Introduction

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution came to the fore in the previous two chapters during discussions of aesthetic preference. Humans may have evolved a preference for certain landscape features in art such as mystery and vantage points because these features are important for survival in a natural environment. Similarly, humans may have evolved a preference for certain images because their statistical and organisational properties afford the most efficient neural processing. This final chapter discusses the relevance of evolutionary theory to two general but important questions about visual art, namely the perennial artistic fascination with certain aspects of the human form and the enduring human compulsion to create works of art. Beforehand, it will be useful to reiterate some salient features of evolutionary theory and to introduce the concept of a ‘fitness indicator’ because it is an essential component of the evolutionary theory of art.

The theory of evolution underpins modern biological science. It proposes that all persistent, universal human traits, including those which relate to art, should be considered as evolved adaptations. According to Darwin’s theory, new traits arise initially by chance due to genetic mutations during reproduction. If a specific trait confers an advantage on a particular individual by enhancing his or her chances of survival and reproduction, then it is passed on to that individual’s offspring who, in turn, passes it on to his or her own offspring. Conversely, traits that do not confer an advantage do not become established in the gene pool. Over generations, adaptive traits can become established across an entire population, even if they enhance survival rates by only a tiny amount. The eye itself is a good example. Primitive sensitivity to light should confer an advantage on any organism that depends on sunlight for energy, leading to more successful transmission of the genes coding for light sensitivity. Sensitivity to ambient illumination, therefore, is a universal adaptation found in even the simplest organisms. Complex mobile organisms have evolved sophisticated light-sensing organs, which typically take the form of a pit or enclosed chamber that forms an image of the outside world on a sheet of light-sensitive cells. Images are extremely useful for performing complex tasks such as visual navigation and recognition, provided that the organism possesses a brain with sufficient processing capacity.

Introduction

Paintings traditionally present a single, static view of the world. Indeed, still life paintings are, by definition, unchanging and inanimate. Portraits also disregard time in the sense that they capture the relatively stable demeanour of the sitter, which conveys their character (refer back to the portrait of Erasmus in Figure 5.7, p. 85). Some paintings do convey the passage of quite long periods of time, particularly narrative paintings that tell a story in a series of episodes integrated in a single composition. Several traditional pictorial devices are available to artists striving to convey the passage of time in a narrative painting. In ‘continuous narrative’ paintings, the same protagonist appears in several places, often separated by architectural structures that mark out different episodes in the story. Jacopo Pontormo’s elegant ‘Joseph with Jacob in Egypt’ (Plate 17; see colour plate section) presents several episodes from Joseph’s life as Viceroy of Egypt. Joseph appears in four locations, always wearing a red cap, lavender cloak and amber tunic. The story begins in the left foreground with Joseph presenting his father Jacob (kneeling) to the Pharaoh. In the right foreground, a messenger presents Joseph with news of his father’s illness. In the middle distance, Joseph is shown ascending a staircase with one of his sons to visit his ill father. In the top right, Joseph is shown presenting his sons to his dying father. Pontormo uses subtle pictorial cues of movement to convey the passage of time. Movement always produces a progressive change in position. Notice that the successive episodes in the story unfold progressively across the canvas and into the distance from foreground to middle distance (the figures in the far distance are thought to be references to Joseph’s earlier arrival in Egypt to seek grain; Langmuir, 2003).

How can artists convey events that unfold much more rapidly, involving brief bursts of dynamic action? This chapter will explore the techniques that artists use to convey a sense of action and the reasons for their effectiveness. The next section considers techniques used in still images such as paintings (Cutting, 2002), and the subsequent section considers animated images. The success of the various techniques is related to their ability to excite activity in the motion-detecting neural circuits of the visual cortex, which were mentioned in Chapter 3.

