Nations Face Research Articles

Flood resilience—A time for cathedral‐based thinking and action!

Flood resilience—A time for cathedral‐based thinking and action!

Understanding public support for international climate adaptation payments: Evidence from a choice experiment

While the importance of climate change adaptation is not in doubt, adaptation funding in developing countries remains scarce. Therefore, climate finance institutions and national decision-makers face difficult trade-offs when allocating funds. While not a substitute for expert judgement, we argue that understanding how the public thinks could play a role in building support. Using a representative sample of the UK population, we use a discrete choice experiment to explore in particular the way in which distributional considerations drive respondent decisions in two dimensions: (a) among recipients of adaptation finance in recipient developing countries, and (b) among those who contribute to this finance (via taxation). We categorise our results as follows. First, respondents show strong distributional preferences for funds to reach the poorest individuals, supporting adoption of egalitarian policy mandates among climate adaptation funds. Secondly, respondents prefer an ‘ability-to-pay’ approach over the ‘polluter-pays-principle’ as a way of funding. Thirdly, our results suggest that a focus on communicating future benefits to UK residents can increase policy support. Overall, however, our findings also reveal that public support for global climate adaptation payments is insufficient. Yet we provide means of understanding how to allocate all-too-scarce funds and how to increase support for adaptation finance.

Liberal Democracy in a Less-than-Liberal Context? The Case of Contemporary Greece

The persistence of democracy in today’s Greece may be surprising for two reasons. First, liberal democracy survived an economic crisis in the 2010s that was more severe than the Great Depression of the 1930s. Second, liberal democracy has remained stable despite the fact that the period since the 1974 transition from the Colonels’ Regime has witnessed the diffusion of illiberal ideas and an emergence of relatively small yet very active antiliberal parties. Liberal democracy has been resilient in the face of nationalism and populism, even though accountable liberal institutions enjoy limited political trust. The resilience of contemporary Greek democracy can be explained through two sets of factors: a political set and a social set. Political factors include a long history of political liberalism and the robustness of contemporary political-party competition. Social factors include Greece’s relatively large middle class and the absence of overlapping social cleavages that could otherwise have led to destructive socio-political polarization and then a slide toward illiberalism. The Greek case shows under what conditions a liberal democracy can flourish in a less-than-liberal context.

GOLDEN LEGACY VERSUS TRIVIALISING TROPES: An examination of The Saga of TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE and the Birth of Haiti

ABSTRACT The Saga of TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE and the Birth of Haiti (TSTLBH) is the first volume in the Golden Legacy: Illustrated History Series, launched in 1966 by Fitzgerald Publishing. A Black-owned company, Fitzgerald Publishing released 16 total volumes in the series. This study examines the various ways that TSTLBH pushes back against three trivialising tropes regularly used to promote anti-African retellings of the Haitian revolution: (1) L’Ouverture was acting and succeeding on European terms; (2) Africans were not skilled enough to defeat Bonaparte; and (3) African-led nations face hardships because they are barbaric. This article begins with a brief review of media about the Haitian Revolution. Next, it focuses on comic books on the subject. Lastly, it investigates the various ways that TSTLBH refutes each trivialising trope by (1) solidifying L’Ouverture’s African roots and their positive influences on his upbringing; (2) showing the strategic decisions and purposeful actions taken by L’Ouverture and his allies to defeat their enemies; and (3) reinforcing the falsehood of notions that Africans are savage barbarians and inferior to Whites.

Renewable energy in the Western Balkans: Policies, developments and perspectives

The development of the energy sector is one of the most critical issues in the Western Balkans region. Due to the region’s high renewable energy sources (RES) potential, renewable energy is considered a promising method for building sustainable and resilient energy systems that offer attested and affordable energy to fuel economic development of a region, while reducing import dependence. The aim of this research is to discuss current trends in renewable energies in Western Balkans countries, and to analyze the policies promoting and barriers to RES development, as well as to provide recommendations for the future growth of renewable energy in this region. Even though these countries have defined targets for RES in their energy policies, there are gaps between the targets and actual results, as national government face various energy challenges. The main barriers common to all countries are regulatory uncertainty and low transparency levels, a slow and unpredictable planning process and limited regional market integration. Thus, it is necessary to undertake a more active approach through targeted renewable energy policies.

