Global Perspectives (Asynchronous Session)
A People-centered Partnership? View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Michael Cserkits
In this paper, I consider the changing nature of the policy papers and released documents of the European Union in terms of security cooperation. I carve out the changing nature of the partnership between the EU and its African counterparts; as they swing between single state actors, regional organizations (like ECOWAS) or even comparable supranational structures like the AU. By taking a closer look to the changing nature of programs such as STRIVE (Strengthening Resilience to Violent Extremism) or institutions like the Sahel G5, I highlight their impact at the political landscape and the effective outcome that they produced. The analyzed timeframe will encompass policies between 2013 and 2018. The theories used will be constructivism by Wendt (1992), combined with Security Theory (Buzan et al. 1998). As a methodological framework, I approach the case with a three step Critical Discourse Analysis by Fairclough (1995) (Describe-Interpret-Explain) to gain as much information out of the data as possible .
Footprints of International NGOs from Recently Developed Countries: A Study of an Estonian NGO in Ghana View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Seth Amofah
This study uses ethnographic case study design to investigate the footprints of an Estonian international development NGO’s operational footprints in Northern Ghana. The study used data obtained through interviews conducted with thirty-two participants made up of NGO staff, volunteers, beneficiary community members in Ghana, and heads of institutions in the study area as well as observations to draw its conclusions. The study revealed that emerging NGOs follow the model used by the pioneering ones in terms of financial sources and its associated obligations. Regarding project execution approach, the study revealed a uniquely strict method used by the NGO when it comes to the kind of volunteers used on the field. The case study NGO insists on the use of specified professionals as their volunteers at different times within the last ten years. The highlights cultural exchanges between the expatriate workers and the local community members. The study recommends for intercultural training for both parties. Finally the study revealed that the NGO makes effort to earn the trust of the partner communities in Ghana, its sponsors including the European Commission as well as the government and people of Estonia. If the findings of the study prevail for long, in all the countries where the NGO works, Estonia will become a recognizable country when it comes to countries with NGOs influencing change in developing countries.
Tribal Populations and COVID-19: The Administrative and Constitutional Dilemma View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Aniket Chauhaan
India placed a strict lockdown in the movement and activities in the country beginning on 24th March. However, given the vastly diverse society, it threw open many administrative questions and dilemmas. The iron-fisted decision did not allow many reasonable accommodations. During this Indian tribal communities in different parts of the country suffered greatly because of the way their society is structured. It was also seen that there existed tribal rituals of social distancing and isolation from the outside world which they partake in themselves. This leads us to the question of whether in an unprecedented situation such as COVID-19, governments should hold the hands of tribal communities or, should they let them be, by allowing relative autonomy while placing minimum necessary restrictions. In the Indian constitution, the latter position is the norm however, it can be abandoned in an unprecedented situation. Thus, the question of the responsibility of the state is also contextualised in this study, while trying to answer the question of which course of action better ensures the welfare of tribal communities.
Colonial Legacies of Crisis and Resilience in a Miskitu Community View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Eileen DeLuca
Throughout the 1980’s, Nicaragua was mired in one of the many proxy wars that plagued and devastated Central America. Indigenous populations were particularly vulnerable to human rights violations, forced migration, displacement, and conscription into rank and file positions in the Contra organization. The Esquipulas Accord (1987) created the structure for the cessation of armed conflict amongst the divergent warring factions of the Contras and the Nicaraguan central government, institutionalizing regional political autonomy in historically Afro-Caribbean and indigenous territories. Subsequently, a deliberate attempt at (re)creating Nicaragua as a multicultural and multiethnic nation was enshrined in the newly promulgated Nicaraguan Constitution. The paper shares ethnographic interviews and oral histories of survivors and ex-combatants of the Contra War. Their biographical accounts illuminate their individual and collective motivation for participating in the conflict, but also reveal a present-day experience of colonization of indigenous territory, history, culture, and language. Their accounts invite critique of the collective memory of the Mestizo core community and its failure to reconcile with that of the indigenous minority of the Caribbean Coast. The legacy of conflict is evident in the discourses of contact with the illegal settlers that the Miskitu refer to as colonos. These voices of resistance and resilience expose and problematize the efficacy of regional autonomy and suggest that its realization may serve to reproduce and aggravate wartime identities.
Job Satisfaction in the Public and Private Sector: An International Comparison View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Maureen Snow Andrade, Jonathan H. Westover
Benefits of job satisfaction include increased productivity, performance, creativity, innovation, motivation, and involvement. The current study makes global comparisons relative to the effects of work-life balance, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, and work relations on job satisfaction for public and private sector employees using data from the International Social Survey Program. Comparative means show a significant difference between these workers in the study’s main variables with several areas higher for public workers. Additionally, regression analyses identify significant differences, mostly favoring public workers. A key contribution of the study is the finding that private/public sector is a statistically significant control variable.
