Transformation Of Global Politics Research Articles

Coconut Colonialism: Workers and the Globalization of Samoa

There are many ways to write a global history: one is to survey multiple locations across time spans and geographies with interconnections and themes. Another is to dive deeply into a particular place, unfolding the daily lives, experiences, and hopes of local communities and individuals, tying them into global networks of travel, trade, diplomacy, entertainment, political alliance, and commercial interest. Droessler pursues the latter in Coconut Colonialism, a thoughtful, gracefully written, and deeply committed history of Samoa.The title is a bit of a feint—while the development of a copra economy in German Samoa is the heart of the narrative, this is far more than a chronicle of coconut plantation labor or agricultural politics. This is agricultural history in the broadest sense. Droessler ranges from the lore and culture of the coconut in Samoan society to the world built by planters and grove workers, through the multiple globe-spanning travels of ethnographic performers, infrastructure builders, and civil-servant mediators between the Samoan communities and German administration.These dramatis personae populate a remarkable and deeply nuanced set of scenarios, from the Samoan translator and administrator Charles Thomas Taylor to Chinese immigrants like Ko Tuk Shung in labor disputes and Melanesian workers like Tui Sakila. We follow plantation friendships between Ielu and Malua, agitators like Taio Tolo—who regards his fellows as like the Illustrados in the Philippines—and world-spanning nurses like Grace Pepe. In all, Droessler does not merely recount ethnological reconstructions of groups but traces Taylor's personal ambitions to travel, the San Francisco sojourns of Pepe, and the questions of rank and respect that troubled Tolo. We see these people's experiences (and those of dozens of other figures) in detail within and outside the German administration.The stories are generously yet concisely told. Droessler avoids excessive academic apparatus and instead focuses on the characters, their hopes, challenges, and quirks. Samoan men and women accepted harsh plantation work, but on their own terms, establishing their own cooperatives and trading networks. In this, Coconut Colonialism draws on an array of historiographical traditions: the island, field, and plantation social narratives of scholars like Ronald Takaki or Gary Okihiro; the voyaging mobility of Islanders underscored by David Chappell, or the performative self-fashionings examined by Adria Imada. Droessler grounds these in personal stories and puts individual lives into his “globalization.”Droessler searches out the personalities and characters behind the work that connected the building of coaling stations and establishment of radio towers as colonial service, yet also sees the linkages to communications for Islanders with a wider world of information. Those serving directly in the colonial administration occupied a “precarious position,” invaluable to the Germans while also advancing their own ambitions within status and compensation ranks and, at times, agitating for greater self-determination while also drawing on their own chiefly, noble statuses as matai. We see gender materially rooted in Samoan male-female roles such as the ‘aumāga and aualuma working groups, through malaga communities and the matai society, and deployed in hygiene and public health programs assigned to women. These investigations allow Droessler, for example, to recount the life of Grace Pepe as trainee and then nurse and also examine the decimating 1918 flu pandemic that scourged Samoa.Throughout the work, Droessler remains close to his sources. Though making some significant points about capitalism, workscapes, Oceanian globality, and the colonial roots of globalization, his analysis is rather built directly into his impressive elucidation of experiences and the manifold meanings of agricultural work and village society. These encompass an international range of immigrants, from Samoan coconut huskers to performers enacting Islander culture on stages in Europe like Tuvale—a high-ranking matai who saw the songs and dances he presented to audiences as diplomatic gestures in exchange for European hospitality—and figures like Tupua Tamasese Lealofi I, who navigated white-collar administrative functionaries vying for attention and status within colonial structures.Droessler unpacks racism as a fact of everyday life in multiple dimensions and not just between German rulers and Samoan workers, but also as inflected by the experience of Chinese laborers, Melanesian workers, and the prejudices around their cohabitation with local women in plantation and farm settings. He also illuminates the lived self-definition of the famed “half-castes” who often populated higher social ranks, including Ta‘isi O. F. Nelson, who would later lead the Mau movement for Samoan political self-determination. This comes at the point about which this book ends, with the colonial system under stress from global political transformations. And this is Droessler's well-made point: to understand global change, see the local actors, and the real lives that populate these histories.

