The World Order and a New “Behemoth”

The emergence of “Islamic State” or “Daesh”¹1 The author prefers to use the name “Daesh” to indicate what is sometimes referred to as “Islamic State” so as not to provide a misguided perception of this group as something comparable to a sovereign state.View all notes as abbreviation of “Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham” in Arabic now poses a strategic challenge to the international community. Given a number of emerging issues such as “war” in the eastern states of Ukraine and assertive actions of China in East Asia, it requires a sober reflection on strategic thinking before embarking upon any tactical and operational measures vis-à-vis these challenges.

This article treats the critical value of the Westphalian order based on a sovereign state system by distinguishing three challenges we face at this juncture: namely Daesh, Russia, and China and suggests ways to fight Daesh from a strategic point of view.     

Regionalism and Crisis Prevention in (Western) Europe and (Eastern) Asia: A Systematic Comparison

While the globalization of risks is commonly recognized, a corresponding global pattern of risk management has not arisen. For a while after 1989 the vision of a global community of states appeared to be coming true. Long-standing conflicts were settled, and the UN Security Council for the first time acted with consent and commitment in the area of crisis reaction. However, this short-lived phase of global conflict management was soon troubled, beginning with a cascade of secessionist disputes and ending abruptly on 9/11. Ironically, today's global crisis management seems to be more complicated and less promising than that of the Cold War with its comparably primitive bipolar structure. Some threats, such as arms races, nuclear proliferation, enemy images and Alliance-building, have returned. Frozen conflicts have been re-heated because of spreading ethno-political strife. New lines of confrontation have also emerged from transnational constellations. Nations and states are under pressure to cope with new risks at a time when both their competence and capability to manage societal change and adjust to globalization are under duress.1 ¹?My thanks for editorial advice go to my assistant Heather Gilmartin. View all notes While the responsibility2 ²?Nye, J.S., “U.S. Power and Strategy after Iraq,” Foreign Affairs, no. 4/2003, p. 65. View all notes of states to carry out crisis management in a turbulent environment is increasing, their operational capability is being challenged, from both top-down and bottom-up. Most states in the northern hemisphere feel sufficiently prepared to prevent conflicts between themselves and other states, but they are less well prepared for armed conflicts other than among states—so-called asymmetric wars. Where nation-state-based responses are insufficient and global responses out of reach because of disagreement among big powers, it is the regional level, which looks most promising for tackling these new challenges. But even if regional patterns function well, crucial questions remain. Might smaller states become the objects or victims of power politics in a region if it is dominated by champions? Would regional arrangements foster global fragmentation? How can the success of regional conflict resolution be transferred to the national level in cases of transnational risks, and is there anything that states can learn from each other in organizing regional security and state-to-state cooperation? Finally, should tools and strategies that have proven successful in one region be applied to others? This analysis compares state-based regionalism in (Western) Europe and (East) Asia. It accepts the premise that states can learn from each other, but argues that attempts at direct model transfer should be avoided.     

Change and Conflict in Contemporary Omani Society: The Case of Kafa'a in Marriage

This article explores the conflict between Omani traditional culture1 ^?1 Bearing in mind the complexity of defining culture, it is defined in this article as what people in Oman think, value, believe and hold as ideas. Thus, culture in contemporary Omani society includes values that are derived from the long-established tribal and Ibadi religious institutions, social structural systems of life and behaviour. View all notes and modern change by examining the practice of kafa'a 2 ^?2 In Arabic, kafa'a literally means ‘equality’. In Islamic legal terminology, kafa'a in marriage refers to the equivalence of the man and the woman, as defined by certain criteria. Specifically, an aspiring husband should be equal or superior to the proposed wife in terms of socio-economic status in order to be accepted as a suitable husband in marriage. In practice, therefore, kafa'a actually perpetuates and indeed promotes inequality between people because it legitimates discrimination against people judged to have lower socio-economic status. Further information on kafa'a in marriage and its legal and historical development in Islamic tradition can be viewed in Amalia Zomeno, ‘Kafa'a in the Maliki School: A Fatwa from Fifteenth Century Fez’, in R. Gleave and E. Kermeli (eds), Islamic Law: Theory and Practice (New York: IB Tauris, 1997), pp. 87–105; and Farhat J. Ziadeh, ‘Equality (Kafa'a) in Muslim Law of Marriage’, The American Journal of Comparative Law, 6(4) (1957), pp. 503–511. View all notes in present-day Oman. kafa'a—which refers to the notion that the husband's family should be equal or superior in terms of social, religious or economic background to the wife's family if the marriage is to be accepted—exemplifies a type of social and legal inequality that is at odds with State rhetoric on equality but congruent with the type of hierarchical social structure traditionally valued by Omanis, which tolerates a high degree of inequality between individuals and groups. I argue that the recognition of kafa'a as a condition of marriage in Article 20 of the Omani Personal Status Law serves to, in effect, reinforce traditional tribal and religious cultural practices in Oman.     