On September 11, 2001, the world watched in horror as terrorists hijacked commercial aircraft and flew them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York's financial district and the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and caused another plane to crash in Pennsylvania. Foreign terrorists took at least 2,996 American lives that day, and their audacity thrust terrorism firmly into public consciousness. Until then, studies of global security had been based primarily on analysis of state power as measured by factors such as economic, diplomatic, and military capabilities. Since then, there has been a shift to try to understand new forms of warfare, and international violence has become an important focus of global studies. Today, terrorism and counterterrorism are central features of international security.

Terrorism is not a goal or end in itself. It is a means or tactic to achieve a desired consequence or end state. Terrorists, by definition and necessity, employ asymmetrical warfare: while great powers have vast sums of money and advanced weaponry at their disposal, all terrorists possess is their commitment; their lives (which they may sacrifice in suicidal attacks); and relatively small, unsophisticated weapons. There are, however, grave concerns that terrorists may obtain weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Unlike insurgencies and civil wars (discussed in Chapter 10), terrorism is not aimed at obtaining control of a territory or state. Its proponents attempt to frighten governments into believing that unless they change their approach to politics there will be further violence. Terrorist methods commonly include kidnapping, bombings, arson, and hijacking airliners to create public fear and to force governments to respond to their demands; today they include cyberattacks on computer and data systems. Since terrorists do not represent states, and by definition are less powerful than the states they attack, standard patterns of responding to them may be inappropriate and ineffective. Against whom or what does a state retaliate? Dealing with terrorists has also created new issues in the fields of prisoners, torture, civil liberties, and international law.

Political leaders and their security advisers are constantly obliged to make choices about how to maintain order in light of their citizens’ expectations and actions. In responsible and viable political systems the resulting transactions are relatively clear and harmonious, but when public demands cannot be met, political order may break down. Bombings, riots, rebellions, and even civil wars may ensue, and the political system may fail or collapse. A few countries engage in perpetual strife and violence that trigger insurgencies or wars. Such local warfare cannot always be kept within state boundaries today, as it is to some extent internationalized by the forces of globalization and the new security issues.

Armed conflict and wars within and among states are endemic in world history. In much of the academic literature on warfare there is an assumption of a degree of symmetry among protagonists. This is because most scholarship is about general war, the relations and conflict between and among states, or limited wars, those that involve states but have restricted objectives, such as the Korean War (1950–53), which was fought to prevent a China-backed Korean army from taking over the entire peninsula. Countries that are relatively weak are thought to be unlikely to go to war with more powerful states; they are more apt to capitulate or negotiate their way out of disagreement and conflict. But wars come in various types, and many are among distinctly uneven military forces.

Global politics is replete with crises. As we conclude our survey, it is clear that understanding and debating this theme is an essential part of our study of international relations. In Chapter 1, we introduced globalization and the new security issues and factors that drive modern world politics and showed how they affect governments. In the next 14 chapters we analyzed how individuals, states, and international organizations cope with these factors.

Myriad unexpected, horrific events occur intermittently around the world, creating crises that quickly move to the top of global policy agendas. They regularly force politicians and decision makers to appraise and judge which principles should guide their responses and to grapple with difficult conceptual, ethical, and policy issues.

Crises and contingencies

As we witnessed in the first fifteen chapters of this book, dangerous events are ubiquitous; we truly live in a world of risk. We see this in daily news reports, where various types of crises make up the bulk of daily headlines. At the individual level, the crises range from the tragic to the absurd, as almost any event can be a crisis for someone. At the state level, crises arise continually in the form of natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes, as well as human-made disasters such as mining accidents and even nuclear accidents. At the global level, crises also are perpetual, ranging from saber rattling among states to shared issues such as health pandemics and internal and interstate war. Television and the Internet relay a constant stream of horrifying pictures about massacres, earthquakes, hurricanes, and famines. The pool of events is seemingly endless. Indeed, a startling phenomenon of modern global politics is how many contemporary crises span state borders and sometimes even continents. It is the complexity and multiplicity of such crises that is the greatest challenge.

