Showing papers on "State (polity) published in 2009"

Reframing justice in a globalizing world

Abstract: Globalization is changing the way we argue about justice. Not so long ago, in the heyday of social democracy, disputes about justice presumed what I shall call a “Keynesian-Westphalian frame.” Typically played out within modern territorial states, arguments about justice were assumed to concern relations among fellow citizens, to be subject to debate within national publics, and to contemplate redress by national states. This was true for each of two major families of justice claims – claims for socioeconomic redistribution and claims for legal or cultural recognition. At a time when the Bretton Woods system of international capital controls facilitated Keynesian economic steering at the national level, claims for redistribution usually focused on economic inequities within territorial states. Appealing to national public opinion for a fair share of the national pie, claimants sought intervention by national states in national economies. Likewise, in an era still gripped by a Westphalian political imaginary, which sharply distinguished “domestic” from “international” space, claims for recognition generally concerned internal status-hierarchies. Appealing to the national conscience for an end to nationally institutionalized disrespect, claimants pressed national governments to outlaw discrimination and accommodate differences among citizens. In both cases, the Keynesian-Westphalian frame was assumed. Whether the matter concerned redistribution or recognition, class differentials or status hierarchies, it went without saying that the unit within which justice applied was the modern territorial state.

Sovereign Bodies: Citizens, Migrants, and States in the Postcolonial World

Abstract: Preface vii List of Contributors ix Introduction 1 Thomas Blom Hansen and Finn Stepputat RACE, LAW, AND CITIZENSHIP Territorializing the Nation and "Integrating the Indian": "Mestizaje" in Mexican Official Discourses and Public Culture by Ana Maria Alonso 39 Violence, Sovereignty, and Citizenship in Postcolonial Peru by Finn Stepputat 61 Sovereign Violence and the Domain of the Political by Partha Chatterjee 82 DEATH, ANXIETY, AND RITUALS OF STATE Confinement and the Imagination: Sovereignty and Subjectivity in a Quasi-State Yael Navaro-Yashin 103 Naturing the Nation: Aliens, Apocalypse, and the Postcolonial State by Jean Comaroff and John L. Comaroff 120 Sovereignty as a Form of Expenditure by Achille Mbembe 148 BODY, LOCALITY, AND INFORMAL SOVEREIGNTY Sovereigns beyond the State: On Legality and Authority in Urban India by Thomas Blom Hansen 169 The Sovereign Outsourced: Local Justice and Violence in Port Elizabeth by Lars Buur 192 Above the Law: Practices of Sovereignty in Surrey Estate, Cape Town by Steffen Jensen 218 POSTCOLONIAL CITIZENSHIP IN THE EMPIRE Citizenship and Empire by Barry Hindess 241 Splintering Cosmopolitanism: Asian Immigrants and Zones of Autonomy in the American West by Aihwa Ong 257 Virtual India: Indian IT Labor and the Nation-State by Peter van der Veer 276 Inside Out: The Reorganization of National Identity in Norway ivind Fuglerud 291 Suspended Spaces--Contesting Sovereignties in a Refugee Camp by Simon Turner 312 Bibliography 333 Index 363

Start-up nation : the story of Israel's economic miracle

Abstract: START-UP NATION addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel - a country of 71 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources-- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK? With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine the lessons of the country's adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality - all backed up by government policies focused on innovation In a world where economies as diverse as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai have tried to re-create the "Israel effect", there are entrepreneurial lessons well worth noting As America reboots its own economy and can-do spirit, there's never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues

Creating Political Legitimacy: Electoral Democracy versus Quality of Government

Abstract: It is often held that the establishment of electoral democracy is key to the creation of political legitimacy. This article challenges this idea and presents an alternative. Many empirical studies reveal that electoral democracy has no necessary implications for the establishment of legitimacy. Even in the successful and stable Nordic democracies, there is scant evidence that legitimacy is created on the input side of the political system. For example political legitimacy in the former Yugoslavia broke down not because ethnic groups realized they would become permanent minorities but because the new Croatian state violated citizens’ rights in the exercise of power. Legitimacy turns out to be created, maintained, and destroyed not at the input but at the output side of the political system. Hence, political legitimacy depends at least as much on the quality of government than on the capacity of electoral systems to create effective representation.

