International Relations Commons^™

From Dictatorship And War To Democracy: Alternative Future For The Drc, Claude Kambuya Kabemba

New England Journal of Public Policy

With a transitional government in place, peace is now a possibility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Policy options are being considered to sustain the peace and start the work of building a Congolese state that would not repeat the failings of the past. There is hope that the transitional period will produce democratic elections and subsequently a legitimate government, which would start to shake the view of the DRC as the "heart of darkness." There are two main obstacles to state-building in the DRC: lack of consensus on governance and illegal exploitation of resources. The two are …

Weapons Of Mass Destruction & Public International Law, Michael Donlan

New England Journal of Public Policy

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) into the hands of rogue dictators and terrorists has brought a sea change in strategic international relations, and is accelerating the necessity of public international law to protect humanity. Traditional balances of power have little force left to deter WMD. Major powers must seriously revamp and proactively exploit public international law, and, to that end, bolster multilateral institutions to marshal an action plan to leash this unacceptable risk. Leadership is needed on three levels: 1) promote a new mission for public international law to address WMD; 2) muster a broad-based coalition of …

Power And Freedom/I Am Right; You Are Dead, Wole Soyinka

New England Journal of Public Policy

Focuses on issues concerning political power and freedom. Discussion on the concept of quasi-state; Disadvantages of having a quasi-state; Importance of the experience of Algeria in post-colonial reconstruction on the developmental transformation of African nations; Need to accept the factor of power as an unquantifiable element governing social and nation relationships.

The Politic 2005 Fall, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

Wacana Kearifan Kapitalis Dalam Dunia Postmodern: Tinjauan Atas Kampanye One/Live 8, Musa Maliki

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

The tension of postmodern condition creates two distinctive grand-narrative discourses in seeing poverty: modernist and anti-modernist. Even though the discourse of the postmodern condition remains within the regime of grand narrative discourses, there is a little narrative called the wisdom of capitalist discourse. It has been successful in the constructive active and non-violence resistance to make poverty history by ONE/Live 8 campaign. By the discourse's scheme, this study argues that the existence of poverty text is not the epistemological problem that can be solved exogenously by problem solving theory (grand theory), but it is the ontological problem that can be …

Governing The City Of London In A Global Era: The Promise And Problems Of Transgovernmental Regulatory Networks, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

The Politic 2005 Summer, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

States’ Rights And The Scope Of The Treaty Power: Could The Patriot Act Be Constitutional As A Treaty?, Simcha Herzog

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Consider the following hypothetical scenario: after an appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Supreme Court determines that the Patriot Act is unconstitutional. This decision so infuriates President Bush that he seeks out the advice of his legal counsel in a frantic attempt to bypass the Court’s ruling. After some research, President Bush’s legal advisers give him two options: he can either attempt to pass an amendment to the constitution or, with the “advice and consent of the Senate,” he can sign the Patriot Act as a treaty with a foreign nation. Either of these measures will evade …

"Offshore” Or “Shorn Off”: The Oecd’S Harmful Tax Competition Initiative And Development In Small Island Economies, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

The difficulties of developing and executing a sustainable development program in Small Island Economies (SIEs) are well documented. Comparatively small domestic markets, remote export markets, a dearth of natural and human resources, susceptibility to environmental change and natural disasters, plus limitations on the state’s capacity to govern economic activity have narrowed the range of feasible development strategies resulting in a reliance on sectors vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the global economy.

Book Review: The Psychological Origins Of Institutionalized Torture, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author reviewed Mika Haritos-Fatouros’s book The psychological origins of institutionalized torture, commenting on torture itself and how it relates to the human condition.

The Politic 2005 Spring, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

Akinbola E. Akinwumi On Sickness And Wealth: The Corporate Assault On Global Health By Meredith Fort, Mary Anne Mercer And Oscar Gish (Eds). Cambridge: South End Press, 2004. 237pp., Akinbola E. Akinwumi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health by Meredith Fort, Mary Anne Mercer and Oscar Gish (eds). Cambridge: South End Press, 2004. 237pp.

