Political Science

It is true that policy matters are not covered as much as they ought to. Most media, be they newspapers, television, radio or the internet, mainly focus on the issues of the day rather than policy issues. However, there are a few times when policy issues are covered in all types of communication media. Unfortunately, such incidences are few and so far apart that they make little or no impact at all. To make matters worse, important policies are only covered by the media when politics is involved. Take for instance the amount of coverage that was offered to the Healthcare Policy during the 2008 election year (ABC News).

During the last few weeks leading to the elections, there was a lot that was being passed on from the mainstream media to the people. Such issues as unemployment, the economic downturn, American involvement in the Middle East wars took center stage most of the time (Time Magazine). However, the issue of health was very outstanding during that time and has remained one of the few policies that are still making headlines in the media today.

During the week running from 11 January 2010 to 18th of the same month, the major policy issue on both ABC and the Time Magazine was Healthcare. Perhaps the reason why the issue is receiving so much coverage is because President Obama had better healthcare as part of his pre-election pledges back in 2008, not to mention that the issue of healthcare or the lack of it has dogged the country for a long time now. People are hungry for a better healthcare program and any mention of the policy will definitely get their attention. The media knows this and that is why they have to mention it almost every day.

Although the evening news on ABC News normally mentions how the government is handling the healthcare issue, Time magazine deals with it in an in depth manner. You can get more healthcare information from the 11th -18th of January 2010 issue of Time magazine than you can get from watching ABC evening news during the same time period.

Economy and the war in Iraq are other policies that the two media talked about during this period. While ABC had more news to offer, it was not as deep as it was in the Time Magazine. In BC News, the war in Iraq was given more coverage than the economy. Times magazine focused on both issues equally. Time also seems to have more time to cover other policies which are normally ignored in radio and television, such as family issues.

The role of the media as information suppliers is vital and the stakeholders should realize this when deciding whether or not to offer coverage to a certain policy issue. People do not need to know only about what disaster is happening in a certain part of the world they are also interested to know about what is happening to things that concern then directly, such as health and the economy. The media should not only disseminate information to do with policy matters, they should also do it in depth.

While it can be said that News Magazines offer more in depth information on policies than electronic media, there is a lot that needs to be done in order to achieve the level of policy coverage that will be said to be satisfactory. It is not everyone in America who understands exactly what is going on in the healthcare department. All they really know is what healthcare legislation was passed and by whom, and which one was rejected. When legislation is passed requiring more troops in Afghanistan, the media should help people understand why it was passed and what it means for their security and the security of their nation (Moussa, 1991).

If the policies being talked about in the media are supposed to help the ordinary people, then there should be mechanisms in place which should ensure that everyone understands each and every one of the policies that are making news in the mainstream media.

The two policies that would be discussed and analyzed are from the online references from the US Department of Health Website. Identifying one policys dimension would assist any reader for clearer comprehension on the presented documents. The two policies that are used for examples are the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Informing Those Tested About HIV Serostatus and Federal Policy (Common Rule) for the Protection of Human Subjects. This paper will try to find if classifying policies into varying dimensions would truly help on executing policy analysis.

The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Informing Those Tested About HIV Serostatus policy falls under the procedural, regulatory, and collective categories. It is considered procedural as it not only discusses the mandatory action required once the test results were released but also a step-by-step process to be followed by the IRB (Institutional Review Boards) representatives. Its policy also discussed the exemptions to be made when the HIV positive individual is proven mentally incapable or unstable. It is under the regulatory dimension as again, since medical result information and counseling is deemed necessary, to compel these patients to be in their best behavior (stop having unprotected sexual intercourse etc). Finally, it is considered as a collective policy as adhering strictly to this would lessen the probability of HIV getting infected from the innocent bystanders.

The Federal Policy (Common Rule) for the Protection of Human Subjects, however, is classified differently from the former. While the HIV policy is under the procedural category, the Human Subjects policy is in substantive category. The reason for doing so is that the policy talked about the rights of the different kinds of human subjects. These are also a distributive and a private goods type seeing that this police would only benefit for this said sector. The only aspect that the two policies seem to share is that both are under the material policy category. Both policies provide tangible resources for their targeted sectors. The AIDS policy gives accurate counseling for the HIV-positive individuals while the latter ensure that the human subjects individuals would be given protection and confidentiality.

