IB Glopo HL1: The Geopolitics of Disaster

Image via BBC News

Welcome back! This week, we'll begin our new (and ever-developing) unit on the geopolitics of disaster. As always, we'll have our eye on exploring the dynamics of power and how it is legitimized at various levels and across multiple actors in world politics. This unit will focus on three case studies; Hurricane Katrina (2005), the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and Typhoon Haiyan (2013). We also have four games and sims to play in this unit; Survival, Stop Disasters, DS-30, and Inside the Haiti Earthquake. These should keep us busy for well into the new year (as well as give me time to publish a more formal unit document). In the interim, here's our calendar for the week:

Week of 2 through 6 December

• Monday: Survival Simulation. Choose your own disaster; a plane crash in Canada, being lost at sea, or a plane crash in Morocco. 
• Tuesday: Frontline, The Storm. We'll look at the politics of disaster preparedness and responses in the United States at the local, state and Federal level in relation to Hurricane Katrina. 
• Thursday: Debrief on The Storm and begin work on The Blame Game.
• Friday: Group presentations on The Blame Game. 

IB Glopo Year 2: Development (our final unit of study)

Welcome back! I hope you all had a restful holiday & break. Monday marks the start of our final unit of study, that of development. We have some new and exciting games and simulations set for this unit, including Ayiti: the cost of life, a Peace Corps challenge on micro finance, and two separate simulations on foreign direct investment and energy development. The unit guide, which also outlines all of the prompts for our course of study, is listed below. This should keep us busy for the next four to six weeks; before you'll have the opportunity to work independently on your two HL extension tasks. Our calendar for the week is as follows:

2 through 6 December

• Monday: Introduce the new unit, Watch and discuss Boyer 4.1 and 4.2.1
• Tuesday: Reading period for Mingst, K. A., & Karns, M. P. (2007). Economic development and sustainability. In The United Nations in the 21st century (pp. 178-216). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. (link)
• You should have this complete in order to adequately respond to the prompt on Friday. 
• Thursday: Watch and discuss Boyer 4.2.2 and 4.2.3
• Friday: In class writing: In what ways do Mingst and Karns define the concept of development?  What are some of the geopolitical challenges that Mingst and Karns identify that are related to development? To what extent do you agree with the way Mingst and Karns frame the idea of development?. Please share your responses with me via Google Docs by the end of the period. 

To what extent do individuals and societies benefit from development?

Introduction

This unit focuses on what development means, how it can be pursued and what may help or stand in the way of people, communities and countries becoming better off in a comprehensive sense. All of the skills you will practice and content you will encounter will be framed around the following question, to what extent do individuals and societies benefit from development?  As with all of our units, you will work to achieve a polyangular understanding of development from a variety of different material and experiences. 

Key Concepts
In this unit, you will come to understand, apply, and communicate your understanding of the following concepts and terms: development, globalization, inequality, sustainability. In addition, you will revisit the theoretical concepts of Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism, as you consider new theories of both capitalism and socialism. Finally, you should familiarize yourself with the following vocabulary: human development; poverty alleviation; Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs); UN Development Program (UNDP); Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); basic human needs; privatization; structural adjustment programs; balance of payments; weighted voting system; BRICS; UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCATD); World Trade Organization; trade preferences; economic liberalism; dependency theory; New International Economic Order (NIEO); terms of trade; debt reduction; sustainability; Global Compact.

Overview of Assessments
There are six assessments in this unit. The first five prompts are designed to give you an opportunity to make sense of the various experiences, readings, video, and other content you’ll encounter. Each prompt is aligned to specific learning targets which are reflective of the standards and benchmarks for the course. Put another way, the learning targets are a student-centered, student-friendly way of providing you with a objectives to work for in your coursework. The final prompt is a modeled after a Paper 2-type question that you will see on your IB Global Politics exam. Your response to this prompt will be assessed according to the IB Paper 2 Markbands. All of your written work will be formatively assessed using the SE2R method of narrative feedback. Please note that all of these assessments are formative; there will be no letter grades or percentages associated with your work. My goal is to provide you with the most detailed and explicit feedback on your ideas so that you may continue to develop your intellectual prowess in the study of world politics

