Constructivism and globalisation: from units to encounters in international affairs

In this article I argue that there is a link between constructivism and globalisation, and it is a strong one. Constructivism evolved as part of a more general trend in international relations scholarship, a trend that has seen a shift from the study of the relationship between assumed fixed, given units, nation‐states, to the study of encounter between political entities. The study of the encounter, however, affects a subtle but significant change in the assumed spatial context in which international relationships are taking place. The underpinning image of the geographical space, the envelope in which international relationships take place, has shifted from an image of a divided space made of separate and isolated nation‐states to an image of a global space, an arena that give rise to problems of encounters between social units. Encounter theories, of which constructivism in all its variations is a good example, are predicated, in other words, on an assumed global world (however ambiguous and inchoate this notion of global might be), and in that sense they advance, unwittingly, a theory of globalisation.     

Media,globalisation and culture: issues and trends

Abstract

This article addresses some of the trends and issues as they relate to media and cultural globalisation. Grounded in a fundamental cultural perspective, the problematic of international communication is framed in different views of ‘local culture’, ‘cultural identity’ and ‘processes of cultural mixing’. In the end, a research framework for the study of cultural globalisation/localisation is outlined. The framework captures the issue of hybridised cultural products from a people centred perspective.     

Reactions to globalisation by the television industry in post-apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the different ways in which the South African television industry has reacted to globalisation forces during the post-apartheid era that started in the early 1990s. Of particular interest is how the local television industry initially planned political and economic reforms aimed at bringing the industry more in line with global trends, but then later reacted mainly to protect the local television production industry against foreign competition and to protect local viewers against perceived cultural imperialism impacts of foreign programs. These protective actions were however not as successful as was intended with regard to promoting local television content production. The paper discusses the underlying dynamics of the globalisation and the various localisation processes that occurred (varying chronologically from primary, to secondary, to tertiary localisation), as well as the ways in which television industries in other parts of the world have reacted to similar global forces. It is contended that the local South African television production industry stands to benefit most in future if broadcasting policy makers respond more pro-actively to opportunities offered by global technological forces operating upon the industry. This is in agreement with the thrust of the latest broadcasting policy process of the Department of Communication. It is concluded that a recent joint initiative by the country's two major broadcasters in which an increased number of both locally produced and other “African” programs are being broadcast via satellite to prospective geo-cultural markets in the rest of Africa, holds promise for the future viability of the South African television industry.     

International volunteering for development and sustainability: outdated paternalism or a radical response to globalisation?

This article discusses the history and evolution of international volunteer-sending agencies and volunteers as a response not only to symptoms but also to causes of global poverty and inequality. It considers how international volunteers might be defined, what makes their role different from other forms of overseas development assistance (particularly their contribution to capacity development), and the positives and negatives that may accompany those differences. It also reflects on international volunteers' suitability as contributors in the transition to a globally more ecologically sustainable state, presenting some insights from volunteers and other stakeholders.     

Southeast Asia: theory between modernization and tradition

This article inquires into the absence of non-western theorizingupon Southeast Asian international relations by positing thatmodernization and its conceptual kin ‘realism’ haveproclaimed themselves as the mainstream in both theoreticaland empirical research. This is as much a product of postcolonialwestern scholarship as it is of indigenous scholarship in reproducingthe former's frameworks. The effect of this Gramscian hegemonyis to marginalize possibilities for non-western internationaltheory. There are nonetheless flickers of hope for a generic‘Southeast Asian contribution’ to theorizing InternationalRelations, inclusive of non-mainstream western scholarship,if one considers the categories of transitional and hybrid scholarship,in addition to historically informed possibilities of a traditionalSoutheast Asian statehood. Received for publication May 16, 2006. Accepted for publication June 27, 2007.     

印度教“非暴力主义”对“全球伦理”的构建作用

为了从信仰与道德的层面化解道德沉沦、宗教冲突和环境恶化等世界性难题,由基督教神学界发起的“全球伦理运动”提出了分别出自基督教传统和儒家传统的有关“道德金律”的积极和消极的表述。在本文看来,“道德金律”的形式化表述在逻辑上并非充分完备,而具有实质性内容的非暴力主义当可与“己所不欲,毋施于人”和“爱人如己”的道德律令鼎足而立,使形成中的全球基本伦理更加坚实有效。     

Women and globalisation: challenges and opportunities facing construction workers in contemporary India

This article identifies the opportunities and constraints faced by female construction workers in urban India, citing empirical research conducted in the city of Ahmedabad. The Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) conducted three surveys in 1998, 2003, and 2007 to learn more about the needs and priorities of construction workers in the context of economic globalisation. While enthusiastically endorsing the role that training and certification can play in providing skilled women with opportunities for quality employment, the author emphasises the need for wider policy intervention at the state and national levels to ensure that such programmes have replicable, sustainable, and gender-equitable results.     

