Selected Open Access Studies On Nonviolent Collective Action: Preventing Mass Atrocities, Transforming Civil Wars, Democratizing Regimes, Ronald Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

These summaries are researched and presented to:

1. provide free access to information about hundreds of cases of nonviolent action for learning and for citizen action. We research campaigns that have reached a point of completion. The cases are drawn from all continents and most countries. People are shown struggling for human rights, economic justice, democracy, national and ethnic identity, environmental sustainability, and peace.

2. make available comparative information that will support researchers and writers to develop strategic knowledge and theory.

Rights Of Nature: The Indigenous-Led Movement For Sovereignty And A Sustainable Future, Kathryn Schug, Ted Gordon

The Journal of Social Encounters

The rights of nature movement works to grant legal rights to beings other than humans. Led by Indigenous communities across the globe, the movement is grounded in commonly shared Indigenous beliefs that regard non-human beings as are our relatives and as deserving of the same legal rights as humans. Grounded in Indigenous worldviews, the rights of nature movement pursues the twin goals of creating an environmentally sustainable future and enshrining legal protections for Indigenous values and practices. This article explores how the White Earth Nation, a federally recognized Ojibwe tribal government in Minnesota became the first in the United States …

Sustainable Tourism As A Tool For Post-Conflict Economic Reconstruction. A Situational Analysis Of Sudan, Lorenzo Belotti

The Journal of Social Encounters

As Sudan is grappling with a conflict that is taking its toll on the economy and is displacing millions of individuals, pathways to a sustainable reconstruction of the country are needed for the stability of a future peace. Tourism in Sudan has been confined to small initiatives during all its history, despite the invaluable heritage that its territory holds. This article aims at investigating the potential of tourism as an engine for the sustainable development of the country and the improvement of the livelihoods of local communities, as it has been for other nations in recent history. The main goal …

The Revolution Is Not Over: Sudanese Female Asylum Seekers And Refugees In Belfast, Dianne Kirby

The Journal of Social Encounters

Female Sudanese asylum seekers and refugees in Belfast were instrumental in establishing a women’s collective, Anaka. The original goal was provision of a safe space where the founders could help women confronting the harshness of the asylum system alone and afraid, as they had been. The endeavour to mitigate the hard realities of a challenging system in a hostile environment led to the collective becoming an advocacy and campaigning group. The ethos was one of participation and empowerment, deploying skills, creative capacities and political insights forged in the fight for Sudanese democracy. The key issues confronting female refugees -- housing, …

Exploiting Tribal Identity: Evidence From The Darfur Conflict (2001-) And The Chad-Sudan Proxy War (2005-2010), Eline Rosenhart

The Journal of Social Encounters

Using the case of the Darfur conflict (2001-) and the Chad-Sudan proxy war (2005-2010), this study will demonstrate that conflict in Chad and Sudan cannot be fully understood without taking into account how heads of state and rebel leaders in both countries manipulated tribal identities to retain and enhance power. It shows how Idriss Déby, a Zaghawa leader, held onto his tenuous position as President of Chad by leveraging tribal customs and symbols, while the Darfur conflict and the Chad-Sudan proxy war destabilized his rule. It also sheds light on the ways in which Darfuri and Chadian rebel leaders maneuvered …

Reshaping Identity Politics: Capitalising On Shari‘A Debate In The Sudan, Musa Adam Abdul-Jalil

The Journal of Social Encounters

The relationship between religious identity, ethnic identity, and politics has always been a problematic one, especially in plural societies like Sudan. This article is an attempt to understand the reasons behind the insistence of the popular parties of the Muslim majority in Northern Sudan on establishing shar’ia law as the law of the land. By using secondary data on party programmes, public opinion, and an analysis of political events, I reconstruct the evolution of the debate in order to identify its prime movers. My conclusion is that this debate emerged as a result of the quest for a national identity …

South Korea’S Soft Power In The Drama Series “Crash Landing On You”: Propaganda Against North Korea, Gilang Pratama Irianto, Junita Budi Rachman, Deasy Sylviasari

