Now more than ever the international community plays a central role in pressing governments to hold their own to account. Despite pressure to adhere to global human rights norms, governments continue to benefit from impunity for their past crimes. In an age of accountability, how do states continue to escape justice? This book presents a theory of strategic adaptation which explains the conditions under which governments adopt transitional justice without a genuine commitment to holding st...

In many areas experiencing severe impacts from climate change, it is not the state, but rather rebel groups who wield authority over populations. Rebels are often engaged in responding and adapting to the risks and impacts of climate change as part of their local governance efforts; however, a systematic consideration of the activities and implications has been lacking. This Element looks at a set of behaviors we call 'rebel environmental governance' (REG+). This refers to rebel actions ai...

Since 1990, more than 10 million people have been killed in the civil wars of failed states, and hundreds of millions more have been deprived of fundamental rights. The threat of terrorism has only heightened the problem posed by failed states. When States Fail is the first book to examine how and why states decay and what, if anything, can be done to prevent them from collapsing. It defines and categorizes strong, weak, failing, and collapsed nation-states according to political,...

This volume assesses the nexus of gender and transboundary water governance, containing empirical case studies, discourse analyses, practitioners’ accounts, and theoretical reflections.Transboundary water governance exists at the intersection of two highly masculinised fields: diplomacy and water resources management. In both fields, positions are mainly held by men, and core ideas, norms, and guiding principles that are presented as neutral, are both shaped by men and based on mal...

The book contains essays on current issues in Social and Political Sciences, such as the issues of governance and social order; social development and community development; global challenges and inequality; civil society and social movement; IT-based community and social transformation; poverty alleviation and corporate social responsibility; and gender issues. Asia and the Pacifi c are the particular regions that the conference focuses on as they have become new centers of social and pol...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is scarcely ten years old, but even in these early years of its existence it has generated debate, controversy and even outrage. Rulings on beef hormones and tuna-dolphin cases provide graphic examples of how the organization regulates and intrudes into areas of individual consumer choice, ethical preferences, and cultural habits. This deep and far-ranging impact of the WTO on peoples' everyday lives means that it is not just an institution of interest to...

One-third of the world's girls are married before the age of eighteen, limiting both their educational and economic potential. Child marriage is damaging to global prosperity and stability, yet despite the urgency of the issue, there remains a significant lack of data on the subject. Senior Fellow Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses both the factors that contribute to and strategies that have proved effective against child marriage.

Imagine a nation with the highest proportion of women legislators in the world. Imagine a country where a democratically elected president is committed to gender equality and poverty reduction, where urban and rural schools are being wired to the Internet, and where the government is committed to becoming a middle-income country by 2020. Imagine that this country is located in the heart of sub-Saharan Africa and that this progress comes in the wake of one of the 20th century's worst genoci...

Few names are so closely connected with the cause of human rights as that of Mary Robinson. As former President of Ireland, she was ideally positioned for passionately and eloquently arguing the case for human rights around the world. Over five tumultuous years that included the tragic events of 9/11, she offered moral leadership and vision to the global human rights movement. This volume is a unique account in Robinson's own words of her campaigns as United Nations High Commissioner for H...

On issues pertaining to women and girls, Stephen Harper’s federal government positioned Canada as a “beacon of light” in the world. Programs were developed in relation to women’s maternal health and the protection of the girl child, but other actions point to an ambiguous and even contradictory approach that failed to address gender inequality.In Obligations and Omissions, contributors examine Canada’s equivocal - and diminished - role in working toward gender equality in ...

'The Commission for Africa finds the conditions of the lives of the majority of Africans to be intolerable and an affront to the dignity of all mankind. We insist upon an alteration of these conditions through a change of policy in favour of the weak.'The report of the Commission for Africa is the most important document of our time. Created by major decision-makers from across the globe, it is a call to action for the nations meeting at the 2005 G8 summit to end extreme poverty in...

Foreign aid and international development frequently bring with it a range of unintended consequences, both negative and positive. This book delves into these consequences, providing a fresh and comprehensive guide to understanding and addressing them.The book starts by laying out a theoretical framework based on complexity thinking, before going on to explore the ten most prevalent kinds of unintended effects of foreign aid: backlash effects, conflict effects, migration and resett...