Living and Teaching Across Cultures

As long as one lives within the confines of a single culture it is difficult to achieve cross-cultural awareness. Multiculturalism is often simply the tolerance of a dominant culture for minority cultures. Cross-cultural awareness is a state of mind in which one is alert to alternity , the existence of others possessing different and equally valid world views and ways of life. This can be acquired living within or alongside other cultures, when one's own and others' strangeness become readily apparent. Culture shock involves just such a realization. The challenge for the teacher of international relations is to convey the possibility of alternity to students in the classroom. After all, international relations is above all about the interaction between communities possessing separate identities and autonomous wills. The article discusses ways of cultivating cross-cultural awareness, comparing the difficulties of doing so in a society under siege—Israel—with the greater scope available in the cosmopolitan setting of an elite American university.     

Human Security and Constructivism

This article explores the concept of "human security" as an academic and fledgling policy movement that seeks to place the individual—or people collectively—as the referent of security. It does this against a background of evolving transnational norms relating to security and governance, and the development of scientific understanding that challenges orthodox conceptions of security. It suggests that human security is not a coherent or objective school of thought. Rather, there are different, and sometimes competing, conceptions of human security that may reflect different sociological/cultural and geostrategic orientations. The article argues that the emergence of the concept of human security—as a broad, multifaceted, and evolving conception of security—rreflects the impact of values and norms on international relations. It also embraces a range of alliances, actors, and agendas that have taken us beyond the traditional scope of international politics and diplomacy. As a demonstration of change in international relations, of evolving identities and interests, this is best explained with reference to "social constructivist" thought, in contradistinction with the structural realist mainstream of international relations. In a constructivist vein, the article suggests that empirical research is already building a case in support of human security thinking that is, slowly, being acknowledged by decision-makers, against the logic of realist determinism.     

加入WTO带给公安工作的机遇、挑战与对策

加入WTO是中国深化改革、扩大开放、加快发展的必然选择 ,也是实现整个社会长期稳定繁荣、经济持续增长的客观需要。入世不仅会使公安工作拥有更为广泛的服务空间 ,而且也将推动公安机关自身改革的进程 ,亦将拓展公安机关与国际间司法交往与合作的机会。但WTO是一把“双刃剑” ,在带来巨大利益的同时 ,也必然会给包括公安工作在内的社会生活各方面带来巨大的风险和挑战 ,社会治安将会更加波动 ,犯罪活动将会更加突出 ,文化侵袭将会更加严重 ,公安任务将会更加繁重。公安机关应采取积极主动的针对性措施 ,加强公安思想建设 ,全力维护社会政治稳定 ;加强公安队伍建设 ,全面提高公安民警素质 ;加强公安法制建设确保严格公正文明执法 ;加强公安作风建设 ,积极大力推行警务公开。从而更好地服从服务于经济建设 ,确保社会治安的持续稳定。     

对中国证券业加入WTO面临问题的思考

中国加入 WT O后 ,证券业的开放是一种必然的趋势。面对这种状况 ,我国证券业应当采取的措施是 :加快金融改革 ,提高金融运行的市场化程度 ;逐步推进金融业的混业经营 ,提高经济证券化程度 ;大力培育较大规模证券经营机构 ;改革和完善证券市场的创新机制 ;建立有效的市场监管体系     

Understanding food security and international security links in the context of climate change

Food production has been changing significantly in recent years as a result of climate change and of growing demand for food. This article aims to understand the link between food security and international security in the context of climate change, applying a systematic and qualitative analysis of the literature using the bibliometric method. This research observes that climate change tends to affect agricultural productivity, exposing societies to risk and the need for migration. However, good governance, together with international cooperation, can reduce the hazards of food insecurity, strengthening ties between countries and stimulating a fairer and more inclusive form of international trade.     

Foreign Terrorist Fighters: managing a twenty-first century threat

In the aftermath of the Arab uprisings Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) have emerged as a significant security challenge. Since the 1980s and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan the notion of a ‘foreign fighter’ has been closely linked, if not synonymous, with those ideologically or religiously motivated individuals who have travelled to join conflicts in Islamic lands. This article will explore the contemporary FTF movement, offering a comparison of Afghanistan in the 1980s and Syria in the contemporary period. It will explore the international community’s expansive responses to the challenge of FTFs, with special focus on the role of the United Nations.     

The dark(er) side of ‘state failure’: state formation and socio-political variation

Scholars concerned with the formation of states, specifically the relationship between state formation and war, hold one of two positions. Some agree with Charles Tilly’s historiological conclusion that war is decisive for the establishment of stateness and specify key concepts, in order to explain presumed discrepancies between past and present. Others point towards the international sphere in its current form and advocate a ‘war breaks states’ perspective. This paper argues that both standpoints neglect the ‘sub-national’ level. While proponents of the ‘war breaks states’ thesis are missing para-sovereign zones of rule, supporters of the ‘war makes states’ approach take a juridical view of statehood and focus on ‘state strength’. The failed states paradigm guiding contemporary security and development policy hinders an adequate analysis of the actual situation on the ground. Discussing the shortcomings of failed states approaches and state formation theorising, the paper proposes a conceptualisation in terms of socio-political variation instead of a mere dichotomisation of order. Some conclusive questions are raised, indicating future research directions linked to the historical sociology of state formation.     

The European Union and its energy security challenges: engagement through and with networks

Energy security remains a vital issue for the European Union (EU), even more so in the wake of the events that unfolded in early 2014 in Ukraine. The EU's already fragile position in the international energy arena in terms of security of supply appears to be more uncertain than ever after its umpteenth fallout with its historic energy supplier, Russia. This situation is untenable and calls for swift and decisive action to adequately tackle the issue once and for all. The article looks at the creation of a single EU energy market through the integration of energy networks in the EU. This article then examines various ways to diversify its energy supply, whether through increasing the import of liquefied natural gas or through its relations with the Eurasian Union. It then explores the International Energy Charter as an example of the EU's engagement with transnational policy networks. It concludes that from energy transit, to technology transfer, to investment protection, energy and trade present interplays across various fields. Improvements can be made to the EU trading system to ensure greater energy security and more efficient energy markets.     

公安工作中社会主义法治理念的践行

社会主义法治理念具有丰富的内涵。公安工作践行社会主义法治理念是构建社会主义和谐社会的必然要求,是确保公安工作社会主义政治方向的客观需要,也是建设高素质公安队伍的客观需要。当前,在公安工作中应进一步增强党性观念、大局观念,牢固树立严格、文明、公正、效能、公开的执法思想,切实提高法律素养,自觉接受法律监督,从而践行社会主义法治理念的基本要求。     

构建省级公安机关情报信息平台的思考

构建省级公安机关情报信息平台是当前警务改革的一项重点工程,它对于提高警务资源的利用、减少公安运行成本、服务基层机关工作具有现实意义。但是,在省级公安机关的机构变迁过程中,其职责范围和发展模式却没有准确定义,进而在构建情报信息平台方面引发诸多问题,主要体现在公安管理体制、省级机构权威、信息资源管理、统一规范标准等方面。因此,省级公安机关情报信息平台的构建首要的任务就是解决这些瓶颈问题,从情报信息平台目标的明确、资源的整合、规范的运作、机构的健全,人机的结合,流程的改造等方面入手,用符合情报信息管理的标准来构建一个统一、规范、开放、共享的平台,更好地为各级警务实战服务。