Suchergebnisse

Developments that facilitated the participation of Japanese environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGO) in the international debate concerning climate change are explored. An overview of Japanese environmental advocacy NGOs demonstrates the various factors that traditionally constrained their involvement in international discussions. Three developments responsible for Japanese environmental NGOs' increased participation in the global climate change debate are identified: the growth of international opportunities; the transnational circulation of environmental information; & the increased socialization of state actors. The respective roles these factors played in the organizational success that Kiko Forum, the umbrella organization for Japanese environmental NGOs, achieved during the 1997 Third Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Kyoto are explored. It is suggested that future research examine whether international developments can augment the involvement of NGOs dedicated to domestic issues. 2 Tables, 1 Figure, 50 References. J. W. Parker

The emergence & expansion of the administrative state after WWII has led to the inescapable truth that we live in an age of intense legal discipline at national, regional, & global levels. The globalization of the judicial world has been characterized as "a world historical transformation" involving the "rise of world constitutionalism" that is characterized by de Sousa Santos's interlegality, but globalized as the local legal forms & localizes globally for forms. The distinctive discontinuity & uneven forms of transnationalized legal relations suggest international legal theory is at odds with political realities of nonstate actors & nonstate law that are increasingly authoritative. The opportunities for the emergence of challenges to the statist & territorial foundations of international law provided by the conditions of postmodernity emanate from transnational business corporations, private business associations, individuals, groups, & global social movements. A critical globalization studies in international law should place the starting point of the study of analytical foundations of international law with a view to determining who or what interests are privileged or peripheral eyes by the legal doctrines, scrutinization of substantial areas to determine how marginalized peoples can be brought into the legal order, & analyzing the potential for integrating elements of global civil society into the international legal system through participation in the UN & other law creating bodies. References. J. Harwell

The argument that agriculture & food have all along invisibly underpinned relations of property & power in the world system to now emerge as key points of conflict in international organizations is asserted to find solution in an appreciation of "livelihoods" & "habitats" that are the living foundations of all human societies. The present impasse over global rules for agriculture reflects profound changes in social relations across the whole spectrum of production & consumption of food on a world scale. Analysis of these relations using a "food regime" conceptual framework identifies complementary expectations between social actors in all aspects of food. A brief historical narrative describes the growth of the regime from the Settler - Colonial food regime, the Mercantile - Industrial food regime, & the Structural Adjustment Programs imposed on the indebted countries. The dramatic shift in policy responses by the UN to the troubles of the Mercantile - Industrial food regime, & the current politics of hunger & agricultural trade today reflect Polanyi's "double movement" throughout the history of world agriculture & food. The increasingly transnational public dialogue taking place over promoting human & system well-being is a reemergence of agriculture into the center of policy conflicts that offers the possibility of correcting the curious blindness of development to the ineluctable relationship between society & nature, & making agriculture the fundamental point from which to assess what is right & wrong about current & future global rules & relationships. References. J. Harwell

"Today, the human race seems to have encountered more threats than it had ever faced any time before in modern history. Humanity thus is at a crossroads with respect to dealing with multiple threats that endangered preservation of the human species itself: poverty, widespread violence, dangerous illnesses, environmental catastrophes, and social break down are some of these among others. Among the most recommended available solutions to overcome these crises are how to manage crises themselves, which probably include managing resources, power, knowledge, and whatever. Spreading Investment and financial transfers to the South, where 85 per cent of humanity dwell is assumed to generate income, create work opportunity, and spark hope of sustainable development. Moreover, if improved technologies are being shared and international policies coordinated to address economic, environmental, discrimination, and health concerns, these would be even more productive. However, while current genuine international cooperation and trust between actors is diminishing, senseless talk about peace and security are in the air as well, sounding instead fearful, suspicious, conflict producing and even more mistrustful overall. The outset of the 21st century doesn't seem to offer anything to ensure the wellbeing of most of mankind, even though today in international politics, transnational interest groups are gaining clout. However, they lack an institution to represent them. Thus civil society must push on to make its many voices heard, in order to reflect and realize the notion of the global era needing a global parliament to address outstanding issues." (author's abstract)