Gender Roles: Does such a thing exist?

There are some things i have been wondering for quite some time now: each individual is born into two very specific genders so are their role in life clearly defined? does each gender follow a specific and rigid role based on peoples expectations? if so how does it all originates? its still puzzling to me. During my time learning in history classes it stunned me that civilizations from various cultures in ages past seem to have a universal role when it comes to gender where you see woman taking up arms in ancient Greece and man raising their children in some African cultures i have read about. But it seems to me that modern society in general seems to assign specific roles in regards to gender and they have to follow a strict code of conduct that fits the category of a masculine man and a feminine female. Sometimes i just find it funny and amusing when people disregard people based on gender i have heard of really unnecessary taunts of things like the following "youre a woman! , you should wear skirts and behave like a woman" or things more disrespectful as: "youre a man so man up! stop acting so soft like a sissy". Im sure some of you heard it or experienced it before. So what do i think in all of this? personally i find these kind of roles stupid. I believe that individuals should be privileged enough to develop their own personalities and means of expressing their selves, just because they don't fit in in the modern and accepted roles of gender does that mean they are any less than us? It is my belief that traits associated with gender should be questioned because i don't think it ever benefited us as a society in any way either than promote gender discrimination.

I can still process the fact that certain jobs are associated by masculine attributes while some are associated with more feminine qualities and each sexes are assigned different roles and may not deviate from it. Where does it all come from? in one of my sociology classes i was taught the notion of social stratification where society gives roles to groups of people in order for a society to function properly an easy example would be we cant all be managers since we need workers for a company to function. I can understand that if these were occupations since competition exists where one could be socially mobile in the structures of society some come out in top while others don't some have privileged some simply don't (one of life's great irony's). But i don't believe if these things apply to gender! people should be judged by their abilities not by their gender. People use to believe that women cant be leaders but we all know the inspiring heroic stories of joan of arc a female general who led France in the battle with England, Queen Elisabeth who made the British empire one of the greatest in the world and queen Hatsheput in Egypt a very successful ruler of ancient Egypt and the fact that men's role is not in the kitchen but now we see that most of the successful chefs are male. So is there any reason for things like gender role to exist?

People regardless of gender should be allowed to pick roles function in society it should be a matter of competence instead of the fact that you're either male or female for me those kind of views are really outdated and misleading and i think society as a whole will function more properly if people were more judged by their skills and competence its funny to think that even in the modern world peoples liberty to self determine themselves are limited to an age old belief that some jobs are exclusively male and some jobs are exclusively female. So i still wonder to this day human tends to view each other in terms of what particular group an individual belong in whether based on gender, religion, race, skin color, political affiliations, sexuality etc instead of highlighting the facts that were all still human. These kind of broad division will only create economic strife and resentment so why bother having them in the first place?

religious or ridiculous?

humans beings are creatures which will not falter until they find the truth, it is always in their nature to be curious, questions after questions in decades past always emerged always questioning their very existence or what role do we humans play in this diverse universe. How do we mere humans come to exist in the first place? everything must always have a beginning it is even stated in rational science that "matter could not exist without a catalyst" that leads many of us to conclude that there "is" a divine power at work, a force with unimaginable power orchestrating the vast universe composing everything in perfect harmony we see before our very eyes.. How could any rationale mind stare at the heavens the star, moon and the sun without believing that there is a greater power at work? 

This greater power has always humbled and awes humankind for many millenia that's why we have worshiped this divine being for ages. but.. is because of fear? or simply because humans has always subdue themselves willingly to a higher power according to hobbesian philosophy? how do we come to worship this divine being in the first place? this questions still plagued my mind up till today. It comes  in many and different names Yahweh, Allah, Jehovah, Deva, Buddha etc.. or generally known by many as "god" it seems that various cultures in this world has various interpretations of this divine being, a metaphor i would describe for this phenomenon would be a person viewing through a kaleidoscope that could see different variations of luminescent colors that's how i perceive how human society perceives god. Which leads one such as myself to argue, is religion really the only means to understand our creator is it just a cultural thing? many cultures were shaped based on our interpretations of their god but all share the same similar qualities 

