Search

Begin New Search Publication Year within 5 Years Publication Year within 10 Years

17101. La transición hacia energía renovables en México: Oportunidades y desafíos respecto a las empresas y derechos humanos

Author:
Jacob Ramirez
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:
Los gobiernos y las empresas argumentan que invertir en energía eólica contribuye al desarrollo sostenible global y la conservación ecológica. Sin embargo, las consecuencias sobre las tradiciones socioculturales y económicas de los pueblos indígenas desafían estos argumentos. Las confrontaciones entre las empresas y los pueblos indígenas sobre la energía renovable se remontan a la continuidad de la opresión y la represión de los gobiernos y las empresas hacia los pueblos indígenas, lo cual se denomina colonialismo interno. Basado en un estudio longitudinal en el Istmo de Tehuantepec en Oaxaca, México, este artículo ofrece una forma diferente para discutir derechos humanos y empresas en inversiones eólicas en dicho país. Asimismo, a través de los conceptos de colonialismo interno y justicia ambiental, analiza los Principios Rectores sobre las Empresas y los Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas. El colonialismo interno expone la profundidad de las dinámicas conflictivas en las inversiones eólicas, en los territorios de los pueblos indígenas con respecto a la injusticia ambiental en sus derechos humanos.
Topic:
Human Rights, Business, Renewable Energy, Indigenous, and Wind Power
Political Geography:
Latin America, North America, and Mexico

17102. Lecture: Radio, Rulers and the Ruled in the 4th Republic: 25 Years of an Evolving Relationship in a Democracy

Author:
Bernard Avle and Emma Morrison
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:
CDD-Ghana and Citi 97.3 FM present the 16th annual Kronti ne Akwamu lecture. The speaker for this year's lecture is Bernard Avle; he speaks on the topic, 'Radio, Rulers and the Ruled in the 4th Republic: 25 years of an evolving relationship in democracy'.
Topic:
Democracy, Media, Journalism, Accountability, Censorship, and Radio
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

17103. The Right to a Nationality: No Time to be Complacent

Author:
Erika Feller
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
The right to a nationality is often taken for granted. Over the course of decades, UN member states have enshrined this right through fundamental instruments, notably the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Yet con- servative estimates hold that approximately 10 million people spread across every continent are denied a nationality.1 Some, but not all, are refugees. Collectively, these individuals are stateless—they lack any claim to a nationality recognized or assumed by any state. For many years, statelessness was a forgotten issue, relegated to the realm of state sovereignty prerogatives. Recently, states and the UN have begun to focus on the pressing nature of the problem. They have made progress in addressing statelessness as a global, collectively shared challenge. However, the UN target of eradicating statelessness by 2024, while a fine aspiration, continues to face significant hurdles. These obstacles include a serious dearth of informa- tion about the problem’s scope, discriminatory national legislation and policies that obstruct UN efforts, an ambiguous international legal framework, and the absence of solutions that are accessible to stateless individuals.
Topic:
Sovereignty, United Nations, Citizenship, Stateless Population, and Nationality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17104. The Law’s Broken Promises to Stateless Persons

Author:
Jamie Chai Yun Liew
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Canada is the canary in the coal mine in terms of efforts to combat stateless- ness among Western democracies. One might assume that Canada would have a sophisticated system for addressing stateless persons—those without any citizen- ship whatsoever in any nation—since its reputation for welcoming refugees is unparalleled. In 1986, Canada won the Nansen Medal, the highest distinction bestowed by the United Nations for aiding refugees.1 Its inland refugee determi- nation system is considered the gold standard all over the world. Furthermore, Canadians have a generous refugee sponsorship program, which allows groups of persons, not just the government, to sponsor overseas refugees.2 This system is not without its problems. One notable example is that some border crossers at the Canada-United States border are denied the right to a refugee hearing and are consequently in danger of being sent back—before their refugee claim is assessed—to places where they may face persecution and/or torture.3 Not- withstanding such shortcomings, Canada is a democracy; there are continual efforts to improve the refugee system through dialogue between the courts and the legislature, advocacy and education by lawyers, NGOs, and migrants themselves, and the hard work of civil servants working to improve the system.
Topic:
United Nations, Law, Refugees, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
Canada and North America

17105. The Future of Microfinance

Author:
Muhammad Yunus and Claire Heiden
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Muhammad Yunus is an economist and the founder of Grameen Bank, which provides microcredit to the impoverished without requiring collateral. Yunus and Grameen were awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2006.
Topic:
Poverty, Capitalism, Business, Interview, and Microfinance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17106. Protecting Stateless Refugees in the United States

