Human rights and good governance

Human rights and good governance Introduction: Good governance is an necessary element of durable development is not deniable. It is the key stick of recent Economic growth and rapid social advancement achieved by the newly industrializing economies in East and South-East Asia. It has also altered postulates and shaped perspectives on development economics with some prominence being given to the so-called (East) Asian values and development-oriented governance or a â€Å"development State† as a positive force for economic growth and social transformation. Human Rights is another burning issue now a days. The growing power of executive authorities sometime causes serious violation of Rights of human. Human right dealt with the rights that every human being routinely qualifies for at birth. These cannot be denied because of the color of ones skin, religion, age or other personal factors. Sometime it seems that there are many contradictions between Good Governance and Human Rights, especially then the question of application is come. But in the book â€Å"Human Rights and Good Governance† edited by Hans-Otto Sano, an article â€Å"Good Governance: How Does It Relate to Human Rights?† the author shows that how they are related with each other, and sometime how they sometime cross their limit and harm each-other. But in the conclusion the author found that in practice actually the Good Governance strengthen human right. And also good human rights condition also helps to achieve the main goal of Good Governance that is Development. Definition of Good Governance: The concept of Good Governance has been around for last few decades. In 1969 Philip Selznic sought to develop a law of governance in his study of industrial organization. But this term â€Å"Good Governance† emerge on the development agenda. Because there were three important factor that played a great role to raise this issue. 1.The experience of international financial institutes in sub-Saharan Africa in implementing structural adjustment Programs showed that after an initial adjustment phase where macro-economic balance were set straight ,further economic growth failed to materialize. Its showed that empowering the capacity of key government agencies was necessary in order to create an strong environment for sustainable development. 2. The end of the cold war and the associated collapse of communist economic and political system showed the world how potentially damaging big and inefficient state apparatuses could be to economic development. And at the same time the end of superpower competition has given western donors to impose political condition in their policies towards the third world countries. Yes, in these regards the third world countries has lost the paradigm of â€Å"negative sovereignty that states that state must not hinder in the domestic affairs of another country.   Even the human rights issues primarily concern the relationship between the state and its citizens; they are increasingly seen as a legitimate concern of the international society. Because the realm of human rights has crossed the boundary of a national state. 3.The third factor is that the emergence of good governance on the development agenda was the remarkable economic boom experienced by the East-Asia which is known as â€Å"Emerging Tigers†. These emergence has showed that economic development mainly depends on Good and fair Governance. The World Banks publications â€Å"East Asian Miracle† in the early 1990 showed that strong and interventionist states can serve to promote economic growth. In order to define more fully meaning of Governance, we distinguish between the World   Bank and the rest of the donor community. The World Bank sets the agenda and is the dominating actor in aid community. and in the same time its policy is to restricts it from getting involved in the internal affairs of economic factors recipient countries.The Banks authorization is limited to economic development, and it can only take non-economic factors into consideration where these are perceived to have an important impact on economic development. In the same time the donor agencies and the donor states denote Good Governance as something different than Banks policy. Here the donor country or agencies emphasize in political affairs. What do we understand by term â€Å"Bad Governance†? In ‘Bad Governance the state official doing their job for their own interests and there acts are without accountability, the trust on personal networks for endurance rather than on holding the state accountable, modified politics and patronage, unlawful leadership, and excessive control over information and of associations. The narrow focus on management was thus broadened and supplemented with concepts such as accountability and transparency. The World Bank has changed the focus from narrow management approach to broader and more political governance. In an article Peter Evans showed that there are two newer trends within the development literature. One is focusing on the role of social capital that is norm of trust and networks of reciprocity for economic development and government performance. And the another is focusing on the role of the developmental state that is strong governmental agencies capable of active in tervention in the economy for capital development and he bickers that these two trends could be very well integrated. And now a days â€Å"Good Governance† is something that will ensure both political development and economic development. So, there are two aspect of   good governance, a political aspect concerning legitimacy and a technical aspect concerning capacity. But sometime it is clear that even though the Banks mandate prohibits it from getting involved in domestic politics, the view of governance overlaps with matters of political controversy. So, it is hard to separate politics from economic when good governance is described as ‘predictable, enlightened and open policy- process, bureaucracy with a professional ethos, a government accountable for its actions, a strong civil society participating actively in public affairs and all under the rule of law. Bilateral donors and the EU are able to be clearer when adopting political conditions for aid. Thus the rest of the aid agencies and stats have given more stresses on political aspect of governance. As an example according to a DAC (Development Assistance Committee) report the technical and the political aspect is the main issue for their aid. And now they emphasized in the concern with the ability of governments to govern effectively and the latter with avoiding that states have excessive power in relating to citizens. In the official publications of Danida (The Danish Development agency) says that good governance is closely linked to human rights and democratization. The consensus about good governance is somewhat super facial. Below the surface there are disagreements concerning what the role of the state should be and