*Version 3 – General Paper / Social Studies / History / English – Singapore syllabus*
If you say that someone or something is more trouble than they are worth, you mean that they cause you a lot of problems or take a lot of time and effort and you do not achieve or gain very much in return.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers. (accessed 30 Jul 2019). More trouble than it is worth.
Essay: Is globalisation more trouble than it is worth?
#The flow of refugees has been more trouble than it is worth, at least in the short term. The introduction of these groups has created social unrest and political shockwaves.
In the 1990s, Germany took in asylum seekers from Bosnia, Turkey and eastern Europe. Partly on humanitarian grounds, it later accepted about one million refugees in 2015. Time and again, these created problems. Extremist and xenophobic attacks first took place against the asylum seekers. This trend continued into the 21st century with anti-immigrant political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) stoking political violence. On one 2016 night of an AfD election celebration in Munich, right-wing extremists ended up attacking protesters and journalists outside the event.
It remains to be seen how this might be turned into a long term demographic (consumption demand for example) and labour advantage for Germany as it still needs to successfully manage integration, housing, and education.
- Why Germany is taking in so many refugees – the benefits and risks. Jennifer Clibbon · CBC News · Updated: September 15, 2015. Canada.
- Political Violence Is Rising In Germany. So Is A Scary New Political Party. Marc Steinau, Benjamin Reuter and Nicholas Miriello HuffPost Germany. (9 Sep 2016).
- Who are Germany’s far-right AfD? David Child. (26 Sept 2017). Al Jazeera Media Network.
- Germany’s Far-Right AfD Party Is Making Its Presence Felt. (June 8, 2018 2:43 PM ET). Simon Schuetz. NPR, US.
- A Sorry History of Self-Deception and Wasted Opportunities. Matthias Bartsch, Andrea Brandt and Daniel Steinvorth. (7 Sep 2010). De Spiegel Online. [Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan]. Germany.
#International military intervention is often problematic and may even backfire.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union tried to shore up its political allies in Afghanistan. What followed was a war that began in 1979 but only ended in the late 1980s. This debacle contributed to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 with its economic drain and damage to internal political legitimacy. The other surviving superpower, the United States (US) fared little better. With regards to American fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan after 2001, four in ten veterans reported they had difficulties adjusting back to life at home after the combat zone, and 37% said they suffered from post-traumatic stress, even though they might not have been formally diagnosed as such. Only a mere one-third said both wars were worth the costs. In the same Pew Research Center surveys (2011: sample size approximately 3,800), half of the of the Americans felt the wars made little difference in their lives. By 2013, American politician Alan Grayson (Florida state) declared: “We are not the world’s policeman, nor its judge and jury. Our own needs in America are great, and they come first.” From this perspective, it is hardly surprising that the more isolationist inclined nominee, Donald Trump was elected as the US President in 2016.
Hence military involvement, owing to its various costs and often low return, should generally be avoided.
#Financial globalisation via loans or aid presents a mixed bag. This depends on whether it comes with strings attached and the loan terms.
The US driven Marshall Plan of 1947 helped propel much of Western Europe into economic prosperity after the ravages of World War Two. This created major economic powers like then West Germany. Indeed, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called it “the most unselfish act by any great power in history”. On the other hand, researchers for the Kiel Institute for the World Economy referred in 2019 to evidence that Chinese development aid is closely associated with political support for China at the United Nations. Further, David Malpass, a former US Treasury Department official and economic adviser to US President Donald Trump, had criticised China’s efforts to finance large-scale infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road initiative, saying the state-driven plan often left countries with “excessive debt and poor-quality projects”.
If not carefully considered and wisely managed, recipients of such inflows risk impossible debt traps and taxing political obligations.
- Associated Press. (10 Jul 2019). Is Chinese money creating a debt trap in Tonga? South China Morning Post. Hong Kong.
- China’s Got the World by the Throat. Mihir Sharma. (July 18, 2019). Bloomberg Opinion.
- Is China the World’s Loan Shark?
- Revisiting Chinese neocolonialism. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard. (11 Feb 2018). The Diplomat / The Japan Times.
See also:
El Salvador, the smallest country on the American mainland, is around the same size as Slovenia. But its earth is rich with gold – well over 400 tons, according to estimates from the main mining company, Pacific Rim. At current rates, that gold would be worth more than 1.6 million euros ($1.7 million).
The Canadian company had spent years carrying out research in El Salvador’s northern Cabana department, with investments amounting to $77 million, according to its own statements.
But when Pacific Rim wanted to begin digging for gold, the government in the capital San Salvador wouldn’t give way. Then-President Antonio Saca refused to give the Canadians the necessary permits, citing concerns for the country’s drinking water reserves.
In 2009, Pacific Rim responded by filing a complaint with the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The firm also sued El Salvador for damages – demanding compensation amounting to about $250 million – which amounts to more than 1 percent of the country’s annual economic output.
El Salvador defended its actions, saying that Pacific Rim had submitted unsatisfactory feasibility studies and had failed to meet environmental requirements. The government added that the company only had usage rights in one section of the land required for its project.
Seven years later, in October 2016 – by which time Pacific Rim had become a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian venture OceanaGold – the ICSID dismissed the complaint, instead ordering OceanaGold to reimburse El Salvador’s legal expenses of $8 million.
Jan D. Walter. (31 Mar 2017). ‘Water wins over gold’ in El Salvador mining ban. Deutsche Welle.
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