Institutions and growth volatility

Recently some studies provided evidence that democratic political institutions generate less volatile growth. These studies, however, do not provide any link between democracy and investment volatility. Here, we focus on the specific channel that links individualistic societies and low growth volatility. We test whether investment volatility and consequently growth volatility are lower in individualistic societies. We construct a two-equation system of investment and income growth volatility, allowing various measures of individualism to influence growth volatility both directly and indirectly. We find that individualism significantly directly and indirectly influences growth volatility negatively.

Cultural equality and its soft power against terrorism

This book is a collection of papers originally presented at a workshop entitled 'After Nine Eleven: Ethics in the Time of Terror' hosted by Monash University on 24 June 2005. The workshop participants included members of the Ethics of War and Peace (EWAP) working group which was inaugurated at the first Oceanic Conference on International Studies in July 2004. EWAP provides a cross-disciplinary forum for scholars and non-academic professionals to exchange and debate ideas on topics including the ethics of armed intervention, the Just War, pacifist ethics, international humanitarian law, ethics in the military profession, and the relationship between law, ethics and politics.

The chapters within this book examine themes including 'lesser evils' and 'dirty hands' in the fight against terrorism, the ethics of intelligence gathering, humanitarian intervention, terrorism and the North-South divide, cultural equality as a response to terrorism, human rights and counterterrorism legislation, and the ethics of defending against 'bioterrorism'. 

Contributors include Alex Bellamy and Richard Devetak (University of Queensland), Baogang He (Deakin University), Christopher Michaelsen (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), Jeremy Moses (University of Canterbury), Christian Enemark and Hugh Smith (University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy).

Village citizenship in China : a case study of Zhejiang

This paper aims to examine the idea and practice, as well as the implications, of village citizenship in China. It spells out the context and content of village citizenship, describes struggles for village status, and addresses the puzzling questions of why and how villagers seek to retain this status. It further examines the logic of how such struggles are leading to the establishment and improvement of village democratic institutions. The paradoxes and problems associated with village citizenship, and the significance of village citizenship for achieving meaningful citizenship are also explored.

Democracy, global transitions, and education : using speculative fictions as thought experiments in anticipatory critical inquiry

The purpose of a thought experiment, as the term was used by quantum and relativity physicists in the early part of the twentieth century, was not prediction (as is the goal of classical experimental science), but more defensible representations of present 'realities'. Indeed, one of the best-known examples of a thought experiment ('Schrodinger's cat') demonstrates the impossibility of prediction at the quantum level. Speculative fictions, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to the Star Wars saga, can be read as socio-technical thought experiments that can help us to apprehend and comprehend present 'realities' and uncertainties, and to anticipate and critique possible futures. In this paper I will demonstrate how two examples of popular speculative fictions, Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) and Ursula Le Guin's The Telling (2000), can be read as thought experiments that describe problematic aspects of contemporary social and cultural transformations. I will argue that critical and deconstructive readings of these novels can help us to produce anticipatory critiques of possible ways in which democratic institutions are being transformed by globalisation. I will conclude by considering the implications of such anticipatory critiques for generating questions, problems and issues in educational inquiry and for choosing appropriate methodologies for investigating them.

Development in Kyrgyzstan : Failed State or Failed Statebuilding?

This chapter examines the tensions present in approaches to development in Kyrgyzstan. It argues that development in this small post-Soviet republic has been approached primarily as formal statebuilding (Marquette & Beswick 2011), implying a belief that domestic political institutions and processes are the primary cause of fragility and that the adoption of democratic institutions and free market economic policies will result in development. The consequences of this inherently normative endeavour are explored in terms of the local political economy that has developed since independence and especially in the 2000s. Centrally, it is demonstrated how the competing interests and priorities of donors and local elite have undermined development efforts. On the basis of this analysis, it is suggested that rather than being framed as a failing or failed state, Kyrgyzstan is better understood as a case of failed statebuilding that cannot be remedied by the adoption of the current principles for development in fragile states situations, as adopted by the international community. Instead, the focus needs to be on facilitating the rebuilding of state-society relations both locally and internationally with a view to beginning to check the marketization of the state that has occurred.

Indigenous voices and mediatized policy-making in the digital age

This article explores the potential of emerging digital cultures for Indigenous participation in policy debates in the rapidly changing Australian media landscape. From the Zapatista's ‘netwar’ to the ‘hashtag activism’ of IdleNoMore, Indigenous people have pioneered innovative uses of digital media for global connectivity and contestation. Digital and social media open up unprecedented opportunities for voice, and, in theory, participation in decision-making. But there is limited understanding about how Indigenous voices are heard at times of major policy reform, and whether increased participation in digital media necessarily leads to increased democratic participation. Leading Indigenous commentators in Australia suggest an inability of governments and other influential players to listen sits at the heart of the failure of Indigenous policy. This article presents two contemporary Australian case studies that showcase Indigenous participatory media response to government policy initiatives: first, the diverse reaction in social media to the government-sponsored campaign for constitutional reform to acknowledge Australia's First Peoples, branded as Recognise and second, the social media-driven movement #sosblakaustralia, protesting against the forced closure of remote Aboriginal communities. This article brings together theories of political participation, media change and listening to ask whether key democratic institutions, including the mainstream news media and political decision-makers, can engage with the proliferation of Indigenous voices enabled by participatory media. We argue that while the digital media environment allows diverse Indigenous voices to be represented, recent scholarship on participation and listening extends the analysis to ask which voices are heard as politics is increasingly mediatized.