The Moral Purpose of the State: Culture, Social Identity, and Institutional Rationality in International Relations

Abstract: This book seeks to explain why different systems of sovereign states have built different types of fundamental institutions to govern interstate relations. Why, for example, did the ancient Greeks operate a successful system of third-party arbitration, while international society today rests on a combination of international law and multilateral diplomacy? Why did the city-states of Renaissance Italy develop a system of oratorical diplomacy, while the states of absolutist Europe relied on naturalist international law and "old diplomacy"? Conventional explanations of basic institutional practices have difficulty accounting for such variation. Christian Reus-Smit addresses this problem by presenting an alternative, "constructivist" theory of international institutional development, one that emphasizes the relationship between the social identity of the state and the nature and origin of basic institutional practices. Reus-Smit argues that international societies are shaped by deep constitutional structures that are based on prevailing beliefs about the moral purpose of the state, the organizing principle of sovereignty, and the norm of procedural justice. These structures inform the imaginations of institutional architects as they develop and adjust institutional arrangements between states. As he shows with detailed reference to ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, absolutist Europe, and the modern world, different cultural and historical contexts lead to profoundly different constitutional structures and institutional practices. The first major study of its kind, this book is a significant addition to our theoretical and empirical understanding of international relations, past and present.

Contention and Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract: This book examines anti-corporate activism in the United States, including analysis of anti-corporate challenges associated with social movements as diverse as the Civil Rights Movement and the Dolphin-safe Tuna Movement. Using a unique dataset of protest events in the United States, the book shows that anti-corporate activism is primarily about corporate policies, products, and negligence. Although activists have always been distrustful of corporations and sought to change them, until the 1970s and 1980s, this was primarily accomplished via seeking government regulation of corporations or via organized labor. Sarah A. Soule traces the shift brought about by deregulation and the decline in organized labor, which prompted activists to target corporations directly, often in combination with targeting the state. Using the literatures on contentious and private politics, which are both essential for understanding anti-corporate activism, the book provides a nuanced understanding of the changing focal points of activism directed at corporations.

Hybrid Political Orders, Not Fragile States

Abstract: The concept of state fragility that has gained prominence within the development and security agenda focuses very much on deficiencies and shortcomings of governance in so-called fragile states. In contrast, the concept of hybrid political order takes a more positive outlook by focusing on the strength and resilience of sociopolitical formations that are present on the ground, that work, and that provide public goods for people and communities.

A Government Out of Sight: The Mystery of National Authority in Nineteenth-Century America

Abstract: While it is obvious that America's state and local governments were consistently active during the nineteenth century, a period dominated by laissez-faire, political historians of twentieth-century America have assumed that the national government did very little during this period. A Government Out of Sight challenges this premise, chronicling the ways in which the national government intervened powerfully in the lives of nineteenth-century Americans through the law, subsidies, and the use of third parties (including state and local governments), while avoiding bureaucracy. Americans have always turned to the national government - especially for economic development and expansion - and in the nineteenth century even those who argued for a small, nonintrusive central government demanded that the national government expand its authority to meet the nation's challenges. In revising our understanding of the ways in which Americans turned to the national government throughout this period, this study fundamentally alters our perspective on American political development in the twentieth century, shedding light on contemporary debates between progressives and conservatives about the proper size of government and government programs and subsidies that even today remain 'out of sight'.

The Mandate of Heaven and Performance Legitimation in Historical and Contemporary China

Abstract: This article argues that performance legitimacy, an aspect of state legitimacy neglected by Weber in his original formulation of the theory of domination, played a particularly important role in th...