Non-governmental organizations in Africa: Role and place in the global political transformation

The article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of international (INGOs) and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in African countries. The very existence and activity of these organizations are conditioned by the needs of the development of civil society, which cannot always receive adequate assistance and support from official government structures. For this reason, different political groups often turn to NGOs for help. The article analyzes the problem of relations between non-governmental organizations and the state. They do not always add up simply, without contradictions. But, as a rule, they are built on balanced cooperation based on trust. It is important for the State to involve non-governmental organizations in solving urgent social problems, especially in the humanitarian sphere: the fight against poverty, lack of water, lack of sanitation, etc. Despite the fact that many NGOs are not subordinate to Governments, they nevertheless depend on them. The paper draws attention to the fact that NGOs in many African countries work in contact with representatives of the International Monetary Fund, as well as with such UN structures as the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and other foreign donors. This also applies to international NGOs with a political orientation. To a certain extent, they influence national politics and public opinion in their host countries in order to transform political regimes, as was the case, for example, in Tunisia and Egypt. In other African countries (Senegal, Niger) these NGOs tried to support organizations of civil protest movements during the election campaigns for the presidential election. In this regard, the problem of financing NGOs is of great importance, which has a direct impact on the trajectory of their development. Nevertheless, the State’s continued control over the activities of NGOs prevents their politicization where this trend manifests itself.

Counter-Phase of International Order Сonsolidation

The article examines the problems and prospects of the consolidation of the international order. The thesis that the global systemic crisis is a counter phase or a crisis of consolidation of the international order, which must be overcome by the joint efforts of participants of international relations in order to maintain the stability of the international system and prevent its destruction, is justified. The sustainable development of the modern international system depends on the consolidation of participants in the international order and the deepening of constructive cooperation between its participants. The interconnectedness of numerous crises leads to the intensification of the global system crisis. Its presence is a logical result of the global development of the system of international relations. Among the main elements of the global system crisis one can distinguish the financial crisis, economic crisis, environmental crisis, demographic crisis, global governance crisis, security crisis, energy crisis, global climate crisis. The inability of participants of the international system to regulate global crisis is evidence of a global governance crisis. All these crises, as the most important elements of the global system crisis, shape its structure, reflect its essence and make it holistic. The combination of interdependent crises complicates the overcoming of the global system crisis and strengthens it. Therefore, the global governance crisis is both the cause and the consequence of the global system crisis, which in turn indicates the turbulent state of the international system, in which it is impossible to clearly determine its further development. It is proved that the inability of the participants of the international system to consolidate themselves in accordance with the scale of global political transformations is one of the reasons for the emergence and deepening of the global systemic crisis. The presence of a complex of global crisis phenomena and the lack of effective institutional mechanisms to overcome them in synergetic unity reinforce the effect of each other, which deepens the global systemic crisis. Overcoming it depends on the degree of consolidation of the international order, which aims to improve the mechanisms of global governance of the international system. The basis of a consolidated international order could be a reformed UN with expanded powers or another global international organization. The global systemic crisis requires the search for tools and factors that will help to stabilize socio-economic and political relations and to rethink the forms and mechanisms of effective global governance.

At Least Something: The UN Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary, 1957–1958

