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11. Will International Institutions Fail Again? International power shifts and the future of global cooperation

Author:
Matthew D. Stephen
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
International institutions thrive when they are utilized, their rules are respected, and they are important in shaping international outcomes. They fail when they fall into disuse, their rules are violated, or they otherwise become peripheral to the events of world politics. In order to function effectively, international institutions require a minimum level of agreement amongst their most powerful members. In many institutions today, the level of agreement is shrinking. While geopolitical tensions are real, the biggest risk to international institutions comes from the unravelling of domestic and transnational social coalitions in favour of economic openness and ideals of internationalism. To rescue international institutions, it will be necessary to take action at the national level. This means using the policy tools available to national governments to create economic security, reduce inequality, and foster inclusive community identities. This may come at the expense of deeper international integration, but it will be better for international cooperation in the long run.
Topic:
Security, Inequality, Institutionalism, Community, and International Institutions
Political Geography:
Global Focus

12. ‘Many-Citedness’: Citations Measure More Than Just Scientific Impact

Author:
Carlo D'Ippoliti
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:
Citation indexes are increasingly used to measure the scientific impact of researchers and institutions, though their application is often criticized. Most authors agree that citations do not measure only scientific quality; there is disagreement however on what else they do capture. We study the network of citations of all publications indexed in Web of Science authored or coauthored by Italian tenured academic economists between 2011 and 2015. By estimating the determinants of the probability that any author is cited by any other author in the sample, we find those factors to involve not only similarity in methods and topics but also, significantly, various measures of social community as well as of ideological proximity. We conclude that, at least in the case of economics, citations cannot be interpreted as unbiased proxies of scientific impact, and their use to produce indexes and rankings may require careful rethinking.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Research, Academia, Community, and Citation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

13. Dealing with the Past: Supporting people-centred “working-through” the legacies of violence

Author:
Beatrix Austin
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Berghof Foundation
Abstract:
This policy brief hones in on the specific ways in which a people-centred approach to dealing with the past can be built from the ground up, complementing the previous Berghof Policy Brief no. 5. It works through the commonalities and differences between transitional justice, reconciliation and dealing with the past; and puts emphasis on the dual roles of the victims and their potential in either escalating or de-escalating violent approaches to conflict.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, Transitional Justice, Reconciliation, and Community
Political Geography:
Global Focus

14. Dysfunctional Institutions, Social Trust, and Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood

Author:
Thomas Risse and Tanja A. Börzel
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
Areas of limited statehood where the state is absent or dysfunctional are rarely ungoverned or ungovernable spaces. The provision of rules and regulations as well as of public goods and services – governance – does not necessarily depend on the existence of functioning state institutions. How can this be explained? This article makes two claims. First, we identify functional equivalents to state institutions that fail to govern hierarchically. Second, we focus on informal institutions based on social trust that are endogenous to areas of limited statehood. Personalized social trust among community members enables actors to overcome collective action problems, enhancing the legitimacy of governance actors. The main challenge in areas of limited statehood, which are often characterized by social heterogeneity and deep social and cultural cleavages (particularly in post-conflict societies), is to move from personalized to generalized trust in “imagined communities” despite dysfunctional state institutions. We argue that generalized trust in areas of limited statehood crucially depends on inclusive social identities as an enabling condition for effective and legitimate governance.
Topic:
Governance, Community, Statehood, and Social Identities
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. On Identity Treatises as a Subject of Sociology of Knowledge with Historic and Social Origins of Identity Problem

Author:
Binnur Özkeçeci-Taner and Halil Parladir
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Academic Inquiries
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
For the emergence of a community or a nation, it has always been necessary to bring local identities and different ethnic groups around one common cultural center. However, the process of integrating individuals into a dominant ethnicity or cultural centercertainly causes several social, cultural and political problems. During theprogress of communication systems from the newspapers to the television and the social media, the issue has gained momentum with the expression of reactions to the ethnical cultures which were formed centrally. It is interestingthat social studies highlights identity studies which focuses on diverse issues ranging from the question of how administrative authoritiescan manage counterweights other than the center to the question of what is the legitimacy of giving privileges to the members of minority groups. This situation arises as a natural result of social, cultural and political centralization, and from the increasing concern in social sciences about gathering data as it needs to give an immediate answer to the question of how to restructure the social positions and the roles of minority groups which realize that they are different from the center. This study focuses on the historical and social origins of the growing popularity of identity studies in social sciences. In this regard, the development and the growing popularity of identity studies and the types of data it provides community and their problems are examined in this study.
Topic:
Diaspora, Community, Identity, Centralization, and Modernity
Political Geography:
Global Focus