This book traces the development of Oman's inclusive agreements and highlights their importance for international negotiations, dealing with issues most relevant to humanity's own survival today, nuclear weapons or climate change. In Oman, a historical seafaring nation on the south-eastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, a culture of agreement that accommodates the interests of everyone has developed around the division of scarce water resources. Life in the arid inland of the Omani Hajar mountains would not have been possible without water. Irrigation channel (falaj) construction is extremely old and skilful therein. Local practices evolved around the division of water and land on the basis of fairness. The community would be best served by inclusion and the avoidance of conflict. A specific Islamic school called Ibadi arrived at Oman early on in the eighth century. Ibadi scholars conserved local practices. Consultation and mediation by sheikhs and the religious leader, Imam, became the law of the land. The Omanis were known as the People of Consultation, Ahl Al Shura. In time, the practice of inclusive agreements would extend far beyond the village level, affecting Omans foreign policy under Sultan Qaboos. Omans water diplomacy succeeded in uniting the contestants of the Middle East Peace Process in the 1990s to work together on common problems of water desalination.

Ahsan Ullah provides an insightful analysis of migration and displacement in the Middle East and North Africa. He examines the intricate relationship of these phenomena with human rights, safety concerns and issues of identity crisis and identity formation.

As the velocity and intensity of migrations increase around the world, legal citizenship and ethnicity are becoming two of the most contested issues facing the modern state. Many of today's debates about immigration are focused on arguments around the positive and negative effects of increased ethnic diversity and who should be entitled to legal membership. What does it mean politically then to arrive in a country privileged as a legal citizen or co-ethnic?This book is the first to comparatively analyze the political realities of Dutch Antillean citizens in the Netherlands, and Latin American Nikkeijin (Japanese descendants) in Japan, who inherit host state access as post-colonial citizens and ethnic immigrants. Sharpe's unique cross-regional investigation considers the ways in which globalization, immigration, citizenship, and ethnicity interact as a means to understanding some of the strains and contradictions of membership in contemporary liberal democratic states.Postcolonial Citizens and Ethnic Migration will appeal to a wide range of scholars in political science, sociology, anthropology, international relations, ethnic studies and migration.

Public rhetoric in the United States has always laid heavy stress on the obligations of citizenship. Bill Clinton praised the idea of service, and so does George W. Bush. Since September 11, the debate over service and the obligations of citizenship has become even more urgent. United We Serve gathers many diverse voices on civic life and civic obligation to explore the idea of national service as it relates to citizenship. Activists and practitioners discuss the rise of the service movement, its practical successes, and its challenges. Policymakers and political leaders explore the links between service and problem solving. Political scientists and philosophers connect the service debate to larger concerns about democratic participation. The book also includes a lively debate over whether the U.S. should reconsider compulsory national service. The discussion about service is a debate over how Americans think of themselves and their nation -and about what the "new patriotism" means. Contributors include: Daniel Blumenthal, Harry Boyte, John M. Bridgeland, Louis Caldera, Bruce Chapman, former President Bill Clinton, Charles Cobb Jr., Jane Eisner, Jean Bethke Elshtain, William Galston, Stephen Goldsmith, Robert D. Haas, Stephen Hess, Peter D. Hart and Mario A. Brossard, Alan Khazei, John Lehman, Leslie Lenkowsky, Paul C. Light, Michael Lind, Tod Lindberg, Will Marshall and Marc Magee, Senator John McCain, Charles Moskos, Robert Putnam, Representative Charles Rangel, Alice M. Rivlin, Michael Schudson, Mark Shields, Carmen Sirianni, Theda Skocpol, Andrew L. Stern, Jeff Swartz, Steven Waldman, Caspar Weinberger, David Winston, Harris Wofford, and Robert Wuthnow.

Calhoun innovatively examines how the ideology of liberal democracy influences one of the most contentious and potentially traumatic and divisive issues facing countries transitioning from authoritarian regimes to democracy: how to confront the past violations of human rights. Competing views of liberal democracy frame debates about how to confront the past and in particular how to deal with the truth of systematic human rights violations. Democratic values may not determine the precise method of dealing with the past--whether through truth commissions, lustration, or tribunals--but the very process of debate inherent in democratic theory and practice has important implications for the perceived fairness of the result. These implications are examined through a comparison of transitional justice in East Germany, Poland, and Russia. The result is a provocative integration of democratic theory and comparative politics.

A unique collection of essays that deal with the intriguing and complex problems connected to the question of Jewish identity in the contemporary world. Concerning the problem of identity formation, this book addresses very important issues: What is the content or meaning of Jewish identity? What has replaced religion in defining the content of Jewishness? How do people in different age groups construct their Jewish identity? In most cases, the authors have combined a variety of research methods: they drew samples or relied on the sample surveys of others; used personal interviews with respondents who are especially knowledgeable about their own Jewish communities, or based their research on participant observation of particular communities or communal institutions.

