Global Activity Research Articles

Fashion designers as lead firms from below: Creative economy, state capitalism and internationalization in Lagos and Nairobi

African fashion reveals intersections between upgrading, manufacturing and internationalization alongside expanding cultural, political and social influence. Yet global value chain analyses of the industry reinforce a core-periphery dynamic with the location of lead firms in the Global North (GN) and actors lower down the value chain in the Global South (GS). This disappears GS actors in the creative economy, including fashion designers, who innovate, design and cultivate the brand followership associated with lead firms. This paper analyzes fashion designers in Lagos and Nairobi as economic, cultural and social value creators and therein lead firms from below (LFfB). It conceptualizes this dynamic, with a focus on lead firms within the global value chain framework that combines elements of conceptual interventions on state capitalism to offer the LFfB framework. The framework is deployed to analyse primary data from fashion design firms in two key hubs, Lagos and Nairobi. Findings demonstrate the significance of synergies between key areas of LFfB operation (research and development, inputs, distribution, sales and product design) and state capitalism’s support for production, trade and finance, as well as positive returns through international cultural recognition and national profile building. Nevertheless, the paper contends that challenges of state (in)action can undermine sustainable practices, competitiveness as well as multi-scalar internationalization.

Developing an agenda for the decolonization of global health.

Colonialism, which involves the systemic domination of lands, markets, peoples, assets, cultures or political institutions to exploit, misappropriate and extract wealth and resources, affects health in many ways. In recent years, interest has grown in the decolonization of global health with a focus on correcting power imbalances between high-income and low-income countries and on challenging ideas and values of some wealthy countries that shape the practice of global health. We argue that decolonization of global health must also address the relationship between global health actors and contemporary forms of colonialism, in particular the current forms of corporate and financialized colonialism that operate through globalized systems of wealth extraction and profiteering. We present a three-part agenda for action that can be taken to decolonize global health. The first part relates to the power asymmetries that exist between global health actors from high-income and historically privileged countries and their counterparts in low-income and marginalized settings. The second part concerns the colonization of the structures and systems of global health governance itself. The third part addresses how colonialism occurs through the global health system. Addressing all forms of colonialism calls for a political and economic anticolonialism as well as social decolonization aimed at ensuring greater national, racial, cultural and knowledge diversity within the structures of global health.

Codified and reflexive policy coordination: how successful are Dhaka City’s policies for a successful sustainable passenger transport transition?

Abstract Critical to achieving the global net zero objective, transport transitions require multi-domain policies to coordinate and cohere. Different policy domains involve actors with diverse priorities and perspectives, complicating coordination. Policy coordination is particularly challenging for the Global South governments given their dependence for external financial and technological resources, and weaker institutions. Drawing on transport transition and policy coordination literature, this research studied the low-emission transport policies of Dhaka City, Bangladesh from 2000 to 2021. The study found that policy frameworks and institutional arrangements were established to enable local and global actors (development partners) to coordinate to support transport transitions. The development partners were engaged in mobilizing resources, transferring low-emission transport technologies and local capacity development. However, these policies were focused on politically prioritized supply-side solutions (e.g. metro-rail), without sufficient coherence with land use and housing policies. Also, they did not adequately consider local need-based low-emission transport alternatives such as walking and cycling; unintended policy effects and boundary-spanning challenges. Based on the findings, we propose codified and reflexive policy coordination concepts to describe discrete but mutually reinforcing mechanisms to support effective policy coordination. Codified coordination is enacted by formal policy frameworks and institutional arrangements and reflexive coordination is by formal evaluation of policy interventions. This framework proposes a new approach to examine coordination between multi-domain policies that are required to cohere to advance transport transitions. In practice, it can potentially guide the adoption of coordinated policies to drive transport transitions.

