Palestinian women,violence, and the peace process

Much has been written about the contribution of Palestinian women to their nation's liberation struggle. They have not only survived in an atmosphere of remorseless violence, but have also made remarkable strides in terms of their rights and development as women. A question that has been less explored is the long-term impact of violence against women, whether in terms of their physical and psychological well-being or of their ability to participate in a meaningful way either in the conflict itself or in the post-conflict situation. This paper argues that, although Palestinian women are not simply victims but also agents of violence, such violence--whether random or institutionalised, perpetrated by the enemy or by their own people--places significant constraints on their ability to participate in the national liberation struggle. Consequently, they are inadequately prepared to contribute towards the peace process and, therefore, are prevented from realising their full potential in the new state.     

Breaking the cycle of violence: doing development in situations of conflict

During the 1980s, armed conflict devastated an increasing number of the world's poorest countries. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) engaged in relief and development were hard-pressed to determine their most effective response to situations where normal development became meaningless, and yet short-term relief programmes failed to deal with ‘permanent emergencies?s. This article describes the nature of these conflicts, their impact on the poor, and the evolution of NGO programmes in response. It explains why some NGOs have attempted to do development in the face of on-going violence, sometimes employing risky strategies and desperate measures. It argues the need for NGOs to play a part in building a civil society which can help to break the cycle of violence.     

Poverty reduction and violence against women: exploring links,assessing impact

In 1993 the international community acknowledged for the first time that violence against women (VAW) is a human rights issue, while VAW is also increasingly recognised both as a global public health issue and a barrier to sustainable development. However, even where they are committed to reducing VAW through their programmes and advocacy activities, development practitioners are sometimes unsure about where this fits into the poverty‐reduction agenda. This article tries to situate VAW in the poverty discourse, drawing from a range of documentary sources to outline the conceptual links between VAW, poverty, and human development. It then goes on to look at issues surrounding the impact assessment of programmes aimed at reducing VAW, and offers examples of how specific programmes have been evaluated.     

Norm shifting from EMP to ENP: the EU as a norm entrepreneur in the south?

This article focuses on the normative dimensions of European Union (EU) policy on the Mediterranean which, it is argued, give rise to a number of dilemmas and challenges. First, it scrutinizes the core raison d'être behind the EU's regionalist strategy within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) context. Second, since it purportedly supplements the EMP, the article examines the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and its associated normative bilateral basis. In doing so, the article attempts to raise a number of broad questions about the nature, purpose and underlying logic of regional integration, the role of norms in international relations, and the changing nature of foreign policy. It is argued that EU endeavours at enhanced relations with southern partners point to the pursuit of a dual strategy: the identification of the EU as a ‘normative power’, on the one hand, and the attainment of political and economic interests, on the other. The challenges of this pursuit may in turn explain some of the main dilemmas facing EU–Mediterranean relations.     

Re-thinking the integration of women in population development initiatives

This article argues that the integration of women in population development initiatives was largely the outcome of four overlapping historical events: the decolonisation of the South; the population ‘explosion’ following World War II; the momentous developments in contraceptive technology; and the re-emergence of women's movements in the North. These developments pushed women to the forefront of development initiatives, in part because of lingering assumptions that population size is associated with poverty. As a result, policies heavily focused on reducing birth rates largely eclipsed those concerned with improving women's sexual and reproductive health and rights.     

全国统一后越南政府消除南北发展差异的措施及其效果

第二次世界大战后,特别是1954年《日内瓦协定》签订后,越南南北方经历了长达20年的分治时期。南北两个地区处于完全不同的政治、经济制度之下,南方实行资本主义制度,北方建立起社会主义制度,造成了南北方经济社会发展的地区差异。为了消除这些差异,越南共产党在1976年全国统一后,采取了一系列措施和政策,试图统一全国的经济社会发展。不过,由于各种主客观原因,越南共产党的政策措施并没有达到预期的效果。     

The uneven and combined development of class forces: migration as combined development

One of the more interesting and potentially powerful developments within Marxist approaches to the field of international relations has been the recent revival of Trotsky’s concept of uneven and combined development (UCD). However, it appears that there have been very few attempts within this literature to specify in concrete terms what is meant by mechanisms of ‘combination’. Failing this, UCD runs the risk of falling into triviality. To this end, this article suggests that migration has historically functioned as a crucial element of combined development, contributing to the uneven incorporation of non-capitalist societies into the remit of a developing world capitalist market. As illustration, I take settler-colonial development and the Great Atlantic Migrations as my focal point, drawing out a comparative study of Argentine and Canadian wheat production in the late nineteenth century. In positing these migrations as mechanisms of combined development I suggest that such were the means by which both European capitalism developed extensively and intensively and New World societies were subjected to the ‘pressures of backwardness’, compelled to transform their own social relations of production.     