After careful evaluation, it is safe to assure that another researcher for these mentioned policies will arrive with the same conclusion. Classification of policy dimension, if done with scrutiny, would greatly help in the political analysis. Evaluating these two policies is one good exercise especially for the aspiring researchers for policy analysis.  

The cases of Sacco and Vanzetti and Turkmen vs. Ashcroft (hereafter Turkmen) are one of the most politically controversial in American history, either in notoriety or in illustrating some of the loopholes of the American legal system. Sacco and Vanzetti predates Turkmen by almost a century, yet, there are stark similarities on both cases that are present despite differences in the historical and political circumstances surrounding them. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were both Italian immigrants tried and convicted for the robbery and murder of two people in South Braintree, Massachusetts in 1920. Turkmen is a class lawsuit filed on behalf of eight named plaintiffs who were illegal aliens, all Muslim, and of Arab and South Asian descent, rounded up and subjected to racial profiling and prolonged detention by the FBI and INS  for immigration violations following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Until present, Sacco and Vanzetti remains highly debated in terms of the culpability of the accused as well as whether or not the trial was conducted in a manner that conformed to due process requirements. On the other hand, Turkmen forced America to confront important issues such as human rights and due process violations involving persons suspected of engaging in terroristic activities.

Plaintiff mistreatment
The abusive conditions surrounding the confinement of the plaintiffs in Turkmen was the second fundamental issue raised in their petition, which all things considered, were alleged to have  violated the Constitution (Turkmen v. Ashcroft, 2006, p. 4). In the petition, the plaintiffs enumerated several cases of mistreatment and abuse at the time of their confinement physical and verbal abuse, sleep deprivation, strip searches, being confined in tiny cells, denial of medical attention and exercise, and denial of hygiene items. Moreover, plaintiffs were deliberately scorned or deprived of the chance to perform their religious practices and personal items such as personal identification and cash which were confiscated from their or their house upon their arrest were never returned to them.  These forms of abuse and mistreatment, they allege, were made on account of their professed Islamic beliefs, race, and ethnicity.  In Sacco and Vanzetti, the aforementioned forms of mistreatment were not as pronounced, although both plaintiffs were subjected to prejudice and discrimination based on their citizenship status and political leanings -  as Italians and anarchists.

Due process issues
Several due process issues have been noted in both cases, especially as they related to people who are illegal immigrants and under suspicion for embracing radical ideologies that are considered a threat to national security (anarchism and terrorism). Due process is a term that embodies the concept of legal fairness and is considered a fundamental tenet in American jurisprudence such that No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law (Center for Constitutional Rights, 2009). In Goldberg vs. Kelly (cited in Turkmen vs. Ashcroft, 2009), the Supreme Court ruled that procedural due process mandates that an individual facing deprivation of life, liberty, or property is entitled to 1) adequate notice 2) hearing and 3) a neutral judge. In Sacco and Vanzetti, the question of whether or not a fair trial has been given the plaintiffs remains highly contentious until now. Retrospective opinions of legal experts and observers opine that a retrial should have been granted given the pervasive prejudice on the part of judge presiding over the trial (Montgomery, 1960). Judge Webster Thayer possessed a blatant bias against the plaintiffs and made his sentiments public, allegedly calling the accused Bolsheviki and warning that he would get them proper (Temkin, 2009, p. 65). Moreover, allegations of a frame-up by law enforcement, perjuring or coerced witnesses, and the highly politicized climate that stirred passions because of the unpopular political beliefs of the accused are said to have convicted Sacco and Vanzetti, not guilt beyond a reasonable doubt as required for criminal proceedings. In Turkmen, plaintiffs emphasized that the government had violated their  rights under the equal protection clause because of the use of racial and religious profiling. They alleged that they have been singled out and rounded up because of their religion, country of origin, and race. Due process violations were also alleged such as depriving them of counsel and by detaining them for prolonged periods without charges and maintaining their incarceration even after their immigration cases have been deliberated upon and during which removal or voluntary departure could have been in effect. Although the Supreme Court later ruled to uphold claims on alleged physical abuse and mistreatment of the plaintiffs, it found that the US government had the right to detain immigrants based on race, religion, or national origin, and it can lawfully detain them  so long as an eventual removal is deemed reasonably foreseeable (Turkmen vs. Ashcroft, 2009). Moreover, illegal immigrants do not enjoy the same rights as U.S. citizens and cannot expect reciprocal privileges under the law. For instance, the right to counsel, is provided the illegal alien, but at his own expense, not at the governments (Turkmen vs. Ashcroft, 2006).

