International Politics
Browse by
Recent Submissions
-
Death, Carl (Sage, December 9, 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: Global environmental politics is emerging as a key field for South African diplomacy and foreign policy, in which Pretoria is endeavouring to lead by example. Environmental summits and conferences such as Johannesburg (2002) and Copenhagen (2009) have been crucial stages for the performance of this role as an environmental leader, and in December 2011 Durban will host the seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. There are also signs from within policy-making circles that ‘the environment’ is seen as a field in which some of the lustre of South Africa’s post-1994 international high moral standing could be recovered. However, tensions remain between South Africa’s performance and rhetoric on the global stage, and domestic development paths which continue to be environmentally unsustainable. The article concludes by suggesting that while the visibility and prominence of South Africa as an actor in global environmental politics is likely to grow, it remains doubtful whether this represents a sustained and committed new direction in South African foreign policy. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/7710 Files in this item: 0
-
Kurki, Milja (2010)[more][less]
Abstract: Democracy is a deeply contested concept: historically, complex debates have revolved around the meaning of democracy and the plausibility of different ‘models of democracy.’ However, democracy’s conceptual contestability has received diminished attention in the post-Cold War democracy promotion debate as the attention of democracy promotion actors and scholars has turned to fine-tuning of policies through which a liberal democratic model can be successfully encouraged. It is argued here that the focus on the extension of the reach of the liberal demo- cratic mode of governance has resulted in a conceptually impoverished appreciation of the multiple meanings that the idea of democracy can take. It is argued that the ‘essential contestability’ of the idea of demo- cracy is not adequately recognized and tackled, which in turn has important effects for the ability of democracy promotion scholars, as well as practitioners, to take into account the consequences that consid- ering alternative (non- or extra-liberal) models of democracy might have for democracy promotion. To move the debate forward, I explore here, primarily in conceptual and theoretical terms, what serious engagement with the essential contestability of democracy might mean for democracy promotion. I argue that it entails a two-fold move: ‘plura- lization’ and ‘contextualization’ of the conceptions of democracy. The latter part of the article examines in detail the reasons that might exist for considering such a move in framing the study and the practice of democracy promotion, as well as the potential dangers that might be involved. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/7696 Files in this item: 1
-
Death, Carl (Taylor and Francis, August 31, 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: This article introduces Michel Foucault's concept of ‘counter-conducts’—‘struggles against the processes implemented for conducting others’—in order to rethink the relationship between power and dissent. It proposes an ‘analytics of protest’ to address forms of resistance, through which this article focuses on the mentalities, practices, and subjectivities produced at protests in South Africa at the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. These protests were some of the largest public expressions of dissent since the end of apartheid, yet the article illuminates the ways in which power and resistance are mutually reliant and co-constitutive. These summit counter-conducts both contested and reinforced existing power relations, and were disciplined by discourses of civility/violence, partnership/disruption, and local/foreign from state authorities and the media. They were also disciplined by internal discourses of liberal dissent and radical protest from within the movements themselves. The article concludes that, from a Foucauldian perspective on counter-conducts, forms of dissent that are strategic, reversible, and flexible are preferable to those that are sedimented and entrenched. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/7581 Files in this item: 0
-
Death, Carl (Taylor and Francis, June 27, 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: Event greening of major spectacles such as the Olympics, World Cups and large international conferences are increasingly common. The 2010 South African World Cup sought to develop a ‘Green Goal 2010’ programme that would mitigate some of the environmental impacts of the event, as well as secure a positive social, economic and environmental legacy. While the content of the Green Goal programmes varied between host cities, some innovative and significant projects were implemented, ranging from waste management and recycling, to biodiversity protection and city beautification, to public transport upgrades and energy efficiency measures at the stadiums. In the broader context of the most carbon-intensive World Cup ever, however, such mitigation efforts were relatively piecemeal. The greatest opportunity the World Cup provided was for its visibility, branding and communication potential to catalyse greater environmental awareness and a stronger commitment to ecological modernization. Due to lack of coordination and national leadership, this opportunity was largely missed. The article concludes by recommending a number of core lessons, as well as some further opportunities, that can be taken from the South African 2010 experience. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/7112 Files in this item: 0
-
McInnes, Colin; Woodling, Marie (2011)[more][less]
Abstract: This dataset complements the 'HIV Prevalence and Armed Conflict Dataset v.2'. In a similar vein, it also merges data on conflict from the UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict dataset (v.4-2010) and data from UNAIDS which was prepared for the 2010 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, which details HIV prevalence between 1990-2009. However it differs from the aforementioned database by additionally indicating the INTENSITY of conflict in a given country. A key to understanding the dataset is supplied in the accompanying notes. This dataset is therefore more comprehensive and complicates the relationship between HIV Prevalence and Conflict. The dataset is intended to broaden and extend current discussions about the relationship between conflict and HIV prevalence, providing scope for further research in the area. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/6256 Files in this item: 2
HIV_conflict_9.3.11_ver2_intensity2.xlsx (32.31Kb)