War on Drugs is War on Democracy Essay - 1286 Words

The voters of California succeeded in passing a proposition to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana as prescribed by doctors. The passing of Proposition 215 seemed to symbolize a promising trend toward knowledge of the substance. However, after reading an article by Eric Schlosser in the April issue of Atlantic Monthly, I have been shocked with the reality of what is occurring elsewhere. Many of us are aware of the idiocy of our legal system treating marijuana offenders worse than violent criminals. I doubt, however, that many Americans are truly conscious of how some peoples lives have been shattered because of current practices in the so-called drug war. Now, about 15 years since its beginning, the war on drugs has become a†¦show more content†¦Legislation for the bill was hastily pushed through Congress, inspired by the recent passing of a standout basketball player and first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics. Len Bias died on June 17, 1986 due to heart failure caused by crack cocaine. In drafting the bill, the prime factor for necessitating a mandatory minimum sentence was the quantity of drugs involved in the crime. As Eric Sterling, then assistant counsel for the House Subcommittee of Crime, states, Numbers were being picked out of thin air. Less than three months after being drafted, the bill was signed by President Reagan. One result of this legislation was the conviction of Donald Clark, a watermelon farmer in Florida found guilty of growing marijuana. He was sentenced to probation by the state court, then re-tried five years later under federal law and sentenced to life in prison. In addition to severe incarceration penalties, the government may also seize all possessions without due process. In 1994, $1.5 billion worth of assets were seized during routine searches under the guise of lawful forfeiture. (In 80 percent of those cases, the owners were never even charged with a crime.) If these facts shock you, the next ones will make you sick. The allure for seizing property is that the assets are divided among the various law enforcement agencies involved who can then sell those assets for profit. Thirty-one drug agents raided theShow MoreRelatedEssay Obstacles That Weaken Democracy 1652 Words   |  7 PagesDemocracy is defined as a government that is governed by the people, where the supreme power is in the hands of the people and is exercised through a system of representation done through free elections. It is easily defined and understood, but the true test is to follow through the people’s expectations and be capable to overcome obstacles a democracy might face. Mexico has recently celebrated its bicentennial representing their independence and the centennial of their revolution, although theyRead MoreThe War On Drugs : A New Us National Security Doctrine1442 Words   |  6 Pagesthe war on drugs, which as a social issue has had a unique effect on the security agenda of states. The modern war on drugs began in the 1970’s when Nixon declared it a nation wide problem and began to focus on both the supply and demand aspects of drug use. As a geo-political problem the war on drugs can be explained in two ways. The first way, as outlined in Waltraud Morales’s article The War on Drugs: a New US National Security Doctrine? explores how the United States uses the war on drugs as aRead MoreThe Battle On Terror And The War On Drugs953 Words   |  4 PagesIn many ways, the war on terror and the war on drugs have merged. The type of red scare rhetoric from the McCarthy era became nearly interchangeable with the drug war and terrorism during the Reagan administration. â€Å"We’re in the middle of a major epidemic...Parents have a right to feel terror,† said Donald Ian MacDonald, Reagan’s top drug advisor. He was referring to drugs. Marlin Fitzwater, Reagan’s Press Secretary openly admitted that â€Å"everybody wants to out-drug each other in terms of politicalRead MoreThe Revolution Of The 1960 S846 Words   |  4 PagesThey believed the participatory democracy was the real social change. By the mid-1960s, facing growing opposition among the young to the war in Vietnam, they were viewed as a rebellion force. They became more militant and active in social issues and politics. Some demonstrations were violent and even people died. The young group became a strong force in The United Stated and, also other countries. Also, changed their physical appearance by growing their hair, used drugs and, practice â€Å"free love.† InRead MoreVietnam War and American Culture1684 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Vietnam Wars Impact on American Culture Donna Whittle DeVry University Introduction to Humanities I. Introduction and Thesis Statement In the 1960’s America went through many cultural changes. