Covid-19: Lessons for and from Vulnerability Theory

Why do rebel groups often fight each other when confronting a common, and typically stronger, enemy—namely, the government? Inter-rebel aggression is a calculated response by rebel groups to opportunities for expansion and to the threats confronting such groups. In particular, inter-rebel wars occur under the following conditions: (1) when a window of opportunity emerges allowing rebel groups to defeat coethnic rivals at low costs and thus achieve rebel hegemony, or (2) when rebel groups are confronted with a window of vulnerability, in which they experience a radical deterioration of power relative to that of coethnic rivals and then attempt to escape in a desperate military gamble. Both strict military considerations and ethnic identities shape the rebel groups' calculus. Coethnicity influences the threat perception of rebel groups and their ability to grow at the expense of rivals, thus providing both defensive and offensive motives for inter-rebel aggression. Because coethnic rebel groups want to mobilize and control the same ethnic communities, they are highly sensitive to immediate, intense conflicts of interest and see other coethnic rebel groups as serious threats. Moreover, coethnic rebel groups can generally expect to absorb the resources of defeated rivals, which in turn may improve their chances in the fight against the government. In-depth case studies of multiparty insurgencies in Ethiopia's Eritrea and Tigray provinces, based on interviews with former rebel leaders, strongly support the window of opportunity and vulnerability theory of inter-rebel war.

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Charting the Way to a World Fit for Children

The Ecology of Childhood ◽

10.18574/nyu/9780814794845.003.0013 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 283-302

Author(s):

Barbara Bennett Woodhouse

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Civil Rights ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Small World ◽

Farming Communities ◽

Positive Action ◽

Child Friendly ◽

Vulnerability Theory ◽

Children’S Voices ◽

Local Levels

Chapter thirteen focuses on small world strategies for building a new macrosystem. It proposes specific ways in which each individual can engage in positive action beginning at the local levels of family, community, municipality and region. After reviewing some big ideas that shaped this grassroots approach, including vulnerability theory, developmental equality theory, and environmental principles of sustainability and the circular economy, the author highlights six specific forms of action and illustrates them with real world examples: (1) promoting a culture of respect for children’s voices; (2) building support for a children’s rights approach; (3) building child-friendly cities, towns and communities; (4) building support for combatting climate change; (5) working to repopulate villages and farming communities one family at a time; and (6) mobilizing our individual civil rights to vote, march and litigate for change.

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Vulnerability Theory and Joint Enterprise

Accessorial Liability After Jogee ◽

10.5040/9781509918911.ch-005 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jonathan Herring

Keyword(s):

Vulnerability Theory ◽

Joint Enterprise

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Human Flourishing as an Aim of Education

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1418 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Doret de Ruyter ◽

Lynne Wolbert

Keyword(s):

Subjective Evaluation ◽

Well Being ◽

Point Of View ◽

Political Community ◽

Human Flourishing ◽

Asking Questions ◽

Societal Level ◽

Vulnerability Theory ◽

Teachers And Parents

Human flourishing has gained and is gaining popularity as an overarching ideal aim of education. Influential advocates of educational theories on flourishing are, among others, Harry Brighouse, Kristján Kristjánsson, Doret de Ruyter, and John White. Most contemporary theories on flourishing hark explicitly or implicitly back to Aristotle’s theory about eudaimonia. Aristotle constructed his theory as an answer to the question of what is the ultimate aim of a human life and defined it as acting virtuously. Contemporary theorists define it in somewhat wider terms, namely as a successful, morally good, happy, and well-balanced life. A theory on human flourishing is regarded as an objective well-being theory, that is, it describes from an objective point of view rather than a person’s subjective evaluation what it means to live one’s life well. Flourishing as an ideal aim of education has implications for the education and upbringing of children. Teachers and parents need to know what constitutes a flourishing life, what contributes to it and what does not, and they are expected to act in a way that enables children to lead a flourishing life (in the future). This, however, raises, several issues. Firstly, there are different ideas (of philosophers of education) as to what flourishing precisely means and therefore also different views on the role of schools and how they should aim for the flourishing of children: for instance, whether there should be a course on living a good life, or whether education for flourishing should permeate the entire curriculum and school ethos. Secondly, it could be objected that aiming for flourishing implies aiming for perfection and that this is not only detrimental to the well-being of children, but also too demanding for parents (and teachers). With regard to the well-being of children it is, however, possible to refer to empirical research that shows that when educators aim for self-oriented perfectionism (i.e., that children are themselves convinced that it is good to strive for perfectionism rather than having to do so to gain approval), they actually contribute to the well-being of children. With regard to the demands against parents it can be argued that in addition to their responsibilities regarding the interests of children to be able to live a flourishing life, parenting (well) is an important aspect of a flourishing life of many adults. Thirdly, it could be objected that focusing on the ideal aim of flourishing does not sufficiently take into account the differences in “luck” in individual lives and inequalities on a societal level, that is, human vulnerability. Theory on education for flourishing therefore does well not to overestimate the influence of parents and educators to equip children to live flourishing lives and needs to keep asking questions such as, for example, what role the (political) community plays in enabling all children to have the chance to lead a flourishing life.

