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8982. Transparency and the Internet: Facebook’s Global Reach
- Author:
- Frances Haugen, Caroline Allen, and Kamran King
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Frances Haugen specializes in algorithmic product management, having worked on ranking algo- rithms at Google, Pinterest, Yelp, and Facebook. In 2019, she was recruited to Facebook to be the lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team, and later also worked on counter-espionage. In 2021, Haugen disclosed tens of thousands of Facebook’s internal documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Wall Street Journal. Haugen is an advocate for accountability and transparency in social media.
- Topic:
- Internet, Transparency, Interview, and Facebook
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
8983. Reification of Data: the Right to be Forgotten, Data Ownership, Network Usage Fee, and Data Sovereignty
- Author:
- Kyung-Sin Park
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- A regression is taking place around the world: the reification of data. Data is a relationship between sentient beings and the objects sensed, knowledge of the world external to the consciousness of that being. Transfer of data is speech. Collection of data is learning. Thus, a restriction on the transfer of data is a restriction on speech or the freedom of speech.1 A restriction on the collection of data becomes a restriction on learning or the freedom to learn. Data—origi- nally, a configuration of the consciousness perceiving external objects—is being rei3ed, that is, treated as if it is a tangible thing. Increasingly, data is deemed to be a possession by people reflected in it or those producing it and subject to delivery fees for transfer. Data is deemed capable of being “owned by data subjects,” “owned by data producers,” or charged fees for delivery.2
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Networks, Data, Digital Sovereignty, and Right to be Forgotten
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
8984. Remaking the Future of the Internet
- Author:
- James Lewis
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- A rule of thumb in Hollywood is when you have no new ideas for a 1lm, remake an old one. 5e United States is taking a similar approach to internet policy, with the well-intended “Declaration for the Future of the Internet” (hereafter referred to as “the Declaration”) reiterating themes from the dawn of the internet.1 5ere is a real opportunity for a new approach to internet policy that endorses democratic values and a reformed multistakeholder model, but the Declaration does not provide this opportunity because it ignores sovereignty and great power con6ict—the forces reshaping the internet. 5ere are 193 countries in the world. Only 60 endorsed the Declaration.2 If this had been an election, the United States would have lost. 5is outcome may partly re6ect a lack of diplomatic skill by the United States, but it also re6ects a paucity of ideas to address concerns in the developing world, which center around development, sovereignty, and the rule of law. Many nations would have welcomed a bold new vision for the internet that took their interests into account. 5ey did not get this vision from the Declaration.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Internet, and Digital Policy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus and United States of America
8985. Inclusion and Environmental Protection in Space
- Author:
- Tony Milligan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- A push for inclusion has been one of the most striking features of space programs in recent years, with a diverse range of agents going up to the Inter- national Space Station. NASA has been promoting the recognition of the early, but hidden, role of black scientists such as Katherine Johnson within its pro- grams of the 1960s (Johnson was celebrated in the 2016 7lm Hidden Figures).1 Beyond this, private sector activities are emerging with some built-in elements of inclusion. In 2021, Wally Funk fially could make it into space on a private sector Blue Origin suborbital flight, 60 years after being part of the privately trained female Mercury 13 group. These women were not part of the official NASA program, and they never made it into space, despite public criticism and the advantages of sending women in the cramped capsules given their generally smaller size. The women had what Margaret Weitekamp has referred to as “right stu:, wrong sex.”2
- Topic:
- Environment, Women, Space, Inclusion, and Protection
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
8986. The Artemis Theory of Warfare
- Author:
- Mark J. Sundahl
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Outer space, long the province of peaceful competition and international cooperation, is being rapidly militarized. We stand today at a rare in8ection point in history that deserves careful thought as humanity moves forward. In short, we face the following choice: we can either protect and build on the special nature of space norms and customs to preserve space as a “laboratory of peace,” or we can militarize space as the new “highest ground” under largely the same rules that govern terrestrial warfare.1 4e sad reality is that our history, being inextricably linked to warfare, predicts that the dream of a peaceful future in space will almost certainly remain just that—a dream. 4at said, if you point out a problem, you should always propose a solution. I will propose a solution to the threat of warfare in space at the end of this article. But, before we get there, I will take a step back and explain some of the assertions above. Why do I call space a “laboratory of peace?” And why is this special status of outer space in jeopardy?