Operationalising bottom-up learning in international NGOs: Barriers and alternatives

This article proposes bottom-up learning as a normative framework for international NGOs. It explores the common but often unacknowledged disparity between organisational values and mission versus actual practice. The first section of the paper raises the question of organisational learning disorders followed by an exploration of learning organisations and bottom-up learning in particular. A section briefly summarising positive developments in the field is followed by discussions of organisational barriers and possible mitigation techniques. The paper closes with a challenge for international NGOs to take a closer look at their learning capabilities with a view to improving service to communities in need.     

The great tradition: The spread of diplomacy in the ancient world

Diplomacy as we understand it to the present day — a sophisticated system for handling affairs of state and negotiating treaties, based on accredited envoys working within a framework of international law and protocol - emerged in the third millennium BCE in the ancient Near East at the same time as the development of writing and urban culture. Transmitted by the great cuneiform civilizations of Babylon and Assyria to Achaemenid Persia and classical Greece and Rome, the heritage of diplomacy continued to flourish in Byzantium, Rome, and Venice. The Renaissance provided the conditions for the spread of a tradition that had existed in many essential aspects for millennia.     

新时期的中日关系:从思考走向构建

新时期中日关系表现出与以往不同的时代特点。基于共同战略利益的中日互惠关系,意味着"经济依存与政治互信"应成为构建合理的国际政治经济秩序的基石。新时期中日关系可分为三个阶段:即初段"过渡期"(20世纪90年代),中段"碰撞期"(新世纪开始至今)和期望中的后段"构建期"(起始时间尚难最后确定)。中日关系在冷战结束后实现了平稳过渡,同时也确立了经济因素主导两国关系、政治上保持求同存异的新时期格局。进入新世纪,两国在发展战略、地区战略上的矛盾凸显,中日关系经历了前所未有的颠簸震荡。当前,我们仍处在中段"碰撞期",但已开始为走出"碰撞期"而进行深刻的思考。由于中日关系特有的复杂性,从深入思考走向积极构建不但将是一个较长的过程,而且必将会经历种种困难和曲折。需要指出的是,思考与构建并不是截然分开的两个阶段,着眼于构建的思考本身就带有构建的含义。     

Constructing terrorists: propaganda about animal rights

Confusion and misrepresentation plague discourse on ‘terrorism’. The term is misapplied to actions far removed from violent mass-casualty attacks or peacetime equivalents of war crimes. This article examines how the term is misapplied to non-violent actions of animal rights groups to undermine opposition to animal exploitation industries.     

American diplomatic realism: A tradition practised and preached by George F. Kennan

George F. Kennan's work remains pertinent to the contemporary debate over American foreign policy in which voices calling for a realistic conduct of American diplomacy have been faint. Kennan's thought contains a framework that can be used to examine critically the drift in American diplomacy from the realist assumptions held by the American Founding Fathers towards the liberal or Wilsonian school of international relations. Wilsonianism has seized the world view of contemporary American diplomats and statesmen, particularly during the Clinton administration. Kennan's analysis provides a salutary word in the debate over the course of post‐Cold War American foreign policy that takes Wilsonian assumptions for granted.     

American diplomatic realism: A tradition practised and preached by George F. Kennan

George F. Kennan's work remains pertinent to the contemporary debate over American foreign policy in which voices calling for a realistic conduct of American diplomacy have been faint. Kennan's thought contains a framework that can be used to examine critically the drift in American diplomacy from the realist assumptions held by the American Founding Fathers towards the liberal or Wilsonian school of international relations. Wilsonianism has seized the world view of contemporary American diplomats and statesmen, particularly during the Clinton administration. Kennan's analysis provides a salutary word in the debate over the course of post-Cold War American foreign policy that takes Wilsonian assumptions for granted.     

Empowering rural women's groups for strengthening economic linkages: some Indian experiments

Through organizing informal self-help groups (SHGs), rural women in India are provided credit and extension support for various production-oriented income-generating activities. These activities usually include garment-making, embroidery, food processing, bee-keeping, basketry, gem cutting, weaving, and knitting. SHGs are self-governed, with decisions about production and marketing taken collectively, although the group leader is responsible for identifying potential marketing centers and consumers. These groups represent a new culture in rural development, breaking with traditional bureaucracy and top-down management. Informal groups empower rural women to manage rural industries and make decisions collectively for their common economic interests. Experience with SHGs in Orissa, lessons from nongovernmental organization intervention, and a model for empowering poor people in a small town in Kerala are discussed.     

中国的战略选择:从陆地迫近中东

冷战结束以来,亚欧大陆腹地内在联系逐渐增多,一个可称为大中东的地区渐具雏形.中国应该利用地缘优势,通过双边和多边的合作,构建陆上交通、通讯走廊和网络,实现与中亚、南亚和海湾地区紧密的经济与政治联系.这样的一项政策将使中国的对外开放格局、经济发展格局更为均衡,同时也将在很大程度上改善中国在地缘上面临的困境.