To what extent does the EZLN political economy framework offer a viable development alternative to its followers?
The EZLN is a Polanyian reaction to a specific type of market subordination, something which is central in understanding the extent to which the EZLN represents a viable political economy model for its followers. Furthermore, the Mexican Revolution triggered the emergence of these markets
John Gray and the idea of progress
The political thought of John Gray offers an unflinching vision of the world, a world divided by refractory ways of life, stressed by the looming conflicts over natural resources and scorched by irreversible patterns of global warming. Gray’s vision of the world is none too cheerful, and prescribed throughout his numerous analyses of today’s most pressing problems is a sobering dose of realism. Gray has repeatedly emphasized that many of our greatest problems are incurable and that the best we can hope to achieve is to minimise their symptoms
Terrorism’s Path: The Protection of the People in the Violence of our Era
This paper is an investigation on the conflict of our generation. From the ashes of the War on Terror arises the need to not only investigate the course of our actions, but also our understanding of those forces and phenomena to which we are committing both blood and treasure.
The status of women as a key indicator of modernity in Muslim society
Using women’s status as an indicator for the level of modernity achieved in non Western Muslim societies can set up a vicious circle that reinforces an orientalist bias. Such an evaluation is often affected by a belief that secular-liberal regimes hold a more favourable stance towards women. In addition, some Western feminist scholars have developed an approach that exasperates this dynamic
Elites vs. Institutions in Peacemaking
In the contemporary world, the role of elites is crucially important in every political system and every phase of state development, and forms the deciding factor in settling ethnic conflicts and post-conflict reconstruction. This paper will be based on two recent conflicts, Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, culminating in the Good Friday Agreement and Dayton Accords, respectively.
Population Exchange and Identity Formation: The Case of Post-Partition India
The close association of population exchange and identity formation has been particularly evident in the case of India. Its independence and partition created two states and peoples, thus redefining the concepts of ‘us’ and ‘them’ in the region. This pivotal event, having ensued more than six decades ago, continues to determine the dynamics of inter-state relations in the subcontinent and impact upon national identities
Are Large Companies at the Heart of a New Form of Transnational Hegemonic Order?
The propagation of liberal economic policies by states, particularly the US, paved the way for the globalisation of finance and production which enabled Transnational Corporations (TNCs) to share power with states and other actors. States are no longer the only important actors domestically or internationally.
The Role of Reason in the Northern Ireland Peace Process
What is deemed ‘reasonable’ is not abstract and objective, but malleable. Due to this conflicting definition of what was ‘reasonable’, it became impossible for the warring sides to be reconciled.
Contending Dialectics: Revisiting Material and Ideational Dimensions of Sovereignty
The state is understood to constitute the primary institutions holding sovereign authority. States, however, are no longer standing alone on the hill of sovereignty, which other actors have come to the climb, claiming their own sovereignty vis-à-vis the state.
Social Movements, Development Projects and the Corporate Media
The media can be a highly useful tool for agencies and individuals involved in development projects. It can be used to raise awareness of the problems they are working to overcome, to apply political pressure, and to gain financial or material support. Unfortunately, at times the way that the media and the way that development projects function often come in to conflict, especially for corporate news outlets
