scholarly journals The political economy of peacebuilding: The case of women's cooperatives in Nepal

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Smita Ramnarain
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Credit Cooperatives ◽  
Peace Initiatives ◽  
Definition Of

Critiques of liberal, top-down approaches to peacebuilding have motivated a discussion of alternative, locally-led, and community-based approaches to achieving and maintaining sustainable peace. This article uses a case study of women's savings and credit cooperatives in post-violence Nepal to examine the ways in which grassroots-based, locally-led peace initiatives can counter top-down approaches. The article presents ethnographic evidence from fieldwork in Nepal on how cooperatives expand through their everyday activities the definition of peace to include not only the absence of violence (negative peace) but transformatory goals such as social justice (positive peace). By focusing on ongoing root causes of structural violence, cooperatives problematize the postconflict period where pre-war normalcy is presumed to have returned. They emphasize local agency and ownership over formal peace processes. The findings suggest ongoing struggles that cooperatives face due to their existence within larger, liberal paradigms of international postconflict aid and reconstruction assistance. Their uneasy relationship with liberal economic structures limit their scale and scope of effectiveness even as they provide local alternatives for peacebuilding.

Networking the political: On the dynamic interrelations that create publics in the digital age

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Marie Roslyng ◽  
Bolette B Blaagaard
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
The Political ◽  
Relational View ◽  
Minority Culture ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Definition Of

This article argues that the definition of the political and its role in on- and offline public spheres calls for a conceptualization that takes into account the networked connections established between lay and professional political actors, mass media and mobile media. While acknowledging the importance of popular and mass media’s impact on participatory and democratic processes, this article focuses on the cultural citizen and proposes that a rethinking of publics affords a new understanding of the idea of networks as a series of connection points fostering a dynamic and relational view on the political. We illustrate this conceptualization through a case study mapping the agonistic and antagonistic frontiers in communication in a variety of publics and counter-publics in the context of Danish minority culture and politics.

scholarly journals Sustaining the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda: The Role of UN Peacekeeping in Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 103-121
Author(s):  
Lisa Sharland
Keyword(s):  
Peace Operations ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Peace Operation ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Women And Girls

Abstract Peacebuilding is less likely to succeed without the participation and consideration of women. In the last two decades, peace operations deployed on the African continent under the banner of the United Nations and the African Union have included mandates focused on strengthening women’s participation in peace processes, ensuring the protection of women and girls, and integrating gender considerations into the approach of missions at building sustainable peace. This chapter examines the approaches undertaken in two case study countries—Liberia (where a long-standing UN peace operation has recently departed) and South Sudan (where a UN peace operation continues to operate with significant constraints)—in order to examine some of the challenges and opportunities that UN engagement has offered in terms of advancing equality and women’s security in each country.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Livnat Holtzman
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Rhetorical Devices ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Standing Up ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter introduces the corpus of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt and its role in shaping the traditionalistic definition of anthropomorphism through the case-study of an anthropomorphic tradition attributed to Mujahid, one of the earliest Quran exegetes. According to this tradition, the ‘honourable station’ (maqām maḥmūd) which is mentioned in Quran 17:79, denotes that the Prophet Muhammad will sit on the heavenly throne with God. This marginal tradition which was rejected by the majority of the traditionalists became an iconic text due the relentless efforts of the Baghdadian Hanbalites of the ninth and tenth centuries. The Hanbalites toiled to prove the antiquity and the authenticity of the text, while using an array of rhetorical devices to promote this text and sanctify it. Thus, Abu Bakr al-Marwazi (d. 888), who was Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s (d. 855) foremost disciple, used to illustrate Muhammad’s sitting on the throne by standing up and sitting down. This gesture conveyed the Hanbalite creed that Muhammad’s sitting on the throne was actual rather than metaphoric. The political events that accompanied this anthropomorphic text are also surveyed in this chapter.

