Critical review of John Mearsheimer's The Tragedy of Great Power Essay

Critical review of John Mearsheimer's The Tragedy of Great Power - Essay Example Summary: Mearsheimer started the book with a focus on the offensive realistic theory that fundamentally emphasizes that the international political scenario is considerably anarchic. Different nations have developed a fear against one another in their race of power and autonomy. Mearsheimer asserts that all countries are basically striving hard to become a hegemon for the simple reason that they feel that this would make them secure. All the national and international activities of states revolve around one solid aim i.e. to achieve more and more control and power over the world and its resources as compared to others in the competition. All countries are included in the competition of security. Military capabilities of a nation play a decisive role in determining its power, status and global image. If a nation wants to enhance its strength, one thing that it needs to focus on and improve is its army. It is the army that enables a nation to win battles. Land power is essential in ord er to attain all other forms of power. Latent power that covers the financial strength, economic stability, population, literacy rate and high intellect is secondary to the actual power, though the former is extremely important to generate the latter. There are several nations that are currently accoutered with nuclear power, yet very few to none of them actually plan to ever use that power. Their disinclination towards the use of their nuclear power is a clear indication of the fact that land power is indeed, the fundamental sign of power. In fact, the same disinclination towards using nuclear power displayed by the nuclear powers of the contemporary age is in itself a cause of stability among individual nations. Offensive realism fundamentally revolves around the conception that great powers tend to look out for chances to overpower their adversaries and their ultimate goal is hegemony. This is opposite to the ideology of defensive realism that encourages the states to take necess ary measures so as to ensure their safety and security. In such an ideology, the ultimate motif is not power, and hence the international relations are not as prone to conflicts as they are in the case of offensive realism. Mearsheimer believes that no state is intrinsically arrogant or aggressive. Indeed, aggression is an artificially acquired characteristic that is deemed important to survive in an uncertain global environment, altering power distribution and inadequate military support. Mearsheimer has not just made statements about offensive realism, he has actually tested and justified it in his book. In order to validate the offensive realism, Mearsheimer has emphasized that in order to survive through the time as a nation, it is imperative that people choose leaders because they struggle to make a nation strong and powerful. He has testified his own claim with clear emphasis on cases from the history. Mearsheimer has achieved this by analyzing matters with respect to several questions. He has checked if there was a direct relation between a nation’s power and aggression in its international interactions. He has judged the factors that determine a nation’s response to the aggression it is offered by external agencies. He has also studied the variation in the functionality and tendency of bipolar and multipolar

Apple Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Apple Inc - Case Study Example In fact, it contributes to over 50% of Apple’s bottom line and with the sales of its iPhone 5 surpassing that of the iPhone 4s, the company’s market cap increased significantly. Secondly, the Apple Dividend announced in March of 2012 made its stock more attractive to income-searching retail investors, despite its small yield. However, income fund managers found its $2.65 quarterly dividend more important as the income funds require that the investments must provide income (Sutherland, 2012: p52). Having a dividend made it possible for more investors to buy its stock, which increased its market cap. In addition, although Apple’s stocks have been fluctuating, its fundamentals have stayed the same with over $100 billion in cash reserves and no debts. This ensures that investors see it as a safe bet that will climb again. Apple was able to identify market trends and capitalize on them through various means. With a diverse range of stylish products, Apple capitalized on the fact that consumers wanted to be different. The iPhone and the iPad were released after Apple recognized the high demand for computers and phones but that most products on the market looked the same with similar functionalities (Treacy, 2012: p60). Another reason for Apple’s ability to capitalize on identified market trends is its dynamic business plan, which is always set to resonate with what the market wants. By changing the company’s name to Apple Inc from Apple Computer, the company identified the need for a phone with computer functionalities and broadened their spectrum. Apple was also able to identify the fact that music retail outlets were becoming popular and that outsourcing this capability was not giving them what they wanted (Treacy, 2012: p60). ... By opening a retail store, they were able to capitalize on consumers needs for a retail outlet on their phones. Apple was able to achieve global success by leveraging brand loyalty. By taking their business to emerging markets with minimal penetration of smartphones but where their brand was already known due to mass media, the company opened up new opportunities for developers in those markets (Treacy, 2012: p72). In addition, by hiring employees from those countries and from diverse fields, including artists and musicians, they were able to create unique and different perspectives from those countries. Apple also built relationships with its customers in various regions of the world by embracing social media and the internet, which meant that people in these new regions saw Apple as a transparent and trustworthy company. In addition, they also used movement marketing, in which they marketed what Apple believed in, contending that they sought to bring personal experience of computin g to consumers across the world via innovation (Treacy, 2012: p73). By leveraging brand loyalty, Apple consumers have overlooked glitches as they have emotional connections with their products. However, in order for Apple to gain market share across the world, various companies also had to lose market share and the most affected company was Microsoft. By combining most of what Microsoft offered, including a phone, search engine, office, and operating systems, Apple was able to offer consumers a product that was more appealing (Treacy, 2012: p91). By doing this, Apple was also able to grow various market segments. One of them was the smartphone market, which, although still stagnant at 3%, has pushed its competitors to