Political Science Commons^™

The Gulf: An Appeal For More Coordinated Action On Climate Change, Fareed Yasseen

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article seeks to provide the rationale behind Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Sudani’s call at the United Nations for the formation of a negotiating group within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process that brings together all member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iraq, and Iran. This article argues that these countries would benefit doubly from such an arrangement, because it would help them better address the direct effects of climate change, on the one hand, and to better address the effects of the measures taken to address climate change, which will affect them as fossil fuel producers, …

Results Of Cop27 And Expectations For Cop28, Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga, Fareed Yasseen

New England Journal of Public Policy

Since 1995, government representatives from around the world have gathered nearly every year for the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) to advance work on multilateral agreements and to provide a way forward in tackling the significant challenges of climate change. The last of these conferences took place on November 6–20, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

COP27 brought together more than 35,000 people from across the globe to deliberate on important actions for addressing the climate. Hailed as the “African COP” and “Implementation COP,” it raised expectations that decisions from previous conferences, reflecting the needs and priorities of the …

Toward A New Political Project: Resetting By Reconceptualizing, Scherto Gill

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article starts by pointing out that existing proposals to confront the failures of democracy tend to be limited to tackling the symptoms of the current dysfunctional system rather than offering meaningful alternatives to transform the system. It then suggests that a total reset is required and offers an innovative theoretical framework, to conceptualize the new political project, that can transcend the existing impasses. It further argues that such a framework ought to consist in four fundamental, interdependent, and mutually reinforcing principles: (1) equal primary, non-derivative value of all persons; (2) non-instrumentalization of persons; (3) well-being of all as a …

Reinventing Multilateral Order, Sundeep Waslekar

New England Journal of Public Policy

The multiple crises of our time result from the breakdown of the multilateral order. Some of these crises may intensify between now and 2030. Multilateral organizations have been eroded to the extent that they are unable to manage catastrophic risk, including a military confrontation between superpowers. The weakening of multilateralism is mirrored in the strengthening of hypernationalism in many countries. It will not be sufficient to mend the multilateral system. It is necessary, instead, to envisage new principles for creating a global governance grid superseding the United Nations Security Council that serves the interests of human civilization and not the …

Peace Is The Answer For Our Post-Pandemic World, Steve Killelea

New England Journal of Public Policy

Humanity is facing a series of existential threats unlike any it has experienced before in its short history. They are driven mainly by overpopulation, increasingly impactful advancements in technology, and now a pandemic. Countering these threats will require a new way of conceptualizing our relationships with each other and the ecosystems we depend on. The world needs a new approach that will allow us to adapt in the short term and reverse the decline in the long term.

Peace is central to a safe and productive society. Without peace, we will never achieve the level of trust, cooperation, and inclusiveness …

Challenges For Multilateralism In A Pre-Post-Covid World, Richard Caplan

New England Journal of Public Policy

Multilateralism today faces numerous challenges. This article offers some reflections on those challenges—what they are and how they originated—and how multilateralism can be reinvigorated. It argues that though multilateralism is not a panacea, many of the critical challenges that confront humanity today—biodiversity, cybersecurity, global warming, mass migration, arms proliferation, and the regulation of outer space, as well as the spread of infectious diseases—can be met only with states and peoples cooperating more closely.

Turkey’S Map Of Emotions And Its Political Reflections, Gokben Hizli Sayar, Huseyin Unubol, Deniz Ulke Aribogan, Nevzat Tarhan

New England Journal of Public Policy

Political psychology is an interdisciplinary scientific field that that combines politics and psychology to explore the effect of emotions in politics. It examines the backgrounds of political decisions at the individual and community levels. This study analyzes the political decisions of voters in Turkey, focusing on positive and negative reactions, such as trust and fear. Using conclusions drawn from the Addiction Map of Turkey Study (TURBAHAR), which involved interviews with approximately twenty-five thousand participants during five months in 2018, this study analyzed the results of local elections held in thirty metropolitan districts and fifty-one provinces in Turkey on March 31, …

Understanding Myanmar’S Buddhist Extremists: Some Preliminary Musings, Kumar Ramakrishna

