World Politics Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

The Globalization of World Politics An Introduction to International Relations Seventh Edition Edited by John Baylis, Steve Smith, and Patricia Owens A must have text for anybody and everybody interested in the ongoing Globalization of... more

The Globalization of World Politics An Introduction to International Relations Seventh Edition Edited by John Baylis, Steve Smith, and Patricia Owens A must have text for anybody and everybody interested in the ongoing Globalization of World Politics. Besides the fact that it has been the market-leading introduction to International Relations, written by more than 35 unrivaled experts in their fields. Building their breathtaking narrative on thorough knowledge and careful academic research of national and international history, the book offers a bigger picture of main stream theories international relations. No global structures and processes, and international issues were left unattended. It provides an inquisitive and the most comprehensive coverage of International Relations in the Twentieth and the Twenty-first centuries. The editors: John Baylis, Steve Smith, and Patricia Owens, did their best to ensure an integrated and coherent style throughout the book. Integrated and intera...

Undoubtedly, the type of world we lived during the pre-COVID-19 era would not hang on for long. During the last six months, indications of structural changes in the global power hierarchy can clearly be perceived. The world may gradually... more

Undoubtedly, the type of world we lived during the pre-COVID-19 era would not hang on for long. During the last six months, indications of structural changes in the global power hierarchy can clearly be perceived. The world may gradually inch towards a new world order with new set of power equations and structural adjustments. Though there is no unanimity on the ushering of new world order post-pandemic, the upshot of the COVID-19 would certainly be consequential for the current world order which at first has started to reshape and will fully transform to its new avatar at once. When will it fully usher, and what would be the
exact contours of the post-COVID-19 world order, is too early to conclude. But one must ponder if such a systemic alteration is to occur, some fracture in the global governance structure would too emerge. Has any irreparable fracture among the current global ruling elites emerged? Will the wrangling centered round the pandemic will prompt any fresh alignments and counter-alignments culminating in a new polarity at the global level?

This paper focuses on the role of contemporary art in international relations and world politics. In IR, art is often examined within the framework of cultural diplomacy, country branding, and soft power, or approached as a site of... more

This paper focuses on the role of contemporary art in international relations and world politics. In IR, art is often examined within the framework of cultural diplomacy, country branding, and soft power, or approached as a site of resistance. We argue that the concept of heteronomy offers an alternative conceptual framework for analysing contemporary art in world politics. It highlights the interaction of various fields such as art, commerce, the state and media. We concretise this approach with an analysis of the Venice Biennale. We show that the Biennale is heteronomous in the sense of being an arena where actors from various fields struggle for power by accumulating different types of capital. We focus our analysis on the Russian national pavilion in 2011–2015 and show how the efforts of the country’s elite to legitimise its position are intertwined with the projects of the state, sponsors, artists, curators and art market actors.

The number of contemporary art biennials has increased significantly over the last 25 years giving rise to the phenomenon of biennalization of contemporary art. In this article, we detail the world politics of biennalization through a... more

The number of contemporary art biennials has increased significantly over the last 25 years giving rise to the phenomenon of biennalization of contemporary art. In this article, we detail the world politics of biennalization through a review of mainly academic literature on biennials. We analyze internal definitions within the reviewed material through three dimensions: scale, politics, and production of value (political economies). Our analysis shows the world politics of biennials revolves around a set of productive tensions between the order of nation states and its alternatives, cultural dominance and resistance, and various modes of value production.

Yazarların akademisyen ve uygulamacı olarak deneyimlerine dayanan Uluslararası İlişkiler ve Dünya Siyaseti, alanın yetkin bir çalışmasını yaparak günümüz ve gelecekteki sorunları incelemek için uygulamaya yönelik yollar sunar. bu özet,... more

Yazarların akademisyen ve uygulamacı olarak deneyimlerine dayanan Uluslararası İlişkiler ve Dünya Siyaseti, alanın yetkin bir çalışmasını yaparak günümüz ve gelecekteki sorunları incelemek için uygulamaya yönelik yollar sunar. bu özet, sadece kitabın genel hatlarına değinerek yazılmıştır.

world order Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History

International news, with its own characteristics and dynamics, are loaded with a strong power of representation and are for the majority of the people the first way to get an idea of the world. Their international projection often implies... more

International news, with its own characteristics and dynamics, are loaded with a strong power of representation and are for the majority of the people the first way to get an idea of the world. Their international projection often implies considerations related to media geopolitics or traditional forms of propaganda. News and media literacy limited interest on inter- national news requires thinking about the design of a model to critically approach news on international issues. The results obtained through an online survey with an adult Spanish-speaking population suggest the existence of different levels of critical approach to news on international issues, ranging from passive consumption to the exercise of an informed and active citizenship of the world.