i consider myself a believer in a higher power, but i don't believe in religion in general since i believe it to be corrupt, man made and manipulated by power hungry war mongers  who blatantly say that they have the answer to your salvation  in the afterlife. I have no intentions of bashing those with believes different than my own or nor do i have the intention of forcing you to see through my eyes. I wouldn't consider myself a religious individual in fact some would say im so far from it, although i was born Muslim born from very moderate parents i still have many questions left unanswered to make me embrace this notion of religion of all faiths in general. Fighting over the notion of "who has the right god" is as nonsense as two people fighting over their favorite flavor of ice cream for me to sum it up "why bother?". I heard this really good metaphor once that god is a destination we wanted to reach and people are riding several vehicles trying to get to the same destination. Some ride cars, boats, planes train or bicycles different methods but all with the same goal: to reach that one particular place

I believe based on experiences and all the people i affiliated myself with that in general all religions share the same common values of compassion towards others, humility, non confrontational and helping those less fortunate so i dont believe in such a thing as a bad religion just really sick and twisted people who uses religion as a tool to justify his barbaric actions against fellow human beings. You cant deny the bloody atrocities done by the so -called "religious individuals" in past and present and the blood count is still piling up.

Devotees of various religions follow their respective religious scripture and i  highlight the fact that we interpret those ideas in our own respective ways based on their level of intelligence. So how come one claim that their way is the right way? makes no sense to me whatsoever. So you decide bad religion or bad people? religious or just plain ridiculous?

These are "MY" posts now!!

the class ive taken is over! now i will try to put this blog into new use.. the possibilities are endless il try to write something in this blog here.. seems such a waste just to neglect it:(

Final Reflection On Project Web

Project Web is one of the most innovative ways in teaching language in general. Due to the nature of the internet, the writer is exposed to audiences world wide and gives people a whole new opportunity to establish networks and connections. Technology nowadays is the most efficient and fastest way to share information, and by exposing this kind of technology to students in general it allows students to fully adjust themselves to the dynamics of new age information technology.
Project web for this class has been a exciting opportunity to take the notion of writing to a whole new level! it exposes us to a wide array of audiences outside the classroom and engages people directly with our own ideas and writings. Overall this project is one of the most up to date and unique ways in teaching languages, it encourages students to write in a fun way and i do believe the key of mastering something is either by loving it or try to learn it in a fun way and project web proves this notion as a whole

Personal Reflection On The Class

English 114 B has been one of the most busiest class i had to go through during all my time in CSUN and that's coming from someone who has to cope with papers everyday due to his major! (like me). Imagine the horrors of having to read an entire science fiction book and make summaries all through winter break! Thank you sincerely Sean for that head splitting headache you provided the class with during winter break.. But overall this class has been a great learning opportunity and a fun class to participate in, given that Sean isn't your'e average lecturer who always manages to create unique and revolutionary projects for the class to participate in which involves video games, blogs and a thick science fiction novel (the nerve..) As someone who's native language is not English i will gladly admit that this class has improved my writing skills and overall knowledge of the English language exponentially! Sean has managed to make his students better critical thinkers and better writers as a whole, im sure it will benefit me in the long run as I continue to pursue our higher education here at CSUN.

Among all the impressions Sean has given in class, he strikes me as one of the most patient and tolerable lecturer i have ever met! he always manages to tolerate numerous procrastination from his students and always gives us generous time extension for us to submit our project! (not that i'm complaining). Despite all this he really has high expectations for his students which is a motivation for his students on itself or at least for me. Overall the whole semester has been a challenging and engaging experience which pushes me to better myself further in being able to compete with my other classmates. Originality, time management, writing skills and creativity are the many traits this class has taught me. This class has made me realize that I still have a lot to learn and there's definitely  room for improvement but i can guarantee that my time in English 114 B is one of my most memorable classes i had taken at CSUN. And off course i have high expectations for my grades for this class given that this is one of my favorite:)