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist, delivered his famous, â€Å"I have a dream† speech. African Americans were fighting for peace, freedom and equality. The United States was involved in the Vietnam War, committed to anti-communism. African Americans were deployedRead MoreManufacturing Consent1486 Words   |  6 Pagescorporate interests. The first section of the film, entitled Thought Control in a Democratic Society, focuses on Americas power politics and protein guises. With his anarchist convictions, Chomskys basic supposition is that propaganda and democracy are necessary accomplices in the functioning of state affairs. He compares it with a totalitarian state, where the government can use the military to keep the populace in order. In a free society, Chomsky believes, ideas are the states weaponsRead MoreThe World Into The American Image856 Words   |  4 Pagesin foreign relations. Later we started to become an intervening military, involved with other nation affairs, and wanting to promote liberty and democracy. The United States wanted to remake the world into the American image. World War I was the first test of Wilson’s belief that American power could â€Å"make the world safe for democracy†. Before World War I, most of the interventions appropriated in the western hemisphere. This became a time where the beliefs of imperialism, nationalism, and socialismRead MoreThe Prison System And The Jail System1352 Words   |  6 Pagesconcluding which action I am going to take to further y concern about the jail system. When hearing about the jail system, this is a political issue indeed. Having a fair democracy is a political gesture, the jail system is of course for criminals, but making the argument that anybody from having a mental illness or carrying drugs should have integrity within the justice system. When it comes down, we are all flawed humans. 1) What is the Jail System? The jail system is defined as an imprisonmentRead MoreThe War On Drugs : The World s Largest Farming Area1630 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the world, countries focus their drug policies in order to fight the â€Å"War on Drugs.† While most countries are fighting a war on drugs, Portugal has managed to break away and completely shock the world by taking an action that had the potential to make or break the country. Back in 2001, Portugal’s government made the decision to continue its war on drugs through a new approach. On the other hand, Iran faces a real drug problem because it is located next to Afghanistan, the world’s largestRead More`` Dirty Wars `` By Jeremy Scahill777 Words   |  4 Pagesignoring what can possibly be the truth. Jeremy Scahill, in his narrative Dirty Wars reprimands the Obama military activity on war on terror. He negates what he portrays as the organization s endeavors to standardize and legitimize by drones executed and generally Sp ecial Operations attacks and other secret military practices that blur the fight lines of the war on terror. In fact, the war on terror and the war on drugs have converged to shape a hydra-headed beast that greedily targets not only Americans

The Elements Of Poetry For Romantics - 984 Words

There were quite a few reasons behind the societal purpose of poetry for Romantics. One of the biggest reasons was that they wanted society to pick up on romanticism through the art of poetry. The purpose of art is to teach us something anyway, like public life for example. The best way to pick up on romanticism was through the art of poetry at the time. Romantics wanted nothing more than people feel some emotion and self-awareness, and by writing poetry to do just that, that’s how they attempted to get to people. Romanticism was also a response to the Enlightenment, because the Enlightenment focused on reason rather than emotion, which is essentially the opposite of what Romanticism is. And as time went on after Romanticism started up,†¦show more content†¦And Keats only talks positively about nature, while talking negatively about his life as a human at the same time. Keats regurgitates how nature can teach people things with Ode to a Nightingale because of what Kea ts specifically talks about with the nightingale throughout the poem. In the poem Frost at Midnight, Coleridge states â€Å"Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee†. This quote starts off the last stanza that is all about nature, with vivid detail on colors and image trying to get the reader to picture something beautiful and take away nature’s true beauty altogether. Citing all seasons of nature are sweet and showing some appreciation for all of them