Legality, Criminality and Agency Beyond the State: Forest Governance, Illegal Logging and Associated Trade

This paper examines the disconnect between the literature on and practice of legality verification (LV) in the forest sector and what would seem to be a logical extension into the literature on and responses to forest crime and, more specifically, transnational criminality associated with the trade in illegally logged timber. The apparently logical overlap between these two areas of endeavour arises because both are dealing with aspects of supply chains or chains of custody involving raw timber, forest products or timber products more generally. The disconnect, I suggest here, arises because of a lack of ‘joined up thinking’ between the two themes that are central to forest law enforcement and governance (FLEG) -- that is, enforcement on the one hand and governance on the other. The former is frequently perceived to be relevant mainly to issues of criminality and the development of coercive responses by the state, the latter to normative standards and rules for defining legality and implementing verification in which actors other than the state have assumed a substantial role. The second purpose of this paper, then, is to explore the role of \u27agents beyond the state\u27 in the spaces of transnational legality verification and forest law enforcement. It does so as an initial response to the call from Biermann et al \u27to document these various forms of governance through which actors exercise agency [beyond the state] and … to better understand the conditions for the emergence of agency at different levels and within different architectures

Legality, criminality and agency beyond the state: forest governance, illegal logging and associated trade

This paper examines the disconnect between the literature on and practice of legality verification (LV) in the forest sector and what would seem to be a logical extension into the literature on and responses to forest crime and, more specifically, transnational criminality associated with trade in illegally logged timber. The apparently logical overlap between these two areas of endeavour arises because both are dealing with aspects of supply chains or chains of custody involving raw timber, forest products or timber products more generally. The disconnect, I suggest here, arises because of a lack of \u27joined up thinking\u27 between the two themes that are central to forest law enforcement and governance (FLEG) - that is, enforcement on the one hand and governance on the other. The former is frequently perceived to be relevant mainly to issues of criminality and the development of coercive responses by the state, the latter to normative standards and rules for defining legality and implementing verification in which actors other than the state have assumed a substantial role. The second purpose of this paper, then, is to explore the role of \u27agents beyond the state\u27 in the spaces of transnational legality verification and forest law enforcement. It does so as an initial response to the call from Biermann et al \u27to document these various forms of governance through which actors exercise agency [beyond the state] and ... to better understand the conditions for the emergence of agency at different levels and within different architectures.\u2

Global environmental (in)equity and the cosmopolitan project

This paper examines the relationship between economic globalisation and environmental inequity which is defined in terms of transnational harm and injustice. It argues that globalisation has been neither normatively neutral nor materially benign in its environmental consequences. The global politics of the environment has therefore come to be characterised by inequities in the use of resources and production of waste, in environmental impact, and in access to the structures of environmental governance at a local and global level. In effect, the lives of others-beyond-borders are shaped without their participation or consent. Drawing on cosmopolitanism as an ethical and political practice suggests that at least three conditions are essential for an equitable and just form of global environmental governance: recognition of equal moral obligation across borders, compensatory burden-sharing and a politics of consent. However, actual global practice on the environment has fallen short on each, complicated and compromised by uncertainty over the role of the state as moral agent in a globalised world

Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences during an Annual Performance and Development Cycle

In this study, the perceptions and experiences of eighteen teachers across three primary schools in Victoria, Australia, were examined as they participated in an annual performance and development cycle, guided by the Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework. The study sought to investigate teachers’ experiences and perceptions of the cycle to understand the aspects perceived as valuable to these teachers. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were held with teachers at the beginning and end of each school’s annual performance and development cycle, and responses were thematically analysed. Findings suggest that school leaders perform a critical role in the success of performance and development processes, and cultivating a culture of learning and development with a focus on individual and collective improvement helped teachers feel connected to these processes and empowered as learners. The findings of this study have implications for the individual and collective nature of performance and development. Based on research and findings, a five-step model is proposed to support the design and implementation of meaningful teacher performance and development processes

Reviews

Technology‐based Learning Environments: Psychological and Educational Foundations edited by S. Vosniadou, E. De Corte and H. Mandl, volume 137 in NATO ASI Series F (Computer and Systems Sciences), Berlin, Springer‐Verlag, ISBN: 0–387–58253–3, 1994

Legality, Criminality and Agency Beyond the State: Forest Governance, Illegal Logging and Associated Trade

This paper examines the disconnect between the literature on and practice of legality verification (LV) in the forest sector and what would seem to be a logical extension into the literature on and responses to forest crime and, more specifically, transnational criminality associated with the trade in illegally logged timber. The apparently logical overlap between these two areas of endeavour arises because both are dealing with aspects of supply chains or chains of custody involving raw timber, forest products or timber products more generally. The disconnect, I suggest here, arises because of a lack of "joined up thinking" between the two themes that are central to forest law enforcement and governance (FLEG) -- that is, enforcement on the one hand and governance on the other. The former is frequently perceived to be relevant mainly to issues of criminality and the development of coercive responses by the state, the latter to normative standards and rules for defining legality and implementing verification in which actors other than the state have assumed a substantial role. The second purpose of this paper, then, is to explore the role of 'agents beyond the state' in the spaces of transnational legality verification and forest law enforcement. It does so as an initial response to the call from Biermann et al 'to document these various forms of governance through which actors exercise agency [beyond the state] and... to better understand the conditions for the emergence of agency at different levels and within different architectures.This report was commisioned by Osgoode Hall Law School of York Universit

