International Relations Commons^™

The Responsibility To Protect: Emerging Norm Or Failed Doctrine?, Camila Pupparo

Global Tides

This paper seeks to investigate the current shift from the non-intervention norm towards the “Responsibility to Protect,” commonly abbreviated as “RtoP,” which actually mandates intervention in cases of humanitarian intervention disasters. I will look at the May 2011 application of the R2P doctrine to the humanitarian crisis in Libya and assess whether it was a success or a failure. Many critics of the “Responsibility to Protect” norm consider it to be yet another imperial tool used by the West to pursue national interests, so this paper analyzes this argument in detail, referring to case study examples, particularly in the Middle …

Rodney Papers At Auc Robert W. Woodruff Library

Groundings

No abstract provided.

Remembrances

Groundings

No abstract provided.

Foundation News

Groundings

Updates from The Walter Rodney Foundations.

How Europe Underdeveloped African At 40, Michael O. West

Groundings

Michael O. West digests the impact of How Europe Underdeveloped Africa 40 years after its publication. He brings to the front the atmosphere that Rodney endured leading up to the publication of his seminal work.

Memorable Moments

Groundings

We highlight some of the memorable moments of that members of the Foundation have experienced since the last issue.

Announcement Of The Walter Rodney Press

Groundings

Introduction to and announcement of The Walter Rodney Press, which recently republished The Groundings with My Brothers.

Advertisement For The 12th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium

Groundings

The poster for the 12th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium to be held March 20th and 21st, 2015.

Notes On Ayotzinapa, Boca Floja

Groundings

Scholar and hip hop artist, Bocafloja, relates the current state of Mexico, specifically what has happened in Ayotzinapa.

2nd Annual Walter Rodney Speakers Series (2014)

Groundings

We take a look at the semester-long project to bring together intellectuals from all backgrounds and educations. Included: A brief synopsis of the Series and a photo narrative

11th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium Wrap Up

Groundings

We take a look at the monumental occasion that was the 11th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium, held on March 21st and 22nd. Included: A brief synopsis of events and a photo narrative.

Introduction

Groundings

This is the Introduction for Groundings Vol. 1, Iss. 1

Cover And Table Of Contents

Groundings

This is the Cover and Table of Contents for Groundings Vol. 2, Iss. 1

Groundings Volume Two, Issue One

Groundings

This is the full isee of Groundings Vol. 2, Iss. 1.

Is Moldova Next For Putin’S Russia?, Andrew R. Thomas

The Actual

Will Moldova be the next in line for Russian action?

Introduction To The Special Issue, Daniel J. Paracka, Masako Racel

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Introduction to the issue.

The Bubble Economy And The Lost Decade: Learning From The Japanese Economic Experience, William M. Tsutsui, Stefano Mazzotta

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper presents a concise overview of Japan’s economic development since World War II, with a particular emphasis on the speculative boom of the 1980s known as the “bubble economy” and the subsequent period of economic stagnation known as the “Lost Decade.” The essay is largely descriptive. It provides an historical contextualization and interdisciplinary synthesis accessible to readers from a wide range of backgrounds, including those with limited formal expertise in economics.

The Ninja: An Invented Tradition?, Stephen Turnbull

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The ninja is a well known phenomenon in Japanese military culture. The popularity of the tradition is centered on the neighboring areas of Iga and Kōka where ninja are a profitable tourist attraction. This paper examines the historical sources on which the ninja tradition is based to see if the pre-eminence claimed by Iga and Kōka is justified. It is shown that they were no different from several other places in their geography or their politics and that only one reliable account of secret warfare can be identified before 1581, the year when Iga Province ceased to exist as an …

She Who Laughs Loudest: A Meditation On Zen Humor, Andrew Whitehead

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Articulating a Zen Buddhist perspective on humor, this paper examines the Japanese Zen Buddhist response of humor in the face of the suffering of situated existence and the motivations for this response. The examination will take the school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism as its exemplar. I argue that in order to appreciate the function of humor in Zen a number of cultural and historical influences must be considered: correlative ontology; the Buddhist notion of emptiness; the impotence of language; sense and nonsense; and the senselessness of transgression.

Japan's Food Security Issues: A Geopolitical Challenge For Africa And East Asia?, Thomas Feldhoff

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Japan’s food self-sufficiency ratio is remarkably low compared to other industrialized nations. Growing world population, food, water, and energy shortages in combination with climate change and the rising competition for the world’s limited resources are the transnational dimensions of food and nutrition security related risks that are already affecting Japan. This paper analyzes the development and institutional context of Japanese policies related to its food security, particularly in relation to its commitments to support developing countries and to promote food security in Africa. One dimension of particular interest is the Japanese engagement in large-scale land investments in Africa. ProSAVANA, Japan’s …

Wasuren! ---We Won't Forget! The Work Of Remembering And Commemorating Japan's And Tohoku's (3.11) Triple Disasters In Local Cities And Communities, Millie Creighton

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Based on estensive Fieldwork, this paper explores the needs of people and communities in hard hit areas of Japan's 3.11 triple disasters including Sendai, Fukushima, Ishinomaki, Kesennuma, Kamaishi, and Yoriage to commemorate the event and their dead, while redirecting efforts to the future. It discusses the activities of Sendai's Wasuren! (We Won't Forget!) Center to document the disaster and Project Fukushima! organized by Fukushima residents to consider the city's future after the nuclear disaster as well as examining memorials (as memoryscapes and mourning work) created by other communities in the region where the disaster occurred. It compares local narratives of …

About The Contributors

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

No abstract provided.