attempts to get across the point all nature has beauty within it. Nature can touch people emotionally to some extent through poetry, doing exactly what the romantics intended to do. However, their main goal was for people to try to think differently reading their art of poetry, with material that counters scientific beliefs with emphasis on emotion and nature. The best way Romantics could get people to think like they did was through poetry. The feeling and emotion Romantics wanted people to experience came best thro ugh deep and touching written poetry. And a big connection between feeling and emotion is the usage of imagination, like in the poem Frost at Midnight. Frost at Midnight creates imagery using nature such as frost and fire describing the relationship between spirit and fire. AlsoShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Friedrich Schlegel s The Fragment No969 Words   |  4 PagesFriedrich Schlegel’s â€Å"Athenaeum Fragment No. 116† discusses romantic poetry, an art form that the Romantic generation changed quite drastically. According to Schlegel, romantic poetry is different from previous poetry because it combines poetry with other art forms. Romantic poetry is a social and literary, allowing people from all cultures and classes to read, listen, and interpret what each poet is conveying. The topics of romantic poetry range from a comprehensive description of nature, as in WilliamRead MorePoetry Is Not Just The Vision Of The Writer1036 Words   |  5 PagesPoetry exists at a junction between language and state of mind. Poetry is not just the vision of the writer put to a page, meant to evoke and inspire readers. Poetry is thoughts concealed given breath—a story reflecting the interior landscape of the mind. Just as it can be a breath of air, poetry can grip the heart—the mind can be an awfully dark place. Within gothic poetry the horror and fears of the poet lie just beyond the words of the poem itself. The words are emotional viscera given form.Read MoreEssay On Narrative Poetry1730 Words   |  7 PagesDepths of Narrative Poetry Poetry is a form of art that uses languages for its aesthetic qualities and its notional and semantic content. Poetry can consist of oral or literary works in which the language is used in a manner that is felt by the reader to differ from ordinary prose. Poems are constantly relied on for their effect on imagery, word association, and repetition. The use of these effects to generate feelings and emotions is what marks poetry. In primitive societies, poetry was used as a meansRead MoreThe Wind As A Powerful Force Of Nature By Percy Bysshe Shelley1502 Words   |  7 Pagesknown to man. It can amount to numerous spectacular, sometimes even terrifying things which man comes to envy. In the Romantic poem Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley, this idea of wind as a powerful force of nature portrays itself as a link to the speaker’s emotions as well as his yearnings. The speaker implores the abilities of the West Wind as a comparison to his poetry, linking the natural worl d with the world inside of a poet’s mind. The vivid imagery throughout the poem illustratesRead More Close critical analysis of Coleridges Frost at Midnight Essay1685 Words   |  7 Pages The Romantic period in English literature ran from around 1785, following the death of the eminent neo-classical writer Samuel Johnson, to the ascension of Queen Victoria to the throne in 1837. However, in the years spanning this period writers were not identified as exponents of a recognised literary movement. It was only later that literary historians created and applied the term Romanticism. Since then, a further distinction has been made between first and second generation Romantic writersRead MoreClose Critical Analysis of Coleridges Frost at Midnight1716 Words   |  7 Pages The Romantic period in English literature ran from around 1785, following the death of the eminent neo-classical writer Samuel Johnson, to the ascension of Queen Victoria to the throne in 1837. However, in the years spanning this period writers were not identified as exponents of a recognised literary movement. It was only later that literary historians created and applied the term Romanticism. Since then, a further distinction has been made between first and second generation Romantic writersRead MoreThe Romantic Period Of The Victorian Era1715 Words   |  7 PagesThe Victorian Era was brought about upon to show rebellion from the Romantic period. The Victorian Era is a reaction against the Romantic Period due to differences in terms of historical influences, effects of science, crises of faith, and women’s desire for change. The Romantic Period’s history started in 1798 and ended less than thirty-five