The first four parts of this book examined the degree to which globalization is fostering an interconnected world and how new security and economic issues impact on today’s global problems. In Part V we highlight major problems of the 21st century that require the attention of the world community – issues that are “intermestic” in nature and cannot be solved by single states, no matter how powerful. Understanding the interconnectedness and multiplicity of these issues and what can be done about them requires knowledge of governments and international relations. The list is indicative of the problems facing world leaders, and readers are encouraged to research and explore the quest for policy answers on these and other topics.

Chapter 14 addresses human rights. The events of September 11, 2001, sounded the alarm on international terrorism, led to quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan, and foreshadowed tumultuous and violent change in the Middle East and North Africa. It has become increasingly important to reassess and respond to the new security issues around the world. How can states and international agencies react effectively to threats arising from ethnic hatred, religious bigotry, and failing states generally? Should states interfere in other states when human rights are under attack? Chapter 14 highlights these and many other human rights concerns, such as genocide and children in armed conflict.

Human rights abuses are as old as history, but this is perhaps the first era that has demonstrated widespread global concern about them. Modern communication systems such as television, radio, and the Internet thrust human tragedies before us on a daily basis and convince people not only that something should be done about them but also that something can be done about them. There is no denying that human rights abuses abound, and there are many examples in which they have gone unpunished, but at the same time, there is increased global awareness of the issues, and even some progress has been made.

Global issues concerning human rights entail core values and call individuals and governments to examine their perspectives on the value of life. When antiapartheid and black leader Nelson Mandela was released from prison after twenty-seven years and became president of South Africa in 1994, we all extolled the virtues of human will and dignity in world politics. In that case, international economic sanctions and a strong determination to be free of white rule won out over Afrikaner prejudice and authoritarian rule. When Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed to leave house arrest after seven years, and contest the 2012 election in 2012, we all hoped for the best for her and Myanmar. Her struggle for freedom was highlighted by her claim that, “I’m not free until the people are free.” Bigger-than-life actors on the world stage, like Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi, draw attention to human rights and the importance of ethics in politics, and they illustrate how contrasting viewpoints about the proper role of states in the lives of their peoples are important factors in global politics.

The field of developmental economics is characterized to a large extent by the same controversies and differences in perspectives that confront governments in global politics generally. Is the economic pie growing or contracting? How is it shared? Is its distribution just, or are there major global intra- and interstate inequalities? These issues are central to the study of international political economy; however, to a great extent, specialists who examine inequality tend to be little interested in macroeconomic issues such as global trade and the supply of credit.

Despite impressive improvements in the global economy since World War II, inequalities remain within and across states. Overall, the gap between rich and poor around the world has increased, and poverty, hunger, and disease are more prevalent in some specific, marginalized parts of the world than others, creating complex patterns of winners and losers. Significant economic inequalities inside many states have also grown. Contrasting perspectives on these facts are widespread. As we saw in Chapter 12, despite other differences, liberals, nationalists, and even state capitalists focus on the overall economic gains of states, especially the huge improvement in per capita incomes in both developed and developing countries over the past half century. Radical, Marxist, or critical theorists, in contrast, emphasize the unequal patterns in the distribution of gains within global society and within states rather than overall growth patterns. They point to facts from the UN’s Millennium Development Goals Report that confirm the extent to which disadvantaged people are trapped in poverty: 1.4 billion people live below the global poverty line of $1.25 a day, and the numbers are likely to increase by 2015; every few seconds a child dies from malnutrition somewhere around the world.

It is impossible to conceive of a world without states. But as we witnessed in Chapter 2, the modern form of the state is only a few centuries old. At various times in history tribes, bands, city-states, empires, and religious or other authorities performed many of the functions of governing people. Unlike the modern state, government, the organization of people for the resolution of dispute and conflict, has always been present in some form. Government first appeared about one hundred centuries ago in the early civilizations of Asia Minor, Egypt, and northern Mesopotamia (today's Iraq) well before modern states were formed.