Author:
David Baluarte
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Miliyon is a stateless, failed asylum seeker residing in the United States. He initially sought refugee protection after he fled Ethiopia, where he had faced serious abuse because of his Eritrean ethnicity. Immigration authorities denied him asylum after concluding that the Ethiopian government’s deportation of his Eritrean father, the seizure of his family’s land and business, and the detention and torture of Miliyon himself constituted a property dispute not protected under U.S. refugee law. Miliyon fought this denial of protection over the next decade through various appeals processes but ultimately failed. At that point, he applied for a passport at the Ethiopian embassy in Washington, D.C. and resigned himself to return home and face whatever fate awaited him. Consular officials, however, refused to issue him a passport. Despite never having set foot in Eritrea or having any other connection to the country, Miliyon was told that he was Eritrean, not Ethiopian. He was informed that he had no right to return to Ethiopia, his country of birth and the only place he had ever lived. This led the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to declare Miliyon stateless. As a victim of discriminatory denationalization, Miliyon tried to renew his application for refugee protection. Notwithstanding the fact that Miliyon had endured this persecutory treatment, U.S. authorities once again denied his claim.
Topic:
Migration, Refugees, Stateless Population, and Protection
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

17107. The Geopolitical Consequences of Oil in Africa: The Case of Nigeria

Author:
Cyril Obi
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Oil endowment has been a significant factor in Africa’s history, politics, and development. The continent was positioned strategically following the global energy transition from coal to crude oil in the latter part of thenineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries, which shaped the history of oil in Africa.1 Today, Africa’s oil reserves serve both as a supply of oil to the global market and as a node for the continued integration of the continent’s petro-economies into a volatile global oil market. However, the fortunes of Africa’s oil-producing states depend on a commodity whose price they do not determine, and they find themselves with limited options to collectively leverage their positions on the global stage. This article explores the geopolitical consequences of the imminent energy transition from oil to non-carbon and renewable sources of energy for Africa’s largest oil producer and exporter: Nigeria. It argues that the growing use of non-carbon and renewable forms of energy will impact African oil producers negatively, particularly in relation to economic growth, national stability, and diminished international influence. The potential impact of a global energy transition for Nigeria is significant for a continent whose oil producers include Algeria, Angola, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, and South Sudan—particularly when grappling with its emerging implications. This transi- tion assumes greater importance in the face of new oil discoveries in other Afri- can countries such as Ghana, Mauritania, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The new oil discoveries have revived the debate over the implications of the geopolitics of oil in Africa, as well as in an energy-hungry world that is simultaneously caught in a “global energy dilemma.”2
Topic:
Oil, Geopolitics, Energy, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

17108. In the Era of U.S. Energy Abundance: The Role of the Caspian Region in U.S. Policy

Author:
Brenda Shaffer
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
For most of the last fifty years, international energy policy has been a major focus of U.S. foreign and national security policy.1 Washington has viewed en- suring the energy security of its allies—especially in Europe, Japan, and South Korea—as part of its own national security. In this approach to energy policy, the United States was unique and contrasted with most Western countries, which generally treated energy policy as part of their economic and/or environmental policies. Washington has engaged in international energy policy on the highest executive levels in the White House and established influential units within cabinet departments and agencies to promote international energy policies and to integrate them with U.S. national security and foreign policies. Within the Department of State, successive special ambassadors were appointed to promote various international and regional energy policies and, in 2011, a full Bureau of Energy Resources was established.2
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Energy Policy, National Security, and Oil
Political Geography:
North America, Caspian Sea, and United States of America

17109. Financial Innovation for Energy Innovation

Author:
Ashby Monk and Soh Young In
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
The move toward a global energy transition is underpinned by the collec- tive need to limit the most severe impacts of climate change as well as to foster more sustainable economic growth. Floating photovoltaic power stations on Chinese lakes, integrated carbon capture technology on large-scale power plants in Canada, and decentralized urban wind turbines on Singaporean rooftops are just a few examples of how radical innovations in clean energy technology are fueling the global energy transition.1 Bringing cutting-edge technology from the lab to the global energy market requires a supportive ecosystem. Innovation must be matched by market readiness to adopt disruptive technologies, local capacities to scale up new energy projects, energy policies with climate objectives, technological development, and sufficient and “aligned” investment capital. This article focuses specifically on the last requirement: the characteristics of investment capital needed to support clean energy innovation. Investors are key players in the future of energy, as they must drive innovation in the financial system to meet the scale of capital needed to transform the energy industry. Both a lack and misalignment of investment capital have hindered important technological leaps in sustainable energy.2 One such example is the severe financing shortage in commercializing novel clean energy technology. The most prominent financing issue associated with commercializing novel clean technology (cleantech) has been termed the “valley of death,” which refers to the pattern in which most early-stage cleantech is severely underfunded, resulting in innovation being abandoned before reaching full-sized deployment. There are many causes of this “valley of death,” but the common threads among them are the sheer number of financial risks in the energy industry and the inability to fully understand and manage these risks within the energy ecosystem.3
Topic:
Finance, Investment, Innovation, Energy, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17110. The ICRC’s Changing Role in International Humanitarianism

Author:
Peter Maurer, David Del Terzo, and Caroline Allen
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Peter Maurer is the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This interview was conducted at the beginning of March, before the COVID-19 outbreak had reached pandemic levels. Since that time, the ICRC has been adapt- ing its operations to respond to the disease’s impacts in conflict-affected countries. President Maurer wrote about his concerns for vulnerable populations in an opinion column in The Guardian, published 27 March 2020.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Conflict, and ICRC
Political Geography:
Global Focus