Cognitive maps are representations of the causal beliefs or assertions of a specific individual. Maps of three Latin American policy makers (Carlos Andrés Pérez, Roberto de Oliveira Campos, and Aurelio de Lyra Tavares) suggest new... more

Cognitive maps are representations of the causal beliefs or assertions of a specific individual. Maps of three Latin American policy makers (Carlos Andrés Pérez, Roberto de Oliveira Campos, and Aurelio de Lyra Tavares) suggest new hypotheses and ways of comparing maps across individuals: (i) individuals with broader political responsibility may have more complicated maps with respect to numbers of goals and policies, but less complicated maps with respect to linkages between policies and goals, than individuals with narrower responsibility; (2) maps of different individuals can and should be compared with respect to the degree to which they make (or fail to make) distinctions among related concepts; and (3) maps can be used to predict the future policies of individuals, and should be used in this way to test the theoretical potential of the approach.

Fareed Zakaria, comentarista internacional de CNN y columnista de la revista Time, con The Post-American World 2 , actualiza su libro del mismo nombre aparecido el año 2008. Tanto en su versión original como en ésta, puesta al día y... more

Fareed Zakaria, comentarista internacional de CNN y columnista de la revista Time, con The Post-American World 2 , actualiza su libro del mismo nombre aparecido el año 2008. Tanto en su versión original como en ésta, puesta al día y ampliada 3 , realiza un análisis prospec-tivo del mundo durante el siglo XXI y del papel que van a desempe-ñar los EE.UU. y las potencias emergentes, en especial, China e India. Zakaria advierte que es un libro no tanto sobre el declive de los EE.UU. sino sobre el auge de los demás. Sostiene que este siglo va a ser post-americano, ya que el poder será más difuso en este nuevo orden mundial, debido a que la infl uencia de la, hasta ahora, super-potencia está decayendo y los poderes emergentes son más asertivos para hacer valer sus intereses. Al decir que es un mundo post-americano, Zakaria quiere expresar que el sistema internacional del siglo XXI en sus rasgos y característi-cas gruesas es un mundo made in USA, con primacía de valores como el liberalismo, las economías de mercado y el american way of life. EE.UU. seguirá teniendo un rol relevante a nivel mundial y compara su infl uencia a la ejercida por el Imperio Británico, luego de su retirada, en los países que recibieron su infl ujo, en especial, en sus ex colo-nias, que fueron hondamente marcados par su cultura, su lengua, su ética y su estilo de vida.

Bu bölümde, kitabın okuyucular tarafından daha iyi anlaşılmasını sağlamak için kitaptaki bölümlerde geçen uluslararası ilişkiler kavramları başta olmak üzere bazı temel kavramlar açıklanmaya çalışılacaktır (açıklansın, açıklanmasın bu... more

Bu bölümde, kitabın okuyucular tarafından daha iyi anlaşılmasını sağlamak için kitaptaki bölümlerde geçen uluslararası ilişkiler kavramları başta olmak üzere bazı temel kavramlar açıklanmaya çalışılacaktır (açıklansın, açıklanmasın bu kitabı anlamada bazı önemli kavram ve kişiler, okuyucunun başka kaynaklardan da faydalanması amacıyla metin içerisinde koyu renkte gösterilmiştir). Daha sonra da kitaptaki bazı bölümlerden örnekler verilecektir. Böylece hem bu kavramların daha iyi anlaşılması hem de kitaptaki bölümler arasındaki bağlantıların okuyucu tarafından daha rahat kurulması amaçlanmaktadır. Ancak, okurun dikkatinden kaçmayacağı gibi, sosyal bilimlerin en zor ve en zevkli yönlerinden birisi çok önemli konularda bile temel tanımlar üzerinde çoğu zaman bir fikir birliğinin olmaması, aksine tamamen zıt görüşlerin bulunmasıdır. Bu kavramlar özü itibarıyla çekişmeli (essentially contested) kavramlardır . Örneğin bu durum, devlet, egemenlik, demokrasi, milli çıkar, terör gibi en temel kavramlar için de böyledir.