which particular governance components should be stressed. Nevertheless, there is on a general level a consensus within the development community emphasizing human rights, democracy, responsiveness, and accountability on the one hand, and capacity, effectiveness and efficiency on the other hand. Characteristics of Good Governance: When trying to relate good governance to human rights, it is important to distinguish between various ways of using the concept. Good Governance can be defined in some ideas. Like as a normative ideal, as analytical concept, and as a donor practice Good Governance has been defined in the Community Consultation Resource Guideas existing when a government governs for and on behalf of its community (p 5). This provides a democratic basis which is essential to an understanding of good governance in the local government sector, with a focus of good governance as it applies to democratically elected governments. Besides this Good governance is consists of eight (8) major individuality. These are as followings: 1) Participatory, 2) Accountable, 3) Consensus oriented, 4) Effective and efficient, 5) Responsive, 6) Transparent, 7) The rule of law 8) Equitable and inclusive The principle and practice of democratic governance underpins governance in a local government sector. Democratic governance refers to the democratic nature of local government and the accountability of local governments and their communities. It makes corruption minimized, the suggestions of minorities are taken into account and the most vulnerable groups voice in society are heard in decision-making. It is also opens societys present and future needs. 1. Participation For, good governance one of the key cornerstone is the participation of both men and women. Participation might be either directly or through lawful intermediate institutions or as an agent. The important matter is that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into suggestions in decision making does not always mean by representative democracy. Participation must be well-informed and organized. This means organized civil society on the one hand and freedom of association and press and expression on the other hand. 2. Consensus oriented There are many actors and as many points of view in a certain society. It requires a broad and long-term outlook on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. Good governance involves mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the community and how it can be achieved. We understand what is best for them by observing the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community 3. Accountability Accountability is another important condition for good governance. Generally an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. The governmental institutions and the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Who has to be accountable to whom, varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization or institution. Without transparency and the rule of law, accountability cannot be imposed. 4. Transparency Transparency is another main thing to ensure good governance. Transparency means that taken decisions and enforcement of these decisions will be done in a way that will follow the rules and regulations. It also means that information is without stinting available and easily accessible to those who will be affected by those decisions and their enforcement. It also means that sufficient information is provided and these information is provided in easily understandable forms and media. 5. Responsiveness Institutions and processes will try to serve all stakeholders within reasonable timeframe is another important requirement of ‘Good governance. 6. Effectiveness and efficiency To ensure ‘Good governance, effectiveness and efficiency is another important thing. When processes and institutions decisions meet the needs of   the best use of societys resources means ‘Effectiveness and efficiency. The concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also coats the sustainable use of natural resources and environment protection. 7. Equity and inclusiveness Well being of a society depends on ensuring that all members of the society feel that they have a chance in it and do not feel barred from the majority of society. If it is found that all groups, and mainly the most vulnerable, have equal opportunities to improve and continue their well being in the society, then it could be said that the equality and inclusiveness has been ensured. 8. Rule of law Rule of law is the root of ‘Good governance. In a good governed society fair legal frameworks are enforced neutrally. It also needs full protection of human rights, certainly those of minorities. Free and independent judiciary and an neutral and honest police force can ensure the fair enforcement of law. The Relevance of Good Governance for Human Rights: Governance as a normative ideal: The concept of Good Governance and the concept of human rights point at areas of state-society friction and at areas of state-society synergy. Normatively, good governance is frequently understood as also involving respect for human rights, as for instant in this definition: the concept of good governance refers to ‘effective user-friendly rules, beneficial to those living under the states jurisdiction. But there may be tensions between good governance and human rights that can be traced back to liberal political thought. To such neo-political thinkers as Friedrich Hayek or Robert Nozick the use of state authority for redistributive purposes is a serious infringement upon the individuals liberty-rights.According to Nozick, rights are boundaries that demarcate legitimate spheres of action for an individual, that may not be crossed without an anothers consent. An extensive state cannot be morally justified, because it would   violate the rights of individuals not to be forced to do certain things. Nozicks minimal state is thus inconsistent with â€Å"planning in details† and with the active redistribution of resources ‘forcing some to aid others. Likewise, Hayek is concerned about the democratic element of liberal democracy weighing too much and the liberal elements too little. He distinguishes between law and legislation. According to him the Rule of Law implies limit s to the scope of legislation and it restricts it to the kind of general rules known as formal law, and excludes legislation either directly aimed at particular people, or at enabling anybody to use the coercive power of the state for the purpose of such discrimination. These neo-liberal concerns imply a tension between on the one hand that is negative rights- the rights protecting the individual from the state and on the other hand the positive rights, the rights that require the state to take measures to enhance the economic and social well-being of its citizens. In a neo-liberal view, demands for good governance involving the improvement of social and educational services might conflict