International and Area Studies Commons^™

Guest Editorial: Making Gender Equality Visible In Judicial Selections At The European Court Of Justice, Laure Clément-Wilz, Fernanda G. Nicola

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

We begin this issue with a Guest Editorial by Laure Clement-Wilz and Fernanda Nicola, who invite reflection on the criteria for judicial selection at the European Court of Justice. They propose integrating gender parity as a soft criterion in the judicial selection process, thereby contributing to broader discussions on diversity in judicial appointments

Graduate Student Paper: Aging In A Changing Japan: Gendered Adaptation To Changing Family Structure, Miki Izu, Clayton Chalmers

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Although Japanese seniors are very healthy, research shows that they are not very happy. Compared to seniors in other developed countries, Japanese elders have lower ratings of subjective well-being and are increasingly alone. This paper argues that changes to Japanese family life help explain why Japanese elders are struggling with low subjective well-being. Specifically, declining marriage rates and declining rates of elders living with their children (co-residency) have made it harder for elders to get the support they need. Moreover, the effect and the adaptations to these changes are not equal between men and women. While elderly Japanese men are …

Emergent Strategies For Internationalization Amidst Disruptions And Uncertainty, Milad Mohebali, Angela Bryan, Jacob Jones, Yoko Iwasaki-Zink

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

“Plus Ça Change, Plus C’Est La Même Chose”: The Ongoing Decolonisation’S Mechanic Inside The Franc Zone, Gerard Emmanuel Kamdem Kamga

Journal of African Policy Studies

This paper examines the persistent neocolonial dynamics within the Franc Zone, encapsulated by the adage “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” (the more things change, the more they stay the same). Despite nominal independence in the 1960s achieved by countries colonized by France, the analysis reveals how France maintains significant control through the Franc Zone and the “Françafrique” system. The Franc Zone, encompassing fifteen African states using the CFA Franc and Comoros Franc, functions under principles ensuring French dominance and the enslavement of these countries: fixed exchange rates pegged to the Euro, mandatory centralization of a large portion …

Unfinished Business: An Analysis Of The Permanent Forum On People Of African Descent, Satang Nabaneh

Journal of African Policy Studies

Communities of African descent worldwide experience persistent structural discrimination, manifested in poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion, and economic disparities. The historical crimes of enslavement, the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans, apartheid, and colonialism, recognized as crimes against humanity and potentially constituting genocide, have left enduring trauma and systemic repercussions. These atrocities are demonstrably linked to current disparities in health, welfare, and the fulfillment of human rights for people of African descent. The International Decade for People of African Descent (2015 to 2024), proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 under the theme “People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice …

Earthjustice: The Role Of The African Regional Human Rights System In Containing Climate Change, Bright Nkrumah, Ebenezer Durojaye, Maria Usang Assim

Journal of African Policy Studies

At the turn of the millennium, the landscape of Africa has been punctuated by intense weather conditions. With a disproportionate percentage of the continent’s population bearing the brunt of climate-induced heatwaves, deluges, and drought, it is expected that this phenomenon will spur regional climate litigation. The essay argues that although there is an evolution of climate cases submitted at the national level, this development has not evolved to the African regional human rights system. The lack of cases at the regional level beckons one to explore why (potential)victims are unable or unwilling to explore these mechanisms given their role in …

The Intersection Between Child Marriage And Climate Change: An Example Of Malawi, Musu Bakoto Sawo

Journal of African Policy Studies

Child marriage affects 39,000 girls daily, totaling 650 million women married before age eighteen globally. While driven by poverty, tradition, and limited education, climate change is emerging as a significant new factor, particularly in developing nations such as Malawi, where 42% of girls marry before age eighteen. An estimated 1.5 million girls in Malawi are at risk due to climate-exacerbated food insecurity and displacement. This paper, using feminist theories of intersectionality, postcolonial feminism, and feminist political ecology, examines the complex link between climate change and child marriage in Malawi. It critiques existing international, regional, and domestic policies, highlighting their inadequacy …

African Feminist Theories And The Gendered Dimensions Of Climate Change In Africa, Manase Kudzai Chiweshe

Journal of African Policy Studies

This paper analyzes how African feminist theories can provide nuanced insights into the gendered dimensions of climate change across the continent. African feminist theories provide essential insights into the everyday lived experiences of women within African spaces, allowing for a contextual analysis of the impacts of climate change. There has also been a growing recognition of the need to identify the gender-differentiated impacts of climate change. The main argument is not only that climate change will be experienced by men and women differently but also that the impacts will hurt women more severely. Yet this theorization must employ theoretical lenses …

