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51. Finding Common Ground: Intercultural Dialogue Among Youth in North Macedonia

Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Harriman Institute
Abstract:
Marija Krstevska will discuss her trajectory as a girl raised in a mono-ethnic environment to a young advocate for intercultural acceptance. She is the Secretary General of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue, a youth organization in Kumanovo, North Macedonia. Through that organization, she has created learning opportunities within non-formal education for diverse groups of learners, advocated for direct involvement in community decision-making, and supported youth participation through inclusive policies. She will discuss the importance of active citizenship, capacity building, and non-formal education in fostering intercultural dialogue among youth.
Topic:
Education, Culture, Youth, Activism, and Gender
Political Geography:
Europe and North Macedonia

52. Panel I: Deconstructing the Parallels between Holocaust Distortion and Genocide Denial

Author:
Tanya Domi, Laura Cohen, Riada Ašimović Akyol, Hikmet Karčić, James Smith, and Robert Williams
Publication Date:
04-2022
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Harriman Institute
Abstract:
Genocide denial not only abuses history, including contemporary history, but it also insults the survivors and extends the impact of the original crimes. Denial is the final act that never ends for the survivors. This symposium examines some of the parallels of contemporary genocide denial in the Balkans with increasing Holocaust denial and distortion sweeping across Europe. What can we learn from Holocaust experts and scholars that is applicable to the present? And what are some ways that memory activists resist denial of the most brutal crimes?
Topic:
Genocide, History, Holocaust, Memory, and Activism
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Balkans

53. Activist Research: How the All India Democratic Women’s Association Builds Knowledge to Change the World: An Interview with R. Chandra

Author:
R. Chandra and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:
Beginning in the 1960s, Tamil Nadu, a southern state in India with a population of 73 million, experienced an agrarian transformation. This process, brought on by the introduction of new technologies into farming, gave rise to new contradictions while at the same time sharpening the old ones in village society and had a marked impact on the politics of the entire state. During this period, these contradictions manifested in numerous incidents of organised atrocities against oppressed castes as well increased violence against women. In this context, a group of women activists in the communist movement in Tamil Nadu formed an organisation called Jananaayaga Madhar Sangam (‘Democratic Women’s Association’) in 1973 to address the specific nature of women’s exploitation and oppression. Eight years later, in 1981, Madhar Sangam joined a group of other left-wing women’s organisations from different Indian states to establish the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA). Leading a range of struggles to mobilise a broad section of women against gender and caste oppression and against class exploitation, AIDWA built a strong organisation that now has over 11 million members. One of AIDWA’s organisational strategies is ‘intersectoral organising’, which focuses campaigns on the specific issues of different sections of women (such as oppressed caste women or Muslim women) and then mobilises its members as well as other mass organisations into these campaigns.1 These struggles are not distinct from each other; together, they are united in building power for women’s emancipation. Such a multi-layered approach demands a continuously evolving understanding of realities on the ground and of the situation of women in all the complex intersections of society (such as caste hierarchies and religious differences). Regular and rigorous grassroots research by AIDWA has become a necessity to grasp these complexities and to better prepare AIDWA for its campaigns. In the 1990s, India’s neoliberal turn wreaked havoc among the working class and peasantry. Hunger and precariousness heightened social tensions along the hierarchies of caste, gender, and social identity (including religion). Surveys by AIDWA in this period revealed new fault lines in both the countryside and in cities. One of the leaders of AIDWA in Tamil Nadu, R. Chandra, developed many of the organisation’s surveys that looked at changes in the agrarian economy, at caste oppression, and at the specific impact of the rightward drift of Indian politics on Muslim women. During the years these surveys were carried out, R. Chandra served as a state committee member and joint secretary of AIDWA in Tamil Nadu as well as the district president of AIDWA in Tiruchirappalli. Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research spoke to R. Chandra about AIDWA’s surveys in particular and activist research in general.
Topic:
Communism, Social Movement, Women, Interview, and Activism
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

54. Civil Society and the Global Pandemic: Building Back Different?

Author:
Carnegie Civic Research Network
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, civic activists around the world have shifted into a higher gear. As Carnegie’s Civic Research Network analyzed last year, the gravity of the health emergency has pushed many civil society organizations (CSOs) to engage in new ways to help alleviate the pandemic’s impact.1 Sometimes they have done this in cooperation with governments, but other times they have acted on their own out of frustration at governments’ sluggish and inadequate responses to the emergency. At the same time, many activists have had to defend themselves as governments have used the pandemic as a pretext for further clamping down on independent civil society voices, under the cover of emergency laws passed to help manage the crisis. As civic activists grapple with the challenges of the pandemic, they are also turning their attention to the long term. It is clear that the pandemic will reshape economics, politics, and international relations, but it is not yet clear how. Many countries are undergoing major economic upheaval and are searching for new economic templates to overcome the damage they have experienced. On the political side, the pandemic has fueled authoritarian actions and damaged the credibility of many democratic governments. Post-pandemic political life will likely entail heightened struggles for democracy and a search for new democratic practices that more effectively meet citizens’ needs. With regard to geopolitics, the pandemic is contributing to still greater tensions between the world’s major powers. Because of these factors, the pandemic is likely to have a long-term impact on the nature of civil society worldwide. Civil society has already adapted to the coronavirus pandemic through the growth of self-help activism. Looking further ahead, civic actors are helping to spark a rethink of economic models. In the political sphere, at least some civic actors are engaging in efforts to revitalize democratic politics, including through new ideas on technology’s role in post-pandemic politics. Finally, civil society is being reshaped by geopolitical competition: some civil society actors are being pulled into the Chinese and Russian orbits, while others are more firmly resisting political encroachment by these powers. In an overarching sense, civic activists are juggling uneasily at present as they focus on the immediate challenges of the pandemic while also trying to fashion new economic, political, and geostrategic agendas for the period after the pandemic.2
Topic:
Civil Society, Politics, Economy, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Activism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