A Contemporary Writer from Afghanistan: Akram Osman and His Short Stories

Akram Osman is one of the most outstanding contemporary Afghanistani writers. 1 ^?1 Although the commonly-accepted international term is Afghan rather than Afghanistani, in Afghanistan the term Afghan is synonymous with the Pashtoon ethnic group as far as non-Pashtoons are concern. The political strength of the Pashtoons led to them using the word Afghan to describe all ethnic groups; but this is resented by the many other ethnic groups in Afghanistan. In addition, the term Afghanistani is widely used inside Afghanistan. Therefore, I have chosen to use the word Afghanistani to describe the inhabitants of a multi-ethnic modern nation-state called Afghanistan. View all notes His short stories represent a current of modern Afghanistan literature in which an imported Western genre is mixed with indigenous literary traditions to become a mirror reflecting important issues and human needs in Afghanistan society. His works are divided into satirical short stories, stories of manners and diaspora stories which are not only pioneering in these types of Afghanistan literature, but also among the best to be created in modern Afghanistan. Among other particulars, his use of a form of a language based on folk traditions distinguishes his work from those of his contemporaries. Osman portrays a historical and artistic picture of Afghanistan social classes and their characteristics. Osman's stories display artistic merit and are of anthropological interest; and they have also become popular short stories in their own right appealing to the mass of Afghanistan society.     

India in the Asia–Pacific: Rising Ambitions with an Eye on China

It is almost a conventional wisdom now that the centre of gravity of global politics has shifted from Europe to the Asia–Pacific in recent years with the rise of China and India, gradual assertion by Japan of its military profile, and a significant shift in the US global force posture in favour of Asia–Pacific. The debate now is whether Asia–Pacific will witness rising tensions and conflicts in the coming years with various powers jockeying for influence in the region or whether the forces of economic globalization and multilateralism will lead to peace and stability. Some have asked the question more directly: Will Asia's future resemble Europe's past?1 ¹See Aaron Friedberg, “Will Europe's Past be Asia's Future?” Survival, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Autumn 2000), pp. 147–159. View all notes It is, of course, difficult to answer this question as of now when major powers in Asia–Pacific such as China, India and Japan are still rising and grappling with a plethora of issues that confront any rising power in the international system. But what is clear is that all major powers are now re-evaluating their policy options vis-à-vis the Pacific.

This paper examines India's foreign policy in the Pacific as it has emerged on the last few years. First, the emerging balance of power in Asia–Pacific will be examined in light of the theoretical debate on the issue followed by a broad assessment of the role that India envisages for itself in the region. Subsequently, India's relationship with the three major powers in Asia–Pacific—China, Japan, and the US is analysed. Finally, some observations will be made about the future trajectory of Indian foreign policy in the region.     

Military Change in Asia

Asia's growing share of the global economy provides one of the strongest themes in contemporary analysis of international affairs. The remarkable economic achievements of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan over the past 50 years have been compounded more recently by the rise of the Chinese and Indian economies. While the significance of this change in the way international wealth is shared was beyond doubt before the onset of the current global financial crisis, many commentators expect that when the world eventually emerges from the crisis Asia's share of the global economy will have grown even further.

This shift clearly has strategic importance: economic decisions made in Asia, whether by governments or business, are now more important for the rest of the world than they have been for centuries. If military power were moving in the same direction, and at the same pace, the strategic consequences would be even greater.

