Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Emergence, Persistence, And Success Of The Cuban Social Movement Las Damas De Blanco, Gail Markle

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In a three-day period, March 18-20, 2003, referred to as The Black Spring, the Cuban government arrested and imprisoned 75 journalists, human rights activists, and pro-democracy advocates. In response, the wives, mothers, and daughters of these political prisoners formed the non-violent protest organization, Las Damas de Blanco (The Ladies in White), calling for an improvement in prison conditions and the release of their relatives. In March 2011, after eight years of Las Damas’ activism, the final prisoners were released. The women’s organization, now named the Laura Pollán Damas de Blanco Movimiento, continues its human rights activism despite continued repression. Combining …

The Charismatic Revolutionary Leadership Trajectories Of Fidel Castro And Lázaro Cárdenas: From Guerrillas To Heads Of State In The Age Of Us Imperialism, Joseph J. Garcia

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

After attempting to overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista in 1953, Fidel Castro fled to Mexico where he, his brother, Raul Castro, Ernesto Che Guevara, and other revolutionaries were later jailed by the Mexican government under the orders of the Batista dictatorship to be returned to Cuba. Using his knowledge of the Mexican Revolution, Castro wrote a letter asking for help from former president and revolutionary general, Lázaro Cárdenas, appealing to his sense of revolutionary history and social justice. Cárdenas was impressed by this young revolutionary and worked to obtain political asylum for he and his comrades. This allowed Castro …

“Your Chance To Make Your Voice Heard”: Akaliyat Magazine And The Creation Of A Queer Community In Morocco, Benjamin Ale-Ebrahim

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Publicly claiming an LGBTQ identity in Morocco can place a young person under the threat of violence, both on the part of the state, which criminalizes homosexuality under Article 489 of the Penal Code, and from actors within Moroccan society who wish to uphold a heteronormative conception of Moroccan national identity. The internet, with its potential for anonymous communication, serves as a relatively free and safe space for young queer Moroccans to explore their sexuality and gender identity. Akaliyat Magazine, an internet-based publication founded in 2015, serves as one of the only Arabic-language media outlets in Morocco that focuses on …

U. S. - Moroccan Relations In The Context Of The Anfa Conference, Karim Bejjit

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This essay seeks to shed new light on the intricate course of U.S.-Moroccan relations following the landing of American troops on the Atlantic coasts of Morocco. The Anfa Conference and Sultan Mohamed V’s dinner meeting with President Roosevelt marked an important stage in the process of Moroccan struggle for independence. Roosevelt’s personal interest in the Moroccan situation may have accentuated the inconsistencies in U.S. foreign policy in the 1940s regarding the French colonial empire and confronted its fundamental idealism with the exigencies of pragmatic politics. The vicissitudes of the war and America’s deep commitment to its French ally as well …

Full Issue - Jgi V. 14, N. 2

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Full issue of Journal of Global Initiatives volume 14, number 2.

Panoptic Vision: Disjuncture, Transgressions, And Imagination In Laila Marrakchi’S Film Rock The Casbah, Touria Khannous

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article focuses on Laila Marrakchi’s film Rock the Casbah (2013), which reflects the exchange between global and local cultural and sociopolitical ideologies of a new Morocco. The film highlights the contradictions of globalization as it occurs through disjuncture. Arjun Appadurai’s theory of the world in motion and “a world of flows” provides a relevant framework for this analysis. The article uses Appadurai’s notion of “disjuncture” as a theoretical framework to discuss the dynamics and interrelationships involved in the protagonist’s movement between Western mediascapes as a filmstar and her Moroccan family’s local context. Appadurai’s conceptualization of globalization is crucial for …

Between The Circle And The Line: Ibn Khaldun’S View Of History And Change, Allen James Fromherz

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Historians from many different eras and contexts have viewed history and historical change as either linear or circular in nature. Giambattista Vico (d. 1744 CE), the Italian philosopher and historian, organized history in a cyclical way as different nations and peoples rise and fall. At the same time, according to Vico (2000), humanity was destined towards equity. Sima Qian of China (d. 86 BCE) viewed the past as a series of circular attempts to restore the Mandate of Heaven and consolidate central power, attempts that were then followed by breakdowns into feudal states (Qian, 1995). For Qian, history seemed to …

