Participation in the Knowledge Society: the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) movement compared with participatory development

The possibilities and limits of participation at the ‘bottom’ (represented, for example, by PRA and PLA) have been well articulated in development literature. However, the emergence of the Knowledge Society has opened up spaces for what we could call participation at the ‘top’ (free software, wiki, open access), the implications of which Development Studies is only beginning to grapple with. Building upon recent debates on the issue, we take the cases of the free software movement and participatory development, arguing that they share common ground in several ways. We aim to offer a few pointers on conceptualising development in the Knowledge Society.     

Introduction of China Society for Human Rights Studies

TheChinaSocietyforHumanRightsStudies(CSHRS)wasfoundedinJuly1993.Itisthelargestacadem-icorganizationspecializinginhumanrightsstudiesinChina,andanationalnon-governmentalorganiza-tionthathasacquiredconsultativestatuswiththeUnitedNationsEconomicandSocialCouncil.OBJECTIVE:TheCSHRSdevotesitselftoresearchofthetheories,historyandcurrentsituationsofhu-manrights,disseminationofhumanrightsknowledge,andinternationalexchangesandcooperationinthehumanrightsarena.Itaimsatpromotingmutualunderstandi…     

Nationalising International Theory: Race,Class and the English School

Much work has been done to deconstruct the links between knowledge and power in IR as "an American Social Science". This topic has arisen again with the re- launching of the English School of IR Theory in 2001. This essay argues that although the English School is critical of the power-knowledge dynamic, it actually exacerbates the problem by deliberately "nationalising" international theory. The essay traces the emergence and logic of the English School and its key concept "International Society". It argues that the English School is tied not only to national identity but to the rules of European Empire. Using the case of International Society's intervention in China, the essay shows how International Society uses "standards of civilisation" to draw borders between the subjects and objects of IR. But rather than tracing civilisation/empire to racial/national differentiation, the essay argues that "class" is used to differentiate between aristocratic member states of the club of International Society, and lower class colonies outside Europe. In other words, rather than looking to international ethics to regulate world politics, International Society relies on aristocratic etiquette for world ordering. Hence the theory is not as radical as its promoters suggest; rather, by limiting theoretical discussion to nation-states, the English School is a conservative confederate of other state-centric approaches to world politics. To do this, the essay looks beyond Eurocentric discourse and high diplomacy; it engages in a comparative IR theory that uses a new set of texts from China and the popular culture of manners.     

Interesting Notes From Asian Civil Society Forum 2004

From November 21 to 25,2004,nearly 400 partic-ipants for the 2nd Asian Civil Society Forum(ACSF), representing over 100 NGOs from more than 30 countries and regions of Asia gathered in Bangkok,Thailand.As a member of Chinese Asso-ciation for International Understanding, I had the chance to participate in the forum , and it was a most rewarding visit. The Scene of the Forum The ACSF 2004 was sponsored by CONGO (the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN ).Th…     

Multinational Enterprises as "Moral Entrepreneurs" in a Global Prohibition Regime Against Corruption

This article explores the incentives and means multinational enterprises (MNEs) may have to create a corruption-free business environment. It draws on Ethan Nadelmann's (1990) article in International Organization , "Global Prohibition Regimes: The Evolution of Norms in International Society" and discerns the emergence of such a regime centered on bribe paying and bribe soliciting.     

应该提升的中国劳动力价值——以“中国制造”与日韩国际竞争为例

入世以来,我国的一些出口企业不断遭遇反倾销的困扰,为什么会这样呢?国内有一种声音,认为社会责任国际SAI(1)推行的SA8000(2)企业社会责任标准体系是西方专门针对发展中国家,尤其是中国而制定的标准。实际上,原因是多方面的。劳动力价值低廉是中国产品进入国际市场的优势,但这一优势已经成为“中国制造”的污点。必须让企业懂得承担社会责任的重要性,为了维护“中国制造”的形象,应该提升中国劳动力的价值。     

Meeting development goals: evidence from the Civil Society Education Fund

In recent years, the Civil Society Education Fund has supported national education civil society coalitions (NECs) in low-income countries so that they put pressure on governments and donors to implement the Education for All agenda and the Millennium Development Goal on education. This article draws on literature on global governance as well as on an extensive evaluation of the CSEF to explore the actual contribution of this initiative to the activity of NECs. The article highlights the achievements and shortcomings of the CSEF and includes a set of practical recommendations on the role of global civil society in international development processes.     