with demands for the respect of liberty rights. On the contrary, the new left would discover other tension between good governance and human rights. They would start out by exploring the ways asymmetries of power and resources impinge upon the meaning of liberty and equality in daily relations. And they would find that large numbers of people are systematically restricted from participating in political life. What use are the formal civil and political rights if such large numbers in reality are excluded from enjoying their rights? Thus, potential tension may derive from the donors emphasis on the political and civil rights rather than on economic and social rights when demanding good governance. To the new left, equality and liberty are not at odds, on the contrary, they are mutually reinforcing, and civil and political rights can best be pursued within participatory framework. And in this framework, the state must be democratized by making parliament, state bureaucracies and political parties more open and accountable while new forms of struggle at the local level must ensure that societies as well as the state are democratized. This sketch of the positions of the new right and the new left not only shows how tensions between good governance and human rights can be identified but also how observers can differ on their views about which human rights should be accentuated. Clearly, neo-liberals focus exclusively on political and civil rights and therefore ascribe a minimal role to the state. Similarly the new left focuses as much on social and economic rights. What can be concluded from this section, then, is that governance means many things to many people, and that how it relates to human rights depends on how both governance and human rights are defined. In this way it becomes apparent that the normative aspect of both concepts is fundamental for the understanding and usage of the concepts. Governance as analytical concept: The core of governance is not essentially about democracy, but it has to do with legitimacy and accountability. Understood this way, it can be argued that the better governance is the more a government is accountable towards its citizens, the more likely this government is to respect basic political and civil rights. According to Hyden (1992), the core of governance is bounded by four properties which are most important. These are: a) Authority. b) Reciprocity. c) Trust. d) Accountability. Trust refers to a normative consensus on the limits of action present in a political community. It is sustained by socialization into the rules of a society. Indicators of trust in a political community are the extent to which individuals and groups in society co-operate in associations that cut across basic divisions such as ethnicity, race, religion, and class Reciprocity refers to the quality of social interaction among members of a political community. Reciprocal action tends to have the effect of generating new forms of consensus about the basic rules of politics. An important indicator of reciprocity in politics is the extent to which individuals are free to form associations to defend and promote their interests in the public dominion. Accountability refers to the effectiveness with which the governed can exercise influence over their governor. Both trust and reciprocity are not easily maintained without specific rules of holding political leaders accountable to civil society. Signs of accountability can be showed by holding various forms of election that is fair and thus officials are appointed who are responsible for making their decisions and actions. Authority is the legitimate use of power. Authority is facilitated by the other three variables but it goes beyond these in stressing the significance of effective political leadership. The authority consists of compliance with not only given policies but also the process by which they are arrived at, that is the extent to which leaders respect rules or change them in ways that are acceptable to the governed. The more the four variables are present, the greater the likelihood of good governance. From the way the governance sphere is outlined above, it follows that the more authority, reciprocity, trust and accountability there is, the higher the likelihood the individual rights are respected by the state. A political community can hardly be imagined in which there is widespread trust and reciprocity, power is exercised legitimately, and the governor are accountable to the governed, at the same time as severe infringements upon the human rights of the citizen take place. Such a political community would not be able to sustain high level of trust and reciprocity. The use of power in such a society would be arbitrary and raw, not legitimate and constrained by the rule of law. The governance is also relate to state capacity and governance affect the ability to deliver services to the public and hence promote economic and social rights. Mick Moore argues in a novel and interesting way that democratic governance and state capacity are inextricably connected. A broad system of taxation based on ‘tax per head and income tax involves a range of features such as organizational capacity to obtain information about citizen and more broadly, a weberian-type bureaucracy capable of administering a complex tax system. In such system, the state will tend to be accountable towards its citizens rather than towards sources of income such as donors, or big oil or mining company. This is because governments tend to be responsive towards their main income. If this is aid , then government will be more accountable towards donor than towards their own citizens. Moore said that the more government income is ‘earned, in the sense that the government has to mobilize o rganizational resources to collect income and provide some service in return. And it is surely promote human rights. But in a weak state, where aid dependency is high and taxation is on trade rather then income, governance will thus tend to be unaccountable. In the sense that democratic governance means that the state ‘comes closer to its citizens and starts negotiating more with the citizens and providing basic services, better governance means higher likelihood that the governance will start respecting human rights that is individuals rights. It has to, if it wishes to secure tax compliance. Accountable governance in fact becomes part of the process of constituting individuals as citizens with rights and duties rather than as subjects. Respecting human rights is inextricably connected to building state capacity, because it involves building a system in which the state depends on its citizens for income and must give them something in return for their contributions. Understood this way, situations could arise in which governance in particular country was unaccountable at the same time as the donor were implementing apparently successful good governance programs, such as financial management programs,   