Globalaffairs

Issue 20/ April-June 2010
By Xavier Cornut

“Oh mother, I see the hangman’s noose in front of me. They are going to execute me. Please save me.” Delara Darabi, 22, screamed in the phone of her parents last May from the jail of Rasht, northern Iran. A few minutes later, the line went dead, and the young woman was executed on a charge of murder. Years before, at 17, Darabi had told the police that her boyfriend had persuaded her to make a false confession by telling her that he would be executed, as she would not, being a minor. The investigation confirmed that the murder had been committed by a right-handed person, while Delera was left-handed. But in Iran, the life of a female is worth half that of a male. While her boyfriend was serving a 10-year sentence, Darabi was hanged.

On April 19, 2009, Iranian officials announced that Delara’s sentence had been granted a two-month delay. But on May 1st, they suddenly killed her without warning her parents and lawyer in advance in violation of the Iranian national code, in order to avoid domestic and foreign protests. A silent and illegal murder.

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Issue 18/December-January 2010
By Glen Ruffle

For the past century, the global spread of democracy has helped secure peace and stability in the world. It has long been noted that democracies rarely go to war with other democracies, and particularly in this day and age of international communications and globalisation, the capacity for citizens to communicate internationally has grown phenomenally.

Yet 2010 could be the start of the end of this era. The passing into law of the Lisbon Treaty represents a choice by the elite of Europe to choose power instead of democracy. The rise of China as a global power, still controlled by a single party; the secure base of power that Putin and Medvedev have in Russia; and the dictatorships across the Middle East; all of these show us that democracy still has a long way to go. As Vaclav Havel noted, “The era of totalitarian systems has not ended…new, far more sophisticated ways of controlling society are being born” [1]. All of this means one thing: the time of democracy has passed. We are entering a new epoch in world history.

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Issue 17/October-November 2009
By Glen Ruffle

Lisbon has finally been passed after the Irish were made to vote again. Yet the process exposed how the EU breaks its own rules, how the mass media can change societies, and how vulnerable Ireland now is to the Lisbon Treaty.

It was not a surprise. Given the vast amounts of resources thrown at it, the second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was a foregone conclusion. To be truly democratic, of course, we should now have a third referendum, a deciding vote. All we have now is one ‘yes’ and one ‘no’ [1]. Yet Europe has what it wants now, so such democratic niceties can be laid aside.

The second referendum was an exercise in power and manipulation that the Soviet Union would have been proud of. It harnessed the full power of every available medium and used them to persuade the people of Ireland to vote ‘yes’. Business, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Irish government all combined forces to manipulate a ‘Yes’ vote [2].

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Issue 16/August-September 2009
Erica L. Green

The Olympic Games last year was a crowning moment for Beijing and the country China. The games all began with the opening ceremony as a cotillion-like showcase of new wealth, appreciation for fine art, and athletic prowess. However, it was evident even before this event that China has come of age in today’s global economy and has emerged as an influential force. Currently, China securely sits within the ranks of the world’s top economic Group of 20 (G20), Group of 8 (G8), and now G2. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of exported goods and it is a chief stakeholder in the global economic recovery. With such gains, however, how are the Chinese people adjusting to the recent prosperity? How are these changes shaping the new generation, Generation Next (16 to 25 year olds)? Is it possible to have too much wealth and freedom?

Despite the recent economic gains and success that China’s Gen Nexters enjoy, many still remember the way China once was. The 20th century was a time of great change and turmoil in Chinese history. Beginning in 1911 China’s political system shifted rapidly from an imperial state to a republic, then to communism. After the Japanese invasion during World War II, China joined forces with its ally Russia. Deng Yan, a Chinese-American immigrant now living in the United States, witnessed much of the Mao Revolution first-hand. She states the partnership was fueled by Stalin who is said to have influenced Mao Zedong, who took over shortly after in 1949. The ideology held today in China under the current president, Hu Jintao, is a hybrid of traditional communism and western influenced capitalism. This new government has strong traditional conservatism at its core with branches of enthusiasm and vigor.

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Issue 14/April-May 2009
By Alexandre Calvo Cristina

The purpose of this article is to examine to what extent Japanese companies might have played a role in Dr. Khan’s international nuclear proliferation network, and from here examine some wider issues related to Japan’s defense and nuclear policies.

Did Japanese companies provide Khan with parts, technology, and machinery?

Although not a nuclear weapons state, Japan is scientifically advanced country with a large number of nuclear electricity generating plants as well as a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a club of nuclear technology exporting countries that cooperate on nonproliferation efforts.

A report by Kyodo News on February 17th carried by the Japan Times (1), has shed some light on the participation of a number of Japanese companies in the worldwide network of Dr. Khan, from which KRL obtained some key pieces of equipment.

According to Kyodo News, Dr. Khan and some (undisclosed) former employees of certain Japanese corporations have revealed the key role played by Japan-based companies in the operation of the network.