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Human Trafficking, Vulnerability and the State

The Journal of Criminal Law ◽

10.1177/0022018318814373 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 83 (1) ◽

pp. 39-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Shahrzad Fouladvand ◽

Tony Ward

Keyword(s):

Human Trafficking ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Criminal Responsibility ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

The State ◽

Vulnerable Subjects ◽

Vulnerability Theory ◽

Trafficking Victims ◽

The Uk ◽

Do So

This article looks at human trafficking from a perspective influenced by the ‘vulnerability theory’ developed by Martha Fineman and her associates. It draws particularly on empirical studies of human trafficking from Albania to the UK and elsewhere. It suggests that Fineman’s approach needs to be modified to see the state not only as ameliorating vulnerability, or failing to do so, but as actively creating and using vulnerability to control or exploit its population. The fact that people are placed, for political, social and economic reasons, in situations of heightened vulnerability does not of itself deprive them of agency or responsibility. People should, however, be understood as ‘vulnerable subjects’ whose capacity for autonomy may be lost when they are deprived of supportive social relationships. The implications of this view for the criminal responsibility of trafficking victims are explored.

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Structural Vulnerabilities, Personal Agency, and Caste: An Exploration of Child Sex Trafficking in Rural India

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/vv-d-19-00048 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 307-330

Author(s):

Rochelle L. Dalla ◽

Trupti Jhaveri Panchal ◽

Sarah Erwin ◽

Jessie Peter ◽

Kaitlin Roselius ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sex Trafficking ◽

Sexual Exploitation ◽

Phenomenological Approach ◽

Future Research ◽

Sex Industry ◽

Structural Factors ◽

Personal Agency ◽

Child Sex Trafficking ◽

Vulnerability Theory ◽

Depth Interviews

The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is considered normative and expected among some Indian castes. Focusing on the Bedia specifically, we sought to identify factors responsible for the intergenerational continuation of CSEC as well as opportunities for prevention. To this end, three questions were posed, including: (a) What structural factors perpetuate CSEC among the Bedia? (b) What are the mechanisms by which Bedia children enter the commercial sex industry (CSI)? and (c) To what extent do Bedia women have personal agency in exiting the CSI and in keeping their children from entering? Guided by structural vulnerability theory and a phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 31 Bedia women engaged in (or exited from) the CSI. Results indicate that girls as young as 12 are “selected” to enter the CSI; once involved, they carry the burden of familial financial sustainability and exit only comes when they are no longer able to attract paying clients and younger female kin able to assume the primary breadwinner role. Ability to keep female children from entry is minimal. Implications for future research, practice, and policy are discussed.

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An Israeli Model for Predicting Fear of Terrorism Based on Community and Individual Factors

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260517700621 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (9-10) ◽

pp. 1888-1907 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mally Shechory-Bitton ◽

Keren Cohen-Louck

Keyword(s):

Fear Of Crime ◽

Terror Management Theory ◽

Terror Management ◽

Management Theory ◽

Neighborhood Disorder ◽

Personal Variables ◽

Combination Of Theories ◽

Vulnerability Theory ◽

Analysis Models ◽

Different Levels

The purpose of the study was to suggest a model for predicting fear of terrorism using theoretical explanations that predict fear of crime. The study focused on two different levels of analysis: community and individual. The sample consisted of 507 Israeli adults. Predictions of fear of terrorism and fear of crime were conducted with two path analysis models, calculated using AMOS software. Fear of terrorism was predicted directly by gender, age, prior victimization, religiosity, and neighborhood disorder. The findings allow the researchers to offer a predictive model for fear of terrorism based on a combination of theories that explain fear of crime as well as a theory concerning the link between fear of death and religion. A combination of environmental theories (e.g., the Broken Windows theory), theories related to personal variables (e.g., the Vulnerability theory), and the Terror Management theory can produce an adequate theoretical framework for explaining fear of terrorism.

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The age-old puzzle of suicide: How does the mind get so dark that it wants total obliteration?

10.31219/osf.io/s4d3y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hong-Kong T. Nguyen

Keyword(s):

Bayesian Inference ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Current Understanding ◽

Interpersonal Theory ◽

Interpersonal Theory Of Suicide ◽

Key Concepts ◽

Vulnerability Theory ◽

The Mind

This essay revisits the key concepts of four dominant theories on suicidal ideation-to-action, namely the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS), the Integrated Motivational–Volitional Model (IMV), the Three-step Theory (3ST), and the Fluid Vulnerability Theory (FVT). It then suggests that explaining suicidal ideation through the lens of the mindsponge mechanimsm and Bayesian inference may improve our current understanding of this complicated topic.

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