Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Discuss Moral Values Free Essays

Societies have ideally tried to uphold higher ethical standards and moral values as the code of conduct for all members. Individuals try to behave according to such standards but in reality what is construed as moral or immoral are generally relative to the values adhered to by the individual (Fisher, 2005). If the person values money and wealth, then being unscrupulous in doing business to gain more profits will not be immoral. We will write a custom essay sample on Discuss Moral Values or any similar topic only for you Order Now On the other hand if the individual values justice and fairness, then his/her behavior would naturally be in accordance with such values ands is expected to be morally upright. In the corporate world there is more room for less moral restraints and unethical behavior. Corporations promote competitiveness and reward those who are able to close the biggest deal or to get the largest customer or the greatest profit which means that individuals will likely pursue these goals without any qualms of whether it is moral or not. For example, the corporate scandals in the stock exchange was said to have been done to drive the stock price upwards falsely even if it meant cheating the shareholders of their money. It is immoral to cheat or to take advantage of other people but for those in the corporate world, it is the usual way of doing business. Some corporations are so competitive that even employees themselves try to outsmart each other and get on top, even if it meant backstabbing, falsely accusing others or even claiming credit for other people’s work. However, not all companies are run this way, some try to be just and honest, but if the organization does not promote a culture of positive moral values then their employees would really not be required to behave as such. How to cite Discuss Moral Values, Papers

