146 research outputs found
Global citizenship as the completion of cosmopolitanism
A conception of global citizenship should not be viewed as separate from, or synonymous with, the cosmopolitan moral orientation, but as a primary component of it. Global citizenship is fundamentally concerned with individual
moral requirements in the global frame. Such requirements, framed here as belonging to the category of individual cosmopolitanism, offer guidelines on right action in the context of global human community. They are complementary
to the principles of moral cosmopolitanism – those to be used in assessing the justice of global institutions and practices – that have been emphasised by cosmopolitan political theorists. Considering principles of individual and moral cosmopolitanism together can help to provide greater clarity concerning individual duties in the absence of fully global institutions, as well as clarity on individual obligations of justice in relation to emerging and still-developing trans-state institutions
The politics of global assessments: the case of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
The IAASTD – the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and
Technology for Development – which ran between 2003 and 2008, involving over
400 scientists worldwide, was an ambitious attempt to encourage local and global
debate on the future of agricultural science and technology. Responding to critiques
of top-down, northern-dominated expert assessments of the past, the IAASTD aimed
to be more inclusive and participatory in both design and process. But to what extent
did it meet these objectives? Did it genuinely allow alternative voices to be heard?
Did it create a new mode of engagement in global arenas? And what were the power
relations involved, creating what processes of inclusion and exclusion? These
questions are probed in an examination of the IAASTD process over five years,
involving a combination of interviews with key participants and review of available
documents. The paper focuses in particular on two areas of controversy – the use of
quantitative scenario modelling and the role of genetically-modified crops in
developing country agriculture. These highlight some of the knowledge contests
involved in the assessment and, in turn, illuminate four questions at the heart of
contemporary democratic theory and practice: how do processes of knowledge
framing occur; how do different practices and methodologies get deployed in crosscultural, global processes; how is ‘representation’ constructed and legitimised; and how, as a result, do collective understandings of global issues emerge? The paper
concludes that, in assessments of this sort, the politics of knowledge needs to be made
more explicit, and negotiations around politics and values, framings and perspectives,
need to be put centre-stage in assessment design.ESR
Hegel and global politics: communitarianism or cosmopolitanism?
This article discusses Hegel’s views on global politics by relating them to the ‘communitarianism versus cosmopolitanism’ debate. I distinguish between three different theoretical positions and three different readings of Hegel, which I associate with the notions of ‘communitarianism,’ ‘strong cosmopolitanism’ and ‘weak cosmopolitanism’ respectively. Contrary to a commonly held view that Hegel is not a cosmopolitan thinker at all, in any sense of the term, I argue that he is best thought of as a weak cosmopolitan thinker rather than a communitarian or a strong cosmopolitan advocate of the idea of a world-state. In passing, the article refers to the relationship which exists between Hegel’s ideas and those of three Twentieth Century theorists who might be associated with these theoretical positions and these different readings of Hegel, namely, Carl Schmitt, Alexandre Kojève and Jurgen Habermas. The article also refers to the methodological problems which are confronted by readers of Hegel’s writings who wish to apply his ideas to the problems of global politics today. Here I refer to a distinction which I have made elsewhere between different kinds of reading, namely the interpretation, appropriation and the reconstruction of texts, which is especially relevant for readers of the works of Hegel
The 'indigenous native peasant' trinity: imagining a plurinational community in Evo Morales's Bolivia
Over the last two decades Latin America has been a laboratory for the implementation of new models of state and citizenship. In Bolivia the (neo)liberal multicultural paradigm dominant in the 1990s has recently been replaced by a plurinational paradigm, which implies a deepening of the decentralization process and the strengthening of rights for traditionally marginalized social sectors. This paper describes the process of construction of a plurinational ‘imagined community’ and, in particular, of one of its core narratives: The ‘indigenous native peasant’. I argue that the negotiation of this collective identity and its inclusion as one of the core ideas in the new constitution is the result of a contingent strategy in response to a highly conflictive scenario, which has not been, however, able to trigger a change in the way people identify themselves. Yet in recent years, social movements’ identities have been shaped by centrifugal forces. These forces should be understood as the result of a process of collective actors’ adaptation to institutional and regulatory reforms and contribute to explaining the increase of new intrasocietal conflicts linked to the redefinition of citizenship and territorial boundaries
Citizenship Education and Liberalism: A State of the Debate Analysis 1990–2010
What kind of citizenship education, if any, should schools in liberal societies promote? And what ends is such education supposed to serve? Over the last decades a respectable body of literature has emerged to address these and related issues. In this state of the debate analysis we examine a sample of journal articles dealing with these very issues spanning a twenty-year period with the aim to analyse debate patterns and developments in the research field. We first carry out a qualitative analysis where we design a two-dimensional theoretical framework in order to systematise the various liberal debate positions, and make us able to study their justifications, internal tensions and engagements with other positions. In the ensuing quantitative leg of the study we carry out a quantitative bibliometric analysis where we weigh the importance of specific scholars. We finally discuss possible merits and flaws in the research field, as evidenced in and by the analysis
Schooling for conflict transformation : a case study from Northern Uganda
Civil wars impede progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. As many conflicts erupt within a short time, it is important to know what may increase the chances of sustainable peace. Access to education is a factor but relatively little is known about the contribution of what students learn in school. This thesis aims to respond to a research gap by addressing the foll owing question: 'How can schooling contribute to conflict transformation?'
Significant curricular approaches that may be used after civil war - peace education, human rights education and citizenship education - are assessed for their strengths and weaknesses. As no single approach is found to be sufficient for conflict transformation, a framework is proposed based on three fundamental concepts: (i) truth seeking; (ii) reconciliation; and (iii) inclusive citizenship.
This framework is examined through a qualitative case study of curriculum in seven schools in a district in northern Uganda that is emerging from a twenty-year civil war. The curriculum of four primary schools, two secondary schools, one special school and one teacher training college was studied over a three-month period. A structure of knowledge, skills and values was used to research the framework at a detailed level. It is found that schools exhibit good socialization of reconciliation values and some development of problem-solving and communication skills. There is some understanding of human rights, but little knowledge of history, or of local, national and international political/legal systems. There is minimal development of discussion and critical thinking skills.
It is argued that the framework can be used to investigate other schools and to inform the design of a curriculum that can contribute to conflict transformation, with the ultimate aim of reducing the risk of civil war re-eruption
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