This paper examines trends in Asian military spending and modernisation. It begins with a summary of defence spending among Asian countries.1 In this paper the term “Asia” is used to include the 22 countries from Pakistan to Japan. It does not include Afghanistan or any of the countries of central Asia, or Russia, Australia, New Zealand, or the Pacific Island countries. As explained above, data is not equally available for all 22 countries. View all notes It next considers the nature of the capabilities and equipment they are acquiring, and comments on the way in which forces are being structured, commanded, and managed. It then comments on the range of different factors that are driving military spending and modernisation in Asia, and offers particular comment on China in this regard. The paper then concludes with brief comments on United States and Australian military spending and development.     

World Energy Prospects and Challenges

The world is facing twin energy-related threats: that of not having adequate and secure supplies of energy at affordable prices and that of environmental harm caused by its use. Soaring energy prices and recent geopolitical events have reminded us of the essential role affordable energy plays in economic growth and human development, and of the vulnerability of the global energy system to supply disruptions. Safeguarding energy supplies is once again at the top of the international policy agenda. Yet the current pattern of energy supply carries the threat of severe and irreversible environmental damage. Reconciling the goals of energy security and environmental protection requires strong and coordinated government action and public support.

The Member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) recognise the urgent need to curb the growth in fossil-energy demand, to increase geographic and fuel-supply diversity and to mitigate climate-destabilising emissions. G8 leaders, meeting with the leaders of several major developing countries and heads of international organisations—including the IEA—at Gleneagles in July 2005 and in St. Petersburg in July 2006 called on the IEA to “advise on alternative energy scenarios and strategies aimed at a clean, clever and competitive energy future.” The World Energy Outlook 20061 ¹ www.worldenergyoutlook.org View all notes responds to that request. It confirms that fossil-fuel demand and trade flows, and greenhouse-gas emissions would follow their current unsustainable paths through to 2030 in the absence of new government action—the underlying premise of the Outlook's Reference Scenario. It also demonstrates, in an Alternative Policy Scenario, that a package of policies and measures that countries around the world are considering would, if implemented, significantly reduce the rate of increase in demand and emissions.     

King Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud in the arena of world politics: a glimpse from Washington, 1950 to 1971

This paper aims to draw a portrait of King Faisal, as it emerges from the records of the various presidential administrations of the USA. The records which were available to me usually originate from the encounters of the heads of state and their ministers on the occasion of official visits. Despite ceremonial protocol and diplomatic courteousness, the encounters always also had a personal touch of character and emotion. Therefore we do not simply look at the portrait through an American mirror. No doubt, the documents at hand do contain specific perceptions of King Faisal and of Saudi society by the various administrations in Washington. On the other hand, the mere fact of the King's physical presence and verbal performance in those encounters brings authenticity to the fore. Because of the fairly wide range of topics on the political agenda of such state visits, the portrait sheds light on King Faisal's personality, public appearance and sense of humour, on his statesmanship as well as on his diplomacy and commitments in the arena of Middle Eastern politics and of international relations at large. Since it seems to me that the year 1966 is of particular significance for an assessment of King Faisal's political legacy in the Middle Eastern arena, I have depicted his visit in Washington and meeting with President L.B. Johnson in June of that year for a more comprehensive treatment. In contrast, Faisal's personal encounters with Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and later on—twice—with Richard Nixon are dealt with more cursorily.1 The sources for this paper were not really collected in any systematic fashion. Rather, they came my way in the course of a research project with a different, although related topic (see Helmut Mejcher, Sinai, 5 giugno 1967. Il conflitto arabo‐israeliano (Bologna: Società editrice il Mulino, 2000). On the other hand, it is not a random collection either. As I said before, the documents focus on the diplomatic highlights of official visits of the King and Crown Prince in Washington. View all notes     

ASEAN's Albatross: ASEAN's Burma Policy,from Constructive Engagement to Critical Disengagement

Abstract

Following the abortive “Saffron Revolution” of autumn 2007, Burma's ASEAN partners were subject to the timeworn criticism that the grouping persistently fails to act against its pariah member due to its near-religious adherence to the norm of non-interference. Conversely, this paper argues that ASEAN's policy towards Burma has never been one of strict non-interference, but has always been premised on the claim that ASEAN can encourage political change there. Moreover, the non-interference principle has come under increasing pressure since the Asian financial crisis. The article tracks the evolution of ASEAN's policy, from the adoption of constructive engagement in 1988, through the gradual frustration of ASEAN's designs, to its present position of critical disengagement, arguing ASEAN's failure to take a stronger line has less to do with any binding “norms” than with the interests of the region's predominantly illiberal elites and the grouping's increasing difficulties in achieving meaningful consensus.