Friday, May 1, 2020

Kants Moral Theory Morality

Question: Discuss and give our views on the effectiveness of Hegels criticism of Kant on morality and law. This is a large question but concentrate on what for you are the significant points? Answer: Kants Moral Theory Kant proposed one can assert moral principles in a single domain. He proposed the Categorical Imperative Theory[1]. He believed on the origination of morality from authoritative humans and was firm on the concept that it did not originate from God. Kant had regard for freedom and suggested that it is most essential for enlightenment. The interest in aspects of feelings, morality, and affect led him to study on it and thus the argument on the universality and stableness arose. According to Kant, it was important to expose and authorize the morality principles. The moral decisions are analytical and logical as morality demands that important and rational approaches are significant. (Tavernier 2014) Kant stated that one should act by following a certain principle in such a way that it is just as significant as a universal law. He proposed the formula of law of nature to illustrate rational principles. According to an example, if there are contractions with the internal or universal standards, the point to consider is that the maxim or the specific principle has somewhat lost its credibility. The theory itself has some confusions due to which criticism was shown later on. The reliability of Kants theory was not too deep and there were a lot of questions which were unanswered in his concept of morality. Kants theory was quite interesting because he has totally given a new direction to the concept of morality and he has given all the powers to the authoritative humans in the early era. He believes that nature has some limitations but the moral values are derived from one of the sources which were originated by the humans. This is quite strange to understand the concept because if someone has a belief in God then, it is quite difficult to understand the law. Due to such confusion in his theory, there are certain conflicts as well which are properly criticized by some of the other people. However, Kants theory was literally something very different because no one thought that morality has originally been generated by humans. Effectiveness of Hegels Criticism Wilhelm Hegel criticized the categorical imperative theory. His focus was on the Formula of Law of Nature. Hegel viewed that this concept was more likely to reduce formalism and on the other hand, the moral principles made it more like an obligation for just a duty. In a nutshell, categorical imperative is similar to the litmus moral test. It refers that in a case, if any discrepancy occurs it may lead to the question of presence or the absence of morality. (Hagen 1995) One of the other reasons why Hegel thought it is not the right idea as far as the morality is concerned because in this way, the phenomenon of formalism would be completely neglected. So, people will start taking it as an obligation that nothing should go against the moral values. Considering the moral principles, there are chances of breach in the statement with reference to its abstract theory and the application in an objective situation. It can be understood with the illustration of a simple example. The abstract principle statement suggests do not steal others belongings. The dispute may arise on what is considered as stealing and how dangerous or harmful it can be before it is acted upon. Stealing is different from borrowing and what could be the harm if the latter one is adopted. The concrete situation where the act is performed does not lead to immorality. (Shortridge 2013) There is a lot of confusion between the standards set by the universe and those which have been created by us. Hegel is of the view that Kants theory has no practical implications and it is just a philosophy that needs to be reviewed and he did it by comparing it with the Formula for Law of Nature. Kant assumed that the moral principles are substantially against the universal standards, but Hegel objected on this and stated that the rational moral principles crop from the universalizability tests. In an example quoted by Kant, related to an individual who tries to keep hold of those deposits which are although not reported, under ones protection. The individual if chooses to keep the deposits as there are favorable circumstances can be listed as universalized. Hegel, although did not have much objections on this point, but there are issues in regard to the self-consistency of a will in a world view. The conflicts took art in this argument only because it was supposed by Kant that a moral view of world is like a property and in such a situation, deposits can both be trusted and made. It contradicts with the beliefs, morals, intuitions, and values. Categorical imperative was proposed so it could help in the critical analysis and test of the moral intuitions and values which are p art of the maxims. Hegel has a strong point in his criticism against the theory of Kant that nature has its own power and it can drive the moral values on its own so this concept makes sense to some extent. In other words, the theory which says that morality has been derived from the authoritative humans does not sound correct when it is compared with the law of universe. Hegel criticized it because he thought if authoritative humans were there behind morality then, it should have become a necessity of life for everyone to follow which certainly isnt the case! The practical philosophy of Kant was criticized by Hegel. In Philosophy of Right[2], Hegel paid emphasis on the natural drives and he was convinced that these drives can be logical, pure, ordered and rational if the ethical theory is followed. The autonomy of a genuine human being can be easily accessed if the basic rules are acted upon. There was nothing like the concept of ethical formulation in the theory of Kant. It suggest concrete principles are they are generally linked to the drives. In reality, Hegel did not object on the formulation of categorical imperative theory, but he was against the concept that principle identification and location was the only act to be performed for the moral theory. Hegel anticipated the pitfalls in Kants theory as there was no defined difference and distinction among duty and the inclination. Kant provided with a just view and the action theory and did not question about the motivation in a general term. There was difference in the universal and practical impulses, rather than in the degree or position of morality. The motives according to theory proposed are neither moral nor immoral. There is only the idea of less or high in moral principles. In the process of randomization, it is difficult to administer as there are issues in the standardization of the rationalization process. Hegel suggested that the ethical theory works for ones desires, needs, motivations, and the reduction of events on a large scale and the freedom which is repointed after the task has been completed, and the systematization. Hegel debated that Kant was not successful in practically illustrating that the moral will can lead towards contented moral or rational principles. It was argued that if they were actually a source of self-determination and freedom. The initial approach by Hegel was that Kant failed to give the native attitude on the duties and it was defected morally due to lack of substantial act oriented duties. The aim by Kant was the justification of moral law, instead he came up with the doctrine of duty determination. According to Kant, the moral will was a reflective composition in a structured manner and was empirically based on the maxim. The existence of limited identity among empirical and moral will as moral will is sensible, logical, and rational, but empirical will is just rational. The moral will is portrayed by its formal correspondence with itself alongside the abstract vagueness and uncertainty. The moral will does not constitutes the content of the maxim neither the interest invol ved. (Decety Cowell 2014) Hegel criticized and rejected these concepts and proposed that such inconsistencies are neither to be accepted nor tolerated. The content is what provides with the distinction among the two terms; moral and empirical will. In such propositions, the moral will cannot continue with the empirical will and thus they operate as different entities. As Kant conceived the moral will with regard to the priori determination, is was independent of the empirical will. Hegel agreed that the moral will by Kant was independent. He knew that it is the autonomous will which makes a law and formulates the maxim. Hegel agreed on the concept of the acceptance of a maxim or the law according to its integrity in universality. Still, he argued that this was empty formalism and he urged that a maxim holds only when it is for the cause of universality rather than the desires or gains which the maxim may lead towards. (Hutton 2007) Hegels theory looks more reliable and his criticism makes sense because it is understood that the power of nature is far more than the power of humans. Morality is something which itself creates its place within the humans and the degree of it varies within everyone. (Jnr 2013) The confusions of Hegel are also questionable as historical considerations reveal that he ignored the basic theoretical components of Kants philosophy. In the most important formative years, he did not study the theory of Kant. Even when Hegel approached it, he still did so under the influence of the analysis and judgements made by Schelling and Fichte. Fichte focused on the restricted thesis and gross representations and following him, Hegel also neglected the arguments. In his analysis there was lack of composition and there were no clear propositions on the arguments by Kant. Hegel argued on the items in the situations and world around the individual are just simply phenomenal but they lack ground. As a result, these objections somewhat made Hegel to ignore and miss the actual content which was involved in the idealism and deduction by Kant. There were drawbacks in the findings proposed by Hegel. Bibliography Decety, J. and Cowell, J.M., 2014. The complex relation between morality and empathy.Trends in cognitive sciences,18(7), pp.337-339. Hagen, S., 1995. How the world can be the way it is: An inquiry for the New Millenium into Science, Philosophy, and Perception. Hutton, E.L., 2007. Hagen, Kurtis, The Philosophy of Xunzi: A Reconstruction.Dao,6(4), pp.417-421. Jnr, G.A., 2013. Religion and morality in Ghana: A reflection.Global Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences,1(3), pp.162-170. Shortridge, A., 2013. Law against Nature?The Sophists: An Introduction, p.194. Tavernier, J., 2014. Morality and nature: evolutionary challenges to Christian ethics.Zygon,49(1), pp.171-189.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Loneliness a Bane or a Boon Essay Example

