Towards a Just World

1979 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajni Kothari
Keyword(s):  
Model Building ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Human Intervention ◽  
Just World ◽  
The West ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
The Status ◽  
Correct Understanding ◽  
Political Economic

If about 200 years ago history took a new turn (leading to the global domination - political, economic, cultural and ideological - of the West), it is now again ripe for a new turn (as the result of its unfolding). But the turn cannot be taken without human intervention any more than it was taken 200 years ago. Indeed, intervention is being actively made through various strategems by the beneficiaries, and therefore guardians, of the status quo. To counter this, the paper proposes the kind of intervention that will demolish the existing structures of in-built violence, inequity, domination and insensate exploitation both of vast sections of humanity and of nature, and pave the way for the emergence of a world that is humane and just, peaceful and secure, and one that ensures to all human entities no less than to individuals a livable life of dignity and freedom. A strategy for such intervention must needs be based on a correct understanding of the dialectic of the historical process to avoid the pitfall of utopian model-building, identify the forces wanting or needing and working for change, fuse them into a strong global coalition, and identify the points where interventions can be successfully made to bring about the desired change.

Peace in an Age of Transformation

1983 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-200
Author(s):  
Rajni Kothari
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
Just World ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Total Destruction ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
The Status ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Entire Network

This article seeks to cope with the fundamental problematique of our time which cuts across all the specific crises and challenges-Survival. It posits the thesis that human history is today poised on the threshold of yet another mutation, spanning the entire network of arrangement of human affairs-political, economic, social, cultural, ethnic, religious, ways of thinking and styles of living - right from the global to the grass-roots levels. It sees in the all-too-plain aborted promise of a bygone era for a continuously rising prosperity for all, in the quick succession of crises in both international and national affairs (each more severe and more intractable than the last), in the deep divisions and sharp polarizations (both between and within nations), in the ceaseless preparations for - and frequent eruptions of - war, and in the perpetually haunting fear of total destruction - symptoms of a sickness in the existing arrangements that can no longer be made to respond to analgesics and palliatives. On the other side, it sees in the pervasive discontent and unrest, in the endemic turbulences and turmoil, and in the slow but sustained initiatives for creating a just world - signals of a surge towards a fundamental transformation of the status quo, even though the signals are sporadic and episodic, and the surge inchoate and neither well conceived, well directed nor well coordinated. The greatest irony of the situation, the article notes, is that while the surge for transformation emanates from the peripheries, from societies believed to be traditional and doggedly resistant to change, and from people believed to have been suppressed into quiescence and passivity for good, the opposition to change (by various strategems, not excluding the threat of use, or actual use, of naked force) comes precisely from those who once prided themselves on their role as the powerful dynamo of change unprecedented in history. The article traces the developments leading to the present state of affairs in the historical perspective, and discusses the issue of peace and security in this context of emerging transformation. It sees peace neither as a function of the balance of terror and of mutual assured destruction put forward by nuclear strategists, nor as a consequence of proposals for disarmament put out by peace researchers, but as emerging out of struggles at creating structures that are, and are seen and felt to be, just and equitable, and that ensure the security of peoples and the survival of the human species, and of creation as a whole. It also attempts to provide a new pedagogy and methodology for such an approach to peace and survival.

scholarly journals Narrating technonatures: discourses of biotechnology in a neoliberal era

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 186
Author(s):  
Myles Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Political ◽  
Effective Strategy ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The Status ◽  
Political Economic

This article considers the role played by discourses of nature in structuring the cultural politics of anti-GMO activism. It argues that such discourses have been successful rhetorical tools for activists because they mobilize widely resonant nature-culture dualisms that separate the natural and human worlds. However, these discourses hold dubious political implications. In valorizing the natural as a source of essential truth, natural purity discourses fail to challenge how naturalizations have been used to legitimize sexist, racist and colonial systems of injustice and oppression. Rather, they revitalize the discursive purchase of appeals to nature as a justification for the status quo, indirectly reinforcing existing power relations. Moreover, these discourses fail to challenge the critical though contingent reality of GMOs' location within the wider framework of neoliberal social relations. Fortunately, appeals to natural purity have not been the only effective strategy for opposing GMOs. Activist campaigns that directly target the political economic implications of GMOs within the context of neoliberalism have also had successes without resorting to appeals to the purity of nature. The successes of these campaigns suggest that while nature-culture dualisms remain politically effective normative groundings, concerns over equity, farmers' rights, and democracy retain potential as ideological terrains in the struggle for social justice.