NGO–business collaboration following the Indian CSR Bill 2013: trust-building collaborative social sector partnerships

The CSR Bill of 2013 introduced systematic corporate participation into social development in India. In the light of this law, this article argues that NGOs will play a decisive role in determining the benefits of corporate involvement and recommends that NGO–business partnerships are needed for meaningful social change. The article identifies a trust deficit between NGOs and businesses in India as a key obstacle to the success of NGO–business collaborations in the social sector. It suggests practices that could be adopted by NGOs to build trust in their partnerships with business partners, using a case study of one NGO, SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action).     

相背而驰 殊途同归——比较分析中俄高等教育入学考试及变革趋势

国家统一考试在俄罗斯从无到有,其产生、发展到全国推行具有特定的历史背景。从教育、社会、政治和国际化四个维度分析,俄罗斯高等教育入学考试由分散向统一的变革趋势具有适切性,与国家大政方针和文化战略一脉相承。几乎同期,中国高等教育入学考试经历着由统一向分散的变革趋势。两国看似相悖的发展路径实则体现出认识论哲学和政治论哲学的冲突、大学与政府权力的博弈及公平和效率的两难等共性问题,更为重要的是体现出两国政府对教育公平的不懈追求。     

从华人认同看泰国华文教育的复苏与发展(1992～2012)

华文教育起源于海外华人社会,泰国的华文教育亦是如此。1992年,泰国政府放宽华文教育的限制,泰国华文教育复苏并迅速发展,目前泰国有超过80万人学习汉语。虽然泰国华人被高度同化,但是他们多元的政治、文化和族群认同反而促进了泰国华文教育的复苏和发展。     

“益贫式增长”:越南的实践与经验

一、前言 20世纪90年代以来,关注发展中国家贫困问题的国外学术界和国际机构已从单纯强调"增长",转而重视"益贫式增长(pro-poor growth)"."益贫式增长"关注增长、贫困和不平等三者间的相互关系,这一术语最早出现在1997年英国的国际发展白皮书、1999年亚洲开发银行(ADB)的报告以及世界银行的世界发展报告中.亚洲开发银行较早给出相关定义,认为"如果增长是吸收劳动(labor absorbing),并伴随着有助于降低不平等、为穷人增加收入和创造就业的政策,特别是,如果增长有助于妇女以及其他传统上被排除在增长及其成果分享之外的群体,则这种增长就是益贫式的"①.     

Children's rights in a risk society: the case of schooling in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ongoing discourse on children's rights and related attitudes towards individualisation and risk in contemporary Japan's education system. The paper is also interested in how this discourse is translated into concrete change. The concepts of ‘children's rights’ and ‘risk society’ both have their origins in Western conceptions of the relationship between the individual and society, and the place of children and young people in that society. This paper explores the way that these concepts have been transformed by their adoption into domestic Japanese discourse on education reform. After a discussion of how the classical liberal concepts of positive and negative human rights can be applied to the specific case of children's rights, the discussion moves on to show how this debate has developed in Japan since the 1980s. Then the paradigm of the ‘Risk Society’ is introduced and the concepts of ‘positive risks’ and ‘negative risks’ are explored, first with reference to schooling in Western countries and then in relation to Japan. Finally, the relationship between risk, rights and neoliberalism is discussed, and it is shown how Western notions of individualisation have met strong resistance from various actors on both sides of the political spectrum. In the case of the Japanese education system, the shift of responsibility from state bureaucracies to individuals and private-sector organisations that is predicted by Risk Society theory has only partially taken place.     

The African Information Society: rhetoric and practice

ABSTRACT

In the last few years Africa has seen an enormous activity in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) related conferences and initiatives on behalf of international and donor institutions. These initiatives became increasingly coloured by the rhetoric of an emerging global information society and the need for an African answer to these developments. With regard to this information society two documents hold particular relevance: the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa's, (ECA's) Africa's Information Society Initiative (AISI): An Action Framework to Build Africa's Information and Communication Infrastructure and the ITUs African Green Paper. This article sets out to question these policies and implementation initiatives, and their rhetoric and practice.     

Reflections on innovation,assessment, and social change: a SPARC case study

This article challenges the terms on which donor agencies evaluate development success, drawing on a particular case to make its point. It describes the resettlement of 60,000 people squatting along the railway tracks in Mumbai, a process planned and carried out by a federation of the railway dwellers themselves, with support from the NGO SPARC (the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres). The article argues that this effort, which met donor criteria for a successful project, was the tip of an iceberg. Without an appreciation of the years of learning and innovation that preceded it, and the underpinning of principles and relationships built up over many years, this achievement cannot be adequately assessed or understood – and certainly not replicated. Yet in the world of formal assessment and evaluation, there tends to be a lack of interest in the deeper learning about social change that makes such success stories possible.     