Abstract In late 1956, the United Nations (UN) faced a remarkable test, as the Soviet Union invaded and crushed a burgeoning rebellion in Hungary, then a Soviet satellite. After the Soviet Union disregarded repeated UN calls to withdraw, the UN General Assembly established, in January 1957, a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate the crisis. This article explores the forgotten story of the Special Committee on Hungary as a case study for the effects of COIs. This commission is of special interest for several reasons. Namely, it was one of the first mandated by a UN body to investigate a specific conflict, not least a Cold War struggle, in which a superpower was directly involved. Furthermore, it was clear from the beginning that the Committee was not likely to compel, in itself, the Soviet Union to change its behaviour. Moreover, 1956 was a time of global political transformation, as the non-aligned movement emerged as a key player in UN politics and, accordingly, became a target in the Cold War battle for influence. Under such circumstances, the effects of COIs are complex and difficult to gauge. While the Committee did not lead to the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from Hungary, it had many unforeseen and conflicting effects. These are grouped into two categories – effects relating mainly to times of ideological conflict and political transformation and effects that relate to parallel multilateral efforts and institutional dynamics. Among other effects, the article demonstrates how, under such political circumstances, COIs can create new points of contention and cause backlash precisely from those that they seek to influence. Having cascading and conflicting effects, the central conclusion is that COIs do not lend themselves easily to clean and linear theories. Recognition of the field’s inherent complexity is therefore needed in any attempt to study this international phenomenon.

Сучасні проблеми мобілізаційної підготовки і мобілізації оборонного сектору національної економіки та шляхи їх розв’язання

In the context of global political transformations in the world, the emergence of new features of modern military conflicts, radical changes in the economy of the state and the Armed Forces of Ukraine (the Armed Forces of Ukraine), the issue of meeting the needs of troops (forces) with armament and military equipment (AME) and other logistical means (LM).The aim of the study is to analyze the conceptual apparatus and regulatory acts of the state on the formation of the mobilization capabilities of the defense sector of the national economy to meet the needs of military formations in weapons and military equipment in a special period.Today, the scientific and methodological support of mobilization training and mobilization in the state is carried out with significant shortcomings.The most problematic issue of the mobilization preparation and the mobilization of the defense sector of the national economy, which requires legislative regulation, is the question of the functioning of the financial system of the state in a special period. Targeted training of the leadership of state bodies and local self-government bodies for actions in the event of mobilization on a unified methodological basis is practically not carried out.The solution of these problems should be started with consideration by the Government of Ukraine of the draft new version of the Law of Ukraine “On mobilization preparation and mobilization” and its adoption. The aforementioned draft law provides for fundamental changes in the principles of the functioning of the system of mobilization preparation and the conduct of mobilization, in particular, with regard to the national economy, its activities aimed at meeting the needs of the state’s defense. The adoption of the Law of Ukraine needs improvement (development of new) acts of the President of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, regulating issues in this area.Most of the problems in the field of mobilization training of the state can be solved by the formation and implementation of long-term and annual programs of mobilization training. In addition, ensuring their financing will be a decisive success factor.

Decolonization: The Black Box of Human Rights?

