This article surveys the ups and downs of digital activism since 1990s, analyzing its various forms and effects on the political process in the post-Cold War era. While there has been no shortage of claims about its revolutionary potential, its actual impact has proved somewhat more limited than originally expected. Nonetheless, the emergence of new forms ofdigital protests -ranging from cyber-attacks to advanced forms of computational propaganda -poses new challenges, revealing that the traditional political landscape has been greatly affected by digitalization.
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This chapter argues that the nebulous nature of neoliberalism helps to explain why the discourse has successfully convinced so many that its carceral capacities are somehow representative of our collective liberation. I trace the histories of antiestablishment movements and the influences that have shaped its current trajectories, from the rise of indigenous movements like the ELZN in Mexico to the global force of the Occupy Movement. In examining the solidarities that are being expressed in the form of anti-austerity movements and supports offered to migrants in the neoliberal fallout, this chapter insists that our collective capacity to engage in direct action and prefigurative politics will ultimately allow us to awaken from the neoliberal nightmare. […]
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This article reflects on the trajectory and development of feminist scholarship since theend of the Cold War. It begins with a statement of ‘feminist intent’, moving then to consider the post-Cold War introduction of feminist scholarship into the academic study of international politics, namely the discipline of International Relations(IR). I will then offer some snapshots of key feminist approaches connecting these up with contemporary global political issues. The concluding sections will return to reconsider the opening statement of ‘feminist intent’, first through a discussion of four globally significant women, then offer my views on the contemporary relevance and import of feminist scholarship in the context of global politics both in theory and in practice.
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Modern states rarely go to war with each other. Instead, they battle non-state groups such as al-Qaedaand ISIS. Such groups, however weak militarily, will continue to pose the threat of terrorism, feeding the narrative of a “clash of civilisations” between the West and Islam. Yet the greater risk for the future will come from cyberwarfare and potentially robotic weaponry. Meanwhile, the world’s politicians will need toguard against complacency: the danger is that the United Nations and other institutions created to foster peace after the second world war are already weakening.
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This chapter engages critically engages the history and geopolitics of the Arab-Islamic world. By integrating history, policy analysis, and neuroscientific insights on leadership and political change, this chapter conveys a more holistic understanding of endogenous and exogenous factors that have shaped and continue to shape the region. It also charts a way forward for sustainable, secure and prosperous governance paradigms specific to each area within the region. Globally, it advocatesa more thorough acknowledgment of the Arab-Islamic contributions to human civilization, and a greater appreciation for what the author calls the “Ocean Modelof Human Civilization”, where cultures are interconnected, cumulative, and where cultures do not arise ex nihilo.
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The post-Cold War era is over, and the world may be at another historic inflection point, one in which the US-led global order is being challenged by two revisionist powers, China and Russia, who are also moving into closer strategic alignment. China is on course to become the world’s largest economy and a formidable military power, one that chafes under US hegemony. While it may not want to overturn the current world order, China seeks to reshape it, especially in Asia. This includesthe creation of a Sino-centric order in which all other countries put China’s interests before their own. But whether China has the capabilities to achieve this goal, whether it can force regional states to accept it, and whether it can avoid conflict with America in the process remain open to question.
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Latin America, like much of the developing world, will have to face serious challenges in the current century. Environmental changes, persistent inequality, and increasing violence force millions of people throughout the region to live in a constant state of uncertainty. Will Latin American countries be up to the task of finally improving the life of their inhabitants?
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The Liberal International Economic Order, whose creation and operation defined the post-War period in trade andfinance, appears to be entering a period of great uncertainty. This chapter, focusing in particular on international trade, seeks to identify the sources of this change in fundamental changes in the underlying economies of the core members of this order (the transition from an industrial to a post-industrial economy and the globalization of production structures) andthe domestic and international political foundations of that order (domestically the rise of antiglobalist populism, and internationally the emergence of China as a global superpower).
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Slowing productivity growth in major economies amid seemingly booming technology presents aparadox. Income inequality has been rising at the same time. Is there a nexus between technology, productivity, and distribution that explains these trends? Indeed so. Slowing productivity and rising inequality have important common drivers, with technological change and its interaction with market and policy failures playing a major cross-cutting role. The agenda to boost productivity and improve equity, often seen in terms of a trade-off, is positively interconnected in significant ways. It will require much innovation in policies to respond to the profound ways in which digital technologies are reshaping markets and work.
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Technology has always fueled economic growth, improved standards of living, and opened up avenues to new and better kinds of work. Recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, which brought us Watson and self-driving cars, mark the beginning of a seismic shift in the world as we know it. To navigate the unstable labormarket and seize the plentiful opportunities offered by new technologies, we must find a way to more quickly adapt. By continually updating our skills and seeking alternative work arrangements, we can “race with the machines.” Whether we like it or not, change is coming, and the worst move of all would be to ignore it.
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