Transnational Radicalization,Diaspora Groups,and Within-group Sentiment Pools: Young Tamil and Somali Canadians on the LTTE and al Shabaab

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the Tamil and Somali diasporas have come under intense scrutiny by the media and national security agencies in Canada. This is due to concerns that members of both communities may hold political grievances associated with their respective homelands that could be acted upon by joining or supporting transnational terrorist groups. Drawing on 168 in-depth interviews with youth and young adults in Toronto’s Tamil and Somali diasporas, we provide a comparative analysis of the varying ways that existing sentiment pools can operate to mobilize broad-levels of support for, or vilification of, the framing strategies of the LTTE and al Shabaab, respectively. Our findings show that frames that portray the LTTE in a positive light resonate deeply with the young Tamil-Canadians we interviewed, characterizing a “narrative fidelity” between these frames and the existing sentiment pool. By contrast, there exists considerable disconnect between the framing strategies of al Shabaab, their supporters, and existing sentiment within the Somali diaspora – a divide that illustrates the notion of “framing failure”. We conclude with a discussion of the dynamic nature and inherent malleability of group-level sentiment pools, and highlight why this may be important from a national security standpoint.     

Populism and Downing Street E-petitions: Connective Action,Hybridity, and the Changing Nature of Organizing

This article explores ongoing debates about whether new media empowers individuals at the expense of formal organizations, and how the nature of organizations/organizing is changing. Focusing on Downing Street E-petitions, it presents a content analysis of over 33,000 accepted petitions, analyzing who or what ‘sponsored’ each petition alongside interviews with petition creators. The analysis finds a wide range of ‘affiliations’, from formal groups to personal information, though many formal groups chose not to use the platform. In apparent support of the populist position, and contradicting resource mobilization theories, individuals created 19 of the 20 most signed petitions. Bennett and Segerberg’s (2013) theory of connective action, and Chadwick’s theories of organizational hybridity (2007) and the hybrid media system (2013) inform a detailed qualitative analysis of how petitions were promoted, and the nature of organization that underpinned this. The analysis finds that organizational structure(s) underpinning successful individual petitions were complex, with extensive organizational hybridity and petitioners exploiting hybrid media logics. Connective action was also apparent, though this did not fit as easily with practice on Downing Street E-petitions.     

Somali Community Organizations in London and Toronto: Collaboration and Effectiveness

This article considers the high number of Somali community organizationsin both London and Toronto. Drawing on interviews in both locationswith Somali women refugees and discussions with those involvedin their resettlement, evidence shows that many Somalis continueto feel marginalized in terms of service provision and thatcollective representation is limited, despite the high numberof specifically Somali organizations that exist. Through a comparisonof the Somali community organizations in London and Toronto,this article highlights factors which have inhibited the developmentof a united, collaborative Somali voice. Contributory factorsare shown to derive partly from the persistent clan dynamicsamong Somalis and the solutions Somalis find, and partly fromfailings in service and funding provision. It is argued that,in the Somali case, exclusionary dynamics undermine the roleof community organizations in rebuilding community and belongingand providing a safe and empowering setting in which individualsand communities may regain confidence and begin the processof integration within the receiving society.     

世界大国与战略环境:中国国际角色的新课题

为了考察中国作为潜在世界大国的战略环境,本文引入了四个指标:中国国际角色变化的动力、大国关系的新态势、中国国民的大国心态、国际社会的认知.前两者属于"硬实力"范畴,后两者属于"认知"因素.以此为出发点,本文以定量与定性研究相结合,客观分析中国当前的国际战略环境.在此基础上,本文指出塑造有利中国的战略环境,其关键仍在国内.对外,中国则应继续保持敢于担当、谦虚平和的大国心态,更加坚定地发展与相关国家的友好关系.     

