The Great Disconnect: Global Governance and Localised Conflict in the Cases of India and the EU

Academic scholarship displays a curious disconnect between two trends, connecting peace and governance issues. At the same time when conflicts tended to shift inwards (from inter-state to civil wars), global governance approaches seemed to decentre the management of peace and conflict outwards (from the nation state to international forums). This paper investigates this disjuncture by examining the European Union and India's governance strategies in different conflict contexts. It studies whether their strategies operate close to the global governance model and/or whether they are able to connect with and effectively support local peace initiatives in conflict-ridden areas.     

Lethal Laryngopyocele

A 44‐year‐old man collapsed after complaining of difficulty breathing. Layer dissection of the neck at autopsy revealed a large mixed internal and external laryngopyocele occluding the upper airway. It contained 30 mls of yellow‐gray pus. Mechanisms of death in laryngoceles involve obstruction of the opening into the larynx resulting in accumulation of mucus or air within the sac causing airway occlusion. Once infection supervenes, deaths in laryngopyocoeles result either from accumulated pus causing airway occlusion from a mass effect (as in the current case) or the discharge of pus into the airway causing death from aspiration. Sudden death in laryngopyoceles is a very rare event that requires careful dissection at autopsy to demonstrate the characteristics of the underlying lesion and the possible mechanism of death. Laryngopyocele should be considered in the differential diagnosis of natural conditions causing acute, potentially lethal, upper airway obstruction.     

Labouring in the Shadow of the British Political Tradition: The Dilemma of ‘One Nation’ Politics in an Age of Disunification

The British state is in flux and the Labour party is struggling to shape an effective response to the politics of disunification. This article reflects on the nature of Labour's governing project and its conception of modern statecraft which has evolved since the party became a serious contender for power in the aftermath of the First World War. We argue that Labour's initially pluralising instincts cultivated in opposition have been checked by the ongoing reality of a state‐centric mode of governing, in which the party continued to robustly defend the Westminster model operating within the parameters established by the British Political Tradition (BPT). Ed Miliband's conception of ‘One Nation’ Labour threatens to reinforce this historical pattern of reversion to the Westminster model, at precisely the moment when devolutionary forces are destabilising the existing political settlement. To break out of this impasse, Labour must look elsewhere in its ideological lexicon for inspiration, chiefly to the tradition of socialist pluralism and associationalism.     

Book notes

Jeffrey Mourssaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy: When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals. New York: Doubleday, 1995.

Val Plumwood: Feminism and the Mastery of Nature. London: Routledge, 1993.

Karen J. Warren, ed.: Ecological Feminism. London: Routledge, 1994.

John Brinckerhoff Jackson: A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.

Wendy Harcourt, editor: Feminist Perspectives on Sustainable Development. New Jersey: Zed Books Limited and the Society for International Development, 1994.     

AGAINST ODDS: A THIRTY-YEAR STRUGGLE TO SAVE THE FORESTS OF SARAWAK

When Malaysia came to independence, considerable powers, particularly in the natural resources sector, were devolved on the rulers of the states of East Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. The subsequent deforestation, which benefitted the logging companies (and the politicians) was hard to reconcile with the interests of the indigenous peoples. Their plight was projected internationally by a Swiss activist, Bruno Manser, who lived with the Penan people for several years. But the resulting expressions of international concern over the rate of deforestation from, for example Al Gore and Prince Charles, have received short shrift from the government of Malaysia. Sarawak reputedly continues to have among the highest rates of forest destruction in the world.     

The pre-war reconstruction of post-war Iraq

The period before the March-April 2003 war on Iraq witnessed unprecedented preparation for post-war reconstruction. This 'pre-war reconstruction' or 'pre-emptive reconstruction' confronts those involved in humanitarian activity with urgent practical and ethical questions. This article begins with an outline of the development of post-war reconstruction as a specific area of focus for humanitarian organisations and academia, before examining the pre-war plans for the reconstruction of post-war Iraq. It argues that it is not enough to be cynical about possible US motivations for planning for the post-war reconstruction of Iraq. Instead, pre-war reconstruction offers a number of opportunities for a critique of developments in humanitarianism and US foreign policy. But pre-war reconstruction also carries with it a number of pitfalls, not least the reframing of warfare as a non-destructive activity.     

CSR for Development Through Sport: examining its potential and limitations

Recent publications have highlighted the growth of sport as a vehicle in deploying corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes or for disseminating international development initiatives. However, very little has been written on the considerable increase of the use of sport with corporate social responsibility to further social and economic development. This will expand as a range of CSR for development initiatives are being launched to coincide with mega-sports events in the coming years, starting with the 2010 football World Cup. This article addresses this gap by charting the ways in which sport is being used by businesses (ranging from multinational corporations to sports federations) as part of discrete development initiatives. It highlights the opportunities (notably developing partnerships and reaching those alienated from traditional development) and limitations associated with this. Limitations form around Stefano Ponte et al's typology of CSR initiatives, which is used to highlight the fact that many projects are poorly linked to core business objectives and are therefore less likely to be taken seriously and succeed. A lack of evaluation and the tarnished reputation of sport are other problems associated with CSR for development through sport.     

A Review of: “Rebecca Knuth. Burning Books and Leveling Libraries. Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction.”

In the 1970s, Western European countries were hit hard by terrorism, especially by international terrorism that crossed borders easily and allowed terrorists of different origins to carry out attacks against both governments and people. Consequently, the necessity of fighting this menace also extended to international organisations. This article looks at how the Council of Europe dealt with the issue, and assesses the negotiations that led to the Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism from the German perspective. West Germany was very interested in establishing a sounder international legal framework against terrorism and thought that the Council of Europe would be able to make an important contribution by abolishing the political offence exception that had so far been a core feature of most extradition treaties. This clause allowed political criminals to escape punishment by fleeing to a country that would deny extradition to a different country on the grounds of the political nature of the act committed by the person in question. The article gives an account and analysis of the complex negotiations that finally resulted in the adoption of the Convention in 1977, as well as of the problems encountered and compromises reached during these negotiations.