Nicholas Woode-Smith, Author at Nicholas Woode-Smith

Comparing Developmental Paths in East Asia, Latin America and Africa

by Nicholas Woode-SmithHistory 4 March 2018No Comments

During the 20th century, nations from the regions of East Asia, Latin America and Africa all sought to become globally competitive through industrialisation. Some, like the East Asian Tigers, succeeded while others experienced tumultuous results (Latin America) or did not achieve development at all (Africa). This essay will be comparing each region and their general …

Understanding Brazil’s Economic Development

by Nicholas Woode-SmithHistory 4 March 2018No Comments

The study of the Brazilian state’s role in industrialisation has been split into two contested focuses: the ‘Entrepreneurial State’ (ES) and Important Substitution Industrialisation (ISI). Kesidou (2004) argues that the former theory is more important in examining the state and industrialisation in Brazil. This essay is in no way implying that either ES or ISI …

The Role of MITI in Post-WW2 Japan

by Nicholas Woode-SmithHistory 4 March 2018No Comments

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) had an integral role in Post-WW2 Japanese economic development. While it is inaccurate to have called Japan a planned economy, during this era, it was definitely not a laissez faire economy. MITI had an important role in not only determining the route of Japan’s development, but in …

Gershenkron and the Positives of Backwardness

by Nicholas Woode-SmithHistory 4 March 2018No Comments

Alexander Gershenkron (1904-1978) argued that backwardness could have a relatively positive economic role in late industrialising nations.[1] Backwardness, in Gershenkron’s sense of the word, is a state in which a country’s industry is behind that of other nations. He argued that this would lead to a number of conditions occurring during industrialisation: institutions would change …

Indian IT, the Bangalore Cluster and Catching Up

by Nicholas Woode-SmithHistory 4 March 2018No Comments

India was a latecomer to industrialisation but has since become a major economic power, notably in the ICT-related service industry. This essay will be outlining how the Bangalore IT cluster developed and how this demonstrates that India can catch up with industrialised countries, but through its own methods. A cluster, in this sense, refers to …

Rudyard Kipling and Orientalism

by Nicholas Woode-SmithHistory 3 March 2018No Comments

Kipling (1865-1936) is often seen as an Orientalist writer, a branch of arts and literature condemned for its imitation of Eastern life in order to fulfil a western agenda.[1] Orientalism, in essence, is the portrayal of the ‘East’ (specifically: The Indian region) under a stereotypical narrative. This narrative has been described by the likes of …

Public Holidays and Constructed Tradition

by Nicholas Woode-SmithHistory 3 March 2018No Comments

Nationality and culture are typically taken for granted. In actual fact, many of our traditions and aspects of our national identity were intentionally invented. Hobsbawm (1992) argued that many customs and traditions were intentionally created in order to create national unity.[1] Anderson (1982) argued that nations were merely an “imagined political community.”[2] It took Hobsbawm’s …

Frankenstein: Science, Nature and Genesis

by Nicholas Woode-SmithPhilosophy, Reviews 3 March 2018No Comments

Frankenstein (1818) is a multi-genre novel by Mary Shelley (1797-1851). It contains themes of Gothic and science fiction, among others. This essay will be focusing on the latter theme of science in Shelley’s novel. Prior to the ill-fated construction of his Monster, Victor Frankenstein gloried in the sciences. He described himself “as always having been …

Do states have permanent interests?

by Nicholas Woode-SmithPolitics 3 March 2018No Comments

Everything is in flux. As Gartzke and Weisiger (2013) argue, change is constant, but it isn’t a constant (Gartzke & Weisiger, 2013: 2). The international system, if one sees it as in anarchy or some form of order, is still subject to change. The reason for this is that the world in which the system …

Socrates on the Soul

by Nicholas Woode-SmithPhilosophy 3 March 2018No Comments

In Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates sets out a number of arguments to prove the immortality of the soul. One of these, which many of the others rely upon, is the Cyclical argument, or argument from opposites (Plato, 2002: 70c-72e). This essay will be outlining the argument and responding to each premise separately to evaluate its claims …