Responsibility to protect : the global effort to end mass atrocities

Abstract: Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1: Sovereignty and Human Rights Chapter 2: The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty Chapter 3: The 2005 World Summit Chapter 4: Prevention Chapter 5: Reaction Chapter 6: Rebuilding Conclusion Notes

Contracting States: Sovereign Transfers in International Relations

Abstract: List of Illustrations and Tables ix Preface xi Chapter 1. Incomplete Sovereignty and International Relations 1 Chapter 2. A Theory of Incomplete Contracting and State Sovereignty 19 Chapter 3. Severing the Ties That Bind: Sovereign Transfers in the Shadow of Empire 48 Appendix 3.1. Overseas Basing Deployments of France and Britain since 1970 97 Chapter 4. Incomplete Contracting and the Politics of U.S. Overseas Basing Agreements 100 Chapter 5. Incomplete Contracting and Modalities of Regional Integration 142 Chapter 6. Further Applications and Conclusions 186 Bibliography 207 Index 225

Border Politics: The Limits of Sovereign Power

Abstract: This book presents a distinctive theoretical approach to the problem of borders in the study of global politics. It turns from current debates about the presence or absence of borders between states to consider the possibility that the concept of the border of the state is being reconfigured in contemporary political life. The author uses critical resources found in poststructuralist thought to think in new ways about the relationship between borders, security and sovereign power, drawing on a range of thinkers including Agamben, Derrida and Foucault. He highlights the necessity of a more pluralized and radicalised view of what borders are and where they might be found and uses the problem of borders to critically explore the innovations and limits of poststructuralist scholarship.

State Capacity, State Failure, and Human Rights:

Abstract: While it is universally recognized that states are responsible for human rights conditions in their jurisdictions, it is less often noticed that this responsibility has two dimensions, one normative and one empirical. Normatively, most people agree that states ought to prevent human rights abuses. Empirically, however, states may not always be able to do so. In weak and failing states, agency loss and the inability to police effectively can lead to abuses by private individuals and rogue agents of the state. Thus, on balance, weak states typically have worse human rights records than strong ones. This is demonstrated by a global time-series cross-section analysis showing that indicators of state weakness — low tax revenues, corruption, and lack of law and order — all have a negative impact on human rights to personal security. The effect differs for different kinds of rights. Extrajudicial killings are highly sensitive to state capacity, while political imprisonment is more sensitive to democracy. Overall...

Failures of the state failure debate: Evidence from the Somali territories

Abstract: Much of the current literature on state failure and collapse suffers from serious conceptual flaws. It ignores the variegated types of empirical statehood that exist on the ground, it conflates the absence of a central government with anarchy, it creates an unhelpful distinction between ‘accomplished’ and ‘failed’ states, and it is guided by a teleological belief in the convergence of all nation-states. Particularly African states figure prominently in this debate and are frequently portrayed in almost pathological terms. Proposing a comparative analysis of politics in the Somali inhabited territories of the Horn of Africa, this article challenges state failure discourses on both theoretical and empirical grounds. We draw attention to the multiple processes of state-building and forms of statehood that have emerged in Somalia, and the neighbouring Somalia region of Ethiopia, since 1991. The analysis of the different trajectories of these Somali political orders reveals that state formation in Africa contradicts central tenets of the state failure debate and that external state-building interventions should recognise and engage with sub-national political entities. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Globalization and Sovereignty

Abstract: Chapter 1: Globalization and State Sovereignty Chapter 2: Sovereignty Myths and Territorial States Chapter 3: Sovereignty Regimes Chapter 4: Sovereignty Regimes at Work Chapter 5: Conclusion

Neorepublicanism: A Normative and Institutional Research Program

Abstract: Neorepublicanism may be defined as the attempt by current political scientists, philosophers, historians, lawyers, and others to draw on a classical republican tradition in the development of an attractive public philosophy intended for contemporary purposes. Three main ideas have been especially prominent in the neorepublican literature. First and most important is the conception of a free person as one who does not live under the arbitrary will or domination of others. Second is the associated conception of a free state as one that attempts to promote the freedom of its citizens without itself coming to dominate them. And third is the conception of good citizenship as consisting in a vigilant commitment to preserving the state in its distinctive role as an undominating protector against domination. The aim of the neorepublican research program is to rethink issues of legitimacy and democracy, welfare and justice, public policy and institutional design, from within the framework that these basic ideas pr...