55. From Municipalist Activism to Institutional Changes: An Analysis of the Subnational Dimension in Mercosur (1995-2019)

Author:
Cairo Gabriel Borges Junqueira
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Contexto Internacional
Institution:
Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:
Mercosur has gone through distinct phases, leading to the articulation between a myriad of sectors, groups, and actors, among which subnational governments stand out. Local governments started this movement in 1995, with the foundation of the Mercosur Cities Network. In 2000, the Specialized Meeting of Municipalities and Intendencies (REMI) was created, replaced in the following years by the Mercosur Advisory Forum of Municipalities, States, Provinces, and Departments (FCCR), known for being the channel for subnational representation in the bloc. Drawing on bibliographic and document analysis, in addition to interviews and questionnaires, this article aims to analyze the internationalization and inclusion of subnational actors in Mercosur, mainly focusing on the changes observed over the years within these three institutions. The first section introduces the literature on paradiplomacy and deals specifically with Mercosur, seeking to verify how the regional agenda has been expanded, despite decision-making processes not being decentralized. The second and third sections analyse the origins of subnational integration through Mercocities alongside the development of REMI and FCCR. Considering the historical and institutional specificities of Mercosur, the research concludes by questioning the assumption of International Relations literature that regional blocs are potential arenas for effective internationalization of subnational governments.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, Governance, Subnationalism, and Activism
Political Geography:
South America

56. Queer Central Asian Activism

Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Harriman Institute
Abstract:
Please join us for a roundtable discussion on the current state of queer, feminist activism across Central Asia, with expert panelists who are on the frontlines of this fight for equality. Co-sponsored by RUSA LGBT and the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs.
Topic:
LGBT+, Identity, Queer Theory, and Activism
Political Geography:
Central Asia and Asia

57. Defending the Right to Health in Guatemala: Reflections of Two Indigenous Women on the Frontlines

Author:
Benilda Batzin, Paulina Culum, and Julia Fischer-Mackey
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Accountability Research Center (ARC), American University
Abstract:
The Guatemalan Constitution guarantees the right to health for all Guatemalans, but indigenous citizens face multiple barriers in accessing public health services. In addition to the transportation challenges and under-resourced facilities faced by rural communities around the world, indigenous Guatemalans face racial and linguistic discrimination and corrupt officials demanding fees for free public services. Two organizations that formed to combat these problems are the Center for the Study of Equity and Governance in Health Systems (Centro de Estudios para la Equidad y Gobernanza en los Sistemas de Salud, or CEGSS) and the Network of Community Defenders of the Right to Health (Red de Defensores y Defensoras Comunitarios por el Derecho a la Salud, or REDC-Salud). REDC-Salud volunteer health defenders educate citizens about their rights, provide accompaniment to patients, monitor health services, and advocate for health system improvements. The CEGSS team provides technical support and capacity building to REDC-Salud members and coordinates monitoring and advocacy at the municipal, departmental and national levels. In the following interview excerpts, Benilda Batzin of CEGSS and Paulina Culum of REDC-Salud describe how they work together to make government health systems more accountable to all citizens. Benilda and Paulina’s unique approach involves mobilizing established community leaders to engage on health access issues at multiple levels of government and forming alliances with groups including the national Human Rights Ombuds. As Maya Tz’utujil women from Sololá, Western Guatemala, Benilda and Paulina faced multiple barriers to civic participation and leadership. And yet, their commitment to bringing positive change to their communities have led them to initiate and join organizations and acquire new skills. Those skills and leadership qualities have been widely recognized and resulted in formal and informal opportunities to lead: Benilda was elected by her colleagues to become Executive Director of CEGSS and was invited to give testimony at the United Nations General Assembly; Paulina chairs her town’s Community Development Council, has served as the national chairperson for the Tz’utujil Women’s Organization and mentors young female activists. This Note highlights strategies and accomplishments of these leaders and their organizations while reminding us of the work yet to be done by activists and their allies to defend the rights of all Guatemalans.
Topic:
Women, Accountability, Indigenous, Public Health, Community Engagement, and Activism
Political Geography:
Central America and Guatemala

58. Factsheet: Mark Kevin Lloyd

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Mark Kevin Lloyd is a longtime Tea Party activist in Virginia who has a long track record of posting anti-Muslim and misogynist statements on social media. In May 2020 Lloyd was appointed the religious freedom adviser for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) under the administration of Donald Trump.
Topic:
Islamophobia, Donald Trump, USAID, Activism, Mark Kevin Lloyd, and Tea Party
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America