Liberal Theories of International Relations Essay

Liberal Theories of International Relations - Essay Example The apparent peaceful behavior of democracies was only an extension of the domestic ideal into the international sphere. At the end of the Cold War, with the fall of communist Soviet Union (USSR), the ideological triumph of liberal democracy (and its implications for IR) was celebrated with much gusto, with some going so far as to claim that the event signified the â€Å"end of history† (Fukuyama 1992). Liberal states were deemed to be internally more stable and externally most peaceful.  Such a description, however, is not an accurate reflection of the true nature of democracies in the international sphere. As two seminal studies on the democratic-peace thesis note, democracies are equally aggressive as any other rà ©gime type in their relations with authoritarian states (Doyle 1995: 100) and young democracies tend to be more war prone than other states (Mansfield & Snyder 2005). In fact, even this explanation remains somewhat inadequate; take, for instance, the dyad of In dia and Pakistan, two countries with a long history of confrontations. The last armed conflict between the two states in 1999 occurred when a democratic government led either state. This shows that there may be contextual reasons for states go to into war, and their internal configurations may not matter in this regard.  The optimism of liberal international theory at the end of the Cold War was buoyed to a large extent by the hopes attached with the resurgence of the United Nations (UN) and the collective security system. In fact, the success of the multilateral venture at Iraq in 1991 reinforced these hopes.

Flexibility in Education in order to cut cost in college. E.g allowing Essay

Flexibility in Education in order to cut cost in college. E.g allowing students not to take classes not related to there major and still graduate - Essay Example Community colleges also have a reduced cost of tuition, as they charge a fraction of what regular colleges charge thus the debt incurred by students is low. Another way of reducing the cost of college education is allowing for dual enrollment programs where students do not have to go through all their classes in college. It also reduces the workload on the students by removing unnecessary requirements that only bloat their duties as students. This can be done by colleges cooperating with high schools in order to accumulate credits and higher placement in college. With this option, students will not have to go through the burden of classes as some of the courses will have been covered in high school. Joining college with early credits, cuts costs by an enormous margin and the advanced placement cuts the number of classes that one has to attend (Vedder et al. 8). Furthermore, colleges can offer reduced time to students to complete their degree programs. This is by offering 3-year programs instead of four by streamlining the curriculum significantly (Vedder et al. 26). Reduced amount of time in completing a program can be done by offering online courses, summer sessions and taking increases credit hours per semester. As a result, students will end up saving their finances and time for other productive purposes. This is unlike having a 4-year program in which students pay dearly for each semester, and the cost at the end of the 4 years is enormous. In addition, eradicating unnecessary programs also cuts the cost of college education by removing courses that bloat the curriculum.