The modern state, with its emphasis on legitimacy and consent of the people, as well as authority and order, is today the paramount actor in global affairs. The world is conditioned and constrained by the governments of states because they provide and regulate most aspects of public affairs both domestically and internationally and influence (directly or indirectly) the choices made by citizens in conducting their private lives. Modern states are defined not by cultural, ethnic, or language homogeneity but by sovereignty and power. States may or may not coincide with nations. Often they do not. For example, is Palestine a state, a nation, or something else? Just how much power do states have? The answers are neither simple nor static. A few countries – those with larger economies and extensive technologically advanced militaries – have dramatically more significance than others, but most states are relatively weak and have to rely on the more powerful militaries of other states or international organizations for political leverage. Some states, even though their sovereignty is officially recognized by other states, barely exercise meaningful authority over their own territory.

Chapter 1 introduced the idea that the world has become more interdependent and discussed the term globalization, a broad term that refers to a reorientation of cultural, economic, political, and technological activities in such a way that it transcends state or country borders. The term has become so popular that it is used to explain various major international trends from social relations to world terrorism. In fact, the term globalization has become so pervasive and controversial that critics have termed it nothing more than capitalism or even “globaloney.” In response, its proponents claim that fear of change has led to “globalphobia.”

Much of the recent change in global politics comes from developments in economics. This chapter, therefore, focuses on international political economy (IPE), a field that studies the complex interrelationships of politics and economics. It highlights the significance of globalization and shows how the study of international political economy has become central to international relations. The current global market for widely used products and financial services developed rapidly as a result of reduced barriers to cross-border trade and investment, increasing similarity in state economic regulations and laws, and technological advances in transportation, telecommunications, microprocessors, and the Internet.

Ethnicity, nationalism, and religion greatly affect global politics. They provide a sense of belonging that helps to shape political activity within states and across state borders. Families, peer groups, and educational and religious institutions all socialize new generations with ideas, values, and beliefs about social interactions, including peace and war. Together they help create a political culture that underpins the behavior of both leaders and masses in multiple and important ways. People identify with, fight for, and often even die for their blood, faith, and beliefs. Leaders of political movements and other elites target these basic identities to mobilize support or incite mass action in their attempt to achieve or thwart specific goals. Adolf Hitler infamously extolled blond Aryans as the “Master Race.” Winston Churchill rallied the British people to fight the same Germans in World War II. Although their political causes were diametrically opposed, both men spoke to deeply held sentiments about national identity in an effort to steel their peoples for the horrors of war.

This chapter is concerned with transnational movements in which identity provides a sense of community and belonging. An identity group consists of people who share a characteristic or characteristics that define them and set them apart from others. Ethnicity, nationalism, and religion are three components of social identity that have gained prominence in international relations theory in recent years. Many sources of international political conflict involve one or more of them. Secular ideas and ideologies such as human rights, feminism, environmentalism, and antiglobalism movements are also significant components of identity, but we cover those topics later in Chapters 14 and 15. Here we are concerned with how transnational movements affect political choices and structure collective decisions that affect global politics.

The previous chapter set the groundwork for our continuing examination of global politics by defining and examining the concepts of state and power. It also considered leaders and how they make vital foreign policy decisions for their states. We are now ready to map the contemporary distribution of power and influence in the modern world. Which states are the most powerful and why?

To answer this central question, the chapter focuses on key concepts concerning the global system and its changing nature. First, it clarifies terms such as comparative power, polarity, hegemony, and imperialism, along with their importance in contemporary politics. It then examines in detail the six major powers that currently dominate global politics and structure the global system – the United States, China, India, Japan, Russia, and the European Union (which brings together twenty-seven states that in many respects function as one unit) – and surveys the roles of emerging middle and regional powers. We then return to our themes of security and globalization. What are the implications of the new global system for security? What is its relationship with globalization? To answer these questions, we conclude the chapter with a “New Global Security Map” – a conceptual framework of contemporary global politics.

