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| 1 |
ID:
120405
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2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article critically considers what is at stake with the emergence of a 'pre-emptive' politics of security based upon governing the future through anticipatory interventions in the present. It begins by developing a detailed account of how the idea of pre-emption has come to inform the global governance of (in)security in the post-9/11 era. It then turns to a discussion of the logic of pre-emptive security itself. Here it is argued that its focus upon the future implies a prioritization of the imagination in its decisional logic, which has the effect of enhancing the degree of discretionary subjectivity granted to state authorities under a pre-emptive approach. The article then expands upon this claim by considering how it suggests an important conceptual link between a politics of pre-emption and political exceptionalism. It then concludes that the very notion of pre-emptive security can be seen as conceptually incoherent, since this link serves to compromise its capacity to produce a condition congruent with the understanding of 'security' presupposed by its own normative framework. Accordingly, the practical viability and political legitimacy of pre-emption as a rationality for (in)security governance can be seriously called into question.
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| 2 |
ID:
120410
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2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The idea that Fiji should be a Christian state resurfaces periodically. In 2012, it has appeared in a number of submissions to the Constitution Committee from the Methodist Church and a political party, the SDL, both of which are known to have strong support from the majority of iTaukei (indigenous Fijians). This paper explores how an influential faction of iTaukei Methodists has imagined Fiji as a Christian community connected to 'place' through kinship and narratives of historical belonging. After sketching out iTaukei claims that resulted in the 1987 and 2000 coups, it examines the impact of the 2010 Decree, which shifted the word 'Fijian' from being a marker of racial identity to one of national identity, and shows the disjunction between notions of a democracy based on international conceptions of human rights and the desire of many iTaukei for a Christian state. This religious nationalism reflects the tension between communal and national identities, paralleling similar tensions in countries like India. Lastly, the article examines some of the public responses to the Constitution Commission, which was the first time since the 2006 coup that the public have felt able to openly discuss their views about governance in Fiji.
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| 3 |
ID:
120407
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| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
During the United States' military strikes in Libya in 2011, the debate over the authority to use force reached levels not experienced in recent American history. Many members of Congress, both Democrat and Republican, expressed concern over what they viewed as a usurpation of Congress's constitutional war powers. These concerns were exacerbated when the Obama administration maintained that it was not engaged in 'hostilities' and that the War Powers Resolution, which was intended to limit the president's war authority, did not apply to this use of force. Yet despite the strong levels of bipartisan constitutional pressure waged against the commander in chief, these efforts were generally discouraged, co-opted or simply opposed by the House and Senate leadership. This research examines the role of Congress's institutional and party leaders, specifically Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), and Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ), and finds that their leadership was instrumental in keeping Congress's war powers authority subdued, which limited congressional interference in President Obama's military actions in Libya. Understanding these political dynamics is crucial to understanding when and how the world's sole superpower commits to overseas military actions.
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| 4 |
ID:
120409
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| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
In recent years, issues pertaining to freedom of religion have attracted much attention and public controversy in Malaysia, highlighting the discrepancy between (inter)national human rights norms and national practices. Particularly anthropological theories regarding human rights realization, have argued that it is crucial for human rights to become embedded in society. This article examines how the Malaysian National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), SUHAKAM, has positioned itself with regard to the right to freedom of religion. The article describes a number of cases brought to the Commission and its responses. This forms the basis for an analysis of SUHAKAM's behaviour, which in turn provides insights into the factors influencing the actions of NHRIs, the state of human rights in Malaysia in general, and contributes to theories regarding human rights socialization.
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| 5 |
ID:
120406
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| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This paper examines the global 'war on terror' (WOT) and the case of Nepal. Nepal shifted in its identity from being neutral and uninvolved in global affairs prior to 2001, to being part of the global WOT. Nepal's enactment of anti-terrorism legislation in 2001 helped establish its new 'counterterrorist' identity, while affixing the 'terrorist' label to Maoist rebels that the state was fighting. This allowed regional and global actors to view the Nepali state's actions against Maoist rebels as 'counterterrorist'. The period of November 2001 when the first Nepali anti-terrorism legislation was established and the February 2005 takeover of the state by the (then) king are the main focus of this paper. The goal here is not to discuss whether the Maoists were (or were not) 'really' terrorist; instead, the task is to note how the label of 'terrorism' was used in Nepal to legitimate 'counterterrorism' operations by the state. The article argues that the state's use of the 'war on terror' rhetoric specifically during these two events legitimated repressive actions against its own citizens as countering 'terrorism'. This had the effect of legitimating different types of states - an elected democracy and a monarchist state. At the same time, however, the use of 'terrorism' rhetoric by the state in 2005 was challenged by local actors, thus indicating the instability of the meanings of 'terrorism' and 'counterterrorism'.
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| 6 |
ID:
120408
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| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
In the context of a weakly enforced Kyoto Protocol, sluggish UN climate change negotiations and a closing window of opportunity to prevent the more cataclysmic scenarios of climate change, calls for the UN Security Council to play a role in international climate governance are becoming louder. The Security Council's political clout and wide enforcement powers make it a seemingly ideal antidote to the current negotiation inertia. But how realistic is it for the Security Council to play a role in curbing climate change? This paper examines the ambition and enforcement limitations of the current UN legal regime for climate change and analyses whether the Security Council could help fill the gaps. It argues that climate change can legitimately be seen as a security issue, and that it is legally feasible for the Security Council to act on it, even using its full range of powers. However, politically there are just a few options worth exploring at this stage. These include: monitoring and early warning of climate-related security threats; and helping to resolve disputes peacefully between blocks of states with regards to mitigation and adaptation ambition.
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