For nearly a century, it has been assumed that self-determination of the world's peoples through creation and territorial guarantee of independent, ethnically defined polities was central if not essential to Woodrow Wilson's vision for a... more

For nearly a century, it has been assumed that self-determination of the world's peoples through creation and territorial guarantee of independent, ethnically defined polities was central if not essential to Woodrow Wilson's vision for a peaceful world order. Nothing could be further from the truth, and failure to appreciate the integrative rather than fissiparous character of Wilson's vision has impoverished the international political imagination ever since--with disastrous consequences for peace and democracy worldwide.

The article presents maxims for prudence in international relations and foreign policy.

Zu den erfrischenden Momenten in unserer Zeit der politischen und intellektuellen Einöde gehören jene, in denen die Medienindustrie meint, vermeintliche Minderheitenmeinungen zu Wort kommen lassen zu müssen. Ein solcher Moment schlug im... more

Zu den erfrischenden Momenten in unserer Zeit der politischen und intellektuellen Einöde gehören jene, in denen die Medienindustrie meint, vermeintliche Minderheitenmeinungen zu Wort kommen lassen zu müssen. Ein solcher Moment schlug im Mai des letzten Jahres, als die Polit-Illustrierte Stern einen ihrer bewährten Zeitgeist-Autoren nach London sandte, um den altehrwürdigen Eric Hobsbawm zur Krise des Kapitalismus zu befragen.

According to the common idea, " the economic power determines the political power." By this general principle, when we look at the powerful states, we see that these states (countries) have, at the same time, the powerful political effect... more

According to the common idea, " the economic power determines the political power." By this general principle, when we look at the powerful states, we see that these states (countries) have, at the same time, the powerful political effect on the other actors. In this paper, some trade and economic data of Turkey are shown in order to localize its place in the World rankings. By this purpose, this paper argues the fact that Turkey which, being one of the countries belonging G-20, has tried since 1991 to play a big role in its bilateral relations in Caucasia, Central Asia and Middle East (CCAME). However, when the data of international business of Turkey and those of each one of the countries of Central Asia treated in the contents of research are studied, it is seen very clearly that the influence of Turkey in Central Asia is not very dominant or does not create a dominating effect over the economic plan in spite of the existence of the diplomatic effects, visa facilities and the visits based upon the cultural level and mutually testified. Without any doubt, although nobody can deny the existence and the probability of the gradual growth of Turkey's relations in CCAME's countries, Turkey, whose face is turned mainly towards the occident and the large majority of trade made within the European countries, tries to be an influential actor in the determined areas. Naturally, in spite of the celebration of Nawruz with the Turkic World, acting as a Muslim country in Middle East, and accepting the norms of European Union as a European democratic and laicized country in Eu-rope, Turkey presents several identities and makes it a multi-colored actor who can be used in favor of Turkey's interests.

In determining how he will behave, an actor must try to predict how others will act and how their actions will affect his values. The actor must therefore develop an image of others and of their intentions. This image may, however, turn... more

In determining how he will behave, an actor must try to predict how others will act and how their actions will affect his values. The actor must therefore develop an image of others and of their intentions. This image may, however, turn out to be an inaccurate one; the actor may, for a number of reasons, misperceive both others’ actions and their intentions. In this research note I wish to discuss the types of misperceptions of other states’ intentions which states tend to make. The concept of intention is complex, but here we can consider it to comprise the ways in which the state feels it will act in a wide range of future contingencies. These ways of acting usually are not specific and well-developed plans. For many reasons a national or individual actor may not know how he will act under given conditions, but this problem cannot be dealt with here.

