Showing papers on "Economic Justice published in 2017"

Transitional Justice Genealogy

Abstract: This chapter proposes a genealogy of transitional justice. Transitional justice is the conception of justice associated with periods of political change, characterized by legal responses to confront the wrongdoings of repressive predecessor regimes. The chapter traces the historical pursuit of justice in periods of political flux, reviewing the political developments of the last half-century and analyzing the evolution of the conception of transitional justice. It contends that a genealogy of transitional justice demonstrates, over time, a close relationship between the type of justice pursued and the relevant limiting political conditions. The chapter describes the phases, and then elaborates upon each phase as well as upon the critical dynamic interrelationships of the three phases within the genealogy. It presents that the notion of genealogy is structured along the lines of and situated within an intellectual history. Accordingly, the genealogy is organized along a schematic of the development of ideas associated with the three phases of transitional justice.

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World

Abstract: Educational environments that exist in pluralistic societies today prove to offer students little purpose to attend school and limited support in becoming successful. The lack of understanding the needs of students, along with preconceived notions of cultures and identities of communities of colour have resulted in a partial eradication of student cultures, and the creation of vulnerable, stigmatized, and marginalized student populations. The “divide that exists between many educational institutions and the students they are supposed to serve” (Paris & Alim, 2017, p. 95) only continues to grow because students do not feel that their identities are affirmed through the curriculum taught; it is irrelevant, impractical and exclusionary to their backgrounds, experiences, and lives. Identifying the various challenges that students of colour are faced with in schools is the first step towards finding a possible solution to address those issues and concerns. Several educators and researchers, under the editorial guide of Paris and Alim (2017), tackle the history of pathologizing students — the silencing and ignoring their voices, the overrepresentation of white teachers in the classroom, and the numerous discourses related to teaching and diversity — to offer a possible solution through the implementation of culturally sustaining pedagogies (CSP). Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World begins with the editors explaining the way in which the book came together and identifying the contributors to the volume. Following this, the introductory chapter provides a definition of CSP, explains its meaning and importance, and identifies the goal of the book, which according to the editors involves

Inserting rights and justice into urban resilience: a focus on everyday risk

Abstract: Resilience building has become a growing policy agenda, particularly for urban risk management. While much of the resilience agenda has been shaped by policies and discourses from the global North, its applicability for cities of the global South, particularly African cities, has not been sufficiently assessed. Focusing on rights of urban citizens as the object to be made resilient, rather than physical and ecological infrastructures, may help to address many of the root causes that characterize the unacceptable risks that urban residents face on a daily basis. Linked to this idea, we discuss four entry points for grounding a rights and justice orientation for urban resilience. First, notions of resilience must move away from narrow, financially oriented risk analyses. Second, opportunities must be created for “negotiated resilience”, to allow for attention to processes that support these goals, as well as for the integration of diverse interests. Third, achieving resilience in ways that do justice to the...

An Analysis of John Rawls's A Theory of Justice

Abstract: John Rawls's A Theory of Justice is one of the most influential works of legal and political theory published since the Second World War. It provides a memorably well-constructed and sustained argument in favour of a new (social contract) version of the meaning of social justice. In setting out this argument, Rawls aims to construct a viable, systematic doctrine designed to ensure that the process of maximizing good is both conscious and coherent – and the result is a work that foregrounds the critical thinking skill of reasoning. Rawls's focus falls equally on discussions of the failings of existing systems – not least among them Marxism and Utilitarianism – and on explanation of his own new theory of justice. By illustrating how he arrived at his conclusions, and by clearly explaining and justifying his own liberal, pluralist values, Rawls is able to produce a well structured argument that is fully focused on the need to persuade. Rawls explicitly explains his goals. He discusses other ways of conceptualizing a just society and deals with counter-arguments by explaining his objections to them. Then, carefully and methodically, he defines a number of concepts and tools—“thought experiments”—that help the reader to follow his reasoning and test his ideas. Rawls’s hypothesis is that his ideas about justice can be universally applied: they can be accepted as rational in any society at any time.

Defining, researching and struggling for water justice: some conceptual building blocks for research and action

Abstract: This article provides a framework for understanding water problems as problems of justice. Drawing on wider (environmental) justice approaches, informed by interdisciplinary ontologies that define water as simultaneously natural (material) and social, and based on an explicit acceptance of water problems as always contested, the article posits that water justice is embedded and specific to historical and socio-cultural contexts. Water justice includes but transcends questions of distribution to include those of cultural recognition and political participation, and is intimately linked to the integrity of ecosystems. Justice requires the creative building of bridges and alliances across differences.