Decolonization: The Black Box of Human Rights? Steven L. B. Jensen (bio) In 2007, Reza Afshari published a remarkable article in Human Rights Quarterly. It marked a turning point for the new human rights historiography that has emerged over the last decade, but it has not been fully recognized for this contribution. The article “On Historiography of Human Rights” was at a first glance a sixty-seven-page reflection on Paul Gordon Lauren’s Pulitzer-nominated book The Evolution of Human Rights: Visions Seen. In reality, it was so much more. What Afshari achieved was to write a piece that addressed not only historiography, but also historical method and managed to present an alternative history of human rights. He painted on a large canvas while paying considerable attention to detail at the same time. The article brought human rights historiography down to earth—away from the centuries-long narratives that was veering towards teleological explanations and overly normative approaches and brought the wider research field towards a more self-reflexive, critical, and complex reckoning with human rights in history. For this, his article remains an inspiration and a piece still worth returning to and learning from—even if the field of human rights history has significantly expanded in scope and depth since then. Despite its many merits, I want to engage with one aspect of the article where I believe the historiography over the last few years has proved him wrong in important ways, namely on the relationship between the era of decolonization and human rights. Afshari goes far in discarding the relevance of this connection. In my view, this connection is one of the most important, [End Page 200] fruitful, and challenging research topics currently in human rights history and the research on this has ramifications for the wider cross-disciplinary field of human rights research. It is difficult in this short space to give justice to Afshari’s discussion about the anti-colonial and human rights. There certainly are worthwhile insights, but I would argue that this is the one place in the article that he himself veers close towards the teleological that he otherwise so convincingly deconstructs in Lauren’s book. First of all, Afshari too readily reduces the Third World agendas on human rights during the era of decolonization to questions of “Western colonialism and racism.” He loses sight of what the historian Nico Slate has labeled “colored cosmopolitanism”—a term Slate uses to capture the global visions and outlooks of Global South actors—which is relevant in this historical context as it brings more nuance and complexity to the historical processes in question.1 We should also be careful when describing anti-colonial movements as “single issue” or “single-cause.”2 There was always more at stake and wider questions involved and, perhaps most importantly, considerable variation between actors that constituted the term “The Third World.” Besides this point about allowing for variation, we should also not necessarily let “anti-colonial movements” serve as a representative proxy for the much broader historical phenomenon of the decolonization process.3 The former focuses on specific actors, the latter on a wider structural transformation of global politics. There is a category difference here that we must observe and adequately address—in both method and interpretation. The point where Afshari veers towards teleology is the following: “[T] he expectation that prevailed at the time must be reevaluated in the light of what awaited the ex-colonized countries and their long suffering citizens in the hands of their own independent states.”4 Now many may well agree with this observation and it is not without merit. However, it raises the question: To what extent should we allow human rights outcomes appearing later to determine the histories that we explore and write? To be fair, Afshari may have been expressing a word of caution concerning Lauren’s interpretations. However, this question has for a long time had wider salience in human rights discourse. It has kept researchers and practitioners from exploring the deeper histories of the emergence of international human rights during the first decades after 1945—where on a world-wide scale the [End Page 201] colonial, the anti-colonial...

The changing practices of frontline diplomacy: New directions for inquiry

AbstractThis article develops the concept of ‘frontline diplomacy’ – what practitioners referring to work in embassies, consulates, and permanent representation as ‘the field’ –, defined here as all diplomats’ activities taking place away from headquarters. IR scholarship tends to focus on Ministries of Foreign Affairs located in capitals. On the contrary, building on the practice turn in IR, we first show that international politics emerge from frontline practices. Adding to criticism against the practice turn, we then explain that it has missed important transformations occurring in frontline diplomacy because it tends to privilege stability over change. We finally discuss two innovations in frontline practices: the action of Sherpas in G20 summits following the 2008 crisis and the use of Twitter by US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul (2012–14). For each we answer three questions: How do these activities transform traditional modes of operation? How are non-state actors involved in them? What do they tell about transformation of global politics? Because diplomatic practices at the frontlines epitomise international politics, these new directions for inquiry contribute substantively to IR scholarship. At the theoretical level, they enrich the continuing encounter between IR and diplomatic studies through practice theory and help to understand change in practice.

Considering Benedict options: missiological reflections in a fractious age

An adequate missiology depends, among other things, on a grasp of the present reality in which missiological reflection happens. The past few years of global political transformation invite consideration of a missiology adequate for the present fractiousness. This paper sketches three possible missiological stances for Christian communities to take vis-a-vis the world, each framed as a Benedict option. Option one derives from Rod Dreher’s book The Benedict Option and urges strategic withdrawal from the world, inspired by St. Benedict. Option two draws inspiration from Pope Benedict XVI and advances intellectual inquiry and understanding. Option three looks back to Pope Benedict XV to highlight ecclesial engagement in addressing social issues. An adequate missiology need not choose one option to the exclusion of the others. Instead it must draw upon critical theologies of Christ and church to forge missional faithfulness, an especially critical task in a fractious age.

