Psychosocial support in emergency situations

In recent decades we have witnessed a growing number of major accidents and emergencies caused by natural hazards (floods, earthquakes, cyclones) and human factors (chemical and nuclear accidents, conflicts, terrorism). In such situations, people’s lives are fundamentally changed and accompanied by various social consequences: loss of loved ones, loss of control over one’s own life, loss of the sense of security, hope and initiative, social infrastructure, access to services and assets. Reactions may be various; shock, tears, anger, rage, a sense of hopelessness and an anxiety are just part of the whole range of unpleasant experiences. However, the intensity of the stress responses differs among individuals, but also communities, and thus the needs for interventions are different. The role of organizations dealing with the protection and rescue is to provide immediate assistance and protection, and also psychosocial assistance and support. The psychosocial support is the process of facilitating the recovery of individuals, family and communities from the effects of hazards and it plays a key role in the interventions at major accidents involving large number of victims. Psychosocial support means that in the approach to a person two dimensions are involved influencing each other mutually: psychological (inner, emotional and meditative processes, feelings and reactions of individual) and social (relationships with other people, family networks, social values and culture of the community). The third dimension involves the first responders. Stress can initiate the development of depression, depressive disorders, anxiety, professional burn-out, depersonalization, distress, emotional exhaustion and related mental health problems, as well as other indicators of psychological distress among members of rescue teams. Bearing in mind the importance of psychosocial programs of the nineties, their implementation is supported in many projects and it is proposed that the psychosocial care becomes an integral part of the emergency response of the public health care system

The impact of the EU on security sector reform in the Western Balkans

The thesis studies the impact of the EU on security sector reforms (SSR) in the Western Balkans with an aim to investigate recent changes in the security dynamics of the region. The study covers the period from 1991, which marks the break-up of Yugoslavia, to 2013, the year when the first Western Balkan state joined the EU. It investigates changes in the security situation in the Western Balkans on both regional and state levels. While the region as a whole has become much more secure and peaceful, compared to the 1990s, its separate states display varying degrees of stabilisation and development. By comparing the EU’s involvement in SSR in Croatia, Serbia and BiH, which in the studied period achieved a full membership, candidate status and potential candidate status respectively, the thesis aims to determine if these differences can be linked to EU policies. The work argues that between 1991 and 2013 the character of security interdependence between the Western Balkan states changed from negative to positive, and that the EU was one of the key actors behind this change. To explain this transformation, it uses Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT), that provides a comprehensive framework for analysing regional developments from the security point of view. The dissertation contributes to the study of the EU as a security actor and indicates the possibility of new applications of RSCT by examining the EU’s engagement with security sector reform and the evolution of security dynamics in the Western Balkans as the result of this engagement. It also extends the understanding of the effects and limitations of Europeanisation in states recovering from war and conflict

Full Issue V11N2

Table of ContentsCritical Analysis of the Educational Success of African Immigrants and African Americans in the United Statesby Regina J. Giraldo-García and Joshua G. Bagaka’s Sustainability Practices of Multinational Enterprises in Developing Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Coca-Cola and PepsiCoby Hope Torkornoo and Komla Dzigbede The Sacred Forest and the Mythical Python: Ecology, Conservation, and Sustainability in Kom, Cameroon, c. 1700-2000by Walter Gam Nkwi Usage of Green Spaces at the University of Cape Coast by Non-African Foreign Studentsby Yaw Asamoah, Ishmael Mensah, Osman Adams, Paul Baidoo, Akosua B. Ameyaw-Akumfi, and Collins Adjei Mensah Increasing Population, Urbanization, and Climatic Factors in Lagos State, Nigeria: The Nexus and Implications on Water Demand and Supplyby Amidu Owolabi Ayeni Ethnicity, Religion, and Violence in Bosnia-Herzegovinaby Jusuf Salih From Revolution and Isolation to Cooperation: U.S.-Cuba Relations in the Context of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Actby Ngozi Caleb Kamal

Fostering entrepreneurship and economic growth: Pathways to economic resilience in Kosovo

This study examines economic resilience in the new born state of Kosovo. Resilience is an emerging concept, which has been employed to examine economic performance and responsiveness to exogenous shocks. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders in Kosovo, this paper contributes to the emergent literature on economic resilience by examining how policy seeks to improve resilience through entrepreneurial activity. The paper finds that entrepreneurship in Kosovo is integral to promoting the diversification and capacity building, by developing institutional arrangements to harness productive entrepreneurship and reduce informal economic activity. The paper concludes that restructuring in a post-war context is extremely challenging and requires long-term joined-up approaches, before drawing a series of recommendations concerning the wider policy implications of the study