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, Space, Military, and New Generation Warfare
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
8987. The Strength of Small, Lean, and Agile
- Author:
- Brian Binnie
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- As a youngster, the 1960s wereexciting times for space exploration. In 1968, I watched Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, a movie that sparked the minds of young adventurers everywhere. Just one year later, in 1969, I watched alongside the world as two men bounced around on the moon. With millions of others, I believed that since everything was happening so quickly, by the time we were older, there would be all sorts of opportunities available in the burgeoning 1eld of space. 9ese expectations were never realized. For 45 years, the same starry adventurers watched from the sidelines as the severed operations of NASA maintained their exclusive grip on all things space with the Shuttle and International Space Station operations. But in 2004, a small, privately owned company shocked the landscape, 0ying three space 0ights with a reusable ship to the rapt attention of millions worldwide. With the visibility provided by a $10 million prize, these 0ights became the leading story of that year.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Regulation, Space, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Political Geography:
- United States of America
8988. Talking About NASA: Outer Space and World A!airs
- Author:
- John M. Logsdon, David Del Terzo, and Luka Willett
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Dr. John M. Logsdon is Professor Emeritus at George Washington University’s (GWU) Elliott School of International A!airs, where he was the founder and long-time director of GWU’s Space Policy Institute. He is an author of many articles, essays, and edited books, with his most recent publication being Ronald Reagan and the Space Frontier (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). In 2003, he was a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board and was formerly a member of the NASA
- Topic:
- International Affairs, Space, Interview, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
8989. Sexual Abuse, Violence, and Prostitution Toward Children in Mexico
- Author:
- César Niño
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Oscar was born in an illegal prostitution center where his mother was a sex worker (we are not certain if she worked there voluntarily). Oscar was first prostituted at age four, serving up to six “clients” daily at the same center where his mother worked. Both he and his mother were constant victims of rape and physical violence. This was the environment in which he was raised. In recent decades, according to a Reinserta study, violence against children in Mexico has intensi7ed nationwide.1 From 2006 to 2018, there were 325,699 homicides, according to data from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). Of these victims, 23,420 were men under the age of 19, a little over 7 percent of the total, and 6,022 were women under the age of 19, about 2 percent of the total.2 Children represent a particularly vulnerable group, as they are immersed in practices that violate their human rights and make it impossible for them to develop physically and psychologically in an adequate manner and according to their age. They experience physical violence, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and other forms of violence that are normalized from an early age.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Children, Sexual Violence, Abuse, and Prostitution
- Political Geography:
- North America and Mexico
8990. The State of Exception: Gangs as a Neoliberal Scapegoat in El Salvador
- Author:
- Leisy Abrego and Steven Osuna
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- On 26 March 2022, gangs in the small Central American country of El Salvador killed 62 people, making it the deadliest day in modern Salvadoran history.1 In the span of just three days, between 25 and 27 March, there were a total of 87 seemingly random murders of people laboring and commuting in El Salvador. In line with the common political practice since the 1990s, Salvadoran politi- cians zeroed in on punishing gangs, whom they have blamed for all social ills. Indeed, the brutal intercommunal violence of gangs is horrifying and dehuman- izing in ways that permeate everyday life for large swaths of Salvadoran society. 3ese realities make gangs particularly visible and therefore politically useful for the ruling elite, who can and frequently do turn to gangs as a distraction from their own corruption. 3e proliferation of gangs and violence, however, was not inevitable, and a political and media focus solely on gangs misses the larger picture. Gangs, and the social conditions surrounding them in El Salvador, are ultimately a symptom of a larger root problem: neoliberal capitalism. To best understand the conditions of the present moment, we trace how neoliberalism developed in El Salvador, why it has thrived across party lines, how it is fueling the actions of this particular Salvadoran administration, and how a growing grassroots cross-border movement is resisting it.