Actors, alterations, and authorities: three observations of global policy and its transnational administration

Abstract This Special Issue and its seven contributions seek to shift the gaze of public policy scholarship toward the authorities, legitimacies, and influences of transnational actors on the creation and implementation of global policy and its transnational administration. It is, in large part, both a demonstration of the analytical and explanatory value of accounting for the influence of non-state actors on global issues as well as a normative reflection on what this means for already tenuous connections between publics and those that make decisions on their behalf in global forums. This Issue breaks with heterodox public policy approaches that center on the capabilities of states and international organizations to determine and to deliver global public policy and outcomes. Instead, we widen our gaze to capture the influence of transnational actors such as global commissions, transnational public–private partnerships, philanthropic foundations, non-government organization networks, domestic associations with global influence, quasi-judicial authorities, and global citizen activists. The articles discuss the impact of transnational actors on the policy and administrative spaces of global actors and states alike. By dispensing with the notion that the state and state-created international organizations are the primary locus for public policy and public administration scholarship, the included papers conclude with the implications for scholarship on transnational actor authorities and legitimacies.

Digital Approaches to Societal Grand Challenges: Toward a Broader Research Agenda on Managing Global-Local Design Tensions

Policy/Practice-Focused Abstract Despite considerable and continued resource investments, effective solutions to broad-scope problems of social interest or societal grand challenges (GCs) have proven to be elusive in many domains. In multiactor situations that characterize GCs, divergent goals, needs, priorities, and capabilities of global and local actors create organizing design tensions that need to be considered before solutions can be enacted. Emergent digital technologies can play an important and transformative role in addressing the organizing design tensions that pervade such collective action problems. In this article, we draw on Elinor Ostrom’s principles of public value creation and identify a set of eight organizing design tensions that arise from employing global and local perspectives in addressing GCs. We consider novel digital approaches—that involve alternative arrangements of digital and socio-political elements in GC settings—to resolving each of these design tensions. Our discussion foreshadows the considerable opportunity for information systems research to contribute to the broader dialog on GCs; inform GC-related policy and practice at global and local levels; and, more broadly, speed the identification and enactment of effective solutions to grand challenges.

Evaluating different strategies in Ukraine and its effects on the international systems

The recent war between Russia and Ukraine, which is considered as the biggest and most important military conflict in Europe after the Second World War, will leave deep consequences on the relations of countries in addition to the pervasive effects on the level of the international system. A crisis in one region affects the interests of other actors in other regions; therefore, the disruption of the balance of power in the relations between the great powers following Russia's attack on Ukraine includes opportunities and threats for international actors. Based on this, the current article aimed to answer the question, “What impact will Russia-Ukraine conflict have on the international system?”. The research hypothesis was proposed in such a way that the recent crisis in Ukraine can affect the international system in economic, security, and social axes. The findings of the research showed that the war in Ukraine would probably have had global effects on the food, energy and economic systems. The analysis method used in this research was descriptive and analytical, and to achieve the main goal of the research, which was to investigate the possible effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine on the international system and global actors, the theoretical framework of offensive realism was used.

10-year level, trends and socio-demographic disparities of obesity among Ghanaian adults-A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

