Totalitarianism
Write a paper on a current event article that discusses restrictions on freedoms by a totalitarian state or an article on ethnic conflict within a nation.
Fear and Hostility Simmer as Ethiopia’s Military Keeps Hold on Tigray
Summarize the article and explain why this issue is important to the global community.
The article Fear and Hostility Simmer as Ethiopia’s Military Keeps Hold on Tigray by Walsh Declan, written on March 19, 2021, is about the war in the Tigray region, which has only gotten worse over time since last year November, and the people paying the price for the war are innocent civilians. The prime minister of Ethiopia, Ahmed Abiy, ordered an operation in Tigray Ethiopia to seize the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s leadership, the region’s ruling party. According to Walsh (2021), the Tigray People’s Liberation Front reportedly defied the prime minister’s authority for months.
In his effort to capture the Tigray region, the operation translated into a heinous civil conflict characterized by starvation, sexual violence, massacres, and ethnic cleansing. These events have captured the attention of the whole world as people fear another Rwandan episode. Walsh (2021) reports that in Tigray’s biggest city, Mekelle, many Tigrayans perceive that the prime minister’s military mission targets them and not the area’s leadership.
This operation has flooded hospitals in the area with casualties from fighting and many civilians with terrifying wounds. Schools have become home to 71,000 people escaping the city and reporting dreadful abuses by pro-government officials. Many atrocities happen in the streets between the residents and the government soldiers who are meant to protect them.
Walsh (2021) quotes a lecturer at Makelle University, stating that they do not say that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front was perfect, but what they are experiencing is a way against the Tigrayans. Walsh (2021) attests that Mr. Abiyw, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, has denied responsibility for any killings, but the UN says that both the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and Mr. Abiy’s side are responsible for the crimes.
Walsh (2021) finds that most of the accusations have been pointed to the government troops, their allies (the Amhara militias), and the Eritrean soldiers who are helping the government in the conflict. Besides, on the release of this article, Walsh (2021) found that the Ethiopian government’s head of the task force and Abiy’s spokeswoman did not respond to the requests for comment and questions regarding his article.
The Tigrayans now bend to the government’s demands lest they suffer the violence of the troops. Bars and restaurants have been authorized to play songs other than those of the Tigrinya language as they fear retribution. Similarly, the TV stations do not broadcast local news but the government’s perspective. The whole area had not used the internet since it was shut down in November. In February, the authority allowed a rare visit to Mekelle by world reporters; Tigrayans ran to hear from the world and to give their stories. The government is now running the area, violating people’s rights.
The Importance of Tigray’s Issue
The world has experienced similar episodes before, leading to two world wars and civil wars. These two wars affected all the countries around the world, either economically, militarily, socially, politically, or ideologically. The Ethiopian government is exercising totalitarian principles, seizing Tigray and violating the people’s rights. According to Whitman (2020), totalitarian governments were involved in World War II, and this led to concerns about this kind of system and its lack of democratic tenets and measures. Therefore, a violation of basic human rights is definitely a violation of human rights elsewhere. This is because, should Ethiopia cause a whole regional conflict, the whole world would be affected, and the principles of humanity would be undermined as it already is currently.
What outside influences might help change this issue? How?
The most effective intervention for Tigray’s situation would be peace deals moderated by a more neutral party, the United Nations. This is because an individual country intervention would destabilize the region by creating alliances and reinforcement against sets of countries, as happened during the two world wars. Besides, Ethiopia already has the support of the Eritrean government, and more independent country intervention would only create an enemy against two and not one state. The trend may grow, eventually affecting the whole African continent and the world at large. In addition, according to the realist school of thought, a nation-state is the main actor in the international system with the characteristics of sovereignty and territorial independence (Whitman, 2020). However, when human rights are involved, especially when the nation-state does not carry out its fundamental role of protecting its citizens but rather participates in violating their rights, any necessary external measures should be welcomed. Peace talks between the region’s leadership and the national government may be initiated to represent the interests of both parties.
