Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

November Roundtable: The Palestine Bid For Statehood At The Un, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes Julio

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Statehood versus “Facts on the Ground””. By Richard Falk. Aljazeera, September 20, 2011.

The Right Side Of The Coin: Focus On The Human Rights Of People, Not The Failure Of States, Brooke Ackerly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

US policy toward failed states should focus on strengthening civil society and social movements so that people are better able to hold their leaders accountable.

The language of “failed states” disassociates foreign policy from international dialogue about human rights. Instead, “failed states” is a contemporary sound bite that connotes a lack of sovereignty, suggesting that intervention would not violate national sovereignty because in a failed state, there is none. Of course, we could have a similar cynicism about the use of human rights concerns to justify invasion. Certainly, states have tried to choose when to reference international human rights norms …

August Roundtable: Re-Thinking State Failure And Human Rights, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Think Again, Failed States ”. By James Traub. Foreign Policy. July/August 2011.

Immobilizing Conceptual Debates, Jonas Claes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In “Think Again: Failed States,” James Traub argues that “state failure” is a failed concept. Prioritizing efforts to prevent or address state fragility, weakness, or failure may seem impractical given the conceptual breadth of this systemic challenge. Like globalization, human security, or climate change, state failure contains so many aspects that it becomes analytically useless. But the need to rethink this garbage-can concept—everything can be thrown in—does not keep us from addressing the litany of well-understood challenges subsumed within.

More Questions, Few Answers On State Failure And Human Rights, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Foreign Policy article under review brings us back to the issues addressed in April's Roundtable, which looked at humanitarian intervention in light of widespread political violence in the Ivory Coast. Much of that discussion centered on the factors that lead states to adopt policies aimed at stopping egregious human rights abuses from being committed in other jurisdictions, either by state agents or non-state actors. This month's Roundtable discussion highlights the myths attached to the concept of “state failure,” which increases the likelihood of such violations occurring. The author of this month's centerpiece, James Traub, comments on a number of …

Why Do Some Nations Have More Renewable Energy Policies?, Melissa Dahl

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Some nations have considerably more renewable energy policies than others and this research is attempting to discover why. Renewable energy use is quickly growing in our world and has become a major topic in today’s politics. Existing literature suggests various theories as to why some nations have more renewable energy policies than others. I test these theories with data from two major data sources; REN21, the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, and the International Energy Agency. I anticipate that nations with a larger number of effective political parties, higher GDPs, and larger population would have more renewable …

Those Pesky Winds Of Change..., Walter Lotze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

When a police officer slapped a fruit seller by the name of Mohammed Bouazizi in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, nobody could have anticipated that a revolution had commenced. Bouazizi, a twenty-six-year-old computer science graduate unable to find work, had resorted to selling fruit from a street cart in an attempt to support himself and his seven siblings. Slapped by the police officer and ordered to pack up his goods, Bouazizi himself snapped. He marched to the local governor’s office and demanded an appointment, threatening to set himself alight if the governor did not meet with him. In frustration, …

Perspectives On Resignation In Protest, Walter J. Kendall Iii

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

How Do I Save My Honor? War, Moral Integrity, and Principled Resignation. By William F. Felice. Lanham, Maryland: Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, 2009. 222pp.

The Scourge Of Occupation, Christina Cerna

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“Haiti’s Blame Game” suggests that Haitians are wondering why they should bother voting when it is unclear that their government is running the country. The anger of the Haitians, according to the author, is focused on MINUSTAH, the UN mission that was created in 2004 to stabilize Haiti and to coordinate the work of the different UN agencies active in the country.¹ Some Haitians perceive MINUSTAH to be an occupying force, but is it really, and who is running the country?

Bring Back Aristide, Louis Edgar Esparza

Human Rights & Human Welfare

My friend Annie recently had her trip to Haiti postponed because of the political instability surrounding the November elections. Annie totes modest sums of cash, medicine, and clothing collected from sympathetic friends and has a resolute willingness to help. Together with the partner organizations she is working with, she is hiring Haitians to build an orphanage. Another colleague of mine, Tonya, traveled to the country very soon after the earthquake. She described her experience in The Nation, lamenting that the major US airlines, which had agreed to waive baggage fees for relief aid to Haiti, did not do so for …

Through The Looking Glass: Finding And Freeing Modern-Day Slaves At The State Level, Michelle L. Rickert

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article delves into the interaction between federal and state laws prohibiting human trafficking. The article advocates for comprehensive human trafficking laws at the state level, including police training, victim aftercare, forfeiture, and prosecution as essential elements. It looks comprehensively at the existing state laws prohibiting human trafficking. Additionally it examines the five existing models for state law and suggests benefits and potential improvements for each model. The article concludes y advocating a holistic law prohibiting human trafficking in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Premature Judgment, Todd Landman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Just as Mark Twain said in 1897, “The report of my death was an exaggeration,” many commentators have prematurely reported the death of human rights. For example, in 1999, in The Theory and Reality of the Protection of International Human Rights , J. Shand Watson sees human rights as a “mere fiction” in light of a century of state-sponsored killing. One year later, Costas Douzinas, through an appeal to history, philosophy, and psychoanalysis proclaimed the “end of human rights.” It is thus no surprise that the article by Joshua Kurlantzick is yet another attempt to warn us that human rights …

Human Rights Pragmatism Under Obama, Sonia Cardenas

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Bypassing realists and idealists, President Obama has staked out a boldly pragmatic approach to human rights. Critics depict the policy shift as “the downfall of human rights” and a set of “empty promises.” The problem is not with Obama’s embrace of pragmatism, or his rejection of ideology, to advance human rights. The problem is in the emphasis: human rights pragmatism should not privilege external inducements over vital on-the-ground domestic realities.

