The status of women as a key indicator of modernity in Muslim society
Using women’s status as an indicator for the level of modernity achieved in non Western Muslim societies can set up a vicious circle that reinforces an orientalist bias. Such an evaluation is often affected by a belief that secular-liberal regimes hold a more favourable stance towards women. In addition, some Western feminist scholars have developed an approach that exasperates this dynamic
Terrorism’s Path: The Protection of the People in the Violence of our Era
This paper is an investigation on the conflict of our generation. From the ashes of the War on Terror arises the need to not only investigate the course of our actions, but also our understanding of those forces and phenomena to which we are committing both blood and treasure.
Global Governance and Geoengineering
The potential “experiments” imagined in the geoengineering literature will be overtly designed to alter the climate. By contrast, the carbon buildup experienced this past century was the unintended byproduct of energy production. Obviously, very difficult (but interesting) global politics problems are associated with both pathways.
The US Victory in the Cold War: Economic Strength, Foreign Policy Triumph or Both?
The economic strength of the US alone was not enough to secure victory, and the US foreign policy was frequently counter-productive. But when the disparity in economic strength was utilised by the US foreign policy it enabled the US to have a clear advantage over its enemy and negotiate from a position of strength
John Gray and the idea of progress
The political thought of John Gray offers an unflinching vision of the world, a world divided by refractory ways of life, stressed by the looming conflicts over natural resources and scorched by irreversible patterns of global warming. Gray’s vision of the world is none too cheerful, and prescribed throughout his numerous analyses of today’s most pressing problems is a sobering dose of realism. Gray has repeatedly emphasized that many of our greatest problems are incurable and that the best we can hope to achieve is to minimise their symptoms
The 1997 Financial Crisis and the East Asia Development Paradigm
The financial collapse of 1997 which led to regional economic meltdown the following year exposed the link between financial sectors and macroeconomic performances of the troubled economies, and hence the revision of development models pursued by those economies. A distinction needs to be drawn between the crisis as the precipitating event or as the source of Asia’s extraordinary vulnerability
The advocacy politics of NGOs: shaping society to respond to climate change
In his seminal article The Tragedy of the Commons, Garret Hardin described a dilemma whereby individuals, acting independently and in rational pursuit of their own self-interest, will ultimately destroy shared, limited resources, even when it is accepted that this is not in anyone’s long-term interests. Today, climate campaigners see this unfolding before their eyes. But what does it mean for the study of advocacy politics?
Framing climate change
At my home institution, I’m involved in a project to reduce carbon emissions via individual behavioral changes. A relatively small group of scholars and administrators have been looking at some interesting theoretical and empirical social science research to bolster our efforts.
To what extent does the EZLN political economy framework offer a viable development alternative to its followers?
The EZLN is a Polanyian reaction to a specific type of market subordination, something which is central in understanding the extent to which the EZLN represents a viable political economy model for its followers. Furthermore, the Mexican Revolution triggered the emergence of these markets
Outer Space Development: Including Everyone in the Process
The first phase of outer space development has already taken place, involving satellite telecommunications industries, television, cell phones, the Internet and a multitude of goods and services linked to these space technologies. The vast majority of people around the world still think of outer space as an elite field for government astronauts and scientists. So, why not expose more people to outer space development?