Project Space Final

The game that i chose for the fulfillment of project space will be Final Fantasy 13 which falls under the genre of RPG's although the game also exists in the Xbox 360 console, the one i played was the version for PlayStation 3. Among the many reasons i chose to talk about this game is the fact that this game has managed to fascinate me in terms of spectacular visual graphics, amazing and complex story line, long hours of game play, character depth and best of all strategic battle like many other RPG genre's. The Final Fantasy series is well known for having a large dedicated fans around the globe ever since its release, the Japanese game developer Squaresoft has really captured the hearts of many avid RPG fans and many first timers all around the world through this hugely successful sequels with each game having a totally different gameplay, characters and worlds. For those unfamiliar with the RPG genre RPG'S in general uses the third person control as you control the main protagonist of the game in interacting with the world around her so the player feels as though they have a certain degree of freedom in exploring the world within the video game itself. Overall RPG's gaming experience is characterized by how gamer's are absorbed into the video game itself

The story of this game revolves around a floating world suspended in the skies called Cacoon which itself was built by a god like beings called the Fal'cie which provided a safe haven for all its inhabitants from a dangerous and mysterious world bellow called Pulse. Both Cacoon and Pulse itself is managed by their own respective Fal'cies. The people of Cacoon live in constant fear of Pulse and the inhabitants of the world bellow and due to this epidemic paranoia the central government ordered to expel any Cacoon residents out of Cacoon to pulse whenever they ares suspected to have any direct or indirect contact with anything living o an object from pulse this policy is called the Purge. The Falci'e itself from both worlds are in constant  conflict with one another since they cannot interfere in the mortal world directly they brand random people to be their unwilling servants in their war with one another called La'cie these people have a choice of either fulfilling their mission which will turn them into crystal of eternal sleep or loose their mind and become zombie like creatures called Cieth if they were to fail or disobey within the time limit given for specific tasks its an unfair die or die situation. The protagonist of this game is a female soldier/ agent called Lightning and her comrades all citizens of cacoons journey to fulfill the task given to them unwillingly by the Pulse Lac'ie before they turn into Cieth and a battle against the central government of cacoon who wishes to anihalate her and her comrades for being contaminated by a being from Pulse. The story could be summed up as these protagonists struggle for hope against all odds to live. I would describe the story as a mixture of melodramatic story telling with an epic plot some characters have memorable personalities and some could be downright annoying in terms of attitude and the characters voice overs but overall i liked the how the developer develops each character with a distinct and personality within the game and how they all play a role for this story to reach its climax.

Playing RPG's overall would be considered a time consuming experience since you have to spend most of the time in front of the tv set so playing these games will in many cases take a great degree of your time. since RPG's in general focus of the game lies on the story line and overall plot you really need a certain degree of concentration when playing this game so a room where you wont be disturbed is advisable. In regards to consoles you need either a Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3 and a HD television too really appreciate the stunning visual graphics the developer made for this game. The experience itself could be described as visually mesmerizing as you are quickly absorbed to the stunning graphics and a fast paced story. Personally one could spend hours just by playing this game because like most great RPG's the moment you begin playing, you'l find it very hard to stop hence the time consuming issue, youl be anxious to find out how the story will progress and how will it reach its climax. So once again it is recommended to play RPG's if you have a significant amount of free time or risk being to absorbed into the game to worry about anything else.

This particular game uses a lot of space manipulations in terms how the character progressed through their world. Although this game gives the gamer a sense of freedom to explore the world the game can be felt as somewhat linear whereas your suppose to play the game and progress through the world in a certain way in order to beat the game. The world seems so open and plains and cities looks vast and explorable however on the contrary your movement is really limited and you can only interact with the world in a sense if going to and exploring a particular space is needed in order to progress through the story. Another important limitations to the game is also the fact that some places are not accessible although visually there as you made your way through the game for example entering houses when in cities or exploring mountains although its there on the map, i would describe this kind of gaming program as controlled freedom since it looks as though the game developers tends to focus more on the story line and the amazing graphics than the map exploring aspect of the game. Another spatial aspect of this game would be the interaction with people, treasure chests and items within the map where actions can be triggered only if you pressed the x button so basically if there are no action commands although the item is there on the map you cant do nothing to interact with that particular object.