Technology And The Sustainable Implementation Of The African Continental Free Trade Area (Afcfta) Through Women’S Integration, Philip Ademola Olayoku

Journal of African Policy Studies

The desire for economic prosperity on the African continent led to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), in line with the vision of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), when it proposed the creation of an African Economic Community (AEC) by 2028. However, sustainable economic development will remain a mirage without inclusivity where no one is left behind, in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063. This study explores the challenge of restricting women to economic margins in trade agreements under the AfCFTA and how this would undermine its implementation. It subsequently contends that women are integral to Africa’s …

Broadening The Scope Of The "Justiciability" Debate To Include The Right To Development: An Analysis Of The African Human Rights Monitoring Bodies, Serges Djoyou Kamga

Journal of African Policy Studies

The right to development (RTD) is the most controversial human right of our time. Opponents argue that it is not justiciable. Besides the adoption of the Draft Covenant on the RTD, the right is binding in the African human rights system. It is on this backdrop that the article shows the justiciability of this right through its juridification and application in domestic courts. It also examines the role of African human rights monitoring bodies in broadening the scope of the “justiciability” debate to include the RTD. This article examines the African Commission and Court’s pronouncements on the RTD and unveils …

Editor's Remarks, Julius A. Amin

Journal of African Policy Studies

Roughly two years ago, the University of Dayton Human Rights Center hosted a very important conference titled “Decolonization and Development for Africa and People of African Descent.” I attended this event and participated in several sessions of the conference. The topics and discussions were enlightening, and they stimulated much conversation about decolonization and development in relation to the social practice of human rights.

Participants at the conference came from both sides of the Atlantic, and those I spoke with agreed that the conference encouraged them to consider the topic of human rights with a new perspective. Within African studies, human …

Reclaiming Power: Decolonization And Development For Africa And People Of African Descent, Satang Nabaneh

Journal of African Policy Studies

The journey to this special issue has been a long and significant one for me, as an African deeply invested in the multifaceted realities of global Africa. Africa embodies the global. Its people, culture, and histories transcend borders, reflecting a deeply interconnected world. To speak of global Africa is to reject essentialist notions of African identity, recognizing that to be African is to be unbounded by space, place, or fixed definitions. This special issue, “Reclaiming Power: Decolonization and Development for Africa and People of African Descent,” was born out of the convergence of the 2023 Social Practice of Human Rights …

Cover And Front Matter, Journal Of African Policy Studies

Journal of African Policy Studies

Cover, journal information, and table of contents

Bihar Sir Threatens The Credibility Of Elections, Swati Narayan

Popular Media

Any arbitrary disenfranchisement of voters in the upcoming Bihar Assembly Elections will cast a shadow over the sanctity of elections in India.

Towards An Indigenous Climate Epistemology: Bringing The Newa Literary Tradition Of The Swasthani Vrata Katha In Conversation With The Festival Tradition Of The Macchindra Nath Jatra, Shangrila Joshi Dr.

Critical Humanities

This paper brings into conversation two Newa cultural traditions to articulate notions of climate adaptation, resilience, and mitigation, to illustrate how ways of knowing, ways of being, and ways of governing are inherently linked. These articulations offer a framework for developing what the author calls an Indigenous Climate Epistemology. The two cultural traditions reviewed include: a 17^th century Newa literary tradition that advocates for keeping oil in the ground, and that instructs ordinary people to engage in ritual acts seemingly designed to develop personal and community resilience; and a 1700 year old annual community festival designed to avert catastrophes …

Supporting On Their Own Terms: Eu Institutions’ Discourses On Mindanao, Vincent Carlo A. Legara

European Studies Department Faculty Publications

This paper critically examines the nature and dynamics of European Union (EU) engagement in Mindanao. The southern Philippines is historically home to Muslims, with a special region that is the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), formerly known as the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where Muslims compose the majority of the population. Muslim Mindanao gained greater autonomy in 2019 after decades of violent conflict and the persistence of weak democratic institutions. Since the 1970s, Muslim secessionist movements have clashed against government troops for independence. These have contributed to poor human development indicators in Mindanao. The EU, previously the …

An Exhibition And Protest Of Executions In Iran, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

