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11. Course-Correcting the Conversation Surrounding 'Corrective Rape'

Author:
John Bavoso
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
Last May, 24-year-old Johannesburg resident Noxolo Nogwaza was brutally raped, stabbed repeatedly with shards of broken glass, and beaten with rocks by a group of young men, then left to die from her injuries. Her body was subsequently dumped in a very public part of her township. Despite living and dying in country where it is said that the percentage of women and girls that will become sexual assault survivors is greater than the number that will be taught to read, Nogwaza's murder made national and international headlines because of her sexuality. She had been on her way home from dropping off her girlfriend when she was attacked, and neighbors reported hearing her attackers shouting homophobic slurs throughout the crime. Noxolo Nogwaza wasn't just a target of rape; she was a target of so-called “corrective” rape – a crime in which gangs of heterosexual men commit a sexual assault with the stated purpose of “curing” or “correcting” their victims' sexuality.

12. Time for a New Policy Approach to Fiji?

Author:
Nicole Forrester and Eddie Walsh
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
For more than two decades, Fiji has endured a coup culture. During the latest military coup in 2006, Commodore Bainimarama removed Prime Minister Qarase's duly elected democratic government. Since then, Australia has actively leveraged its bilateral and regional influence to urge Bainimarama's Interim Government to hold free and fair elections. The regime's failure to return to democracy has led to Fiji's suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum and the Commonwealth.
Topic:
Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Australia

13. Latvia's Economic Recovery: Lessons to Learn?

Author:
Steve Lutes
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
While the impact of the 2008 global economic crisis has been varied across nations, it is unmistakable that Latvia was among those hardest hit with unemployment topping 20 percent and a considerable contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) from 2008 to 2010. But the tide has ostensibly turned with the country completing the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) stabilization program in December 2011, and the government projecting growth of approximately 5 percent for 2011. So how did Latvia accomplish this turn around as others in Europe remain mired in economic turmoil?
Topic:
Economics and International Monetary Fund
Political Geography:
Europe

14. Anatomy of an Arab Transformation

Author:
Lara Setrakian
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
More than a year's worth of systemic change in the Middle East still goes by an unsettled set of monikers: the Arab Spring, the Arab Upheaval, the Arab Awakening. But one phrase captures the effect, where we stand in the arc of a longer process. This is the age of the Arab Transformation—morphing life at every level. Beyond simply taking stock, it's worth examining the transformative machine that's being built, a kind of societal engine clicking into place that will drive the region for the rest of our lifetime.
Political Geography:
Middle East and Arabia

15. Beyond Promises: The Durable Solution to the Afghan Refugee Problem

Author:
M. Ashraf Haidari
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
The saga of Afghan refugees began in late December 1979: Afghans were an impoverished people but content with their agrarian and traditional way of life. They hardly ever wished to migrate abroad for economic opportunities. But their normal lives abruptly ceased in the days following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as the country became a major victim of the Cold War. Soviet tanks rolled into Afghan villages indiscriminately killing innocent civilians, destroying their livelihoods, and driving most Afghans abroad in search of protection and human security. More Afghans fled violence, persecution and ethnic cleansing and genocide as a result of regional proxy conflicts in Afghanistan throughout 1990s. Many sought refuge in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.
Topic:
Security and Cold War
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran

16. Colombia's Peso Over-Flexing its Muscle

Author:
Oscar Montealegre
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
The Colombian peso is now, shockingly, a force to be reckoned with. In 2012, year to date, the peso has appreciated 9 percent against the U.S. dollar in an amazing currency surge that underscores the "new" Colombia. However, the Andean country is not too excited about the strong currency, understanding that it poses a serious problem for exporters.
Political Geography:
Colombia

17. Keeping Up with an Urbanizing World

Author:
Michele Acuto
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
In 1951, Isaac Asimov, father of science fiction, opened his most famed book Foundation with a graphic portrayal of the planet that was leading an imaginary galaxy mastered by humankind in all its width. “Its urbanization, progressing steadily, had finally reached the ultimate. All the land surface was a single city.” A few years later, J.G. Ballard, in another of the columns of modern-day fictional literature, depicted a similar atmosphere in his dystopian novel The Concentration City, where the urban settlement in question encompasses everything known to its inhabitants, which cannot do anything more than accepting the view “that the City stretches out in all directions without limits.” No escape is offered to the impuissant protagonist, who travels endlessly along rail lines, only to get back to the point of origin without ever leaving a disturbing conurbation.
Topic:
Urbanization
Political Geography:
Japan

18. CHINA SPOOKING ALLIES WITH THE SEE-SAW BETWEEN SOFT AND HARD POWER

Author:
Richard Rousseau
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
Chinese leaders spend considerable time and energy in assuring the international community that they have no reason to be afraid of China’s “peaceful rise” and rapid emergence as one of the most important economic and diplomatic players on the international stage. Many countries, however, equate China’s growing economic might with greater political influence and are less accepting of the benign image that Beijing now wants to portray to the world. Although China’s current policy may appear at first impression to be a rather soft variety of imperialism, it is still perceived by many as “hard” imperialism. There are now mounting signs that other countries, especially China’s neighbors, are not totally convinced of Beijing’s proclaimed benevolent intent. Those countries are presently taking measures to protect themselves in case China’s “soft” imperialism eventually turns out to be more aggressive or of the “hard power” variety.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Imperialism, International Cooperation, and ASEAN
Political Geography:
China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Asia, South Korea, Philippines, Cambodia, Australia, and Myanmar

19. Drones in Our World, part II: The Technicalities

Author:
Whitney Grespin
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
In an effort to provide context for this series, this piece will focus on specific equipment competencies that have expanded the capabilities of drones.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Military Strategy, and Drones
Political Geography:
Global Focus

20. No Life Left Untouched by Human Trafficking

Author:
Chrisella Sagers
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
A special session of the United Nations General Assembly made headlines last week with a disheartening announcement – 2.4 million people today, across the globe, are victims of human trafficking. Of those, 80 percent are being forced into sexual slavery, and 17 percent are enslaved into forced labor. Even the statistic of 2.4 million people does not truly reflect the impact that this phenomenon has; the number only represents the souls caught up at any given time, but does not track those who escaped their living nightmares and found freedom. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human trafficking is “the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud, or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.” Some prefer to dispense with the seemingly whitewashed term and refer to the practice as modern-day slavery. No country is unaffected. Because of the way traffickers transport their “goods,” the human cargo often follows the same shipping lines as illegal drugs. It is one of the world’s most lucrative forms of organized crime, creating a draw for cartels seeking to diversify as well as for individual pimps on the street. Women make up nearly two-thirds of the world’s trafficked persons, and it is shockingly easy to sell these women for sex. Madrid police began an investigation last month into a prostitution ring, in which the pimps violently forced the women into sex slavery. The victims were chained to pipes and beaten into submission, and if they tried to escape or failed to pay their pimps, bar codes were tattooed onto their wrists.
Topic:
Narcotics Trafficking, Sex Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual Violence, and Human Trafficking
Political Geography:
Global Focus