years later in 1832. Every period has a recognizable identity and the one for the Romantic Period is that it is a time for an escape from the intellectual sideRead More Jessica Rodriguez Essay765 Words   |  4 PagesThe Romanticism in Wordsworth Romantic poetry has very distinct details which set it apart from previous poetry. William Wordsworth’s poem, â€Å"I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud,† is full of the Romantic characteristics which were so different during that time. The poem begins with the speaker â€Å"floating† along, as though he or she were a cloud, when he or she spots a â€Å"crowd/ †¦, of golden daffodils† (Wordsworth, 3,4). The speaker goes on to describe the daffodils and the lake that is besideRead MoreThe Romantic Era Of The Age Of Enlightenment890 Words   |  4 PagesThe Romantic Era was a literary movement that occurred in the late 18th century and the early 19th century. During this movement, artists and authors alike rebelled against the established order and classism of the time, and the values once believed in during the Age of Enlightenment (The Romantic Era ). While the people of the Age of Enlightenment valued reason, and focused on the new and original (The Enlightenment), the people of the Romantic Era focused on the emotions of the individual, natureRead MoreAnalysis Of Thomas Gray s Poem Elegy 1167 Words   |  5 Pagescharacterized by the Romantic period, Gray is often regarded as a transitional artist because his pieces include influences from both literary movements. In analyzing form, literary devices, subject matter, and themes within â€Å"Elegy Written in a Country Courtyard, readers find identifiers woven throughout the text which mark the transition from the neoclassicism of the 18th century to the early Romantics. The structured format of Thomas Gray’s poem is one of the main links between his poetry and neoclassical

Post-conflict peacebuilding in Afghanistan Free Essays

string(115) " for rapid and visible results, both within Afghanistan and from domestic audiences in the contributing countries\." Afghanistan The aim of the following essay will be to evaluate the impact which the ISAF and peace-keeping efforts by the United Nations have had on the peacebuilding process in Afghanistan, following the US military intervention in Operation Enduring Freedom. Following two Anglo-Afghan wars, Afghanistan gained independence in 1919 and joined the League of Nations. Its example was followed by other states which gained independence from imperial domination and governance, which following the establishment of the United Nations resulted in the shaping of the contemporary geo-political order (Rubin, 2006). We will write a custom essay sample on Post-conflict peacebuilding in Afghanistan or any similar topic only for you Order Now Afghanistan was built by the co-ordination of flows of foreign aid and when the aid flows were directed towards the sponsoring of opposing military forces, a civil war erupted, eventually leading to the collapse of the state as the flows of foreign aid were stopped (Rubin, 2002). For most of its known history, Afghanistan remained a heterogeneous and tribal state having multiple and conflicting legal, cultural and political systems (Dupree, 2002; Simonsen, 2004). When the Soviet Union withdrew in Afghanistan in 1989, the Taliban gained supremacy within the state and the lack of consensus lead to the eruption of a civil war (Matinuddin, 1999). The period of 1992-1994 in Afghanistan was one of chaos and civil war, as the opposition factions failed to form an effective coalition government, thus leading to a civil war (Coll, 2004; Maley, 2009). In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the US and a Coalition of other states to initiate a ‘war on terror’, a result of the Taliban’s refusal to cooperate in the apprehension of Al Qaeda’s leader Bin Laden (Rubin, 2013). Following the re-capturing of the capital by the Allied forces and the dispersal of the Taliban, the foundations of Afghanistan’s re-structuring were set out in the UN Bonn Agreement (UN, 2001). In summary, it set out the path for a transition towards a western-style constitutional democracy with significant emphasis being placed on human rights, social justice and gender equality (Nesiah, 2004). ISAF Mission Following Operation Enduring Freedom and the liberation of the capital Kabul, the UN Security council passed Resolution 1386 with which it layered the foundations of the ISAF, which was deployed initially in Kabul. The ISAF was set to operate in close cooperation with the both the UN and the Afghan government whilst working the country’s reconstruction and the training of its security personnel (ISAF, 2014). Its key participation in