Contributers

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Sovereignty

I agree that sovereignty protects differences in the regard of sovereign nations first and foremost protecting their nations rights and liberties. An example where leaders have used their power to execute actions to protect their nations differences or human rights is with China and France two year ago in the Beijing Olympics. The French President, Sarkozy, had implied that he would not take part in the opening ceremony for the Olympics being held in Beijing because of the human rights violations occurring in China. There had been violent confrontations between Tibetan protestors and the Chinese police recently that year. The French president believed that just as nations are obligated to uphold their citizen's rights, some also believed that they are obligated to intervene in another's domestic affairs. President Sarkozy has used the concept of France's sovereignty and his nation's influence to draw attention to the human rights issues in China specifically the problems with Tibet.


During our visit to the Museum of the American Indian I remember reading an exhibit about how sovereignty of the Seneca Nation of Indians helped to restore their culture and protect their cultural differences. Through this ability the Seneca Tribe operates on a $1.1 billion economy that employs more than 6,300 people. They have expanded to become one of the fastest growing and one of the largest employers in Western New York.


In Horizons, Rosenblum mentions race several times when describing characters. It is introduced subtly, when Ahni is described as "an unselected mix of Taiwan aboriginal, Han Chinese, and Polynesian genes" (p.13), and almost every person new to the viewpoint character is introduced similarly—"a geneselect Masai type" (p.14), "natural Mediterraneans" (p.147), "Scandinavian-euro mix" (p.212). Rosenblum emphasis at the beginning of the novel how those who have been living in this environment for several generations are notably different than the rest of humanity. Going back to Tordov’s desire for acknowledging the “other”. Even though sovereignty have the power to protect differences we still must always be aware of potential threat from the “other” to better guard against our nations own best interest.

1 comment:

  1. Your example of the Seneca Nation is a perfect example of sovereignty allowing a country to protect its own. However, the sovereignty of native American tribes is constantly being threatened. Just this summer, the Iroquois Nation Lacrosse team, traveling on Iroquois Nation Passports, wasn't able to participate in the world championships in the UK after British customs refused to recognize the players' passports as legitimate. There are limits to sovereignty.

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