in that same country. Good governance as donor practice: Good governance has become ingrained in the aid policies of most donor. Despite difference in the interpretation of good governance, the concept was a part of a growing consensus among donors concerning fundamental assumptions relating to development. One of the assumptions asserted that sustainable economic and social development on the one hand and human rights, democratization, and good governance on the other hand are intertwined in mutually supportive entities. But it is a big questions that does donor practice concerning good governance promote human rights or is the basic assumption only an expression of what ought to be the case. A way in which good governance program can potentially improve human rights conditions is by strengthening the states capacity to deliver service to the public. The kind of human rights abuses which result from bad or non-existent service delivery, the deprivation of peoples basic economic and social rights, are not very direct or visible. The increased involvement of international financial institutions in many countries economic policies tended to increase their capacity to manage the macro-economy In their effort to set macro-economic balances straight, the governments hired more economists and other technocrats and adopted donor-supported civil- service reforms in order to strengthen their core economic agencies such as the treasury and the revenue authority. According to Grindle, † Other important state capacities, such as the capacity to deliver service to the people or to have a responsive public administration and have deteriorated to the economic crisis.†Ã‚   Grindles study says that some capacities may be strengthened at the same time as other capacities are weakened. Even a country with considerable economic success may at the same time experience deteriorated social and economic rights conditions. Yet good governance programs may well contribute to improving human rights. For example, donor support for public accounts committee in parliament may lead to less waste of tax-payers money and thus improve the citizens political rights. Or, to the extent that public sector reform is a public good because it improves public service and makes them equally accessible to al citizens, successful public sector reform must improve a countrys social rights conditions. The point here is that there is nothing automatic about such a positive relationship between good governance and human rights, as a consequence of the different reasoning behind the usage of the concepts. The good governance concept has a technocratic bias, which aims as an instrument at creating the best possible conditions for economic development.The primary objective of economic and managerial and all the elements involved are first and foremost viewed from an economic and managerial perspective. This follows from the fact that good governance programs were introduced as a remedy to structural adjustment programs and their lack of immediate effects in Africa, as mentioned above. In a good governance perspective legal reforms, for instance, deal primarily with the legal needs of the commercial actors in the market. In contrast to this, the concept of human rights is explicitly normative, connecting ideas and principles about how a state should act towards its folks. Human rights are a means to the end of human dignity, and therefore they set some minimum standards for what the concept of human dignity should govern. According to the last perspective, good governance should mainly be defined by human rights standards and then by economic and managerial criteria. Another important difference in the way good governance and human rights are practiced and used by the international community is that good governance consists of recommendations on how the state is to exercise power most efficiently, the relevance of governance is the exercise of power and should be constrained so as to prevent its arbitrary use. The later involves a procedural, formal and legal perspective on governance that differs from political and economic perspectives. There is thus a distinction between rights and recommendations. Rights are formally binding in the sense that they may not be altered unless a formal procedure has taken place, whereas recommendations can be changed without any procedures in order to achieve a better realization of the political or economic objectives. In relation to human right this distinction is central. Political recommendations may lead to greater fulfillment of human dignity, but this does not necessarily lead to an increased respect for h uman rights. The realization of the contents of rights is of course necessary, but it is not sufficient for human rights because the acknowledgment of rights is in itself important. There is a difference between being given something and being entitled to something. When using the legal perspective on good governance, it becomes evident that policies of good governance have to be in compliance with human rights standards even though this demand may be viewed as having an immediate negative effect on economic development. The argument that policies, merely by creating economic development, are in compliance with human rights therefore cannot be accepted from a legal perspective. (Whether there exists a trade-off relationship between human rights and development is highly controversial).This way human rights should be seen as part of the general legal framework in which good governance policies can be pursued, that is an international legal framework which sets some human rights obligations for the governance of state. In describing good governance policies, donors tend to acknowledge human rights as fundamental guiding principles and aspirations to be achieved, but this is not implemented fully since human rights are not treated as legally binding standards guiding the implementation of governance policies. These obligations, however, not only include the obligation to respect and acknowledge human rights as mentioned above, but also an obligation to protect and an obligation to fulfill. Where every state has the possibility of respecting human rights formally by incorporating new laws, not every sate is fully able to protect and to fulfill these rights. Tod ay most human rights problems are not only the problems of recognition of rights, but also the problems of implementation of rights. In consideration of the above, the relationship between human rights and good governance need not be seen as only a conflicting one, in which human rights are seen as legal corrective to good governance policies. On the contrary, the relationship between good governance and human rights may also been seen as one affording mutual interests, where, on the one hand, governance policies may benefit from legal human rights obligations and, on the other, good governance measures strengthen the protection and fulfillment of human rights.