How Well Does R2P Travel Beyond the West?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faith Mabera ◽  
Yolanda Spies
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Conceptual Development ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Western World ◽  
The West ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Domain State ◽  
The Status ◽  
Emerging Powers

R2P invokes the power-morality nexus in international relations and interrogates the rules of engagement that anchor international society. Conceptualization of R2P as a liberal Western construct can therefore be divisive, especially when operationalization of the norm—as happened during the 2011 intervention in Libya—feeds into a West-against-the-Rest narrative. This is unfortunate because the R2P doctrine has deep roots in the non-Western world—Africa in particular—and Global South perspectives continue to strengthen its conceptual development. Emerging powers challenge the status quo of structural power and their rhetoric on R2P often invokes mistrust of Western altruism in international politics. Their actions, on the other hand, prove that they are no less prone to realpolitik in the normative domain. State actors in the normative middle of international politics, including developed as well as developing countries, are well placed to bridge the West-versus-the-Rest schism and to provide leadership in the R2P discourse.

scholarly journals Considerations on Armenian Political Elites, Diasporas and Armenian Economy in 1991-2019 Period

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ersan Bocutoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Considerable Time ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
The West ◽  
Mental Transformation ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Status ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Set Up

After the liberation of Dağlık Karabağ and close vicinity from the long-standing Armenian occupation by Azerbaijan in 2020, different scenarios concerning the future of Armenia and South Caucasus have come to fore. Therefore, there should be a realistic evaluation of status quo of Armenian political elites, diasporas and Armenian economy relations before taking into account of the scenarios. It is not difficult to estimate that since the realization of optimistic scenarios need a mental transformation of Armenian political elites and diasporas that takes considerable time, they are not likely to happen let alone in the short run but even in the medium run. The aim of this paper is to investigate the status quo of Armenian political elites, diasporas, and Armenian economy relations during 1991-2019 period so as to be able to set up a scientific base on which the evaluation of scenarios concerning the future of Armenia and South Caucasus is placed. The method adopted in the paper is a descriptive one and data are collected via internet. Paper suggests that the divergence of Armenian political elites and diasporas on fundamental issues such as Armenia-diaspora relations, Armenia-Russia relations, Armenia-the West Relations and Armenia-Turkey-Azerbaijan relations blackens not only the future of Armenia but also the future of South Caucasus.

Gender Awareness and Women Managers in Tourism

2019 ◽  
pp. 218-238
Author(s):  
Inês Carvalho ◽  
Carlos Costa ◽  
Anália Torres
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Women Managers ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
The State ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
The Status ◽  
Gender Awareness ◽  
State Organizations

The purpose of this chapter is to reveal women top-level managers' gender awareness in relation to two aspects: 1) perceptions of discrimination and 2) views of what could be done towards gender equality (by the state, organizations, and women themselves), so that more women can advance their careers. Women top-level managers in the Portuguese tourism sector were interviewed. The interview data suggests that discrimination might still be pervasive in the Portuguese tourism industry. However, many women do not perceive it as “real” discrimination and have contradictory discourses about it. Informants were also asked what could be done so that more women advance in their careers. They place the solution to the problem of gender equality mostly in women's hands. While some of the strategies proposed by women confront the gender order, others align with the status quo by ensuring that women “fit in” without challenging existing structures.

scholarly journals Hardship in the headlines: global poverty and neocolonialism in western news media

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (29) ◽  
pp. 191-200
Author(s):  
Laura Fox
Keyword(s):  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
News Media ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Global Poverty ◽  
Daily Experience ◽  
The Status ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Issue Attention ◽  
Political Economic