We don't set out to change the world and our neighbors. We don't believe in it. The culture of ASEAN is that we do not interfere.

(Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore, 1992) ¹ 1. “Myanmar's Monsters,” The Economist, February 29, 1992. All newspaper and magazine references sourced from www.lexisnexis.com except where otherwise indicated.

ASEAN is trying to democratize Myanmar.

(Nguyen Dy Nien, Foreign Minister of Vietnam, 2004) ² 2. “Japan, Vietnam, EU agree to find ways to resolve ASEM row,” Kyodo, July 2, 2004.

“Restorying” the Maternal Myth of Origin in Zami and Makeba: My Story

Myths are particularly important sources of alternative history for groups denied a place in mainstream culture.1 ¹ Humm, Practising Feminist Criticism.

I have, throughout my private war, been a she, a you, a Donna, a me, and finally, an I.2 ² See “Author's Note” in Williams, Nobody Nowhere. This observation (from 1992) suggests the model of transformation and “journey motif” that I examine with respect to Audre Lorde's and Miriam Makeba's autobiographies. See Lorde, Zami.      

Are the Odds of Justice “Stacked” Against Them? Challenges and Opportunities for Securing Land Claims by Smallholder Farmers in Myanmar

ABSTRACT

In 2012, the Government of Myanmar passed the Farmland Law and the Vacant, Fallow, Virgin Land Law, with an aim to increase investment in land through the formalization of a land market. Land titling is often considered “the natural end point of land rights formalization.”¹1 Hall et al. 2011 Hall, Derek, Philip Hirsch, and Tania Murray Li. 2011. Powers of Exclusion: Land Dilemmas in Southeast Asia. Singapore: NUS Press.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 35. A major obstacle to achieving this in Myanmar is its legacy of multiple regimes which has created “stacked laws.”²2 Roquas 2002 Roquas, Ester. 2002. Stacked Law: Land, Property and Conflict in Honduras. Amsterdam: Rozenberg. [Google Scholar], 11. This term refers to a situation in which a country has multiple layers of laws that exist simultaneously, leading to conflicts and contradictions in the legal system. This ambiguity is often manipulated by those who have more access to political and economic resources, particularly those who received large land concessions under the 1988–2010 military regime. In this context, this paper attempts to answer the question: In Myanmar, how do smallholder farmers engage with a stacked legal framework, which is ambiguous and unfairly applied, to defend themselves against land dispossession? The analysis seeks to contribute to the literature on the contest over land control and access through an analysis of how a stacked legal framework can be used to further disenfranchise farmers by elites, or on the contrary, by farmers to gradually reclaim this control through strategic political maneuvering.     

Racial Discrimination in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A New Irreducible “Other”?

The xenophobia we see today is the same as the racism of the past.1 ¹?Zonke Majodina, Commissioner at the South African Human Rights Council, quoted in T. Mclachlan, “South Africa: Media ‘Simplistic’ When Writing On Race, Xenophobia.” Business Day, April 19, 2007.      

Anti-developmental patrimonialism in Zimbabwe

Research on investment1 1. This is an abridged version of M. Dawson and T. Kelsall (2011) Anti-developmental Patrimonialism in Zimbabwe. Working Paper 19: Africa Power and Politics Programme. The unabridged version of the paper is now available online at: http://www.institutions-africa.org/filestream/20111110-appp-working-paper-19-anti-developmental-patrimonialism-in-zimbabwe-dawson-and-kelsall-nov-11 climates and economic growth in developing countries is shifting from institutional ‘best practices’ towards ways in which developmentally successful regimes make use of economic rents. After discussing rent flows in Zimbabwe's history, the paper concludes that the country exhibits a pattern of centralised, short-term rent utilisation, with disastrous results, showing that the centralisation of rent-management by itself does not indicate a ‘developmental patrimonialism’.     