Thorn Queen Chapter Two

Crossing over to the Otherworld is easier for me than most people but still requires a bit of work. Once I'd packed up what I needed, I had to drive to Saguaro National Park and hike out to a remote corner of it. Here, two very faint trails intersected in a crossroads-a common marker for gates to the Otherworld. It and the human world lie very close to each other, and certain spots between the two are thinner. Of course, even a thin spot like this wouldn't always be enough for some people to make the journey in their own bodies. They might end up going in spirit or an elemental form. But me? I bore the blood of humans and of the gentry. I could therefore travel both worlds with ease, though my gentry heritage still unnerved me. It was only a recent discovery, one I had trouble coming to terms with. Standing at the crossroads, I closed my eyes, slipping into a trance very similar to the one I used to banish the spirit yesterday. A tattoo of a greenish snake coiled around one of my arms in tribute to Hecate, the goddess who guarded transitions and chthonic magic. Invoking her, drawing on her power, I stretched my body beyond this world. A moment later, I stood in the Otherworld. In a castle. A castle that belonged to me. I recovered myself quickly since crossover side effects almost never bothered me anymore. The room I stood in was a small sitting room, sparsely furnished. In the center of it was a rabbit paperweight, white resin with little blue flowers. It was silly, but that rabbit was imbued with my essence, meaning when I crossed over from Saguaro National Park-or any other crossroads of my choice-my body would travel to this spot rather than to some remote place. Footsteps sounded on the outside hallway's stone floor. A moment later, a bright-eyed young woman with long blond hair peered inside. Her face split into a wide grin when she saw me. â€Å"Your majesty,† she breathed, delighted. Turning back around, she yelled down the hall. â€Å"The queen! The queen is here!† I winced. Man, I wished I could come here without all the hype. Bad enough I had to come here at all. Her proclamation made, Nia ran up to me, squeezing my hand. She was one of my servants. I guess you'd call her my lady-in-waiting since she was responsible for my appearance most of the time. â€Å"Everything's ready to go to the Willow Land,† she told me. â€Å"I've picked out an amazing gown for you.† I shook my head, reaching into the backpack I almost always lugged around. The gentry favored heavy brocades and other elaborateness in their fashion. I wasn't up for any of that today. â€Å"I brought my own.† She stared at the dress I produced, then looked back up at me with raised eyebrows. â€Å"You're jesting, your majesty, right?† Those blue eyes pleaded. â€Å"Right?† I was saved from an argument when others entered the room. Still staring mournfully at the dress, Nia retreated so my senior staff could talk to me. Yeah. Senior fairy staff. Three months still wasn't enough time to get used to this. A tall, very lovely woman with glossy black braids strode in, her movements both athletic and graceful. Her name was Shaya, and I depended on her more than anyone else around here. She was my regent, handling all the dirty work I didn't want to deal with, and I was grateful and lucky to have her. With her was Rurik, the captain of my guard. Having guards was also something that took a lot of getting used to-particularly since they always wanted to follow me around. Rurik and I had gotten off to a bad start, probably because he'd tried to rape me the first time we met. Sporting a large build and pale blond hair, he'd proven himself a capable servant, though I'd often found him fooling around with other women who worked here. I had let him know in a very pleasant voice that I'd rip him apart if I ever found out those women hadn't consented to his advances. A few others trailed in, officials that I'd inherited with the castle when I killed its former king. I couldn't remember half their names. â€Å"Welcome back,† said Shaya, smiling. She didn't possess Nia's rapture but still seemed genuinely pleased to see me. â€Å"Your majesty,† the others intoned, bowing. They waited for me to sit in one of the chairs, joining me a moment afterward. â€Å"Nia says we're ready to go?† I asked, unable to hide my dismay at the upcoming trip. â€Å"Yes,† Shaya told me. â€Å"We simply await your command. At an easy pace, we should be able to do it in three hours.† I groaned. â€Å"Three hours. Do you know how crazy that is? I could do it in half that time by driving to a gateway in my own world and crossing over closer.† She regarded me indulgently, having heard this argument before. â€Å"You can't show up at Queen Maiwenn's court without your retinue.† Rurik, sprawled lazily in a chair, flashed me a grin. â€Å"It's part of your image, your majesty.† I rubbed my eyes. â€Å"Alright. Whatever. Any word on Jasmine?† His smile faded. â€Å"No. We've still got scouting parties roaming the kingdoms, but they've found nothing.† â€Å"Incredible. You guys can make trees come to life and raise stones from the earth, but you can't find one pouty teenage girl.† â€Å"We'll find your sister,† Rurik said grimly. I think he'd taken this mission as a matter of personal pride. â€Å"It may take awhile, but we'll find her.† I nodded because there was nothing else to do. The waiting infuriated me. Every moment that passed meant Jasmine, a mere fifteen years old, had another chance to get pregnant and give birth to a prophesied heir that would allegedly conquer the human world. I was subject to the same prophecy but was smart enough to use birth control. â€Å"Anything else? How are things going otherwise?† Shaya schooled her face to neutrality. â€Å"We manage, your majesty.