Foreword

No abstract available

The new trans-national politics of LGBT human rights in the Commonwealth: what can UK NGOs learn from the global South?

How should struggles for decriminalisation, human rights and equality in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity be taken forward? The chapter discusses this issue in a context where the British Empire’s legal legacy of criminalisation persists in most Commonwealth states. The chapter examines contemporary relationships between activisms in Britain and in those states, in the context of colonialism, imperialism and sexual nationalisms. The new London-based transnational politics of decriminalisation is analysed, led by NGOs such as Kaleidoscope, Human Dignity Trust, Peter Tatchell Foundation and Stonewall - increasingly seeking influence through the Commonwealth. The chapter then compares findings from this analysis of UK-based NGOs to themes from the findings of previous cross-national comparative analysis of struggles in Commonwealth states, and hence argues that UK activists have much to learn from the Global South. For example, African activists have criticised moves to link LGBT human rights to British development aid. Caribbean activists emphasise that regional international strategising existed prior to London-based transnational legal interventions; and the Voices Against 377 coalition in India suggests much to learn about innovative formation of alliances among social movements. The chapter thus presents a critical analysis of the new London-based transnational politics of LGBT human rights

Documentary film and ethical foodscapes : three takes on Caribbean sugar

This article demonstrates how certain stories, voices and values around agro-food networks can be made powerful by documentary film. Our central argument is that documentaries mobilize ethics by presenting a partial and affective account of their subject matter, which makes their audience feel differently about the social relations that underpin the production of food and acts as a focal point for media scrutiny and political interventions. We focus attention on three documentaries about Caribbean sugar to explore multiple and disparate ethical claims made about the farmers, workers and communities that embody Caribbean sugar industries. Through a comparison of the three documentaries, we chart how the production and distribution of these films have entailed quite different ethical narratives, encounters and interventions. A key finding is that the context in which films are received is just as important as the content they deliver. The paper concludes with a guarded endorsement for using documentary film to transform the unequal life conditions experienced in the global food system, stressing the need for empirically-grounded critique of the context of documentaries and suggesting the important role that geographers might play as interlocutors in their reception

LGBTI organizations navigating imperial contexts: the Kaleidoscope Trust, the Commonwealth and the need for a decolonizing, intersectional politics

This article presents the first sustained social analysis of the Kaleidoscope Trust, the UK's leading social movement organization on LGBTI issues internationally, and its engagement with the Commonwealth – particularly through forming The Commonwealth Equality Network, comprising national NGOs. A contribution is made to sociological and critical analysis of transnational LGBTI movements, through argument for a new analytical framework combining the sociology of human rights with a decolonizing, intersectional approach – beyond the division between optimistic theories extending Western LGBTI progressive politics, or pessimistic postcolonial queer analyses. To investigate organizations' strategies leading to the Malta 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the research utilizes sources of data including event observation and website sources, initiating analysis of online environments. The analysis deploys social movement theory to examine how and why Kaleidoscope selected the Commonwealth as a political opportunity structure to engage through strategies of framing and articulation of human rights. Invention of The Commonwealth Equality Network, shaped online and offline by imperial relations between core and periphery, is analysed via transnational public sphere and critical theories and argued to indicate a significant restructuring of global queer politics. It is contended that a consistently decolonizing and intersectional articulation of human rights is needed

Online Permaculture Resources: An Evaluation of a Selected Sample

As a newly-emerging, sustainable approach to landscape management, permaculture seeks to integrate knowledge from several disciplines into a holistic system with emphasis on ecological and social responsibility. Online resources on permaculture appear to represent a promising direction in the movement by supplementing existing printed sources, serving to update and diversify existing content, and increasing access to permaculture information and praxis among the general public. This study evaluated a sample of online resources on permaculture using a framework of parameters reflecting website usability and content quality. Best practice for website usability, as well as diversity of information and applicability, was addressed. The evaluation revealed, overall, good quality and usability in the majority of cases, and suggests a strong online presence among the existing permaculture community, and accessible support for those with an interest in joining the movement

The Garifuna of Belize: Strategies of Representation

This study considers representation within the media as a method of fostering a sense of community and identity among a group of people, as well as a strategy to achieve political and economic gains. The subject of this investigation is the Garifuna of Belize and the representation of their identity through various media outlets, including documentary film, websites, news articles, scholarly writing and trade books. Furthermore, this paper explores the development of these representations of the Garifuna as a strategy for improving the political and economic strength of the community

Foreword

No abstract available