Morocco’S Makhzen And The Challenge Of National Development, Zakaria Fatih

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article explores the question of national development in Morocco considering the institution of the makhzen. It asserts that to adequately assess Morocco’s national development as a post-colonial country, it is necessary to rely on an economic model based in politics rather than in theories exclusively informed by classical and neoclassical economics. Among the key economists called upon to investigate the validity of politics in discussions of national development and income inequality are the following: Simon Kuznets, Thomas Piketty, W. A. Lewis, and the duo Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, all of whom continue a long tradition of economic …

Year Of India: Introduction To The Special Issue, Daniel Paracka

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Year of India marked the 34th anniversary of Kennesaw State University’s (KSU) award-winning annual country study program. The program has been a major force for internationalizing our campus introducing thousands of students to the rich diversity of world cultures that make up the human family and helping them to develop a complex understanding of today’s interdependent world. The program draws upon the expertise of our faculty to offer special courses, organize lectures and events, engage in collaborative research, partner with Indian universities and community groups, and mentor and assist students interested in learning about India and its place in …

Jgi Volume 13, Number 1 - Full Issue

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This is the full issue of Volume 13, Number 1 (132 pages).

Contains:

• Introduction to the Special Issue by Dan Paracka
• Vasco da Gama's Voyages to India: Messianism, Mercantilism and Sacred Exploits by S. M. Ghazanfar
• The World Parliament of Religions, the Swami, and the Evangelist: Contextualizing Late 19th-Century American Responses to Hinduism by Anne R. Richards
• Connections and Disconnections: The Making of Bombay/Mumbai as India's "Global City" by Ravi Ghadge
• India's Unbalanced Urban Growth: An Appraisal of Trends and Policies by Purva Sharma
• Housing for All in India and Its Future Sustainable Development by Nadia Shah
• Is India Becoming …

Vasco Da Gama’S Voyages To India: Messianism, Mercantilism, And Sacred Exploits, S. M. Ghazanfar

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama (1460-1524), was the first European to sail from Portugal to India. Accolades for this achievement have long obscured the messianic motivation for the 1498 voyage, “to invade, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens (Muslims) and pagans and other enemies of Christ; to reduce them to perpetual slavery; to convert them to Christianity; [and] to acquire great wealth by force of arms from the Infidels,” as sanctified by various Papal Bulls, together called “the Doctrine of Discovery” (Dum Diversas, 1452; Romanus Pontifex, 1455; Inter Caetera, 1493). The other key motive in …

The World Parliament Of Religions, The Swami, And The Evangelist: Contextualizing Late 19th-Century American Responses To Hinduism, Anne Richards

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article explores how Hinduism and other religions and philosophies outside the Christian traditions were received by Americans influenced by secularism, science, globalization, and expanding U.S. imperialism in the late 19th century. The article also explores the role of two missionaries, John Henry Barrows and Swami Vivekananda, arguably the most influential participants in the World Parliament of Religions of 1893.

Get Karma, good—well rubbed into you—absorb it, wallow in it, and then you will batter down all the obstacles of life.
—New York Times book review, 1896

Stanislavsky Inspired Acting Lessons For Life And Leadership, Harrison O. Long Prof.

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

An artist’s creative work can become the primary lens through which he or she sees the world; it is a fundamental tool for interpreting life. But artistry can also teach a great deal about effective leadership. Based on the principles of Konstantin Stanislavsky, the father of modern acting, this essay reflects on five important lessons for life and leadership: The Power of Purpose, The Power of Context, The Power of Listening, The Power of Partnerships, and The Power of Community. After a year of studying Russian culture, history, and foreign policy, I believe these lessons can be applied on the …

The Economic Roots Of The Cold War: The Imf, Ito And Other Economic Issues In Post-War Soviet-American Relations, Kristina V. Minkova

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In light of newly released archival resources, this article examines the traditional historiography of Soviet-American relations focusing on economic relations at the end of World War II.