Reading the hermeneutics of violence: The literary turn and Chechnya

The primary aim of this paper is to draw together a set of theoretical questions in order better to explore a case of contemporary violence. The case of Chechnya has, in the main, been ignored by Anglo-American academics. Therefore, as this paper will demonstrate, the use of hermeneutics—and more specifically literature—may provide theorists with a further critical theoretical tool for interpreting the complexity of contemporary violence in Chechnya. Still further, it will be argued that literature can be used to identify some of the cultural and symbolic forces that condition violence. The first part of the paper will explore aesthetic, hermeneutic and literary international relations. This section will outline and establish a hermeneutic interpretation of contemporary violence, drawing upon the primacy of ontology, agency and inter-subjectivity. The second part of the paper will demonstrate the role that literature plays in guiding representational readings of contemporary Russo-Chechen violence.     

Bringing in the rogues: political violence,the British government and Sinn Fein

The article explores the relationship between the British government and the Irish Republican movement. In contrast to the established view, it argues that the British government had never had any objection to the inclusion of Republicans into a political settlement, and that – therefore – there was no need for any significant changes in government policy during the 1990s. Far from being an obstacle to inclusion, the British government's political strategy not only provided an incentive for the IRA to cease its military campaign, but also the opportunity to follow it up with an equitable political process, resulting in the Belfast Agreement.     

Working with children as stakeholders in development: the challenges of organisational change

This article considers the challenges of promoting children's participation in development programming. It argues against the tendency to see the main obstacle to achieving this aim as technical. Instead it explores the institutional dimensions of change that may be required. The experience of a four-year process of training and organisational review within Save the Children Denmark provides the substance for reflection about the kinds of cultural and structural change that are implicated in enabling a development organisation to become capable of engaging young people as stakeholders in a meaningful and sustainable manner.     

Christianity and violence: The case of liberation theology

In the late 1960s a form of Christian radicalism known as liberation theology emerged in Latin America that argued that Latin America's ills were caused by dependent capitalism, and that Latin America could be liberated only by a socialist revolution. The theory of liberation theology had a direct impact on Central America in the 1970s since it justified the alliance of Christians and Marxists in attempting to overthrow repressive regimes in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Under Pope John Paul II, the Vatican has been critical of liberation theology's borrowings from Marxism and its implied endorsement of violence, although a moderate version that stresses the organization of the poor into Christian Base Communities has been more favorably received. Partly as a result of Vatican pressure and partly as a result of a generalized disillusionment of the Latin American left with violence as a means for social change, liberation theologians today have moved away from their earlier infatuation with revolution, and they argue for a deepened democracy that is aware of ‘the preferential option for the poor’.     

Post-Soviet universities as development in practice: local experience and global lessons

The university holds a privileged place as the site of knowledge production in social development. Simultaneously, traditions of pedagogy drawing from the liberal arts have evolved within Northern/Western post-secondary educational systems which claim to create citizens through developing the skills of freedom; this claim was central to interventions in post-Soviet university reform projects. The author's university development and reform experiences in the former Soviet Union show that a depoliticised liberal arts pedagogy in fact reinforced authoritarian practices, and the promise of a liberal arts pedagogy as an emancipatory project remains an ongoing global task of critical knowledge practices.

Universités post-soviétiques en tant que développement dans la pratique : expériences locales et leçons mondiales

L' université occupe une place privilégiée comme site de production de connaissances dans le développement social. Dans le même temps, des traditions pédagogiques s'inspirant des arts libéraux ont évolué dans le cadre des systèmes d'éducation post-secondaires du Nord et de l'Occident qui affirment créer des citoyens en développant les compétences de la liberté ; cette affirmation a été centrale dans les interventions dans les projets de réforme universitaire post-soviétiques. Les expériences de l'auteur du développement et de la réforme des universités dans l'ancienne Union soviétique montrent qu'une pédagogie dépolitisée des arts libéraux a en fait renforcé les pratiques autoritaires, et la promesse d'une pédagogie d'arts libéraux comme projet émancipatoire reste une tâche mondiale en cours constituée de pratiques critiques d'acquisition de connaissances.

Universidades na era pós-soviética enquanto desenvolvimento na prática: experiência local e lições globais

A universidade ocupa um lugar privilegiado como lugar de produção de conhecimento na área de desenvolvimento social. Simultaneamente, tradições de pedagogia extraídas das artes liberais têm evoluído dentro dos sistemas educacionais pós-ensino médio no hemisfério norte / ocidental, que afirmam criar cidadãos através do desenvolvimento de qualificações para liberdade; esta afirmação foi central para as intervenções nos projetos de reforma da universidade na era pós-soviética. As experiências da autora sobre desenvolvimento e reforma da universidade na antiga União Soviética mostram que uma pedagogia de artes liberais despolitizada, na verdade, reforçaram práticas autoritárias, e a promessa de uma pedagogia de artes liberais enquanto projeto emancipatório permanece uma tarefa global contínua de práticas importantes de conhecimento.