Fora de l'umbracle,de Joan Brossa: una petita revolució personal del maig del 68

Avui dia Joan Brossa és conegut sobretot per la seva poesia visual, però abans dels anys setanta poca gent sabia que el poeta i dramaturg català, tot i conrear-la des de 1941, tenia també una obra plàstica. El 1963 es produeix el primer transvasament de poesia visual dins un llibre de poesia literària: El saltamartí. Uns anys després, el 1968, Brossa compon Fora de l'umbracle, un autèntic aiguabarreig de poemes visuals i literaris que es converteix en el preàmbul de les publicacions visuals de l'any 70. L'article tracta d'aquest poemari, que romangué inèdit fins al 2012 i constitueix un autèntic reflex de l'esperit del maig francès del 68. El llibre és revolucionari perquè (a) inicia la revolució lletrista tipogràfica brossiana; (b) es fa ressò de la revolució política i social que el maig del 68 significà per a tota Europa; i (c) en gran mesura sintetitza la revolució poètica conceptual que Brossa havia començat el 1950 amb Em va fer Joan Brossa BrossaJ.1951. Em va fer Joan Brossa. Barcelona: Edicions Cobalto [Google Scholar]. D'una manera desprotegida (fora de l'umbracle) Brossa ens mostra la realitat despullada de l'Europa del 68 des de perspectives que van més enllà de les avantguardes europees de postguerra.1^?1. Aquest treball forma part del projecte “La poesia experimental catalana des de 1959 a 2004,” subvencionat pel Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación: FFI2010-18880 (subprograma FILO) i també ha rebut un ajut de l'Agrupació de Recerca de Ciències de l'Educació de la Universitat de Barcelona.     

Democratic Centralism and the Party Guidance of Soviet Type Councils in Communist Hungary (1950–89/90)

The author of the present paper published a study in the 30th volume of Parliaments, Estates and Representation in 20101 ¹T. Antal, ‘Socialist Councils and Representation in the People's Republic of Hungary (1949–1989)’, Parliaments, Estates and Representation 2 (2010), pp. 113–28. on the legal features of the Hungarian socialist councils, detailing thematically the legal frameworks and institutions of the Soviet-type public administration. In the present paper, the theoretical basis and the actual operation of the local councils is described, involving their relationship to other state organs as well as the historical criticism of political one-party guidance and personality cult over them. This article focuses on democratic centralism as the leading theory of socialist representation, the place of councils in the science of socialist public administration and in the parallel state party structure. The political determination with regard to local councils is also discussed in a case study of Szeged city.     

Freedom of Information,Right to Access Information,Open Data: Who is at the Table?

Many national governments have adopted the idea of the ‘right to access information’ (RTI) or ‘freedom of information’ (FOI) as an essential element of the rights of citizens to freedom of opinion and expression, human rights, trust in public discourse and transparent, accountable and open government. Over 100 countries worldwide have introduced access to information legislation: 50+ in Europe; a dozen in Africa; 20 in the Americas and Caribbean; more than 15 in Asia and the Pacific; and two in the Middle East (Banisar, 2014 Banisar, D. (2014) National Right to Information Laws, Regulations and Bills 2014 Map, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1857498, accessed 15 May 2015. [Google Scholar]). This article will provide an overview of access to information legislation and focus on the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a case example. It will discuss the impact of the UK FOI Act on public authorities, with particular attention to records management implications, drawing on research undertaken by University College London. In the final section, it will reflect on relationships between access to information and open government data. If governments are moving to more openness, what implications might this have for those charged with implementing FOI and RTI policies, including for records management professionals?     

