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Front Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Civilization: A Systems Approach, Robert Bedeski, Ph.D.

Comparative Civilizations Review

Civilization is one of several stages of human evolution and forms a system of interaction. Its past dominance is now challenged by growth of three subsystems — state, economy, and science/technology. These three subsystems have matured through application of rational knowledge. The vertically integrated state now dominates society and demarcated territory. The horizontally integrated global economy and global science/technology society have become worldwide in scope. State domination is reinforced by autonomous global science and international capital. The remaining subsystem of Moral Knowledge occupies present non-material civilization and is characterized by organic knowledge and embracing the unprovable, which includes religion, art, …

Editor's Note, John Berteaux, Executive Editor

Comparative Civilizations Review

From July 28 to July 30, 2022, it was my pleasure to serve as the Program Chair of the 51st International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations conference — The Future of Civilization(s). This issue of the Comparative Civilizations Review contains a selection of articles presented at the conference.

Our New Iscsc Social Media Presence, Bibi Pelić

Comparative Civilizations Review

Social media presence is essential, we could say even critical to any organization today. Social media can for itself be a topic for a discussion on civilization, as social media is today shaping mindsets, for better or worse.

Realizing this major development in our ever-more digitalized world, the ISCSC has undergone, in the past year, significant changes in the direction of establishing its social media presence.

Operation Lone Star: The Spectacle Of Immigration Federalism, Danielle Puretz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 to respond to the “crisis” at the United States/Mexico border. While in the US immigration is usually thought of as a federal responsibility, different states have worked to expand their capacity to welcome or exclude immigrants. Operation Lone Star is an example of how one state is working to restrict immigration to the US and build notoriety for its republican governor. Drawing on press releases, executive orders, news articles, opinion pieces, and other sources I highlight the performative politics within this initiative. Operation Lone Star is an example of …

Book Review: Michela Coletta. Decadent Modernity: Civilization And ‘Latinidad’ In Spanish America, 1880-1920, Jeremy Smith

Comparative Civilizations Review

There are too few perspectives in civilizational analysis that examine Latin America. One exception is found in the work of Shmuel N. Eisenstadt on multiple modernities and the Americas. Eisenstadt’s research is a point of departure for Michela Coletta’s Decadent Modernity: Civilization and ‘Latinidad’ in Spanish America, 1880-1920. Through chapters on the so-called Latin Race, rural and metropolitan identities, national education, and what Coletta calls the ‘aesthetics of regeneration’, the author explores cultural, sociological, and political trends in Southern Cone countries Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina in the fin de siècle era of European and American modernities. This is a …

Religion And Peace : Global Perspectives And Possibilities, Nukhet A. Sandal, Ingo Trauschweizer

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Can religion help societies achieve peace and stability? What actions can religious leaders take to facilitate conflict resolution? This book addresses these critical questions in terms of numerous contemporary conflicts within and between countries.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, public attention to religion shifted away from its relationship to politics and toward its connection to violence in civil conflicts, wars, and terrorism. Religion’s role in sowing discord became more prominent than its ability to unify. Only recently have discussions turned toward the positive impact of religion and spirituality in the public sphere and to the role of faith …

Professionalizing Special Operations Forces, C. Anthony Pfaff

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Mitchell's "American Awakening: Identity Politics And Other Afflictions Of Our Time" (Book Review), Jaclyn Lee Parrott

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

The Belt And Road Initiative Policy: How Chinese Policy Influences Southeast Asia And South Asia, Chendong Wang

Sustainability and Social Justice

This article would be divided into two main parts. In the first part, this article introduces what is the BRI policy and the history of the BRI policy. The BRI policy is a Chinese strategy and network to connect with Chinese partners and potential partners through economic, political, and cultural three perspectives. In the second part, this article describes the BRI policy development and the response from Chinese neighboring countries which mainly include the Southeast and South Asian Countries. Southeast Asian nations and south Asian nations would first be directly impacted by politics, the economy, and culture. Southeast Asian countries …

Church, Country, Culture: How Three Aspects Of Authoritarianism Predict Support For Donald Trump, Trenton Leslie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the American bipartisan system, ideologies and beliefs create political views that sort voters between two groups. Political sorting increases polarization based on cultural preferences for an in-group that become ethnocentric views, which develop into ethnocentric cultural politics. I present an augmented concept of authoritarianism in America that encompasses sorting based on aspects of political belief, encapsulating sources of polarization and cultural attachments to political associations.