Adaptation policy and community discourse: risk, vulnerability, and just transformation

Abstract: How can public engagement assist in the development of just processes and outcomes in adaptation discourse and policymaking? A concern with justice is at the center of thinking about adaptation that is not only resilient, but also public, engaging, and transformative. Theoretically, the intersection of adaptation, transformation, and environmental and climate justice is examined, before exploring the specific concerns and normative foundations for adaptation policy articulated by local governments, environmental groups, and local residents engaged in adaptation planning in Australia. Despite a discursive disconnect between governmental focus on a risk or resilience-based approach and a community concern with the vulnerability of basic needs and capabilities of everyday life, deliberative engagement in adaptation planning can both address issues of justice and represent a transformative practice.

China's “Belt and Road Initiative”: Underwhelming or Game-Changer?

Abstract: Since its unveiling at the end of 2013, China's “One Belt One Road” initiative, or BRI for Belt and Road Initiative, as it is now officially known1—an awkward label that does not do justice to the ...

Justice and Reconciliation in World Politics

Abstract: Calls for justice and reconciliation in response to political catastrophes are widespread in contemporary world politics. What implications do these normative strivings have in relation to colonial injustice? Examining cases of colonial war, genocide, forced sexual labor, forcible incorporation, and dispossession, Lu demonstrates that international practices of justice and reconciliation have historically suffered from, and continue to reflect, colonial, statist and other structural biases. The continued reproduction of structural injustice and alienation in modern domestic, international and transnational orders generates contemporary duties of redress. How should we think about the responsibility of contemporary agents to address colonial structural injustices and what implications follow for the transformation of international and transnational orders? Redressing the structural injustices implicated in or produced by colonial politics requires strategies of decolonization, decentering, and disalienation that go beyond interactional practices of justice and reconciliation, beyond victims and perpetrators, and beyond a statist world order.

Occupational justice as social justice: The moral claim for inclusion

Abstract: Occupational justice is typically framed as an aspect of social justice, a philosophical perspective that has traditionally emphasised treating people with respect and equitable distribution of soc...

Keep it local and fish-friendly: Social acceptance of hydropower projects in Switzerland

Abstract: Hydropower is the largest source of renewable electricity in the world, but despite being a mature and clean energy technology it has also been the subject of ecological and social conflict. Literature suggests that the social acceptance of renewable energy can be increased by respecting procedural justice (fair, participatory planning processes) and distributional justice (fairly allocating costs and benefits). However, empirical evidence about how justice considerations are related to the expansion of hydropower is scarce, pre-existing studies being mostly qualitative in nature. We contribute to filling the gap in the current literature by describing in this paper how choice experiments with 1004 Swiss residents were undertaken to explore the influence of procedural and distributional justice on acceptance, relative to other attributes of hydropower projects. We find that while considerations about justice do play a role in decisions to accept, respondents in Switzerland care most about ecological impacts, and secondly about local ownership.

The Enigma of Diversity: The Language of Race and the Limits of Racial Justice:

Abstract: tras deemed worthy of funding average $25,000, a small fraction of a typical budget. Grants to writers are more generous, at $25,000 for the Literature Fellowship program, but those go to fewer than one hundred writers each year and are tremendously competitive. There are places in the government procurement process where someone might see a chance to make it rich, but it is hard to see the arts as one of those places. It is not that there are no interesting topics worth writing about. What does analysis rooted in political economy have to say about whether arts councils can ever truly be ‘‘arm’s length’’? If there is to be direct public funding, should there be considerations of ‘‘public decency’’ in the grants process? Is the post-1995 NEA policy of granting to arts organizations, but not individual artists (except for writers) a good one? Should the generous tax treatment of charitable deductions to the arts be subject to greater scrutiny? What should we make of former NEA chair Bill Ivey’s contention that arts policy has been too focused on nonprofits at the expense of the commercial creative sector? What does it mean for arts funding to support diversity? And, is the current fixation on ‘‘creative placemaking’’ at the NEA a worthwhile turn, or the promotion of the flavor-of-the-month with no obvious lasting public benefit? In general there is too little critical thinking about arts policy in the United States (I would suggest that the UK maintains much more lively debate in this particular field), and rigorous analysis unafraid to identify poor program design and/or execution in the cultural world would be welcome. This analysis might even provide support to the case James Bennett wishes to advance: that it is practically impossible to have public support of the arts that does not lead to corruption of the art by politics, or that what potential public good there is in arts support will be captured by private interests. But Subsidizing Culture stays in the shallows, rehashing the many histories already written, and leaves to others the task of exploring the depths of American arts policy. The Enigma of Diversity: The Language of Race and the Limits of Racial Justice, by Ellen Berrey. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015. 352 pp. $27.50 paper. ISBN: 9780226246239.