Summary of Assessments

1. Introduction to  development; Contested meanings of development
1. Prompt: In what ways do Mingst and Karns define the concept of development?  What are some of the geopolitical challenges that Mingst and Karns identify that are related to development? To what extent do you agree with the way Mingst and Karns frame the idea of development?
1. Learning targets: You will practice using terms and concepts that are appropriate to the Social Sciences. You will practice using models of development (modernization, dependency theory, capitalism, socialism) to understand the various meanings of development in contemporary world politics. You will practice writing using an analytical style and voice. 
2. Debates surrounding development
1. Prompt: Choose one (1) article from Foreign Affairs (located in the bibliography). How does the author(s) frame the issue(s) in terms of a geopolitical challenge related to development. What solutions does the author(s) provide? To what extent do these seem reasonable?
1. Learning targets: You will practice using terms and concepts that are appropriate to the Social Sciences. You will practice using various models and theories of international relations (Levels of Analysis, Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism)  to explain a current event in world politics. You will practice writing using an analytical style and voice. You will practice documenting primary and secondary sources using APA format. 
3. Factors that may promote or inhibit development
1. Prompt: Compare and contrast the views of Collier and Wilkinson with respect to the divide between rich and poor around the world. What political solutions do they offer? To what extent do these seem reasonable?
1. Learning targets: You will practice using terms and concepts that are appropriate to the Social Sciences. You will practice using IB command terms to construct an analytical argument from two different sources. You will practice writing using an analytical style and voice. You will practice documenting primary and secondary sources using APA format. 
4. Pathways towards development
1. Prompt: How does Bhagwati frame the issue of growth in terms of a geopolitical challenge or conflict? What solutions does the Bhagwati provide? To what extent do these seem reasonable
1. Learning targets: You will practice using terms and concepts that are appropriate to the Social Sciences. You will draw upon your existing knowledge and skills to evaluate the claims made by a source. You will practice writing using an analytical style and voice. You will practice documenting primary and secondary sources using APA format. 
5. Debates surrounding development
1. Prompt: Evaluate the claims made by Naim  with respect to globalization. To what extent do you agree with his sentiments?
1. You will practice using terms and concepts that are appropriate to the Social Sciences. You will draw upon your existing knowledge and skills to evaluate the claims made by a source. You will practice writing using an analytical style and voice. You will practice documenting primary and secondary sources using APA format. 
6. Summation (Paper 2-type question)
1. Prompt: Discuss whether trade or aid is a more effective way of encouraging development
1. You will practice using terms and concepts that are appropriate to the Social Sciences. You will apply your knowledge and understanding of development towards constructing an analytical and evaluative argument of the prompt. You will practice writing using an analytical style and voice. You will practice documenting primary and secondary sources using APA format. 

Games and Simulations

Game	URL	Summary
Ayiti: The Cost of Life	http://ayiti.globalkids.org/game/	Ayiti challenges its players to manage a rural family of five in Haiti over four years.
Peace Corps Challenge: Microfinance	http://www.peacecorps.gov/kids/?challenge=3	Students simulate the experience of working in the fictional village of Wazuzu, focusing on the area of microfinance.
Foreign Direct Investment in Mandoa	http://www.pon.harvard.edu/shop/foreign-direct-investment-in-mandoa/	A facilitated multi-party negotiation among government officials regarding the design of a foreign direct investment strategy that balances economic, societal, and environmental concerns
Meridia and Petrocentram	http://www.pon.harvard.edu/shop/meridia-and-petrocentram/	Two-party, four-issue negotiation between representatives of a Central American country and an international petroleum corporation over the terms of an offshore drilling project

We will use class time to play and debrief each of these simulations and games throughout the unit of study. In all cases, games and simulations provide us with the opportunity to learn, apply, synthesize and communicate our understanding of the course material in a comprehensive and sophisticated fashion. 

