Robyn Eckersley's elegant and eloquent argument concerning the limits of "ecological intervention" is constrained by the scope of what is included in her definition of environmental emergency, by what might be in need of protection, and also by what is conventionally understood by notions of intervention related to states and sovereign territory.
Though there is much to engage with throughout the article, I shall only focus on one small part of it: the viability of military or legal intervention, in cases that are tentatively described as "crimes against nature." This is due to the difficulties posed by a non-anthropocentric and non-instrumental approach.
Eckersley's arguments for pre-emptive ecological-humanitarian intervention and ecological defense are intriguing. However, the delicacy of these scenarios requires careful attention to the feasibility and overall benefits of the usage of military force in the prevention of crimes against nature.
Poverty eradication has been identified as the largest challenge facing international society in its quest for a peaceful, prosperous, and just world. Kokaz responds to this challenge by proposing a global poverty eradication principle.
In perpetuating and exacerbating restricted access to essential medicines, current trade-related intellectual property rules on medicines may violate core human rights to health and medicines. In this light, there should be serious questions about their necessity, and their justification should be critically assessed from the perspective of human rights standards.
This essay contributes to the debate on the precautionary principle in two ways: 1) it clarifies what is entailed by a mild formulation of the principle and 2) it identifies a number of misconceptions underlying some of its main criticisms.
With a new secretary-general now in charge and the memories of the bitter final years of his predecessor still vivid, a timely procession of books on the UN has been appearing to offer some fresh appraisals and insights into how things got this way and what, if anything, can be done.
Between 2002-2005, the UN University and the City University of Hong Kong organized a series of "dialogues" about the ethical challenges facing international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). The result is this fascinating and timely volume, which addresses not only human rights narrowly construed, but also humanitarian aid and development.
"Economic Justice in an Unfair World" is a stimulating, well-researched book combining economic analysis, political philosophy, and contemporary policy, all focused on one key question: What does one mean by economic justice in a world cut through by inequalities of income, bargaining power, and human poverty?
This passionate book is a powerful conceptual, empirical, and normative critique of Rational Choice theory by a former practitioner. Rational Choice, Taylor argues, is more than a simple style of analysis and approach to problem solving: it is a hegemonic orthodoxy that has subverted psyches, societies, and cultures.