequences of increased and sustained child support policies that have been followed by successive governments since 1975, and that have had a significant effect on the fertility rates being experienced in the Haredi community.  Furthermore, he highlights that these dramatic increases in fertility rates have been accompanied by an equally dramatic reduction in the communitys participation in economic activities and their share in the general labor supply.  Berman has used Iannaccones club good approach( to explain this economic contradiction where a community continues to prosper despite dedicating the majority of its resources, specifically human resources, to nonproductive religious activities, as exemplified by Yeshiva attendance of ultra-orthodox men until the age of 40 on average.

He has pointed out that because of the interventionist policies of the state, Haredi households are actually being largely subsidized by the government to not only maintain their lifestyle, but also to increase their communitys demographic and political strength within the overall societal framework.  Taking the example of families with fathers attending Yeshiva, he points out that out of the total monthly income available to such families, 39 comes from transfers by state institutions and another 32 in the form of child support allowances with only 18 being contributed by the family  mostly, the wife  in form of actual earned income.

He then goes on to juxtapose these figures against data obtained between 1980s and mid-1990s to illustrate that while the ultra-orthodox labor force participation dropped by one-third between these 15-odd years, their fertility rates rose from 6.5 children per woman in 1980s to 7.6 children per woman in mid-1990s.  He further cancels out the possibility of any general trend in the overall population expansion by pointing out that while in 1980, the gap between the fertility rates being experienced by the Arab and ultra-orthodox Jewish communities was only 0.5 child per woman, it had grown significantly to 3 children per woman by 1995-96.

He goes on to explain this phenomenon by pointing out that the 2.5-children per woman increase in fertility rate amongst the Haredi population, running in reverse to Beckers fertility transition argument, was engineered by efficient prohibition(, the ultra-orthodox value system, reduction in economic participation and increase in state subsidies, which in turn further reduced the value of any economic activities for the community.  The last point is even borne out by Shtrasler stating that replacing the principle of tax credits with child allowances by the Ben-Shahar committee in 1975 meant that parents were to be paid a certain amount in the form of child allowance, irrespective of their employment status, and hence no longer had to work to avail the benefit of having a large family.  He points out that because of their voting strength, this gap in policy was further exploited by the ultra-orthodox community who kept pushing for bigger allowances from fifth child onwards.  This meant that by 012001, the government had increased the allowance to NIS 855month from fifth child onwards, while discouraging those with a smaller family with a child allowance of only NIS 171month.

 Furthermore, Berman has effectively documented the demographic, and hence political, consequence of this policy by illustrating how the ultra-orthodox population share is projected to rise from 5.2 in 1995 to 12.4 in 2025, meaning that 22.5 of the Israeli children at that time will belong to ultra-orthodox Jewish families, signifying a dramatic shift in labor force ratios on one end of the spectrum and political power on the other end.

Conclusion
In my view, the policy shift implemented by the Sharon government in 2003 was a step in the right direction, wherein they proceeded to revise the figures of child allowances, equalizing them and making them smaller, but there is a greater need to streamline the system in line with economic realities.  Haaretz( had reported that because of the 2003 policy shift, fertility rates dropped among both the Bedouin population, as well as ultra-orthodox Jewish community, signaling a relationship between child allowances and fertility rates.  While the figures of child allowance can be revised upward from time to time, a concentrated effort needs to be made to avoid the principle of incremental increases, as well as any dramatic increases in these figures.  I, however, do not see any need to propose or implement rate increases at this point in time, given the policy success experienced since 2003.