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article examines Buddhist extremism in Myanmar. It argues that Buddhist extremism—like other types of religious extremism—is an acute form of fundamentalism. The article begins with a survey of how extremism is usually understood in the theoretical literature, showing that its religious variant is best conceived of as an acute form of fundamentalism. It then fine tunes this understanding, arguing that religious extremism is a fundamentalist belief system that justifies structural violence against relevant out-groups. The article outlines seven core characteristics of the religious extremist culled from the various theoretical approaches to extremism. It employs these seven characteristics to examine …

The Troubled Backstory Of The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: The Photo, The Feud, And The Secret Service, Garrison Nelson, Brenna M. Rosen

New England Journal of Public Policy

The 1963 murder of President John F. Kennedy led to a reconsideration of the 1947 Presidential Succession Act, which mandated that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives was next in line to the vice president and the Senate president pro tempore was next in line to the Speaker. The new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, was only fifty-five when he took the oath of office on November 22, 1963, but he had a well-known heart condition that would end his life nine years later. Seated behind Johnson when he met with Congress was the soon-to-be seventy-two-year old House Speaker …

How Data Became Part Of New Orleans’ Dna During The Katrina Recovery, Lamar Gardere, Allison Plyer, Denice Ross

New England Journal of Public Policy

Data intermediaries have a symbiotic relationship with government as the source of most of their information. The open-data movement in government and development of software-as-a-service technologies shaped the data landscape after Katrina. Through relationships and talent transfers with The Data Center, the City of New Orleans went from having its chief technology officer in federal prison and its data systems in shambles to being a nationally recognized leader in open and accountable government. To be effective during disasters, an intermediary should be (1) in place and widely respected before the event, (2) ready to respond immediately after the event and …

Finding Foreign Friends: National Self-Determination And Related Norms As Strategic Resources During The Biafran War For Independence, 1967–1970, Christopher Brucker

New England Journal of Public Policy

The study analyzes how the government of the Republic of Biafra used international norms to win foreign support during its 1967–1970 campaign to secede from Nigeria. Secession conflicts occur at the intersection of international and domestic politics. For independence movements, support from outside is crucial. But, as Bridget Coggins has asked, how can secession movements find “friends in high places”? International support for unilateral secession attempts is strictly prohibited. Domestic and international asymmetry are limiting secessionist foreign policy instruments to intangible means. Legitimacy is a central concept to illuminate the phenomenon. In international politics, legitimacy depends on the external perception …

Introduction: Developing Strategies For Stability And A Sustainable Shared Development In Euro-Mediterranean Migrations, Emanuela C. Del Re

New England Journal of Public Policy

This special issue on migration offers a collection of contributions from prominent scholars, academics, and researchers from Europe, Africa, and the United States who provide a unique multilevel and prismatic analysis of this fundamental social phenomenon.

Strategies For Stability And Sustainability In Euro-Mediterranean Migrations, Emanuela C. Del Re

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this article, the author provides a wide and vivid picture of the several dimensions of migration flows in the current global scenario and, in particular, in the Mediterranean. She proposes new interpretations of this complex phenomenon, analyzing its multiple aspects and characteristics and the push factors and policies and responses of the countries of origin, transit, and destination. She suggests new approaches and strategies to deal with the issue of migration, urging the EU member states and EU institutions to develop management policies for stability and sustainability that are welcoming and that respect human rights.

North African Regular And Irregular Migration: The Case Of Libya, Mustafa O. Attir

New England Journal of Public Policy

Because of its geographical size and location, Libya has for centuries been a transit county for human movement across the region. Thus, its experience with immigrants has a long history. In the early 1970s, Libya became a destination for foreigners seeking jobs. Some entered the country legally, others illegally. All came to work, live, and send remittances back to their families. During the 1990s, when many migrants used Libya as a transit country for crossing the sea to Europe, the European Union started negotiating with the Libyan government to curb the flow of irregular migrants. In 2011, the country joined …

Syrian Refugees In Turkey: A Security Perspective, Federico Donelli

New England Journal of Public Policy

This study investigates the nexus between the mass movement of people and security and foreign policy behaviors. The assertion is that refugee flows intensify security issues among decision makers and members of society; consequently, new fears and wider perceptions of threats have several implications for foreign policy agenda. The article focuses on the theoretical analysis of the securitization of migration and its impact on foreign policy and security policy. It also analyzes, from a security perspective, the effect on Turkey of the refugees who arrived en masse from Syria during the past six years. The article concludes with an analysis …

