Commonwealth Small States,Education and Environmental Uncertainty: Learning from the Sharp End

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the Commonwealth’s inclusive role in engaging with the distinctive challenges of education provision in small states, an agenda that is often neglected elsewhere. We examine the origins of Commonwealth work on education in small states, the nature of its comparative advantage, its role in facilitating small states’ engagement with international education dialogue and regional co-operation, and the demand and potential for ongoing Commonwealth support for education. Particular attention is given to experience within the Caribbean region and to the potential for the Commonwealth and the wider international community to learn from small states in the light of their distinctive educational challenges, achievements and priorities – and, most notably, their experience at the ‘sharp end’ of environmental uncertainty and climate change.     

Cut Loose in the Caribbean: Neoliberalism and the Demise of the Commonwealth Sugar Trade

This article focuses on the way the Anglophone Caribbean succumbed to the overhaul of the European Union sugar trade and how these countries have attempted to restructure their economies in its wake. We show how the protagonists of reform gave a sense of inevitability to the demise of the Commonwealth trade system and conveyed (unrealistic) strategies for how this should be managed for the benefit of the Caribbean. In this way we detail the hegemony of neoliberalism in contemporary trade politics and the need for alternative strategies for rural development in the Caribbean region.     

Muddy waters: citizenship and the right to vote in the Commonwealth Caribbean migratory context

Two global voting trends are noted in the electoral studies literature: the exclusion of resident noncitizens and the inclusion of non-resident citizens in national elections. These two research streams are rarely studied together. By analysing both of these trends in the Commonwealth Caribbean, the article reveals how the assumed relationship between citizenship and the right to vote does not always hold. Citizenship is neither necessary nor sufficient to exercise full political rights. The Commonwealth Caribbean thus diverges from global voting trends and illustrates the complexities and changing shape of the relationship between citizenship and the right to vote.     

(Re)Creating the Comfort Zone: From Common Ethnicity towards Commonwealth: The Transnationalisation Process of Malaysian Chinese Small and Medium Enterprises

Though acknowledging that ethnic Chinese cooperate in networks in which they feel ‘comfortable’, scholars dispute what it is that makes ethnic Chinese cooperate transnationally, and they disagree as to what extent these networks can be regarded as independent of nation-state regimes. Phrased differently, there is no agreement on the contents of this ‘comfort zone’ and on how it is created. Scholarly debate focuses on ethnic Chinese businesses and on the nature of transnationalism, but fails to address the process of transnationalising businesses. By considering the different perspectives on transnationalism, identity and business development among ethnic Chinese, this paper analyses the process of transnationalisation of Malaysian Chinese small and medium enterprises.     

Collecting on their investments,one woman at a time: Economic partnerships among Caribbean immigrant women in the United States

ABSTRACT

This article treats rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) from a constructive cultural perspective. The female-based African-Jamaican tradition of paadna (partnership) is examined within the theoretical scope of womanist (Black feminist) thought, a seminal discourse intersecting both the African diaspora and women's studies. Across the multiple scholarly approaches within women's and African diaspora studies, academic theory acquires cogency through legitimate correspondences with tangible liberating practices and traditions that can be documented and interrogated for conceptual insights. The practice of economic partnering is one such tradition that substantiates the ethical directives and imperatives of womanist theory and practice. A womanist reading of paadnas is proposed, not because the participants have any self-conscious commitment to feminism/womanism, but because of the institution's efficacy in enhancing the socioeconomic standing of Black families through a relatively small-scale capital enterprise. Through paadna networks, Jamaican women have transplanted a flexible self-help tradition to America that is arguably one of the most reliable sources of social and economic mobility among groups of African descent in the United States.     

中东欧独联体政治经济转型20年: 约束条件与转型政策、策略选择

回顾中东欧独联体国家转型走过的道路,可以发现,转型的方式和路径受制于转型的约束条件.其中,政治转型与经济转型的相互制约关系尤为复杂.在复杂的约束条件下,转型的政策空间是受限的.转型目标、转型的策略选择与次序安排相互制约,共同规定了转型的基本方向和演进轨迹.     

From Clean Air to Climate Policy in the Netherlands and Switzerland: How Two Small States Deal with a Global Problem

Guided by the question "Who can learn from whom?" the author compares how domestic actors in the Netherlands and Switzerland tackle global problems involving scarce natural resources. Variables such as storylines, policy instruments, and actor networks are framed by political traditions and the general "philosophy" behind each country's policy. Both countries pursue their own strategy, and give environmental policy high priority in their political agendas. But Dutch policy is shaped by a specific tradition of negotiation and "voluntary" agreements between ministries and polluter groups. Swiss policy emphasizes binding legislation. Empirical observations are embedded in political theories dealing with potential shifts from sectoral thinking towards ecological modernization, sustainable principles, and network management. It is argued that the real challenge for politics and science is to include normative debate in open policy‐making systems. However, it is suggested that there is not much time left to experiment with new policy styles.