Constrained majoritarianism: Westminster constitutionalism in Malta

This article discusses Malta's constitutional system as a variation on the ‘Westminster model’. Despite proportional representation, Malta maintains a strictly majoritarian (Lijphart, 1999 Lijphart, A. (1999). Patterns of democracy: Government forms and performance in thirty-six countries. Yale: Yale University Press. [Google Scholar]) core of ‘delegation and accountability’ (Strøm et al., 2005), from the people, through Parliament, to the Government, structured through a two-party system. This majoritarian core is balanced, however, by peripheral institutions (such as the Constitutional Court, Ombudsman, President, and Electoral Commission), which partially constrain the exercise of majoritarian power. Using a typology developed by Glover and Hazell (2008 Hazell, R. (2008). Conclusion: Where will the Westminster model end up? In R. Hazell (Ed.), Constitutional futures revised: Britain's constitution to 2020 (pp. 285–300). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), Malta is presented as an example of a ‘Westminster Constitutionalised’ polity, combining majoritarian rule and concentrated powers with entrenched, legal constitutionalism.     

From undeserved oblivion: a young American in Tibet – William Montgomery McGovern

On retirement from the Diplomatic Service, John Shipman served as Editor of Asian Affairs from 1995 to 1997. His previous contributions to the Journal include ‘Seen in Kashgaria’ (February 1998). He accompanied the Society's tours to Central Asia in 1990 and 1994, and visited Mongolia in 2002.

From undeserved oblivion: a young American in Tibet – William Montgomery McGovern

All authors

John Shipman

https://doi.org/10.1080/0306837042000241055

Published online:

02 February 2007

William Montgomery McGovern (Courtesy of The Century Company)     

20.

Shifting the debate on land reform,poverty and inequality in Zimbabwe,an engagement with Zimbabwe's Land Reform: Myths and Realities 1     

《Journal of contemporary African studies : JCAS》2012,30(1):147-157

Zimbabwe's land reform: myths and realities 2 2. Zimbabwe's Land Reform: Myths and Realities by Ian Scoones, Nelson Marongwe, Blasio Mavedzenge, Jacob Mahenehene, Felix Murimbarimba and Crispen Sukume, Woodbridge, Suffolk, James Currey, 2010, 304 pp., ISBN 9781847010247. purports to overturn the western media and academy's ‘myths’ of agrarian failure and cronyism in Zimbabwe's fast-track land reform with a study rooted in the ‘reality’ of its outcomes in the Masvingo area. Yet the positivist picture painted by Scoones, Marongwe, Mavedzenge, Mahenehene, Murimbarimba, and Sukume is another position in portrayals of a complex process entangling many local material struggles–including those seen as successful examples of the yeomanry admired by the authors–with the equally important processes of authoritarian nationalism they side-line. ‘Myth making’ is not counter to ‘reality’, but positions particular claims within it. By concentrating on the ‘local’ and celebrating what they see as non-technocratic successes, the authors ignore the context and politics of the state–which they later invoke to develop adequate supportive policy and stability for the new farmers. Their reality ignores as much as the myths they try to challenge, and thus fails to assist to develop the policies they would like.     

Shifting the debate on land reform,poverty and inequality in Zimbabwe,an engagement with Zimbabwe's Land Reform: Myths and Realities 1

Zimbabwe's land reform: myths and realities 2 2. Zimbabwe's Land Reform: Myths and Realities by Ian Scoones, Nelson Marongwe, Blasio Mavedzenge, Jacob Mahenehene, Felix Murimbarimba and Crispen Sukume, Woodbridge, Suffolk, James Currey, 2010, 304 pp., ISBN 9781847010247. purports to overturn the western media and academy's ‘myths’ of agrarian failure and cronyism in Zimbabwe's fast-track land reform with a study rooted in the ‘reality’ of its outcomes in the Masvingo area. Yet the positivist picture painted by Scoones, Marongwe, Mavedzenge, Mahenehene, Murimbarimba, and Sukume is another position in portrayals of a complex process entangling many local material struggles–including those seen as successful examples of the yeomanry admired by the authors–with the equally important processes of authoritarian nationalism they side-line. ‘Myth making’ is not counter to ‘reality’, but positions particular claims within it. By concentrating on the ‘local’ and celebrating what they see as non-technocratic successes, the authors ignore the context and politics of the state–which they later invoke to develop adequate supportive policy and stability for the new farmers. Their reality ignores as much as the myths they try to challenge, and thus fails to assist to develop the policies they would like.