The double burden of malnutrition has assumed severer forms in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) arising from sharper increases in prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in these countries compared to higher income countries. Considering that LMICs already have fragile health systems, the rising obesity levels may just be a ticking time bomb requiring expeditious implementation of priority actions by all global and national actors to prevent an explosion of cardiovascular disease related deaths. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide a current estimate of obesity and overweight prevalence among Ghanaian adults and assess socio-demographic disparities following the PRISMA guidelines. We searched Pubmed with Medline, Embase, Science direct and African Journals Online (AJOL) for studies on overweight and obesity published between 2013 and January 2023. Applying a quality effects model, pooled mean Body Mass Index (BMI) and prevalence of overweight and obesity were obtained from 42 studies conducted across all three geographical locations of Ghana with a combined sample size of 29137. From the analysis, the mean BMI of adults in Ghana was 24.7 kgm-2 while overweight and obesity prevalence was estimated as 23.1% and 13.3% respectively. Temporal analysis showed sharper increases in overweight and obesity prevalence from 2017/2018. Mean BMI (Females: 25.3kgm-2 vrs Males: 23.1 kgm-2), overweight (Females: 25.9% vrs Males: 16.5%) and obesity (Females: 17.4% vrs Males: 5.5%) prevalence were higher among females than males. Gender differences in mean BMI and obesity prevalence were both significant at p<0.001. Urban dwellers had higher mean BMI than their rural counterparts (24.9kgm-2 vrs 24.4kgm-2). Overweight (27.6% vrs 18.2%) and obesity (17.3% vrs 11.0%) prevalence were also higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Body weight indicators for the various geographical areas of Ghana were; southern sector: 25.4kgm-2, 28.9% and 15.4%, middle sector: 24.8kgm-2, 26.4% and 16.2% and northern sector: 24.2kgm-2, 15.4% and 8.5% for mean BMI, overweight and obesity prevalence respectively. The southern part of Ghana was similar to the middle part in terms of mean BMI, overweight and obesity but higher than the northern part. We conclude that overweight and obesity prevalence in Ghana has risen to high levels in recent years with women and urban dwellers disproportionately more affected. There is a possible implication for increased cardiovascular diseases and a generally poor quality of life for the people. Evidence-based public health interventions are needed to reverse the current situation.

Communities as Global Actors in Counterhegemonic Policy Mobilities: Lessons from the Community Land Trust Movement

Communities as Global Actors in Counterhegemonic Policy Mobilities: Lessons from the Community Land Trust Movement

History and activities of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) provides rapid information on earthquakes and their effects, but does not operate seismic stations. It collects and merges parametric earthquake data from seismological agencies and networks around the world and collects earthquake observations from global earthquake eyewitnesses. Since its creation in 1975, it has developed strategies to complement earthquake monitoring activities of national agencies and coordinated its activities in Europe with its sister organisations ORFEUS and EFEHR as well as with global actors, while being part of the transformative EPOS initiative. The purpose of this article is to give a brief history of the EMSC and describe its activities, services and coordination mechanisms.

CELAC in International Relations of Latin America (2010-2023)

The purpose of the research paper is to highlight the formation, development, and results of CELAC’s activities, as well as to define its place in international relations at both the regional and global levels.&#x0D; The scientific novelty is in the comprehensive analysis of the place and role of the regional international organization CELAC, its failures, and successful initiatives. The authors analyze the formation of CELAC as a representative body in relations with key world political actors – China, the EU, and Russia.&#x0D; Conclusions. CELAC continues to be an important factor in international relations, especially in the context of the desire of Latin American and Caribbean countries to strengthen cooperation and coordination. The establishment of CELAC was one of the vivid manifestations of the ‘left turn’ with its state-nationalist bias and emphasized interest in solving pressing social problems in domestic politics by the state from the top-down and ensuring its independence from global actors, primarily the United States. CELAC is not a replacement for the cooperation and integration groups – Mercosur, CARICOM, ALCA, etc. The desire for CELAC to be an alternative body – especially to the OAS (The Organization of American States) – does not enjoy regional consensus and it would be difficult to achieve with the resources this body currently has at its disposal.&#x0D; Although in general, CELAC’s activities were ineffective (most of the region’s problems had not been solved, including poverty, corruption, crime, etc.), there were examples of successful implementation of its decisions in 2013-2018. In recent years, we have observed the intensification of CELAC’s international activities, aimed, first of all, at establishing mutually beneficial and partnership relations with the key actors of world politics and economy – the EU, the USA, and China. But Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine, its desire for self-isolation, the sanctions of the Western world, and the condemnation of aggression by the UN – all this pushes the Caribbean countries away from Russia, although it does not completely negate their cooperation.