Conflation in political gardening: concepts and practice

2019 ◽  
pp. 22-37
Author(s):  
Lucy Rose Wright ◽  
Ross Fraser Young
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Aspect ◽  
Academic Interest ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Urban Gardening ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Everyday Space ◽  
Political Turn

This chapter is an introduction to the concept of political gardening; it aims to inform the reader of the political turn in the urban gardening movement. It begins by contextualising the re-evaluation of ‘everyday space’ through the neoliberal processes of privatisation, devolution and entrepreneurialism. It then marries together these processes with the rise of academic interest in urban gardening and a more recently the political aspect of this movement. The chapter then conflates the ideas of political gardening with injustice based on Rawls theory of social justice. Case study examples are then used to unpack the process of political gardening – in six iterative stages - in dealing with these injustices, arriving at a working definition of what political gardening is and that it is not just a term but also a process in which participants undergo towards becoming engaged ‘democratised’ citizens.

scholarly journals Top-down characterization of resource use in LCA: from problem definition of resource use to operational characterization factors for dissipation of elements to the environment

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2255-2273
Author(s):  
Lauran van Oers ◽  
Jeroen B. Guinée ◽  
Reinout Heijungs ◽  
Rita Schulze ◽  
Rodrigo A. F. Alvarenga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Characterization Factors ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Common Understanding

Abstract Purpose The methods for assessing the impact of using abiotic resources in life cycle assessment (LCA) have always been heavily debated. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of a common understanding of the problem related to resource use. This article reports the results of an effort to reach such common understanding between different stakeholder groups and the LCA community. For this, a top-down approach was applied. Methods To guide the process, a four-level top-down framework was used to (1) demarcate the problem that needs to be assessed, (2) translate this into a modeling concept, (3) derive mathematical equations and fill these with data necessary to calculate the characterization factors, and (4) align the system boundaries and assumptions that are made in the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) model and the life cycle inventory (LCI) model. Results We started from the following definition of the problem of using resources: the decrease of accessibility on a global level of primary and/or secondary elements over the very long term or short term due to the net result of compromising actions. The system model distinguishes accessible and inaccessible stocks in both the environment and the technosphere. Human actions can compromise the accessible stock through environmental dissipation, technosphere hibernation, and occupation in use or through exploration. As a basis for impact assessment, we propose two parameters: the global change in accessible stock as a net result of the compromising actions and the global amount of the accessible stock. We propose three impact categories for the use of elements: environmental dissipation, technosphere hibernation, and occupation in use, with associated characterization equations for two different time horizons. Finally, preliminary characterization factors are derived and applied in a simple illustrative case study for environmental dissipation. Conclusions Due to data constraints, at this moment, only characterization factors for “dissipation to the environment” over a very-long-term time horizon could be elaborated. The case study shows that the calculation of impact scores might be hampered by insufficient LCI data. Most presently available LCI databases are far from complete in registering the flows necessary to assess the impacts on the accessibility of elements. While applying the framework, various choices are made that could plausibly be made differently. We invite our peers to also use this top-down framework when challenging our choices and elaborate that into a consistent set of choices and assumptions when developing LCIA methods.

scholarly journals Protected black and Acadian electoral districts in Nova Scotia: a case study in institutionalised surrogate representation

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-97
Author(s):  
Michael J. Wigginton
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Median Size ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Black Populations ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Nova Scotian

From 1991 to 2011, the political representation of the Acadian and black populations of Nova Scotia was ensured via four ‘protected ridings’ - electoral districts with population sizes well below median size created for their significant minority presence, a unique initiative that remains little examined in the literature. Through the reports of the electoral boundaries commissions, I examine the models of representation implicit in this system and use them to further the definition of surrogate representation presented by Jane Mansbridge, finding that what emerged was a system of institutionalised surrogate representation, wherein Acadians and African Nova Scotians throughout the province were represented by the representatives of the protected ridings. Beyond providing an overview of the unique Nova Scotian case, this paper also furthers the literature on surrogate representation by demonstrating that surrogate representation can be subdivided into two forms, which I categorise as ‘promissory/anticipatory surrogate representation’ and ‘gyroscopic surrogate representation’.

scholarly journals Community-based grassroot communication strategies, process and product: The drawings that saved our hospital

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 02009
Author(s):  
Michel Mounayar
Keyword(s):  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Communication Techniques ◽  
Graphic Communication ◽  
Community Based Design ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
Definition Of