Ethnicity, Religion And Violence In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jusuf Salih

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The violence that erupted in the Balkans at the end of the second millennium made fierce enemies of people who had lived together in peace as neighbors, friends, classmates, and married couples. Nationalism, chauvinism, and religious fanaticism quickly grew stronger, leading to the disappearance of centuries-long harmony among its inhabitants. Among the reasons for the conflict were the experienced communist leaders who skillfully used religious slogans to advance their campaigns; also, religious leaders became close associates to political leaders with hopes that they would attain the religious rights denied and limited during the old governance. As a result, nationalism and …

The Sacred Forest And The Mythical Python: Ecology, Conservation, And Sustainability In Kom, Cameroon, C. 1700-2000, Walter Gam Nkwi Dr

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Scholars have taken a keen interest in the social and cultural meanings of the African landscape in the reconstruction of the continent’s history (Giblin, 1992; Spear, 1997; Wagner, 1995). But how much did Africans know of their environmental past? This article explores the indigenous history of ecology, focusing on the medicinal forest (ak’u mii-fii) and the mythical python (iigw-im) and their link with livelihood and sustainability in Kom, Cameroon. The paper argues that the Kom people have always been conserving their forests since the pre-colonial era. During the colonial period and especially in the 1930s many hectares of land including …

Vasco Da Gama, The Explorer: Motivations And Myths, S. Ghazanfar

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama (1460-1524), was the first European to sail from Portugal to India. The “da Gama epoch” refers to the era of European commercial and imperial expansion in Asia. The primary motivation for the 1498 voyage, however, was messianic, to ‘vanquish and subdue all Saracens (Muslims) and pagans and other enemies of Christ, to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to convert to Christianity,’ as declared in various Papal Bulls, together called “the Doctrine of Discovery.” The Church divided the world into Spanish and Portuguese zones, both to be part of the Papal Empire. Over …

Nigeria: The Matrix Between Fragility Of Livelihoods And Conflict, Abiodun Odusote

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In recent times, there has been an increased outbreak of conflicts across the globe, particularly in areas experiencing livelihood fragility. Available literature suggests that in a society where livelihoods are threatened, minimal, or non-existent, the people are generally more overwhelmed and prone to violence and conflict. This paper consolidates the available literature on livelihoods and conflict, with the aim of identifying the nexus between the two concepts. The author particularly interrogates the matrix between fragility of livelihoods and armed conflicts, with emphasis on Boko Haram and the Niger Delta conflicts. The article notes that there seems to be a large …

Introduction: Sustainable Livelihoods, Conflicts, And Transformation, Brandon D. Lundy, Akanmu G. Adebayo

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Introduction to the Journal of Global Initiatives Volume 10, Number 2 "Sustainable Livelihoods and Conflict."

Gendering Peacebuilding In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda, Amanda J. Reinke

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Approximately 1.8 million northern Ugandans were internally displaced during conflict between the Ugandan government and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels (1987-2006). The ethnographic and qualitative research findings presented in this article illuminate the need to address structural violence, not just physical violence, in the aftermath of conflict, and to pay particular attention to how conflict and peacebuilding processes are gendered. Although gender-sensitive approaches to peacebuilding have increased in recent years, especially among scholars, in practice these processes often still fail to adequately address the myriad needs of survivors and to understand the complex interplay between gender, conflict, and post-conflict rebuilding. …

An Assessment Of Rural Household Vulnerability In The Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands Region, Northeastern Nigeria, Ahmadu Abubakar Tafida, Mala Galtima

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Hadejia-Nguru wetlands have long been recognized as a World Heritage Site notably for its supportive role to wild birds from Europe, Asia, and Australia. At times the functions of the wetlands have been tremendously jeopardized due to dwindling resources and thus affecting the lives of more than 1.5 million people. A number of projects were initiated by different international communities, such as the Department for International Development (DFID), aimed at fostering sustainable utilization of the natural resource base to improve the well-being of the people. The interventions have rarely succeeded, perhaps due to the lack of understanding of rural …

Some Dimensions Of Farmers'-Pastoralists' Conflicts In The Nigerian Savanna, Mayowa Fasona, Eniola Fabusoro, Comfort Sodiya, Vide Adedayo, Felix Olorunfemi, Peter Omu Elias, John Oyedepo, Grace Oloukoi

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The savanna ecosystem covers about 48.5% of Nigeria’s land area. It is a national common for intensive cropping and extensive grazing. Fierce competition for land and water resources among the crop farmers and pastoralists is a common feature. This article shares insights from two separate, but linked, studies conducted in the Nigerian savanna on the livelihood and food security of the local peasant farming communities and the vulnerability of the settled Fulani agro-pastoralists’ livelihoods. Household interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews were employed among both the farming and agro-pastoralist communities. 191 respondents in 11 local farming communities and …