亚太妇女跨国迁移及其性产业与公共治理——菲律宾NGO的社会行动探析

20世纪90年代以来,亚太地区的人口迁移与性产业相互推动,促使越来越多的女性移民卷入性产业。如今,性产业的蔓延与繁荣已经成为亚太地区社会经济发展面临的一个严重问题,引起各国政府与相关非政府组织的极大关注。因此,治理性产业的法律与公共政策也成为亚太地区国家与公民社会讨论的重要内容。本文以菲律宾妇女海外性工作者与菲律宾NGO的社会行动为例,探讨发展中国家的妇女移民在跨国迁移中的角色、地位与社会、性别危机,以及公民社会参与性产业的社会治理行动与策略。     

Irregular Warfare and Tactical Changes: The Case of Somali Piracy

The aim of this article is to analyze the tactical behavior of Somali pirates, international naval forces, and the shipping community operating in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin. To what extent has tactical behavior changed over time and can this process be understood in more theoretical terms? Our theoretical framework centers around some concepts often used in naval doctrine, discussing tactical change in terms of command and control, force, mobility, protection, intelligence, and endurance. We also evaluate this change using two tactical concepts—tactical adaptation and tactical development. The empirical data is based on statistics from the International Criminal Court-International Maritime Bureau and the EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta, as well as interviews. We conclude that Somali piracy has unquestionably adapted their tactics to circumstances, while naval forces have increased their capacity to capture pirates and shipping to avoid pirates.     

The role of marginalised women in sanitation initiatives: Somali women in northern Kenya

Research has shown women from marginalised communities have significant articulated needs for sanitation that are often unmet. Using focus group discussions with displaced Somali women living in rural villages in northern Kenya, this study found that women’s central concerns were for personal safety and convenience rather than hygiene; and for alleviation from the pain and discomfort associated with female genital mutilation and reproduction. Based on the findings, the article recommends organisations supporting sanitation initiatives should adopt approaches responsive to women’s particular concerns and needs. It makes specific recommendations for implementing an agenda of participation in a context where women are highly marginalised.     

外来族群影响下的东南亚妇女的经济角色:历史的探源

东南亚妇女在前殖民时期就从事经济生产,在外来族群的楔入和影响下成为区域经济体系的重要参与者,经历了以性关系为基础向家庭关系为基础的经济角色转换,再朝着以社会关系为基础的经济角色发展。探悉东南亚妇女经济角色的发源为其在当代社会经济活动中的积极角色提供了历史的解释,展现了其在前殖民时期至殖民时期的嬗变过程,并揭示了影响这一过程的外部因素。     

Symbolic reflections of the environmental crisis: Some International Implications

In the present age of burgeoning population growth, world‐wide famine, worsening energy crises, and natural resource depletion, two realizations have become evident: the earth's resources are finite; and the world community is very interdependent. This finity, the interrelatedness, and their implications for the global environment can be studied by using three models: (1) the environmental crisis model, depicting the impact linkages between crisis areas; (2) an international feedback model, illustrating possible repercussions on the international political system if restorative‐preventive environmental measures are procrastinated; and (3) the United Nations machinery model, setting out the functional apparatus designed to deal with the eco‐crisis on a global scale.

We have reached an environmental cross‐roads‐a time for deliberate decision‐making and policy implementation. We must accomplish a readjustment of social, economic, and technical priorities and perspectives‐in short, a functional approach where national governments and international organizations act in concert to restore and safeguard the human environment.     

Sovereignty in the Balance: Claims and Bargains at the UN Conferences on the Environment, Human Rights, and Women

States vary the content and subject matter of their claims to sovereignty. In an analysis of when states invoked sovereignty at recent UN World Conferences on the environment (1992), human rights (1993), and women (1995), the authors revise and extend Litfin's (1997) notion of bargains among components of sovereignty. At the conferences, states invoked sovereignty in debates over cultural and religious values, economics, and increased international accountability. The authors interpret the debates based on how four elements of sovereignty—autonomy, control, and legitimacy in the eyes of other states and nonstate actors—are traded by states through implicit or explicit bargaining. They identify patterns that vary by issue area. The authors argue that nongovernmental organizations as well as other states may legitimate or delegitimate states' sovereign claims. They find that countries of the global South made more sovereignty claims of all kinds than Northern states. And, sovereignty bargains may be struck more easily over power and economics than social values.     

