Postcolonialism

Why is minilateralism “exclusive, flexible, resilient, and functional” by nature? This article seeks to understand how these elements are constructed in the paradigm of cooperation in a minilateral format. It is emphasized that the concept of ontological security was originally formulated by R.D. Laing in the 1960s, becoming a com-ponent of the therapeutic approach to patients suffering from schizoid disorders and simultaneously part of the anti-psychiatric movement. In the 1980s, E. Giddens reinterpreted ontological security in his structuration theo-ry. In the 2000s, Brent J. Steele and J. Mitzen pioneered the application of ontological security in international relations, focusing on global politics, conflict, and security studies. Recently, Nina S. Krickel-Choi has redefined ontological security, reviving some aspects of its theoretical foundation. Accordingly, the author assesses and interprets ontological security in terms of multilateralism and minilateralism with the aim of rethinking the para-digm of minilateral cooperation.

Recent studies on the global value chain (GVC) have highlighted the need to better integrate the value chains of developing countries of the global South with that of the global North regions, which are more highly developed. This is aimed at enhancing the economic and social sustainable upgrading of the value chains of the global South regions. The paper thus seeks to answer a critical question as to whether the existing GVC set-up pertaining to global North and South countries is equitable and whether it would yield the needed socio-economic and wider sustainable benefits, particularly to global South countries. a conceptual Global Value Chain (GVC) model is developed based on the economy-wide and system-based Multi-Regional Input–Output methodology to achieve this goal. Subsequently, this was empirically tested to measure embodied flows in capital and labour for sustainable development between global North and South regions. These are achieved using the GVC networks of the UK (from the global North) and some countries in sub-Saharan Africa (from the global South) to exemplify these developments. With implications for equitable, sustainable development, our study shows significant imbalances exist in the flows of value added activities from the global South to the global North, particularly in the primary industries, which produce low-value products in their raw state. Subsequently, this creates a disproportionate economic disadvantage for South countries. As such, if global South countries are to fully benefit from GVC, the study shows that these imbalances must be addressed, such as through structural changes in the economies of global South countries from their dependencies on the primary industries.

Purpose Existing research on corporate responsibility (CR) initiatives suggests that Global North (GN) economies with high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita appear to have high environmental awareness. Our study examines this observation, exploring its impact on corporate environmental responsibility (CER) on the one hand and the rise of radical environmentalism on the other. It further examines the implications of these dynamics for environmental justice in the Global South (GS). Design/methodology/approach A critical review of existing literature and statistical testing using secondary data is employed to assess how the GN corporate actors operating in the GS may have implicit interests in maintaining low environmental awareness regarding the environmental and societal impacts in the GS. The study also employs and applies a normative ethical framework to demonstrate the importance of CER in the context of environmental, intergenerational and social global justice. Findings Our findings suggest that while a high GDP per capita fosters stronger CER in the GN, GDP per capita is also associated with the frequency and intensity of radical environmentalism. Movements that resulted in adverse outcomes, such as violence and deaths, are more likely to occur in the GS compared with the GN. Additionally, GN corporations exhibit a higher proportion of high-quality environmental performance, indicating greater environmental awareness than those in the GS. However, this heightened environmental awareness in the GN often excludes corporate considerations of equity and environmental justice in the GS. From a normative ethical standpoint, economies in the GN have responsibilities toward communities and ecosystems in the GS. Research limitations/implications This study initiates a scholarly discourse based on secondary data. Future research should incorporate empirical case studies and larger data sets to assess corporate practices in the GS and their implications for environmental justice. Practical implications The findings underscore the need for corporate accountability mechanisms that move beyond symbolic CR efforts or environmental, social, governance (ESG) compliance to address systemic environmental inequalities in the GS. Social implications Addressing environmental justice requires interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration to bridge the awareness gap between the GN and the GS, ensuring more equitable sustainability efforts. Originality/value This article offers a novel critique of the intersection between economic development, corporate strategic interests, and environmental impact from a GN and GS perspective, supported by both statistical testing and a normative ethical framework.

This paper examines the growth of global non-state and multilateral actors in the 'global south' and the creation of frontier markets in the higher education sector. These developments are part of market-making changes in higher education as the sector is opened to new actors, logics, and innovative services, aimed at 'the global south'. Yet making a higher education market that brings in new investors, providers, and consumers from within and across the global north and south is a complex process that requires imagining and materialising through new social devices, norms, and institutions so that the higher education sector works like a capitalist market based on competition, credit, commodification, and creativity. The paper examines these processes through three entry points: recruiters of international students; for-profit providers of HE; and financial agents providing new forms of credit. We argue that these developments both play off, and reinforce, older and newer asymmetries of power between individuals, social groups, and nations, within and between the global north and south, creating an even greater learning divide.