 

Another important aspect to be discussed in terms of space is the enemy encounter or boss battles whereas in battles seem to follow a specific pattern within this game where actions is limited to specific commands and actions that a character can use such as melee attacking, long range magic and summoning creatures to battle with the main protagonist, defensive abilities and character aiding abilities where your suppose to pick as the battles progresses the enemy will still continue to attack even though your initiating your actions so picking the right tactic and battle strategy for each battle is essential for beating the game, this will require gamers to try a combination of tactics which works well for particular enemies so there is a deep strategical battle within this game which gamers are required to master. Enemy battles are done by approaching an  enemy and making contact with it where players will imidiately transferred into a different screen shot reserved exclusively for battles, the battle will take place in that specific map although the area that your'e allowed to travel will be only that particular area or limited amount of space even though visually the characters looks as though their battling freely within the map but apparently that's not the case. This will make many gamers feel that the battle scenes are a bit monotonous and very predictable with no specific degrees of variations either than tactical manipulation compared to other games where one engages the enemy directly.

The obstacles you will face as you progressed through this game is the numerous amounts of enemies that your'e going to encounter as you progressed throughout the game and particular maps. As the story progresses the enemies that your'e likely to encounter gets stronger so it is up to the players to train and level the characters by frequently encountering enemies in order to level up characters allowing them to have new and better skills and better battle statistics. Boss encounters will force you to level up before battling them in order to win since boss battle can last for hours without the right strategy so in order for people to beat the game the obstacle lies in the fact that players must spend hours and hours in particular maps in order to level up and get stronger in order to beat the boss of that particular map in order for the story to progress.  Overall there's no big difference between normal enemy encounters and boss battles where the aspect of space is concerned just the same battle scene with various commands and a claustrophobic sense of battling limited only to a certain space. Another specific feature of this game is that you also need to equip your characters with the right combination of armor and weapons in order to battle efficiently.

Overall playing Final Fantasy 13 has been an amazing experience since i consider myself a fan of the final fantasy series and was dying to get the PlayStation 3 ever since its release and i was left satisfied. Although fans protested in the linearity of the map exploration and storyline compared to the previous Final Fantasy's calling it as only good eye candy i would have to disagree. The developer SquareSoft has proven again and again that it is always original and continuously experiment on new things making all the sequels alive you can always expect something new when playing new final fantasy games as i played some of the previous sequels from ps, ps2 and now ps3. If your'e looking for a stunning RPG experience or like to learn more about this particular genre Final Fantasy for me comes highly recommended. The sheer complexity and details put into this game is like no other western based games i have played before and that itself what makes Japanese RPG's a world wide phenomenon with such a huge fan base. Im also astounded by the orchestral music that the developers put in various battles and map progression its like no other game i had played before! Im not much of a gamer but Final Fantasy always manages to capture my heart im always looking forward what squaresoft has in store next. RPG's indeed has the ability to absorb gamer's into their world by following a certain plot as though interacting with the game world itself

Heres the opening trailler for Final Fantasy 13

Project Text Finished Paper

Dwinda Adrianto

ENGL 114 B

Sean Pessin

04/22/2012

                                    Power Politics:  A Predetermined Perseverance

            The notion of power has always been around since the early19^th century, Charles Darwin defined power as the basic notion that believes survival of the fittest is the principal virtue that will ultimately ensure individual or group survival solely based in the principal of natural selection. It justifies the realist argument that “the strong shall devour the weak” as a natural order which governs our universe. In the field of International relations, power falls into two distinct categories: Soft Power and Hard Power, whereas soft power believes that principle strength derives from an individual or a group’s ability to influence others and hard power derives from an individual or groups ability to coerce or dictate others to behave accordingly by establishing a rigid hierarchy (Kegley 36). This notion of power plays a dominant role throughout the Foundation series, throughout the series the Author Isaac Asimov seems to focus solely on how the Foundation managed to survive among hostile neighbors despite having limited military capabilities. This paper will focus on the earliest stages of the Foundation establishment which allowed it to navigate through various crisis along the book, it is an undeniable fact that the Foundations dominance and influence is a direct result of the effectively early exercise of its soft and hard power Overall the Foundations survival is heavily attributed by its effective manipulation of soft and hard power

The Foundation series that falls under the science fiction genre illustrates many deep political aspects that are relevant in actual life especially in the fields of international relations which explain specifically on how a state dominates the hostile environment within the international level. The book proposes the notion that military power is not the only means to become a dominant player in the galaxy but also through the effective combination of leadership, technological innovation and establishing a dominant influence. The foundation’s survival against all odds is a result of the foundation's ability to effectively maneuver through its barbaric surroundings by establishing a dominant presence within its periphery.