The Human Rights Policies of the EU: Political Nature, Existing Incoherencies and Institutional Bifurcation

The history of human rights in the context of the European Union (EU) is complex and riddled with contradictions. This was convincingly demonstrated by leading experts in the area who wrote copiously about the existence of elements of institutional bifurcation in the organisation’s policies in the area. Although the EU is an important global actor in the field of human rights and had a positive impact on a number of human rights issues, a number of incoherencies and inconsistencies in its policies continue to have a detrimental impact on its political actions on the world stage. By examining the traditional explanations for these existing deficiencies in the political and institutional system of the organisation through a document analysis, this article sketches their problematic overall impact and argues, concurring to the above-mentioned experts, that these incoherencies resulted in a bifurcated human rights regime produced by the problematic elements of the EU’s own political identity. It also considers the impact of the Union’s enlargement on its human rights policies and the potential challenges this phenomenon poses in political and social terms.

SIGURNOST U NESIGURNOSTI MEĐUNARODNOG PORETKA

The modern world is exposed to increasingly rapid and dramatic changes. In the past three years. the most important global processes are marked by great dangers, which interrupted the thirty-year period of global stability and progress. The past three years have been marked by processes that radically change the current political, economic and security relations in the world and significantly affect contemporary states and the international order. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly intense global migration, the American effort to preserve global dominance, the strengthening of China’s role in the world, Russia’s preoccupation with the war in Ukraine, and the renewal of the arms race, especially with nuclear weapons, have the effect that security turns into insecurity of the international order. With the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is faced with major economic and political consequences. The end of the war in Ukraine is also uncertain, as is the possibility of its spread to other countries and the unfathomable consequences it has caused for global politics and the economy. Already these two global problems have dramatically affected the global community, and the repositioning of many countries, especially the leading world powers. Because of this, the US continuously adapts its foreign and security policy to the state of the world, strengthening its influence in Europe and Asia, where it confronts Russia and China. As America’s main challenger, China continues to strengthen its economy and project soft power in the global community, especially in Africa and the Middle East. India, which has recently become the world’s most populous country, is also gaining a growing global influence. Taking into account the influence of other global actors such as the European Union, Brazil, Japan and Australia, it is certain that we are facing a period of new multipolarism as a framework for solving both new and old global political, economic and security problems. Global security, which until recently was threatened primarily by terrorism, organized crime, hybrid threats, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and cyber threats, due to the increasing number of new and more challenging threats, such as wars, will be realized in the uncertainty of the international order.

Discursive Features of United States Foreign Policy Phetoric Towards the Middle East

In the contemporary international order, marked by increasing global interdependence and complex power relations, understanding the role of the United States as a global actor is crucial. This paper explores the interplay between American identity, discourse, and U.S. foreign policy rhetoric, particularly in its engagement with the Middle East. Rooted in the concept of American exceptionalism, it investigates the selective and strategic nature of U.S. rhetoric towards key Middle Eastern actors. The research integrates linguistics and international relations, with Critical Discourse Analysis as the primary theoretical framework. By addressing research questions concerning American identity, discursive strategies and their linguistic realisations, and rhetorical selectivity, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of U.S. foreign policy rhetoric towards the Middle East.

CO-BUILDING INCLUSIVE SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The demands made by a rapidly changing society are embodied in persistent issues such as inequality, poverty, hunger, conflict and displacements, all exacerbated by climate change and its impacts. This reflects a world in crisis. Social work, committed to social justice and human rights for all, is at the forefront of social transformation. The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) strives to enhance the visibility of social work as a global actor in building an inclusive, just, peaceful and sustainable society. Realising this vision requires multi-level partnerships at the international, regional and local levels, facilitated by social work educators and practitioners, in collaboration with marginalised individuals and communities who are disproportionally affected by social and economic exclusion and environmental injustices.

