Building Global Democracy

A strengthened global governance system is crucial to ensure world food security, the head of the United Nations agriculture arm said today, calling for changes to be made to the parts of the international trade system that led to increased hunger and pov

This article's main argument complements the literature on transitions to democracy by focusing on the long-term process of political- elite formation and its influence on the ability of political elites to lead a peaceful and stable transition to democra

There is much concern in the social sciences and humanities today about how people are connected with and responsible to those who live in distant places. Recent examples are abundant: from climate change to the cyclone that hit Burma in 2008. At the same

Diamond's professional background as a political scientist makes it imperative that Squandered Victory also contain a look into the future. The lessons he offers for the next American intervention are direct consequences of the blunders listed above. Cons

This note explores new ways of thinking about the history of political thought in twentieth-century Europe. It argues that more attention ought to be paid to the interaction between political thought or imagination on the one hand and, on the other, actua

This article considers the idea of commonwealth as a means of understanding human "politics" that does not rely on the violence of the state. It considers the idea of commonwealth to involve cultural and other forms of ties that transcend the borders of s

Considerable progress has been made in the field of transitional justice in recent years, signified by such landmarks as a permanent international criminal court. Unaddressed aspects of transition remain, however, which need serious attention if peace is

The author argues that military rule has never been good for Pakistan. Historically it has not helped the fight against extremism, On the contrary, the generals' search for some sort of legitimacy has tended to give encouragement to militant Islam. Certai

It had to happen sooner or later. The first bill on nationalization has been submitted to the State Duma. That such a bill would appear in Russia only after similar legislation was introduced in Britain and the United States might seem paradoxical, at lea

Dominant theoretical approaches in political economy today, whether they posit convergence to neoliberal capitalism, binary divergence of capitalisms, or tripartite differentiation of financial governance, downplay the importance of state action. Their me

JUBA, Jun 24 (IPS) - When the women of South Sudan welcomed the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, they were cognizant of the fact that true democracy will be realised only when their human rights are realised.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 23 (IPS) - When a major international conference on financing for development took place in the Qatari capital of Doha last November, the heads of both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) skipped the meeting.

Regardless of their integrity, Iran's elections -- and even their aftermath -- are the fundamental democratic and collective expression US hawks and Zionists fear most, writes Hamid Dabashi*

International politics are undoubtedly in transition along recognizable lines. The resulting disruptive effects on the international institutions founded after World War II are no less evident. Such times demand a principled basis to guide the politics of

The age of privatization is over. Politics, not the market, is irresponsible for promoting the common good. Philosopher Jürgen Habermas talks to Thomas Assheuer about the necessity of an international world order.

This article reconsiders the argument that civil society promotes democracy. Both the independent variable of civil society and the dependent variable of democracy are disentangled. Several hypotheses on what characteristics of civil society organizations

It need hardly be said, however, that to determine how a public realm which provides for a political relationship of this kind between governors and governed can be constituted in an age of increasing individual and group diversity, as well as one in whic

In this article we consider the forms of democratic participation that revolve around issues of religious faith and Islam. The context of such work is one in which a concern with the levels of participation in the political institutions of Western Europe

In 2004-2005, for the first time in more than five decades, Egypt witnessed the rise of a protest movement calling for the end of one-party rule. In 1 year, Egypt witnessed more oppositional demonstrations, rallies, and the organization of nonviolent diss

This article examines the allocation of roles and responsibilities in the construction of UN peacekeeping. The case is made that decision making in UN peacekeeping is not only fragmented between various states and institutional actors, but also critically