Is Security a Conversation-Stopper?

Security is a politically powerful concept. When someone claims that their security is threatened, it often feels as if we should stop talking and start acting. This is a mistake. The ambiguity of security requires us to ask: What goods do we want to secure? How much insecurity are we willing to tolerate? What other values are we willing to sacrifice in order to secure those goods? The invocation of security is just the beginning of the conversation

Academic freedom and the professional responsibilities of applied ethicists: a comment on Minerva

Academic freedom is an important good, but it comes with several responsibilities. In this commentary we seek to do two things. First, we argue against Francesca Minerva's view of academic freedom as presented in her article ‘New threats to academic freedom’ on a number of grounds. We reject the nature of the absolutist moral claim to free speech for academics implicit in the article; we reject the elitist role for academics as truth-seekers explicit in her view; and we reject a possible more moderate re-construction of her view based on the harm/offence distinction. Second, we identify some of the responsibilities of applied ethicists, and illustrate how they recommend against allowing for anonymous publication of research. Such a proposal points to the wider perils of a public discourse which eschews the calm and careful discussion of ideas

The limits of global health diplomacy: Taiwan’s observer status at the world health assembly

In 2009, health authorities from Taiwan (under the name “Chinese Taipei”) formally attended the 62nd World Health Assembly (WHA) of the World Health Organization as observers, marking the country’s participation for the first time since 1972. The long process of negotiating this breakthrough has been cited as an example of successful global health diplomacy. This paper analyses this negotiation process, drawing on government documents, formal representations from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and key informant interviews. The actors and their motivations, along with the forums, practices and outcomes of the negotiation process, are detailed. While it is argued that non-traditional diplomatic action was important in establishing the case for Taiwan’s inclusion at the WHA, traditional concerns regarding Taiwanese sovereignty and diplomatic representation ultimately played a decisive role. The persistent influence of these traditional diplomatic questions illustrates the limits of global health diplomacy