In this article, I review Richard Haass's The World: A Brief Introduction. I engage with his main arguments and along the way highlight its strengths and weaknesses. In the conclusion, I argue for a revised edition keeping in view the... more

In this article, I review Richard Haass's The World: A Brief Introduction. I engage with his main arguments and along the way highlight its strengths and weaknesses. In the conclusion, I argue for a revised edition keeping in view the changing geopolitical realities precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

No phenomenon is arguably more central to the study of international relations (IR) than war. The history of armed conflict is deeply intertwined with the formation of virtually every nation-state and it was the very superiority of the... more

No phenomenon is arguably more central to the study of international relations (IR) than war. The history of armed conflict is deeply intertwined with the formation of virtually every nation-state and it was the very superiority of the modern territorial polity's mobilization of the war machine that ensured its historical dominance over other types of units. The exercise of armed force is still viewed today by states as their singular prerogative and the greatest calling they can make on their populations and, as realist scholars keep reminding us, the ever-present possibility of war always lurks in the background of international relations. Yet for all its centrality, the concept of war itself was until relatively recently rarely submitted to sustained scrutiny within IR scholarship. This is a paradox given the importance accorded to war within the modern academic discipline of IR at its foundation. Back then, figures such as E. H. Carr (2001) and Hans Morgenthau (1948) insisted on a clear-eyed recognition of the inherent propensity of states to employ bellicose means to further their interests as the surest way to avert, or at least mitigate, the evils of war. The original emphasis on war is hardly surprising given that the field established itself in the shadow of two world wars and a tense confrontation between American and Soviet superpowers. But it is precisely the weight of these historical conditions that gave scholars little reason to probe the concept of war in any great depth, so self-evident did it appear to them that it primarily referred to the kind of large-scale interstate conflict that had so dominated recent world affairs.

The book is a persuasive review of the theoretical foundations of international relations studies. It underlines the need to tie theoretical foundations together in daily politics with the practical problems that arise around us.... more

The book is a persuasive review of the theoretical foundations of international relations studies. It underlines the need to tie theoretical foundations together in daily politics with the practical problems that arise around us. International Relations (IR), which is nearly a century old, has become and appears to be interconnected with several other social science fields, enabling one to view today's multipolar society and pluralistic cultures in innovative ways. Each chapter of the book deals with a new group of IR theories and methods, and includes a historical narrative, explaining how IR theories have evolved over the last few decades. According to Lawson, the study of each of the key IR theories has also shown that they are primarily derived from political theory more broadly, with components of social theory and economic theory providing additional perspectives (p. 246). Lawson simply shows how one discipline integrates with another, while simultaneously showing that the philosophy of IR is indeed a question of normative reasoning.

В XXI в. Япония и Китай вступили как самые мощные эконо¬мичес-кие державы Азии и влиятельные игроки мировой и региональной по-литики. На протяжении первого десятилетия XXI в. китайско-японские отношения характеризовались позитивными... more

В XXI в. Япония и Китай вступили как самые мощные эконо¬мичес-кие державы Азии и влиятельные игроки мировой и региональной по-литики. На протяжении первого десятилетия XXI в. китайско-японские отношения характеризовались позитивными тенденциями, хотя сопровождались многочисленными зигзагами и поворотами. По сравнению с японо-американским альянсом, стратегические и взаимовыгодные интересы Китая и Японии представляют собой более низ¬кий уровень сотрудничества. Следует отметить, что от состояния отношений между двумя странами во многом зависит экономическая и политическая стабильность в Восточной Азии, влияющие на мировую политику.

In this final chapter of Part Two, the author addresses arguably the central stumbling block for those who would enlarge international society to incorporate elements of world society, alternative levels of analysis, and subject... more

In this final chapter of Part Two, the author addresses arguably the central
stumbling block for those who would enlarge international society to incorporate
elements of world society, alternative levels of analysis, and subject matters:
namely, the problem of order. He argues that a concern with order, in its
methodological, theoretical, and empirical guises, is the principal feature of the
understanding of international society by the English School of International
Relations. While order may endorse methodological pluralism, the author argues
that the approach does not embrace it and has powerful canons that structure
its work, one being the requirement that to count as valid knowledge about
international society, a piece of work must begin by referring to the established
fathers of the tradition. This preoccupation with order carries over into the
empirical and theoretical work conducted by those associated with the School,
and the author attempts to critique this by challenging the assumption, central
to English School theorizing since Henry Bull, that a degree of order is
necessary for the achievement of social goods. Instead, he argues that an overpreoccupation with order can serve the cause of oppression, and therefore
insists that progressive change tends to come about through periods of disorder.