the reconstruction process was manifested by the establishment of Provisional Reconstruction Teams in provinces in the northern and western parts of the country (ibid.) Initially, ISAF’s mandate was constrained to providing security in the capital city, but following the UN Resolution 1510 in 2003, its mandate was expanded so as to provide security throughout the country’s territory (ISAF, 2014a). The International Security Assistance Force is representative of all NATO member state countries and over the years has been broadened so as to include troops from non-member states such as Australia and New Zealand (ISAF, 2014b). The activities of the ISAF and its mission objective can considered in line with strategies utilised for state-building and peace-making (Rose-Ackerman, 2001). During its mandate from 2001 onwards, the ISAF has been established as the main provider of national security within the country, whilst at the same time training the newly formed Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP) (ISAF, 2014). In addition to providing security on a national scale, the ISAF has been actively involved in the demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) of rogue militants, thus enabling the state to claim monopoly over violence (NATO, 2013). Until the expiry of its mandate at the end of 2014, the ISAF will continue to help the transitional state to train its own security forces as part of international efforts to ensure stability within the country and ensure that a peaceful transition from the civil war onto a more democratic pathway of governance is achieved. Evaluating ISAF Defining both ‘success’ and ‘failure’ in peacekeeping missions is a difficult task due to lack of consensus with regards to their definition (Druckman et al. 1997; Bellamy and Williams, 2005). It has also been suggested that peacekeeping is more likely to succeed in more developed states and in countries where the death toll is minimal (Fortna, 2004). If one is to use the latter framework, then all efforts in Afghanistan are likely to be in vain. More recent research has identified six factors which appear to be of significant relevance: the successful deployment of available resources, overlap of interest among key stakeholders, emphasis on continuous conflict regulation, external cooperation as well as recognising the specific environment in which the conflict has taken place (Wolff and Dursun-Ozkanca, 2012). In the case of Afghanistan however, the US-led invasion had no clear strategies for a state-building process (Ayub and Kouvo, 2008). As a result, the initial focus on the ‘war on terror’ lacked a clear direction at it failed to provide a clear division between short-term goals of pacifying the terrorist threat and the longer-term peace-building process within the country (ibid). The invasion of Afghanistan was not about promoting security bur rather reducing the spreading sense of insecurity in the US (Nesiah, 2004).The state-building process that followed had no clear goals and was characterised by competing paradigms, as well as incompatible agendas (Weinberger, 2002; Rubin, 2006; Suhrke, 2012). It can be argued that the Taliban resurgence in 2005 and consequent lack of security in the country precluded any substantial democratization effort. However, this ignores the causal relationship between the two: failure of the political process, and an incoherent US/NATO military strategy, which provided the vacuum and space necessary for the Taliban and other counter-systemic actors to establish and expand their influence in the country (Suhrke, 2008). Linked to the incoherent military strategy is the limited impact of the DDR process that was to strengthen the position of the ISAF (Reynolds, 2006; Saikal, 2012). The expansion of ISAF outside of Kabul also played a significant part in the escalation of the conflict (Suhrke, 2011). The escalating war ratcheted up the demand for rapid and visible results, both within Afghanistan and from domestic audiences in the contributing countries. You read "Post-conflict peacebuilding in Afghanistan" in category "Essay examples" To deliver quick and visible results, the interveners adopted measures that undermined basic precepts of state-building and by extension its contribution to peacebuilding. In order to rapidly create Afghan military capacity, for example, the international forces started rearming the militias (Lefevre, 2010). A large amount of resources were diverted towards training the ANA, whereas the lack of training for the ANP produced problems for the ISAF, mainly in terms of corruption and human rights abuses (Beljan, 2013). The establishment of PRTs throughout the country was seen as the solution for providing security and