Power Shifts in International Law: Structural Realignment and Substantive Pluralism

For most of the past sixty years, the United States and Europe have led, independently and collectively, the international legal system. Yet, the rise of the BRICs over the past decade has caused a profound transformation of global politics. This paper examines the implications of this redistribution of power for international law. While international lawyers have long debated the ability of law to constrain state behavior, this paper shifts the debate from the power of law to the role of power within international law. It first advances a structural argument that the diffusion, disaggregation, and issue-specific asymmetries in the distribution of power are giving rise to a multi-hub structure for international law, distinct from past structures such as bipolarity and multipolarity. This multi-hub structure increases pluralism within the international legal system. It also creates downward pressure on international legal processes to migrate from the global level toward a number of flexible, issue-specific subsystems. The paper then proceeds to demonstrate that the anticipated pluralism is emerging at three substantive tension points as some rising powers articulate distinct preferences with respect to sovereignty, legitimacy, and the role of the state in economic development. At each of these tension points, rising powers are reasserting the preeminence of the state in international law, leading to a gradual turning away from the individualization of international law championed by the US and Europe back toward the Westphalian origins of the international legal system. Notwithstanding this turn, the United States stands to benefit from the new multi-hub structure of international law.

Why Giorgio Agamben is an optimist

The article takes Giorgio Agamben’s declaration of his optimism with regard to the possibilities of global political transformation as a point of departure for the inquiry into the affirmative aspects of Agamben’s political thought, frequently overshadowed by his more famous critical claims. We reconstitute three principles grounding Agamben’s optimism that pertain respectively to the total crisis of the contemporary biopolitical apparatuses, the possibility of a radically different form-of-life on the basis of their residue and the minimalist character of this transformation that consists entirely in the subtraction of existence from these apparatuses. While the first two principles are unproblematic in the wider context of Agamben’s work, the third principle introduces the problematic of will that remains highly ambiguous in his philosophy. In the remainder of the article we address this ambiguity in an analysis of Agamben’s reading of Melville’s ‘Bartleby the Scrivener’ and conclude that Agamben’s optimism ultimately consists in the affirmation of absolute contingency, beyond both will and necessity.

War and the Transformation of Global Politics – By V. Jabri

War and the Transformation of Global Politics – By V. Jabri

War and the transformation of global politics

War and the transformation of global politics

Technology and the transformation of global politics

This article looks at some of the implications of technological change for contemporary global politics. Among the most important of the consequences of innovations, especially in microelectronics, has been to erode the primacy of the territorial state and to hasten the end of the epoch of ‘international’ politics that is usually dated from the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia. Among the key consequences of the microelectronics revolution are the proliferation of nonstate actors, the growing importance of new types of boundaries, and an explosion in public participation in politics. Its effects can be felt in all the major dimensions of global politics including the economic, military and cultural realms.

Thinking about nuclear weapons

As the geopolitical situation has changed dramatically in the last decade, the issue of nuclear weapons has had to be addressed from a new perspective. Sir Michael Quinlan addresses the agenda taken up by the Canberra Commission of the possibility of complete, abolition of nuclear weapons. While agreeing that abolition is a worthy eventual aspiration, Sir Michael disputes both the feasibility and the desirability, of attempting to designate it now as a practical policy objective Much deeper global political transformation would have to happen before it could realistically be made so. Sir Michael underlines the important agenda of further arms control and reduction now available and considers the contribution which Britain as a Trident equipped nuclear power, could make to that agenda.

Superpower Politics: Change in the United States and the Soviet Union

The recent thaw in the Cold War is leading to a fundamental transformation of global politics. This textbook aims to explain the latest political changes in the USA and the USSR, and considers the implications for the international order of their decline in power. The book looks at each country's internal and external policy adjustments and emphasizes the constraints felt by Washington and Moscow. Beginning with an account of the history of the superpowers' relationship, it tackles in turn the catalysts for international political change on both the American and Soviet sides. The American section deals with the internal political scene, the economy, Bush's reviews of policy and the predicaments in defence policy bequeathed by Reagan. The Soviet section examines perestroika, new thinking in foreign policy, defence and the politics of Glasnost under Gorbachev. Finally the authors examine the implications of these factors for the stability of the international order. This book is intended as a guide for students of international relations and politics, and for anyone wanting to understand the developments which have altered the configuration of world power.