Similarities and differences
Undoubtedly, both Sacco and Vanzetti and the Turkmen cases were both highly politicized ones. Both cases arose out of a time in history when American capitalism was heavily challenged and threatened by competing ideologies, anarchism in the first, and Islamic fundamentalism on the latter.  Critics of the verdict on Sacco and Vanzetti claim that the real intention of the government of incarcerating the two Italian immigrants were to put a stop to the spread of anarchist philosophy in defense of capitalism. During this period, the communist ideology began to gain steam in Europe and the Red Scare was prevalent in the US (Temkin, 2009).  In Turkmen, the 911 tragedy aroused the passions of the American people to an extent that racial bigotry and discrimination ran high against Muslims or Arabs who were immediately presumed to be terrorists. Prejudice and force used against minorities and immigrants were common in both cases, but the physical and verbal abuses, however, were graver in Turkmen, as documented and substantiated by the OIG. To a certain extent, such display of force was tolerated by the American people because of the tremendous loss of life in 911, but at the price of the civil rights of innocent individuals who happened to have an Islamic sounding name and who come from Islamic countries.

In the book Little Pink Houses by Jeff Benedict one reads the story of Susette Kelo. Kelo, a single nurse had purchased a home in New London CT, in an area that was being looked at by the New London Development Corporation (NLDC) as the site for a new Pfizer Chemicals plant. Many of the homes in the area had already been taken over by the law of Eminent Domain that gives the right for state or federal governments to claim that land of private citizens if they play to use the land for a state or federal project. According to Benedict (2009), the NLDC received permission to go ahead with the project from state governor John Rowland who did so in order to avoid having to deal with city and local governments himself in order to develop the area. The city government allowed the project to continue because they felt it was in the best interests of the city, and in fact NLDC was led by a former member of the New London City council, Clare Guidiani. Pfizer became involved because they were looking for a new place to establish a chemical plant.

Kelo chose to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court. She felt that in this particular case the state did not have a right to eminent domain. However in this case the courts decided that Kelo was not in the right and she eventually did lose her house. But, the Supreme Court Justices did emphasize that often Eminent Domain issues such as this particular case were often unfair to home and business owners because they did not share in the gain that the city, or the factory and businesses being built on their lands did. Often they did not receive fair market value for homes and lost out financially while the companies and towns that had taken over their property made millions.

Each party had a vested interest however eminent domain still won out in the end because as the law is written as long as the homeowners are offered some return on the value of their home, they really dont have a case. This book raised many critical questions about the rights of the individual citizen versus the public interest. Which one is greater Another issue raised by Benedict (2009) is the overall fairness or unfairness of Eminent Domain laws. These are answers without any easy questions. For instance the New London government had to balance the rights of its individual citizens with the rights of everyone in the city. Pfizer would have brought hundreds of jobs into an area that had been economically devastated by the loss of a major military base and several manufacturers in the 1980s and 1990s.

Kelo is a sympathetic plaintiff though. Her story of how hard she fought to earn the money to buy her first home independent of her ex-husband, of the obstacles she faced in life is touching. She makes her case admirably, and her story makes it clear that one cannot judge the worth of a home based on money alone. People have invested things such as hopes and dreams and memories in a home that cannot be granted a monetary value. Kelos story makes it clear that when all of these aspects of home ownership come into play that Eminent Domain is unfair and cruel.

Benedicts (2009) book does not go into great detail in terms of the legalities of the case. It focuses on Kelos story rather than on the legal issues surrounding the case. While Benedict (2009) does not go into depth in terms of the legal issues surrounding the case, he does discuss it in enough detail the average reader can understand what is truly occurring in the case.

Overall I liked this book. It was easy to read and Benedict (2009) gives just enough detail to give an idea of the case to the typical reader while still offering detailed enough descriptions that it is useful for officials in Public Administration. This book did have some deficiencies in that analysis of issues such as eminent domain is mainly very superficial and lack critical details of the case. This book would be very appropriate however when addressing the rights of individuals vs. the rights of the group with Public Administration officials and employees.

This book is more targeted at the secular reader than it is professionals in the fields of Law and Public Administration. However it gives professionals insights into how Eminent Domain can affect people, and how the average person on the street thinks about issues such as the right of towns and states to take over their private property and use it for profit that they will see none of.  This book is also effective in that it provides a general survey from a lay persons perspective on eminent domain.

