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Environmental Justice, Human Rights, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Environmental Justice, Human Rights, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
From the Ogoni people devastated by oil drilling in Nigeria to the Inuit and other indigenous populations threatened by climate change, communities disparately burdened by environmental degradation are increasingly framing their demands for environmental justice in the language of environmental human rights. Domestic and international tribunals have concluded that failure to protect the environment violates a variety of human rights (including the rights to life, health, food, water, property, and privacy; the collective rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands and resources; and the right to a healthy environment). Some scholars have questioned the utility of the human rights …
International Economic Law And The Right To Food, Carmen G. Gonzalez
International Economic Law And The Right To Food, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
This chapter examines the historic and current policies and practices that have contributed to food insecurity in the global South. It analyzes the impact of international economic law on the patterns of trade and production that perpetuate food insecurity, and recommends concrete measures that the international community might take through law and regulation to promote the fundamental human right to food. Part I provides a short introduction to the right to food framework and its implications for international trade, investment, and finance. Part II places the current food crisis in historical perspective by discussing the trade and aid policies that …
Environmental Justice And International Environmental Law, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Environmental Justice And International Environmental Law, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Environmental justice lies at the heart of many environmental disputes between the global North and the global South as well as grassroots environmental struggles within nations. However, the discourse of international environmental law is often ahistorical and technocratic. It neither educates the North about its inordinate contribution to global environmental problems nor provides an adequate response to the concerns of nations and communities disproportionately burdened by poverty and environmental degradation. This article examines some of the root causes of environmental injustice among and within nations from the colonial period to the present, and discusses several strategies that can be used …
China's Engagement With Latin America: Partnership Or Plunder?, Carmen G. Gonzalez
China's Engagement With Latin America: Partnership Or Plunder?, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The emergence of China as a significant economic force in Latin America has sparked both optimism and alarm. With titles such as 'The Coming China Wars' and 'The Dragon in the Backyard,' recent books and articles depict China as a rising imperial power scouring the globe for natural resources and as a competitive threat to Latin America. Other studies applaud China’s pragmatic, unorthodox development strategies and portray China as a successful model for developing countries. The competing narratives about China’s rise do agree on one thing: China has become a formidable force in the developing world whose influence merits careful …
The Global Politics Of Food: Introduction To The Theoretical Perspectives Cluster, Carmen G. Gonzalez
The Global Politics Of Food: Introduction To The Theoretical Perspectives Cluster, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The corporate-dominated, fossil-fuel dependent model of agricultural production has produced chronic undernourishment, an epidemic of obesity and diet-related diseases, and unprecedented ecological devastation. In May 2010, the Universidad Interamericana in Mexico City hosted an international conference on The Global Politics of Food: Sustainability and Subordination. Sponsored by Latina and Latino Critical Legal Theory, Inc. and by Seattle University School of Law, the conference took place under the auspices of the South-North Exchange on Theory, Culture and Law (SNX), a yearly gathering of scholars in the Americas that seeks to foster transnational, cross-disciplinary and inter-cultural dialogue on current issues in law, …
China En América Latina: Derecho, Economía Y Desarrollo Sostenible, Carmen G. Gonzalez
China En América Latina: Derecho, Economía Y Desarrollo Sostenible, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Los crecientes vínculos económicos y políticos entre China y América Latina han desatado controversias entre académicos, eruditos en la materia, y personas encargadas de elaborar políticas. Algunos académicos afirman que China es una potencia imperial emergente, comprometida en la lucha por obtener los recursos del mundo en desarrollo, y una amenaza competitiva para América Latina. Otros aplauden las estrategias de desarrollo chinas, pragmáticas y poco ortodoxas, y las describen como un modelo exitoso para los países en desarrollo. El presente artículo pone en duda las narratives predominantes sobre la cresciente influencia de China en América Latina, e interroga las implicaciones …
The Global Food Crisis: Law, Policy, And The Elusive Quest For Justice, Carmen G. Gonzalez