reconstruction a t the same time (ibid.). However, their activity was characterised by lack of clear objectives, lack of a clear commanding structure and lack of resources (Sedra, 2005). This lack of coherence is not only characteristic of the PRTs themselves, but rather to the lack of a clear strategy for the operation of ISAF (Sperling and Webber, 2012), as the establishment of security needs to run parallel to economic development as part of restructuring efforts. As it was noted, the availability of resources for peacebuilding has a significant impact on the successful resolution of a violent conflict. Yet, the large flows of unconditioned aid are said to re-create the environment in which the civil war in the 1990s erupted and evolved (Goodhand and Sedra, 2007). Afghanistan is also a challenging case for the study and application of peace conditionalities, as the Bonn Agreement itself only legitimised a ‘victor’s peace’, leaving the Taliban quite potent. Secondly, the dual nature of the process should be emphasised – building peace in a climate of ongoing war. The approach adopted by the Alliance forces, to create a security force whilst at the same time failing to provide an institution that is to be responsible for its management is yet another reflection of the prioritisation of short-term goals over peace-making and state-building in the longer term (Sedra, 2005). Although reconstruction has been a top priority and used as a political platform during the first parliamentary elections (Wilder, 2005), the international spending has emphasised security over reconstruction (Rubin, Hamidzada and Stoddard, 2003). The long-standing conflict itself has resulted in the development of a war economy (Felbab-Brown, 2005; Fielden and Goodhand, 2001) in which it is difficult for the emerging democratic state to claim monopoly over violence. Facing considerable historical and institutional constraints, the UN Assistance mission in Afghanistan, a part of which is ISAF, has found it difficult to implement its ambitious democratisation mandate (Tadjbakhsh and Schoiswohl, 2008; Saikal, 2012). In conclusion, despite ISAF has achieved some successes in the training of Afghanistan’s security forces and improving security (Beljan, 2013), it is difficult to claim to the mandate and goals which were set as its main tasks have been achieved. Over the period of reconstruction the country has been relying on foreign aid for the maintenance of its structures, it is still a fragile state on the brink of re-emerging conflict, as there is still a lack of a clear political settlement among the different interest parties in the country. Bibliography Ayub, F. and Kuovo, S. (2008). Righting the courseHumanitarian intervention, the war on terror and the future of Afghanistan. International Affairs, 84(4), 641-657. Beljan, R. (2013). Afghanistan: Lessons Learned from an ISAF Perspective. Journal Article| May, 30(2), 30am. Available at: http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/afghanistan-lessons-learned-from-an-isaf-perspective Bellamy, A. J., Williams, P. D. (2005). Who’s keeping the peaceRegionalization and contemporary peace operations. International Security, 29(4), 157-195. Coll, S. (2004). Ghost wars: The secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001. New York: Penguin. Druckman, D., Stern, P. C., Diehl, P., Fetherston, A. B., Johansen, R., Durch, W., Ratner, S. (1997). Evaluating peacekeeping missions. Mershon International Studies Review, 151-165. Dupree, N. H. (2002). Cultural heritage and national identity in Afghanistan. Third World Quarterly, 23(5), 977-989. Felbab?Brown, V. (2005). Afghanistan: when counternarcotics undermines counterterrorism. Washington Quarterly, 28(4), 55-72. Fielden, M., Goodhand, J. (2001). Beyond the TalibanThe Afghan conflict and United Nations peacemaking. Conflict, Security Development, 1(03), 5-32. Fortna, V. P. (2004). Does peacekeeping keep peaceInternational intervention and the duration of peace after civil war. International studies quarterly, 48(2), 269-292. Goodhand, J., Sedra, M. (2007). Bribes or bargainsPeace conditionalities and ‘post-conflict’reconstruction in Afghanistan. International Peacekeeping, 14(1), 41-61. ISAF (2014). Mission. Available at: http://www.isaf.nato.int/mission.html ISAF (2014a). History. Available at: http://www.isaf.nato.int/history.html ISAF (2014b) Troop Numbers and Contributions. Available at: http://www.isaf.nato.int/troop-numbers-and-contributions/index.php Lefevre, M. (2010). Local Defence in Afghanistan. A Review of Government-backed Initiatives. Kabul: Afghanistan Analysts Network. Maley, W. (2009). The Afghanistan Wars. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Matinuddin, K. (1999). The Taliban Phenomenon in Afghanistan 1994-1995. Oxford: Oxford University Press. NATO (2013). ISAF’s Mission in Afghanistan. Available at: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_69366.htm Nesiah, V. (2004). From Berlin to Bonn to Baghdad: a space for infinite justice. Harv. Hum. Rts. J., 17, 75. Reynolds, A. (2006). The curious case of Afghanistan. Journal of Democracy, 17(2), 104-117. Rose-Ackerman, S. (2001). Trust, honesty, and corruption: reflection on the state-building process. European Journal of Sociology, 42, 27-71. Rubin, B. R. (2002). The fragmentation of Afghanistan: State formation and collapse in the international system. Yale University Press. Rubin, B. R. (2006). Peace Building and State-Building in Afghanistan: constructing sovereignty for whose security?. Third World Quarterly, 27(1), 175-185. Rubin, B. R. (2013). Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror. Oxford University Press. Rubin, B. R., Hamidzada, H., Stoddard, A. (2003). Through the Fog of Peace Building: Evaluating the Reconstruction of Afghanistan. Center on International Cooperation, New York University. Saikal, A. (2012). The UN and Afghanistan: Contentions in Democratization and Statebuilding. International Peacekeeping, 19(2), 217-234. Sedra, M. (2005). Civil-military relations in Afghanistan: The provincial reconstruction team debate. Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. Simonsen, S. G. (2004). Ethnicising Afghanistan?: inclusion and exclusion in post?Bonn institution building. Third World Quarterly, 25(4), 707-729. Sperling, J., Webber, M. (2012). NATO’s Intervention in the Afghan Civil War. Civil Wars, 14(3), 344-372. Suhrke, A. (2008). A contradictory missionNATO from stabilization to combat in Afghanistan. International Peacekeeping, 15(2), 214-236. Suhrke, A. (2011). When more is less: the international project in Afghanistan. New York: Columbia University Press. Suhrke, A. (2012). Waging War and Building Peace in Afghanistan. International Peacekeeping, 19(4), 478-491. Tadjbakhsh, S., Schoiswohl, M. (2008). Playing with fireThe international community’s democratization experiment in Afghanistan. International Peacekeeping, 15(2), 252-267. United Nations (2001) Bonn Agreement. Available at: http://peacemaker.un.org/afghanistan-bonnagreement2001 Weinberger, N. (2002). Civil-military coordination in peacebuilding: the challenge in Afghanistan. Journal of International Affairs-Columbia University, 55(2), 245-276. Wilder, A. R. (2005). A House Divided?: Analysing the 2005 Afghan Elections. Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. Wolff, S., Dursun-Ozkanca, O. (2012). Regional and International Conflict Regulation: Diplomatic, Economic and Military Interventions. Civil Wars, 14(3), 297-323. How to cite Post-conflict peacebuilding in Afghanistan, Essay examples

Ebola Virus Epidemic in 2014 Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Questions: 1.What is the Ebola Virus and its Characteristics. 2.Where is this Organism naturally found? 3.Discuss the Symptoms of Ebola Infection 4.Measures to Prevent Infection by Ebola virus, including measures put into place to prevent and control outbreaks of the kind reported above. Answers: Biomedical Science Name University The large percentage of patients that died following an Ebola virus epidemic in 2014 was alarming. Although the virus has been known since 1976, the poor medical facilities and an unprepared public health system in West African countries led to the fast spread of the disease and thousands of lives were lost. Out of 2615 confirmed cases, 1427 deaths were reported (Cheng, Li, Yu, 2014). The Ebola virus (CDC, ebola/, 2016). (kff, 2014). 1.Ebola virus and its characteristics The Ebola virus is membrane- enveloped virus that belongs to Filoviridae. It is a single stranded RNA virus. Fruit bats are understood to be the natural reservoirs of the virus that can cause haemorrhagic fever in humans and primates. The levels of the Ebola RNA increase logarithmically in the infected patients while the illness is in the acute phase. Diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding may be observed in patients with infection. Confirmation of Ebola virus is done through cell culture in Vero E6 African Green monkey kidney cells followed by visualization through fluorescence microscopy. The culture in laboratory requires biosafety 2.Epidemiology of the Ebola virus. The Ebola virus is naturally found in fruit bats and can infect humans when they come in contact with infected primates. At times consumption of meat of an infected primate may also cause infection. The infection occurs through contact with body fluids of the patient through mucosal surface, needles contaminated with the