† She kept her voice as blank as her expression, but I could see badly feigned disapproval on the others' faces. They didn't like the way I neglected my duties here. I suspected Shaya disapproved as well, but it didn't stop her from sparing me the details of the Thorn Land's day-to-day affairs. She knew I didn't really want to hear them, no matter my asking, so she didn't tell me. I noticed then just how truly oppressive the heat was in here. Everyone was sweating. â€Å"My God, it's hot,† I said. They all stared at me, and I immediately felt stupid. What had I expected? When I'd conquered the kingdom, it had shaped itself to my will, transforming itself into my idea of perfection: the Sonora Desert. The castle had not changed, and remained in its constant state: thick blocks of stone. Black stone. Stone that absorbed heat like crazy and had little ventilation. It was the kind of place more suited to cold, misty moors. The land had been greener and more temperate under its last ruler, Aeson. Aeson and I had had a fair amount of friction because he'd been trying to get Jasmine pregnant and had wanted to give me a shot too, in hopes that he would be the father of that world-conquering prince. Plus, Aeson was just a total asshole. I'd killed him in battle, and when a ruler dies, the land seeks out someone else powerful. That someone else had been me. I'd claimed the land without realizing what I was doing, and that's when it had transformed to this mirror of Tucson. It occurred to me how horrible it must be to live here. The gentry lacked most of the technology of my own world. No central air-conditioning. No electric fans. This place had to be roasting these people alive, particularly after what they'd been used to before I came along. Feeling bad for them, I reached out to the air around me with my mind. For a moment, there was nothing, and then I sensed the moisture particles hanging in the air. There weren't many, but they were there. Spreading beyond the room, I pulled in more moisture, undoubtedly turning nearby halls and rooms into ovens. In here, however, the temperature dropped and grew moist. A slight thrill ran through me, as often happened when I tapped my inherited gentry magic. Tentatively, I then attempted to move the air itself in some sort of breeze. Nothing. I had managed that feat only once and couldn't repeat it. Realizing what I'd done, Shaya crooked me a grin. â€Å"Thank you, your majesty.† I smiled back and stood. They all hastily followed suit, and I waved them down. â€Å"Hang out here if you want. It should stay cool for a little longer. I'm going to go do my†¦thing. Then we'll go.† I left the castle for one of its courtyards, a wide, terraced area that I loved. Saguaros and blooming prickly pears lined it. Purple-flowered smokethorns, the tree that had given this land its name, stood sentry, as did mesquite, filling the air with sweetness. A few hummingbirds darted here and there like bright, flying gemstones. I sat on one of the steps that led to the upper gardens and closed my eyes. This was why I had to come back. If left to me, I would have never returned. But once the Thorn Land had bound itself to me, it was mine. It depended on me for its survival. I didn't entirely understand my connection to it, but it was unbreakable. It was the reason I dreamed about this place. There was no escaping it. The sun beat down on me, forever reminding us we answered to nature in the end. My body relaxed, and soon, the life of the land spread into me. It always startled me at first, and then I quickly adapted, like it was the most natural thing in the world. The land was me, and I was the land. We were one, neither of us complete without the other. When I came to, I think almost an hour had passed. I stood up, shaking off my trance. I had extracted myself from that joining with the land but knew it was still with me. It was stronger for having just made the connection. I had fulfilled my duty. My party set out shortly thereafter. Horse riding was a skill I'd had to perfect pretty quickly since hanging out around here. There were no cars or planes. Shaya, Rurik, and Nia were with me, as were about a dozen guards. The guards rode stoically, eyes alert and watchful as they surrounded us. Rurik occasionally barked out an order to them, but mostly he bantered with Shaya and flirted with Nia. I wasn't too good at casual conversation and mostly just listened, more entertained by them than I wanted to admit. It was late morning, and the sun showed us no mercy as we traveled. I fared better than the rest, wearing shorts and sunglasses. The other women at least had lightweight dresses, but the men wore full leather armor and had to suffer considerably. None of them complained, not even Rurik, but sweat poured down their faces. So, it was something of a relief when we hit our first shift in the land. It's an oddity of the Otherworld that it folds in upon itself. Traveling is disorienting. In going in a straight line out of my kingdom, it was entirely possible to cross other kingdoms and then my own again without deviating from our course. We crossed into the Oak Land, and suddenly it was as though the Thorn Land had never existed. You couldn't even see it behind us. One of the guards broke his rigid demeanor to emit a small cheer that made everyone laugh. A cool, almost chill breeze rushed over us. Late autumn had settled on the Oak Land, setting the trees on fire with brilliant colors. It was gorgeous-and much more comfortable-but I secretly hoped we'd pass out of it soon. I had too many disturbing memories of this place. Sure enough, we soon crossed into the Thorn Land again, slamming into that unforgiving heat. It felt like traveling in circles, but the others assured me we stayed on course. That stint was brief, and our next shift took us to the Rowan Land. Late summer ruled here, but it was a more temperate summer than my own kingdom's. Cherry trees filled the landscape. Last I'd seen them, pink blossoms had covered almost every square inch of the branches. Now, as I looked closer, I could see