The main issue with this book is the lack of depth to its arguments however for the most part can be attributed to the target audience for the book. It was more of an enjoyable read for me than an informative read, although, I did learn how eminent domain affects homeowners. This has at least increased my understanding of eminent domain from the perspective of those outside the legal and public administration fields. It can be concluded that in general this book was very good. It portrayed the characters in a realistic manner, and was fairly well written.

It is lack of patriotism in the citizens of any nation to stand and see the enactment and implementation of oppressive laws (Armengol-Carrere, 2008). The sons of liberty have remained one of the many patriotic groups in the history of the American nation. Made mainly of middle class Americans, shopkeepers, and artisans, the group evidently helped in the ineffectiveness of the then proposed Stamp Act of 1765 (Kreamer, 2010). This was simply based on the reason that the proposed law sort to impose stamp taxes on printed materials. Many have claimed that the sons of liberty were terrorists due to the fact that most of their protests and demonstrations were often violent and highly destructive. It is however to be noted that such incidences have been claimed to have been a direct result of the increased involvement of the masses in the protest and demonstrations. The author of this essay gives an argument in support of the thesis that the sons of liberty not terrorists but true patriots of the American nation.

The realization of justice and fairness in the human community has been over history a controversial involvement many a times calling for protests and demonstrations (Armengol-Carrere, 2008). The stamp act was made to fund for the upkeep of the British troops which were in the American land. It is to be realized that the presence of the troops signified the continued colonization of the Americans. Still clear from the intent of the legislation is the fact that none was to better the lives of the colonies despite the fact that they were the main target for contributing the taxes. This was mainly because most middle class Americans were shopkeepers and artisans thus major users of paper. It was thus because of involvement in protest against the imposing of the act that the sons of liberty should be regarded as patriots as they defended their right to paying taxes by consent (Kreamer, 2010).

The struggles by the sons of liberty led to the ultimate beginning of the American Revolution. This has been closely attributed to the fact that the sons of liberty instilled sense of rebellion on the unfair rule of the British people (Armengol-Carrere, 2008). It also clearly showed that the Americans can sufficiently defend their human rights and thus realized justice in the society. It is worth stating that the American Revolution led to the Americans realization of independence thus leading to a fair and just society free from dictatorial and unjust governance. Therefore, the sons of liberty through their protests led to the ultimate realization of justice through independence in the American nation (Kreamer, 2010).

Many have claimed that the sons of liberty led to much destructions property and life. It is however clear from existing historical information that such destructions were mainly a result of the increased involvement of the masses (Kreamer, 2010). This evidently means that most of the violent and destructive activities carried out were not necessarily by command of the groups representatives. It is also to be noted here that the effective realization of justice from a colonial power has rarely been through negotiation. It is indeed due to these acts of violence and destruction that the stamp act never realized much effectiveness on implementation thus leading to justice and fairness of treatment for the Americans (kreamer, 2010).

In conclusion, it is evidently clear that the many protests and demonstrations by the sons of liberty set the basis for the beginning of the American Revolution. It is thus true to logically claim that the sons of liberty are greatly responsible for the ultimate realization of independence of the American nation. They should thus be honored as true patriots of the American nation.

The central idea of these two articles focused mainly on the discussion on human development and how it extends and correlates to the concept of human security as perceived by United Nations, regional organizations and states. There were three main arguments that were presented in order to further support and examine this notion. First is the in-depth discussion of human development leading to human security, second is the discussion on the structural causes of conflict and how it contributes to instability and finally it also tackled the condition of human security and how it is perceived in the status quo.

For the first argument, participation was highlighted as an essential theme in the discussion of human security. It was emphasized that people empowerment is important since development is focused primarily on helping people take control of their lives. In this notion, it was stressed that the concept of security must change from just national security to the well-being and security of much greater population. This notion was supported by the evidences provided by Human Development Report in 1994 which embraces human development and human security as essential components of universalism. Furthermore, it was recognized in the report that the path to peace was sustainable development for without peace, there may be no development but without development, peace may be threatened.

This Human Development Report 1994 was basically compiled as a reference of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the 1995 Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development. In the Social Summit, it was acknowledged that indeed social justice and social development are requirements to attain a peaceful community.

The second argument revolved around the structural causes of conflict and how it can contribute to instability. There were three structural causes of conflict that were presented in the article poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity. It was claimed that these three factors enables individual economic insecurity and it mitigates conflict among a certain society. The argument then is that the solution for these individual insecurities not to take place is human development.