Agenda Setting In Uganda: Influencing Attitudes On Land Through Policy And Persuasion, Anne Pitsch Santiago

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Government of Uganda (GoU) has been actively advocating land reform and modernization, as demonstrated in the National Development Plan 2010-2015 and other official documents. With the adoption of these policies, there has been a rise in contentious relations between different actors within society, and while widespread violence has been kept in check, reports of small-scale violence over land continues, and dissatisfaction with government land policy exacerbates land tensions and the potential for larger-scale violence remains a serious potential threat. The research questions explored in this article are: in what ways and through which strategies does the GoU attempt agenda …

The Laimbwe Ih'neem Ritual/Ceremony, Food Crisis, And Sustainability In Cameroon, Henry Kam Kah

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article examines rituals and ceremonies associated with food sustainability, sufficiency, and/or insufficiency among the Laimbwe people of Boyo and Menchum Divisions of northwest Cameroon from earliest times to the 21st century. Food is important to sustainable livelihood in many rural communities in Cameroon and explains the organization of elaborate food-related ceremonies and rituals. Cameroon’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has recognized the importance of food and has recently embarked on the modernization of farming techniques and practices throughout the country in its “Second Generation” agriculture program. The population is mobilized annually through an official launching of the farming …

The Application Of Geospatial Analytical Techniques In The Assessment Of Land Use Conflicts Among Farmers And Cross-Boundary Nomadic Cattle Herders In The Gombe Region, Nigeria, Whanda J. Shittu, Mala Galtima, Dan Yakubu

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In Nigeria, many land use conflicts among the teeming rural agrarian communities in the northern parts of the country are often wrongly attributed to ethno-religious differences while ignoring the salient role environmental degradation, climate change, and urbanization play in exacerbating the conflicts. The two traditional farming groups (crop producers and cattle herders) that contribute immensely to the country’s food security are in constant conflict, thereby threatening sustainable agricultural production. The objective in this article is to investigate the nature and extent of land use changes in the Gombe region using geospatial analytical techniques and assess the implications on land conflicts. …

Sustainability, Livelihoods, And Quality Of Life Of Older Retirees In Lagos State, Nigeria, Bola Amaike

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Later life is celebrated in Africa because it is seen as a blessing from God. Therefore, older people are generally treated with dignity. But with modernization, African senior citizens suffer diverse challenges and experience difficulty in meeting their basic needs. Hence, the need for sustainable livelihoods that will address life deprivations and improve the quality of life of Nigerian elders. This article examines the sustainability of retirement livelihoods and its impact on quality of life of formal sector retirees in Nigeria. It argues that beyond the conventional survival mechanisms, Nigerian retirees require resilient and sustainable livelihoods in order to enhance …

About The Contributors

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

No abstract provided.

Nabhan, Gary Paul. Cumin, Camels And Caravans. (2014). Berkeley, Ca: University Of California Press. 332 Pages. Isbn 978-0-520-26720-6 (Hardcover), M. Todd Harper

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

A review of Gary Paul Nabhan's Cumin, Camels and Caravans (2014).

Developing Global Perspectives In Short-Term Study Abroad: High-Impact Learning Through Curriculum, Co-Curriculum And Community, Christina M. Ferrari, Janis B. Fine

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

As short-term study abroad gains popularity, it is essential to examine the immediate and ongoing effects of these programs. This paper explores a two-week study abroad course for students in P-12 educational administration and higher education graduate programs. It makes valuable contributions to the limited research that exists for graduate students studying abroad and short-term study away experiences. It examines a course design utilizing the Global Perspective Inventory and high-impact learning pedagogy as derived through curriculum, co-curriculum, and community frameworks. Such a strategy aims to influence students’ decision-making processes and connect global knowledge to education’s urgent social, ethical, and civic …

Study Abroad: Essentials In Recruitment And Interdisciplinary Practice, Vanessa Robinson-Dooley, Alan Kirk, Jennifer Riapos

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Study abroad programs offer unique opportunities for students to gain valuable educational and life experience. These experiences support a well-rounded education and prepare the students to work in a more global society. Many study abroad programs are designed with undergraduates as the target audience and may not meet the academic needs or life situations of the graduate student. This paper describes the authors’ observations based on their experiences with developing and implementing study abroad programs. This writing discusses lessons learned and offers recommendations for expanding existing programs to attract graduate students.