Bibliography

1. Birdsall, N., Vaishnav, M., & Cutherell, D. (2012). Not so great expectations. Foreign Affairs, (August). Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138037/nancy-birdsall-milan-vaishnav-and-danny-cutherell/not-so-great-expectations 
2. Bollyky, T. J., & Bradford, A. (2013). Getting to yes on transatlantic trade. Foreign Affairs, (July). Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139569/thomas-j-bollyky-and-anu-bradford/getting-to-yes-on-transatlantic-trade 
3. Boyer, J. (2011). GEOG 1014: World Regions. Lecture presented at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/geog-1014-world-regions/id481684171 
4. Brant, P. (2013). Charity begins at home. Foreign Affairs, (October). Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140152/philippa-brant/charity-begins-at-home 
5. Council on Foreign Relations (Director). (2013, November 5). Why growth matters: How economic growth in India reduced poverty and the lessons for other developing countries [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org/india/why-growth-matters-economic-growth-india-reduced-poverty-lessons-other-developing-countries/p31789
6. Fernandez, J. W. (2013). Bridge to somewhere. Foreign Affairs, (November/December). Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140163/jose-w-fernandez/bridge-to-somewhere 
7. Mingst, K. A., & Karns, M. P. (2007). Economic development and sustainability. In The United Nations in the 21st century (pp. 178-216). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. (link)
8. Moss, T. (2012). Missing in Africa. Foreign Affairs, (October). Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138158/todd-moss/missing-in-africa 
9. Naim, M. (2009). Think again: Globalization. Foreign Policy. Retrieved from http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/02/16/think_again_globalization?page=full
10. Sharma, R. (2013). The rise of the rest of India. Foreign Affairs, (September/October). Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139646/ruchir-sharma/the-rise-of-the-rest-of-india 
11. TED (Director). (2008, May). Paul Collier: The "bottom billion" [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_collier_shares_4_ways_to_help_the_bottom_billion.html 
12. TED (Director). (2011, October). Richard Wilkinson: How economic inequality harms societies [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson.html 

Copyright
My work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please do not take anything from this publication without giving me proper credit or if you intend to re-use it for commercial purposes. The citation for this particular work is Gleek, C. (2013). Development (A companion to IB Global Politics) [Electronic]. When in doubt, please contact me for permission.

The banality of misery in Syria

data via BBC News

Just in case you were distracted by the developments between the P5+1 and Iran regarding the latest round of negotiated agreements on Iran’s nuclear program, two stories out today highlight the horrific situation in Syria & surrounding countries that shows almost no signs of improving. At the BBC reports; children are objects of attack, not simply secondary casualties of war. Over at The Atlantic, Su documents the equally impossible task facing UNHCR workers as they have to choose how to spend precious resources; give them to Syrian refugees or Sudanese refugees. Not the most pleasant of bedtime readings, but then again, kids in Syria and in regional refugee camps will have far less pleasant experiences this evening than this.

BBC News. (2013, November 24). Syria conflict: Children 'targeted by snipers' BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25055956

Su, A. (2013, November 24). How do you rank refugees? The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/11/how-do-you-rank-refugees/281771/

IB Glopo HL1 review

(with apologies for the shaky camera work.)

Thanks again for a great 1st term. Here’s our list of concepts, cases, resources, and prompts that we covered in IB Glopo HL1 over the past 12 weeks. Of course, all of this (and more) is documented on our blog. However, it was nice to see all of this aggregated on the board as a matter of simple reflection.

Have a wonderful break; Happy Hanukkah & have a great Thanksgiving!

Where IB Glopo 1 and 2 meet: UNAIDS urges end to gender-based violence in effort to reduce risk of HIV infection

UN News Centre. (2013, November 22). UNAIDS urges end to gender-based violence in effort to reduce risk of HIV infection. UN News Centre. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46558&Cr=HIV&Cr1=AIDS#.Uo98gZFZ7zd

Story out of the UN News Centre today which highlights the human rights and global public health challenges in addressing the nexus of gender based violence and HIV/AIDS. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe’ (pictured above) commented, “Women and girls have the right to live free of violence and inequities and to protect themselves against HIV.”