The Mediterranean Refugee Crisis: Heritage, Tourism, And Migration, Marxiano Melotti

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Mediterranean Sea has become a huge cemetery: many thousands of migrants have lost their lives trying to cross it in search of a better future. In 2015, more than a million migrants and refugees reached Europe through irregular means, but almost 4,000 went missing and probably drowned. In 2016, 364,000 arrived in Europe and more than 5,000 were lost en route. The arrivals in Italy by sea were 181,436 in 2016 and 119,369 in 2017. While UN organizations and EU governments seem unable or unwilling to face this epoch-making drama, the culture industry has begun to exploit it. Migrant …

Response And Responsibilities Of The Republic Of Macedonia In The Migrant And Refugees Crises, Toni Mileski

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Republic of Macedonia has had a long history of dealing with migrants and refugees. Since the late nineteenth century, conflicts, including the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), the First and Second World Wars, the Greek civil war (1945–1949), the Kosovo conflict, and the 2001 internal security crisis, have caused successive waves of migration. More recently, armed conflict in the Middle East, especially in Syria, caused a migrant and refugee crisis that has deeply affected the country. This article analyses how the Republic of Macedonia has responded to this crisis. It examines the initial period of the crisis, the measures, activities, and …

Managing Migration: The Balkans United Against Refugees, Hedvig Morvai, Dragan Djokovic

New England Journal of Public Policy

In 2015, alone, almost a million refugees sought to reach Northwestern Europe by traveling from Turkey, through Greece and Macedonia, and then across Serbia, Hungary, or Croatia, following what became known as the Balkan route. Despite the numerous problems associated with this route, it remained functional until March 8, 2016, when the EU member states reached a deal with Turkey that has put a stop to this particular migrants’ itinerary.

Like the member states of the European Union, the Balkan countries have been dealing with migration problems in an obsolete manner. Wars and their attendant difficulties in Serbia, Croatia, and …

Immigration As A Domestic Policy Issue: What Strategy To “Save” Europe?, Germano Dottori

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article analyzes the influence of political orientations in the development of migration policies in the European Union. It lists the forces shaping the political orientations regarding mass migration across Europe and shows how they combine and affect the policies being adopted. The article focuses on the economic and political positions underpinning progressive, liberal options for an open-door policy and the opposing views.

European Immigration Controls Conforming To Human Rights Standards, Yannis Ktistakis

New England Journal of Public Policy

The European continent has for some years been facing increased pressure from migration. In 2010, Europe, in comparison with the other continents, was expected to host the largest number of migrants: 69.8 million migrants representing 32.6 percent of the total flow of migrants (213.9 million international migrants). This pressure has caused the two main European organizations, the Council of Europe and the European Union, to act decisively for the protection of migrants. Although the European legal order offers a high standard of human rights protection—having adopted, over the decades, the relevant instruments and developed effective mechanisms—the two European organizations have …

Migration And Conflict, Padraig O’Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

The United Nations is ill-equipped to prevent, much less end, intrastate conflicts. Today’s conflicts and an explosive mix of other interrelated causes—including violence, famine, extreme poverty, climate-related disasters and political oppression—have led to a global migration and population-displacement crisis. This article examines the intersection of conflict and migration. It presents the data on migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and exposes the rise of extreme nationalist tendencies in the West—in particular, Europe, where several measures to stem the flow of refugees have been imposed. The article concludes with a warning about global poverty and marginalization—a prescription for violent conflict …

Gendering Migration: Women, Migratory Routes And Trafficking, Nicolamaria Coppola

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article examines international migration from a gender perspective. It asserts that migration can be empowering for women, and at the same time it may exacerbate their vulnerabilities, including abuse and trafficking, particularly when migrants are low skilled or irregular.