No-bodies: Law, Raciality and Violence

Abstract: When has it become a matter of fact - more than evidence, and yet not a self-evident 'truth' - that a (perhaps never to be known) number of young males and females perish as subjects of law's preserving violence? In this article, this question will guide a consideration of a dimension of contemporary global existence that should become a theme of the theorising of the political. It describes a political scene in which the arms of the state - the police and the military - deploy total violence as a regulating tactic. More specifically, it reads the state's occupations of Rio de Janeiro's economically dispossessed neighbourhoods, where drug traffickers compete to institute the 'law of the land', as enactments of a different kind of founding contract, racial violence signifies. In this account of the political (ethical-juridical) scene, the dead bodies of black and brown teenagers count not as casualties of urban wars, but as signifiers of the horizon of death. For the racial subaltern's existence as an effect of the tools of raciality (racial and cultural difference) unfolds in territories in which the state acts only in the name of its own preservation.

The rights and duties of external citizenship

Abstract: Dual citizenship we may have to recognize as the rudimentary form of that international citizenship to which, if our words mean anything, we aspire. (Randolph Bourne, Trans-National America, 1916) What are the rights and obligations of citizens who live outside their country? Political theory has so far focused on immigrants' access to citizenship in countries of settlement and has had little to say about their relations to their countries of origin. External citizenship is, however, of growing importance for large numbers of migrants as well as for sending states, many of which have dramatically changed their attitudes towards expatriates. I have proposed a stakeholder criterion for determining who should have claims to external citizenship status and rights. In this article I summarize how this argument applies to the acquisition and loss of citizenship outside a state's territory, to the right to return, to an external franchise, and to citizenship duties of military service, paying taxes and compuls...

Lineages of Despotism and Development: British Colonialism and State Power

Abstract: Traditionally, social scientists have assumed that past imperialism hinders the future development prospects of colonized nations. Challenging this widespread belief, Matthew Lange argues in "Lineages of Despotism and Development" that countries once under direct British imperial control have developed more successfully than those that were ruled indirectly. Combining statistical analysis with in-depth case studies of former British colonies, this volume argues that direct rule promoted cogent and coherent states with high levels of bureaucratization and inclusiveness, which contributed to implementing development policy during late colonialism and independence. On the other hand, Lange finds that indirect British rule created weak, patrimonial states that preyed on their own populations. Firmly grounded in the tradition of comparative-historical analysis while offering fresh insight into the colonial roots of uneven development, "Lineages of Despotism and Development" will interest economists, sociologists, and political scientists alike.

The Rise of Postcolonial States as Donors: a challenge to the development paradigm?

Abstract: The idea of development co-operation—the ‘development paradigm’—took shape during the decades of global decolonisation and growing political autonomy of the former colonies. It can be understood as a historic reconfiguration of the centre–periphery relationship originally established through colonisation. The rise of new state donors such as China or India questions not only the established modes of development co-operation but also the development paradigm as a whole. Themselves historical products of anti-colonialism and political autonomy understood as non-alignment as well as absolute sovereignty, these new ‘Southern’ donors question the very idea of development (co-operation) as a Western, postcolonial concept. This paper, first, attempts to characterise the ‘development paradigm’, providing a historical contextualisation of the development discourse in its continuities and ruptures. Second, it asks what the rise of new state donors such as China and India looks like at the political–normati...

National Incorporation of Global Human Rights: Worldwide Expansion of National Human Rights Institutions, 1966–2004

Abstract: Using an event history framework we analyze the adoption rate of national human rights institutions. Neo-realist perspective predicts adoption rates to be positively influenced by favorable national profiles that lower the costs and make it more reasonable to establish these institutions. From a world polity perspective adoption rates will be positively influenced by a world saturated with human rights organizations and conferences, by increasing adoption densities, and by greater linkages to the world polity. We find support for both perspectives in the analysis of the human rights commission. Only the changing state of the world polity is consequential for the founding of the classical ombudsman office. We discuss the national incorporation of international human rights standards and its relevance to issues of state sovereignty and national citizenship.

