THE SECOND WORLD BY: MEGAN BEDFORD

RUSSIA

The once great and mighty Soviet Union has been greatly damaged by the Cold War.

The struggle of power dominance between the West and China fights for Russian alliances.

As Chinese immigrants are rushing into Russia’s depopulated far east, only 7 million Russians remain in the area. A massive demographic imbalance of extremely populated China versus the scarce Russian race in the east.

This has influenced greater bonds between China and Russia. China is developing the region in ways that Russians never have. This is a threat for the Russians to have the Chinese occupying their land.

Will this lead to a smaller Russia and a larger China?

COLOMBIA

The war on drugs in Colombia and South America has been going on for years.

The United States sponsored, Plan Colombia has pushed the militant-communist Revolutionary armed forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas toward the borers of all the surrounding countries, creating a larger problem, and not stopping the drug production.

Colombia is the source of mostly all of the cocaine and half the heroin sold in the United States.

MONROE DOCTRINE

The Monroe Doctrine states that America will prevent any foreign power from influencing Latin America, and will intervene at will to protect its interests, and manipulate each nation’s economic affairs.

Venezuela had a rejection of American regional dominance.

Colombia had friendly relations with the United States, built on common economic and security interests.

Brazil had selective cooperation with America

IRAQ

After World War II, Iraq would not have been it’s own country if Arabs would have been making the map. The region was doomed for controversy before it became a country.

As Parag Khanna suggests, America might feel that the country is better off by getting rid of Saddam Hussein, did America really have the power to judge this?

Parag Khanna feels that the end of Iraq is a positive thing, especially for the abused Kurds.

AMERICAN EMPIRE

All great empires eventually fall. For example, Rome, defeated by it’s barbarians and sacked.

Is America on the road to failure?Problems with the American Empire: dependency on foreign financing America ranks near the bottom on

OECD in average worker income and income inequality.

There is becoming a bigger gap between the super rich and the middle class.

Will America last for centuries to come?