Syrian Refugees In Europe: Migration Dynamics And Political Challenges, Leila Hudson

New England Journal of Public Policy

After 2011 the Syrian conflict caused growing numbers of residents to flee to escape escalating regime brutality and deteriorating economic conditions. In addition to a population of up to eight million internally displaced residents, at least four million Syrians fled to neighboring Arab states and Turkey. Conditions in those countries ranged from desperate to uncomfortable, and between 2014 and 2016 up to a million refugees continued on to seek asylum in Europe. In addition to the trauma of displacement the refugees experienced, the migration left traces on the host and transit countries in the form of economic and infrastructural challenges, …

The New Media, Globalization, And The Public Interest: A Conversation With Newton N. Minow (2003), Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article provides a summary of a weekend-long convocation held in April 2002 that was sponsored by the Coudert Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. The motto of the nonprofit group, which was founded by Dale Coudert in 2001, is, “Subjects That Matter, with People Who Make a Difference.” Each mid-winter through early-spring season, the nonpartisan and nonideological Coudert Institute organizes conversations and seminars on an eclectic array of topics featuring prominent academics, artists, musicians, and practitioners. The institute’s goal is to spark open and inclusive dialogue directed to critical reflection and enlightenment. This selection contains the fruits of a …

Editor's Note, Padraig O’Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

Such is the unpredictability of Trump’s streaming executive orders that much of what I write may be irrelevant by the time this issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy goes to press. But the articles in this issue will not lose their pertinence, no matter what the administration does. Indeed, given its predilection for “alternative facts,” they assume a greater relevance and consequential significance.

This issue of the journal has three parts. The first part had its origins in a conference on extremism held at the Center for Study of Intractable Conflicts (CRIC), Harris Manchester College Oxford in …

The Growth Of Isis Extremism In Southeast Asia: Its Ideological And Cognitive Features—And Possible Policy Responses, Kumar Ramakrishna

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article examines the radicalization of young Southeast Asians into the violent extremism that characterizes the notorious Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). After situating ISIS within its wider and older Al Qaeda Islamist ideological milieu, the article sketches out the historical landscape of violent Islamist extremism in Southeast Asia. There it focuses on the Al Qaeda-affiliated, Indonesian-based but transnational Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network, revealing how the emergence of ISIS has impacted JI’s evolutionary trajectory. The article surveys major explanations of how radicalization into violent extremism (RIVE) occurs, setting the stage for the ensuing discussion of two features of …

Syrian Civil Society During The Peace Talks In Geneva: Role And Challenges, Zedoun Alzoubi

New England Journal of Public Policy

Syrian civil society witnessed a new birth in 2011 following decades of hibernation due to oppression. The fast growth and maturity of civil society organizations gave them the opportunity to occupy a formal space in the ongoing peace talks in Geneva. The presence of the Women’s Advisory Board, the Civil Society Support Room, and the recently established Experts Room during the peace talks in the Palais de Nations allows them to influence the negotiation process. This article is the first published documentation of the role of civil society in the peace process and the challenges that face these talks.

Why We Have The Center For The Resolution Of Intractable Conflict In Oxford, John, Lord Alderdice

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Center for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict (CRIC) was formally established at Harris Manchester College by a decision of the Governing Body of the College in 2013 to facilitate research, teaching and training, seminars and conferences, and direct engagement in situations of political violence and long-standing community conflict in various parts of the world.

The CRIC is a very young institution, but already it is having an impact out of proportion to its size and modest resources. This is because the issues we are addressing have a heightened public profile and also because of the quality and leading-edge of …

Understanding The Appeal Of Isis, Lydia Wilson

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Islamic State, or ISIS, has proven to be persistently successful in attracting people from all over the globe to join in its state-building and state-defending enterprise. This article explores the messages it has crafted, from the utopian to the militarily defensive, and the techniques it uses to propagate these messages (including on social media), which includes some historical comparisons to communism and Nazism. It goes on to provide initial research findings from the field to show how their message is working among (a small percentage of) the target audience, sketching the theory of identity fusion to argue that it …

The Apocalyptic Imagination And The Fundamentalist Mindset, Charles B. Strozier

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article explores the psychological meanings of the apocalyptic imagination in what I call a fundamentalist mindset. That mindset has its own long history but is newly relevant in the nuclear age. We no longer need God to bring about ultimate destruction. There are many facets of the fundamentalist mindset (for example, its intense literalism), but the focus in the article is on two: its kairotic sense of time and its rampant paranoia. These two facets interact synergistically around violence that is experienced by those who revel in it as moral in a totalistic sense. Killing becomes healing. The evil …