- Topic:
- Neoliberalism, Violence, Organized Crime, and Gangs
- Political Geography:
- Central America and El Salvador
8991. Fighting Gangs to Dismantle Democracy: How Anti-Crime Policies Have Contributed to the Authoritarian Drift in Central America
- Author:
- José‐Luis Cruz
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- For several years, the northern countries of Central America—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—have seen some of the highest levels of criminal violence globally. 5ey are also ground zero for two of the most brutal street gangs in the Western Hemisphere: the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang (Barrio 18). Di6erent government administrations have imple- mented various policies to address gangs and criminal violence; however, no policy has been more controversial or frequently used than the zero-tolerance, or mano dura (iron fist), crackdowns. Zero-tolerance crackdowns were introduced at different moments in all three countries but have been a dominant feature of state response to crime in Central America in the last two decades. In this essay, I examine the latest installment of hard-on-crime policies in El Salvador and how they contributed to the democratic erosion of the country. This case exemplifies how Central American governments have repeatedly used the fight against crime as a justification to strengthen security forces without oversight, ignore human rights standards, and leverage the justice system to serve corrupt government officials.
- Topic:
- Crime, Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Gangs
- Political Geography:
- Central America
8992. A Path Not Taken: A Historical Interpretation of the Roots of Contemporary Crime in Central America
- Author:
- Jeffrey L. Gould and David Diaz-Arias
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Has Central America always been a dangerous place? During the early 1980s, in the provincial city of Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, one could walk anywhere and at any time without fearing crime. The Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN), a leftist guerrilla organization founded in 1961 that had led the Ni- caraguan Revolution to triumph in 1979, ruled the country.1 Remarkably, its police force, the Policía Sandinista, was neither feared nor scorned, even by the anti-Sandinista sectors of the community. Neither crime nor its absence were a topic of conversation in Chichigalpa, nor were they a concern in the U.S. media, despite the media’s obsession with all things Sandinista.2 If the media or the Reagan administration had commented on the low levels of crime in Nica- ragua, they likely would have criticized the FSLN for that too, citing a highly regimented surveillance society as its cause.3 On the contrary, any surveillance that did exist in Nicaragua in the early 1980s derived from enhanced forms of solidarity against what was largely perceived as an external threat: the Contras— the United States-backed, counter-revolutionary forces composed of former Somoza supporters, Nicaraguan-dictatorship exiles, and ex-Guardia o:cers. 9is military force eventually received signi5cant peasant support in the central and eastern parts of the country.4 One institution that fomented solidarity was the Comités de Defensa Sandinista (CDS). Organized immediately preceding and following the revolutionary triumph of July 1979, the CDS began as a group of relatively democratic organizations that promoted community development as well as security.5 Over the next few years, through nightly patrols, they increas- ingly focused on the surveillance of potential Contra terrorist activities. While such e;orts certainly contributed to crime reduction, the democratic character of the organizations also eroded, as a top-down emphasis on national defense became predominant among the CDSs.
- Topic:
- Crime, History, Immigration, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Central America
8993. Criminal Groups and a Decade of Displacement in Central America and Mexico
- Author:
- David James Cantor
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Organized criminal groups in the North of Central America and Mexico (NCAM) make global news headlines. 3e bloody reputation of drug tra4cking structures from Mexico during the past decade rivals the global infamy of Colom- bian groups such as the Medellín and Cali cartels during the 1980s and 1990s. Brutal gangs in the North of Central America (NCA)—formed by the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala—have even served as a bogey-man in presidential campaigns in the United States during the 2010s.1 But what about the predicament of the people living in the zones to which organized criminal groups lay claim? Much has been written about the levels of violence to which these populations are exposed; however, what is less understood, even today, is how the aggressive activities of organized criminal groups have produced waves of internal and external displacement and the implications of this displacement for the global community. 3is paper draws on research conducted by the author over the past decade to re5ect on the crisis of forced displacement that has a6ected these populations in the NCAM during the 2010s. 3e paper analyzes statistical data concern- ing refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to o6er observations on the scale of displacement within the NCAM and across borders; the diverse organized criminal groups that generate di6erent but overlapping dynamics of displacement; and the response in law and policy to this displacement within these countries and in the Americas more generally. Finally, this paper ends by arguing that the displacement in the NCAM has important implications not only for those countries but for the Americas and at the global level, as well.