A research was done by Carnegie Foundation regarding the occurrence of post-Cold War conflict among states and how the international organizations can help in curbing these deadly feuds. In the final report, it was found out that the increasing incident of post-war conflict is mainly because of the sudden economic deterioration and scarcity of resources among nations that they now compete for strengthening their economies.  Basing on these drawn conclusions, it was then noted the utmost importance of economic preservation and recovery as a tool in conflict prevention and management.

The General Assembly of United Nations then took up the matter of development to prevent war and conflict among nations. As a response, the Assembly acknowledged and stressed the significance of anti-poverty strategies, the assurance of equity in development and the pursuit of food security as elements of peace building in its Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace in 1998.

The last argument which was presented in the article is the perception of human security in status quo. It was presented in the article that human security at these times focused merely on people as well as the states responsibility of securing their well-being and safety and acknowledging the individual and communities to take control of their lives. It set Japan as a primary example in promoting sustainable human development through sponsoring Trust Fund for Human Security. This program aims to make grants to fund UN agencies and any other affiliated associations that promote human security. It aims to alleviate poverty, rehabilitate schools and hospitals and enhance public services and fund other programs that may help to develop human lives.

In this final argument, the people-centered concept of human security highlighted physical protection, human rights and development. It now redefined human security as protecting human lives by ensuring their freedom and contentment. According to the article, state and human security, in this perspective, is complementary. It also suggested the emphasis on economic welfare vis--vis protecting the essential component of human security. Basing on these analyses, it then provided a linkage and correlation to the idea of UNDPs Human Development Report 1994 which put equal importance on the threats of economic well-being as one of the underlying problems of human security and distinguished human development as widening of peoples choices and their ability to manage their own lives.

In sum, the articles that were presented were very much helpful. Aside from the fact that both are correlated, they also put equal weight on helping the readers fully understand human security and its relation to human development. Based on this, it can be deduced that the arguments of the author in the articles are consistent with the facts that he provided considering that he set United Nations and other international bodies and organizations to support his claim. Finally, the author indeed raised several important matters throughout the article since he sought to give answers to those underlying questions of human security and human development and how was it relevant in the past and in present times.

Russia is a democratic republic with 83 federal units. The country is bordered by 14 countries including Norway, Finland, Estonia, and Poland. It is one of the largest countries in the world with a land area of 17,000,000 squire kilometers and a population of 143 million people. The country is well endowed with natural resources like minerals, forest cover and water resources. Russian mighty and power was acquired during its membership in the Soviet Union were it emerged as a super power. The country has permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council it is also a member of the Group of 20(G20), Group of 8(G8) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. This paper will critically examine the Russian national purpose and ideology, national power and international relationships as well as foreign policy. The paper will also describe the Russian commitments and its national security relationships with the United States.

Question one. National purpose of Russia
Russia is keen to increase her economic growth, protect the security of her people and safeguard vital markets for her products. The country has managed to use technology in developing military influence to protect her people and enhance power and influence in the international market. However, the Russian economy is still struggling and the focus is to enhance economic expansion. The national purpose is therefore shaped by economic and security interests. To pursue its national interest, Russia has teamed up with other rich nations in influencing global politics and international policy-making processes. Besides, the country has membership in economic blocks to find convenient market for its products (Bowen, 1998).

Question Two.Russian ideology
Since the era of Soviet Union, Russia has been pursuing a socialistic political ideology (Hill, 1978). The Soviet Union was based on Marxism-Leninism theories and the influence was extended to political parties in other countries. Nevertheless, with the fall of the powerful USSR, there was need to build a new strategy to guide the nation. In this regard, there was a re-emergence of nationalistic views since the election of Vladmir Putin as the president. In general, the national ideology is to have a social contract between the people and the government (Hamm, 1995).

Question Three.National interest of Russia and international conflicts
In the pursuit of her national interests, Russia has met challenges and conflict of interest with the other international players. This fact can be explained by the Ukraine-Russian energy crisis of 2006, which affected all parties including the European Union and the United States. Russias negative relationship with Georgia is also an example of how national interest can conflict with international interests. National security and technology dominance is another key issue that the country has been in conflict with other countries. For example, the suspicion that has always been there pertaining to the interests of NATO and the United States in particular. This is about international dominance and influence on security, which Russia is keen to remain relevant (Christian, 1998).