Political Settlements: Issues paper

Abstract: Why do similar sets of formal institutions often have such divergent outcomes? An analysis of political settlements goes some way to answering this question by bringing into focus the contending interests that exist within any state, which constrain and facilitate institutional and developmental change. It provides a framework to analyse how the state is linked to society and what lies behind the formal representation of politics in a state. The political settlement and the elite bargains from which it emerges are central to patterns of state fragility and resilience. The role of political organisation within the political settlement is crucial to both the stability of the settlement and the direction in which it evolves over time. The elite bargains that may lead to the establishment of what might be considered a resilient political settlement may also act as a barrier to progressive developmental change. Analysis of political settlements suggests that state-building is far from a set of technical formulas, but is a highly political process. Creating capacity within a state to consolidate and expand taxation is fundamentally determined by the shape of the political settlement underlying the state. This is true as well for the development of service delivery or any other function of the state. This analytical framework provides a window for donors to grasp the politics of a place in order to design more effective interventions.

Do ‘Zimbabweans’ Exist?: Trajectories of Nationalism, National Identity Formation and Crisis in a Postcolonial State

Abstract: Contents: Deconstructing the National Project - Nationalism and its Moments - National Identity and Common Citizenship - A Nation within a Nation - Violence and Impunity - Mugabeism as Nationalism - Endgame or Elite Transition?

States Against Migrants: Deportation in Germany and the United States

Abstract: In this comparative study of the contemporary politics of deportation in Germany and the United States, Antje Ellermann analyzes the capacity of the liberal democratic state to control individuals within its borders. The book grapples with the question of why, in the 1990s, Germany responded to vociferous public demands for stricter immigration control by passing and implementing far-reaching policy reforms, while the United States failed to effectively respond to a comparable public mandate. Drawing on extensive field interviews, Ellermann finds that these crossnational differences reflect institutionally determined variations in socially coercive state capacity. By tracing the politics of deportation across the evolution of the policy cycle, beginning with anti-immigrant populist backlash and ending in the expulsion of migrants by deportation bureaucrats, Ellermann is also able to show that the conditions underlying state capacity systematically vary across policy stages.

Bio-Hegemony: The Political Economy of Agricultural Biotechnology in Argentina

Abstract: This paper examines relations between the state and capital in Argentina with respect to agricultural biotechnology. Argentina is one of the world's leading exporters of genetically modified (GM) crops and is a key player in the global politics of biotechnology. Whereas in other parts of the world, including other countries in Latin America, active civil societies and some governments have rejected the technology, Argentina has adopted it as a central accumulation strategy. The desirability of this strategy has been secured in material, institutional and discursive arenas of power, producing a particular expression of ‘bio-hegemony’. Looking at the role of business in the political economy of agricultural biotechnology is revealing both of the extent and forms of corporate power and contributes to an understanding of hegemony in practice.

Transnational civil society's ability to successfully influence state actors on human rights issues through international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) : a case study of the coalition to stop the use of child soldiers