Parliamentary control of CSDP: the case of the EU's fight against piracy off the Somali coast

Parliamentary involvement remains a key tool for the democratic control of executive policies. This article explores the web of parliamentary involvement in decision-making on European Union (EU) military operations, using insights gained in an in-depth case study on the EU's anti-piracy mission Atalanta. We find that parliaments at all levels became involved only after key political decisions had already been made. At the member state level, we find highly uneven involvement with only some parliaments being very well informed and closely monitoring, if not influencing government policy. The European Parliament became active only after the launch of the mission but then scrutinised it intensely, profiting (in contrast to national parliaments) from its access to top military officials and key decision-makers. Finally, transnational parliamentary assemblies as well as more informal networks provided opportunities to transmit information across the boundaries of individual parliaments and party-groups thus potentially enhancing the ability of parliamentarians to scrutinise government policies.     

The Role of Class Action Litigation in Achieving Child Welfare Reform: A Study in Public Conflict Resolution

This article traces the history of a 16-year court battle over the child welfare system in Kansas City, Missouri, which eventually headed toward resolution as the result of an innovative public policy negotiation process. The process combined the substantive expertise of nationally and locally respected child welfare professionals with political muscle at the state, local, and community levels to develop and implement a plan for reform. If the results of this process become institutionalized in the Kansas City child welfare system, it will represent a significant transformation in the governing culture and practices of the system and the community it serves.     

国际关系格局变化中发展中国家的地位与作用及对中国政策的思考

发展中国家是第二次世界大战后出现的一个国家群体,在冷战时期被称为第三世界国家,开始的界定是帝国主义阵营为第一世界,社会主义阵营为第二世界。1974年2月,毛泽东对三个世界划分又提出,苏、美为第一世界,亚非拉广大发展中国家为第三世界,介于两者之间的为第二世界。无疑后一种划分强调了反两霸的思想,政治上的针对性更强。上个世纪的八、九十年代,人们习惯称这些国家为发展中国家,则是更多地强调了经济、社会和发展。发展中国家一直是国际政治中不容忽视的一支重要力量,在冷战结束以后,对发展中国家在国际关系格局中的地位与作用存在着不同的认识和观点。本文拟对当前发展中国家面临的问题、它们在国际关系格局中的地位及作用,以及中国同这些国家的关系进行一些探讨。     

越南2004～2010年预防打击拐卖妇女儿童犯罪行动计划

越南政府总理批准2004~2010年预防打击拐卖妇女儿童犯罪行动计划的决定政府总理根据2001年12月25日政府组织法;根据政府1998年7月31日关于在新形势下加强预防打击犯罪工作的09/1998/NQ-CP号决议;根据公安部部长的提议,决定:第一条:批准2004~2010年预防打击拐卖妇女儿童犯罪行动计划,包括以下主要内容;一、目标使各级、各部门、团体和全社会对预防打击拐卖妇女儿童工作的认识和行动出现大的转变,预防、制止并在2010年基本上减少妇女儿童被拐卖的现象。二、计划的主要方案1.方案1:在社会上宣传、教育预防打击拐卖妇女儿童犯罪。2.方案2:打击…     

宗教:解读美国政治的新视角--《逐渐缩小的分界线:美国政治中正在变化的宗教角色》介评

宗教在美国政治中扮演着重要角色 ,宗教团体已是一支“成长中的力量” ,从 2 0世纪 6 0年代以来 ,它在政治中的作用变得越来越直接 ,并将在新世纪继续发挥作用。美国布鲁金斯学会 2 0 0 0年出版的《逐渐缩小的分界线 :美国政治中正在变化的宗教角色》(ＴｈｅＤｉｍｉｎｉｓｈｉｎｇＤｉｖｉｄｅ :Ｒｅｌｉｇｉｏｎ’ｓＣｈａｎｇｉｎｇＲｏｌｅｉｎＡｍｅｒｉｃａｎＰｏｌｉｔｉｃｓ)一书对此进行了深入分析。首先 ,该书对美国宗教现况进行了归纳 ,认为美国主流社会在朝世俗化方向发展 ,民众对宗教的感情日益淡薄。与 2 0世纪 6 0年代相比 ,…     

巴基斯坦人口状况的特点

巴基斯坦人口状况令人担忧 ,经济发展和社会进步深受其害。巴人口状况呈现出以下几个特点 :居高不下的人口增长率、庞大的贫困人口、低下的人口素质、扭曲的城市化进程。虽然现在巴政府做出了新的努力 ,但考虑到巴国内的现实 ,短时间内人口问题将很难解决 ,前景不容乐观。