Politics & International Affairs magazine
Koreas witnessed during last few days some important events – starting with the alleged successful missile test which launch a satellite to the orbit, followed by the first anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death and the presidential election in South Korea. We asked what all these mean for the future in Korean peninsula Dr. James Hoare. Dr. James […] read more
23rd February 2012, section Interviews
Why should amnesties be seen as the very last resort of any political decision to be taken in the transitional process? Which transitional justice mechanism is the most crucial to be imposed first in periods of the transition? What have we learned about transitional justice from the case of Spain after Franco’s death in 1975? Why does one of the reconciliation policies in Rwanda require former perpetrators who participated in Genocide to wash the bones and sculls of those they had killed in 1994? These questions were answered by Anja Mihr, Associate Professor at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, University of Utrecht (Netherlands), who is in her research focusing on transitional justice, reconciliation, human rights and democratization. Her work is mainly focused on transitional justice and reconciliation in Rwanda, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Chile, Spain and Somaliland. read more
18th December 2011, section Interviews
After the last Middle East Symposium, Global Politics editors have decided to shift their attention to other very interesting region – Caspian Sea. According to many IR scholars, world is now experiencing the power shift from the West to so called „emerging powers“, which is accompanied by various geopolitical turmoils. But is this also the case of Caspian region? If so, could this change bring some fresh air to local frozen conflicts? These questions were answered by various experts with diverse background and professional experience, but profound understanding of Caspian affairs. read more
2nd November 2011, section Symposium
Where are the boundaries of our moral obligations in eradicating global poverty? At what point can we speak of a fetus as a human being? Are we capable of reaching objectivism in ethical questions? For what reason is it necessary to reach reassessment of our view of human rights concept? Peter Singer, Ira W. De Camp professor of bioethics in a Centre for Human Values at Princeton University and Laureate professor at University of Melbourne, has been standing at the forefront of debates about our ethical obligations and approaching global poverty, euthanasia, abortions and animal rights for more than three decades. read more
28th September 2011, section Interviews
Jan Daniel a Kristina Horňáčková
Dr. Zaid Eyadat is a professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Jordan and the chairperson of the Human Rights and Human Development department. He graduated from the University of Southern California, where he continues to teach. He has also taught at various universities in the USA and Jordan and has worked as a consultant for diverse international organizations and NGOs. Recently he conducted a course called Islam and Human Rights at Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno. Editors of Global Politics and Bulletin of The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democratization spoke with Mr. Eyadat about various issues ranging from Arab revolutions to multiculturalism and liberal islam. read more
18th July 2011, section Interviews
Development is often accepted as an unquestioned goal of our societies. We just want to be developed. Critical discussion on this topic is almost entirely absent from the public debate in the Czech Republic. Global Politics hopes to draw your attention to an approach that does not fit the mainstream thinking. Promising young scholars from the Vienna University treat topics such as sustainable development, colonial continuities, microfinance or the Zapatista movement in Chiapas. Their unorthodox ideas are worth a thought for students who seek more than just the usual „aid or trade“ question. read more
9th July 2011, section Editorial board
Within the framework of this paper I explicate the basic elements of colonial as well as development discourse. Although we can identify an obvious rupture line between colonialism and the era of development, I demonstrate that the colonial heritage structures development discourse in various ways. While there have been some significant changes on the rhetoric level, basic colonial concepts still prevail such as a dichotomic and hierarchical worldview, the evolutionary paradigm with the West as its benchmark, the idea of ‘white’ expertise etc. These often racialised assumptions produce unequal power relations within the development industry and structure the very idea of development itself. read more
9th July 2011, section Articles
The aim of this paper is to establish reasons for the inclusion of certain elements in the sustainable development discourse as well as its exclusionary systems making for the “blind spots”. The question to be answered is: What effects and implications does the order of the sustainable development discourse have on the political sphere? What perspectives open up for tackling environmental issues? Which perspectives fade away or disappear? read more
9th July 2011, section Articles
Microcredits – and microfinance in general – have recently been hyped as a means to overcome poverty. However, the actual outcomes of this instrument often differ from the intended ones. Moreover, the concept is a highly problematic one when looked at it from a post-development perspective. Some of its shortcomings, though, could be overcome by hybridizing microfinance with the post-development concept of a language of a diverse economy. read more
9th July 2011, section Articles
In the last years as a student of International Development, my naive understanding of helping ‚the others‘ and my idea of the whole development business was completely disillusioned. To be critical about development and about what people mean when they use the term ‚development‘ became natural and unavoidable. Therefore the topic of Post-Development seems somehow to be a summary of my study. Everything deconstructed – but what next? It seems important to me to look deeper at Post Development and its critique. read more
9th July 2011, section Articles