Trauma, Amnesia, and Narration: Trans-culturality of Trauma and Coping as Understood from Culturally Diverse Migrant Narratives of the Burma Exodus of 1942 View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Priyanka Bhattacharyya
The case study for my paper is the exodus from Burma during the Japanese bombings of 1941-42. Based on this case study I seek to understand the issue of memory politics and various interpretation of trauma and trans-culturality of coping, associated with traumatic memories of forced migration. Such an understanding will be brought about by the study of various migrant narratives including that of my family where I investigate how such interpretation affected narration which exist in the form of life story narratives. The methodology adapted will be both empirical and interpretative and the study of British-Indian government census documents (1940-45), Indo-Burmese Immigration Laws 1941-42, British-Indian Government reports on civilian evacuation 1942-43 and British-Indian government reports (1940-45) on plantation workers and employees of the Burma Oil Company will be studied along with written narratives of survivors, available in English and Bengali.
Analysis of Political Dynasty in Indonesia : Case Study of the Regional Election 2020 View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rahmad Agus Dwianto Agus
2020 was a democratic year for the Indonesian people, due to the regional elections (Pilkada) in 270 regions in Indonesia. The issue of dynastic politics in the Pilkada this time around because the 124 candidates have close kinship with those currently in power in the government. The research uses a qualitative approach, with data sourced from the General Election Commission's reports regarding the results of the 2020 Pilkada and various scientific journals related to dynastic politics. Processing to data analysis using Nvivo and VOSViewer software. The results show that the number of victories of some candidates who have close kinship with the current leader indicates dynastic politics in the Indonesian state which adheres to a democratic system. This is influenced by several factors, including the factor of kinship between close public officials, policies, and laws that do not prohibit dynasties in democratic politics, environmental factors, political management factors, poor communication, low levels of political trust, and external driving forces.
In Search for Reconciliation Patterns for Japanese-Korean Relations: Polish-German Rapprochement Experiences as a Case Study of Good Practices for East Asian Countries View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Olga Barbasiewicz
The Japanese and Koreans still invoke the memory of the occupation period and World War II in their bilateral relations. This leads to severe struggles and diplomatic wars among these Asian democracies and their US allies in the region. Despite this, the search for reconciliation patterns continues on. The example of Polish-German reconciliation and cooperation can be used not only to show good practices, but also as a promotion of EU values and norms. Japan, recently facing the fear of a growing China, is searching for understanding and cooperation in Europe. Simultaneously, South Korea is searching for an understanding in its peace policy. Moreover, both countries benefit from the Free Trade Agreement with the EU. This paper considers Japanese and Korean insight into the EU's role in the global order with a need for reconciliation and apologies, as was the case with Polish-German relations. In promoting the Polish-German rapprochement and the Europeanisation of reconciliation, this paper attempts to provide a solution, based on EU norms and values, with a special emphasis on the case of Poland and Germany, for the Japanese-Korean reconciliation possibilities and patterns.
The Landscape of One Breast: Empowering Breast Cancer Survivors through Developing a Transdisciplinary Intervention Framework in a Jiangmen Breast Cancer Hospital in China View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yuk Yee Lee, Hok Bun Ku
Breast cancer is a major concern in women’s health in Mainland China. Literature demonstrates that women with breast cancer (WBC) need to pay much effort into resisting stigma and the impact of treatment side-effects; they suffer from overwhelming consequences due to bodily disfigurement and all these experiences are not beneficial for their mental and sexual health. However, related studies in this area are rare in China. The objectives of this study are 1) To understand WBC’s treatment experiences, 2) To understand what kinds of support should be contained in a transdisciplinary intervention framework (TIF) for Chinese WBC through the lens that is sensitive to gender, societal, cultural, and practical experience. In this study, the feminist participatory action research (FPAR) approach containing the four cyclical processes of action research was adopted. WBC’s stories were collected through oral history, group materials such as drawings, theme songs, handicraft, storytelling, and public speech content; research team members and peer counselors were involved in the development of the model. This study revealed that WBC faces difficulties returning to the job market and discrimination, oppression, and gender stereotypes are commonly found in the whole treatment process. WBC suffered from structural stigma, public stigma, and self-stigma. Collaboration is essential between 1) Health and medical care, 2) Medical social work, 3) Peer counselor network and 4) self-help organization to form the TIF for quality care. The research findings are crucial for China Health Bureau to develop quality medical social services for breast cancer survivors and their families.
