Beijing: A conference of commitments?

The author of this article holds the view that the Declaration and Platform for Action at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 was the product of the most highly participatory process ever organized under the auspices of the UN. The Declaration and Platform expressed the strongest views on gender equality, empowerment, and justice that governments have ever endorsed. These documents were the consolidation of gains made by women in previous UN conferences. The 135-page Platform can be used at all levels of decision making. Governments and international can be held accountable for its provisions. The Platform exposes the problems violence and exploitation against women and girls as well as the revelation that environmental destruction is due to an unsustainable pattern of consumption and production, particularly in developed countries. Conference participants included about 3000 nongovernmental groups (NGOs). The Women's Linkage Caucus and WEDO served to facilitate the advocacy process by providing briefings on text still under negotiation and providing on-line recommendations from the 1995 and 1994 Commission on the Status of Women preparatory committee meetings. A scoreboard that tracked government's commitment at the 1995 preparatory committee meetings was reinstated in Beijing. The information was conveyed on the Internet. The European Union is credited with diluting the language about government commitment to the Platform. Governments are still given responsibility for implementation, and the need for political will is stressed (paragraph 293). Paragraph 297 indicates the process for implementation of the Platform and coordination with NGOs. Although the Platform recognizes the importance of women's groups and other NGOs, the responsibility for implementation is still given to governments.     

A Review of: “The Take”

This study uses four waves of panel data to analyze inadvertent learning—that is, learning in the absence of interest or motivation—from watching public service television channels. Previous research suggests that motivation-based gaps in political knowledge are at least partly a function of the political information opportunities provided by the major television channels in a country, which influence the likelihood of being inadvertently exposed to news and current affairs programs. The present study puts the inadvertent learning hypothesis to a thorough empirical test by analyzing individual-level growth in knowledge over time, based on panel data collected during five months leading up to the Swedish 2010 national election. Using multilevel growth curve modeling and an extensive battery of surveillance knowledge questions, the results show not only (a) that public service channel viewing was related to learning, but also (b) that knowledge growth occurred among public service viewers independently of their political motivation and news attention, and (c) that such learning was even more pronounced among viewers lacking an interest in politics. The findings are discussed in light of ongoing media environmental transformations as well as cross-national comparative media systems research.     

A Review of: “Israeli and Palestinian Postcards: Presentations of National Self”

Recent studies suggest that what the political talk radio hosts say on the air can shape the political orientations of their audiences. Drawing on data from a panel survey conducted in 1996, I examined the "Limbaugh effect" during the GOP presidential nomination campaign. My findings cast doubt on popular assumptions about the power of Limbaugh's words. Despite weeks of listening to Limbaugh criticize Pat Buchanan, members of the audience were no more likely to harbor negative feelings toward the candidate than were nonlisteners.     

American perceptions of terrorism: A Q‐methodological analysis of types

The literature on terrorism makes a number of significant predictions of the effects of media coverage of terrorism on audiences, public policy, and terrorism itself. Many of these predictions are contradictory, and little or no empirical social‐scientific research has been done to determine public perceptions of international terrorism. Q‐methodology offers a means of identifying groups or “types” of persons who share similar attitudes toward a phenomenon. Use of Q‐methodology here revealed four types of respondents sharing similar views of international terrorism. These distinctive types helped shed light on the many diverse and contradictory predictions of the effects of terrorism coverage on American public opinion and public policy.     

Sino-US Relations: A Bumpy Path of Exploring Cooperation

January 1, 1999 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomaticties between China and the United Slates. Over the past two decades, the bi-lateral relationship has traversed a bumpy path of a "para-strategic partnership" inthe eighties, of "cold confrontation" in the first half of the nineties and of a "rela-tively stable development" in the past two years or so. The two decades have witnessed uninterrupted explorations for a mutually ac-ceptable strategic definition of bilateral relations, which have been characterized by     

Calligraphy:A Bridge of Art for International Cultural Exchanges

<正>As a distinctive symbol of culture and an important component of soft power,Chinese calligraphy fully displays the inspiration of the Chinese culture.It is recognized,accepted and carried on by increasing number of people from different cultural backgrounds.In recent years,I held many calligraphy exhibitions abroad and got deeper understanding of the high position of the Chinese     

The Rise of Referendums: A Death Sentence for Multilateralism?

Perhaps the most notable development of the second half of the twentieth century, and its greatest achievement, is the rapid global spread of two institutions: democracy and multilateralism. These institutions have collectively made us safer and more prosperous than any previous generation in history. But could the two now be coming into conflict? Recent experience regarding the EU suggests both that referendums as a tool of foreign policy decision-making are likely to become more common in the future, and that they pose major risks for multilateralism and international cooperation.     

A Review of “Culture Jam: Hijacking Commercial Culture”

Abstract

Can the Internet and nondemocratic rule coexist? A number of key features of the Internet can be corrosive to nondemocracies. In particular, the scope and ease of obtaining information on the Web, as well as the communication capabilities available to users, provide the means for undermining the pillars of nondemocratic rule. Furthermore, the decentralized nature of the Internet complicates the task of state control of the medium. Nevertheless, despite the risks that may exist from joining the global computer network, nondemocratic regimes have not shunned this technology because it promises to be the key to development, prosperity, and influence. However, their strategies of containment may prevent a complete usage of the capabilities of the Internet. The case of China illustrates the attractions of the Internet, the measures the ruling Chinese Communist Party has implemented to make this technology politically reliable, and the impact of these measures on the full use of the Internet.     

Political crime and the case of young neo‐nazis: A question of methodology

This article critically analyses some of the traditional scholarship that deals with the rise of ultra‐right politics and the requisites for the emergence of such collective action. It is argued that such approaches have limited explanatory value for understanding why people commit political crimes. The question is asked whether traditional concerns with locating causes and the tendency to offer structural determinants (such as social dislocation and high levels of unemployment) provide the best explanations for the appeal of such politics. The article continues by developing a rationale and framework for an alternative interpretative or hermeneutic approach to research on contemporary Nazism.     

A re-conceptualisation of ex-combatant reintegration: ‘social reintegration’ approach

The social reintegration of former combatants is the most important aspect of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) process, but there is a paucity of literature providing a clear understanding of its challenges and what it actually constitutes, and, more importantly, how it could be planned and implemented in peace-building environments. In order to respond to the lack of theory, the paper will use the desistance theory which outlines assistance models for ex-offenders' re-entry into society and addresses the question of how social reintegration can be perceived and structured effectively in the overall DDR operational landscape. The proposed approach is presented through a matrix of relationships between the elements of ‘emphasis on the combatant’ and ‘emphasis on the community’ in terms of ‘low’ and ‘high’ levels, resulting in the four main models for community re-entry: ‘self-demobilisation’, ‘reinsertion’, ‘community-located reintegration’ and ‘social reintegration’. Having explored what they constitute in the practice of DDR in the second part of the analysis section, the social reintegration approach, which is structured over the dimensions of ‘family and community’, ‘sustainable employment’ and ‘civic responsibilities’, will be elaborated in the final part.