Abstract: Humanitarian agencies working in conflict are faced with tensions between dealing with belligerent forces and safeguarding their independence and neutrality. This balancing act is especially difficult when belligerent nations are major donors. For UN agencies, this is further complicated by the multiple roles that member states expect the UN to perform. UN agencies must have some form of engagement with belligerent forces or occupying powers, both for their own security and to limit the harmful consequences of warfare for the civilian population, but the form of engagement in recent emergencies such as Afghanistan and Iraq has been flawed, leading to a perception that the UN was engaged in joint planning with US-led forces and that humanitarian principles were compromised by political agendas. The paper suggests measures to improve adherence to principles of neutrality and independence in UN humanitarian action, and to better preserve its civilian character. Date 2004 March Doc type in Humanitarian Exchange No. 26 Link http://www.odi.org.uk/Africa_Portal/pdf/humanitarianexchange026.pdf or locate from http://www.odihpn.org/publist.asp (free registration required) Bibliography on approaching armed groups Humanitarian access, assistance and protection 8 Author Hofmann, Claudia Title Engaging Non-state Armed Groups in Humanitarian Action: State actor and non-governmental approaches Publisher German Development Institute, Bonn Abstract The persistent rise of intra-state conflict brings with it a heightened focus on non-state armed groups. In the humanitarian field, however, there are vast shortcomings regarding a universal legal foundation, so international relations with non-state armed groups have primarily relied on ceasefire agreements and peace treaties. But recently the urgency of engaging non-state armed groups has been increasingly addressed mainly by NGOs, which are less bound by state-centric frameworks. This paper addresses the differences, commonalities, and difficulties for state and non-state actors engaging non-state armed groups. It demonstrates how NGOs present a possibility of filling a gap in the international legal regime by employing lower-key initiatives that avoid political issues like legitimization or recognition of non-state armed groups. It also argues that "small agreements" in the humanitarian field with regard to engaging nonstate armed groups can contribute enormously to prospective peace processes. Date 2004 July-August Pages 58pp (25pp plus annex) Link http://www.genevacall.org/resources/testi-reference-materials/other-documents.htm _________________________ Author InterAction Protection Working Group Title Making Protection a Priority: Integrating protection and humanitarian assistance Publisher InterAction Abstract International protection has traditionally been seen as the role of specialized agencies such as UNHCR or the ICRC. But humanitarian NGOs can play a complementary role. This paper presents the concept of protection as a collective responsibility and highlights how diverse agencies can bring their work to bear on protection issues. Integrating protection into relief activities does not mean that protection and humanitarian assistance are the same. Nor can protection be treated as an afterthought -it must be included at the start of designing any assistance program. Date 2004 April Pages 7pp Link http://www.interaction.org/files.cgi/2835_Protection_priority.pdf Bibliography on approaching armed groups Humanitarian access, assistance and protection 9 Author Levine, Iain Title Promoting Humanitarian Principles: The southern Sudan experience Publisher Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London, Humanitarian Practice Network (formerly Relief and Rehabilitation Network) Abstract This account describes how Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) sought to integrate humanitarian principles and protection of civilians within its work. Complex emergencies are crises of human rights as much as of humanitarian need; civilians require not only humanitarian assistance (food, health care, shelter and water etc) but also protection of their safety, dignity and basic human rights. Accordingly, humanitarian principles and standards should lie at the centre of assistance programs. Protection of civilians is achieved through application of human rights law, international law and internationally recognized principles. It also requires implementation and enforcement, including monitoring and follow-up of violations and abuses. The account focuses on working with armed opposition movements and in particular discusses concerns of humanitarian agencies about providing perceived legitimacy to those who treat their populations badly. While focusing on a specific initiative, it highlights broader dilemmas confronting the international humanitarian community. Date 1997 Pages 31pp Ref ISBN 0 850 03361 6 Doc type Relief and Rehabilitation Network paper 21 Link http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?ID=2127 or locate from http://www.odihpn.org/publist.asp (free registration required) _________________________ Author Macrae, Joanna and Adele Harmer (eds) Title Humanitarian Action and the "Global War on Terror": A review of trends and issues Publisher Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London Abstract This report reviews key trends in humanitarian policy, and focuses on the implications of the global "war on terrorism", in particular the framework it sets within which humanitarian aid policy will be defined and implemented. It considers the difficulties humanitarian organisations face in positioning themselves within a geopolitical framework in which they are deeply embedded, culturally, politically and financially and the increasing integration of humanitarian policy within international security policy, and the major upheavals in the international architecture responsible for defining and implementing humanitarian action. It finds that identifying the humanitarian agenda, and positioning it as a distinct sphere of international behaviour, is becoming an increasingly difficult task. It includes chapters on the legal implications of 9/11; the implications of 9/11 for humanitarian NGOs; humanitarianism and Islam; and Afghanistan after 9/11. Date 2003 July Pages 71pp Ref ISBN 0 850 03672 0 Doc type Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) Report No. 14 Link http://www.odi.org.uk/hpg/papers/hpgreport14.pdf or locate from http://www.odihpn.org/publist.asp (free registration required) or locate from http://www.odi.org.uk/hpg/publications_reports.html Bibliography on approaching armed groups Humanitarian access, assistance and protection 10 Author Mahony, Liam Title Proactive Presence: Field strategies for civilian protection Publisher Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD), Geneva Abstract This publication argues for a more frequent and strategic use of unarmed international field missions to protect civilians. Unarmed presence, if used proactively and strategically, can deter perpetrators of violence and assist local reform efforts thus enhancing the protection of civilians in times of war. It requires, among other things, techniques of sustained diplomacy, conscious visibility, encouragement and empowerment, and public advocacy to influence actors on the ground. Date 2006 Pages 160pp Link http://www.hdcentre.org/Civilian%20protection%20publications _________________________ Author Mancini-Griffoli, Deborah and André Picot Title Humanitarian Negotiation: A handbook for securing access, assistance and protection for civilians in armed conflict Publisher Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD), Geneva Abstract Negotiation is a critical skill in humanitarian work, but often not well understood by humanitarian workers and poorly resourced. The handbook is meant to help address the gap in knowledge and to enhance individual and organizational negotiation skills. It does not prescribe a single approach valid in all cases, but offers a framework for managing and planning negotiations and some practical suggestions to enable humanitarian workers to develop a negotiation strategy, which may need to be refined and adapted to take account of cultural, social or other factors specific to a given situation. It is written for humanitarians at the operational and frontline levels who are negotiating access, assistance and protection with government authorities, military personnel, armed groups and civilians, rather than for political or peace negotiators. Date 2004 October Pages 150pp plus annexes Link http://www.hdcentre.org/Civilian%20protection%20publications _________________________ Author McHugh, Gerard and Manuel Bessler Title Guidelines on Humanitarian Negotiations with Armed Groups Publisher UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Abstract This set of guidelines is intended to provide concise advice and guidance to humanitarian practitioners on how to prepare for and conduct humanitarian negotiations with non-state armed groups. It summarizes the essential guidance presented in the more comprehensive partner publication by the same authors titled Humanitarian Negotiations with Armed Groups: A manual for practitioners (see entry in this bibliography). It includes guidance on knowing when to adopt a more cautious approach to negotiations; relevant elements of international law; nine steps for working towards more effective negotiations; what to do if negotiations break down; negotiating on specific issues; possible implications of humanitarian negotiations, and dealing with non-compliance. Date 2006 January Pages 16pp Link download from http://ochaonline.un.org/humanitariannegotiations/index.html Bibliography on approaching armed groups Humanitarian access, assistance and protection 11 Author McHugh, Gerard and Manuel Bessler Title Humanitarian Negotiations with Armed Groups: A manual for practitioners Publisher UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Abstract This manual provides guidance o