‘1.5°C to stay alive’: climate change, imperialism and justice for the Caribbean

Abstract: Treating the threat of climate change in the Caribbean as a case study instructive for responses globally, this article examines the social and political relations of climate change. It argues for an analysis taking into account the ways in which the histories of imperialism and colonialism have shaped contemporary global ‘development’ pathways. The article charts how Caribbean vulnerability to temperature rises of more than 1.5°C of warming comprise an existential threat structured by contemporary social relations that are imperialist in character. Hope can be taken from a politics of climate justice which acknowledges the climate debts owed to the region.

Care‐full Justice in the City

Abstract: Feminist theorists in geography and beyond have long been calling for an ethic of care to be considered alongside justice as a normative ideal that can assist us in repairing our world. In urban theory this call has largely remained unheard as an ethic of care remains absent from theorisations of what comprises a just city. In this paper I argue for care to be considered alongside justice as an equally important ethic in our search for justice in the city. I develop the concept of care-full justice, which assists us in negotiating the inherent tension between the normative and situated in the search for the ideals, and actually existing expressions, of justice and care in the city. I demonstrate the generative potential of this concept and argue that it enables us to re-think what cities can be and to reveal times and places where this is the case.

Race and Perceptions of Police: Experimental Results on the Impact of Procedural (In)Justice

Abstract: Procedural justice theory posits that people will view law and legal institutions as more legitimate and will be more willing to cooperate and comply with these institutions and their agents when t...

Academic Entrepreneurship: The Roles of Identity, Motivation, Championing, Education, Work-Life Balance, and Organizational Justice

Abstract: The burgeoning literature on academic entrepreneurship primarily incorporates macro- level ideas and tools from fields such as economics, sociology, strategy, and public policy. Most of this resear...

Community gardening: cultivating subjectivities, space, and justice

Abstract: Community gardens have been lauded for being inherently resistant to neoliberalism and criticised for underwriting it. To move beyond this either/or debate, we need to employ more focused lenses and specify both the processes of neoliberalisation at play and the outcomes they can produce. This paper explores the ways in which neoliberal processes of privatisation, state entrepreneurialism, and devolution intersect with community gardens, and the subjectivities that may be cultivated, the spaces that may be created and the types of justice that may be advanced as a result. It argues that certain characteristics and orientations of gardens are more conducive to resisting neoliberalism. These include the cultivation of producer, citizen, and activist subjectivities (over those of consumer, entrepreneur, and volunteer); the elevation of the use value of shared lived space (over a site’s potential exchange value) and the advancement of spatial justice through community access to non-privatised space; a...

Effective Altruism and its Critics

Abstract: Effective altruism is a philosophy and a social movement that aims to revolutionise the way we do philanthropy. It encourages individuals to do as much good as possible, typically by contributing money to the best-performing aid and development organisations. Surprisingly, this approach has met with considerable resistance among activists and aid providers who argue that effective altruism is insensitive to justice insofar as it overlooks the value of equality, urgency and rights. They also hold that the movement suffers from methodological bias, reaching mistaken conclusions about how best to act for that reason. Finally, concerns have been raised about the ability of effective altruism to achieve systemic change. This article weighs the force of each objection in turn, and looks at responses to the challenge they pose.

The influence of organizational justice on job performance: The mediating effect of affective commitment

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose two models: the first examines the impact of different dimension of justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) on job performance taking into consideration the mediating role of affective commitment and the second model utilizes the notion of overall justice to predict job performance considering the mediating role of affective commitment. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted with a sample group of 343 employees working within French small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Findings The results support the mediating role of affective commitment between organizational justice and job performance and demonstrate that overall justice has a greater effect on affective commitment than specific dimensions of justice. Originality/value The current study is the first to explore the relationship between JP and OJ, with the latter being measured in more than one focus, in the French SMEs. Therefore, this study contributes to bridge the gap in the understanding of the relationship between OJ and JP in the SMEs. In the French context of SMEs, the authors have stressed the relevance of the perception of organizational justice as a factor affecting the behavior and performance of employees which is then reflected in the success of these firms. In this paper the authors propose two models, with significant implications for researchers, managers, and HR departments. The first examines the impact of different dimension of justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) on job performance taking into consideration the mediating role of affective commitment. The second model utilizes the notion of overall justice to predict job performance considering the mediating role of affective commitment.