Legitimacy in World Politics

Lost Legitimacy. (2013, November 19). Foreign Affairs. Retrieved November 21, 2013, from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140274/ian-bremmer/lost-legitimacy?cid=rss-rss_xml-lost_legitimacy-000000

As always, the folks at Foreign Affairs come through with a thought provoking read that’s directly tied to our IB Glopo syllabus topics. Ian Bremmer’s essay (published today) is no different; he tackles the topic of legitimacy, something that is often overlooked when we focus our attention at more concrete challenges like public health or armed conflict. In IB Glopo, we understand legitimacy as, “a contested term providing the fundamental basis or rationale for all forms of governance. The most accepted contemporary form of legitimacy is some form of democracy or constitutionalism whereby the governed have a defined and periodical opportunity to choose who they wish to exercise power over them.” Please take the time to read Bremmer’s article (citation above) and then comment to this blog post on how you feel Bremmer addresses the concept of legitimacy. For myself, I find it interesting that so much of the debate around what constitutes legitimacy in democratic societies comes down to a fundamental push and pull between domestic political forces and the international environment; what Robert Putman coined as two level games (Putnam, R. D. (1988). Diplomacy and domestic politics: The logic of two-level games. International Organization, 42(03), 427-460. Retrieved from ttp://www.jstor.org/stable/2706785) In contrast, authoritarian societies generally only deal with questions of legitimacy from other actors external to their own societies, or those oppositional groups within the state who usually lack the power to do much about it. Bremmer is spot on with his pessimism regarding the future progress towards increase legitimacy around the globe when he writes, “political leaders around the world now face extraordinary pressures that will both increase their accountability and limit their room to maneuver.” What are your thoughts on this? Please take the time to read, think and reply over the Thanksgiving break.

IB Global Politics: End of Term Survey

In keeping with our practice of assessment, feedback, and student agency in IB Global Politics, as well as our moratorium on grades themselves, please take the time to complete the following survey. The due date for completion is no later than Friday, 22 November 2013. I will enter a grade of Incomplete in the grade book if you have not submitted your responses by the deadline. Please be sure that you tick the box marked "Send me a copy of my responses" at the bottom of the survey (before you hit "submit") so that you may maintain a record of your responses as well. Thanks.

O-MUN Security Council Registration for IB Global Politics

Sunday 1 December 2013 at 9.45am

Registration and Debate information can be found here.

Seats will go fast, so please register today or tomorrow if you are interested.

IB Global Politics: Academic conference call on Pandemic Preparedness with @CFR

‘morning folks,

THIS is the call we’ve been waiting for. Next week, we’ll have the opportunity to participate in another conference call from the Council on Foreign Relations. This time, the call will be chaired by the Peabody, Polk, and Pulitzer prize winning journalist Laurie Garrett. Dr. Garrett will be leading the discussion on a topic near and dear to all of our hearts; the geopolitics of pandemics. The call will occur from 12 to 1pm on Thursday, 21 November. In you are interested in attending this call (which would mean missing lunch &/or 5th period that day), please reply to this blog post and I will make the necessary arrangements for you. Regardless of whether you attend the call or not, please take the opportunity to read the following articles. Those of you wishing to submit a commentary for feedback should use the following prompt to frame your response, How does the Garrett frame the issue (or issues) in terms of a geopolitical challenge or conflict? What solutions does Garrett provide? To what extent do these seem reasonable?
1) Laurie Garrett, "Biology's Brave New World: The Promise and Perils of the Synbio Revolution," Foreign Affairs, November/December 2013.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140156/laurie-garrett/biologys-brave-new-world&cid=emc-ACC_Fall13_BCK-Garrett-FA_112113
2) Laurie Garrett, "Why MERS Virus is So Scary," CNN.com, May 31, 2013.
http://www.cfr.org/public-health-threats-and-pandemics/why-mers-virus-so-scary/p30810?cid=emc-ACC_Fall13_BCK-Garrett-MERS_112113
3) Laurie Garrett, "Why a Saudi Virus Is Spreading Alarm," Expert Briefing, CFR.org, May 29, 2013.
http://www.cfr.org/public-health-threats-and-pandemics/why-saudi-virus-spreading-alarm/p30799?cid=emc-ACC_Fall13_BCK-Garrett-Saudi_112113
4) Laurie Garrett, "The Big One?," Foreign Policy, April 24, 2013.
http://www.cfr.org/china/big-one/p30547?cid=emc-ACC_Fall13_BCK-Garrett-theBIGone_112113
As always, thanks to the folks at the Council on Foreign Relations and @CFRAcademic for helping to support our participation in this project. 