Psychological And Sociopolitical Factors Contributing To The Creation Of The Iraqi Torturers: A Human Rights Issue, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article was written by Dr. Mika Haritos-Fatouros, Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessalonica, Greece.

She discusses the human rights context of torture in Abu Ghraib from a political psychological perspective.

Human Rights Investigation And Dialogue, Bronwyn Leebaw

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Shattered Voices: Language, Violence, and the Work of Truth Commissions by Teresa Godwin Phelps. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. 180pp.

and

International Citizens’ Tribunals: Mobilizing Public Opinion to Advance Human Rights by Arthur Jay Klinghofer and Judith Apter Klinghofer. New York, NY: Palgrave, 2002. 272pp.

Georgia, James Smithwick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The conflict between Chechnya and Russia combined with September 11 has focused more international attention on the Russian Caucuses. However, little has changed since America declared a War on Terror in the Republic of Georgia. The state turned a blind eye to religious persecution before September 11, and continues to do so. Multiple separatist movements persist in the same manner as they did prior to September 11.

Iran, Syd Dillard

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The West has been conditioned to perceive Iran as hostile, suspect, and promoting terrorism. The conventional wisdom is that Iran is not an “open society”, but one where dissent is repressed. However, the literature, as in the quote above, paints a picture of diverse peoples and political thought. Yet diversity in popular attitudes does not preclude Iran from a troubling human rights record. The more reformers demand and speak out, the more repressive the regime becomes. In defense of these activities, Iran appeals to cultural and religious tradition. Outside its borders, Iran has also been either a sponsor or supporter …

Uganda, Simon Amajuru

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The war in northern Uganda is one against civilians. Although the government purports to be targeting Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, it is well known that more than 80% of the current rebels were conscripted against their will. The war has continued for more than 17 years, caused displacement of more than 1. 6 million people, and left more than 100,000 people dead. Over 20,000 children have been abducted and forced to join the LRW ranks or become sex slaves, while over 50,000 children have turned into “night commuters” for fear of abductions.

Supranationalism And The Superpower Rubicon, Imtiaz Hussain

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Chapter VII Powers of the United Nations Security Council by Erika de Wet. Portland, OR: Hart Publishing, 2004. 413pp.

Neotrusteeship In Afghanistan, Melanie Kawano

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Afghanistan is currently under the tentative rule of an international administration, or neotrusteeship, thereby restricting its national sovereignty. However, self-determination and nonintervention have never been persistent features of Afghanistan. Foreign interventions, invasions and great power showdowns on its territory have made a truly autonomous Afghan state a shortlived phenomenon. The outcome at each stage of Afghan history has been an unstable state that seems to invite even more external involvement.

State-Building In Afghanistan, Melanie Kawano, Amy Mcguire

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan in late 2001, Afghan citizens and members of the global community have been grappling with the question of how to build a state that can fill the void created by decades of conflict and violence. However, the concept of “state-building” is complex. The term describes both an internal process and international assistance; it requires short-term action as well as a long-term vision. While no precise formula for state-building exists, there are historical precedents and “models” of state-building expressed by great powers and multilaterals. In reality, however, these are based on best guesses that fail …

Democratization In Bosnia, Melanie Kawano, Amber Goodman, Chris Saeger

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Democratization in post-conflict, post-Dayton Bosnia has been characterized by many scholars as a “noble experiment”: the West’s guinea pig for internationally initiated post-communist democratization. In a state so wearied by war and dictatorship, democracy would be expected to take root quickly and flourish. However, due to various cultural and political influences, what the Dayton Peace Agreement originally intended to quickly lead to Bosnia’s self-governance has instead resulted in the state’s crippling dependence on external actors. The articles in this section of this bibliography explore the myriad influences (primarily under the umbrella of ethnicity) on the process.