The Greek historian Thucydides once said that history is philosophy teaching by examples. A recent scholar commented that perhaps Thucydides should have said “trying to teach by examples,” because often we do not use history well. We miss the real point of its lessons or we follow the wrong precedents. Just think of early prognosticators who thought that because triplanes flew better than biplanes future aircraft would end up with twelve wings! Or think of Thomas Watson, head of IBM, who is alleged to have predicted in 1943 that “I think there is a world market for about five computers”! Prediction is an unpredictable business!

One thing that history does do well is deepen our understanding of current global problems. It can inform us about the world in which we live, not just the country we inhabit, and in doing so provides an essential foundation for the study of global politics. History tells us not only who we are but who others are (and were) and helps explain our similarities and differences. Everything happens in a historical context. Contemporary events are constrained by the past but they are not determined by it. They reflect continuity with the past but can also break from it. Although history cannot be used to predict the future it can elucidate why relations between countries and peoples take the shape they do and provide clues to what they might be in the future. It can reveal the changing configurations of authority and power over time and the diversity of systems, institutions, actors, and ideas that have dominated global politics.

Part III examines the causes and consequences of the breakdown of international law and order. The character of war has changed dramatically in recent years not only in terms of technology and strategy but also with regard to the security dilemmas political leaders face when they try to protect their states and their citizens. What has not changed is the need to comprehend the sacrifices that are required as states strive to maintain their security. U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower once said, “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”

Chapter 9 focuses on international war, its causes, conduct, and consequences. The advent of the nuclear era changed the basic concepts of national security, brought new arms-control issues, and forged new security organizations. With the end of the Cold War, internal wars became more frequent and international terrorism erupted with new intensity. International conflicts since 9/11 have brought new security dilemmas that make security perhaps even more elusive. Issues such as weapons of mass destruction, alliance formation, and the ethics of war are all part of this discussion. Archibald MacLeish, the poet, honored the human cost of war in a poem called The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak where he expressed the wishes of the dying: “We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.”

Before beginning a study of global politics there are important ground rules to be mastered. Scholars and practitioners possess different world views about the nature of politics. These views are based on diverse schools of thought, each of which has a cluster of ideas that guide their questions and explanations about how the world works and should work. This chapter will lead you through the sometimes daunting maze of competing theories and issues that dominate the study of global politics.

There is a pertinent analogy in an old Indian story about four blind men who meet an elephant for the first time. They grope about, seeking to understand the beast. One grasps the trunk and concludes it is a snake. Another explores a leg and describes it as a tree. A third finds the tail and envisages it as a rope. Yet another of them touches the elephant's huge side and concludes it is a wall. None can imagine the whole animal. Similarly, scholars and practitioners disagree about which worldview best explains global politics – they describe various aspects of the whole in different ways. Although none has discovered the complete truth, all are communicating vital information about it.

With the advent of modern mass communications, readers are bombarded with colorful images of the world's political events. They can ascertain quickly from international news the changing realities around them. However, to make sense of these ad hoc, seemingly disparate events, students need conceptual clarifications, interpretative tools, and a basic understanding of the world and how their own country fits into it. They need to understand global politics as a whole.

Individuals today are no longer isolated but are active participants connected to the world through Internet and social networking technologies. The vocabulary has changed. Words such as Facebook, Twitter, Apps, and Cloud have meanings today that differ entirely from those less than a decade ago. In other words, at a low level students are already engaged, and to some extent knowledgeable, when they begin to study global politics. They need, however, to be encouraged to understand that making good choices requires being informed and reflective. To do this, they need to read, inquire, debate, and consider; not push facts and ideas into convenient boxes if they do not belong there. As well, the study of global politics is not simply moralizing. Political affairs certainly have an ethical dimension, but they are not solely about morality. And keeping thoughts clear and straightforward and avoiding jargon is vital. As one wag put it, “What did you have for breakfast – the upper part of a hog's hind leg with two ovals encased in a shell laid by a female bird?” Or bacon and eggs?