Equality, Non-Interference, and Sovereignty: President Ahmadou Ahidjo and the Making of Cameroon-U.S. Relations

AbstractScholars often dismiss the importance of local archives in the reconstruction of postcolonial African history, stating that they are superficial, unorganized, and unreliable. Amin challenges that notion and argues that those archives are central to the study of African diplomatic history. Based on extensive and previously unused documents, he argues that Cameroon’s Ahmadou Ahidjo leveraged his U.S. policy to develop his country and protect its sovereignty while maintaining a firm grip on power. This reappraisal of Ahidjo’s actions engages debates about the contours of U.S.-African foreign policy and the challenges new nations face as they navigate external relations.

On the effect of international human migration on nations' abilities to attain CO2 emission-reduction targets.

I merge publicly available data on CO2 emissions, with patterns of human movement, to analyze the anticipated effects of human migration on the abilities of nations to attain 2030 UNFCCC CO2 emission targets. I do so at both global (175 countries) and national (Canada and the USA) scales. The analyses reveal that mean per capita CO2 emissions are nearly three times higher in countries with net immigration than in countries with net emigration. Those differences project a cumulative migration-induced annual increase in global emissions of approximately 1.7 billion tonnes. For Canada and the United States, the projected total emissions attributable to migration from 2021 to 2030 vary between 0.7 and 0.9 billion tonnes. Although staggering, the annual and total emissions represent a small fraction of current global emissions totalling 36 billion tonnes per annum. Even so, the projected decadal immigration of nearly 4 million humans to Canada, and 10 million to the USA, represent significant additional challenges in reducing CO2 emissions. The challenges pale in comparison with poor nations that are minor contributors to climate change. Such nations face the incomprehensible burden of improving the quality of their citizens’ lives without increasing global CO2 emissions. National and international strategies aimed at lowering emissions must thus acknowledge, and cooperatively address, consumptive inequities and expected increases in human population size and migration.

Representative Bureaucracy: The Nepalese Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to reflect the issue of representation of the disadvantaged people in the bureaucracy in terms of the country’s contemporary demographic composition. It also intends to scrutinize the current trends of representation of women along with indigenous community, Madhesi, Dalit, disabled people and people from backward areas in the bureaucracy since the application of a reservation system in Nepal since 2007. Descriptive method has been used for analysis and the results are based on quantitative method used for the analysis and interpretation of the data. This article is based on the secondary data. The content and trend analysis have been made from the published and unpublished data and information in national reports, journals, thesis, newsletters and newspapers. Time series (since 2007) secondary data has been used for the study. The results of the study show that the country’s population consists of 49.50% male and 51.50% female. However, only 25.94% female are being represented and rest 74.06% males are still in dominant in the civil service system of Nepal in 2020. The data depicts that, the civil service has as high as 63.50% Khas/Arya but only 0.60% Muslim, 2.50% Dalit, 15.40% Madhesi and 19.5% indigenous people representations. Moral preference and commitment in recruitment and promotion to retirement is said to be the main reason behind the increasingly mono-ethnic involvement in the civil service of Nepal. Traditionally, males were over-represented in the civil service at all levels. However, the trend has been reconciled in recent years due to the continuing preponderance of female graduates and hence applicants for government jobs. Therefore, the concern over the representativeness of the Nepalese bureaucracy is less on class but more on gender and ethnicity representations. The growing trend of women and other class and ethnicity in civil servants in the recent years is positively expected to achieve the representativeness of bureaucracy with the national face. This article argues that the increasing ration of the representativeness in bureaucracy would ensure equitable, responsiveness, strengthen capacity and legitimacy of the government in the diverse society.

Critical education for democracy under discourses of authoritarianism and nationalism

The rise of authoritarianism and exclusionary nationalism has shown a critical need to teach students how to build, maintain and participate in democratic communities. This requires students to understand how authoritarianism and nationalism exclude people and perspectives in communities. While inclusionary nationalism can create an identity that unites people, we focus upon the divisive form of nationalism that is exclusionary. This article first describes the context for critical education for democracy in the face of authoritarianism and nationalism. We follow with a conceptual analysis of critical education for democracy. This involves the ways that students can identify antidemocratic discourses in order to promote democratic discourses. The model that we present relies upon student discourse analysis and elements of greeting, rhetoric and narrative for increasing inclusion in democratic communities. We conclude with illustrations of classroom inquiries, discussions and deliberations that can build student understanding of authoritarianism, nationalism and democracy.