Loneliness : a Bane or a Boon? Essay How to make the bane of ‘loneliness a boon? I. Sarkar Man is born free but everywhere he is chained. In the present day democratic set up of the world the chain is the invisible chain of loneliness or isolation. Mental isolation or ‘loneliness is undoubtedly the worst curse or tragedy of a mans life. It is painful because it is contrary to Natures laws. In every aspect of Nature, there is a symmetry or coherence. Even the very atom of a matter is built on the principle of ‘coexistence of heterogeneous characters. Every biotic element requires inter and intra exchange of feelings amongst its own surroundings. In case of man it is of paramount importance, because of all animals only man possesses the passion or intelligence to think and feel. Man cannot live by bread alone. He has to satisfy his mental or emotional needs in addition to physical ones. Man also requires conveying his ideas or thoughts to his fellow being. For this inevitably irresistible reason man has been living in societies; created languages and has built a rich civilization. The primitive ‘Clans have become big cities of the Postmodern global villages of the 21st century. In reverse manner it can be said that Mans total achievement is the outcome of his desire to overcome the curse of ‘Isolation or ‘Loneliness. But it is a matter of regret that instead of gaining victory over this in-born enemy, man has become its worst prey even in the midst of pomp and glory. The isolation of human mind increased proportionately with his materialistic and intellectual prosperity. We will write a custom essay sample on Loneliness : a Bane or a Boon? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Loneliness : a Bane or a Boon? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Loneliness : a Bane or a Boon? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Materialism of the last 150 years has given man almost all ingredients to enjoy life, to live in pleasure and comfort; but the pursuit of materialism has made man more and more isolated or lonely in the contrary. For this reason even after possessing Mass-media, electronic goods, computers internets, television etc. man is as lonely as his prehistoric forefathers. In todays world loneliness are of various natures. Apart from the prisoners and lunatics who are segregated by the law of the country, there are Old age homes which are voluntarily accepted by modern people as their last resort to overcome the burden of loneliness. Bacon said long ago, A crowd is not a company. So it is easily discernable that even a celebrity or glamorous personality living amidst millions of admirers or followers may be an extreme sufferer of loneliness. (The tragic end of Michael Jackson may be mentioned) A man may be surrounded by hundreds of people but his condition may be as tragic as Alexander Selkirk, Robinson Crusoe or Clara Copperfield. Of these the first two fought against the circumstantial adversity and won but Clara ,living amongst her near and dear ones became a patient of ‘Melancholia and ultimately died a miserable death. Acute loneliness causes depression and ruins or kills the victim ultimately. A victim of loneliness becomes addicted to drugs or antisocial activities and may even commit suicide. In a word it can be called a silent killer—physical as well as moral. But is loneliness or mental isolation really a curse? Is it really a killer? Is it a bane? Lets try to see the other side of the coin: If we ponder over the matter in a positive manner then we would get the revelation of enormous hidden potentiality in mental isolation or loneliness. It would appear a boon having multi-colour and varied potentiality. It provides man to work according to his own desire and satisfy his creative instincts. If viewed positively then it would appear that the real pleasure of life remains only in isolation. Leaving the cases of the ancient sages apart, we would discover that it is very easy to achieve anything in an isolated state of mind. Isolation provides more time which means more creativity. Isolation provides liberty to think individually, to see everything in their real colour. It also frees man from the fear of losing anything. It helps strengthening ones moral courage and develops indomitable spirit in man. It makes a man dauntless optimist too. Mans eternal pursuit in this world is to be happy. But most of us meet the opposite because we do not know how to approach it. We look before and after and pine for what is not; and suffer eternal misery as a consequence. As the end is a very lofty and covetous so the means are wrongly exercised causing catastrophic results. Mental isolation may create this awareness in the mind of the sufferer and thus provide him the right realization or the key to happiness. Again, it is only in isolation a man can do self criticism. He understands the merits of a good act and demerits of a bad one. This realization causes purification of ones soul and thus helps him to regain his mental strength. Thus it can be said that the proper use of Isolation ultimately helps a man to regain his self-respect and self-confidence which are the secret strength of a man to do miracles out of nothing. Mental isolation or loneliness indirectly provides a man the plan for future happiness. He can cast off his sordid experiences like bad dreams and prepare himself for a new beginning. In this regard the case of Napoleon and Jawaharlal Nehru may be mentioned as examples. But in order to obtain this, a man has to discipline his mind first. He should take recourse to his favourite hobbies like listening music or study good literature. Tagores inspirational songs are very helpful for moral boosting while Shakespeares Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Julius Caesar are relevant studies to the mentioned perspective. Man may try to realize the power of soul like the realization of Robinson Crusoe and fill his life with dedicated works all the time. He should not allow his mind to indulge in frustrating thoughts. In the hour of loneliness a man may make Tagores songs for rejuvenation. Meditation also helps enormously to fight the evil of loneliness. If a man follows all these things then in course of time he would obviously derive the Midas like capacity to make everything gold whatever he touches. Thus loneliness or isolation would become a boon in disguise in stead of a deadly bane. ++++

