Religious actors as epistemic communities in conflict transformation: the cases of South Africa and Northern Ireland

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 929-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
NUKHET AHU SANDAL
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Epistemic Community ◽  
Epistemic Communities ◽  
Scientific Communities ◽  
Shared Set ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
Religious Actors ◽  
Shared Norms ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractWith the increasing influence of theocrats and other religious actors on policymakers and masses, recognising the agency of the clergy is crucial. This article uses the ‘epistemic communities’ framework to place the religious ‘agents’ in contemporary politics and it shows how hermeneutics can be treated as a form of ‘episteme’. Until recently, this framework has been used to explain how scientific communities affect policymaking. Using the cases of South Africa and Northern Ireland, this article claims that religious actors, especially with their shared set of normative and principled beliefs as well as shared norms of validity, also meet the requirements of the epistemic community category. The employment of this established IR framework in theorising religious politics has the potential to shed light not only on peacebuilding and mediation, but also violent movements and terrorist organisations that use religion as justification.

scholarly journals The Limits of Epistemic Communities: EU Security Agencies

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai'a K. Davis Cross
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Management ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Epistemic Community ◽  
Epistemic Communities ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Intelligence Analysis ◽  
High Level ◽  
European Defence Agency ◽  
Shed Light

This article examines the cases of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and EU Intelligence Analysis Centre (IntCen) to argue that although they are comprised of high-level security experts, they do not constitute epistemic communities. Research on other groups of security experts based in Brussels has shown that epistemic communities of diplomats, military experts, security researchers, and civilian crisis management experts, among others, have been able to influence the trajectory of security integration by virtue of their shared knowledge. Importantly, these security epistemic communities have been shown to significantly impact outcomes of EU security policy beyond what would be expected by looking only at member-states’ initial preferences. In exploring two examples of “non-cases” that are at the same time very similar to the other examples, the author seeks to shed light on why some expert groups do not form epistemic communities, and how this changes the nature of their influence. In so doing, the goal is to sharpen the parameters of what constitutes epistemic communities, and to add to our understanding of why they emerge. The argument advanced in this article is that institutional context and the nature of the profession matter as preconditions for epistemic community emergence.

Occupational Control in Education: The Logic and Leverage of Epistemic Communities

2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua L. Glazer ◽  
Donald J. Peurach
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
State Standards ◽  
Epistemic Community ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Epistemic Communities ◽  
Shared Set ◽  
Educational Professionals ◽  
Improving Instruction ◽  
Charter School Movement

Most current approaches to improving teaching and learning in American public schools rely on either market pressures or bureaucratic controls to leverage performance. In this article, however, authors Joshua Glazer and Donald Peurach examine occupational control as a third approach, whereby the internalization of norms, technical language, and practices among educational professionals drives coordination and knowledge generation and supports the implementation of ambitious instruction. To investigate the dynamics of occupational control, they use the concept of epistemic community to identify the mechanisms that unite practitioners into a community of practice extending beyond the borders of local work environments. They argue that underlying this is a shared set of theory, codes, and tools that govern interpretation and practice and, in their interaction, facilitate the continuous generation of knowledge. Illustrating the utility of this framework are two examples of school networks that employ the principles and mechanisms of an epistemic community and that can be interpreted as systems of occupational control. The authors conclude by arguing that the development of educational epistemic communities is critical to the success of current approaches to improving instruction in schools, most notably the Common Core State Standards and the charter school movement.

Normative Influences on Intergroup Attitudes in Northern Ireland and South Africa

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diala R. Hawi ◽  
Linda R. Tropp ◽  
David A. Butz ◽  
Mirona A. Gheorghiu ◽  
Alexandra M. Zetes
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Intergroup Attitudes ◽  
Normative Influences

Free Expression and Judicial Power in Colombia, India, and South Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Sandra Botero ◽  
Rachel Ellett ◽  
Thomas M. Keck ◽  
Stephan Stohler
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Judicial Power ◽  
Free Expression ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Judicial Authority ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract The growth of judicial power globally has renewed scholarly debates about who benefits from increased judicial authority. Using original data, we examine the full universe of constitutional free expression decisions issued by three apex courts—in Colombia, India, and South Africa—across three categories of disputes that feature a diverse array of rights claimants. By so doing, we shed light on the limits of elite-driven accounts of judicial empowerment. We find that even where constitutional courts are empowered by elites seeking to advance their own interests, activist courts can develop a practice of rights-protection that benefits a diverse range of less powerful actors. Moreover, regardless of whether the speech claimants are elite or non-elite actors, these three apex courts regularly rule in favor of free expression for dissenting or unorthodox speech acts. In sum, where issues are peripheral to the governing regime’s core interests, relatively powerless actors are sometimes able to use legal processes to advance their rights and interests.

Claviceps purpurea. [Distribution map].

1973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
South America ◽  
Uttar Pradesh ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Claviceps Purpurea ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
New Distribution

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Claviceps purpurea (Fr.). Tul. Hosts: Rye (Seale cereale), other cereals and Gramineae. Information is given on the geographical distribution in AFRICA, Algeria, Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Rhodesia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, ASIA, China, India (Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madras, Mysore), Iran, Israel, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Philippines, Turkey, USSR (Siberia), AUSTRALASIA & OCEANIA, Australia, New Zealand, EUROPE, Austria, Belgium, Britain and Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Faroes, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irish Republic, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USSR (general), Yugoslavia, NORTH AMERICA, Canada (general), Mexico, USA, SOUTH AMERICA, Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Chile, Colombia, Peru, Tristan da Cunha, Uruguay.

Pyrenophora avenae. [Distribution map].

1976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
North America ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
South America ◽  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Far East ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
New Distribution

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Pyrenophora avenae Ito & Kuribay. Hosts: Oats (Avena). Information is given on the geographical distribution in AFRICA, Angola, Egypt, Kenya, Malagasy Republic, Morocco, South Africa, ASIA, China (Kiangsu), India, Israel, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Taiwan, Turkey, USSR (Soviet Far East, Tashkent, Tomsk), AUSTRALASIA & OCEANIA, Australia, New Zealand, EUROPE, Austria, Britain & Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Irish Republic, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, USSR (Latvia) (Byelorussia), NORTH AMERICA, Canada (general), USA (general), SOUTH AMERICA, Argentina (Buenos Aires), Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala.

Ascochyta pisi. [Distribution map].

1971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Central America ◽  
West Indies ◽  
Broad Bean ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
Ascochyta Pisi ◽  
New Distribution

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Ascochyta pisi Lib. Hosts: Pea (Pisum sativum), broad bean (Vicia faba), lucerne (Medicago sativa), etc. Information is given on the geographical distribution in AFRICA, Angola, Ethiopia, Congo, Canary Islands, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Rhodesia, South Africa, Tanzania (Tanganyika), Uganda, Zambia, ASIA, Afghanistan, Ceylon, China (Yunnan) (general incl. Kwangsi, Kiangsu), Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Taiwan (Formosa), Turkey, USSR (Armenia) (Caucasus) (Tashkent) (Kazakhstan) (Kirghizistan), AUSTRALASIA & OCEANIA, Australia, New Zealand, Papua & New Guinea, EUROPE, Austria, Belgium, Britain & Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Irish Republic, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USSR (general with hosts), Yugoslavia, NORTH AMERICA, Bermuda, Canada (general), Mexico, United States (general incl. Alaska), CENTRAL AMERICA & WEST INDIES, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, SOUTH AMERICA, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil (Espirito Santo, Minas Gerae, Pernambuco), Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela.

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