304 - Mental healthcare services and advocacy for older people amidst the COVID crisis: Voices from South Asia

AbstractAsia has some of the fastest developing economies and largest conglomerations of populations in the world. One such geographically unique region is South Asia, which accounts for nearly 25% of the global population and one-fifth of the psychiatric morbidity worldwide. This region is also ageing rapidly compared to rest of the world due to modifications in healthcare facilities, hygiene, and lifestyle as well as improved sanitation and infection control. Besides, some of the South Asian countries have also been worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to an exaggerated psychosocial crisis among their older people. Many of these nations face issues with community psychiatric care, trained manpower, socio-economic resources, legislation catering to psychological care and health inequalities. However, recent years have also witnessed paradigm shift in mental health policies, infrastructure and technology among these nations. Climate changes, migration, displacement and ecological characteristics further make South Asia unique in mental health needs and challenges.With this background, leaders in the field of psychogeriatric care from some of the South Asian nations come together to discuss and highlight upcoming strategies for mental health advocacy and service delivery among older people in these regions. Mutual collaboration and cross-country research are globally called upon.Panelists:1. Dr. Gautam Saha (President, Indian Psychiatric Society) drgsaha@yahoo.co.in2. Dr. G.Prasad Rao (President, Indian Association of Geriatric Mental Health) prasad40@gmail.com3. Dr. Sudarshan Narsingh (President, Psychiatrists’ Association of Nepal & President, SAARC Psychiatric Federation) drsudar@yahoo.com4. Dr. Wazizul Alam Chowdhury (President, Bangladesh Associa tion of Psychiatrists) bap@agni.com5. Dr. Afzal Javed (President, World Psychiatric Association and Chairman, Pakistan Psychiatric Centre, Fountain House, Lahore) afzalj@gmail.comModerator:Dr. Debanjan Banerjee (Old Age Psychiatrist, NIMHANS, Bangalore; Member, IPA Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee) dr.Djan88@gmail.com

Abrogation of Section 377 - A Business Case for Pinkwashing

India is the fastest growing economy with so many sub-cultures existing together. Perhaps no nations face the greatest challenges and opportunities for LGBTQ Community than India. 92% of India’s transgender population is deprived of the right to participate in any form of economic activity (Human Rights Commission Report, 2017). Less than half of them have an access to education and those (62% approx.) who have access face abuse and discrimination against them. India is said to have incurred the loss of $32 Billion of GDP due to Homophobia and Transphobia (World Bank Report 2016). Experts have opined that there is a strong business case in favour of LGBTQ inclusion. In the historic verdict on September 6, 2018, Honorable Supreme Court decriminalized Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that violated rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT+) community. Given the huge number of LGBTQ population in India, this judgement is expected to have significant implications for various stakeholders of the society as well as business. This paper attempts to analyze the business and economic impact of this legislation in India. The paper also seeks to examine the challenges of LGBTQ Inclusion in India and across the world and offer suitable suggestions to the various stakeholders for bringing out inclusion in true sense for the overall wellbeing of the economy.

Accelerating Digitalization during the Pandemic: Global and Russian Cases

The externally induced intensification of the use of information and communication technologies in 2020 coincided with the ongoing digitalization of the world economy over the past decade. While digitalization is not a new phenomenon, the issues surrounding it are constantly changing. Before the pandemic, the discussion around digitalization mainly focused on the concepts of the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT). The pandemic brought digitalization to companies and industries that had previously been relatively backward in this respect. During the pandemic, the shift of employees to remote work using ICT technology reached an unprecedented scale and stimulated a change in consumer behavior, and the duration of the pandemic triggered a long-term process of adoption of new types of ICT goods and services.The ICT corporations were able to significantly increase their user base and use the accumulated innovation potential to bring new products and services to market. This paper examines the implications of the pandemic for the digital infrastructure and the digital economy. The pandemic has contributed to the emergence of hybrid business models that combine the features of offline and online services. The strengthening of innovative competition in the ICT sector can lead to further consolidation of the industry, which is already being noted in the semiconductor industry and the segment of ICT services. Separately, the paper examines the Russian innovation policy in the digital sphere. Also, given the inevitable growth of innovation and trade competition in the digital sphere in Russia since 2017, new directions of state support for digital companies, products and services have been created. It is shown that the main focus of innovation policy in this area in Russia remains the public services segment. At the same time, the relevant national programs face the problem of goal-setting.

Child Welfare in the South Pacific: Deciding Child Protection Matters Across Pasifika Nations.