An exhibition and protest of executions in Iran was held in Washington, D.C. in June 2025. Portraits of 2000 men and women who were killed or executed in Iran since the 1980s were displayed on the National Mall in front of the Capitol. The Iranian Resistance estimates that 30,000 activists were massacred in one period in 1988. Executions of prisoners have continued steadily, making Iran the world’s leading executioner of men and women. In recent years, there has been a sharp escalation in the number of executions of prisoners. A United Nations Special Rapporteur reported that over 800 persons were …

The Role Of Private Law In Promoting Building Safety: The Case Of Singapore, Edward S. W. Ti

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore is a tiny granite rock situated just north of the equator. Lacking land, and indeed any kind of natural resource, means that the trend for urban development in the city-state will always be densifi cation; 96 per cent of residents in Singapore already live in multi-owned housing, ie high-rise apartments. 1 Singapore is also a rapidly greying nation. 2 It has been observed that persons over 70 years old are four times more vulnerable in the event of a fi re, 3 and fi re safety is a critical aspect of building safety. Safety features and measures in the …

Governing Migration, Producing Skills: Emigration And Education In The Philippines, Yasmin Y. Ortiga, Roderick. Galam

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article examines skill as an integral yet understudied aspect of emigration governance. To date, migration studies have mainly focused on how the demand for migrant skills drive people's movements across borders, shaping the conditions for entry into popular destinations in the West. In contrast, less is known as to how skills also shape the way governments manage emigration, pushing would-be migrants to acquire certain capacities well before they leave their countries of origin. Drawing from the case of the Philippines, this article discusses how state agencies have used skills training to dominate specific markets for migrant professionals and demand …

Singapore At 60: Home Truly Is An Idea That Never Stands Still, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There are many new stories to embrace but also quiet distances between us that we must bridge.

In a National Day op-ed published in The Straits Times, SMU President Professor Lily Kong reflects on what ‘home’ means as Singapore marks its 60th year of independence — and how that meaning continues to evolve across generations. Prompted by a walk through a familiar playground now transformed, Prof Kong considers how Singapore’s changing physical and social landscape mirrors shifts in national identity. While progress and policy evolution signal a society in transition, she also notes the emergence of quieter divides – between …

Diaspora By Another Name: The Making Of Refugees In Cold War China, Jiaqi M. Liu, Clare Xiaoqian Wan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

By examining China’s refugee policies from 1949 to 1982, this article demonstrates how the Chinese state redefined “return” and “refugee” to serve shifting political objectives. While China is often perceived as a source, rather than a host, of asylum seekers, it hosted over 320,000 displaced migrants—primarily ethnic Chinese from Southeast Asia—during the Cold War. Through a systematic discourse analysis of 382 People’s Daily articles, we identify four state narratives—diaspora, diplomatic tool, ideological sanctuary, and legal duty—that structured how China labeled displaced migrants, interpreted their sentiments, and determined their settlement. These models evolved dynamically: from the 1950s to the late 1970s, …

Sensor Lag Adjustments On A Mobile Meteorological Cart In Tropical Environments: A Case Study From An Urban Park In Singapore, Moshe Eliezer Mandelmilch, Sin Kang Yik, Beatrice H. Ho, Graces N. Y. Ching, Peter J. Crank, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This study adds to the growing literature on mobile platforms by examining the performance of the Singapore MaRTy (SMaRTy) in conducting mobile micrometeorological measurements along a designated route in an urban park in Singapore, reflecting a pedestrian walking experience. The main objective of the study was to calculate the sensor lag for the mobile climate measurements: Air Temperature (TA), and Relative Humidity (RH) of SMaRTy along a designated route in an urban park in Singapore based on data from fixed stations (HOBO sensors) in two significant synoptic meteorological periods during the Northeast and Southwest monsoons. Statistically significant regression models were …

Smu Celebrates 25 Years Of Its Communityservice Programme During Silver Jubilee Year, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

The first university in Singapore to make community service a graduation requirement commemorates another major milestone in its 25th anniversary. SMU has consistently championed community engagement as a cornerstone of its educational mission.

