Where are the boundaries of our moral obligations in eradicating global poverty? At what point can we speak of a fetus as a human being? Are we capable of reaching objectivism in ethical questions? For what reason is it necessary to reach reassessment of our view of human rights concept? Peter Singer, Ira W. De Camp professor of bioethics in a Centre for Human Values at Princeton University and Laureate professor at University of Melbourne, has been standing at the forefront of debates about our ethical obligations and approaching global poverty, euthanasia, abortions and animal rights for more than three decades.
Jiří Šedivý: Stane se NATO pouhým politickým klubem?
Jiří Šedivý, M.A., Ph.D. je nestranický odborník v oblasti bezpečnostní politiky a obranného plánování, od listopadu 2010 je prvním náměstkem ministra obrany České republiky. V letech 2007–2010 zastával pozici náměstka generálního tajemníka NATO pro obrannou politiku a plánování, předtím byl ministrem obrany v první vládě Mirka Topolánka. Mimo to šest let učil v Evropském centru pro bezpečnostní studia George C. Marshalla v Německu a šest let vedl Ústav mezinárodních vztahů. Časopis Global Politics se jej ptal na české zapojení v Alianci, rozevírající se nůžky mezi vojenskými rozpočty USA a zbytku světa a nepřijatelnost Medveděvových podmínek v oblasti protiraketové obrany.
Zaid Eyadat: The major motivation for Arab revolutions was about human dignity
Dr. Zaid Eyadat is a professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Jordan and the chairperson of the Human Rights and Human Development department. He graduated from the University of Southern California, where he continues to teach. He has also taught at various universities in the USA and Jordan and has worked as a consultant for diverse international organizations and NGOs. Recently he conducted a course called Islam and Human Rights at Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno. Editors of Global Politics and Bulletin of The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democratization spoke with Mr. Eyadat about various issues ranging from Arab revolutions to multiculturalism and liberal islam.
A glimpse of the post-development approach
Development is often accepted as an unquestioned goal of our societies. We just want to be developed. Critical discussion on this topic is almost entirely absent from the public debate in the Czech Republic. Global Politics hopes to draw your attention to an approach that does not fit the mainstream thinking. Promising young scholars from the Vienna University treat topics such as sustainable development, colonial continuities, microfinance or the Zapatista movement in Chiapas. Their unorthodox ideas are worth a thought for students who seek more than just the usual „aid or trade“ question.
Colonial (Dis-)Continuities in Development Discourse and Practice
Within the framework of this paper I explicate the basic elements of colonial as well as development discourse. Although we can identify an obvious rupture line between colonialism and the era of development, I demonstrate that the colonial heritage structures development discourse in various ways. While there have been some significant changes on the rhetoric level, basic colonial concepts still prevail such as a dichotomic and hierarchical worldview, the evolutionary paradigm with the West as its benchmark, the idea of ‘white’ expertise etc. These often racialised assumptions produce unequal power relations within the development industry and structure the very idea of development itself.
