Development amidst communal conflict: case study of a Christian FBO in a Buddhist–Muslim conflict region in Myanmar

Faith can be a powerful force for positive development and social change, but as James (2011) notes, it is a highly flammable fuel that can also easily result in negative outcomes. The pervasive influence of religion in the lives of many gives it a unique ability to shape both individual and communal identities (perceptions of self and others). While religious identities can be an extremely positive force, they can also be used as a source for exclusive and intolerant attitudes, with a potential to feed nationalisms that become motivators or justifications for conflict. This is particularly true in tense multi-religious contexts where competing ethnoreligious nationalistic identities and historical claims are forced to coexist – especially for faith-based development agencies that relate to one of those identities.This chapter explores the work of a small local Christian faith-based organisation (FBO) working in Buddhist communities in a region of significant Buddhist–Muslim tension and recent violent communal conflict, as a case study of development across complex faith boundaries. Local FBO Bethel works in partnership with the international FBO GraceWorks Myanmar (GWM). Making this case particularly interesting, Bethel has evolved out of a related religious organisation that still maintains a mandate for preaching a contextual Christian message to Buddhists, and most of the local workers are converts from Buddhism. Given the most inflammatory religious sparks for worsening conflicts are widely regarded to be discriminatory practices and proselytism – or perceptions of proselytism (e.g. Clarke and Jennings 2008; Flanigan 2010) – this case study is interesting for the way these issues are handled. This chapter includes new research examining whether and how this FBO has been able to avoid inflaming tensions and has been broadly granted a social mandate to operate in Buddhist communities, even though it constitutes a third religious actor in a context of vitriolic interreligious conflict.

Representaciones sociales de los estudiantes de la Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad del Rosario sobre las Orientaciones Sexuales Diversas a la heterosexual.

El presente es un estudio de tipo exploratorio y descriptivo de corte cualitativo, que se empleó con la finalidad de conocer las representaciones sociales frente a las orientaciones sexuales diversas a la heterosexual, que tienen 35 estudiantes de la Universidad Del Rosario, sede Quinta de Mutis de los programas de Medicina, Fisioterapia y Psicología. Se realizaron 15 entrevistas individuales semiestructuradas y a profundidad, y dos grupos focales conformados por 10 estudiantes cada uno. La información fue analizada a partir del análisis de narrativas por categorías y con la ayuda del programa Atlas Ti, se organizó en las siguientes categorías generales, que permitieron abordar los objetivos de la investigación: (a) información sobre el objeto representado, (b) actitudes y creencias hacia el objeto representado, (c) prácticas discriminatorias y (d) abordaje UR, cada una de ellas contiene diversas subcategorías que ayudaron a organizar y clasificar la información recolectada. En el estudio se encontró, de acuerdo con los objetivos propuestos, que en primer lugar existe un vacío en el conocimiento acerca de las orientaciones sexuales caracterizado por la presencia de discursos estereotipados. En segundo lugar, una actitud en su mayoría indiferente frente a las personas con orientaciones sexuales diversas a la heterosexual, así como un conjunto amplio de narrativas basadas en creencias lo cual da cuenta de que los discursos nacen del conocimiento del sentido común. Por otro lado, se encuentra que existen prácticas discriminatorias directas e indirectas, así como prejuicios dentro de las narrativas. Los estudiantes perciben que en general este es un tema que no se aborda en la Universidad, llegando al consenso en que esto debería cambiar, sin embargo, las representaciones sociales que se establecen en el desconocimiento, las actitudes indiferentes y las prácticas discriminatorias, permiten ver que aún existe un discurso heteronormativo muy arraigado, que pone barreras expresadas en los prejuicios, los estereotipos y el rechazo.

Gendered struggles over land: shifting inheritance practices among the Serer in rural Senegal

Although women's land rights are often affirmed unequivocally in constitutions and international human rights conventions in many African countries, customary practices usually prevail on the ground and often deny women's land inheritance. Yet land inheritance often goes unnoticed in wider policy and development initiatives to promote women's equal access to land. This paper draws on feminist ethnographic research among the Serer ethnic group in two contrasting rural communities in Senegal. Through analysis of land governance, power relations and 'technologies of the self', this article shows how land inheritance rights are contingent on the specific effects of intersectionality in particular places. The contradictions of legal pluralism, greater adherence to Islam and decentralisation led to greater application of patrilineal inheritance practices. Gender, religion and ethnicity intersected with individuals' marital position, status, generation and socio-ecological change to constrain land inheritance rights for women, particularly daughters, and widows who had been in polygamous unions and who remarried. Although some women were aware that they were legally entitled to inherit a share of the land, they tended not to 'demand their rights'. In participatory workshops, micro-scale shifts in women's and men's positionings reveal a recognition of the gender discriminatory nature of customary and Islamic law and a desire to 'change with the times'. While the effects of 'reverse' discourses are ambiguous and potentially reinforce prevailing patriarchal power regimes, 'counter' discourses, which emerged in participatory spaces, may challenge customary practices and move closer to a rights-based approach to gender equality and women's land inheritance.

Application of stable isotope analysis to differentiate shrimp extracted by industrial fishing or produced through aquaculture practices.

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values were determined in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) with the objective of discriminating animals produced through aquaculture practices from those extracted from the wild. Farmed animals were collected at semi-intensive shrimp farms in Mexico and Ecuador. Fisheries-derived shrimps were caught in different fishing areas representing two estuarine systems and four open sea locations in Mexico and Ecuador. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values (13CVPDB and 15NAIR) allowed clear differentiation of wild from farmed animals. 13CVPDB and 15NAIR values in shrimps collected in the open sea were isotopically enriched (−16.99‰ and 11.57‰), indicating that these organisms belong to higher trophic levels than farmed animals. 13CVPDB and 15NAIR values of farmed animals (−19.72‰ and 7.85‰, respectively) partially overlapped with values measured in animals collected in estuaries (−18.46‰ and 5.38‰, respectively). Canonical discriminant analysis showed that when used separately and in conjunction, 13CVPDB and I5NAIR values were powerful discriminatory variables and demonstrate the viability of isotopic evaluations to distinguish wild-caught shrimps from aquaculture shrimps. Methodological improvements will define a verification tool to support shrimp traceability protocols.

Radicalisation theories, policing practices, and “the future of terrorism?”

This article explores how theories of radicalisation have placed an emphasis on the development of an indicators-based approach to identify individuals who might engage in politically motivated violence. We trace how policing agencies have juxtaposed the search for indicators as a defence against criticisms of racial profiling. However, through an analysis of Canadian counter-terrorism training programmes, we demonstrate that the search for radicalisation indicators reaffirms pre-emptive and discriminatory security practices. We insist that despite efforts to theorise radicalisation outside of the practices of the “war on terror”, current trends risk rationalising prejudicial policing that affirms social exclusion and injustice.