A Quantitative Examination Of The Sexual Health Of Aging Black Men In Rural South Africa, Esihle Lupindo

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation uses survey data primarily from Wave 1 of the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Study of In-depth Community in South Africa (HAALSI) which was collected in 2015 to study the sexual health of Black men in rural Mpumalanga, South Africa. Broadly speaking, I examine aging men’s sexual health as it related to HIV, well-being, loneliness, social networks and disclosure. The definition that I use for sexual health was coined by MacPhail and Campbell (2001) who define it as “not only sexual practices but also what people know and believe about sex, particularly what they think is natural, …

Calibrated Structures Of Feeling: Cultural Citizenship And The Reproduction Of The Military In Singapore, John Lowe, George Wong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article discusses the nexus between Raymond Williams’ structure of feelings and the reproduction of military masculinity as cultural citizenship. By placing the gaze upon National Service in the Singapore Armed Forces as a rite of passage into manhood, this work uses representations of the military in popular culture and souvenirs/ephemera to elucidate how structures of feeling are calibrated as masculinity the state wants its citizenry to internalize. These render military masculinity emergent for Singaporean male bodies. With the male body functioning as an important edifice of the military, emotions toward military service are the connective tissue between enactments of …

The Basic Structure In Malaysia: Less Than Meets The Eye, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

At first glance, studying the basic structure doctrine in Malaysia can be frustrating due to its inconsistent judicial treatment. While early cases such as Loh Kooi Choon and Phang Chin Hock rejected the doctrine, it was later accepted in landmark decisions like Sivarasa Rasiah, Semenyih Jaya, and Indira Gandhi. In 2020, scholars such as Jaclyn Neo and Yvonne Tew suggested a judicial embrace of the doctrine and its global trend toward constitutional unamendability. However, the Federal Court’s 2021 decision in Maria Chin Abdullah appeared to reject it once more, illustrating the doctrine’s precarious status. The resurgence seen in Dhinesh a/l …

Digital Economy Innovation In The Indo-Pacific: Towards A 'Singapore Effect'?, J.G. Allen, Qiu Xu Martin Liao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper examines the rise of Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs) in the Indo-Pacific as a strategic response to digital trade fragmentation and great power competition. Focusing on Singapore’s leadership, we introduce the ‘Singapore Effect’ – a model of regulatory influence distinct from others, such as the ‘Brussels Effect’ and ‘Beijing Effect.’ Unlike market-driven regulatory diffusion, the Singapore Effect emphasizes interoperability, norm entrepreneurship, and mini-lateralism, enabling middle powers to shape digital trade governance. We analyze DEA formation, implementation challenges in national law, and Singapore’s role as a bridge between diverse regulatory regimes. DEAs’ flexible, modular structure allows for incremental regulatory alignment …

Stockpiling, Forecasting And Protecting Skills: Skilling As Technique Of Preparedness In Times Of Crises, Rebecca Ye, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this comparative and situational analysis, we examine how nation-states use skilling as a technique of preparedness during crisis moments. By analysing two strategically selected country cases, Singapore and Sweden, during a critical phase of a global pandemic, we identify three techniques: stockpiling, forecasting, and protecting skills, and how these were enacted as a means to perform preparedness. Stockpiling skills was observed to take place as a rapid response; forecasting skills was a technique enacted with a view on the longer-term horizon and protecting skills was mobilised as a short-term future technique, where boundaries were assembled around skilling. While there …

A New City For A New Era: Xiong'an As Showcase Of China's Evolving Urban Ideology, Andrew Stokols

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Cities have long been expressions of political ideology in China and elsewhere. During China’s rapid urbanization over the past few decades, “new areas” became popular strategies to promote urban growth, following the success of Shenzhen, widely regarded as China’s first special economic zone. Today under Xi, Xiong’an New Area has become the latest “new area of national significance.” But unlike previous new areas in China, Xiong’an has become wedded to a distinct vision of the urban in Xi Jinping’s China, one in which the excesses of reform-era urbanization are controlled through new forms of affordable housing and finance, new ecological …

Trump's Trade Offensive And The Gulf Response: Navigating A New Era Of Us-Middle East Economic Relation, Maudy Noor Fadhlia, Zhillan Zhalila Fahlevi

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

In 2025, the Trump administration implemented sweeping tariff measures as part of its "America First" trade agenda. While aimed broadly at correcting trade imbalances, these policies have had significant ripple effects on Middle Eastern economies, particularly in the Gulf. The objective is to examine how the Trump administration’s tariff regime constitutes a deliberate exercise in economic statecraft and how Gulf states are responding to preserve economic sovereignty and geopolitical relevance. The methodology involves qualitative research method and collecting the data through documents. The paper distinguishes the U.S. tariff regime through the lens of economic coercion, categorizing these tariffs as strategic …