bright red fruit weighing them down. And it was then that the wights attacked. Wights were denizens of the Otherworld, and while they weren't spirits exactly, they had the ability to turn invisible. So, my guards' vigilance had done no good. I counted seven as they swooped out of the orchards. They wore gray clothing and had long, pale faces. For the most part, they looked very much like humans and gentry. Light flared around them as they rained down bolts of power upon us. Wights were even more strongly tied to magic than the gentry, and conventional weapons had little effect on them. You had to take them down with magic. Unfortunately, the storm magic I'd inherited from my father still wasn't quite up to hardcore attacks. Neither was my guards' magic. Special magic-wielding soldiers aside, I'd learned most warriors here were weak in magic; it was why they'd chosen a more physical profession. I still suspected the silver bullets in my Glock might hurt the wights. Only, I had a problem. My guards had closed rank around Nia-the only civilian here-and me. Getting a shot off would likely kill one of them. â€Å"Let me out!† I yelled. â€Å"Let me fight!† The guards ignored me and, in fact, redoubled their own shouts of â€Å"The queen! Protect the queen!† Swearing, I managed to lean through and get a shot off that took one of the wights in the chest. It didn't kill him but clearly caused severe injury. Nearby, a cherry tree ripped itself from the earth. Infused by magic and therefore potentially lethal, it attacked the wounded wight. That was Shaya's handiwork. She had been a warrior before settling into my administration. As we fought, I soon deduced the point of this attack. The wights wanted me-not to kill me, but for other†¦more amorous purposes. They didn't seem to have much organization save to hack through and see who could get to me. Whoever did could have me. It sickened me, and an old, familiar fear welled up. I could handle concussions, broken bones, and the other myriad effects of my vocation. Rape was not something I could contend with. It had become a daily danger, however, since learning about my half-gentry heritage. My father, honorifically dubbed Storm King, had been a tyrannical warlord-one of the most powerful magic users the Otherworld had ever seen. He'd been intent on crossing over and conquering humanity. He'd come damned close, too, until my stepfather, Roland, had defeated him. Unfortunately, a prophecy had surfaced in Storm King's wake, a prophecy that said his daughter's son would complete his work. That was why I was such a hot commodity among Otherworldly males who believed in Storm King's vision. It was also why Jasmine wanted to get pregnant. Giving up on the gun, I produced my jewel-studded wand and started simply casting out the wights to the Underworld. Instant death. As I did my thing and the guards did theirs, we suddenly reached a point where all grew quiet. The wights were dead or gone. Everyone in my party immediately looked to see if I was all right, which I found ridiculous since two of the guards lay on the ground, and a number of them were bleeding. â€Å"Forget about me,† I snapped. â€Å"Check on them!† None had died, much to my relief. Gentry were hard to kill in their own world. They were long-lived and hardy. One of the guards had some healing powers, and we spent a considerable amount of time patching the group up. When we finally set out again, Shaya glanced up at the sun's position and frowned. â€Å"We're going to be late.† I thought about Kiyo. Then I thought about Maiwenn, who always looked like some sort of golden goddess, even with her belly ready to burst with Kiyo's son or daughter. Walking in late to her elite baby party, breaching etiquette under her cool gaze†¦Well, suddenly I wanted to ride as we'd never ridden before. Unfortunately, our wounded couldn't do that. Frustrated, we finally split the party, and those of us who were uninjured rode on at a brisk pace, hoping to cut our time. Before long, we crossed to the Willow Land and slammed into its freezing temperatures. It was just coming out of winter, and spring thaws were in progress, but the chill proved a shock nonetheless. We rode on down the road, determined to get there. We finally made it. But we were still late. Maiwenn's castle staff eyed our bedraggled state but showed me to a room where I could clean up and get ready. Nia practically had a conniption as Shaya and I hastily washed ourselves off and pulled on fresh clothes. Nia's magical gifts gave her a knack for adorning others and arranging hair. Kind of a magical beautician. It killed her that I almost never utilized her services. I could see her itching to do something intricate to my hair, but I shook my head. â€Å"No time. Make it fast. Wear it down.† Obliging-but disapproving-she used magic and a brush to work it into gleaming, silky lengths, pulling a little of it up with a barrette and stealing a couple of small daisies from a nearby vase to tuck into the barrette. With her magic, I knew it would stay perfectly arranged for hours. I splashed on some violet perfume, hoping it would cover any sweatiness I'd missed. With that, we were off. When Shaya and I approached the ballroom, it was obvious we were the last to arrive. The room was packed. I sighed loudly. â€Å"It's all right,† murmured Shaya. â€Å"You're a queen. You're expected to be eccentric. Don't look embarrassed.† â€Å"Is it possible,† I asked, â€Å"that we could just sneak in without anyone noticing?† Before she could answer, a herald stood in the doorway and announced in a voice designed for carrying over loud crowds: â€Å"Her Royal Majesty, Queen Eugenie Markham, called Odile Dark Swan, Daughter of Tirigan the Storm King, Protector of the Thorn Land, Beloved of the Triple Moon Goddess.† Dozens of heads swiveled toward us. I sighed again and answered my own question. â€Å"Apparently not.†

Personality and state of mind Essay

