Disarmament and Balance of Power

The term  disarmament  usually refers to nuclear disarmament. This refers to the reduction and final elimination of nuclear weapons from the earth. In his 1961 inaugural speech John F. Kennedy talked about nuclear weapons. He cautioned against allowing the  dark powers of destruction unleashed by science to engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.  He then talked about a need for the two superpowers powers (US and The USSR) to move towards a multilateral agreement to control use of nuclear weapons (disarmament).

Balance of Power exists when there is an equilibrium in the strengths of nations such that there is no threat of war for fear of the amount of damage that would result from war. In his inaugural address, Kennedy talked about the great powers  both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind s final war . In 1977 Jimmy Carter also talked about the world being  engaged in a massive armaments race designed to ensure continuing equivalent strength among potential adversaries  and pledged America s continuous efforts towards disarmament.

It is important to note that these speeches were made in the middle of the Cold War one of the features of which was the nuclear arms race between the great powers. The Cold War started at the end of the second world war (WWII) during which the first and only incidence of nuclear bombing occurred. In August 1945, the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan thus securing Japan s surrender and bringing the war to an end. Having fought together as allies against the axis powers, the US and USSR disagreed on the division of countries after WWII. At the time, talks of disarmament were at a stand-still.  It was not until after the Cuban Missile crisis a year later which brought the superpowers to the brink of nuclear war that the superpowers and the United Kingdom signed Nuclear Ban Treaty of
August 1963 and five years later, the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. However, even after this, the Cold War and nuclear weapon acquisition remained a problem. This is also evident from the fact that Carter in 1977 and much later, Reagan in 1985 were still talking about nuclear weapons, disarmament and balance of power. USSR s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan did not help matters in terms of ending the Cold War and removing the threats to global security. 

Globalization and Human Rights.
Globalization can be defined as the  the growing interconnectedness between political, social and economic systems beyond national or regional borders  (Palmowski, 2004, pg. 244). Economic globalization is defined as the  process by which the whole world becomes a single market  (Black, Hashimyade and Myles, 2009). In his 1961 address, after warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons, Kennedy appealed that both sides  bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations - a globalization of the power to deploy nuclear weaponry. He went on to appeal that both sides collaborate to explore the positive potentials of science- a globalization of efforts to eradicate disease amongst other things and also a globalization of commerce.

Several other US presidents talked about globalization in their inaugural addresses. In 1989 George H.W. Bush talked about people of the world moving  toward free markets through the door to posterity   and securing a prosperous life for man on earth through free markets amongst other freedoms. Bill Clinton in 1993 pointed out the effects of globalization.  There is no longer a clear division about what is foreign and what is domestic-the world economy, the world environment, the world AIDS crisis, the world arms race they affect us all. 

US presidents talked a lot about freedoms. Freedoms here, referred not only to freedom of markets etc. but also human right freedoms. Human rights are rights that accrue to
human beings by virtue of their being human. They can be defined as   basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to regardless of nationality sex, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, language or other status.  (Amnesty International). Carter talked about America s  abiding respect for individual human rights . George H.W. Bush asserted that freedoms such as the freedom of speech, and exercise of free will unhampered by the state are  right  and that they  work . In 2001 George W. Bush alluded to the fact that America s ideals on freedom have been widely accepted by other nations.

While globalization has existed for a long time in some form or the other, it was towards the end of the twentieth century that different dimensions such as increased communication through satellite and world wide web systems de-localization of domestic problems and the possible defeat of capitalism which led to the adoption of most of the world of similar principles in terms of political economy. In 1961 these dimensions were only being explored as is reflected in Kennedy s address. By 1989 the Soviet Union a pillar of Communism had almost completely collapsed. America generally saw this as a victory for capitalism and this is reflected in Bush s assertion that freedom works. This perceived victory was seen as a victors of the totality of American ideals including human rights. By Clinton s time in 1993 the effects of globalization as a means of internalization of issues such as health epidemics and environment were more pronounced.

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