Neotrusteeship In Bosnia, Lauren Ingram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The conflict in Bosnia resulted in 4.3 million displaced people, 250,000 estimated casualties, and more than 200,000 wounded including 50,000 children. (Cousens and Carter 25). In 1995, these facts became known to the world when the U.N. Protection Force (UNPROFOR), NATO, and the United States were able to reach a peace agreement with warring factions. As in World War II, Bosnian-Serbians, Bosnian-Croatians, Croatians, Muslim were active combatants. However, unlike World War II, no single governing authority emerged. Instead, the U.N., with key U.S. involvement, had to institute not only peace but also an administration that could uphold that peace. The …

State-Building In Bosnia, Chris Saeger

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Although the idea of state-building is at least as contentious as the idea of the state itself, international technocrats and foreign policymakers remain resigned to this project. International state-building has been conceived of as maintaining intermestic social order, protecting individual rights, and consolidating transnational linkages of power. Yet whatever the motive, effect or standard form of state-building, some political organization called “the state” is a necessary condition for membership in international society, if not for protecting individual human rights.

Sudan, Alexandra Nichols

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since independence Sudan has found itself almost constantly embroiled in civil conflict within its own borders. Throughout the 1990’s, Sudan was widely known to sponsor terrorism, having such as including Osama bin Laden from 1991-1996. American sanctions have been in place in Sudan since 1997, the last American ambassador was removed in 1998, and Sudan has been on the U.S. State Departments list of sponsored terrorists since 1993.

Human Rights And Post-War Reconstruction: Introduction, Roberto Belloni

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The expression “post-war reconstruction,” commonly adopted by both practitioners and academics, is somewhat misleading. Reconstruction does not entail rebuilding or return to the pre– war state of affairs as the expression seems to suggest. Rather, reconstruction involves difficult multiple transitions: from war to peace, from a state to a market economy, and from authoritarianism to democracy. Each transition taken by itself would be daunting. Taken together, they can be almost overwhelming.

Background For The “War On Terror”

Human Rights & Human Welfare

September 11 changed the United States’ understanding of terrorism. Prior to these attacks, Americans typically viewed terrorist events and actors through the lens of foreign affairs, quite removed from “everyday” concerns. Terrorist events involving Americans did occur, occasionally on American soil, but a sense of American invulnerability never truly wavered. September 11 challenged this presumption; as well as perspectives on the history of terrorism, compelling some to reexamine past events in order to find portents of the future tragedy.

Sri Lanka, Amanda Donahoe

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sri Lanka has been entrenched in a civil war for two decades. As in ethnic conflicts in many other post-colonial countries, the different groups of Sri Lanka give loyalty primarily to the group, rather than to the entire country. The Sinhalese majority have slowly populated the government and treated the Tamil minority as a threat to national stability, instead of as candidates for conciliation and power sharing. Consequently, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has taken up arms against the Sinhalese controlled government to fight for an independent homeland in the north and north-east parts of the country in …

Health As Foreign Policy: Between Principle And Power, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Democratization In Afghanistan, Chris Rowe

Human Rights & Human Welfare

What determines whether a specific country embarks on the road to democracy, if it completes that voyage successfully, and finally consolidates democratic values, practices, and institutions? Analysts have debated these issues for decades and have identified a number of historical, structural, and cultural variables that help account for the establishment of successful democracies in some countries and its absence in others. Frequently cited prerequisites for democracy include social and economic modernization; a large and vibrant middle class; and cultural norms and values relating to politics.

Democratization In Iraq, Kate Lotz, Tim Melvin

Human Rights & Human Welfare

With the war in Iraq over, Coalition forces are still present as the cultivation of Iraqi democracy is underway. Coalition-led democratization in Iraq will prove to be a lengthy and complex objective, but one which will be pursued until successfully accomplished.