- Topic:
- Crime, Trafficking, Displacement, and Cartels
- Political Geography:
- Central America, North America, and Mexico
8994. The Syrian Popular Uprising and the Decline of the Druze Political Role
- Author:
- Yusri Khaizran
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
- Abstract:
- In the second issue of al-Durziyya: Druze and Other Minorities in the Middle East, Dr. Yusri Khaizaran analyzes the position of the Druze in the Syrian Civil War between the Regime's forcefulness and the danger of radical Islam. The Druze in Syria have reached the acknowledgment that, for the first time in modern times, they face an existential threat. Al-Durziyya is a digital magazine co-published by the Druze Heritage Center and the Moshe Dayan Center in Hebrew and English. Al-Durziyya provides different perspectives on the social, cultural, and historical affairs of the Druze in the Middle East.
- Topic:
- Minorities, Syrian War, Islamism, and Druze
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Israel, and Syria
8995. Life, Death, and Beyond: The Belief in Reincarnation and the Phenomenon of Notq in the Druze Community
- Author:
- Maha Natoor
- Publication Date:
- 05-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
- Abstract:
- In the first issue of our new magazine al-Durziyya, Dr. Maha Natoor deals with the belief in reincarnation among the Druze and examines the phenomenon of notq, the remembering and talking about a previous life, as a mechanism which embodies the Druze identity and contributes to the preservation and definition of its boundaries. Al-Durziyya is a digital magazine co-published by the Druze Heritage Center and the Moshe Dayan Center, in Hebrew and English. Al-Durziyya provides different perspectives on the social, cultural and historical affairs of the Druze in the Middle East.
- Topic:
- Religion, Druze, and Reincarnation
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Israel
8996. The 2023 Elections: Legitimization of the New Türkiye
- Author:
- Christos Teazis
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
- Abstract:
- In our latest issue of Turkeyscope, Dr. Christos Teazis reveals the gradual transformation of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) into a state party by examining the modus operandi of the state founder Republican People's Party (CHP).
- Topic:
- History, Elections, Domestic Politics, Political Parties, and AKP
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Middle East
8997. China’s Infrastructure Projects in the Middle East: Lessons from China’s Engagement Elsewhere
- Author:
- Dominika Urhová
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
- Abstract:
- In our latest issue of Iqtisadi, Ms. Dominika Urhova discusses the economic strategy and role of China in the Middle East, and analyzes the implications of China's growing influence in the region.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Strategic Engagement
- Political Geography:
- China, Middle East, and Asia
8998. Russia Steps up its Campaign for Influence in Africa
- Author:
- Rina Bassist
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
- Abstract:
- In our latest issue of Ifriqiya, Rina Bassist discusses Russian propaganda and paramilitary strategies used to gain influence in recent years in various countries in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Propaganda, Military, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Russia, Sahel, and Central African Republic
8999. Summary of the 25th Knesset election results in Arab society
- Author:
- Arik Rudnitzky
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
- Abstract:
- The current issue of Bayan is being published about one month after the 25th Knesset elections which were held on November 1st, 2022. In his article, Dr. Arik Rudnitzky summarizes the election results in the Arab sector, and their future implications for Arab politics in Israel.
- Topic:
- Minorities, Elections, Domestic Politics, Knesset, Palestinians, and Arabs
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Israel
9000. On the brink of Subsequent Sanctions Against Russia Implications for Azerbaijan
- Author:
- Emin Mammadov
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD)
- Abstract:
- In response to Russia’s continuing war against Ukraine and the scope of the current escalation against humanity and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, the European Council adopts the ninth package of new sanctions targeted to step up the existing pressure on Russia and its government. Since March 2014, the EU has progressively imposed prohibitive measures on Russia in this vein including individual sanctions, economic sanctions including energy, transport, and diplomatic sanctions of which multidimensional backgrounds are attributed to the illegal annexation of Crimea, Russia’s military attack on Ukraine and illegal annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in the current year.
- Topic:
- Sanctions, European Union, Regional Security, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Eurasia, Caucasus, and Azerbaijan