The Global Food Crisis: Law, Policy, And The Elusive Quest For Justice, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The food crisis of 2008, the subsequent financial crisis, and the ongoing climate crisis have created new challenges to the attainment of global food security. This essay examines the historic and current practices that have contributed to food insecurity in developing countries, and recommends several steps that the international community might take to promote the fundamental human right to food. The essay begins by outlining the trade and aid policies that laid the foundation for food insecurity in the global South from colonialism until the early twenty-first century. It then examines the impact of the financial crisis and the climate …
China In Latin America: Law, Economics, And Sustainable Development, Carmen G. Gonzalez
China In Latin America: Law, Economics, And Sustainable Development, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The growing economic and political ties between China and Latin America have sparked controversy among scholars, pundits, and policy-makers. Some scholars contend that China is a rising imperial power scouring the globe for natural resources, exploiting less powerful nations, and rejecting international environmental agreements that would curb its profligate consumption of the world’s natural resources. Others applaud China’s unorthodox development strategies and portray China as a successful model for developing countries and as a welcome counterweight to U.S. economic and political hegemony. This paper interrogates the competing narratives about China’s growing influence in Latin America and examines the implications of …
Environmental Impact Assessment In Post-Colonial Societies: Reflections On The Expansion Of The Panama Canal, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Environmental Impact Assessment In Post-Colonial Societies: Reflections On The Expansion Of The Panama Canal, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Post-colonial societies endowed with abundant natural resources often under-perform economically when these resources are exploited as economic enclaves lacking significant linkages to other sectors of the economy. The Panama Canal, a symbol of Panamanian identity and a reminder of Panama's lengthy colonial history, has historically functioned as an economic enclave akin to the mineral extraction and industrial agriculture enclaves prevalent throughout the developing world. Based on a case study of the contentious decision to expand the Panama Canal, this article examines the ways in which the colonial legacy distorts the development planning process, and discusses strategies that might be deployed …
Deconstructing The Mythology Of Free Trade: Critical Reflections On Comparative Advantage, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Deconstructing The Mythology Of Free Trade: Critical Reflections On Comparative Advantage, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The theory of comparative advantage serves as the theoretical justification for the neoliberal economic reforms promoted by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and multilateral and regional free trade agreements. This article employs insights from both neoclassical and heterodox economics in order to critique the theory of comparative advantage as applied to the agricultural sector. In particular, the article takes aim at the illusory notion that eliminating distortions in international agricultural trade caused by the lavish agricultural subsidies of wealthy nations will be sufficient to “level the playing field” and promote prosperity in both developed and developing countries. The …
Trade Liberalization, Food Security, And The Environment: The Neoliberal Threat To Sustainable Rural Development, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Trade Liberalization, Food Security, And The Environment: The Neoliberal Threat To Sustainable Rural Development, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Even though food production has exceeded population growth in recent decades, world hunger continues to be a daunting problem. Progress in hunger reduction has slowed in recent years, and the number of undernourished people is growing in most of the developing world. Rampant hunger and malnutrition impair the economic performance of individuals, households, and entire nations, and can lead to political instability and social conflict. Food insecurity is often exacerbated by environmentally destructive farming practices that ultimately depress agricultural productivity. Environmental degradation is increasingly recognized as a major factor contributing to both food insecurity and civil strife. This article examines …
Seasons Of Resistance: Sustainable Agriculture And Food Security In Cuba, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Seasons Of Resistance: Sustainable Agriculture And Food Security In Cuba, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Beginning in the mid-1990s, Cuba embarked upon a transformation of the agricultural sector that has been hailed by some observers as a model of socially equitable and ecologically sustainable agriculture. Cuba shifted from an export-oriented, chemical-intensive agricultural development strategy to one that promoted organic agriculture and encouraged production for the domestic market. This article places Cuba's agricultural reforms in historical context by examining the evolution of Cuban agriculture from the colonial period until the present through the lens of food security and ecological sustainability. The article argues that Cuba, for most of its history, was food insecure and ecologically compromised …