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Bamboo in the Wind by Azucena Uranza

Bamboo in the Wind by Azucena Uranza CN: 14 Teng, Marc Gabriel Kiac 16 December 2013H.S. IV-DBamboo in the WindFrom the title itself, 'Bamboo in the Wind' indicates the Filipinos' resilience, just as a bamboo tends to bend with the wind. Although the plot revolves around the Marcos' regime, the cast of characters is able to cope with the changes in the society. In the novel, the character of Larry depicts the idealism turned to realism due to his resilience in the awakening of the Filipinos from their idyllic dream of a better Philippines, especially in the means to do so.Returning from the United States, the land of dreams, Larry begins as an idealist because a man's ideal dream is to live a life that's happily ever after, evident from the text"He had been eager to leave at first. But when the time drew near, he wanted to give up, preferring to stay and work.Bacolod Public Plaza during bicycle races in 1901,...In the U.S., he worked for a while after getting his degree but found no point in prolonging his stay in a for eign land. His place was home. And here he was, he thought happily, home at last, starting a new life, like a rebirth."Furthermore, although he says the line to Connie "I can't be expected to fall in love with a political entity called a nation," his actions do not reflect his words; in fact, it is even Connie who informs Larry of the political situation, which is exemplified in the lines of Connie,"Why should the government be so lavish in its so-called cultural programs, why should we at Holy Trinity pour out a lot of money on so much nonsense, while Jenny languished in Sta. Monica to grow up illiterate because the government and citizens like us can't afford or...

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Develop a Basic Marketing Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Develop a Basic Marketing Strategy - Essay Example Information communication technology (ICT) industry is one of the highly prioritized sectors of the economy. ICT is a highly dynamic sector of the economy in Hungary accounting for about 6% of the country’s economy (Johansson, Karlsson, and Stough 102). ICT industry in the country targets three main pillars namely creating a highly skilled labor force, increasing the number of IT experts, and attracting more companies and Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). The ICT industry in Hungary presents a great opportunity for Apple Inc to expand its customer base in Eastern Europe. This marketing plan will try to assess the potential benefits of the company entering in this market. Apple also has a strong workforce of talented individuals in many parts of the world. This seems to fit in well with the human capital available in Hungary because Hungarian employees are highly skilled and motivated. Apple computers do not function well with other Operating systems. This may be a disadvantage for the company because most of the customers in Hungary have other operating systems and it may prove difficult to switch immediately to Apple. Recent changes in management for the company may not be well received in new markets such as Hungary. Steve Jobs was highly regarded around the world as an effective manager and an innovator for the company. His sudden death created some level of uncertainty among customers. This may also may prove a problem for newer markets. One threat for Apple is the legal problems that may result in operating in Hungary. Hungary is an emerging economic powerhouse that is still trying to stabi8lize itself with various legal structures. Some of the laws such as tax policies may affect Apples operations in the country. Another challenge for Apple Inc is the popularity of a new mobile Operating System, Android that is gaining popularity in Hungary and other markets in Europe. This may pose a challenge for

