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Begin New Search Political Geography Global Focus Publication Year within 1 Year

41. Transnational Government: A Faster Path to Developing Underdeveloped Nations

Author:
Ahmad Reza Taheri
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
This article introduces the concept of transnational government as a potential solution for underdeveloped states to develop themselves and overcome issues such as systemic corruption, maladministration, and dysfunctionality. The introduction defines the central problem and discusses the main idea. Subsequently, theories of development and the problems of accommodating them into the underdeveloped states will be reviewed. The article then presents a non-political inspirational model as a foundation for the discussion. This is followed by an examination of the proposed model’s theoretical underpinnings and its implementation. Finally, the article addresses the significant challenges and obstacles associated with the proposed model.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Government, and Transnational Government
Political Geography:
Global Focus

42. Lowering the Cost of Capital for Climate and SDG Finance in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs)

Author:
Jeffrey Sachs, Lisa Sachs, Ana Maria Camelo Vega, and Bradford M. Willis
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Today, the world’s fastest-growing economies face the steepest borrowing costs — even for clean energy projects with solid fundamentals. This is not a function of global capital scarcity. Trillions are available. The problem lies in systemic barriers that prevent capital from flowing to where it’s most urgently needed. The high cost of capital in EMDEs not only undermines critical financing for the energy transition and sustainable development; it also limits the ability for US- and EU-based financial institutions to invest in and finance projects in EMDEs, despite institutional and stakeholder appetite and interest for transition finance. This paper provides a holistic diagnosis of the structural forces inflating the cost of capital in EMDEs – including sovereign credit ratings, investor risk perceptions, development finance mandates, and regulatory norms – and it outlines ten actionable solutions to unlock long-term, affordable finance for climate and sustainable development – at the speed and scale required by both global goals and national ambitions. Each of the proposed approaches deserves careful discussion, consideration, and exploration; they are presented in this paper as a roadmap for discussion, including in the context of relevant global discussions on financing climate action and sustainable development, including the UN Financing for Development Agenda, the UNFCCC COP process, and the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group.
Topic:
Development, Emerging Markets, Climate Finance, Sustainable Development Goals, and Capital
Political Geography:
Global Focus

43. Distinguishing Among Climate Change-Related Risks

Author:
Lisa Sachs, Denise Hearn, Matt Goldklang, and Perrine Toledano
Publication Date:
02-2025
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Understanding the diverse types of climate change-related risks is crucial for developing effective strategies to address the global climate crisis. A holistic yet disaggregated approach allows for a comprehensive view of the challenges while enabling targeted responses from various stakeholders. This document outlines three main categories of climate-related risks: planetary, economic, and financial, detailing their relevance to various stakeholders, timeframes, and potential response strategies. This short brief aims to disentangle the complex nature of risk discussions for productive discourse and appropriate risk management approaches for different stakeholders. In practice, discussions related to assessing and responding to climate change risk have conflated categories of risk, confusing discussions and undermining the effectiveness of related strategies. We hope this brief can bring clarity and rigor to analyses of risk and support constructive discussion among policymakers, financial institutions, social sector actors, and the public. We plan to follow this short briefing with a longer report including more detailed analysis, integrating feedback to these initial ideas.
Topic:
Climate Change, Finance, Economy, Investment, Risk, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Global Focus

44. Islamophobia, Race and Global Politics with Nazia Kazi (Episode 27)

Author:
Nazia Kazi and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
02-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
This week’s episode offers a powerful introduction to the scope of Islamophobia in the United States. The legacy of Barack Obama and the mainstream media’s typically negative portrayals of Muslims offer incisive examples into the vast impact of Islamophobia – connected to the long history of racism – both within the borders of the United States, and as a matter of foreign policy and global politics. Host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) addresses these issues with “Islamophobia, Race and Global Politics (https://www.amazon.com/Islamophobia-R...) ” author and Stockton University Professor Nazia Kazi (https://drnaziakazi.com/) .
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Race, Islamophobia, and Global Politics
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

