Imperialism, dependency, and social class

African Studies Center Working Paper No. 45INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this essay is to examine what has become known in the language of post-World War II social science as "dependency theory." Although all variants of this dependency theory are more or less nationalist and anti-imperialist, they are not uniformly socialist or Marxist. That is to say, many of those working within the broad category of dependency theory are not fundamentally anti-capitalist. Thus, they do not articulate a socialist program for breaking the constraints they see as being responsible for poverty, backwardness, stagnation, and underdevelopment. In the writings of these non-socialist or "bourgeois-nationalist" writers, the problem was seen merely as the domination of weaker economies by stronger ones. If this domination could be removed, so would be the economic backwardness that characterizes most of the Third World. The result would be capital accumulation and an independent, autonomous but nevertheless capitalist development. "Independent" or "autonomous" capitalist development should not be equated with some abstract notion of "absolute autarky." Absolute autarky is here understood to mean the complete severing of all economic links that any particular political-economic formation has that extend beyond its boundaries. It is, however, argued that some degree of autocthonous development is necessary if structural underdevelopment is to be overcome. [TRUNCATED

Aid or imperialism? West Germany in sub-Saharan Africa

African Studies Center Working Paper No. 6

The Identity of the Client—A Privileged Communication?

Baird v. Koerner, 279 F.2d 623 (9th Cir. 1960)

Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights

William F. Schulz is the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. This talk, delivered at Sacred Heart University on February 15, 2006, was sponsored by the John F. Welch College of Business and the Hersher Institute for Applied Ethics at Sacred Heart University

Dorothy Day\u27s Distributism and Her Vision for Catholic Politics

This dissertation is a study of Dorothy Day’s political ideas, her creation of the Catholic Worker movement, and her relationship with Distributism, the official socio-economic teaching of the Catholic Church. In order to fully understand Day’s views, it is necessary to review her intellectual development, and the foundational ideas and documents of Distributism. As is noted in the introduction, precious little scholarship has been done on Distributism, and few outside of Catholic academic circles are even aware of its existence. Beyond that, Day, herself, is not especially well-known, as existing scholarship tends to focus on either her early, Socialist activities and radicalism, or her later life at the Catholic Worker. Neither emphasis includes a sustained evaluation of her political and economic beliefs vis-à-vis Distributism. After review of her writings over the course of six decades of journalism and activism, it can be shown that Day’s Catholicism, her founding of the Catholic Worker, and her political vision centered around Distributism. This conclusion, alone, warrants a significant scholarly re-evaluation of Dorothy Day as a political thinker

The World Commission on Dams: then and now

On 16 November 2000, the World Commission on Dams (WCD) launched its final report in London, in the presence of Nelson Mandela. This event marked the conclusion of an unlikely process. WCD was composed of 12 eminent personalities whose mandate was to review the global evidence base on dams and development and make recommendations for best practices in dam planning, construction, operation, and decommissioning. They were activists, engineers, academics, and government officials covering a diverse range of perspectives on dams and development. Theirs was no simple task. The 1990s had seen tensions and conflicts around dams all around the world. The World Bank was a frequent target of campaigns against dams, whose reservoirs would submerge villages and flood indigenous territories, disrupt rural people’s livelihoods, and irreversibly modify riverine ecosystems. In a number of cases, these protests led to a review of projects, and even the withdrawal of World Bank support, as for example in the case of the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Indian Narmada River. In this context, uniting supporters and opponents of large dams to debate their differences in one commission seemed, at best, risky. Yet, Cape Town-based WCD did fulfil its mandate. Its report covered insights from an enormous number of studies conducted on its behalf, as well as from all kinds of stakeholders who had been consulted on all continents. WCD also made recommendations for best practice, which would mitigate negative social and environmental impacts and improve decision-making around large dams more broadly. To mark WCD’s 20th anniversary, we share here some insights from the FutureDAMS research with people who were part of WCD: former commissioners, staff, consultants, and observers of WCD. How do they remember WCD, and what impacts have they seen? Much has been said and written about WCD, but some lessons have become clearer over time

Ocean Surface Maps From Blending Disparate Data Through Normal Mode Analysis

Rapid environmental assessment is conducted using disparate data sources in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. An overview of significant physical features in the Gulf highlights the complexities of the large and meso-scale circulations. Spectral analysis of high resolution current meter and drifter data reveals the significant forcing features detectable by readily available observing techniques. These observations are combined with boundary data extracted from the U.S. Navy\u27s Modular Ocean Data Assimilation System (MODAS) through Normal Mode Analysis (NMA). The NMA blending process is described, and surface maps of velocity and convergence are produced. Using statistical and qualitative techniques, the NMA generated “nowcasts” are analyzed to determine the significant modes applicable to varying oceanographic situations. Fundamental guidance for choosing the number and type of modes in an REA scenario are noted. The NMA method proves to be a useful tool in constructing analytic surface maps when the component modes are wisely chosen

Walden’s New Journal! Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Walden University announces a change of name for its Journal of Social Change. The new name is the Journal of Sustainable Social Change and will focus more attention on both multi-level socio-economic and environmental systems and sustainability (defined as long-term quality of life