A series of essays and articles from my days in academia. Many of these essays were written in response to a question and some of them no longer represent my current views.
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 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 …
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 …
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 …
Read more “Indian IT, the Bangalore Cluster and Catching Up”
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 …
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 (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 …
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 …
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 …
For many African states, cash cropping is a major livelihood and prime source of income. Despite this importance, the industry has not achieved long term growth in a number of African economies. Many cash cropping contexts have succeeded and grown rapidly in the past, but a multitude of these, such as starch exports, have since …