Mapping Preventable Outbreaks via @CFR

I completely forgot to show this in class after we played Pandemic. I wanted to put this up for discussion as we debriefed on the game in order to highlight the similarities between what you experienced in the game and the map of preventable outbreaks around the world. Please click on the map tab on the upper-left hand side of the interactive below and play around with the data. Of course,  you could also use this data as you seek to craft your response to your Paper 2-type question, Discuss how the threat of disease is both a local and global concern 

IB Glopo Paper 2-type Question: Global Public Health

Today, Year 1 folks and I will begin tackling our first Paper-2 type question. We’ll use class time over the next week and a half, as well as any time outside that we deem fit, to: critically appraise the question, consider approaches to answering the question, pool information from material we have covered in class, investigate new information if necessary, outline responses to the prompt, draft and revise the responses, submit them for feedback, and then debrief on our work in light of the Paper 2 markbands. Given that we have more than 7 hours to do this, we should be all set to finish these around the 21st or 22nd of November. Our prompt is below

Discuss how the threat of disease is both a local and global concern

As we work together in class, please consider the following questions below. As teams, please craft your responses to each of these questions and post them as replies to this blog post:

1. In what ways can I answer the prompt?
2. What concepts need to be defined?
3. What information/data/evidence/experience can I draw upon?
4. How could I structure my response?
5. What tools can I use to articulate or amplify my claims?

Once we've finished with this exercise, you'll want to look at both the Assessment Objectives and Markbands for the question. Use these as a frame of reference as you seek to organize the material you provided to the questions above. 

Finally, please be sure that you are (a) crafting your response to the prompt in Google Drive and (b) sharing this document with me. I'd like to have all of your responses by Friday the 22nd of November. However, since term grades are due on 3 December (a monumental day for birthdays in the history of music as well as the study of world politics at prep schools in South Florida), you can take an additional day or two of your break to finalize your responses. As always, I'll provide feedback to all of you who share responses with me. 

Assessment Objectives

• (AO1) I will demonstrate my knowledge and understanding of global public health within the context of what I have learned in the Power, Sovereignty, and International Relations unit. 
• (AO2) I will apply my knowledge and understanding of the subject matter in an analytical fashion. 
• (AO3) I will synthesize different material and evaluate information and evidence from different perspectives towards addressing the prompt.
• (AO4) I will select, use and apply a variety of the skills and techniques I have learned such as APA format for my sources or Levels of Analysis towards addressing the prompt. 