The differences between the countries of the 'Global North' and those of the 'Global South' are clear in various fields, namely sociocultural fields, due to unequal wealth distribution and its consequent economic inequalities. But to what extent can the phenomenon of urbanization join these two worlds that seem so far apart? Considering the rapid urbanization of several cities in the Global South today, compared with the stabilized rate of urbanization in the Global North, information sharing would be beneficial and the Global North may provide guidance to those rapidly growing cities presently undergoing the process of urbanization. Such a transmission of knowledge could be achieved through cooperation between social institutions, such as universities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and social actors, such as public decision-makers. Editors Agostino Petrillo and Paola Bellaviti, in their book Sustainable Urban Development and Globalization: New Strategies for New Challenges, present a number of practical examples from around the world of such cooperation between the Global North and Global South.. This review presents a general summary of the book, as well as an evaluation of its possible contribution to the field of urban sociology.

This chapter examines the complex interplay between gender and security, focusing on their social construction and context-dependent dynamics. It explains how women engage in militaries as participants and victims while patriarchal systems sustain gendered inequalities in conflict and peace. The chapter critiques traditional associations of masculinity with violence and femininity with peace, highlighting how these narratives shape international security practices. They explore the paradoxes in women’s roles in conflict, emphasising their simultaneous exploitation and empowerment within militarised frameworks. It also underscores how technological advancements, such as drones, perpetuate gendered insecurities, particularly in war zones. Finally, the chapter advocates incorporating feminist perspectives to challenge dominant discourses and foster a deeper understanding of security in international relations (IR).

Considerations of risk are pervasive in the contemporary security environment. A risk is a scenario followed by a policy proposal for how to prevent the scenario from becoming real. When policy makers approach security questions in terms of risk, they no longer seek to address specific and calculable threats like the Red Army during the Cold War. Instead, they focus on trends that give a future significance to present challenges—trends that give future significance to present challenges include (a) the personalization of risk, (b) the establishment of political community based on risk, and (c) existential risk where the fate of humanity is at stake. In his 1958 book War and Industrial Society, Raymond Aron claimed that industrial society had shaped not only the way in which war was fought in the 20th century, but also the expectations of what force could achieve and how peace could be made. A number of sociologists argue that the industrial society described by Aron is changing into what Ulrich Beck terms a risk society. Risks are associated with a decision. Risk is inside politics, not outside—both internationally and domestically. Risk studies therefore often focus on the difficulties and dilemmas confronting policy makers as they struggle to provide security in a post-secure society. Risks are continuously identified by scenarios pre-empted by military actions or other acts of security—only for the results of these actions to produce, in turn, new risks. The article seeks to explain why risk studies have never coalesced into a coherent research program, as perhaps some of the scholars engaging with risk theory hoped it would. Having concluded that risk theories remain fragmented and more engaged with particular subfields than with each other, it makes sense to deal with the substantial contribution of risk theory by focusing on particular trends in security policy in which the risk perspective has something important to say.

This study addresses the importance of cybersecurity and trustworthiness in digital diplomacy in the digital age, where the need to ensure digital security in international relations is increasing, especially as cyberattacks and disinformation threaten the stability of virtual diplomacy. The study aims to analyse the role of technologies such as artificial intelligence in improving digital security and enhancing trust between states. It also seeks to identify the main challenges facing digital diplomacy, such as the threats of cyberattacks and disinformation, and the importance of international standards to ensure data protection. The main issue is how to keep information secure and protected in the digital space and integrate AI into cyber negotiation processes to facilitate relations between states. The study used a comparative analysis approach to examine international cybersecurity policies and analyse AI's role in supporting digital diplomacy. Among the key findings, the study highlighted that combating disinformation requires integrated strategies between countries and using AI to analyse data and detect fake news. Integrating AI into cyber negotiation enhanced states' ability to make more strategic decisions on digital issues. In light of this, it was recommended that unified international standards for cybersecurity be developed and that cooperation between countries should be increased to use modern technologies to improve digital diplomacy.