            The story revolves around the Galactic Empire and a prediction made by a man called Hari Seldon with a background of psychohistory which predicted the inevitable fall of the Empire. Seldons views were viewed as a severe offence and nonsensical by the empire’s administrators which resulted on his immediate exile along with all of his followers to a far and desolate planet in the far fringes of the galaxy called Terminus. Here Seldon wishes to establish a scientific haven in order to preserve humanity's achievement if the galaxy were to fall in a period of barbarism after the empire's fall. From there on the plot revolves around how does the foundation managed to survive while it is surrounded by hostile natives which hopes to exploit and conquer the foundation itself. Through the effective combination of technological supremacy and effective diplomacy the Foundation quickly become one of the most influentially powerful planets within the periphery rivaling that of the declining Galactic Empire itself. The Foundation Series compromise out of three books: The Foundation, Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation. The first book focuses on how the foundation was established and how it became a dominant power within its periphery, the Foundation and Empire focuses on the war between the foundation and remnants of the Galactic Empire before being destroyed by a mind controlling creature called “the mule”, the Second Foundation focuses on the foundation’s success in catching the mule off guard and telepathically altered his psyche and the search for the second foundation located in Trantor. This paper will break down the role of power throughout the three foundation series book which will be done by sections.

The deep political aspect is always relevant as the book progresses. It describes the aspects of applied soft power and hard power possessed by the foundation in which ensures its survival. Firstly, through the analysis of soft power the book relates on how other planets depended on the foundation's technological innovation for survival and how the Foundation managed to establish a religious order centered within Foundation. The hard power aspect would be the foundation's possession of atomic energy which other planet feared as being atomic weapons. The Effective manipulation of these two aspects of power ultimately led the Foundation to become a dominant and influential player among its hostile neighbors. Another political aspect which could be discussed would be the role of the central government in shaping the foundations policy which relates to external threat, where a constant conflict between a more pacifist government and a more assertive government within the foundation is always prevalent. The pacifists were people who believed that conflict should be the last measure in dealing with external threat while the hardliners believed that the Foundation should strengthen its military capabilities to deter possible aggressions. However as it turns out the pacifist under the mayor Salvor Hardin were the one who took control calling for other means either than war to deter possible aggressors, this illustrates the idea that force is not the only possible option to survive from external threats. This correlates with true events on what we see happening in our own world and judging by the overall aspect dominant throughout this book, Isaac Asimov must be inspired by actual events the events on which the author draws its inspiration. The story's overall suspense for me at least lies in the events unfolding when the foundation faces would be aggressors and then later on deterring them "peacefully". Overall this book has an overall plot where many readers will find overwhelming with information, too fast paced and a sense of neglect in the areas of character development. One would assume upon reading the book that the characters the author made for this book only compliments the overall plot, and generally speaking it is likely that the plot itself is the story and the primary focus given the less amount of  time the author gave in describing and developing some of the numerous characters in the book

            First, we shall analyze the first book and how does power politics of play through the foundations effective use of diplomacy. During the period when Terminus have just been settled down by researchers whose sole aim is to finish the Encyclopedia Galactica, the founders soon finds that the planet is scarce of steel and aluminum and their primary supply comes from the empire itself which is considered too far away while its sole survival is determined by a kingdom called Anacreon which has the agenda to dominate Terminus itself. The foundation is divided into two different factions first one calls for a more pacifist approach towards aggressors by relying on the Empire for its protection while it focuses solely on the completion of the Encyclopedia Galactica this faction is led by Lewis Pirenne and the other faction calling for the complete independence from the empire led by Salvor Hardin. It is inevitable that the foundation will have to rely on the Anacreon for protection and resources since the empire seems uninterested on providing safety for the foundation from outside aggressors. However Anacreon wanted compensation in exchange for ensuring the foundations protection among them being allowing Anacreon to establish military bases in Terminus itself which doesn’t sit very well with the faction that focuses solely in the development of the encyclopedia. Hardin, thanks to his skillful diplomacy at first deters Anacreon military base intentions by announcing that the foundation is in possession of atomic energy which Anacreon has none of therefore intimidating Anacreon by the possibility of the Foundation possessing advanced weaponry this is seen by the look of surprise of Anselm Haut Rodric an envoy of the Anacreonian kingdom when Hardin mentioned of the Foundations possession of atomic power.