十月革命前俄国远东朝鲜人的政治活动

日俄战争后,朝鲜人民反日运动高涨,俄远东的朝鲜移民也投入斗争中,成立大韩国民会、劝业会等朝鲜民族组织,积极从事政治活动,有力地支援了朝鲜国内的革命运动,同时也为俄国革命做出了一定的贡献。十月革命前朝鲜人在远东的政治活动构成了19世纪末20纪初亚非拉人民反侵略斗争的一个组成部分。     

The Gordian Knot of Brazilian Foreign Policy: Promoting democracy while respecting sovereignty

President Cardoso has provided decisive impetus for strengthening Brazil's commitment to democracy abroad, both through multilateral diplomacy and foreign policy. However, there exist inherent tensions between the dual principles guiding Brazilian foreign policy, the promotion and protection of democracy abroad and the attachment to national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs. This study assesses Brazil's response to threats to democracy during the last decade in 10 case studies. It argues that presidential diplomacy has played a key role in furthering the democratic commitment of Brazilian foreign policy. The author thanks Paulo Roberto de Almeida, Juan Fernando London ?o, Anja Linder, and Riordan Roett and gratefully acknowledges the support of the Democracy Coalition Project (DCP) of the Open Society Institute (OSI) in Washington DC.     

上海与圣彼得堡两市居民的地缘政治关系认同

一个国家民众偏好某个国家与否的选择,反映了一个国家的国民意识和社会意愿,是民族认同的组成部分。民众对其他国家的看法和态度,既是对其他国家看法和态度的社会情绪和社会舆论的晴雨表,也是一个国家现行外交政策和外交活动实际状况的一种反映。对上海和圣彼得堡两市居民的实地调查,客观展示了中俄两国在社会转型时期,从社会禁锢走向社会开放的过程中,两国民众对与不同国家合作的评价和意愿。中俄两国民众对两国之间的相互合作均给予很积极的评价,但在中俄关系积极向上发展的过程中还存在许多不尽如人意之处。中俄两国应不断增进了解,使"睦邻友好"成为两国民众的广泛共识和自觉行为。     

Authoritarianism in the Hypermasculinized State: Hybridity, Patriarchy, and Capitalism in Korea

Authoritarianism in East Asia's capitalist developmental state (CDS) is highly gendered. A hybrid product of Western masculinist capitalism and Confucian parental governance, CDS authoritarianism takes on a hypermasculinized developmentalism that assumes all the rights and privileges of classical Confucian patriarchy for the state while assigning to society the characteristics of classical Confucian womanhood: diligence, discipline, and deference. Society subsequently bears the burden of economic development without equal access to political representation or voice. Women in the CDS now face three tiers of patriarchal authority and exploitation: family, state, and economy. Nevertheless, new opportunities for democratization may arise even in the hypermasculinized state. We suggest: (1) emphasizing substantive, not just procedural, democratization, (2) exercising a maternalized discourse of dissent, and (3) applying hybrid strategies of social mobilization across states, societies, cultures, and movements. South Korea during the 1960s–1970s serves as our case study.     

Paradoxes of religion and terrorism

Bruce Lincoln (ed.). Religion, Rebellion, Revolution: An Interdisciplinary & Cross‐Cultural Collection of Essays. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. Pp.311. $35. ISBN 0–312–67061–3

Bruce Lincoln, Discourse and the Construction of Society: Comparative Studies of Myth, Ritual, and Classification. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. Pp.238, illus. ISBN 0–19–505757–0     

论俄国早期的反酗酒运动

1861年废除农奴制后,酒类专卖制度很快被取消,非法酿酒猖獗,酒价下降,俄国农村酗酒现象愈趋严重。20世纪初期俄国的欧洲部分掀起了反酗酒运动,与80年代戈尔巴乔夫发起的反酗酒运动不同的是:1.沙俄政府明反暗不反;2.村社反酗酒运动效果不佳;3.农村青年自发组织禁酒协会并联合社会各界开展反酗酒运动,取得了阶段性胜利。早期的反酗酒运动带动了农村文化建设,并为全俄农村文明的提升做出了贡献。