Responding to Systemic Crisis: The Case of Agroterrorism

The post–11 September security environment has led to a reevaluation of the nature of national security and national security systems. Bioterrorism in the form of attacks against the agricultural sector, particularly in the form of foot-and-mouth disease, could prove attractive to some groups should other targets and means of attack become more difficult. This article considers three cases, one of bioterrorism and two of agricultural disease outbreaks. Using complex adaptive system principles it suggests a strategy and socio-technical system design, adaptive hardening, appropriate to the challenge posed by terrorist-induced foot-and-mouth disease.     

Women and (in)security: The case of the Philippines

Abstract

This paper takes as its starting point the need to address a gender void and northern‐centrism in the new/critical security agenda. Basing the paper on the security priorities of women in the Philippines, presented in the form of a ‘Security Pillar’, the paper examines how far new/critical security, and feminist security literature incorporates the concerns of women in Southeast Asia in the reconceptualization of security, and considers the ways in which security can be reformulated to address the security needs of women in Southeast Asia.     

The National Assembly for Wales, Civil Society and Consultation

The National Assembly for Wales has been serious in its statutory commitment to involve voluntary groups in the decision-making process of state and has developed a number of sophisticated mechanisms by which civil society groups can link into policymaking, one of which is the consultation process. Drawing on original research this article investigates consultation from the perspective of those involved in a range of voluntary activities. Evidence offered here suggests that whilst many groups have engaged in the process of consultation, the experience is not uniform but patchy, with many groups left feeling frustrated rather than truly consulted.