The Palestinian-Israeli problem has been the most significant obstacle in the peace process in the Middle East. The Balfour Declaration between the British Empire and the Zionists in 1917, which explicitly declared support for creating a... more

The Palestinian-Israeli problem has been the most significant obstacle in the peace process in the Middle East. The Balfour Declaration between the British Empire and the Zionists in 1917, which explicitly declared support for creating a "national home for the Jewish people" at the expense of the Palestinians, began after the Jewish exodus to Palestine after WW1. There have been three wars between Arab-Israel and Zionist imperial control over the Palestinians, resulting in the displacement of millions of refugees and hundreds of thousands of deaths of the Palestinians. Since the 1948 war, there have been no official Arab-Israeli relations except for Egypt and Jordan. However, geopolitical changes over the last decade have completely disrupted the Middle East and North Africa's conventional political order thanks to the Arab Spring, the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS, and new non-Arab hegemonial forces like Iran and Turkey. Over the last decade, these developments have altered the perspective of the Arab monarchies towards the Palestinian issue, which they conceive as a mere distraction from real immediate threats. It finally contributed to Abraham's agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel and then the agreement between Bahrain and Israel. While there is the considerable fuss about the agreement, it will only lead to more conflict and chaos in the MENA region from a pragmatic point of view, as has emerged in the recent developments in Libya and the Mediterranean Sea.

Работа посвящена освещению региональной политики, проводимой Японией. В ней сделана попытка исследовать особенности внешней политики Японии на современном этапе и в этом мы видим актуальность выбранной темы. Претензии Японии на... more

Работа посвящена освещению региональной политики, проводимой Японией. В ней сделана попытка исследовать особенности внешней политики Японии на современном этапе и в этом мы видим актуальность выбранной темы.
Претензии Японии на единоличное лидерство в Восточной Азии (или, более правильно, на партнерство с решающим голосом), как отмечают многие ученые-японоведы, уже необратимо несостоятельны, хотя Япония и сохраняет подавляющую экономическую мощь по сравнению с другими странами региона. Сложившаяся ранее японоцентристская модель экономической взаимозависимости в Восточной Азии будет и дальше размываться, поэтому Япония будет вынуждена делить бремя лидерства с Китаем в общей атмосфере «партнерства в конкуренции». Более того, в перспективе силы региональной интеграции все больше будут концентрироваться вокруг Китая, который сможет постепенно отвоевать позиции у Японии и стать лидером в Азиатско-тихоокеанском регионе.
В своей работе автор поставил ряд вопросов, среди которых: изучение теоретических аспектов региональной политики; исследование особенностей современной региональной политики Японии; анализ основных аспектов взаимоотношений Японии с ключевыми игроками в СВА; определение степени участия Японии в региональных структурах АТР, а также проблем и перспектив региональной политики Японии.
В работе показано, что эти взаимоотношения влияют на геополитическую ситуацию не только в АТР, но и во всем мире. Кроме того, все ключевые страны СВА сталкиваются сегодня со стратегически важными вопросами сохранения региона в мире и поддержания его экономической жизнеспособности в условиях глобализации. Автор отмечает, что стабильность в СВА зависит от прочных и предсказуемых отношений между всеми ключевыми игроками данного региона.
Автор в работе исследует степень участия Японии в региональных структурах АТР, так как она является лидером региональной интеграции в АТР, доминируя в экономике стран региона, выступая в качестве главного инвестора, центра передачи технологий, основного экспортного рынка, крупного рынка сбыта товаров.
В заключительном разделе своей работы автор делает попытку определить проблемы и дальнейшие перспективы осуществления регио¬нальной политики Японии. По мнению автора Япония сталкивается с рядом проблем и ограничений, которые могут препятствовать усилению влияния и более активной роли Японии в поддержании регионального порядка.

On all continents the enormity of the violence and danger of the times gives rise to multiple new practices of struggle and to conceptual innovations, which seek to serve justice, solidarity, and dignity for all. We explore the... more

On all continents the enormity of the violence and danger of the times gives rise to multiple new practices of struggle and to conceptual innovations, which seek to serve justice, solidarity, and dignity for all. We explore the possibilities and different worlds intended in the main slogan of the World Social Forum ‘Another world is possible’. During its early years the World Social Forum was characterized by a fair amount of optimism. We know now that most of the high hopes of the movements have not been adequately materialized. The rise of authoritarian leaders and the nexus between capitalism and populism emerging in different parts of the world has created a new context for the attempts to create democratic futures. This collection presents and interrogates a variety of diagnoses of the present and of new strategies for transformative change that are emerging out of the forum process.