Markbands

Marks	Level Descriptor
0	The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
1-5	The response reveals limited understanding of the demands of the question. The response is poorly structured, or where there is a recognizable essay structure there is minimal focus on the task. There is little relevant knowledge, and examples are either lacking or not relevant. The response is mostly descriptive.
6-10	The response indicates some understanding of the demands of the question. There is some evidence of an attempt to structure the response. Some relevant knowledge is present, and some examples are mentioned but they are not developed or their relevance to arguments is not clear. The response demonstrates limited understanding of fundamental political concepts and approaches. There is limited justification of main points. Counterclaims are not considered.
11-15	The demands of the question are understood and mostly addressed but the implications are not considered. There is a clear attempt to structure the response. The response is mostly based on relevant and accurate knowledge of global politics, and relevant examples are given and support arguments. The response demonstrates some understanding of fundamental political concepts and approaches. Many of the main points are justified and arguments are largely coherent. Some counterclaims are considered.
16-20	The demands of the questions are understood and addressed, and most implications are considered. The response is well-structured. The response demonstrates relevant and accurate knowledge and understanding of global politics, and relevant examples are used in a way that strengthens arguments. The response demonstrates a good grasp of fundamental political concepts and approaches. All or nearly all of the main points are justified and arguments are coherent. Counterclaims are explored.
21-25	A very well structured and balanced response that addresses the demands and implications of the question. Comprehensive knowledge and in-depth understanding of global politics is applied in the response consistently and effectively, with examples integrated. The response demonstrates a very good grasp of fundamental political concepts and approaches. All of the main points are justified. Arguments are clear, coherent and compelling. Counterclaims are explored and evaluated.

O-MUN (Online Model United Nations)

One of the challenges we face as a group of students & faculty that are interested world politics is that we’re often strapped for time or otherwise pulled in different directions. What we want is to be able to participate in meaningful simulations that reflect all of the efforts of our research, but not be stuck in airports, on busses, or otherwise trapped in stuffy conference rooms. What’s the solution? O-MUN of course. O-MUN is a THUMUN partner organization who’s mission is to connect students from around the world towards meaningful collaboration and debate around the most substantive geopolitical issues of the day. Take a moment and watch this brief introductory video:

video courtesy of O-MUN

As you can see, O-MUN offers the Glopo folks here at NBPS a real opportunity to do the sort of work we want to do without having to compromise our already, often hectic, travel and extracurricular schedules. This is the point in the post where you should have already Googled “O-MUN”; allow me to provide the link for you again here: O-MUN Homepage. What you’ll find is a comprehensive set of resources for MUN research, as well as region-specific pages that articulate monthly debates on key topics in world politics: O-MUN Americas and Europe Homepage; O-MUN Americas & Europe Facebook Group; O-MUN Global Debate; O-MUN Security Council; O-MUN International Court of Justice; and more. What does an O-MUN debate look/sound like? I’m glad you asked; here’s the next demo video below:


video courtesy of O-MUN

O-MUN provides us with a forum for us to test our knowledge, claims, and skills alongside colleagues from around the world. There’s probably no other venue where we can link all of the IB Glopo syllabus topics into a single set of simulations. Participation in O-MUN can also serve as a vehicle for completing the IB Global Politics Internal Assessment (Political Engagement Activity). What are our next steps? Well first, anyone who is interested needs to complete their O-MUN Registration. Afterwards, we can start planning our coursework our time outside of class with respect to the monthly debates. As we wrap up our work in Human Rights (Year 2 folks) and a portion of the PSIR unit (Year 1 folks), many of you would be well served to think about how you can incorporate O-MUN into our studies. We can chat more about this in class in the next few days and weeks.

Upcoming O-MUN Topics

• 28 December 2013: Increasing Women's Political Participation in Peacemaking
• Register for O-MUN here
• Signup for this debate here
• 5 January 2014: TBD (UN Security Council)
• 11 January 2014: Improving information and communication technologies for sustainable development (UN General Assembly)
• I strongly encourage all HL2 students to participate in this. 
• 2 March 2014: TBD (UN Security Council)
• 8 March 2014: TBD (UN General Assembly)
• 6 April 2014: TBD (UN Security Council)
• 12 April 2014: TBD (UN General Assembly)
• 4 May 2014: TBD (UN Security Council)
• 10 May 2014: TBD (UN General Assembly)

Simulations and World Politics: Preah Vihear Temple

Image via BBC World News

A case that encapsulates all facets of world politics: state sovereignty, interstate war, the peaceful settlement of disputes, international rules, international organizations, and more. The BBC reports that the International Court of Justice will provide a ruling on the long-disputed territory surrounding the Preah Vihear temple which straddles the border of both Cambodia and Thailand. What makes this case so interesting is the the good folks at the ICONS project at the University of Maryland have constructed a simulation on this very topic. Personally, I would love to play this (we have to purchase access to this, however) in both IB Global Politics classes. Now that I have more time....maybe we can talk about this in class this week and set up some time once we finish with our current projects.