Monday, February 3, 2020

Communication climate supportive defensive Essay

Communication climate supportive defensive - Essay Example We therefore adopted a supportive communication through focusing on what/how concerns in the topic, being focused on the task, upholding openness in the discussions, holding each as an equal person in the presentation and being very flexible. The proposal presentation adopted a supportive climate through high level of collaboration among the members present for the proposal presentation. The whole process was well prepared for by all members which therefore enabled everyone to n active role in defining as well as solving the problems at hand as against having to assign any person what he/she was expected to do. There was mutual understanding which espoused on empathy as n important element in supportive environment of communication. Besides, the investment committee with whom we worked were very supportive identified with us, respected our propositions and acted in a lot of care towards us which made the communication climate and environment very conducive for our presentation. In spite of our team being well structured in organizational structure, equality was well safeguarded in the presentation and discussions because the team acknowledged the quality of individual contribution towards the success of all. We however acknowledged that every person would be well placed to contribute towards any query raised from the discussions and this led to the open contribution policy while presenting as this would illustrate high levels of support to each other. The success of our presentation and discussions was much dependent on the capacity of us to work as a team and this meant that the hierarchy in responsibility s either being the chair or just a member had no place in the communication. Supportive climate of communication requires high degree of flexibility, open mindedness and general willingness to buy from new ideas presented while conversing and this was highly exhibited while presenting the business proposal to the

