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492. Perceptions Of The War Against Terrorism (WAT): A Malaysian Case Study
- Author:
- Abu Daud Silong, Zaharah Hassan, and Steven Eric Krauss
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- Though terrorism has existed for more than 2,000 years, the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. brought international repercussions unlike any previously experienced. In response to the attacks, the U.S. immediately attempted to build a broad-based anti-terrorism coalition in what is known as the “War against Terrorism” (WAT) or “War on Terrorism.” Malaysia has its own experiences with terrorism, such as during the 'communist emergency' of the 1950s. In light of Malaysia's unique history in overcoming terrorism and the present-day WAT, this study aimed to explore Malaysian's perceptions of the WAT. Findings from the study indicate that Malaysians hold mostly negative views on the WAT, i.e.: they doubt the intentions of the US government; they view the WAT as a fight against Muslims and as a means for US control; they view the military approach as ineffective; they perceive a conscious effort to link terrorism to Islam; they view the Western media as being insensitive to non-Westerners and they believe that the WAT has had little impact on reducing terrorism due to hidden political agendas. Qualitative findings from the study stress the need for counter-terrorism policy makers to identify the root-causes of terrorism in order to develop appropriate socio-economic programs for the poor, marginalized, discontented and discriminated groups in societies.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Demographics, Poverty, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States, Malaysia, and Asia
493. Writer Ryszard Kapuscinski: An Optimist in the Heart of Darkness
- Author:
- Tomasz Zalewski
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- European Affairs
- Institution:
- The European Institute
- Abstract:
- Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski was an exception in gaining an international following for his writings – in translation, of course. He succeeded by writing directly about the people in oppressed, poor continents. His humanity stemmed partly from his origins in Soviet-era Poland.
- Topic:
- Civil Society and History
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Poland, and Soviet Union
494. Civilising Globalism: Transnational Norm-Building Networks — A Research Programme
- Author:
- Ulrich Mückenberger
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Decentralised, self-organised cross-border activities are increasingly shaping global policymaking. While state actors have lost ground, policy and economic networks have emerged as key actors, transforming international relations as well as national spheres. Academic discourse is following their activity, often focusing on "advocacy networks" and on the role of transnational actors within the transformation of the world economy and world polity. In contrast to these research activities, the approach proposed here extends the scope of inquiry to include the role of transnational networks in norm-building and norm-implementation. The networks under scrutiny here do not confine themselves to the articulation of particular interests, the resolution of particular conflicts, or compliance with legal norms. It is presumed here that a variety of networks which are fundamentally concerned with the creation of norms have emerged. The predominance of the nation-state, one of the main characteristics of modern democratic thinking, has eroded to the point where the fundamental nexus of voice (democratic participation) and entitlement (legal and social rights and duties) has been weakened or even broken. We presume that this decentration has fundamentally changed the option of voice as one of the most important responses by citizens to crisis and change. This comes to the fore with the emergence and effectiveness of transnational norm-building networks. The article develops a research programme, the outcome of which will shed light on this new resource for the development of a democratised world polity.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Globalization, and Political Theory
495. Urban Representation of Multiculturalism in a Global City: Toronto's Iranian Community
- Author:
- Shahrzad Faryadi
- Publication Date:
- 08-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
- Abstract:
- Globalization is known as a set of interrelated processes that are increasing economic, political, social, and cultural interconnections in the whole world (O'Byrne 1997). There is a direct connection between globalization and the city as “Globalization takes place in cities and cities embody and reflect globalization. Global processes lead to changes in the city and cities rework and situate globalization” (Short and Kim 1999, 9). A global city is conceived as a strategic site not only for global capital, but also for the transnationalization of labour and the formation of translocal communities and identities. In this regard, global cities are a site for new types of political operations and for a whole range of new cultural and subjective operations (Sassen 2005). As a consequence of globalization and the development of global cities and networks, the level of international immigration has been increasing, too, in the last decades. The growing number of world immigrants has raised the plurality of different cultures in global cities (as well as in the global city of Toronto), inspiring in such cities a “multicultural nature” (Hawkins 2006).
- Topic:
- Civil Society and Globalization
- Political Geography:
- Canada
496. Correcting Course: Victims and the Justice and Peace Law in Colombia - Latin America Report N°29
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The more than 155,000 victims of Colombia's conflict registered to date with the attorney general's Justice and Peace Unit (JPU) – mostly those who suffered from the paramilitaries – are mainly onlookers to, not actors in, a lagging transitional justice process. Over three years after passage, implementation of the Justice and Peace Law (JPL) is stymied by the relative disinterest in promoting victims' rights of the Uribe government and much of political and civil society. The problems are exacerbated by serious operational and financial bottlenecks in the judicial process and assistance and reparations to victims, as well as the persistence of armed conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) insurgents and the emergence of new illegal armed groups (NIAGs) and paramilitary successors.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Civil Society, Government, Human Rights, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
497. The Russian World—Changing Meanings and Strategies
- Author:
- Valery Tishkov
- Publication Date:
- 08-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Gorbachev's liberalization brought the opening of Russia to the outside world and with it interest in and contact with the Russian 1 diaspora. After the dis- solution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the problem of the diaspora evolved quickly, when it was transformed into a political and even a humanitarian challenge.
- Topic:
- Civil Society and Government
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia
498. Salafism and Radical Politics in Postconflict Algeria
- Author:
- Amel Boubekeur
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Despite the repression of radical Islamist movements since 1992 and the promulgation of a National Reconciliation law in 1999 aimed at encouraging the repentance of jihadi fighters, Algeria is still subject to regular terrorist attacks. Rather than follow the 1990s model of Islamist parties that believed in politics, expressed themselves within the system, discussed the concept of democracy, and had the goal of building an Islamic State, the radical anti-state rhetoric in Algeria today finds its expression in movements that do not believe in working within the political system. These movements are Salafist in nature and include Jihadi Salafism, personified by the recently formed al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), and Da'wa Salafism, inspired by Saudi Wahhabism. These apolitical or anti-political Salafi trends are the result of the marginaliza-tion of political Salafists, mainly during the 1990s. They reveal the failure of participationist strategies among the moderate Islamist parties and their difficulties in mobilizing their base, a growing depoliticization among the new young Islamist generation, and the urgent need to reinvent pluralistic politics in a post-conflict Algeria.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Government, Islam, Politics, and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Algeria
499. Engaging the Darfur Diaspora for Peace
- Author:
- Susan Hayward
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- In partnership with Concordis International and the Preparatory Committee for the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC), USIP held a consultation with approximately30 members of the North American Darfur diaspora community from February 12-14, 2008.Representative of Darfur's constituencies, this group of Darfurians traveled to Washington, D.C. from throughout the U.S. and Canada in order to address a broad range of issues related to the conflict in their homeland. Through small-group brainstorming and plenary ession debates, the group developed a set of consensus recommendations aimed at creating the conditions necessary for a sustainable safe and secure environment to prevail in the troubled region.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Civil Society, and Development
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, and Canada
500. Tocqueville, Comparative History and Immigration in Two Democracies
- Author:
- Nancy L. Green
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Tocqueville says nothing about immigrants in America. Neither “immigré(s),” “immigration” or the word “immigrant(s)” appear in De la démocratie en Amérique. This is hardly surprising, for two reasons: the word and the reality, that is, the French language and the American context. In Tocqueville's native tongue, the term is absent in the 1835 (6th) edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie française. The term émigration was for years the French word of choice to describe those who had changed countries. (Émigrés of course retained its more restrictive meaning, referring to those who fled the Revolution.)
- Topic:
- Civil Society and Migration
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and France