Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has often threatened Western nations that he is willing to use the Russian nuclear arsenal in Ukraine. Putin clearly said that the Russian territory cannot be violated by NATO because the conflict could turn into nuclear warfare. Besides, several political science experts think that if Russia is going to lose the war, Putin could use nuclear tactical weapons on the battlefield to force Ukraine to surrender.
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The Scottish National Party leads a majority government in Scotland supported by the Green Party under a confidence and supply agreement. Both parties want to reverse the U.K. decision to leave the European Union by promoting the separation of Scotland from the U.K. Still, 62% of the Scottish people wanted to remain in the European Union. In 2014, the SNP promised a ¨once in a generation¨ referendum which meant there could not be any other independence referendum before 40 years; however, the SNP broke this promise by planning a second referendum in October 2023. Consequently, the British government refused to allow a second referendum and the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Surgeon, asked the U.K. Supreme Court to overrule the refusal of holding a second referendum by the Truss government. The Truss government does not intend to break down the 300-year-old union between Scotland and the rest of the U.K. British Prime Minister Liz Truss would not push back the nation into a divisible over the national unity. The matter has been referred to the Supreme Court, the highest court can either allow or reject a second referendum and a decision is expected to be made in autumn 2022 or in early 2023. Nevertheless, most constitutional experts argue that Scotland cannot legally hold a referendum without the legislative approval of the Westminster Parliament; thus, any refusal from the Supreme Court to grant Scotland a referendum might only help the separatist flame to keep burning within the separatist movement. However, the British unionists should try to transform the U.K. into a federation which will give regions more powers while Westminster keeps powers relating to national and international matters. A federation could get some separatists back into the union movement which promotes national unity.
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Even though the purpose of NATO has always been to safeguard the Allies’ freedom and security by political and military means, Russia has always felt uneasy with this alliance. This is probably because Russia cannot fully exercise its influence over Europe. President Vladimir Putin took advantage of this common misbelief in Russia that NATO is a threat to Russia. Even if, everyone knows that NATO simply is a collective security agreement between European and North American nations. Putin used this fear of NATO to increase his power over the Russian Federation by waging an illegal war against the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Neither NATO members nor Ukraine has ever been a threat to the Putin regime. For instance, the Reagan administration maintained good relations with the Gorbachev administration and several European nations were good economic partners for Russian businesses. In the early years of the Putin Presidency, Putin wanted to repair his country’s relationship with Western powers by going as far as asking to join NATO in the early years of his presidency. Nevertheless, the pandemic affected the mind of Putin; for instance, in early 2022, the Putin administration declared an illegal war on Ukraine using the pretext that NATO broke a promise to never expand its membership to former Soviet republics. On the other hand, the Soviet Union and Russia asked twice to join NATO, but they got a negative answer from the organization; if NATO would have accepted the Soviet Union or Russian membership in the 1950s or early 2000s, the Russian-Ukrainian War might never have happened. These days, Putin seems to want a buffer zone between NATO and Russia. In contrast, NATO should try to find a way to peacefully end the Ukrainian War by finding a common ground between Ukraine, Russia, and Western powers. The Russian-Ukrainian War has cost the lives of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians. Sadly, no one knows when this unjustified armed conflict will end.
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Queen Elizabeth II reigned over the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms from 1952 to 2022. The monarch greatly influenced the World throughout her reign. She is the longest reigning monarch; she holds the record of the longest time as head of state in the World. She became a head of state after King Emperor Edwards VIII abdicated to marry a divorced American woman. Queen Elizabeth II is a member of the Royal House of Windsor that is one of the most powerful families in the World. Queen Elizabeth II had several powers, but she always used her powers in accordance with constitutional conventions. In addition, she owned castles, land, and the Crown Estate. She was the head of state of several Commonwealth Realms such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Jamaica, etc. In short, she was highly influential on the World stage because she is a symbol of stability, the rule of law, and the Westminster parliamentary system. Consequently, she contributed to the maturation of the most effective system of government which is the constitutional monarchy.
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Since 1945, nuclear weapons have been used as a strategy of nuclear deterrence which has meant nuclear powers have not waged war against each other for fear of mutual assured destruction. Thus, modern peace and stability can be maintained through this concept of MAD. However, MAD is a Cold War concept of deterrence that only applies to nuclear powers, not to the non-nuclear power of Ukraine. Nowadays, the Ukrainian War challenges humankind as a whole for fear that several nuclear powers could participate in this war which could degenerate into nuclear warfare. NATO has three nuclear powers among its members and Russia is the supreme nuclear state with the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Vladimir Putin threatens to use nuclear weapons if NATO nations dare to intervene in the Ukrainian War. This military situation is a source of concern because Russia could escalate the conflict to a nuclear war that could threaten humankind. Still, the U.S. and NATO nations can stop some of the Russian ICBM missiles, but the true effectiveness of these ICBM defence systems still remains unclear.