Sunday, January 26, 2020

What Is The Multiparty System Politics Essay

What Is The Multiparty System Politics Essay Multiparty system is a system where two or more political parties dominate voting process in almost all elections at every stage of government. This results in almost all elected offices being members of one of the two or more major political parties. In a multi party system, one party typically holds the majority of the sits in the parliament and mainly known as the majority party while the rest are minority parties (Sarma 2007, p.1). Germany is a federal republic based on a representative democracy. German politics for instance take place in the perspective of parliamentary representative perspective. The Chancellor heads the German government. The German republic has of late experience a lot of political instability and due to the existence of more than one political party. Initially, the German republic experienced a lot of political threats due to political issues. In 1919-1933 there was what it was termed as spartacist uprising. The movement had a lot of left wing political views. The group came up from the independent socialists movement after being subjected to a lot of frustrations in the government. Currently, the question is not dictatorship or democracy but the history has put the question and reads as; socialists democracy (Dalton 1981, p. 74) On 1 January 1919, the followers of the Spartacist movement came up in an attempted revolution. At first, the move was resisted by the movement leaders. The new government reacted quickly and in a brutal manner. The government ordered the army to terminate the revolution with the help of a paramilitary group made up of the former service men. The city of Berlin came back to normalcy in two weeks time. The two leaders of the movement were executed in cold blood while in police custody (Rupnik 2003, p.237). Great movement of workers answered the call to struggle. They had a favorite slogan dubbed Down, down, down (with the government) resounded once more. According to the eyewitness, he says that he had to cross the Brandenburg procession at the gate near Tiegarten and also in front of the main staff headquarters. Most of the marchers were well armed and many trucks equipped with machine guns stood at Siegessaule. The witness says he repeatedly asked to be allowed to pass since he had an urgent task. They obligingly allowed him to pass. If the crowds had determined and conscious leaders instead of just windbags, Berlin would have been in their hands that very same day at noon (Baker 1981, p.75) Roadblocks were raised and fighting started as the Freikorps tried to bring back order. Noske was immediately given dictatorial powers across Berlin through the swift action by the government. Noske immediately ordered for 30,000 Freikorps troops to enter Berlin. By March 9th, the councils soldiers and workers decided to terminate the strike. However, this did not placate Noske together with the Freikorps. In contradiction, Noske announced that any individual who bears weapons against the government troops will be shot on sight. By the time the fighting was over, some 2000-3000 workers had lost their lives and nearly 10,000 were seriously wounded. On the same month, the communists party was murdered in a police station while attempting to escape (Zielonka 2003, .p 200). These events give us the picture of how multi party system can lead to political instability in any country. Germany experience a lot of unrest during the First World War then it was also affected by political unrest in 1920s. At this stage, Germany was yet to experience more of political storms for decades (Mattox 2001, p. 35). Recently, in 2005, a general election was held and was highly competitive. The same elections led to the Left Party coming up as a force to the left of SPD (Schweitzer 1995, p 244). Concurrently, the country is going through an increasing level of trade union militancy. This trend gives the impression of a growing malaise inside the German society as a layer of youth and workers look for an alternative (Rachwald 2000, p. 40) The strike to demand for higher wages in the public sector and the coming up of a newly created Left Party in the Western part of the country have covered the larger portion of the political scene in the country of late (Jones 2005, p.11). Whereas the Chancellor Angela Merkel with her Grand Coalition of Christian Democrats (CDU) and Social Democrats (SPD) pride themselves on issues concerning economic growth as well as the reduction in the figures of un-employment with tens of millions of German working class citizens living in a different reality (Pedley 2000, p. 62). In contrary to some of the European countries, the German real wages have fallen drastically in the recent years. In various economic sectors without strong unions even the most absolute level of income has considerably reduced. The process of labor casualization is going on. Millions of working poor citizens cannot sustain themselves with the wages and have to look for or ask for more welfare benefits (Collier 2003, p.13). Hessen is the worst hit area of Germany by the political crisis. This state in the heart of the country with a population of six million inhabitants, the local Christian democrats had got overall majority seats with more than 48% of the votes cast in the year 2003. CDU used the position to come up with a neoliberal attack. This year, the January elections were highly competitive and it was a tough race between the CDU and SPD (Schofield 1998, p. 267). This is significant because the CDU in Hessen is known to be notorious for being especially reactionary and when it was only two weeks before the elections, they that they would not win. This led to the launching of a vicious and desperate racists and anti-communist operation, arguing that if the left were to be elected to legislature and possibly take in a regional government would gradually change Hessen into another Stalinist state in Germany (Roberts 2003, p 91). This reactionary propaganda failed to get the needed effect. It was followed by a huge liberal operation of posters with catchphrases such as freedom or socialism. However, it failed to win most of the two traditional bourgeois parties. On the other hand, the greens and SPD who had stated that they were intending to come up with a coalition in the region also failed to capture the majority seats between them and therefore had to rely only on six members of parliament elected on the Die Linke party to get the regional SPD leader (Siaroff 2009, p. 202). The Hessen case for instance, the need for Deutsche Telekom re-nationalization with compensation based on the proven need, was highly accepted by Die Linke conference during the last summer without any resistance at all (Fairclough 2002, p 123). All these events in Germany were dictated by the countrys political climate. The political climate in Germany has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that a multiparty state is likely to realize political turmoil because of the misunderstanding between the party leaders. Another country in Europe that experiences a lot of polital instability due to multiparty system is Ireland. These two countries have become the central focus in Europe due to the nature of their party organizations. Ireland is an independent democratic nation with a parliamentary system of government. The president is the head of state and mainly ceremonial. He is elected for a term that lasts seven years. The current president is called Mary McAleese, who is serving her second term after taking over the leadership from President Mary Robinson (Prager 2009, p. 133). So far, the Irish politics remain dominated by two main political parties that came up out of the countrys worst civil war in early 1920s. Those who resisted the 1921 agreement that separated the island (Boyce 1995, p.76) formed the Fianna party. Although the opponents of the treaty lost in the war, Fianna soon became the countrys biggest political party. The countrys second largest party is called Fine Gael. Other significant parties include the Greens, Sinn and Labor (Foley 1992, p. 20). The May 2007 general elections brought the countrys largest party Fianna and its leader Bertie back to leadership in a coalition government for un-expected five-year term. Members of the coalition who joined the leading party were the Green party as well as the progressive democrats (Boyland 1990, p. 30). In early 2008, the countrys president announced his intentions to resign as the president. On April the same year, a new party leader was elected and assumed office in May. All these events played a major role in shaping the Irish political landscape. However, in June 2009 Fianna suffered the biggest defeat through the European and local elections. Fine Gael, independent and Labor parties got healthy margins (Farrell 1978, p.29). In the referendum that was held on October the same year, the voters approved the Lisbon treaty and European Union 33% and 67 % respectively. The politics have however made the popularity of the current government to decline because of the poor economic performance (Penniman 1989, p.45). In Northern Ireland, the conflict comes out of the history of the British rule. The historical animosity between the Protestants and the Catholics with various armed political efforts to unite the country with other parts of the island. Republican and Nationalists groups were looking for a united country whereas the unionists and loyalists want the country to remain part of United Kingdom (Richard 1992, p.47). After many years in war by the Loyalists and the Republicans paramilitaries especially the provisional Republican Army of Ireland, the Irish and the British governments agreed fro a PIRA ceasefire in 1994, which was then followed by the famous U.S Good Friday treaty in 1998 (Cox 2006, p. 60). The GFA came up with a power sharing executive and assembly to serve as the local government of Northern Ireland. The countrys assembly had 108 elected. The main political parties in Northern Ireland are the Democratic Unions Party (DUP), Sinn Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Fein and the Social Democratic and Labor Party (Stephen 2005, p.200).