Working for Change: Projectified Politics and Gender Equality

In this article I argue that the project, a governmental technology that is now widespread and accepted throughout the public sector, is not a neutral tool for implementing policy and conducting politics. Rather, my argument is that this form is intrinsically political in so far as it produces disruptions and sets boundaries for how any given task is to be performed. By mobilizing a set of optical metaphors from feminist theory of difference, I examine organizations that work for gender equality in Swedish regional development and illustrate how the governmental technology of the project reflects, refracts, and diffracts the practices associated with this work. Thus, I argue that if one wishes to understand contemporary gender-equality work, it is reasonable to consider the specific effects that are produced as it passes through the project form. The short empirical illustrations given here indicate, among other things, how the project form functions in some respects as a mirror, and reflects aspects of gender-equality work that are commonly experienced regardless of form or setting, such as encountering resistance. In other respects, the project form refracts gender-equality work, bending it into new directions so that, for instance, securing funds and coming up with new innovative project plans takes precedence over the actual work that respondents feel they should be doing. Finally, the intersection of gender-equality work and the project form also produces diffraction effects, such as the emergence of hybrid consultants. These multi-faceted figures function as evaluators, controllers, activists, and disseminators of knowledge, which makes them simultaneously important to and disdained by the respondents in this study. Thus, it is concluded that the disruptive effects of the project form should be recognized as political and studied more extensively in the future.     

Observer Sensitivity and Early Radicalization to Violence Among Young People in Germany

Social Justice Research - Personal sensitivity to injustice from either a victim or an observer perspective shapes political attitudes and actions. Yet, little is known about the link between...     

The Emergence of Citizen Diplomacy in European Union–China Relations: Principles,Pillars, Pioneers,Paradoxes

This analysis considers the phenomenon of citizen diplomacy in European Union [EU]–China relations. It begins by engaging with the global discourse about “new” diplomacy and outlines how society-centric citizen diplomacy differs from state-centric public diplomacy. After revealing that European policy-makers are only reluctantly acknowledging the role of laymen in foreign policy-making vis-à-vis China, it shows that whilst citizen diplomacy may be a new concept in EU–China relations, it is actually not a new practice. The empirical part of the exegesis traces the experiential learning amongst 12 European citizen diplomats who have engaged China in the activity fields of disability; psychoanalysis; non-governmental organisation twinning; human rights; climate change mitigation; welfare of orphans, abandoned disabled children and young people; youth dialogue; public participation; animal welfare; and inclusive performing arts. The final part makes use of the newly developed hexagon of intercultural communication and collaboration competence to reveal how the European citizen diplomats have managed to navigate the sometimes-treacherous political-administrative landscape in mainland China. European citizen diplomats have made manifold and often surprising contributions to China’s multifaceted development.     

Solidarity forever? ABC,ALBA and South–South Cooperation in Haiti

The growing influence of the global South in international affairs has prompted a passionate discussion about the role of South–South cooperation (SSC). SSC is sometimes uncritically portrayed as a uniform phenomenon that presents a superior alternative to North–South Cooperation (NSC). To problematise and deepen our knowledge about SSC, this article examines the intriguing case of Haiti, which has seen a wealth of SSC cooperation since the international intervention in 2004. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the study compares the approaches of two distinct Southern groupings working in Haiti: Argentina, Brazil and Chile (the so-called ABC countries) and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) led by Venezuela. We argue that ABC and ALBA display marked differences and that, while their approaches have distinct strengths and weaknesses, they do not necessarily represent a fundamental improvement over NSC.     

Molecular study of time dependent changes in DNA stability in soil buried skeletal residues

Stamp marks are used as a unique identification for a range of items, but these can be erased for criminal activities. Erased marks can sometimes be recovered by etching or magnetic means. The present study looked at the application of Fry's reagent to recover erased marks from steel. The investigation also demonstrated that Fry's reagent can deteriorate on storing and will require a longer etching time. The effect of different applied forces of stamping was investigated, and the depth of the underlying deformation was determined by etching after varying degrees of metal removal. The amount of metal needing to be removed depends on the force applied to the die. Metal removal also affects the time needed for recovery. The underlying structural change remains as a hidden identification mark, and could potentially be used by manufacturers as an unseen identifier. A model for the underlying deformation is proposed.