In Search Of An “Action Principle”, Patrick J. Glen

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In his seminal work on the history of scientific development, Thomas Kuhn described the structure of that development as revolutionary in nature, occurring at that point in time “in which an older paradigm is replaced in whole or in part by an incompatible one.” The impetus for this paradigm shift is malfunction—“scientific revolutions are inaugurated by a growing sense … that an existing paradigm has ceased to function adequately in the exploration of an aspect of nature to which that paradigm itself had previously led the way…. [T]he sense of malfunction that can lead to crisis is prerequisite to revolution.” …

Migrant Workers In Saudi Arabia, Sarah Jessup

Human Rights & Human Welfare

One of the wealthiest countries in the Middle East, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also one of the largest exporters of oil, and as such, one of the most influential in the region. Despite this, more than 50 per cent of the work force (nearly 6 million people) in the Saudi Arabia are migrant workers (FIDH, 2003, 3). They contribute billions of dollars each year to their home countries through remittances. With such a large population hailing from outside the Kingdom, it would seem that transnational migrants would have a larger voice in the rights and freedoms they are …

Finding A Voice: Using The Internet For Free Speech And Expression In Iran, Chelsea Zimmerman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In July 2009, many Iranians took to the streets to protest the results of the presidential election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won with a reported 62% of the vote. The protests, stemming from allegations of electoral fraud, quickly exposed the government's limited tolerance for dissent. In addition to street demonstrations, protestors utilized social networking websites to express their opposition to the election results. The world, following Internet feeds, witnessed the restrictive mechanisms Iran’s government placed on expression and speech. People throughout the world admonished Iran for the government's interference with cell phone and Internet networks. Iran’s free speech and expression …

Human Rights Education In Peace-Building: A Look At Where The Practice Has Come From, And Where It Needs To Head, Tracey Holland

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The world’s peace-building and development organizations increasingly are incorporating human-rights frameworks into the myriad of activities now under their purview. Slower to develop, however, are the capacity-building programs designed to impart knowledge about human rights to citizens and communities. Field-workers throughout the world indicate that the lack of such guidance-giving education hinders them when it comes to monitoring activities, helping to rebuild public institutions, setting up and organizing electoral politics, building an unfettered media, protecting human security, setting up transitional justice mechanisms, and the myriad of other peace-building activities and democratization challenges they face in post-conflict situations. This paper not …

Why Has The United States Never Ratified The Un Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women?, Hannah Elizabeth Kington

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the United Nations in 1979, has now been ratified by 185 countries, consisting of more than ninety percent of all UN members. The United States, however, has never ratified the Convention. The history of the Convention provides evidence of global support for women’s rights. While there are complex reasons behind the United States’ failure to ratify CEDAW, the United States’ commitment to unilateralism, an attitude of “American exceptionalism” and the long-term inequality and discrimination against women in the U.S. all contribute to the stifling of …

Global And Functional Strategic Issues, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

Articles & Editorials

No abstract provided.

Gender And Human Rights, Lisa Weilminster

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Russia’s historical transition from a communist society to a system of democracy and free market practices has resulted in major social changes affecting the rights of men and women. Analysis of gender and human rights in Russia requires an evaluation of the changing social relations within post-Soviet society, which are shaped by the complex factors of ethnicity, economic class, gender norms, and the role of the state in shaping present gender inequities that hinder the realization of universal human rights. Looking particularly at how gender issues relate to changing identities, employment opportunities, health care and conditions, and public and private …

Decisions Tools Manual, Cisr

CISR Studies and Reports

This decision tools manual outlines methods through which nations and organizations with limited resources can accurately prioritize humanitarian mine action projects and clearance efforts. This methods include a cost-benefit analysis of the socio-economic effect of mine clearance with field examples from Thailand and Ethiopia.

Beyond The Black Heart: The United States And Human Rights, Daniel J. Whelan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The United States and Human Rights: Looking Inward and Outward edited by David P. Forsythe. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. 404pp.

In Our Own Best Interest: How Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All by William F. Shultz. Boston: Beacon Press, 2001. 235pp.

In the National Interest, 2001: Human Rights Policies for the Bush Administration by the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 2001. 157pp.

Managing Landmine Casualty Data, Cisr Jmu

CISR Studies and Reports

The Mine Action Information Center (MAIC) at James Madison University implemented this project to develop a framework for the systematic collection and management of landmine casualty data. The project was premised on the lack of an adequate system for collecting and managing landmine casualty data on a global basis. Data on landmine and UXO casualties is being collected in a systematic manner in some countries, but worldwide, it is not being collected in a comprehensive or consistent manner that allows it to be compared cross-nationally and aggregated globally. The lack of an adequate system hampers the ability of mine action …

Kosovo And The Current Myth Of Information Superiority, Timothy L. Thomas

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The Human Terrain Of Urban Operations, Ralph Peters

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Back To Basics: Us Foreign Policy For The Coming Decade, James E. Goodby, Kenneth Weisbrode

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Moral Foundations Of Military Service, Martin L. Cook

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The Qdr: Improve The Process To Improve The Product, David E. Snodgrass

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Trends. The Political Psychology Of Abortion And United Nations Funding, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses United States (US) executive and legislative branches meddling in international policy, especially as it relates to abortion.

A Subversion Of Democracy In Yugoslavia?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes how a recent change in United States Government (USG) policy towards Yugoslavia may contribute to subverting the USG professed goal of spreading representative democracy throughout the region and even beyond.