The First International Conference of the Nobel Women's Initiative : women redefining peace in the Middle East and beyond

The Nobel Women’s Initiative (NWI) was formed in August 2006. It was a response to a suggestion by Iranian laureate Shirin Ebadi that women recipients of the Peace Prize should collectively endeavor to use the power and influence concomitant with being Nobel laureates to advance the cause of women internationally, by bringing their voices and experiences to the direct attention of the international community and media sources. NWI represents an attempt to help fill a gap that mars the present system of international relations. Over the past half-century, global standards have developed in earnest. One of these standards is women’s equality with men. Despite the codification of this precept in international law, gender discrimination against women remains a globally unresolved problem. Women are seriously underrepresented at local, national, regional, and international levels of governance, and their voices and experiences remain marginalized from negotiations toward conflict resolution and the formation of viable democratic institutions.

Managing change without sacrificing quality: music teaching and learning at South African tertiary institutions

After the jubilation of the first democratic election in 1994, South African educational settings were faced with the challenge to rethink curriculum, content and delivery as part of its nation building process. Education continues to be a major player in stimulating wider change in society and is one arena where change may be readily facilitated. Changing the style and practice of teacher education programs remains a key feature in the transformation process. Twelve years on, curriculum, has undergone reform in terms of Outcomes Based Education (OBE)? Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) of 2002, accordingly, universities continue to prepare teachers for multicultural classrooms. Universities are now challenged to manage increased student intake (quantity) for teacher education programs without having to sacrifice quality for teacher education. This article focuses only on The University of Pretoria, a city university previously known as a traditional Afrikaans university situated in the greater Johannesburg area in South Africa. Through interview data with two music educators at this university, I present some of the current trends and challenges that tertiary music educators face in preparing music teachers in South Africa. This article also outlines a paradigm shift in the curriculum and argues for a holistic music education, one that endorses most of the major cultures and musics in South Africa. The question I pose is how then do we effectively manage change at tertiary level without sacrificing quality when preparing future music teachers to meet the needs and challenges of the curriculum and society.

Democratic educational leadership in contemporary times

This article seeks to identify the economic and social conditions confronting officially designated education leaders and to set out the parameters for how they might respond. Specifically, it suggests that education leaders are currently faced with changing bases of social cohesion, changing instruments of (economic) control and changing forms of organisation. Informed by these changing conditions and by a recognitive view of social justice (Young 1990; Gale and Densmore 2000), the article makes a case for educational leadership that is characterised by distinctly democratic directions and influences. In particular, democratic leaders are seen as those that enable the formation of social, learning and culturally responsive public educational institutions, in part by enabling contextually-specific struggles to determine what is needed, and by developing a politically informed commitment to justice for all.

Essays on the economics of natural disasters and political institutions

This thesis examines how natural disasters—earthquakes, floods and storms—affect democracy by altering economic outcomes. The results indicate that earthquakes and floods improve the level of democracy, while storms lead to non-democratic transitions, particularly in island countries.

Global democratic theory: a critical introduction

Global Democratic Theory is the first comprehensive introduction to the changing contours of democracy in today’s hyperconnected world. Accessibly written for readers new to the topic, it considers the impact of globalization and global forms of governance and activism on democratic politics and examines how democratic theory has responded to address these challenges, including calls for new forms of democracy to be developed beyond the nation-state and for greater public participation and accountability in existing global institutions. Divided into two parts, the book shows how globalization provides both new obstacles and new opportunities for democracy. Part I explores the shifts underway at the national and international levels that are challenging democracy within nation-states around the world. In response, new proposals for global and transnational democracy have emerged. Part II critically analyses five main approaches of ‘global democratic theory’ Ð liberal internationalism, cosmopolitan democracy, deliberative democracy, social democracy and radical democracy, focusing on their specific interpretation of the problems facing democracy, their normative claims, and the feasibility of their proposed pathways of democratization. The book’s extensive account of the problems and possibilities facing democracy today will be essential reading for students and scholars of politics, political theory and political philosophy.

How transnational environmental advocacy networks socialize international financial institutions: a case study of the international finance corporation

Environmental organizations, characterized here as transnational advocacy networks, use various strategies to "green" international financial institutions (IFIs). This article goes beyond analyzing network strategies to examine how transnational advocacy networks reconstitute the identity of IFIs. This, it is argued, results from processes of socialization: social influence, persuasion and coercion by lobbying. A case study of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), as a member of the World Bank Group, is used to analyze how an IFI internalized sustainable development norms. The IFC finances private enterprise in developing countries by providing venture capital for private projects. Transnational advocacy networks socialized the IFC through influencing its projects, policies and institutions via direct and indirect interactions to the point where the organization now sees itself as a sustainable development financier. This article applies constructivist insights to the greening process in order to demonstrate how socialization can reshape an IFI's identity.