Jurnal Wacana Politik

This article examines South Korean propaganda aimed at influencing the public towards North Korea through the military-themed drama series Crash Landing on You interspersed with romantic stories typical of Korean dramas. The propaganda techniques used in the drama use glorification and demonization techniques. The purpose of this paper is to analyze South Korean soft power propaganda in the drama series Crash Landing on You. Propaganda in international relations is used as an analytical tool in this study, as well as the meaning of propaganda and propaganda techniques as supporting concepts for this study. The method used is a qualitative method, …

Editor's Note, Joseph Drew Editor-In-Chief

Comparative Civilizations Review

Although the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations was formally launched in 1961 via a scholarly conference convened in Salzburg, Austria, which brought together many of the world’s leading experts on the subject under the sponsorship of the Austrian government and UNESCO, regular annual meetings for those interested in comparative civilizations have been held subsequently by the society variously in North America, South America, Asia or Europe almost every year since that time.

Niccolò Longobardo And The Early Modern Encounter Of Europe With China, Yu Liu

Comparative Civilizations Review

Writing in 1962 about the founding fathers of the early modern Jesuit China mission, Jesuit historian George H. Dunne famously called them the generation of giants “who, breaking with the dominant spirit of their times and recalling a distant past, restored the concept of cultural adaptation to a central position in the world mission of Christianity.”

Seventeen Crises In Western Civilization That Have Arisen Since The Dark Ages: A Cognition Science-Oriented Approach, Andrew Targowski

Comparative Civilizations Review

The purpose of this article is to synthesize those crises in the unfolding of Western civilization that are controlled by human knowledge and wisdom. The methodology is transdisciplinary, utilizing a cognitive science-oriented, big-picture view of civilization and main conflicts. The crises are investigated across three time periods; the Dark Ages (from the fifth to the fourteenth century), Modern Times (from the fifteenth to the twentieth century), and the present century. The findings reveal that today Western civilization faces seventeen significant crises. Knowledge is not sufficient to solve these crises; we need to employ knowledge-based wisdom. This approach presents a new …

Book Review: Liberalism, Realism, Or … Integralism? Perusing John J. Mearsheimer’S Book The Great Delusion, Vlad Alalykin-Izvekov

Comparative Civilizations Review

The paper presents an analysis of the scholarly views of prominent American political scholar John J. Mearsheimer as set forth in his book The Great Delusion (Yale University Press, 2019). It also offers analysis of other existing approaches, as well as elaborates on a new Integralistic Paradigm which has a potential to integrate the field of International Relations (IR) Theory.

End Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Unpacking Normative Change: The United Nations At Its 60th Anniversary, Giovanna Marques Kuele

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the UN at its 60th anniversary at a critical juncture, with seven nested observations, to answer why normative change happens at the UN, when it is triggered, and which proposed changes are ultimately adopted. It argues that normative change at the UN is a result of multilevel political consensus at critical junctures. At the macro level, these junctures are triggered by global crises and international summits that provide a moment of normative reflection among the three UNs—member states, secretariat, and non-state actors—thereby increasing the likelihood of achieving multilevel political consensus. At the micro level, the formation of …

Challenging Beliefs: Examining The Efficacy Of Corrections For Conspiratorial And Partisan Misinformation, Ava Zwolinski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The threat of misinformation is widely acknowledged among researchers and laypeople (NORC, 2021). When misinformation coalesces with conspiracy theories, the repercussions can be especially dangerous, sometimes even fatal. Events such as the January 6th insurrection and the Buffalo Tops Supermarket shooting were both, in part, inspired by misleading information and conspiracy theories (Burke, 2022; Dawsey, 2023). While misinformation involving conspiracy theories is recognized as possibly posing a greater threat to correction efforts (Lewandowsky, 2021a), no study has yet experimentally manipulated the presence or absence of conspiratorial elements within misinformation. This dissertation explores whether conspiratorial misinformation is more difficult to correct …