Shaping the bioeconomy: Public and private sector perceptions across European regions

The bioeconomy is widely viewed as a viable solution to complex global challenges and diverse actors must collaborate to create sustainable and resilient economies. The public and private sector drive this transformation through strategies, policies, and regulation business choices and investments, innovation and market implementation respectively.The present study explores perceptions of the bioeconomy among public and private sector actors in nine European regions through the prism of their familiarity and understanding of its constituent parts: concepts, value chains, benefits and risks. The novelty of the research consists in assessing the understanding of the bioeconomy at regional level. Instead of imposing a conventional top-down agenda, it seeks to elicit practitioner conceptualisations, based on 534 survey responses conducted in the respective regional languages. Descriptive and summary statistics were used to explore the data, followed by non-parametric tests.Key findings are: (1) A positive discourse on the bioeconomy is observed, particularly among survey respondents with high self-rated familiarity, but this may not align with its factual drawbacks. (2) Practical bioeconomy implementation is complex. Environmental benefits are perceived as its most distinguishing feature, yet respondents also consider socioeconomic elements important. Similarly, tensions are observed between personal risks versus societal benefits. Therefore, a sustainable bioeconomy must reconcile environmental and socioeconomic objectives, and different levels of impact. (3) Despite an emerging consensus on the bioeconomy's constituent elements, sector-specific focus areas and regional specificity of conditions prevent uniformity of the bioeconomy across regions. This should be taken into account in policy formulation.

Особенности реализации торговой политики китая

Within the framework of this work, the key points in the implementation of China’s trade policy are revealed. The Beijing authorities are aiming at multi-vector work with various actors who are ready to cooperate, wanting to improve their situation, while facing certain difficulties caused by both natural and artificial causes. It is quite natural that a number of already existing major trading players are trying to prevent China from further developing in the environment under consideration. Now, within the framework of foreign policy tensions, China is confidently showing itself as an economically strong power. The article highlights the peculiarities of the Chinese approach to interaction with its partners in the framework of political cooperation. It is planned to consider the goals of the government, as well as multifaceted cooperation with other global political actors that influence global markets in one way or another.

Vaccinating humanitarian workers against COVID-19.

To describe the United Nations' (UN's) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination programme and its efforts to vaccinate frontline humanitarian personnel stationed in locations where access to COVID-19 vaccine was limited or absent. The vaccination programme was structured as a two-level operation: a global vaccine deployment support team and local vaccine deployment teams in each participating country, territory or administrative area. The central group, led by a global vaccine coordinator, oversaw medical, legal, financial, logistical, data, technological and communication aspects. Local vaccine deployment teams were led by coordinators who managed registration, logistics, communication and vaccine administration. The programme used World Health Organization-approved COVID-19 vaccines and developed prioritization criteria for distributing vaccine supplies. The programme ensured that vaccines for the UN personnel were not diverted from the populations they were intended to serve. The programme successfully formed 120 deployment teams across 152 eligible countries, territories and administrative areas, targeting approximately 673 000 individuals. By April 2023, 72 countries, territories and administrative areas had received over 470 000 doses, of which 337 072 doses were administered. Almost half of the doses administered (167 616) were to individuals in five UN hardship countries. Ninety-five severe adverse events were reported, but none led to any reported medical evacuation, permanent disability or death. The programme demonstrated effective global coordination and local implementation, adapting to diverse contexts and operational challenges. The model can serve as a guide for global actors for future health emergencies, or for deploying health aid at a regional or global scale.

Экономика космоса: глобальный контекст и опыт Франции

Various approaches to the space economy are considered, its components are highlighted. Space and the knowledge about it, being the bedrock of the space economy, are considered as a public good. The space economy as a factor of geopolitics and realization of sustainable development goals is an area of competition and cooperation for global actors. On the one hand, the leading role of the State and its expenditures now and next in space exploration and development is emphasized, on the other hand, the growing role of public and private companies’ partnership is gaining momentum, including commercial projects for launching people into space not only for research, but also for recreational purposes by reusable launch vehicles. The gap between the USA as a leader of the space economy and its competitors exploring and using space for civil and military purposes has been statistically proven. The traditional disparity between spending on civilian and military projects in space is shrinking, and the parity may be set by 2030. The key role of France – the leading country of the EU and of the countries of the ESA – in the genesis and development of the space economy in the West European part of the continent is revealed. Such an important role of France is largely due to the attention that has historically been paid to this sphere of the national economy, based on the use of nuclear technologies by the only nuclear power in the EU. The dynamics of the space economy is not in favor of France and Europe, largely due to insufficient financing (both public and private), with a great difference between European space budget and that of the USA and China. The conclusion is made that it is unlikely for France (and the EU) to bridge the gap with these leaders in the foreseeable future, despite the planned increase in investments for this innovative sector of the economy.