Poverty is one of the most significant issues facing the world today. Although Western news media often report on the manifestations of poverty—famine, overcrowding, epidemics, or natural disasters—they rarely reflect the political, economic, and ideological structures that have directly caused and continue to exacerbate it on a global scale. This article argues that Western news media communicate global poverty, as a pressing issue, but ultimately fail to point out underlying causes or suggest any changes to the status quo. This fosters an understanding of poverty as a series of events, rather than the lived daily experience of many. This article, therefore, investigates the structures of neocolonial capitalism and neoliberal ideologies that gained momentum in the 20th century and continue to frame the content of news media today. Discussing the concepts of ‘compassion fatigue’ and Anthony Downs’ ‘issue-attention cycle’, this article is a normative analysis of news media, exploring new ways to educate citizens on the global political economy. Drawing on the work of Lauren Berlant and Robert McChesney, this article ultimately discusses new ways of communicating poverty, which will require an acknowledgement of neocolonialism and a rethinking of crisis as lived daily experience.

scholarly journals International Slavic Studies: Concepts, History and Evolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenfei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The West ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Formal Establishment ◽  
Slavic Studies

Abstract This paper departs from the definition of Slavistics and reviews the history of international Slavic studies, from its prehistory to its formal establishment as an independent discipline in the mid-18th century, and from the Pan-Slavic movement in the mid-19th century to the confrontation of Slavistics between the East and the West in the mid-20th century during the Cold War. The paper highlights the status quo of international Slavic studies and envisions the future development of Slavic studies in China.

A ‘Fareej-in-the-Sky’: Towards A Community-Oriented Design for High-Rise Residential Buildings in The Uae

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-70
Author(s):  
Khaled Galal Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
The West ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
High Rise ◽  
Residential Developments ◽  
The Status ◽  
Cultural Traits

Most of the native citizens in the UAE live in public or private single-family houses. Given the tremendous cost of developing this type of housing and the inability of providing single-family houses to cover all the current and future needs for public housing, high-rise residential buildings seem to offer an alternative. But the question is; does this type of housing suit the local communities in the UAE, especially in light of the failure of the previous western experiences?. Through addressing this question, the research proposes an approach towards a community-oriented design for high-rise residential buildings in the UAE. The research first investigated the reasons behind the community-relevant shortcomings of the traditional high-rise residential developments in the West. Afterwards, it briefly reviewed the status quo of the community-relevant considerations in the design of the recently built high-rise residential buildings in the UAE, where it has been found that little concern has been devoted to the community needs. In an effort to find an answer to this problem, the research examined four recent design experiences as examples for the current universal efforts to design community-responsive high-rise residential developments. Some conceptual approaches were derived from these experiences that are envisaged to help reach an approach for the case of the UAE. Nonetheless, because of the unique social and cultural traits of the UAE native society one cannot rely on these global conceptual approaches alone. Instead, the research proposes an approach that, while benefiting from the relevant global experiences, is chiefly pivoted on the vertical reconfiguration of the idea of the ‘fareej’ as the smallest unit in the residential urban context both traditionally and in the future official urban plans in the UAE.

Long-term Trends in China-Taiwan Relations: Implications for U.S. Taiwan Policy

Asian Survey ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 970-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip C. Saunders
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
The Status ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
The One ◽  
The Taiwan Strait ◽  
Political Economic

Long-term political, economic, and military trends are reshaping the security environment in the Taiwan Strait in potentially destabilizing ways and undermining the ““one China”” framework. The United States has become more deeply involved in cross-strait relations to maintain stability and preserve the status quo, but this approach may not be sustainable.

The Kingdom of God in the History of Christianity: A Bibliographical Survey

1974 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Groh
Keyword(s):  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
The West ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Social Forms ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Bibliographical Survey

In A Handbook of Christian Theology Jerald C. Brauer notes that “the kingdom of God is one of the most fruitful yet controversial concepts in Christian theology. It has been employed to uphold the status quo, and it has been a revolutionary ideal used to break social forms and customs.”1 This bibliographical survey will list articles and books that deal with the kingdom of God and closely related subjects in the history of Christianity, concentrating on the West.2

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