Introduction
Modern politics calls for states to enter into certain agreements in order to succeed in achieving the national interests, even though their objectives might be different. The increase in the number of international organizations can be explained from two different perspectives, one being a realist perspective while the second is the intuitionalist view. From a realistic perspective, powerful states will always form institutions with an aim of controlling global politics meaning that no state will ever be interested in realizing the objectives of the other. Developing countries have been depending on the global financial institution for development, and this explains the main reason why many states in Africa, Asia, and South America are yet to achieve their economic ambitions.
The bipolar international system complicated things further, and it was felt that any actor had to formulate a stronger foreign policy to ensure that state interests were achieved. At the time, states with geo-strategic advantages reaped maximally, and diplomats played a major role in identifying what the state wanted, and how their interests could be achieved, as well as formulating the best options.
Based on this, the paper will be concerned with exploring the main reason that forced Cleopatra to form an alliance, her goals and the role she played in the alliances. On the one hand, Cleopatra was a great women in the Egyptian society since she managed to lead the country through difficult times, especially when she formed an alliance with Marcus Antoninus. On the other hand, Hatshepsut played a different role of unifying the two separate kingdoms of Egypt that was popularly referred to as the New Kingdom, which was born out of war. The dynasty aimed at ensuring that the new kingdom would be born to guarantee political survival. The reemergence of Nubia and the Kushites, which were the allies of Hyksos, was a major threat to the survival of the kingdom and Hatshepsut was expected to take a strong action to salvage the situation.
Thermose II finally defeated the enemies, which gave rise to a new system of administration in Egypt since the era of Pharaohs came about. Hatshepsut was a great diplomat since she helped the leaders in the kingdom to fight the enemies who threatened the existence of the Egyptian society. She always talked about extending the boundaries of the kingdom using force. In this regard, it could be concluded that expansionist approach, which was later utilized effectively in the United States and Europe in the later period, from the 16th to the 20thcenturies, could be attributed to this great leader of Egypt.
Role of Cleopatra
Having known that she was a charismatic leader, she went on to improve her status as a Roman guest queen, as this would restore the lost glory of the Ptolemaic dynasty. The issue of engaging in foreign activities has never been easy, and Cleopatra was aware of this, employing various tactics to convince the public to support her agenda. First, she made an appeal to the Egyptian locals and went a notch higher to seek the support of the Hellenistic population in the East region. She was aware of the power of the language in diplomacy and she moved on to study Greek since it was considered the world’s superior language that was used in official communication. She was the first Ptolemaic to learn a foreign language and achieve her interests.
In fact, her propaganda is still valid in the Egyptian society. In the modern society, many states employ propaganda as an effective tool of administering foreign policies.
The main role of diplomacy is to ensure that conflicts are resolved peacefully and state achieves its best interests. In the modern diplomacy, states will always enter into an alliance with each with the sole purpose of attaining state interests. Currently, countries are faced with the big problem of terrorism, and they will do everything to reduce the chances of terroristic attacks. In this case, some will sign various pacts, while others will extend financial help and technical assistance to boost the security of the region. The US has reached an accord with some states from Europe, such as Greek and Turkey, and those in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, just to ensure that the country is safe from the heinous acts of terrorists. Some analysts would think that this phenomenon is new, but Cleopatra employed the same tactic many years ago.
Cleopatra lived in a very complex world, which is compared to the current international system, but she managed to manipulate it in her way. She managed to rule Egypt for at least twenty-two years uninterrupted. Whenever enemies invaded her kingdom, she used all the means to ensure that she would recapture the empire. She even managed to control Rome to some extend since she dictated policies having befriended Anthony.
The advent of globalization calls for cooperation among states owing to the developments in communication technology, as well as the increase in global trade. The state cannot depend on power politics to make decisions on global matters. From a liberalist perspective, the world is a dangerous place for human survival, and the conditions are unfavorable meaning that the use of military power would simply results to more chaos as opposed to resolving problems. In this case, each country is forced to cooperate with the others to achieve the national interests. The ongoing negotiations between the United States and China, as well as other states from the East confirm the idea that the use of military threat is no longer the way-out to control the international system.
Role of Hatshepsut
Her major contribution to the Egyptian society was boosting the economy through her sound policies and diplomatic relationships with other neighbors. With time, she realized that trading with the West was critical to the economy of the country and she never hesitated to engage western leaders in negotiations. She provided mechanisms that would allow traders to engage in business activities uninterrupted. Before her leadership, the country had entered into various wars with resisting communities and small kingdoms which ruined its temples and compromised the power of the kingdom. To gain public support, she embarked on an extensive program to restore the destroyed temples.
Unlike the previous leaders, she never engaged in a war, but instead she sought to resolve conflicts through dialogue, something that earned her respect to date. Throughout her leadership, she employed a neutral policy whereby she was never aggressive or friendly, but she decided to take a middle path when addressing issues facing the kingdom. Conflicts with neighbors reduced significantly
However, Cleopatra as opposed to Hatshepsut was never scared of fighting since she prepared her soldiers well, something that made other kingdoms fear her so much to an extent of employing diplomacy as the only option. Other kingdoms were never aware of her intentions meaning that they never knew when she could strike. This policy forces an enemy to seek peace through consultation of the behavior under this scenario is unpredictable.
All prisoners of war arrested under previous regimes were released, and this was an act of goodwill. Other leaders interpreted this to mean something very special, and they were willing to enter into trade negotiations having noticed that Cleopatra was for peace. An attack on any of the kingdoms in the region was interpreted to mean an attack on all, and she was willing to send troops to help.
Hatshepsut allowed the Egyptian trade to circulate freely in the region through trade and this played a role in strengthening the relationships among citizens. The issue of border had been a big problem since the existence of her husband, but she moved in to resolve the issue by giving away some regions and taking over others meaning that he was a leader willing to compromise to achieve collective interests in society. Finally, she played a role in drafting a common ideology that helped the kingdoms to stand strong against external enemies, something that previous leaders failed to take seriously.
Reference List
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