Resilience indicators: opportunities for including distributive justice concerns in disaster management

Abstract: This paper presents a systematic review of the concept of resilience in the field of disaster management, with a focus on the use of indicators and the inclusion of social justice considerations. The literature is reviewed with reference to various definitions of resilience, the relation between concepts of resilience and vulnerability, the conceptualization of resilience and the use of indicators, and the inclusion of social justice issues. The analysis shows that different disciplines employ various definitions of resilience and conceptions of its relation to vulnerability. Although recognized as important, distributive issues are not currently addressed in the literature. As a result, we lack a clear sense of what equality or distributive justice should mean in the context of resilience and disaster management. An approach based on capabilities is proposed as a promising way forward.

Socially inclusive teaching: belief, design, action as pedagogic work

Abstract: Like other western nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom, Australia’s record of education outcomes for marginalized groups is troubling, whether the comparisons are made within the nation or with other OECD nations. Although recent Australian Governments have sought to overhaul funding for schools and universities, on their own, more resources for educational institutions are not enough to redress problems of disadvantage and to achieve social justice. Also required is a focus on the pedagogic work (PW) of teachers and, by implication, their teacher educators. Central to this article is the argument that pedagogy is the most strategic place to begin this work because of its location as a central message system in education. In this article we conceive of PW as comprising of belief, design, and action. From these are derived three principles on which to build a socially inclusive pedagogy that creates opportunities for all students, whatever their circumstances, to participate more fully in education. Our focus on advancing a conceptual understanding of socially inclusive pedagogy is informed by a theory and politics of transformation, which seek to engage with the deep structures that generate injustice within schools and teacher education.

One step forward, two steps back? The fading contours of (in)justice in competing discourses on climate migration

Abstract: In recent debates on climate change and migration, the focus on the figure of ‘climate refugees’ (tainted by environmental determinism and a crude understanding of human mobility) has given ground to a broader conception of the climate–migration nexus. In particular, the idea that migration can represent a legitimate adaptation strategy has emerged strongly. This appears to be a positive development, marked by softer tones that de-securitise climate migration. However, political and normative implications of this evolution are still understudied. This article contributes to filling the gap by turning to both the ‘climate refugees’ and ‘migration as adaptation’ narratives, interrogating how and whether those competing narratives pose the question of (in)justice. Our analysis shows that the highly problematic ‘climate refugees’ narrative did (at least) channel justice claims and yielded the (illusory) possibility of identifying concrete rights claims and responsibilities. Read in relation to the growing mantra of resilience in climate policy and politics, the more recent narrative on ‘migration as adaptation’ appears to displace justice claims and inherent rights in favour of a depoliticised idea of adaptation that relies on the individual migrant's ability to compete in and benefit from labour markets. We warn that the removal of structural inequalities from the way in which the climate–migration nexus is understood can be seen as symptomatic of a shrinking of the conditions to posing the question of climate justice.

Toward a Crip-of-Color Critique: Thinking with Minich’s 'Enabling Whom?'

Abstract: Response to Julie Avril Minich, "Enabling Whom? Critical Disability Studies Now," published in Lateral 51 Kim elaborates upon a crip-of-color critique, which has possibilities to both criticize structures that inherently devalue humans and to take action to work toward justice Kim’s final call is to identify and act against the inequalities and harm of academic labor, urging readers to take seriously a “politics of refusal” that might help academics of color survive through alternative collectivities

2017 Common Book Selection: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

Abstract: A powerful, bold true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix America's broken system of justice - from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time. The US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. The prison population has increased from 300,000 in the early 1970s to more than two million now. One in every 15 people is expected to go to prison. For black men, the most incarcerated group in America, this figure rises to one out of every three. Bryan Stevenson grew up a member of a poor black community in the racially segregated South. He was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of the US's criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young black man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn't commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, startling racial inequality, and legal brinksmanship - and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever. Just Mercy is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted lawyer's coming of age, a moving portrait of the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of justice. 'Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, Atticus exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God's work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. Just Mercy is his inspiring and powerful story.' John Grisham