The politics of the Antarctic : a case study of the environment in international relations

This thesis does three things. It describes and analyses the progress of environmental politics in the Antarctic. In doing so, it contributes to a wider research agenda on the environment as an issue in international relations. Finally, it explores questions in international relations theory about the nature of cooperation and change in the international system. The case study of environmental politics in the Antarctic Treaty system focusses attention on the systemic issues of the adequacy of interstate practices on the management of the environment, the need for new thinking on international cooperation and the role of non-state actors (particularly environmental organisations and the scientific community). Traditional realist theory, with its state-centric assumptions, is poorly placed to generate propositions which enable these major themes to be investigated. This thesis therefore employs an analytical framework grounded in the liberal institutionalist tradition of international relations theory. This thesis argues that two dimensions of a regime are important in judging the adequacy of state practice on environmental issues: the prevailing hierarchy of values on security and the environment and the relative weight given to sovereignty or interdependence norms. The Antarctic regime, based on the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, was constructed as a security regime to avoid conflict over competing territorial claims and to avoid tension between the superpowers in the Antarctic. Yet it was increasingly required to function as an environmental protection regime - a purpose for which it was not designed. The hierarchy of values in this regime privileged political (and security) concerns over environmental ones. Sovereignty norms dominated. Thus the process of decisionmaking on environmental issues was, in the final analysis, flawed. The network of environmental rules and procedures adopted was ad hoc, disaggregated and increasingly unwieldy. Implementation of those rules was poorly monitored. The increasing asymmetry between the normative political values of the Treaty system and the demands for comprehensive environmental protection were most in evidence in the debates surrounding minerals activity in the Antarctic. The particular focus of the case study, in its examination of environmental politics in the Antarctic, is the negotiation and subsequent overturning of the Minerals Convention and the negotiation of a qualitatively different agreement in the Madrid Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty. This process of radical change can be analysed in the context of a reordering of the hierarchy of values and a move away from sovereignty norms towards interdependence norms. Non-governmental environmental organisations are a key dimension in mobilising this change. Because they focus critical attention on inter-state environmental practice and, in doing so, bring new values and ideas to the debate, their role needs to find an appropriate place both in the empirical analysis of the Antarctic regime, and in the wider theories of regime-making and change in international relations

The Future of Public Administration, Teaching and Research in the North East

The North East has five universities: Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Teeside and Sunderland as well as over twenty colleges. The five universities in the region employ over 14,000 staff and generate another 15,000 jobs through their activities (Universities UK 2014). In total their activities generate Gross Value Added (GVA) of nearly £1.6 billion, equivalent to 3.8% of the total 2011 North East GVA (ibid 2014). This is higher than in any other region of England meaning that any threat to the UK university sector represents a disproportionately greater threat to the North-East economy. This chapter will look specifically at the opportunities and threats for teaching and research of public administration within the North East as a consequence of Brexit. Potential threats include the impact of any reduction in European funding (particularly research funding); reduction in the number of European students and reduction in the number of European staff working at universities in the North East. It is also noted that any wider economic uncertainty caused by Brexit may lead to further reductions in government spending. At the same time there may be opportunities that arise for public administration teaching as a consequence of Brexit. For example, any change in the status of the UK in Europe may lead to calls for a greater regional focus in England. There may also be a greater need for public policy and administration at all levels – national, regional and local – which would require significant development of staff across all areas of public services. The need for widespread workforce development would be heightened by any reduction in European staff working in UK public service organisations. The chapter concludes by making the case for greater collaboration in teaching and research across UK and European universities and notes that, irrespective of the final result of Brexit, pan-European research and teaching of public administration seems needed now more than ever. Northumbria University has a unique place within the North-East region as a centre of expertise in public administration and public leadership, to address these threats and respond to any opportunities

Intersectionality Research for Transgender Health Justice: A Theory-Driven Conceptual Framework for Structural Analysis of Transgender Health Inequities

Transgender people experience intersecting forms of social marginalization and are disproportionately affected by health inequities. We elucidate a novel conceptual framework for transgender health research that theorizes the constructs and pathways through which social inequities produce health inequities for transgender populations. Drawing on theories of intersectionality and structural injustice, Intersectionality Research for Transgender Health Justice (IRTHJ) posits that social and health inequities affecting transgender populations are the result of status quo power relations produced within and between oppressive structures, institutional systems, and socio-structural processes. The IRTHJ framework delineates three main actions for improving transgender health research: (i) name intersecting power relations, (ii) disrupt the status quo, and (iii) center embodied knowledge. The authors show how IRTHJ provides tools for researchers to transform the design, implementation, and interpretation of transgender health research, and they discuss implications for programs, policy, and action for transgender health justice