IB Glopo HL2 continues with their case study of Syria

Image courtesy of Frontline/PBS

As we continue with your HL extension tasks on refugees and IDPs from Syria, we’ll take the opportunity to look at Frontline’s most recent documentation, Syria: Behind the Lines. The documentary aside, the web page has a ton of resources on the conflict. The interactive map,A Valley of War, is particularly...well, amazing. I’d also like to spend some time looking at this during the week as well. This documentary will also serve as a great prelude for playing Endgame: Syria (more on this to come later)

Polio in the news again @NPR

image via NPR News

Polio In The Middle East And Africa Could Threaten Europe

More news out of Syria (and elsewhere); more cases of polio are being confirmed. As Beaubin’s article also mentions, the emergence of polio in the Middle East and Africa can have larger geopolitical consequences as much of Europe because of the type of vaccine Europeans have used to quell the disease. Given the increased migration of individuals from places like Syria and Somalia outside of their own borders, once can easily see how polio could once again become a global health concern.

Speaking of global health concerns, please peruse the Global Health section of NPR’s website. There’s lots of good coverage of polio, cholera, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and more that you can use to bolster your knowledge in this area of world politics.

Tracking changes in girls' education

Gender inequality: Making room for girls | The Economist

A great chart and article from The Economist, describing changes (mostly improvement) in educational enrollment rates for girls at the primary, secondary, and tertiary (college and university). The article above, along with this companion, provide a balanced picture as to the state of gender inequality in education as it pertains to development and human rights. Unfortunately, neither article provides direct links to UN data or reports. Nevertheless, reading either or both articles should get your neurons firing.

Please feel free to engage in a See (what do you see?) - Think (what do you think about what you see?) - Wonder (what does this make you wonder?) routine on the chart above. Reply to this post with your ideas. 

Geography "Traps"

(start at 43.40...or watch the whole thing)

We had a great introductory discussion today as a part of our introduction to the geopolitics of malaria. One of the extensions of this discussion focused on how geography can frame or limit a state's or a society's realities as they relate to global public health. For those of you who are interested, please feel free to peruse any and all of the following resources. Both Diamond (1998) and Hausmann (2001) offer some great perspectives on the challenges that face governments in sub-Saharan Africa-enjoy. 

References

Diamond, J. M. (1998). Guns, germs, and steel: The fates of human societies. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co. (*pdf) Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3

Hausmann, R. (2001). Prisoners of geography. Foreign Policy, january. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2001/01/01/prisoners_of_geography?page=full 

The geopolitical challenge of malaria

Today IB Glopo Year 1 embarks on our final case study in Global Public Health; that of malaria. One half of the world's population, over 3 billion people, are at risk of contracting malaria; well over 200 million individuals contracted the disease in 2010, with over 600,000 deaths (WHO). And yet, the challenge of treating the disease is not simply one of medicine; its politics, financing, development, geography, culture, and more. As a result, the study of malaria as a geopolitical challenge is an appropriate capstone to our course of study.

We'll begin by watching Bill Gates' keynote on the subject. This will be followed by teams of students navigating a webquest on malaria. Please note that you'll need a hard copy of this reporting sheet to document your data and as a frame of reference for further analysis. We'll then play Malaria in Wazuzu as a vehicle to understand the complexities of treating malaria in a developing country. Finally, we'll have the chance to see some solutions to malaria in action. Of course, we'll debrief regularly throughout the process; this means that we should plan on at least a a week or so to work through all of this material. The complete plan for this lesson can be found here; be sure that you add this to your files as well.