СПЕЦИФІКА ЕКСТЕРНАЛІЗАЦІЇ ПРИВЛАСНЕННЯ ІНФОРМАЦІЙНО-ЦИФРОВОГО ІНТЕЛЕКТУАЛЬНОГО ПРОДУКТУ В УМОВАХ ГЛОБАЛІЗАЦІЇ

Exteriorization of informatively-digital intellectual product in the context of its displaying and recreation of actors of its appropriation in the conditions of globalization was analyzed and generalized in the article. The aim of this research is a detecting of specific of exteriorization of appropriation of informatively-digital intellectual product in the conditions of globalization. A variant of integration method was used for achieving of aim of the research. General characteristics of globalization, as an object of its informatively-digital conceptions, was found. Possibilities of the developed countries (leaders of global economics) at the appropriation of new knowledge as possibility of property and uses of knowledge was found out. After generalization of exert of exteriorization of appropriation of intellectual product as transfer of technologies, was constate, what the limits of its variety are circumscribed into the attributes of appropriation of intellectual product. The analysis of exert of exteriorization of appropriation of informatively-digital intellectual product is possible via a development of the compatible-divided form of appropriation was found out. Attention on the specific of appropriation of informativelydigital intellectual product in the conditions of globalization how an important aspect of knowledge-information revolution was accented. Exert of exteriorization of appropriation of informatively-digital intellectual product in the conditions of globalization as: cooperative (in the global cluster of creators), satellite (in the global cluster of producers), subordinate (in the global cluster of mediators-entrepreneur) was determined by scientific novelty. Means of diminishing of barrier of reproduction of actors of appropriation of intellectual product in global conditions was found out in part: financing of acquisition a novel-constructively and novel-integration of informatively-digital intellectual product (in the global cluster of creators); encouragement of belonging of legitimate of informatively-digital intellectual product to the national actors (in the global cluster of producers); stimulation of actualization of belonging of legitimate of informatively-digital intellectual product to the national actors (in the global cluster of mediators-entrepreneur). Domination of global actors of appropriation of informatively-digital intellectual product above relatively by small national actors of informatively-digital intellectual product how an barrier of them the extended reproduction was confirmed in the conditions of globalization. Practical importance of the paper was represented in an availability for government regulation of local types of industrial activity in Ukraine, and also for the acceleration of them "building-in" in global technological chains.

ПЕРЕВАГИ ТА НЕДОЛАКИ ГЛОБАЛІЗАЦІЇ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ ДЛЯ УКРАЇНЦІВ

Since English is used for business and international trade in addition to being the official language of many international organizations (such as the UN, WHO, etc.), it has become a lingua franca in the modern world. English language lessons are widely taken and required in many secondary schools globally. English is now taught in many states' schools as a required foreign language, sometimes substituting other languages. Taking into account the rapid spread of the English language, the article examines the main advantages and disadvantages of English being a global language providing an example of Ukrainians living abroad and in their home country. With the help of postcolonial and globalization theories, it is shown that the spread of English is a result of the British Empire and the rise of the United States as a global actor in international relations thereafter. On the contrary, the linguistic human capital theory and theory of cultural capital underline that language proficiency can be a limitation and a getaway in socioeconomic situations. The article is conducted in a qualitative research method, namely online surveys aimed at Ukrainians in Poland, Estonia, Germany, Spain, and Ukraine. The results indicate that English being a global language provokes inequalities between people as well as people abroad are motivated to learn English because of better job opportunities. On the other hand, the number of people motivated to learn English in Ukraine is much higher.