After reading the articles by Pfaff and Stern once again I can understand now, more than before, how closely related the articles are to events that are occuring around the world today. Current issues, such as the war in Iraq, which began mid-semester, have close ties to many points that were brought up in the articles.
I found it interesting to see when Pfaff talks about fear of American hegemony over the rest of the world how it relates to the situation we are undergoing currently. As Pfaff states, "The hegemony argument says that since the United States is the world's most powerful country, and will remain so for a considerable time, it will tend to dominate what happens whatever its policy." This quote demonstrates the feelings that many people around the world are having today about the United States. Some fears that are circulating around the world in peoples minds are reflected in this quote as well.
Stern on the other hand, wrote about how European nations were throughout history at war with each other, however, today this is not so much the case. However, i can see now that although nations within Europe may not fight so much amongst themselves new fears have been created and the security dilemma still seems to exist there, and everywhere else, further proving Sterns point of feeling protected.
Reading the articles again and giving them thought after taking this class allowed me to do more of a close reading and form an analysis that let me connect Pfaffs and Sterns ideas to current issues in the world today.