The impact of migration on urban security and the quality of urban life

The paper analyzes the impact of migration on urbanization, that is, on urban security in major cities and the quality of urban life. Urbanization itself has its own positive and negative challenges. The positive challenges are most often associated with accelerated modernization of cities and their industrialization, economic development, democratization, im�proved quality of services, cultural development, education, etc. According to some unwritten rule, the quality of services in urban areas increases in proportion to the increase in the popula�tion. On the other hand, the large concentration of population in a small area highlights the dis�advantages that are a side segment of the urbanization and are most often related to security, i.e. to the so-called “urban security”. The shortfalls are associated with the increased occurrence of negative social deviations, poverty, increased crime rate, lack of drinking water, enormous soil, water and air pollution, concentration of large populations in a small area, vulnerability to terrorism, increased noise, scarce green areas, appearance of a specific microclimate, climate change, etc. This also leads to a division of the population living in neighborhoods, which are most often formed based on the economic power of the population and security. There are also poor neighborhoods that may be hotbeds of negative social deviations and are characterized by a lack of security of the population. This, in turn, requires the city authorities and the state to invest additional resources in finding mechanisms that will remove such shortfalls and allow the population greater equity and security. Urbanization is widely accepted by a large proportion of the population, but there is also strong resistance in part of the population that opposes modernization and urbanization and is attached to the traditional way of life in the rural areas. The paper aims to emphasize some of the benefits, but also some of the challenges that are a segment of the urbanization, that is, the migration of the population and urban security and the quality of life of the population

Women’s Perspectives on Human Security: Violence, Environment, and Sustainability

Violent conflict, climate change, and poverty present distinct threats to women worldwide. Importantly, women are leading the way creating and sharing sustainable solutions. Women’s security is a valuable analytical tool as well as a political agenda insofar as it addresses the specific problems affecting women’s ability to live dignified, free, and secure lives. First, this collection focuses on how conflict impacts women’s lives and well-being, including rape and gendered constructions of ethnicity, race, and religion. The book’s second section looks beyond the scope of large-scale violence to examine human security in terms of environmental policy, food, water, health, and economics. Multidisciplinary in scope, these essays from new and established contributors draw from gender studies, international relations, criminology, political science, economics, sociology, biological and ecological sciences, and planning.https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/1012/thumbnail.jp

Failed States and Fragile Societies: A New World Disorder?

Since the end of the Cold War, a new dynamic has arisen within the international system, one that does not conform to established notions of the state’s monopoly on war. In this changing environment, the global community must decide how to respond to the challenges posed to the state by military threats, political and economic decline, and social fragmentation. This insightful work considers the phenomenon of state failure and asks how the international community might better detect signs of state decay at an early stage and devise legally and politically legitimate responses. This collection of essays brings military and social historians into conversation with political and social scientists and former military officers. In case studies from the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Iraq, and Colombia, the distinguished contributors argue that early intervention to stabilize social, economic, and political systems offers the greatest promise, whereas military intervention at a later stage is both costlier and less likely to succeed. Contributors: David Carment, Yiagadeesen Samy, David Curp, Jonathan House, James Carter, Vanda Felbab-Brown, Robert Rotberg, and Ken Menkhaus.https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/1007/thumbnail.jp

Failed States and Fragile Societies

Since the end of the Cold War, a new dynamic has arisen within the international system, one that does not conform to established notions of the state’s monopoly on war. In this changing environment, the global community must decide how to respond to the challenges posed to the state by military threats, political and economic decline, and social fragmentation. This insightful work considers the phenomenon of state failure and asks how the international community might better detect signs of state decay at an early stage and devise legally and politically legitimate responses. This collection of essays brings military and social historians into conversation with political and social scientists and former military officers. In case studies from the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Iraq, and Colombia, the distinguished contributors argue that early intervention to stabilize social, economic, and political systems offers the greatest promise, whereas military intervention at a later stage is both costlier and less likely to succeed. Contributors: David Carment, Yiagadeesen Samy, David Curp, Jonathan House, James Carter, Vanda Felbab-Brown, Robert Rotberg, and Ken Menkhaus