“One World, One Dream”: The Beijing Olympics
Of all the visible symbols of China’s rise to global prominence, perhaps the most compelling was the Opening of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. But what did the Games reveal about the nature and character of the “new” China, and-equally importantly-what did they seek to conceal from view?
South Africa’s democracy at risk
South Africa’s transition to democracy still captures the world’s admiration. The vitality of the democratic movement is still seen in a vibrant print and radio culture and in discussion forums, workshops and educational programmes organized by a range of civil society organizations. But now, at the time of the fourth democratic elections in April 2009, its future is threatened by powerful anti-democratic forces, and it risks succumbing to the populist authoritarianism that has captured so much of post-colonial Africa.
The return of the bancor? Chinese ascendancy and the global monetary system
The global financial crisis has so far failed to yield a second Bretton Woods agreement, as some had hoped, but recent calls for a new global reserve currency are beginning to excite the minds of politicians, financiers and scholars alike. Taking inspiration from the ‘bancor’ currency proposed by John Maynard Keynes in 1944, the governor of the People’s Bank of China suggested last month that the global monetary system would benefit from revamping the role of the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights (SDRs) to create a uniform global reserve currency.
Linking ecological and economic security
Concerns that the pursuit of a low carbon global economy may lead to further deprivation in the developing world rest on a false assumption. ‘Low carbon life styles’ are already lived by the poor in the ‘South’. It is rich countries, accounting for most of the pollution, which face an unprecedented challenge in adapting their ways of life to allow human societies to survive on the planet.
Michel Foucault’s Political Philosophy
I recently wrote a book about the thought of Michel Foucault. It was published last year under the title The Political Philosophy of Michel Foucault. The book begins with a justification of the use of the term ‘political philosophy’ in relation to Foucault. The reason for caution about this term is precisely the reason why I think it is justified to use it in the title of the book.
The new interventionist state
Discussions on the role of the state have always involved a search for appropriate metaphors. “The taming of the Leviathan,” “the state in retreat,” and even worse, the “slim state” – between fitness and anorexia – are but a handful of examples. The most popular metaphor at present seems to be “the return of the lost Leviathan.” But this metaphor is misleading. The state is not returning from foreign exile.
The Neo-Taliban: The Shape of Things to Come…
One of the enduring features of Western strategic thinking over the past half-century has been to immediately write off one’s less powerful enemy, if the latter has been militarily overpowered. As the history of contemporary warfare suggests, very often this approach is couched on the realist thinking that a vanquished enemy is incapable of making a comeback.
What the Philosophy of Science is Not Good For
The field of IR has been concerned about its scientific status for decades. This concern has led to a number of efforts to make the field “truly scientific” by adopting one or another philosophical and methodological stance: behaviorism in the 1950s, neopositivism in the 1970s and 1980s, and critical realism in the 1990s.
Thirty years on: The Iranian revolution and its impact on the region
At the time, that Tehran is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, one should look back to assess the legacies of a social phenomenon that arguably put Islam into the forefront of politics.
India’s Development Paradox
Intended to raise the standard of living for millions of the nation’s poor, many Indian development projects are criticized for destroying their livelihoods and the environment in the process.