The purpose of the study is to identify the concept of security in different periods of international relations and change the evolution of the concept of military security to the level of human security. The article emphasizes the concept of security in the policy of states since the formation of international relations, especially in relation to human security. It is noted that in ancient times people did not pay attention not only to human security, but also to the security of the territorial integrity of the state. This methodologically became possible with the emergence of some elements of international law and human rights in the 20th century by the states undertaken in these areas. The methodology of the research involves using the qualitative methods including content analysis, discourse anylysis, analysis of existing rules, documents, recommendations, research papers, chronology. Moreover, a strong empirical background and descriptive method of study are used in this research. The scientific novelty of the article is that this research is the first broader research on identifying evolution of the security of individuals in international relations system. Results. It is shown from the article that in ancient times it was important for states to maintain power and occupy many territories dont considering important of human-state relations. At that time it was impossible to ensure human security in practice despite of having some theoretical views on human life, inviolability and rights. In the middle ages after the emergence of the principles of international law such as sovereignty and territorial integrity the national security of states emerged in international relations theory. The two world wars forced the world powers to reconsider the concept of security. The concept of security expanding towards the end of the Cold War ended with human security in the early 1990s. However, states still do not pay much attention to human security in their policies. If most countries in the world adopt this concept, political, social, environmental and economic threats will be reduced.

The dilemma about the existence of a European identity is still generating long and complex debates, specially within the field of International Relations. Truthfully, when we speak about a European Identity, we are referring to a subjectivity that comes from multiple subjectivities; herein lies the importance of studying the European-self; not only as a communal ethos as a result of the interactions between the units comprising its cultural conglomerate, but also as a prevailing notion that has evolved and has managed to endure as part of a system in which, historically, the relations with Others have been fundamentally conflictual. In efforts to reduce the possibilities of conflict and foster a peaceful environment that guarantees an effective integration process, Europe has recognized that their security goes beyond whatever is happening in their own borders. Consequently, the European Union's participation in the international system has increased steadily until the geopolitical events in 2022, which raised the need to find new directions in defining a specific foreign policy in regard to security and defense, leading to a Strategic Compass and, perhaps, a fully developed European Union ready to defend its latent identity.

The field of International Relations (IR) has experienced different waves of ‘great debates’ that have often maintained certain theoretical and methodological frameworks and perspectives as core to the field whereas others are seen as peripheral and merely a critique of the former. As a result of this segregation of knowledge, IR has not become as open to dialogue and diversity as we are made to believe. To be sure, aspects of the extant literature speak of IR as being ‘not so international’, a ‘hegemonic discipline’, a ‘colonial household’, and an ‘American social science’, among other derogatory names. Informed by such characterizations that depict a field of study that is not sufficiently diverse, the paper investigates the relationship between pedagogical factors and dialogue in IR. In doing so, it provides preliminary results from a pilot study in February-April 2019 that sought to examine different graduate-level IR syllabi from leading universities in the global North and South (Africa in particular). In particular, the objective was to decipher as what extent course design including required readings and other pedagogical activities in the classroom tells us about dialogue and the sort of diversity needed to push IR beyond its conventional canons.

Anthropology has neglected the study of music. Music and Digital Media shows how and why this should be redressed. It does so by enabling music to expand the horizons of digital anthropology, demonstrating how the field can build interdisciplinary links to music and sound studies, digital/media studies, and science and technology studies. Music and Digital Media is the first comparative ethnographic study of the impact of digital media on music worldwide. It offers a radical and lucid new theoretical framework for understanding digital media through music, showing that music is today where the promises and problems of the digital assume clamouring audibility. The book contains ten chapters, eight of which present comprehensive original ethnographies; they are bookended by an authoritative introduction and a comparative postlude. Five chapters address popular, folk, art and crossover musics in the global South and North, including Kenya, Argentina, India, Canada and the UK. Three chapters bring the digital experimentally to the fore, presenting pioneering ethnographies of an extra-legal peer-to-peer site and the streaming platform Spotify, a series of prominent internet-mediated music genres, and the first ethnography of a global software package, the interactive music platform Max. The book is unique in bringing ethnographic research on popular, folk, art and crossover musics from the global North and South into a comparative framework on a large scale, and creates an innovative new paradigm for comparative anthropology. It shows how music enlarges anthropology while demanding to be understood with reference to classic themes of anthropological theory.