The use of knowledge in Victor’s character is magnified in the monster – they need to know more and have a thirst to succeed.  In other ways, the two individuals are inversions of each other. Victor is described by Walton as being young and handsome; an intelligent man, with a good personality and state of mind. The monster, however, as explained in a quote above, has the physical appearance of being ugly, inhuman and beastly, certainly a quality common in an evil doppelnger. Victor seems to be, from his narrative, arrogant, selfish and antisocial, whereas the monster is selfless with a want to be sociable. For this reason, it could be possible to presume Victor as the monster’s doppelgnger instead of the other way around. After all, Victor does not have the courage to acknowledge his mistakes, when the monster openly accuses himself and accepts that he has done wrong.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects. This being you must create.† MONSTER â€Å"You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do; and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I returned home, and entering the house, presented myself to the family. My haggard and wild appearance awoke intense alarm †¦ I had no right to claim their sympathies.† These three quotes from the monster and Victor’s narratives give more information concerning the two characters.  Victor is surprised when he hears the monster is not an evil being, craving for the destruction of anything in his path, but a tender human. The fact that the monster is miserable is Victor’s fault. He created the monster with his deformities without thinking of the consequences and he rejected him. Victor denies any tie with his creation, so saying that a mate of the same species would not deny herself to the monster could be tactical blackmail in order to persuade Victor to honour his request. Up until the conclusion of the story, Victor says nothing of his flaws, yet the first time the monster is able to speak; he acknowledges that he has faults, physically and mentally, as we all do. The parent/child relationship between them is reversed at this stage because the monster is ordering Victor to grant his request, although by asking this, he is being selfish, who is to say that his created companion will want to love him and be with him? This is a quality that is seen in Victor from the beginning. The monster has ideas about what love is and what is should be, taken from the DeLaceys – even though they are in poverty, they love each other and are happy. In fact, loneliness is not necessarily implied when a person is alone, but loneliness can breed in large groups of people. The monster, even though he is demanding of Victor, is pleading for help and does not have the power to give himself what he thinks he needs to be happy. He has no one else to turn to. Shelley uses a number of double negatives, such as in the second quote above; â€Å"you must not refuse to concede†; which could stand for the monster and Victor.  During the third quote, Victor is experiencing what it is like to be the monster. Because of his appearance, he does not deserve sympathy or any sort of compassion. Does this make Victor a more terrible person that the monster? So far, I have only explored the reasons for Frankenstein being the monster. What I have written has no relevance what so ever to the 21st century, or does it?  Victor, in a late piece of his narrative, refers twice to the consequences of his actions and how his scientific discoveries would affect the future.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A race of devils would be propagated upon the earth, who might make the very existence of the species of man a condition precarious and full of terror. Had I a right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon further generations?† VICTOR This links very closely with designer babies. By this time, Victor has lost all previously earned sympathy for the monster and seems to have learned from his previous mistakes.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishness had not hesitated to buy its own piece at the price, perhaps, of the existence of the whole human race.† This is the first section of the novel in which Victor has taken some responsibility for his careless behaviour. This can also be contrasted with Victors hopes and dreams of fame as a young man venturing into the world of science.  Frankenstein wanted to create something perfect – elite – something that could take over the world, which is linked to designer babies. ‘Designer babies’ is an issue that we are being faced with now in our society. Questions raised against the notion include: Is it moral? Are we playing God? Is if fair? How far are we prepared to go? What are the constraints of science? Where is the diversity of human spirit? Does it reflect fascism?  However, there are also people who believe in the thought, promoting questions like: Why not move forward with technology? How do we know what will happen if we don’t find out? What is wrong with bringing happiness into people’s lives? Who are we to say stop?  We have no answers to the questions being asked, but overall, there seems to be a negative opinion concerning the concept. People argue that children born under these circumstances could be discriminated against. There is also unfairness involved, because such procedures cost money, although, it could allow couples to have a child when otherwise they may not have been able to. Unfortunately, this takes money away from other sectors of public and private healthcare, for example, cancer research.  Cloning could bring the physicality of a person back to life, which is exactly what Victor did.  The same kinds of questions are raised with cloning as with designer babies: Is it ethical? What is the reason for it? Is it natural? What is to stop an elite force being created?

Electron Configuration Test Questions