Thin Vs. Thick Morality: Ethics And Gender In International Development Programs, Richard K. Ghere

Political Science Faculty Publications

This study examines the ethical dimensions of gender-focused international development initiatives undertaken by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and similar agencies. Specifically, it presents three case studies that depict how specific development initiatives in, respectively, India, Tanzania, and Senegal address gender disparities and power relationships. These case studies support the general conclusion that ethically committed development NGOs find difficulty in encouraging women (and men) to reverse oppressive power status-quos in messy contexts.

Introducing Students To The Cinematic Art Of Akira Kurosawa And Hayao Miyazaki, Thomas Pynn

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Following Donald Richie’s observation that the “Japanese film is richest in mood or atmosphere, in presenting characters in their own surroundings,” I introduce undergraduate students to the cinematic art of Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki emphasizing each director’s use of mise-en-scène or the way in which the elements of the scene are arranged. For the purposes of the two courses (ASIA 4490/FILM 3220 and HONORS 4490: The Films of Kurosawa and Miyazaki), mise-en-scene was used strictly in reference “to the elements within a scene” or sequence of scenes “which places greater emphasis on pictorial values within a shot” or sequence …

The Negative Soft Power Of The China Dream – Ii, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

As Ming Wan writes in his commentary in The Asan Forum on the “China Dream,” Chinese leaders use New Year’s celebrations as an opportunity to sum up the achievements of the recent past and to chart new directions for the future. Here, I discuss such New Year’s activity to argue that soft power works in interesting and unexpected ways in China. Joseph Nye famously defines soft power as “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments.” Soft power, thus, is framed as a positive attractive force that is useful for a state’s foreign policy. …

Defeating Isis: The Need For A Cooperative Effort, Sabrina Chikhi

Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of a collective approach in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria also known as ISIS. The approach of the international community had been doomed to failure because it excluded key players in the region. In order to annihilate this terrorist group and the threat it poses to international security, this article proposes a revision of the approach to the resolution of this problem through the inclusion of all the parties susceptible to secure an efficient contribution to that endeavor before the situation becomes irremediable. In order …

Number 2 - The Role Of Western Democratic System Of Governance In Exacerbating Ethnic Conflicts In Africa: The Case Of Ghana's Democratic Dispensation, 1992-2012, David Kwasi Bansah

Peace and Conflict Management Working Papers Series

This paper interrogates the influence of Western forms of democracy on ethnic conflicts in Africa through a case study of Ghana’s adoption of multiparty democracy between 1992 and 2012. It discusses the transition of African traditional systems of government before, during, and after colonization. The paper also shows how democracy, by definition and in terms of governance, cannot solely be a Western idea since many African societies had democratic elements in their systems of government before the arrival of the Europeans. Relying on qualitative secondary data, and the analysis of fierce and acrimonious competition that have characterized multiparty democratic elections …

Re-Imagining Home: Operation Pedro Pan In The Cuban-American Imaginary, Yvette Fuentes

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

An exploration of the traumatic events of Operation Pedro Pan, where over 14,000 Cuban children traveled alone to the United States between December 1960 and October 1962. The program was organized by the Catholic Welfare Bureau of Miami and the U.S. State Department due to requests from Cuban parents who feared their children would be indoctrinated in Marxism by the new revolutionary government.

Aerospace Renaissance – Ripe For Research To Impact The Industry, Constantine M. Koursaris, Brig. Gen. Robert E. Mansfield Jr. (Ret.)

Aviation / Aeronautics / Aerospace International Research Conference

The Center for Aviation and Aerospace Leadership (CAAL) was founded in 2008 to capture, create, and share relevant information on leadership in the aviation and aerospace industry.

The AIR is developed and published in collaboration with the Aerospace Industries Association and includes:

• Information on the status of aerospace manufacturing in the United States and state of the economy

• An in-depth review of sales across the various sectors of the industry, employment trends, key international trade statistics, financial information on the industry & major aerospace firms, trends to watch, and a forecast for the future based on a review …

North Korea ’ S Attack On Sony Pictures Gets The Headlines, But Many Countries Are Engaged In This New War Front, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

Cyberwarfare has become a critical concern in global security, exemplified by North Korea's attack on Sony Pictures, which highlighted the capabilities and threats posed by cyberweapons. This article explores the broader context of cyberwarfare, drawing attention to significant incidents such as the STUXNET virus, which destroyed a fifth of Iran's nuclear centrifuges in 2010. The discussion extends to various nations' development and deployment of cyberweapons, including the U.S., China, Russia, and Iran, highlighting the evolution and sophistication of these tools. Cyberweapons can paralyze infrastructure, remain dormant in systems until activated, and their origins often remain concealed. The article also discusses …