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Nowadays, Russia is a pariah state ruled by a tyrant. Russia used to have a good economy before waging war against the free and democratic nation of Ukraine. Almost all members of the United Nations condemned Russia’s barbaric war in Ukraine. There have been several reports of war crimes and the International court currently investigates alleged crimes commited in Ukraine. However, Ukraine needs more time for the economic sanctions to work and for NATO members to find a way to bring the Vladimir Putin regime down and prevent an other war, As a result, Ukrainian President Zelensky has to sign a peace treaty with Vladimir Putin in order to prevent an escalation of the war. For that reason, Zelensky must know what are Putin’s negotiating techniques and how to get the best possible peace treaty. There are rumours of a secret proposal between Moscow and Kyiv waiting for Zelensky’s final approval.
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In 1993, the Russian Federation adopted a new constitution through a national referendum allowing democracy and capitalism for the first time in Russia. This piece of legislation was inspired by Mikhail Speransky’s constitutional project and the current French constitution. Modern Russia was created following the fall of the authoritarian Soviet Union. The 1993 Constitution defines Russia as a democratic and federative republic based on the rule of law. However, Yeltsin felt the need to strengthen the presidential powers under his first term in office in order to avoid any attempt of political coup. These super presidential powers will backfire years later with the arrival of Vladimir Putin who centralizes most of the government powers around his presidential office.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing the decisive test of his premiership with the management of the pandemic. Justin Trudeau defines this challenge as the ¨fight of a generation¨. The Prime Minister pleas to Canadians to actively participate in this war against COVID 19. For instance, he wants Canadians wear masks to protect themselves and others. This is a major tool because the virus spreads mainly through aerosols. Besides, the Trudeau government has secured vaccine candidates to have a national vaccination to end the pandemic in Canada and throughout the World. The Trudeau government has a strong plan to have sustainable economy to go through these tough times. No one will be left behind, thanks to changes in the unemployment insurance program improved to respond to the needs of people affected by the current events.
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The Canadian nation has fought many battles like the Great War, the Spanish Flu, World War 2, and the Korean War. Canadians are fighters; they inherited this quality from the United Kingdom and France. The novel coronavirus outbreak is the greatest challenge for Canada since World War 2. This new virus is extremely infectious and it can be deadly for some people with underlying health conditions. Canada has work with other nations to contain the virus in order to slow down the contagion. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the nation: ¨this is a global challenge. To keep Canadians safe and restart our economy, we need to defeat this virus not just within our borders, but wherever it is found. That’s how we’ll beat COVID-19 for good.¨ As a result, the Trudeau government partners with other nations in order to overcome the gigantic challenges with this pandemic. The Canadian strategy is to contain and to stop the virus within Canadian borders and elsewhere. Nevertheless, there are different inconsistencies in the crisis management between different regions of the nation. Canada should invoke the National Emergencies Act to take proper actions to stop the spread of the virus in regions that could not like Quebec and Ontario. As well, the government should make a ¨war cabinet¨ made up of senior ministers, indigenous leaders, and provincial premiers to better coordinate an effective and efficient national response to COVID 19. On the other hand, the national government greatly supported financial needs of Canadians through transfer payments to people and businesses. Yet, only the widespread availability of a vaccine will solve this health crisis. For that reason, Canada needs to build more vaccine factories to increase its manufacturing capacity of vaccines.
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China is the second largest economy in the World. The country is a socialist republic with a single party system headed by General Secretary Xi Xinping of the Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.). China became a great power on the global scale in the 1980s. Still, the People`s Republic of China was not greatly involved on the World stage before Deng`s Open Door Policy in the late 1970s. Nowadays, Chinese President Xi Jinping no longer wants that China keeps a low profile on the World stage. The General Secretary is looking for the future of the nation. Xi Jinping pushes for China to become a super power in World. China officially supports multiculturalism, global rules and norms, and environmental protection. Thus, Xi Jinping wants to take advantage of U.S. isolationism to make China the most powerful nation on Earth. Nowadays, China has to work with other nations to resolve a global pandemic while restoring the World economy. Chairman Jinping once said: ¨We say a sword is made on grinding stone and a man is forged in hardship.¨ Thus, Xi believes that great achievements only happen through challenges. COVID 19 is the greatest challenge China has ever faced for decades. China has been proactive in the fight over the novel coronavirus. For instance, China quickly provided the gene sequencing data to the World. China currently develops several vaccines and drugs to end the current pandemic. If successful, the People`s Republic could become a scientific World leader and it could become very powerful. Moreover, China could rescue the World economy by investing more than half a trillion dollars into the World economy. A successful handling of the World economic and health crisis by China could contribute to Xi Jinping`s dream of a scientific, militarized, economical, and political China.
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