GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES   2017/2018

The two ISU topics that are being connected are Child Soldiers and Political Corruption in developing countries. Through discussions about our research, we found that there are common themes shared by these two issues, and the perpetrators of our issues often possess similar traits. We found that the three main themes shared by both of our issues are greed, fear, and violence. In the case of child soldiers, greedy military leaders recruit children to loot villages and make them money. They use fear and violence to coerce these children into joining their militia. In the case of political corruption, greedy leaders use their power to extract money from citizens. The citizens live in fear of the government, as there is a large divide between those in power and those at the whim of the power-holding. Violence comes into play in bribery, as citizens are forced to pay bribes or face consequences. Thus, we found three songs, one discussing each of these three themes.