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811. An Arendtian Critique of Deliberative Global Sphere Theory: 'Humanitarian' Violence and the Paradox of Founding

Author:
Patricia Owens
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International Studies, University of Southern California
Abstract:
The language of the 'public sphere' is foundational to democratic theory and practice and most of our activity is oriented toward some form of public. As subject and object of democracy, the notion of a 'public' is a discursive weapon second only to the 'people' as the political honorific par excellence. Definitions of the public sphere vary, however, not least because different topographical locations and fields of activity are public in different times and places; publics are constituted through a variety of media (face-to-face, print, and electronic encounters); and there are various modes in which one can participate in public discourse and action (liberal, deliberative, agonistic). Most straightforwardly, 'public spheres' organise relations among strangers. They are the places in which people talk or read about their common affairs.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Government, and International Law

812. Justice and Order

Author:
Richard Ned Lebow
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International Studies, University of Southern California
Abstract:
Order is the proper starting point of the study of politics. Social order sustains political activity and makes it necessary. It provides the cement that binds people together in a community, but the very social proximity this allows breeds conflicts that require authoritative resolution. It is with good reason that Aristotle opens his Politics with the assertion that “Every state is a community of some kind.”
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Government, and International Law

813. CERI: The socio-political effects of forced migrations linked tomajor hydraulic projects in China. The example of the Three Gorges dam.

Author:
Florence Padovani
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
The study of the population movements caused by the major Chinese hydraulic projects reveals the true extent of the change which has come about in relations between the State and society in China. The construction of the Three Gorges dam-which led to considerable controversy both within China and beyond - is a prime case in point.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:
China and Asia

814. Latin America and Caribbean Security Network Symposium

Author:
Chris Ferguson
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
The Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR) has a single strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean with the goal of strengthening civil society networks in and between the two regions. We hope to help civil society and its representative organisations foster a more informed and holistic approach to human security. This goal includes building improved channels of communication between civil society networks and regional policy makers, such as the Organisation of American States (OAS) and Caribbean Community (CARICOM), to help incorporate greater input from civil society into their agendas.
Topic:
Security and Civil Society
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Caribbean

815. Security And Development: Assessing International Policy And Practice Since The 1990s (GFN-SSR Report of the Conference)

Author:
Ann M. Fitz-Gerald
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
This conference launches IPA's new research program entitled 'Strengthening the Security-Development Nexus: Conflict, Peace and Development in the 21st Century'. Focusing primarily on the role of international actors in conflict prevention, conflict management and post-conflict reconstruction, the conference aims to: a) examine advances that have been made in linking the UN's Agendas for Peace and for Development in the 1990s; b) highlight the challenges faced by the security and development communities in moving towards a shared 'peacebuilding' agenda; c) identify the difficult political, institutional, operational and policy challenges facing practitioners, policymakers and researchers in the changed international environment of the early 21st century. The conference will seek to integrate gender considerations into each of its substantive panels.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Development, Peace Studies, and United Nations

816. The Liberal Arts at Home and at Work

Author:
Pauline Yu
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues
Abstract:
How many of you have had the experience of touring an older industrial city, perhaps in the company of a local booster keen to describe the city's glorious past, exhibit its vibrant present, and sketch its exciting future? You're likely to have been shown the redeveloped business district, with some gleaming skyscrapers, transportation hubs, and commercial redevelopment. Much would have been made of the "world-class," "cutting-edge," and "competitive" facilities businesses could find there.
Topic:
Civil Society, Education, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

817. Strengthening International Arms Control/Disarmament Regimes and the Democratic Oversight and Reform of the Security Sector

Author:
Philipp H. Fluri
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The effort to universally promote and apply multilateral disarmament and arms control treaties requires public understanding of the contribution of such treaties to international security. All too often specialized knowledge of disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation treaties remains concentrated with the executive and a few specialized departments of the Ministries of Defense or Foreign Affairs: whilst parliamentarians and the public remain largely ignorant about them. However, without either comprehensively informed and committed parliamentary oversight and guidance, or scrutiny by an empowered civil society, arms control and disarmament treaties will neither be sufficiently understood nor successfully implemented.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Civil Society, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe

818. Watching the Watchdogs: The Role of the Media in Intelligence Oversight in Germany

Author:
Antje Fritz
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Free media and unhampered and impartial journalism are crucial elements of any democracy. Journalists provide the information which a society needs to debate current policies, public issues, societal threats, the potential failings of its institutions as well as necessary reforms. In so doing, journalism fulfils a major democratic function, which includes, as a crucial responsibility, the duty to make issues transparent and therefore to help citizens to gain information about and exert oversight of the state's executive bodies (Ward 2004). But even if those pre-conditions are satisfied, some societal areas, especially those which concern security related issues, tend to resist efforts to provide transparency and public oversight. This is especially the case when intelligence services and intelligence related issues are involved.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Germany

819. Democratic Control of Armed Forces in Military Interventions: A Challenge to Global Governance

Author:
Herbert Wulf
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Since the end of the Cold War, numerous developments have significantly changed the position of the armed forces. Firstly among these developments is the fact that the vast majority of wars are no longer fought between states. Rather, today's wars and violent conflicts tend to have mostly inner societal causes (Kaldor 2001). Additionally, the observation of present day realities, especially in big urban centres of the world, shows that more people die from the day-to-day exertion of criminal violence than from warrelated causes. Inner-societal insecurity and violent conflict sometimes leads to the international community turning to military means to control and pacify the areas concerned.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Democratization, and Government
Political Geography:
United Nations

820. Civil Society, Democracy and the Law

Author:
Ian Leigh
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
This paper first discusses the meaning of civil society and, in particular, its strengths and limitations. The second section considers what civil society can add to the representative democratic process. In the remaining sections, I discuss how civil society interacts with the law in a democratic state. There are two distinct aspects to this. Firstly, there are the legal and constitutional pre-conditions that allow civil society to flourish. These include issues about group autonomy, freedom of the press and of protest, including the place of civil disobedience. Secondly, there are the specific ways in which civil society can use the legal process to further its ends.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Democratization, and Government
Political Geography:
Europe