Draft of SW

Besides this, governments fight wars, make peace, run embassies, regulate international trade, and issue passports to their citizens so that they can travel to other countries. If governments are run by wise, intelligent, and good people, they can do a lot to create international goodwill and understanding. However, if governments are badly run, they can create many problems around the world. Thus, government-run “top-down” efforts can be both positive and negative, depending on what kind of people are in charge.

Knowing the importance of international relations and the things that government can do, most people would probably think it is just the government’s responsibility to take care of relationships with other countries. However, there is another approach to creating international peace and understanding. The truth is that everyone can contribute to good international relations through “bottom-up” programs such as the “Sister Cities” program administered by local governments and the international friendship programs run by colleges and universities all across America.

“Sister Cities” is a great program that helps a city create good international relations with other cities in foreign countries. It is always initiated by a formal agreement that is almost always signed by city mayors; agreements are signed with the intention that they last indefinitely. “Because the relationship is an ongoing one, it is not limited to one single project, but covers a range of shared activities” (Anne 380). Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's support, gave the “Sister Cities” program a chance to become popular around the world; he wanted to “involve individuals and organized groups at all levels of society in citizen diplomacy, with the hope that personal relationships, fostered through sister city, county and state affiliations, would lessen the chance of future world conflicts” (Anne 380). Still, Sister Cities is not a program that involves just a random process of creating official friendships; it also helps both cities to understand the historical and economical connections. As key components of a country, cities can help their own nations to develop a better relationship with other countries.

Another friend of mine, Robert Woerner, gives me a good example of “Sister Cities”: Denver in the U.S. and Guilin in China. “The relationship between those two cities is the closest one I ever saw!” As an individual who has worked for more than eight years on international relations by helping international students study in American, he can always find the most accurate information about relationships between America and other countries. “One of my students was from Guilin, we understood each other more through all the activities held by the programs. I love Guilin. It is a beautiful city is like spring all the year around!” I can see the smile on his face when he said that, and he seems never being tired to talk about all the international relations. I am sure that through Robert, a lot of international students find their own way of understanding a friendly America, and he will always be a successful individual in the field of international relations.