This blog went silent again for a few months and I’m very sorry about that. I taught International Security this term and spent a lot of time thinking about the war in Afghanistan and the prospects of Iranian proliferation. And not much time thinking about climate change politics.
For centuries, the people of the Niger Delta were content to engage in farming, fishing and other endeavours, unaware that underneath their soil was one of nature’s most prized minerals, Petroleum. With the discovery of oil by Shell D’Archy, the forerunner of Shell Petroleum Development Corporation in 1956 at Oloibiri, Bayelsa State and its consequent exportation two years later, oil production has remained a mixed bag of fortune and misfortune
Religion-politics separationist view, which is clearly normative rather than scientific, can take quite different forms, either as an idea or as practice and can be more or less restrictive, I shall call ‘secularism’. While acknowledging the variety of forms it can take I want to argue that one of the most important distinctions we need to make is between moderate and radical secularism.
Mosaddeq’s preoccupation with the nationalization of Iran’s oil sector derived from his belief that such a venture, once realized, could bring economic prosperity, national autonomy and political sovereignty in its wake. The loss of Abadan Oil Refinery dealt Britain’s prestige a stinging blow at a time when it was struggling to adapt itself to the disintegration of empire and come to terms with the ascendance of the US
Wikileaks is releasing hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic communications. But when the dust settles and the sensational tid-bits are forgotten, some of the longer-term impacts on diplomacy may in fact be positive. How so? The Wikileaks documents subvert the myth of diplomatic ineffectiveness, and illustrates that diplomats are in fact very busy pursuing interests, advocating policies, making contacts and managing networks
Situated at a crossroad between Russia and the European Union, Ukraine was never able to cohesively decide and act with a foreign policy that was not chaotic or unsynchronized. Applying neutrality in practice to the case of Ukraine implies a serious step in foreign policy, for the country itself as well as for the region. Passing and implementing the needed legislation would imply finally taking a decisive step towards a much needed coherent foreign policy.
Can Russia’s mistrust of NATO enlargement finally be left behind, as the former foes move towards a new strategic partnership? It is obvious that the introduction of a system including Russia as a strategic partner with weighted voting rights will lead to diplomatic horse trading and lobbying. But it is preferable that any “conflict” in this new relationship be conducted in the back corridors and board rooms of Brussels, rather than in Georgia, the road to Pristina or the skies over Sarajevo.
Originally, vampire disciplines found their homes within the humanities and social sciences. But they are quickly spreading to areas as diverse as law and architecture, terrorism studies and geography. Indeed, any discipline with some version of the “critical studies in . . .” genre has probably been infected by the vampire virus. And, if your discipline is still a vampire-free zone, expect the vampire advanced guard to come knocking on your door to convince you that your students majoring in transport logistics need to take a unit in “transport and society” or in “transport cultural identities”.
Certain dates in European history are taken to be the significant historical events which changed the course of the continent forever. 1648, and the Treaties of Westphalia; 1815, the Concert of Europe; 1945 the end of the Second World War and 1989, the fall of Communism – these are the events that are attributed to the makeup of modern Europe. But what of the years 1957, 1992, and 2009?
Uniting cosmopolitanism and nationalism helps to move beyond the otherwise Eurocentric and elitist nature of the cosmopolitan perspective. In addition, it might contribute to addressing one of the major challenges facing modern societies – the accommodation of ethnic and cultural diversity. Cosmopolitanism, both as a political and cultural principle, and an emerging reality, certainly deserves to be accepted and taken into account in the creation of new avenues of political action.
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