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Issue 13/ February-March 2009
By Kim Young

In memory of Rohinton Maloo

At the time of writing, President Barack Obama has just taken the oath of office and is officially the President of the United States this 20th day of January 2009. To a sea of hopeful and joyous people, Obama promised to uphold the constitution and declared the hand of peace and friendship to all Nations while also reminding those of preferred terror that the United States would “defeat them”. These words are not lost on those who are looking for a new direction in foreign policy from the United States especially after eight years of the Bush Administration, which included a decline in the US’ reputation worldwide, a failed war in Iraq and another one waged in Afghanistan. The import of this statement was also etched in the mind of one Briton business executive who walked away physically unscathed but probably emotionally scarred from the terror that gripped Mumbai, India in November 2008.

Personally, this writer noticed a familiar face but it could not be, or could it? Looking relieved and slightly shaken, (yet unbelievably composed) and covered with what looked like soot, indeed it was the face of Alex Chamberlen. He was on the BBC recounting the horror of the attacks just a few weeks ago in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), India. He escaped alive but tragically his good friend did not.

Worried for his safety and that of my fellow British citizens, Westerners, Indians and indeed anyone caught in this cowardly act of terrorism, I remained glued to the BBC and CNN to watch in horror as I heard of more and more people being murdered in cold blood, hostages taken and bombs and rockets going off in the affluent areas of Mumbai that houses the world famous Taj Hotel, The Oberoi and the Trident next door.

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Issue 12/December-January 2009
By Pablo A. Gambandé

“Facebook…a social utility to connect people around you”

Facebook awakens love and hate, because it is a computer application that can be a way of connecting friends and acquaintances for some people. However, for other people it is a tool used by liberal capitalism, which is also considered part of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Beyond the truth, the question we should ask ourselves is the following one: Are we facing a capitalist and imperialist conspiracy or, without wanting it, a new process of change in the world order?

As with all the social facts, probably the subjectivity level and cohesion level towards a stand or another will form the future social fact. I believe it will mainly be defined by a generational and passage of time matter. Concerning the Facebook phenomenon, we should consider that most of people who were born in the 70s and the 80s have seen more than one social communication tool. We use e-mail tools, or instant Messenger tools, such as MIRC and ICQ, and others, such as BBS and FTP to share information.

We can or cannot understand these abbreviations or we can consider them obsoletes, but many of them still work. They are tools that we have used in the past, spending at least more than two hours of our time.

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Issue 11/October-November 2008
By Leigh Howard

This article attempts to objectively analyse the political and legal restrictions placed on the International Criminal Court (ICC), in order to decipher whether the Court can effectively prosecute crimes against humanity. It is found that while there are many restrictions placed upon the Court, this does not nullify its existence nor does it make its ability to prosecute crimes against humanity ineffectual.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established on July 1, 2002, and is a result of its founding treaty, the Rome Statute. It seeks jurisdiction over acts criminalised by the jus cogens doctrine, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity. The prohibition of crimes against humanity has historically been a rapidly evolving doctrine and has received some significant additions under the Rome Statute. There are, however, legal and political limitations that threaten the capacity of the ICC to effectively prosecute crimes against humanity. These limits are to be assessed objectively to predict whether the ICC will enjoy success, and it is the legal definition that sets the first and foremost restrictions on jurisdiction.

The criteria that triggers ICC jurisdiction over crimes against humanity are outlined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute. According to this article, ‘crimes against humanity’ are acts “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.” The Article then goes on to list the kinds of acts that are considered to be crimes against humanity. Such acts include, but are not limited to, murder, extermination, torture, enslavement, deportation, gender crimes, the crime of apartheid, enforced disappearance of persons and imprisonment. A legal analysis of how crimes against humanity are defined provides us with the first and foremost limitations on the ICC’s ability to effectively prosecute.

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Issue 10/August-September 2008
By Neha Rajan

Peace is a mysterious phenomenon, for many a time it is achieved through unrefined tributaries – uproar, belligerency, violence. For it has been a relatively constant trend throughout history that some carnage, few instances of unjust policy or unwarranted despotism have been indispensable to the path to peace. Take the 1857 Indian uprising against the British. British reconnaissance of the Indian subcontinent led to hasty interventions, such as the ploys to overtly spread Christianity and to westernize the country. Ominous became the mantra ‘Sab laal ho gaya hai’ (Everything has become Red), a tune that sang lyrically of an upcoming revolt. The revolutionist tendency blossomed again in 1979 during the Nicaraguan liberation, but its success was conceived in much domestic violence. Well publicized and recognized are the aforementioned revolutions, but an oppressed counterpart remains relatively in the dark.

The counterpart’s overruling military has essentially continued imperial Britain’s reign from the 1800s, furiously, and quite blindly, wreaking overindulged calamity. Under false pretext, the military regime commits atrocity on a scale of epic magnitudes. Yet, it is not common knowledge that innocent villagers from Ho Pong had suffered death in a fiery inferno, that in the seemingly passive hills of Nam Zarng gunshots and the sickening cracking of bones would occur in relative oblivion, or that a camp at Kho Lam was ruthlessly bombed by troops in February 1997. We have here a country whose breathing is uncertain, a country who begs to be not a victim of salutary neglect. This sad story is of Burma, a Burma that has been forgotten.

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