Is the article neutral? Why or why not?
In conclusion, the article is not neutral. The article highlights Ethiopia’s national government’s failures in protecting its citizens and their intrinsic rights. This is because in almost all the incidences Walsh (2021) reports, the government troops or soldiers are reported to violate the citizens sexually, physically, and even controlling the media, which is mostly considered independent in most nation-states. This expresses the features of totalitarian regimes that led to World War II and I and shows that the Ethiopian government is aiming for a failed state.
References
Walsh, D. (March 19, 2021). Fear and Hostility Simmer as Ethiopia’s Military Keeps Hold on Tigray. The New York Times. Media
Whitman Cobb, W. N. (2020). Political Science Today (1st ed.). Washington, DC: Sage, CQ Press
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Question 
Week 5 Assignment Current Event – Totalitarian Restrictions or Ethnic Conflict
Submit Assignment
Totalitarianism
- Due Apr 4 by 11:59p
- Points 100
- Submitting a file upload
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
- Textbook: Chapters 8, 9
- Lesson(Links to an external site.)
- Citation and Writing Assistance: Writing Papers At CU(Links to an external site.)
- Library Overview(Links to an external site.)
- How to Search for Articles – the Everything Tab(Links to an external site.)
- Article (no more than one-month old) from reputable news source such as The New York Timesor The Washington Post
Reviewing the concepts of ethnic conflict and totalitarianism:
Often students are confused on what constitutes an ethnic conflict. Before you select a topic for this assignment, be sure to review the information below to gain a better understanding of what constitutes Totalitarianism and ethnic conflict.
Totalitarianism and ethnic conflict are not the same as violent act committed by a police officer that was officially deemed as being racially motivated. Ethnic conflict is when government has discriminatory policies in place. Slavery and segregation were examples of ethnic conflict. Many students confuse recent events of violence or shooting by police officers on individuals as examples of ethnic conflict. However, not all of those actions were acts of racially motivated violence. In addition, they were committed by individuals in the execution of their job, which are subject to review and oversight (administrative and legal), and if deemed excessive and/or racially motivated, will be sanctioned and prosecuted because they would go against standing policies and laws that do not allow excessive force in the execution of police duties or racially motivated violence against others (by police or any other person). In the 1960s and earlier, we had state governments requiring African Americans to be segregated. This was an example of ethnic conflict. We do not have government policy in this country today promoting the harassment or killing of people because of their race.
If a person kills another person, it is a legal issue. If the killing took place because of the race of the person, it is also a hate crime. It is not designated as ethnic conflict. Topics centered on racial inequity such as Black Lives Matter, while important and viable topics in the context of race relations and social justice, are not the same as ethnic conflict in Totalitarian regimes and so are not appropriate topics for this assignment.
Instructions
Write a paper on a current event article that discusses restrictions on freedoms by a totalitarian state or an article on ethnic conflict within a nation. Summarize the article and explain why this issue is important to the global community. What outside influences might help change this issue? How? Is the article neutral? Why or why not?
Be sure to include a scanned copy of the article in your submission in addition to citations. Articles may not be more than one month old.
Writing Requirements (APA format). Refer to the APA manual.
- Length: 3 full pages (not including the title or references page)
- 1-inch margins
- Double-Spaced
- 12-point Times New Roman font
- Title and Reference page required
- APA cite article with link
- Scan copy of article required
Grading
This activity will be graded based on the Assignment Grading Rubric.
Course Outcomes (CO): 3 & 5
Due Date for Follow-Up Posts: By 11:59 p.m. MT on Sunday
Rubric
POLI330 Week 5 International Event Rubric
| POLI330 Week 5 International Event Rubric | ||||||
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIdentifies Newspaper Article |
|
5 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSummarization |
|
25 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIdentifies How Affected |
|
25 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeEvaluates Source Credibility |
|
10 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWhat/How Outside Influences Might Help Change Issue |
|
25 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAPA |
|
5 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWriting |
|
5 pts | ||||
| Total Points: 100 | ||||||