In its early days, the geodata and mapping project OpenStreetMap (OSM) was widely celebrated for opening up and “democratizing” the production of geographic knowledge. However, critical research highlights that the new socio-technical practices of collaborative mapping often also produce or reproduce patterns of exclusion, not least in the area of relative data density between the Global South and North. These findings notwithstanding, we consider it important to acknowledge the increasing number of contributions of geodata from regions outside the old European core of OSM. This expansion of geodata production in OSM is related to a diversification of OSM actors and socio-technical practices. While OSM has often been described as a crowd-based project bringing together thousands of individual craft mappers, our analysis of OSM metadata indicates new institutional actors are gaining relevance. These developments have not only resulted in new collaborations but also conflicts between local mapping communities and institutional actors. We interpret these processes in two ways. First, the expansion of mapping activities can be viewed as a decolonizing process, whereby quantitative differences in data density between the Global North and South are partly reduced and new groups of local mappers are empowered to produce geographic knowledge. Second, these new developments can also be understood as colonizing processes. The engagement of large commercial actors in OSM raises concerns that the project (and its local mappers) could be used as a new means of data extraction and that in particular new and diverse voices in the OSM community are marginalized by a fixation on economically exploitable, modernistic and universalistic epistemologies. However, this supposedly clear distinction should not obscure the fact that colonizing and decolonizing processes intertwine in complex ways.

The ‘Global South’ often functions as a shorthand for countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America that differ significantly in terms of economic trajectories, institutional arrangements, and everyday political life. The significant diversity notwithstanding, I argue that the Global South constitutes a useful macro-category of high epistemological value. Rather than identifying a neat set of clearly demarcated properties that could be found everywhere in the Global South but nowhere else, I argue that ‘the Global South’ is a relational category that sensitises us for the historically grown marginalisations within international hierarchies and their epistemological implications. In this article, I focus on the role of law within global relationships of subjugation to show how legal developments in the Global North and South have historically been entangled in highly uneven ways. In the Global South, these entanglements have strongly affected the development of state and non-state law, giving rise to a particular kind of legal pluralism in which the state is only one among many possible sources of legal reasoning. Unequal entanglements notwithstanding, there is a persistent (though often unacknowledged) legal agency of actors in the Global South, as I illustrate with reference to one manifestation of such agency in Bangladesh.

A partir de la mitad del siglo XX se consolidó el sistema capitalista moderno/colonial, por medio de la lógica eurocéntrica que agravó la brecha Norte-Sur. Así se forjaron las relaciones económicas internacionales que impusieron la engeneración y la racialización del trabajo. En este sentido, la garantía de los derechos socioeconómicos de la clase trabajadora de una parte del planeta (Norte), fue el producto de un proceso imbricado por los factores de modernidad, (neo)colonialismo y desarrollo. De este modo, se presenta la urgencia de deconstruir el sistema económico actual ecologicida y genocida, que ha sido el creador de este nuevo orden mundial que ha rentabilizado la sobreexplotación y la muerte de miles de mujeres. Así, esta investigación bebe de la aplicación de un enfoque teórico-metodológico interseccional, es decir, es necesario entender la subordinación de las mujeres a partir del conjunto de variables co-constitutivas (género, raza, sexualidad, espiritualidad, etcétera) y desde los conocimientos situados de Donna Haraway. Respecto a la estructura, en la primera parte del artículo se presentará una crítica al discurso mainstream de las Relaciones Internacionales desde la perspectiva descolonial. Posteriormente, se estudiará la relegación del trabajo reproductivo a las mujeres vinculada al proceso colonial, además, se pretenderá demostrar los efectos del sistema económico internacional en las vidas de las subalternizadas, sobre las mujeres trabajadoras, las racializadas, las colonizadas, las refugiadas, las trans o las migrantes. En último término, se presenta un diálogo entre los feminismos descoloniales y la economía feminista para repensar y justificar el bienestar como camino hacia la protección de la vida planetaria. En definitiva, el contexto global es un sistema que le ha cedido la batuta a un modelo que imposibilita garantizar el cuidado de las vidas como consecuencia de su naturaleza eurocéntrica, racista, colonial, heteropatriarcal, ecologicida y un largo etcétera. Por esta razón, este artículo abre una puerta al diálogo entre los feminismos descoloniales y la economía feminista para tratar de encontrar consensos que permitan crear una agenda feminista, subversiva y común. Para este camino de reflexión y cuestionamiento la presencia de las Relaciones Internacionales se vuelve indispensable. Esta disciplina debe acompañar, desde el inicio, la fase de transición que consiga desplazar el capital para situar en el epicentro del sistema los cuidados y la sostenibilidad de la vida.