45. Race and Empire: Legal Theory Within, Through and Across National Borders with Asli Bali

Author:
Asli Bâli and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
In the Global South, the possibility of a post-imperial reality self-determined by former subjects of the empire has been undermined by the dominant Western narrative that centers “humanitarian initiatives, politics of counterterrorism, and migration control”. Host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) will speak with expert, advocate and Law Professor Dr. Asli U. Bali to deconstruct the mainstream narrative that portrays the international system and its dominant actors as benevolent agents of humanitarianism in regions like Libya.
Topic:
Imperialism, Race, Global South, Self-Determination, International System, and Post-Colonial
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

46. Post-Colonial Legality and Human Rights with Abdullahi An-Naim (Episode 31)

Author:
Abdullahi An-Naim and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
Autonomy and self-determination for all individuals cannot be realized and sustained unless true within every person. Enslavement and dehumanization remain true of citizens of imperial nations so long as they remain true for colonized peoples. This week’s episode explores the contradictions between stated commitments to human rights and actions in Western and post-colonial societies. Host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) addresses these issues with Emory University School of Law Professor Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im (https://law.emory.edu/faculty/faculty...) .
Topic:
Human Rights, Imperialism, Self-Determination, and Post-Colonial
Political Geography:
Global Focus

47. Race, Women and the Global War on Terror with Sherene Razack (Episode 30)

Author:
Sherene Razack
Publication Date:
03-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
This episode of the Race and Rights podcast features Professor Sherene Razack (https://gender.ucla.edu/person/sheren...) discuss how racialized Muslim bodies and gender are constructed by global white supremacy that produces and sustains networks, affinities and ideas in the so-called Global War on Terror. Sherene Razack (https://gender.ucla.edu/person/sheren...) is a Distinguished Professor and the Penny Kanner Endowed Chair in Women’s Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and author of the Nothing Has to Make Sense: Upholding White Supremacy through Anti-Muslim Racism (https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/nothing...) (University of Minnesota 2022).
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Race, Women, Islamophobia, War on Terror, and White Supremacy
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

48. Beyond the Weapon of War: Rethinking Gendered Narratives of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Author:
Sydney Leigh Smith
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has traditionally been understood as an inevitable byproduct of war, with rape framed as a biologically driven act of sexual gratification committed by men against women. This perception shifted following landmark rulings by the International Criminal Tribunals for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), which established sexual violence as a weapon of war. This article critically examines the "weapon of war" framework, which portrays militarized men as strategic perpetrators and women as symbolic victims, arguing that it reproduces harmful gendered identities and oversimplifies the complexities of sexual violence in conflict. The paper first traces the historical evolution of how CRSV has been conceptualized—from a natural consequence of war to a gendered and strategic tool of power—before analyzing the limitations of the weapon of war paradigm. It highlights the framework’s exclusion of male victims, female perpetrators, and diverse motivations for sexual violence—such as opportunism, material gain, and combatant bonding—as well as its failure to account for cases where armed groups refrain from using sexual violence altogether. Drawing on original analysis of over 4,000 redacted ICTR witness testimonies, the article demonstrates how the framework has constrained legal recognition, obscured lived experiences, and reproduced narrow narratives of ethnic hatred and gendered violence. It calls for a reframing of the gendered weapon of war concept to better account for the complexity of CRSV and to promote more inclusive approaches to justice, prevention, and survivor-centered redress.
Topic:
Rape, Sexual Violence, Accountability, Armed Conflict, Gender, and Atrocity Prevention
Political Geography:
Global Focus

49. Democratic Recovery After Significant Backsliding: Emergent Lessons

Author:
Thomas Carothers and McKenzie Carrier
Publication Date:
04-2025
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
In a global political landscape marked by twenty years of widespread democratic backsliding, some good news exists: in a handful of countries where leaders significantly undercut democratic norms and institutions, elections have brought to power new leadership with a strong declared commitment to restoring democracy.
Topic:
Democracy, Institutions, Democratic Backsliding, and Global Politics
Political Geography:
Global Focus

50. Rethinking a Political Approach to Nuclear Abolition

Author:
George Perkovich, Fumihiko Yoshida, and Michiru Nishida
Publication Date:
03-2025
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Preventing nuclear war and other existential military threats requires nations today to focus more on politics than on the qualities or quantities of weapons. Yet, many participants in nuclear policy debates do the opposite.
Topic:
Security, Nuclear Weapons, and Military
Political Geography:
Global Focus