Italy’s Refugee Burden and the Role of the EU in Asylum Cases

Italy\u27s unique geographic location at the coast of the Mediteranean Sea gives much opportunity for the international community to criticize its dealings with asylum seekers crossing the body of water to enter Europe. The UNHCR reported that as of October 2014, 165,000 asylum seekers had taken dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea; of those 165,000 people, Italy received 140,000

The Carbon Rush: The Truth Behind the Carbon Market Smokescreen edited by Amy Miller

Michael Classens reviews The Carbon Rush: The Truth Behind the Carbon Market Smokescreen, edited by Amy Miller

Strategies for Engaging in International Librarianship: Misconceptions and Opportunities

Higher education institutions are increasingly formalizing internationalization priorities into their strategic plans. As a result library and information science (LIS) programs are beginning to encourage the inclusion of more international perspectives in student experiences. One means of doing so is by drawing upon international librarianship (IL), an LIS field of study since the 1950s. However, IL is a relatively small field that is not understood well. In order for IL to be studied, practiced, and funded in ways that are appropriate to its potential, this essay revisits the concept of IL, discusses some of its misconceptions, and advocates for more intentional, reciprocal, and reflective applications. It is also argued that IL praxis should be coupled with critical theorist (or critical librarian) values, in order to achieve the most balanced relationships

The Role of Islamist Political Parties In Tunisia and Egypt in the Wake of the Arab Spring

The Arab Spring, with a call for a more democratic system of governance, was a phenomenon that will continue to shape the political and social spheres of the Arab world for generations to come. This paper focuses on answering the question of to what extent Islamist political parties, having recently won majorities within the preliminary governments in the two countries, will use an ever-changing Islam religion within the formation of their fledgling governments and constitutions

Crise d\u27Identite : The Push to Preserve National Identity in France

In 2010, France\u27s President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a Maison de l \u27histoire de fa France, a heritage museum, as reporters began calling it, to be opened in Paris in 2015. President Sarkozy\u27s speechwriter on issues of national identity has cast the museum as an answer to France\u27s identity crisis .\u27 The project\u27s aim, as President Sarkozy has articulated it, is to reinforce national identity, warning as well, It is always dangerous to forget your history.t It is exactly this fear, the fear of forgetting France\u27s rich history, which has spurred controversy and upheaval within the French republic. The extent to which President Sarkozy\u27s proposal has struck a nerve in the French population is evidenced by the extensive protest against the Maison, notably from the academic sphere. Several historians signed letters that were published in Le Monde, speaking against this promotion of official history and its propagation as a political tool. One letter points specifically to the creation and promotion of national identity as problematic to academic historical pursuits. The letter states, Si l\u27echelle privilegiee est celle d\u27une France rabougrie, c\u27est, en consequence, moins le resultat d\u27une reflexion pedagogique, savante et critique que de la mise en place d\u27un projet fonde sur la peur de l\u27autre et que Ie pouvoir exprime dans un mouvement de repli sur soi.,,3 For the historians who signed this letter, the national identity to be promoted by this museum would represent less a celebration of French history and more the assertion of a French identity that diminishes the multitude of different histories that compose an increasingly diverse national identity. Addressing exactly this concern, immigrant organizations have also staged protests throughout Paris, denouncing the propagation of an official French history that they argue fails to incorporate their stories, often with roots in countries beyond France, into the mosaic of French national history. The problem with the proposed museum, from their perspectives, is the legitimization of a singular national history, one that implies a definitive version of the history that defines France, and French citizens, in the past and as they exist today

Book Review: Fragile States

In an era when good governance features prominently on the global development agenda, there seems to be a corollary spotlight on state fragility. In this book - a quick read that covers much ground - the authors wade into the conceptual waters of state fragility with the following aims: (i) sketching more clearly its conceptual parameters, including its core characteristics; (ii) dissecting its connection to violent conflict; (iii) analyzing the role that international society has played in relation to fragile statehood; and (iv) laying out two proposals for tackling its intractability. These analyses are conducted through the prism of three case studies: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Afghanistan, and Haiti. [excerpt

Political Religiosity and Gender Inequality Within the Arab World

Typically, stories of gender inequality in the Arab World points towards Islam as a major contributing factor. The research question of this project is: what is the cause of the gender inequality and lack of women’s rights in Arab countries? I hypothesized that the level of political religiosity of Arab countries is directly linked to gender inequality. The dependent variable for my research project is gender inequality, and the independent variable is political religiosity. My hypothesis was tested by rating and ranking countries in terms of political religiosity and gender inequality and comparing these two data sets graphically. According to the data, the hypothesis was unsupported. The graphs indicate that political religiosity and gender inequality are not linked. This indicates that other factors need to be investigated as a cause of gender inequality within the Arab World, and any effort to reduce that inequality should incorporate other factors such as culture and tradition