Search

What is Wrong with Our System? Right at the very beginning of the pandemic, Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek published a monograph about his thoughts on the first few weeks of the new situation. In it, he presents both his personal experience of the pandemic and his opinions on the overall changes that it might subsequently bring forth. As many times before, he once again calls for a new global order, basing his calls on the faults of the current system that the pandemic revealed in their entirety. He calls that world order “new communism” rooting it primarily in the need for solidarity and more executive power given to global organisations such as the World Health Organisation, as well as a more active role of the state during crises. Co jest nie tak z naszym systemem? Na samym początku pandemii COVID-19 słoweński filozof, Slavoj Žižek, opublikował książkę ze swoimi przemyśleniami na temat pierwszych kilku tygodni nowej sytuacji. Przedstawia w niej zarówno swoje osobiste doświadczenie pandemii, jak i opinie na temat ogólnych zmian, które może ona wywołać. Ponownie wzywa do utworzenia nowego globalnego porządku, wskazując na wady obecnego systemu, które w całości ujawniły nowe realia. Filozof nazywa ten światowy porządek „nowym komunizmem”, zakorzeniając go przede wszystkim w potrzebie solidarności i większej władzy wykonawczej przyznanej globalnym organizacjom, takim jak Światowa Organizacja Zdrowia, a także bardziej aktywnej roli państwa podczas kryzysów.

This article attempts to provide an alternative perspective on the US-China trade war by integrating power transition theory and the concept of soft power in examining the nature of the trade war and conditions that fuelled it. The discussion also includes the possibility of the emergence of a new global order led by China beyond the trade war. This study used a qualitative approach by analysing primary and secondary sources such as speeches of representatives from both China and the US, books, journal articles, newspaper articles and research by both national and international organisations. The findings revealed that the main trigger of the trade war was not trade deficits or unfair practices, as other literature has suggested, but rather a desire by the US to prevent the decline of American hegemony. We argue that there are three reasons why China cannot form a new global order and replace the US as a global hegemon within the next decade. First, following the trade war, there is growing wariness about Chinese firms and investments, globally. Second, China’s soft power is relatively ineffective, and its culture less appealing to Third World countries as compared to the US’s. Finally, unlike the US, China does not have a strong and expansive network of allies supporting its quest for global leadership.

Globalization as an economic phenomenon has benefitted sex trade, which is a transnational market based on the idea that the owners of the capital and merchandises look for the most profitable conditions to reproduce it. Sexual slave work makes it easy to obtain a very high return, as the “manager” does not feel any obligation to pay “workers” any money as they belong to him/her given that the business implies that women and girls are to pay their debts, which were not previously agreed on in an egalitarian business relationship, but acquired in a forced deceitful way. From this approach, the present paper intends to show how girls and women trafficking with the purpose of sexual exploitation is enhanced in the globalized environment given the easiness that emerges within the diffuse boundaries among countries and local legal frameworks which mix with international ones to favor transnational mafias that, under the shelter of legal activities like modeling, au pairing, tourism, etc., capture women and girls and transfer them to countries where they become illegal, isolated and deprived.

Since Cardoso and during Lula's Administration, the international order has undergone significant changes. These changes have allowed the Brazilian foreign policy to mitigate internal effects of an order established by others and, at the same time, to become an active participant in the formulation of the new order. To democratize globalization became the mainspring of Brazilian foreign policy. In the scope, President Lula has maintained the tradition of formulating and programming foreign policy as a State policy, and also has fostered the logistic strategy of incorporation of Brazil into the international scene.Do governo Cardoso ao governo Lula, a ordem internacional passou por significativas mudanças. Essas mudanças permitiram a política externa brasileira mitigar os efeitos interno da ordem estabelecida pelos outros ao mesmo tempo em que participa ativamente na formulação de uma nova ordem. Democratizar a globalização tornou-se motivação da política externa brasileira. Nesse escopo, o Presidente Lula manteve a tradição de formular e programar a política externa brasileira como política de Estado, mas também aprofundou a estratégia logística de inserção do Brasil no cenário internacional.

The global economic crisis is influencing many areas: scientific research, social, politics. The crisis is generating new economic models, new social models – individually and collectively and also a new influencing centres map. The opportunity of crisis means both cause identification as well as lesson learning. The crisis can be analysed concerning the management of the specific situation and the changes that globally occurred. A better understanding of the global order can lead to new ideas of shaping socioeconomical policies, especially with magnified challenges and diminished resources.