virus or abrasions (Lee Saphire, 2009). The latest epidemic due to The Ebola virus occurred in Guinea and spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia. Healthcare workers from Spain, The United Kingdom and the USA were also infected(Arima Shimada, 2015). What makes the epidemic alarming is that in 50-90% of the infected people it proved to be fatal. There is currently no vaccine or treatment available against the infection. Although immunological and pharmacotherapy treatment options are being tested in animals with some success (Kilgore, Grabenstein, Salim, Rybak, 2015). With globalisation, people travel across continents frequently and this puts citizens all over the worl d at a high risk. The medical experts are still trying to understand the measures that we need to take to control an epidemic once a human being is infected. Many healthcare workers died due to transmission of the virus while they were treating the patients during the 2014 epidemic in West Africa (Mello, Merritt, Halpern, 2015). 3.Symptoms of Ebola infection It may take 2 to 21 days for symptoms to appear after infection occurs. A person with symptoms can pass on the infection but someone who is not showing any symptoms but is infected cannot pass on infection to others. Sudden fever with considerable fatigue is the first symptom. Headache, muscle pain and sore throat may be seen in patients. Vomiting and diarrhea follow, patients may complain of rash. Impaired kidney and liver function are followed by internal and external bleeding. Bleeding of gums and blood in stools may be observed. Laboratory diagnosis of blood samples yields low white blood cell count and low platelet count, liver enzymes are usually elevated also (WHO, 2017). 4.Measures to prevent infection by Ebola virus The risk of transmission of the Ebola virus occurs due to wildlife to human transmission, human to human transmission, due to possibility of sexual transmission and heightened transmission risks during an outbreak. Transmission from patient to healthcare workers is possible and strict prevention measures have to be adhered to and are preventable (Ogbuagu Ogbuagu, 2014). When contact with fruit bats or monkeys and other primates is necessary, precautions should be taken by wearing gloves, aprons and other protective gear (CDC, human-transmission.html, 2015). If consuming meat, it should be thoroughly cooked. Family members and healthcare workers who are in close contact with Ebola patients should prevent contact with body fluids. Gloves and protective clothing should be used when working in close proximity with the patient. Even after a hospital visit to a patient hands should be washed thoroughly. Similarly, care givers at home should maintain proper hygiene when working with the patient. According to the recommendations of WHO, male patients who have survived an Ebola infection should practice safe sex for up to 12 months after the onset of Ebola infection and appearance of symptoms. The semen should test negative for the Ebola virus (WHO, 2017). In conclusion, studies on finding treatment and vaccines against the Ebola virus are ongoing. A strong public health response to an epidemic is required to minimise fatalities when the virus causes human infection. References Arima, Y., Shimada, T. (2015). Epidemiological situation of Ebola virus disease in West Africa. Uirusu, 65(1):47-54. CDC. (2015). human-transmission.html. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/human-transmission.html CDC. (2016). ebola/. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/ Cheng, Y., Li, Y., Yu, H. (2014). Ebola virus disease: general characteristics, thoughts, and perspectives. Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, 27(8):651-3. kff. (2014). ebola-characteristics-and-comparisons-to-other-infectious-diseases/. Retrieved from https://kff.org: https://kff.org/infographic/ebola-characteristics-and-comparisons-to-other-infectious-diseases/ Kilgore, P., Grabenstein, J., Salim, A., Rybak, M. (2015). Treatment of ebola virus disease. Pharmacotherapy, 35(1):43-53. Lee, J. E., Saphire, E. O. (2009). Ebolavirus glycoprotein structure and mechanism of entry. Future Virology, 4(6), 621635. https://doi.org/10.2217/fvl.09.56. Mello, M., Merritt, M., Halpern, S. (2015). Supporting Those Who Go to Fight Ebola. PLoS Medicine, 12(1): e1001781. Ogbuagu, O., Ogbuagu, A. (2014). Curbing Ebola infections among healthcare workers in West Africa: unconventional strategies needed. The Pan African Medical Journal, 19:320. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2014.19.320.5716. WHO. (2017). factsheets/fs103/en/. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/: https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/