The Asia–Pacific region is undergoing rapid change, and family structures and functioning are not exempt from this. Economic growth and urbanisation greatly affect the livelihood of family households across the Pacific Island countries. These changes take place against a backdrop of increasing inequity, rapid growth in technology, changes in traditional employment structures and a changing climate. Key social indicators suggest that violence, abuse and exploitation of children in the Pacific Island nations challenge their most vulnerable and marginalised children (Save the Children, 2019). To make the Pacific safe for every child, a number of nations are developing legal and regulatory frameworks for children’s protection, with child and family welfare systems that address behaviour, attitudes and policies related to child protection concerns. This article examines key ‘grey’ literature drawn from UN, NGO and government documents, to offer an overview of what legal and welfare systems are in place in the Pacific Island nations in regard to child protection needs. It draws on Parton’s (Parton, International Journal on Child Maltreatment 3:19–34, 2020, p. 20) suggestion that a range of political, cultural and sociological influences shape child protection policies which vary according to both time and place and family and community values. What the literature uncovers is the challenges Pacific Island nations face implementing such legal and regulatory frameworks for children’s protection, what supports are needed to support any changes (UNICEF, 2015a, b), their need to address the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to work with local communities, if there is to be effective reform around child wellbeing and safety, and their protection from harm (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 1989).

Cyber legalism: why it fails and what to do about it

Abstract Western nations face a glaring punishment problem in the cyber domain. Repeatedly, other nations assail their political and economic interests. Repeatedly, Western leaders warn about the gravity of such actions. And yet repeatedly, the victims failed to punish to deter the offenders. This article examines why and how this situation arose and what to do about it. The Western approach to cyber conflict prevention emphasizes the centrality of existing international law and norms. The legal and normative framework is not adequate for this purpose, however, because it does not provide sufficient grounds to credibly respond to actions falling short of war. Consequently, the Western approach has failed spectacularly. It fails to grasp a central truth about contemporary security affairs: much of modern interstate rivalry fits neither the destructive criteria of war nor the acceptable boundaries of peaceful rivalry. Rather, it is unpeace, or mid-spectrum rivalry that is more damaging than traditional peacetime activity, but not physically violent like war. Nations use cyberspace to achieve some of the political and strategic objectives of war without firing a single gun. The lack of an effective Western response betrays not tolerance of aggression but a failure to devise a response strategy commensurate with the legal and doctrinal ambiguities of unpeace. Existing law and norms are a source of the problem, not its solution. An interim solution must be found instead in the development of new doctrine—in a consequentialist strategy that affects adversaries’ material interests to deter actions which international law and security strategy do not ordinarily recognize as deserving a strong response.

Cuba-U.S. scientific collaboration: Beyond the embargo.

Cuba and the U.S. have the oldest Academies of Sciences outside Europe. Both countries have a long history of scientific collaboration that dates to the 1800s. Both scientific communities also share geographical proximity and common scientific research interests mainly in Biotechnology, Meteorology, and Public Health research. Despite these facts, scientists from both nations face serious barriers to cooperation raised by the U.S. embargo established in 1961 that prohibits exchanges with Cuba. The study aims to analyze the effects of U.S. policy on scientific collaboration with Cuban scientific institutions. The results of the bibliometric analysis of Cuba-U.S. joint publications in the Web of Science, and Scopus databases between 1980 to 2020 indicate sustained growth of scientific collaboration between scientists of both nations over the past forty years. The results also show that after the 1980 Smithsonian Institution and the Cuba’s Academy of Sciences agreement significantly increased scientific collaboration between U.S. scientists with their Cuban peers. President Barack Obama’s approach to normalizing the U.S. Cuba relations in 2015 enhanced Cuban scientific production with U.S. scientists by exceeding the number of collaborative papers published during any preceding U.S. Presidential administration. By 2020, Cuba had expanded its scientific links to 80% of the countries in the world. Cuban and U.S. scientists converted from adversaries into partners, showing that science is an effective diplomatic channel. A particularly important question for the future is how robust is the collaboration system in the face of greater political restrictions?