China In Global Digital Trade Governance: Towards A Development-Oriented Agenda?, Yujia He, Ka Zeng

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Existing literature on the behaviour of rising powers in global trade governance has yielded inconclusive evidence about their role and impact. This article contributes to this literature by examining China's role in global digital trade governance, an issue area which so far has not received sufficient scholarly attention. Specifically, it addresses the following question: as a self-proclaimed leader of the developing world in digital development, to what extent do its preferences and negotiation approach align with the interests of other developing countries? Analysing China's participation in three sets of negotiations using process tracing, the article argues that China's dual identity …

Civilizations From Toynbee To Coker: The Quest Of Christopher Coker (1953 – 2023) To Reinstate Comparative Civilizational Thinking In Western Scholarship, Greg Lewicki Vice President

Comparative Civilizations Review

In the gentlemen’s heaven, Christopher Coker must surely have his separate suite, one with golden busts of travelers, old-fashioned English furniture, and cold-toned walls resembling those of Athenaeum, a Pall Mall club in London, one of a few clubs where he liked to dine.

The Dravidian And Āryan Migrations In Europe And India, Alexander Jacob

Comparative Civilizations Review

Much has been written about the relationship between the Indo-Āryans and the Dravidians. Debates have proliferated on the question of whether the Āryans invaded Dravidian India or whether they were indigenous to Dravida. If we consider the literary evidence of the ancient Indians we can inform a different view of the origins of Indian Brāhmanical religion and the historical relationship between the two major population groupings of India.

Full Issue

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Asean-Eu Relations Through Cultural Cooperation: Realities And Unexplored Potential, David Ocon, Lluís Bonet

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Multilateral cultural exchanges are important to foster mutual understanding and address global challenges. With data gathered through historical analysis, targeted surveys, and expert interviews, the study provides targeted recommendations for policymakers in ASEAN and the EU in developing sustainable cultural cooperation at the multilateral level. How can culture serve as a bridge between Southeast Asian and European societies? How can multilateral cultural cooperation strengthen ASEAN-EU ties and complement existing bilateral cultural cooperation? How can culture support other forms of cooperation?

Commentary: No One Wants An Asian Nato, Except Japan’S New Pm Ishiba, Benjamin Ho, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In a joint commentary, SMU Professor of Political Science William A Callahan discussed the reluctance of Southeast Asian nations, excluding Japan under its new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, to embrace a collective defense system aimed at countering China. They explained why Mr Ishiba's proposal for an Asian North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would benefit Japan, how it works in Europe, and why it is unlikely to gain strong support in Southeast Asia.

The Crisis Of Market Society And The Fascist Solution In The Work Of Karl Polanyi, Nicholas E. Reynolds

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The revival of interest in the work of Karl Polanyi, which has generated valuable lines of inquiry across disciplines, has largely neglected Polanyi’s extensive writings on fascism. This dissertation argues that Karl Polanyi should be considered a theorist of fascism, one whose thinking revolves around the concept of a “fascist solution” arising as a consequence of a terminal deadlock of market society. This dissertation surveys two decades of Polanyi’s work to construct a full picture of his theory of fascism and its importance for his broader theorizing about the dynamics of capitalist societies. Polanyi makes at least three specific contributions …

United States Foreign Policy Towards South Africa: From Constructive Engagement To Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act Of 1986, Jennifer J. Squires

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

U.S. domestic pressure groups have historically utilized the tactic of lobbying Congress as a tool to pressure the legislative body to make specific foreign policy decisions. My research findings suggest that over various periods of time, in total spanning approximately four decades, first heralded by African American human rights leaders and organizations, the actions of six separate domestic anti-apartheid economic sanctions and divestment organizations, influenced by episodic anti-apartheid protest actions in South Africa, used their varied American protest actions to remind and to admonish Congress that apartheid is synonymous with racism. Thus, apartheid had to be dismantled. An important number …