Question Four. Sources of national power of Russia
The Russian national power is derived mainly from its wealth of resources and geopolitical position. Russia is a global leader in technology with massive mineral and water resources. The country has managed to use technology to make sophisticated security systems as well as build a strong and sustainable energy system. In light of the globalization process, Russia has been able to access international markets via membership to trade groups and economic blocks. On the other hand, the country has numerous bilateral agreements with other countries. This in turn has played a big role in strengthening international cooperation and trade.

Question Five.Threat situations confronting Russia
Some of the biggest threats facing the Russian economic lifeline are the existence of internal and external issues that will have profound effect in the energy sector. These issues include poor industry regulation, inadequate guidelines on technology transfer and poor approach on developing the manufacturing sector. In addition, other issues like competition from United States in producing technology gas and the instability of the future of oil prices present huge challenges to the Russian authorities (Krugman, (1988). With the emergence of new economies like china and the Korea, it is very clear Russia is going to cede much of its dominance and influence on the international political and economic platform. Drug trafficking is probably the single largest social challenge facing Russia today. Drug trafficking has increased significantly in recent past due to insecurity and instability in central Asia especially Afghanistan. According to statistics, drug cartels are producing an average turnover of about 32 billion US dollars. There is also a strong indication that this money finances terrorism activities. Demographic catastrophic is the other concern for the Russians.  The total population is falling significantly, since fertility rate and life expectancy are low and this has lead to a demographic catastrophe like shortage of work force. Diseases like HIV and Aids, tuberculosis and other disease conditions have also resulted to high death rates thus worsening the situation.

Question Six. Domestic factors influence on foreign policy.
Russian foreign policy is widely influenced by domestic factors. Her endowment with natural resources has provided the authorities with revenues to support strategic foreign policies. It is also very clear foreign policy and Russian domestic factors are closely interrelated issues. This has led to formulation of foreign policy that favors domestic factors like economic development and national security. For instance if there is a need to expand markets for Russian commodities like security and military equipment or energy, then the government utilizes the foreign policy avenues to access the markets.

Question Seven. Russias commitments
Russia appears to be committed in maintaining a good working relationship with the United States. This relationship with the United States is based on a wide array of issues like national security and nonproliferation policy, global politics and international trade. Russia is also committed in strengthening her position to become a global energy superpower. The country is exploring all avenues to enhance her market competitiveness in a bid to dominate the international market. On the other hand, the country is committed to more cooperation with other countries and international organizations like the United Nations, G8, the G20 and other economic groups.

Question Eight. Military strategy of Russia
Russia has the capacity and willingness to pursue military technical revolution. The Russian military has continued to focus on extensive research, development, and adopting new technologies in information and communications as well. The overall military strategy is to have regional and perhaps international dominance and to keep in pace with the military developments in other powers like United States, china, Korea and European countries. This dominance is critical in securing markets for her products as well as extending her influence to the international scene.

Question Nine. Past and present international strategy of Russia
In the economic front, Russia has concentrated so much on extraction and processing of mineral and other natural resources. The present and future strategies will be based on the need to diversify and modernize the Russian economy to incorporate value addition in the manufacturing sector. Energy efficiency will also take centre stage in Russian strategic positioning to enhance competitiveness and stability of Russian products.

Question Ten. Russian foreign policy
Russian foreign policy is widely influenced by international situations as well as domestic factors. The country is focused on establishing equitable and mutually advantageous collaborations and relations with the rest of the international community. Similarly, Russia is determined to pursue a foreign policy that seeks to create external conditions conducive for her economic development and to have influence on the international scene (Harding, 1984). The countries foreign policy safeguards her interests and those of its individual citizens and fellow compatriots in the Diaspora.

Question Eleven. Russian national security affairs and United States involvement
National security affairs of Russia could lead to an involvement of the United States. The two countries have an arms control treaty called the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) that they intend to renew in 2010. It is therefore evident that Russian national security affairs can easily trigger responses from the United States. United States and Russia have a binding bilateral military agreement. In this agreement, the two countries will cooperate in military exchanges which are a step forward in ensuring global peace.

Conclusions
Based on the above analysis of Russia it is evident that domestic factors play significant roles in shaping countries foreign policy. Economic and security strategies are the key domestic factors that influence foreign policies. Russian ideology coupled with her internal and external situation has made it necessary for the country to implement appropriate foreign policy to safeguard her interests in the international scene.