This paper examines the propaganda strategy the National Socialists used to mobilise the popular support necessary for their 1939 invasion of Poland. It explored documentary evidence that the National Socialist strategy was to ‘excite a... more

This paper examines the propaganda strategy the National Socialists used to mobilise the popular support necessary for their 1939 invasion of Poland. It explored documentary evidence that the National Socialist strategy was to ‘excite a popular terror’ amongst Germans regarding the potential for Polish military aggression on the eastern border through the telling of atrocity tales, eliciting support for a military ‘response’ thereby. As primary evidence of this strategy, this paper refers to the deposition presented to the Nuremberg Trials by the Schutzstaffel (SS) officer charged with a staged SS attack on one of their own radio stations near what in 1939 the Polish border. Operation Canned Goods was notable for featuring the use of drugged concentration camp inmates, dressed in Polish army uniforms, summarily executed and left behind as ‘evidence.’ Part of a broader campaign called ‘Operation Himmler,’ named after the head of the SS and directed by Police General Reinhart Heydrich, Canned Goods was cited in the aftermath by Hitler as a pretext for attacking Poland. On this basis, this paper argues that the discourse the Nazis adopted meets the criteria for what sociologists understand today to be moral panics—episodes where society becomes overheated by fears of an ‘existential’ threat, a menace so great as to imperil the existence of society. It further argues that the construction of a propaganda discourse in this way offers insight into some of the ways that wars are provoked in general, offering hope of being able to identify and circumvent the underlying logic upon which such propaganda gives rise before it becomes too late.

Regarder le monde comme un espace mobile et fluide. S'émanciper de l'idée d'une scène internationale orchestrée par les seuls États. Sortir des figures classiques de l’ennemi, de la frontière, des identités exclusives. Montrer tous les... more

Regarder le monde comme un espace mobile et fluide. S'émanciper de l'idée d'une scène internationale orchestrée par les seuls États. Sortir des figures classiques de l’ennemi, de la frontière, des identités exclusives. Montrer tous les acteurs des échanges internationaux, qu’ils soient publics ou privés, individuels ou collectifs, politiques, économiques ou sociaux, locaux, nationaux, régionaux ou mondiaux. Représenter les innombrables interdépendances et enchevêtrements de nos histoires, autant que les désordres et les dysfonctionnements d’un monde pluriel.

Since the beginning of the 21st-century use of the internet for contractual transactions has dramatically increased. The legitimacy and significance of such contracts have evolved rapidly ever since but South Asian countries still need to... more

Since the beginning of the 21st-century use of the internet for contractual transactions has dramatically increased.
The legitimacy and significance of such contracts have evolved rapidly ever since but South Asian countries still need to work hard to match pace with modern ways of contractual transactions to meet their ever-increasing demands.
This draft provides legal guidance for legislative steps taken so far in the developed world along with the necessary steps required for new counties trying to explore this vast topic.

Scheda analitica realizzata nell'ambito del corso di Relazioni Internazionali della prof.ssa Ruth Hanau Santini, che tratta dell'articolo di Alexander Wendt "L'anarchia è ciò che gli stati ne fanno" che ha aperto le porte al... more

Scheda analitica realizzata nell'ambito del corso di Relazioni Internazionali della prof.ssa Ruth Hanau Santini, che tratta dell'articolo di Alexander Wendt "L'anarchia è ciò che gli stati ne fanno" che ha aperto le porte al costruttivismo sociale all'interno della teoria delle Relazioni Internazionali.

How to balance the tension between the state and the market. Develop three strategies which developing countries can adopt to balance state/market relations in the context of globalisation. draw on three contending theoretical... more

How to balance the tension between the state and the market. Develop three strategies which developing countries can adopt to balance state/market relations in the context of globalisation. draw on three contending theoretical perspectives of international

Is it trivial, or perhaps even irresponsible, to explore aesthetic themes at a time when the world is engulfed by war, genocide, terrorism, poverty, climate change and financial turmoil? Why indulge in painting, poetry or music when lives... more