A case-study analysis of an urban design communication strategy employed by our university-based design team entrusted with re-envisioning the uncertain future of a local small-town community hospital in Indiana. The design process is carefully constructed from structured public input, and community participation, whereby students, faculty, physicians, nurses, as well as ordinary citizens combine their efforts to strategically develop their ‘plan for planning’. Finding a strategy to define the scope of their future needs and the definition of important priorities to organize the project scope prior to engaging professional consultants. In this scenario, the design team is only the guide and translator, working closely with stakeholders to help them visualize and clarify the aspirations of their town. This paper will present our community-based design methods and most importantly our graphic communication techniques, specifically formulated to envision and facilitate consensus for a new unified public health system in a small Midwestern American city.

Learning from a Peace Process: Theory, Practice and the Case of Northern Ireland

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
David Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ideal Model ◽  
Policy Paradigm ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract The goal of ‘learning’ from peace processes is widely expressed in conflict resolution scholarship and practice but inadequately understood. This article investigates what kinds of knowledge can be learned from a peace process, the theoretical and methodological bases of such learning, and what impact it may have. The article begins with an interdisciplinary discussion of reasons to learn, the kinds of lessons proposed in the peace process literature and how theories of learning may be applied to a peace process. Following this is a case study of the sharing of the Northern Ireland peacemaking experience with other conflict-affected societies, especially through facilitated dialogues between decision-makers. This contributes to a comprehensive ideal model of learning from peace processes – something which, it is argued, may result in ‘transformative learning’ and a ‘policy paradigm shift’ towards de-escalatory conflict management. A definition of a peace process ‘lesson’ is offered to guide future research.

scholarly journals The Object-Oriented Politics of Stadium Sustainability: A Case Study of SC Freiburg

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle S. Bunds ◽  
Christopher M. McLeod ◽  
Martin Barrett ◽  
Joshua I. Newman ◽  
Joerg Koenigstorfer
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Object Oriented ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
The Political ◽  
Construction Process ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Facility Construction ◽  
Key Informant Interview

Sport stadia are political objects that carry an environmental cost. The purpose of this research is to add to previous literature by theorizing the political process of stadium construction in a way that accounts for how environmental issues are introduced into the political process and, therefore, offers a more accurate lens through which to interpret how sustainable stadia are constructed. We conducted a case study of SC Freiburg’s carbon-neutral stadium construction process to theorize the object-oriented politics of sport facility construction. SC Freiburg is a German football club, playing in the Bundesliga. To examine the case, we employed a key informant interview and document analysis using Nexis Uni searches, local newspaper articles, official city documents, and social media websites. The case study of SC Freiburg’s carbon neutral stadium construction process showed that environmental concerns were included through a political process that incorporated the interests of a diverse public of human and nonhuman actors (while excluding some actors whose interests could not be reconciled) to produce a sustainable matter of fact. Additionally, we propose a pragmatic definition of stadium sustainability and suggest that environmental activists should make sure that both human and nonhuman actors with sustainability concerns are included in the stadium’s material public.

A Political Ecology Perspective on Environmental Change in Malawi with the Blantyre Fuelwood Project Area as a Case Study

1999 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezekiel Kalipeni ◽  
Deborah Feder
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Government Programs ◽  
Passive Resistance ◽  
Local Opposition ◽  
Forestry Policies

This article examines deforestation-induced environmental change in the Southern Region of Malawi. The political ecology approach is used to critique this change, assessing how colonial and postcolonial forestry policies affected the landscape. It is argued that non-participatory, “top-down” government programs disempowered Malawi's peoples and allowed the environment to degrade. The Blantyre Fuelwood Project shows how the politics of land use predicate environmental change. It is argued that government implemented, “top-down” approaches failed because they did not integrate local communities. The result has been local opposition to government programs, passive resistance, and deteriorating environmental conditions. The article critiques Malawi's forestry policies since colonial times, analyzes the political ecology of the Blantyre Fuelwood Project, and concludes with the hope that newly implemented “bottom-up” programs that incorporate local communities will make Malawi's environment more sustainable.

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