I develop the argument that authoritarianism is the result of political attachment to identities that feed off one another as individuals identify with an in-group, such as a party platform. My central theory is …

The Marianna Boycott: Healthcare, Political Organization, And Federal Intervention In The Arkansas Delta, Stephen James Franklin Iii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Marianna Boycott was a thirteen month long civil rights boycott that took place in the Arkansas Delta town of Marianna from 1971 to 1972. The event shut down over twenty-five business, inflicted millions of dollars in economic damage, and forced people living in Lee County to address racial tensions that had been building for decades. This paper examines the Marianna Boycott as an expression of post-Civil Rights Movement conflict over what the various legislative victories of the 1960s meant for Black people in the rural south. This paper posits that while the Civil Rights laws of the era were …

Substantive Representation Of Women In Asian Parliaments, Devin K. Joshi, Christian Echle

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Combining data from nearly 100 interviews with national parliamentarians from ten Asian countries, the contributors to this book analyze and evaluate the advancement of gender equality in Asia. As of the year 2022, no country in Asia has gender parity in its parliament. Meanwhile, the proportion of national-level women parliamentarians in Asia averages a mere 20%. What is more important than simple descriptive representation, however, is whether outcomes for women are improving. Rather than focusing on numerical representation, the chapters in this book focus on the substantive representation of women. In other words, what do women and men parliamentarians do …

Call For Papers - Special Issue "Solidarity In Theory And Practice"

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Faith-Based Organizations In Transnational Peacebuilding, Timothy Seidel

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Social Justice And Subsidiarity: Luigi Taparelli And The Origins Of Modern Catholic Social Thought, William J. Collinge

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Undoing The Knots: Five Generations Of American Catholic Anti-Blackness, Peter R. Gathje

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Toward Freedom: The Case Against Race Reductionism, Charles Whitmer Wright

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of How To Be An Antiracist (An African’S View), Joseph L. Mbele

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Backsliding: Democratic Regress In The Contemporary World And Crises Of Democracy., Pedro A.G. Dos Santos

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Classics Revisited Review Essay: The Prophets By Abraham Joshua Heschel, John C. Merkle

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Joseph Bernardin: Seeking Common Ground, William Droel

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton And Pax Christi Usa's Contribution To The 1983 United States Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter, "The Challenge Of Peace: God's Promise And Our Response", Joseph J. Fahey

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay is a personal reflection on the contribution that Bishop Thomas Gumbleton and Pax Christi USA made to the creation of the U.S. Bishops’ 1983 pastoral letter on peace. It begins with the early history of Pax Christi USA and discusses activities through the years that led to the U.S. Bishops’ letter on peace in 1983. These activities include: Call to Action 1976; Bishops’ Masses for Peace; the Pax Christi USA Disarmament Commission; a discussion of the debate on May 1-3, 1983 on the letter that resulted in a 238-9 vote in favor of the letter; pastoral letters published …

The Fierce Urgency Of The Slow: How Pope Francis Is Calling Us To Save The Planet, Gerald W. Schlabach

The Journal of Social Encounters

Addressing the urgent issues facing humanity today, in his recent encyclical on social friendship, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis reminds us that it is “all the more urgent that we rethink our styles of life, our relationships, the organization of our societies and, above all, the meaning of our existence” (no. 33). In this and in his previous encyclical on care for creation, Laudato Si’, Francis makes clear that we do not have a moment to waste. None of his diagnosis should “be read as a cool and detached description of today’s problems” (no. 56).

Before an onslaught of urgency backfires …

Catholic Peacebuilding In Times Of Crisis: Hope For A Wounded World: A Summary With Link To Recordings Of Presentations, Gerard Powers

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Remembering Drew Christiansen, S.J., Distinguished Advisor On Peacebuilding For The U.S. Catholic Bishops, Gerard Powers

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

A Beacon Of Hope In A Troubled Context: Sketches Of The Life Of Mons. Paride Taban, Shepherd And Bridge-Builder, Alberto Eisman Torres

The Journal of Social Encounters

Monsignor Paride Taban, Bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Torit in Southern Sudan, is a multifaceted figure. Apart from his role as pastor and religious leader, he is an outstanding peace builder and the co-founder of the New Sudan Council of Churches, one of the most significant civil society institutions during the second civil war (1983 – 2005). This institution spearheaded numerous ecumenical initiatives including development work, humanitarian relief, training of grass-roots leaders and last but not least peace mediation. He is a relentless fighter for peaceful coexistence and tolerance in an environment marked by violence, oppression and impunity and …

Review Essay: Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen: A Still And Quiet Conscience, William L. Portier

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma: Advocate Of Peace And Development, Loreta Navarro-Castro

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay describes the advocacy of Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma, currently the co-president of Pax Christi Philippines and archbishop emeritus of the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao, Philippines, towards peace and development not only in Mindanao but also throughout the country. He is a strong proponent of interreligious dialogue and the importance of addressing the roots of the armed conflict so there can be an enduring peace in the Philippines and beyond.

Oscar Romero And Juan Gerardi: Truth, Memory, And Hope, Scott Wright

The Journal of Social Encounters

Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and Guatemalan Bishop Juan Gerardi were prominent defenders of human rights during the civil wars that characterized their two countries during the 1980s and 1990s. By their public proclamations and prophetic witness, they laid the foundation for the United Nations Truth Commission in El Salvador, the United Nations Commission for Historical Clarification in Guatemala, and the Recovery of the Historic Memory (REMHI) project in Guatemala. Inspired by the need to dignify the victims of state-sponsored violence by refusing to forget, and accompanying the survivors in their struggle for justice, Romero and Gerardi were instrumental in uncovering …