Laura A. Henry and Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom,eds., Bringing Global Governance Home: NGO Mediation in the BRICS States

Journal of Chinese Political Science -     

Lebanese Christians'Attitudes Toward Israel and the Peace Process

The objectives of this article were (1) to examine what Lebanese Christians think about peace with the Jewish state, not what their officials say about it; (2) to determine whether Lebanese Christians have a distinct position that separates them from their Muslim counterparts vis-à-vis the peace process and normalization of relations with Israel. The findings revealed that Lebanese Christians accept different forms of interaction with Israelis. However, most respondents support peace with Israel, clearly oppose the idea of confrontation with the Jewish state, and call for a unilateral peace treaty with their southern neighbor. Most Lebanese Christians view peace as a major reshuffling force capable of restoring their lost politcal role in the country.     

Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon: Anatomy of a Terrorist Organization

The objective of this study is to provide through an in-depth investigation of the Fatah Al-Islam organization, emergence, programs, and external links, and the inner operation of this underground Salafi-jihadi group. By divulging secret confession statements to the public, it has uncovered many of the mysteries that surrounded the evolution and goals of the group. On the other hand, and more important, it has examined the application of certain conventional approaches to the study of terrorist behavior. The findings, based on the biographies of FI terrorists, seem to negate much of the advanced explanation about political violence. Economic destitution, poverty, lack of education, young age, and marital disruption for instances do not determine adherence to the group. Members of the jihadi group of FI stem from a diversified occupational background, not lacking in education, mature, married, and influenced by various motivations, specifically religious dogma.     

Dissolving the difference between humanitarianism and development: The mixing of a rights-based solution

The conventional (but false) dichotomy between humanitarianism and development, hitherto grounded in the perceived differences between international humanitarian law and international human rights law, respectively, is not merely unhelpful in practical terms but also serves to diminish our understanding of the shared issues underlying the two discourses. There are welcome signs, however, of a growing recognition that all development and relief work is essentially rights-based, and of efforts to integrate thinking and practice under one common set of principles.     

Beyond evidence versus truthiness: toward a symmetrical approach to knowledge and ignorance in policy studies

Policy Sciences - Current political developments in established liberal democracies in both Europe and North America have fundamentally called into question the normative relations between truth,...     

Towards ethically sound participatory research with marginalised populations: experiences from India

Participatory research is increasingly being used with poor and marginalised populations in developing countries. However, there has been relatively little attention paid to ethical considerations in participatory research. We argue that there is a need for additional strategies to promote ethically sound participatory research, especially when working with marginalised groups. We present our experiences from a participatory research initiative with an indigenous population in rural India, in which we developed and implemented a Code of Research Ethics and sought community consent as well as individual consent. The challenges that we faced and how we attempted to overcome them are also discussed.

Dans le sens de recherches participatives robustes sur le plan éthique avec des populations marginales : expériences d'Inde

Les recherches participatives sont de plus en plus utilisées avec des populations pauvres et marginalisées dans les pays en développement. Cependant, une attention relativement faible a été accordée aux considérations éthiques dans les recherches participatives. Nous soutenons qu'il est nécessaire d'adopter des stratégies supplémentaires pour promouvoir des recherches participatives robustes sur le plan éthique, en particulier au moment de travailler avec des groupes marginalisés. Nous présentons nos expériences d'une initiative de recherche participative avec une population autochtone dans une zone rurale de l'Inde, dans le cadre de laquelle nous avons élaboré et mis au point un Code d'éthique en matière de recherche et tenté d'obtenir le consentement de la communauté ainsi que celui des individus. Les défis auxquels nous nous sommes heurtés et la manière dont nous avons tenté de les relever font aussi l'objet d'une discussion.

Em direção a uma pesquisa participativa eticamente s?lida com populaçóes marginalizadas: experiéncias da Índia

A pesquisa participativa está cada vez mais sendo utilizada com populaçóes pobres e marginalizadas em países em desenvolvimento. Porém, tem havido relativamente pouca atenção a consideraçóes éticas na pesquisa participativa. Argumentamos que há uma necessidade de estratégias adicionais para promover pesquisa participativa eticamente s?lida, especialmente quando se está trabalhando com grupos marginalizados. Apresentamos nossas experiéncias a partir de uma iniciativa de pesquisa participativa com uma população nativa na zona rural da ëndia, na qual desenvolvemos e implementamos um C?digo de èica de Pesquisa e buscamos o consentimento da comunidade e também o consentimento individual. Os desafios que enfrentamos e o modo como tentamos superá-los também são discutidos.

Hacia una investigación participativa ética con poblaciones marginadas: experiencias de India

La investigación participativa se aplica cada vez más con poblaciones pobres y marginadas de los países en desarrollo. Sin embargo, se ha prestado poca atención a los aspectos éticos de este tipo de investigación. Los autores sostienen que sería conveniente contar con nuevas estrategias para promover la investigación participativa con sólidas bases éticas, en especial a la hora de trabajar con grupos marginados. Los autores presentan los resultados de una investigación participativa con una población indígena del sector rural de India, donde elaboraron e implementaron un Código de Ética para la Investigación que incluía el consentimiento tanto comunitario como individual. El ensayo también expone cómo los autores afrontaron los retos que surgieron.