Building Peace and Political Community in Hybrid Political Orders

Abstract: Peacebuilding supports the emergence of stable political community in states and regions struggling with a legacy of violent conflict. This then raises the question of what political community might mean in the state in question. International peacebuilding operations have answered that question in terms of the promotion of conventional state-building along the lines of the Western Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) model as the best path out of post-conflict state fragility and towards sustainable development and peace. This article argues for peacebuilding beyond notions of the liberal peace and constructions of the liberal state. Rather than thinking in terms of fragile states, it might be theoretically and practically more fruitful to think in terms of hybrid political orders, drawing on the resilience embedded in the communal life of societies within so-called fragile regions of the global South. This re-conceptualization opens new options for peacebuilding and for state for...

Is The Law a Mere Parchment Barrier to Human Rights Abuse

Abstract: The “mere parchment barriers” created by constitutional provisions may lead to decreases in the extent to which nations abuse the human right not to be imprisoned, tortured, killed, or made to disappear arbitrarily or because of your political views. A global pooled cross-national time-series analysis for a 21-year period shows that adopting selected constitutional provisions protecting individual rights and freedoms, promoting judicial independence, and guarding against states of emergency—and keeping the provisions in place for 10 years—has the potential to reduce a nation's level of state terror substantially, from one in which political imprisonment affects large numbers of the politically active population and political murders are common, to one where the rule of law is secure, for example. We report significant caveats about and limitations of the research. Nevertheless, we conclude that, since it may be easier to change constitutions than to build effective democracy, to create massive amounts of ...

Democratic Deepening in India and South Africa

Abstract: This article examines the trajectories of democratization in India and South Africa. Both democracies are exemplary cases of democratic consolidation but face critical challenges in deepening democracy. Focusing on the notion of `effective democracy', the article argues that subordinate groups have limited opportunities for meaningful engagement with the State. This problem is explored through an examination of social movements and local government. The article shows that the current crisis of citizenship that both countries face results from the subordination of civil society to political society.