Las universidades postsoviéticas para el desarrollo en la práctica: experiencias locales y mundiales

La universidad desempeña un importante papel en la producción de conocimientos para el desarrollo social. Simultáneamente, se afirma que la pedagogía utilizada en las humanidades de los sistemas escolares universitarios del Norte o de Occidente fomenta la ciudadanía porque desarrolla herramientas dirigidas a la libertad; los proyectos de reforma de la universidad postsoviética se basaron en esta idea. Las experiencias de la autora en el desarrollo y la reforma universitaria de la antigua Unión Soviética muestran que la pedagogía despolitizada en las humanidades más bien fortaleció prácticas autoritarias; la esperanza de contar con una pedagogía emancipadora en las humanidades continúa construyéndose a nivel mundial mediante el ejercicio de prácticas de conocimiento crítico.     

Colombian peace communities: the role of NGOs in supporting resistance to violence and oppression

Colombia's chronic war is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Amid armed actors, pervasive violence, and increasing militarisation, many citizens experience hostility from all sides. This violence continues the historical marginalisation of Afro-descendant, indigenous, and campesino communities and is intensified by the ‘global war on terror’. Some ‘peace communities’ are rejecting violence and seeking ways to survive within war—becoming protagonists in their own protection. This is risky: it draws accusations, threats, and attacks by all armed actors, including the state. Over time, the lack of sustainable livelihoods, weak internal cohesion, and antagonistic external dynamics test the determination of such communities. This article examines four peace communities and explores factors that generate and sustain grassroots protagonism. It ends by suggesting ways in which development organisations can enhance community-level protection and reinforce local peace processes, in order to contribute to broader peace building.     

NGOs as development partners to the corporates: Child football stitchers in Pakistan

Interest in partnerships between international NGOs and the corporate sector is growing as both sectors see their roles changing in response to increasing consumer awareness about social, environmental, and human rights issues. This article presents the case of the partnership between the sports goods industry, The Save the Children Fund (SCF), and various international and local organisations in the district of Sialkot in Pakistan. The author uses this case in order to discuss the important elements of a cross-sectoral partnership, the considerations for the various parties that enter into such partnerships, and the implications of these partnerships with the corporate sector for the future of NGOs and their vision of development.     

A journey towards development: the impact of local NGO programmes on women living in the char lands of Bangladesh

Both national and international policy-making institutions have acknowledged the contribution of NGOs in alleviating poverty, through empowering the poor and continuing to support their endeavours. In Bangladesh NGOs are working at national and local levels, but very few are working with the poorest and most vulnerable groups who live in the riverine and coastal areas, known as the char lands. These areas are unlike other parts of the country in terms of their physical, economic, and social structures, and they require a different approach in order to address the unique set of problems facing those who live there. Using experimental and innovative programmes, a small number of local NGOs have begun to make an impact in an area where government interventions and success are rare.     

Terrorism,violence against the public,and the media: The Australian approach

This paper examines the balance between the apparently competing objectives of government and the media in the general area of violence against the public and details the Australian model for handling issues associated with terrorism and the media. Australia's counterterrorism strategy may be considered holistic, going beyond the idea of a comprehensive capability for response to an actual public incident to include preventive measures and enhancement of the national security environment, suggesting that all elements of the society, including the media, regard security as a cooperative endeavor. These elements have been developed in the “National Anti‐Terrorist Plan” (NATP), developed by Australia's Standing Advisory Committee on Commonwealth/State Cooperation for Prevention against Violence (SAC‐PAV). For the past several years, the SAC‐PAV has been developing a basic strategic guide to provide structure for its many activities, and the committee has agreed that the NATP requires a fourfold strategy for dealing with the media: (1) public communication policies and guidelines, (2) incorporating media response and incident management strategies, (3) media training, and (4) physical controls. In addition, the SAC‐PAV has formulated a set of guidelines for the media to apply when covering terrorist incidents, indicating clearly what crisis managers and counterterrorism response organizations expect of media handling of public crises.     

Spousal visa law and structural violence: fear,anxiety and terror of the everyday

Attending to mundane bureaucratic politics can highlight forms of everyday structural violence. This article draws attention to the spousal visa law in the UK. On the surface, this law does violence to family life, forcing indefinite separation. However, this law is also symbolic of some of the main structural violence in society that cross-cut gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, age, education level and profession, thus making tangible some of the intangible borders in society. Through the vehicle of this law we will consider how structural violence can operate as an everyday terror, disrupting the boundaries of public and private life.