            One could analyze this aspect of power by using the realist notion of “Hard Power” which defines power derives from the capability to intimidate others (Viotti 15). This notion can be observed in the field of international relations which defines the relationship between two or more states based on distrust and suspicion. If related with the issue we see in regards to the relationship between the Foundation and Anacreon, it is clear that Anacreon fears the possibility of Terminus possessing atomic energy which will not rule out the possibility that the Foundation is also in possession of atomic weapons and being able to us it at its disposal. What added to the fear of the Anacreonian is that its own lack of similar power for its disposal, so in order for Anacreon to annex Terminus as its territory it must be really careful or risk possible destruction in the hands of atomic weapons. If we were to relate this phenomena with actual events which justifies the validity of the hard power theory we can clearly observe in such cases where countries who possesses atomic energy tend to have the capabilities to develop atomic weapons tends to arouse fear of its neighbors and tends to be treated carefully if they potentially posses such capabilities this. Through this witty remark made by mayor Salvor Hardin, it successfully asserted diplomatically that the Foundation is a force to be reckoned with and will demand respect. Through the combination of the effective use of diplomacy which is considered soft power and the use of coercive intimidation which falls under the hard power category Terminus ensured its survival as it goes through the first Seldon Crisis one could not argue that a perfect combination of the foundations Soft Power and hard power ultimately ensures its survival and independence from a foreign power in this case the Anacreonians.

Through the effective use of discreet intimidation masked as the willingness of the Foundation to agree with Anacreonian proposal on establishing a military base within the foundation in exchange for protection and resources, Mayor Hardin succeeded in stalling the inevitable invasion of Anacreonian forces in Terminus. Mayor Hardin perceived that cooperating with Anacreon is the only feasible alternative because due to the Galactic Empire’s reluctance to help protect the Foundation from possible aggressors and the Foundation’s relative isolation from other parts of the empire, mayor Hardin also knew that the best way to avoid direct confrontation with Anacreon is to pretend to cooperate with Anacreon and simultaneously reaping the benefits of Anacreon providing for the Foundation’s security and providing them with steel and aluminum. There’s no arguing that mayor Hardin is well versed in the field of politics, and his ideas itself is not exclusively exists in this particular science fiction series, Sun Tzu an ancient Chinese war strategist mentioned “For  to win one  hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill”, therefore one must not solely rely on direct confrontation with the enemy in order to win however being able to win battle through the effective use of strategy is of the extreme excellence.

It is an undeniable fact that when the foundation is still at its weakest diplomacy plays an important role in ensuring the Foundations survival.     Diplomacy can be defined as the art and practice of negotiations between different nations or the skill of handling affairs without hostility (Nau 7).  There are many aspects in soft power but for this case example soft power is distinguished as “smart power” which can be defined as a nation’s leadership capabilities in conducting diplomacy without the excessive use of force (Nye). A correlation with the effective use of soft power would be if it were not for Hardin’s policy in not resorting to force to expel the Anacreonians, the Foundation will find itself destroyed because it has no means for direct conflict with the Anacreonians at that time so Hardin bought time for the Foundation to develop. Another indirect result of this smart maneuver by Hardin is the fact that the foundation manages to develop sophisticated technology under the Anacreonian protection that allowed the Foundation to become a major power in the future. During the earliest times of the Foundations establishment the Foundation finds itself lacking the basic resources necessary to establish a respectable civilization and in this vulnerable state the risk of facing an all out war with Anacreon is far too great. By pretending to cooperate with Anacreon despite the pro encyclopedia faction insistence on taking a more tougher role it reaps more benefit that it would be from an all out war therefore biding the foundation time to develop peacefully under Anacreon’s protection and when the Foundation slowly becomes more sophisticated than Anacreon they will rebel and kick them out of their planet once and for all. The point of this that through the effective manipulation of soft power diplomacy achieved through effective leadership, the Foundation managed to navigate the threat of direct Anacreonian assault without deterring through the use of force.