Bodies For Catastrophe: A Montage Study Of Palestinian Digital Labor, Francisco Ramos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis investigates Palestinian digital labor through the method of montage. Digital labor, understood as bodily activity transfigured by digital machines into exploitable information, is examined within the context of Israeli surveillance technologies used against Palestinians. The study critically explores the dual political functions of these technologies: as tools of settler-colonial domination aiming to dispossess Palestinians, and as neoliberal mechanisms seeking to profit from the surveillance of Palestinian bodies. The second half of the thesis turns to the ways Palestinians engage with such technologies and unsettle the economic and colonial logics embedded in them.

The research is structured nonlinearly using …

Second International Marxism And The Finnish Revolution, Luke Brodersen

University Honors Theses

This paper will consider the Finnish revolution of 1917-1918 as it was understood by Second International Marxists--not because these Marxists were right, but because the revolution was led by Marxists of a socialist party formed in the Second International. By dint of the constraints of time, of resources, and of a language barrier, this paper cannot be an exhaustive historical account of the activities of the Finnish socialists, nor a comprehensive explanation of Marxism, nor would it assume to provide a proper 'Marxist' analysis of this history. Of the two 20th century English language histories of this revolution--the work of …

Review Of Hijacked: How Neoliberalism Turned The Work Ethic Against Workers And How Workers Can Take It Back, By Elizabeth Anderson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023)., Tedd Siegel

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

A Refinement On The Principle Of Resistance: The Puritan Roots Of Political Resistance In America, Michael P. Berry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Puritanism was a religious movement that historically developed with an innate tendency toward political resistance. Birthed out of the complexities of the English Reformation, Puritan non-conformity caused tensions between dissenters and the English monarchs. These tensions followed non-conformists when they chose to emigrate to Massachusetts Bay in order to establish a church and government favorable to their ideas of Congregationalism. Their experience in New England continued to demonstrate the Puritan penchant toward political resistance as they strove to develop and maintain a virtual independent, sovereign republic despite attempts by the royal government to bring the Northern colonies into conformity consistent …

A Study Of External Factors Influencing Stagnation In Five Post-Soviet Hybrid Regimes, Han Liu

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

This study delves into the complexities of stagnation in post-Soviet hybrid regimes, focusing on the external influences that contribute to this phenomenon. Through principal component analysis (PCA) and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), the research examines the impact of economic sanctions, diplomatic measures, international financial, and technological assistance on the political trajectories of five post-Soviet states: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. It finds that economic sanctions and international assistance are particularly significant external factors affecting regime stagnation, with an explanatory power of 86.8% consistency and 69.2% coverage.

The research reveals that while economic sanctions and international assistance play pivotal roles …

Analysis Of America, China, And Indonesian Conflict Styles In The South China Sea 2018-2023, Amril Ahz Hanif Zaki

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

This research aims to analyse the factors contributing to the ongoing conflict in the South China Sea between China, Indonesia, and the United States. China's aspiration to control the Natuna Islands has been evident since the 1990s, with a marked escalation since 2009. The authors used a mixed methods approach, including a literature review and bibliometric analysis, to analyse 49 documents from the Scopus database. Data were analysed using the 50 Conflict Resolution Activities framework by Jonamay Lambert and Selma Meyers. The study reveals that China exhibits a “Pit Bull” conflict style in 2019 documents, while the United States and …

Outbidding With Ontology: Routine, Rebel Justice, And The Competition For Legitimacy, Patrick A. Schmidt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Civil wars upset the everyday routines and relationships of ordinary people. Though recent research into civil wars has significantly increased the degree of study into non-conflict activities of rebel groups, particularly in rebel governance, rebel groups have not yet been seen as ontological security providers, capable of developing and reinstating some form of normalcy for civilian populations. This thesis seeks to promote this view of rebel groups, theorizing that rebel justice systems serve as a distinct space for insurgents to routinize interactions with civilians and signal their desire and ability to serve as capable providers of ontological security. Further, I …