Discursive activism in the age of BBS: revisiting overseas Chinese protests during the 2008 Beijing Olympics torch relay

The escalation in geopolitical tensions between China and the United States raises the critical issue of revisiting cyber nationalism in various contexts. A topic of critical inquiry, recent scholarship addresses the changing face of Chinese cyber nationalism since the 2010s, focussing on its connection with fan communities, cosmopolitan visions and the interplay of multifarious stakeholders. However, the ways in which emerging forms of cyber nationalism connect with its predecessors remain to be studied. To explore the historical connections of cyber nationalism across media platforms, this article investigates the role that MIT BBS, one of the most influential forums among overseas Chinese communities, played in organising pro-China protests during the 2008 Beijing Olympics torch relay. An examination of online political expressions not only unravels the multifaceted dimensions of nationalism, but it also deepens scholarly understanding of discursive activism, which emerged from text-based platforms prior to the dominance of mobile communication applications.

"Russia — Europe" in the mirror of Russian philosophical thought (first half of the 19th century)

The article presents the interpretation of the problem "Russia — Europe" in Russian philosophical thought in the first half of the 19th century. The analysis includes questions about the role of Russia in European history and the socio-cultural factors of its national development. The author shows that during this period, the main vector of discussion of the topic was associated, on the one hand, with the idea of preserving the "national face" by the Russian people in expanding political and cultural contacts with Europe, and on the other hand, with justifying its readiness / ability to live in the world of national and cultural diversity. The Enlightenment became the initial basis of all philosophical reflections in this vein, and the interrelation of the national and universal principles of the historical process was considered as a mechanism of the civilized life of mankind and positive contacts of peoples with each other. In this research context, the national identity of Russia correlated with the achieved level of civilization: with the nature of relations between the state and civil society, power and people, legal rights and personal freedom of citizens. Within the framework of this approach, the methodological principles of the analysis of the problem "Russia — Europe" were formed, ideas were proposed, the philosophical and worldview meanings of which, as shown in the article, correlate with the key issues of today's models and projects of Russian national development.

The Theatre of Historical Revision: An Analysis of the Native American Drama Tradition

We attempt to analyse the form and content of major Native American plays to discuss their relationship with the traditional English drama and its content. By looking at plays of key Native American playwrights, we show that the Native American tradition goes against the English tradition of drama in its form by challenging the unities of time and place and characterization. It also brings in elements of Native American tradition of storytelling such as the blend of the sacred and the profane, the use of humor, the attitude towards facticity, to the tradition of drama to carve out a unique space for itself through which it attempts to challenge the dominant narratives of history, Native American culture, and at the same time highlight the problems the Native American nations face currently.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Face Mask Mandates, Hospitalization, and Infection Rates in the United States

Face masks have been identified as one of the preventive methods for the control of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Although the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend the universal use of face masks, there are controversies in the implementation of a national face mask mandate in the US. This commentary discusses the relationship between facemask mandates and key COVID-19 indicators such as infection rates and hospitalization rates in the US. It also summarizes some of the political issues surrounding the implementation of the national face mask mandate. We conducted an ecological study on the relationship between face mask mandates and key COVID-19 indicators. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar and reviewed 150 English articles related to face mask challenges in the US published from 2005 to 2021. We identified seven challenges associated with face mask wearing - conflicting messaging, individualism, denial, health consequences, lack of a national masking standard, concerns of African American males, and environmental issues. We found that North Dakota, a state without a face mask mandate had the highest COVID-19 prevalence of 13.3%. The mean prevalence for the highest top 10 ranked states without and with a face mask mandate was 11.1% and 10.5%, respectively. We also found that Florida, Arizona and Georgia, states without a face mask mandates, had the highest cumulative hospitalizations of 83,381, 58,670, and 57,911 hospitalizations, respectively. Alabama, Indiana, and Minnesota, which have face mask mandates, had the lowest hospitalization rates of 47,090, 47,787, and 26,651, respectively.

Participation of ministers in Council of the EU meetings: variation across members and decline over time

ABSTRACT We formulate and test a comprehensive model of participation by ministers in sessions of the Council of the EU. Ministers often delegate the task of representing their governments at Council sessions to deputies or civil servants. However, EU members differ significantly in how frequently that occurs. Using new data on ministers’ participation in all 793 Council sessions in 2004–2014, we find (1) that ministers choose to participate more frequently when the salience of the meeting agenda is higher and (2) when they represent countries with more advanced political-administrative systems. The participation rates decrease (3) when national governments face upcoming legislative elections. Ministerial participation dramatically increases (4) for a country when it holds the Council presidency. Contrary to our expectations, participation is not associated with public support for the EU. In addition, we find that average ministerial participation rate decreased significantly between EP6 and EP7, from around 76% to around 64%.