It is evident that leadership plays an important role in ensuring the foundations survival during Hardin’s period. Leadership itself falls under the category of soft power where the ability or inability of a particular state to project power outside its borders rests solely in the individual leader’s leadership capabilities. Before Hari Seldon re emerges in terminus after years of his death thanks to holographic projection to announce what is called the Seldon Crisis: A prediction of events that will happen to the Foundation within a particular period of time he mentions that the Foundations will go through a turbulent period of time marked by the Galactic Empire’s decline and the fall of its surroundings into a period of barbarism, I personally believe that Hardin with his sheer combination of mastery in politics, effective use of diplomacy and strategically thinking is the right person to lead the foundation as it undergoes its early years of turbulent periods marked by power struggle of the planets within the fringes of the Galactic Empire.

Another case example of soft power execution which could be observed throughout the book would be the Foundations effective use of trade. The ability to influence the policies of other states or planets in this case is through the foundations establishment of trade dependence centered within the foundation. Trade dependence centered in the foundation also plays a huge role in deterring would be aggressors to the Foundation. The Foundation being a technologically superior among the less technology sophisticated countries within its periphery made the Foundations survival important for all the other planets that depended on the Foundations technological capabilities and engineering capabilities. It is generally believed that a nation would be reluctant to attack another nation if it risks the threat of injuring itself economically (Nau 7) the Foundation is able to assert control towards other planets policy through the dependence of other planets through trade with the foundation. In the areas of political economy trade plays a huge role in determining a nation’s soft power capability since it is one of the fundamental aspect to assert control without the use of force. No doubt the foundation gained tremendous benefits through the establishment of a Foundation centered trade as a result of its technological innovation that allowed it to dominate the system as less developed planets rely heavily on the Foundations technological capabilities for its survival.

The greatest achievement the Foundation made in ensuring that no planet dared to attack its territory is through the establishment of a religious order based on technology centered within the foundation itself with priests who happen to also be engineers which are stationed in other planets, in reality this could be similar with the Vatican centered Catholicism and Saudi Arabian centered Islamic world which plays a dominant role in being the center of faith for millions of people. The same argument also applies through the Foundation centered religious order, by establishing a religious order the Foundation has managed to control the minds of the people within its periphery, it’s an undeniable fact that faith plays a huge role in determining people’s actions. Within the book the Anacreonians tried a second attempt to occupy the Foundation but the attempt failed because other planets condemned the invasion calling it sacrilegious. The Anacreonian troops also are reluctant sacred ground since the Foundations religious order has established dominant roots in other planets. The soft power nature of religion lies in the fact that if you manage to control people’s minds and perception you ultimately have the upper hand in the areas of diplomacy so it could be considered another way of establishing a dominant influence.

Overall the foundation series being a science fiction genre on itself, relates to actual real life possibilities of things relating with the areas of possibilities on what could happen in the future. Being of the science fiction genre the author Isaac Asimov has managed to tie the significant plot throughout the book with the factual reality of inter- state relations. In the case of the foundation series it is evident that there is a deep rooted political aspect happening throughout the book on which this paper analyzes with the use of theories within the field of international relations. In the world of anarchy power plays an important role for survival and power itself can be categorized as hard and soft power. It is clearly evident that like in actual life, the Foundations survival is a result of the effective manipulations of the aspects of power and the things which contributes to that specific power respectively therefore in order to survive in a world where according to Hobbes is complete anarchy where men devours other man is through obtaining power and having the necessary capabilities to assert them.

           

Sources

Kegley, Charles w. World Politics: Trends & Transformation. 9^th edition. Thompson Woodsworth Publishing 2008. Print. April 22 2012

Nau, Henry. Perspectives On International Relations: Power, Intitutiona, Ideas. 3^rd eition. CQ Press Publishing. Print. April 22 2012

Nye, Joseph. Foreign Policy Magazine April 2011. “The War On Soft Power”. Web. April 22 2012

Viotti, Paul R. International Relations And World Politics: Security, Economy, Identity. Prentice Hall Publishing. Print. April 22 2012