This monograph opens with an examination of the aid industry and the claims of leading practitioners that the industry is experiencing a crisis of confidence due to an absence of clear moral guidelines. The book then undertakes a critical review of the leading philosophical accounts of the duty to aid, including the narrow, instructive accounts in the writings of John Rawls and Peter Singer, and broad, disruptive accounts in the writings of Onora O'Neill and Amartya Sen. Through an elaboration of the elements of interconnection, responsible action, inclusive engagement, and accumulative duties, the comparative approach developed in the book has the potential to overcome the philosophical tensions between the accounts and provide guidance to aid practitioners, donors and recipients in the complex contemporary circumstances of assistance. Informed by real world examples, this book grapples with complex and multi-dimensional questions concerning practices and the ethics of aid. The author judiciously guides us through the debate between deontological and consequentialist moral theories to arrive at a sophisticated consequentialist account that does justice to the complexity of the problems and facilitates our deliberation in discharging our duty to aid, without yielding, as it should not, a determinate answer for each specific situation. Researchers, students, and practitioners of international aid will all find this book rewarding. Win-chiat Lee, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, Wake Forest University Susan Murphy's book offers us a sophisticated exploration of the philosophical basis for aid. It is grounded in a full understanding of the complexities and pitfalls of the aid industry, but its particular strength lies, mainly through an extensive discussion of Singer, Rawls, O'Neill and Sen, in a comparison of consequentialist and duty-based approaches, eventually endorsing a broad non-idealised, situated consequentialist account in what she calls an interconnected ethical approach to the practice of assistance. For anyone wanting to think carefully about why we should give aid, this book has much to offer. Dr Nigel Dower Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of Aberdeen Author of World Ethics - the New Agenda (2007)

Freedom of speech is a tradition distinctive to American political culture, and this book focuses on the major debates and discourses that shaped this tradition. Today the American Bill of Rights, with its famous First Amendment, is generally taken for granted, but when James Madison proposed a Bill of Rights in 1789, the reaction among his colleagues in the first Congress was hostile. The book examines how Madison was able to prevail in spite of such opposition. It focuses on discourses connected to the Sedition Act of 1798, which represented a serious threat to freedom of speech and the first Amendment. The author sheds fresh light on key Congressional debates on the Bill of Rights and the Sedition Act by developing and applying an approach to fallacy theory that is suitable to the study of political discourse. He further focuses on criticism of the Madison administration in Federalist newspapers during the War of 1812, arguing that Madison's toleration of such criticism was important in shaping a tradition of free expression in the United States. Efforts to suppress free expression during the Wilson administration represented a serious challenge to this tradition, and the author goes on to employ fallacy theory in examining Congressional discourses for and against Wilson's policy of repression.

Now more than ever, indigenous peoples' interests in their cultural heritage are in the spotlight. Yet, there is very little literature that comprehensively discusses how existing laws can and cannot be used to address indigenous peoples' interests. This book assesses how intangible aspects of indigenous cultural heritage (and the tangible objects that hold them) can be protected, within the realm of a broad range of existing legal orders, including intellectual property and related rights, consumer protection law, common law and equitable doctrines, and human rights. It does so by focusing on the New Zealand Maori. The book also looks to the future, analysing the long-awaited Wai 262 report, released in New Zealand by the Waitangi Tribunal in response to allegations that the government had failed in its duty to ensure that the Maori retain chieftainship over their tangible and intangible treasures, as required by the Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the Maori and the British Crown in 1840.

This book presents a detailed exploration of continuity and change in the British debates and policies relating to ethnic diversity since 9/11, focusing in particular on key policy areas which include the prevention of terrorism and citizenship, forced marriage, and the resentment of the 'white working class'. It offers an original perspective, which assesses the evolution of multiculturalism as a policy guideline in the United Kingdom and suggests that, while the rhetoric of multiculturalism has been toned down by successive governments since 2001, British debates and policies have continued to reflect a specific sensitivity to ethnic diversity.

This text explores the relationship between social movements, sexual citizenship and change in Southern Europe. Providing a comparative analysis about LGBT issues in Italy, Spain and Portugal, it discusses how activism can generate legal, political and cultural impact in post-dictatorial, Catholic and EU-focused countries.

Anti-apartheid was one of the most significant international causes of the late twentieth century. The book provides the first detailed history of the emergence of anti-apartheid activism in Britain and the USA, tracing the network of individuals and groups who shaped the moral and political character of the movement.

This edited book focuses on the most controversial aspects of assistance benefits as mandated by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 - and the challenges that have merged since the approval, in 1993, of the Federal Act 8.742, also known as Organic Law of Social Assistance. This collection of essays allows the reader to understand some important changes in social assistance policies in Brazil in recent years, having the General Theory of Social Security and the Human Rights as references. The tensions between economic principles and affirmative policies for the less advantaged parts of the society are also covered, showing how different interpretations of key concepts - like need, poverty or family - may have an important role on the exercise of fundamental rights.

As "small worlds", where resources are often stretched, islands have had an intense experience of migration. For many small islands in a global era, migration represents a dialogue between different places, some urban, some rural. This book examines diverse facets of migration out of and into a variety of islands, from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific. It traces the way in which migration is of crucial importance, for demography, economics, culture, indeed the whole of island life and identity; it contrasts with the reality of emigration and the rhetoric of return. Topics explored include include migration and environmental change, language shifts, remittances, retirement migration, post-colonial identities and islanders on the Internet. The evidence shows that migration emerges our of islanders' needs, but inevitably transforms insular societies, changing values and expectations, yet rarely if ever contributing to a situation where it is no longer necessary.

The first comprehensive statistical analysis of human rights attainments and improvements over time, this book seeks to answer the question, Why do some countries better observe human rights than others, and what can be done to advance the cause of human rights around the world? Haas's data support his argument that economic sanctions against countries that violate human rights are likely to be counterproductive. When information flows more freely and economies are more pluralistic, competing political parties emerge, and basic human rights are increasingly respected. When liberal democracies have sufficient prosperity to adopt welfare state policies, women's rights are most likely to advance.

During the 1950s and 1960s increasing numbers of American citizens were stationed in foreign countries, and a whole generation of American children grew up abroad. As the interdependence of nations increases, new generations of Absentee Americans will be raised outside the United States. Based on interviews and questionnaire responses, this unique volume describes the impact of overseas living on Americans who spent at least some of their formative years in countries other than the United States.

It touches on a wide range of subjects such as schooling, living arrangements, social life abroad, and the experience of reentry into the United States, and it also provides a comprehensive view of the distinctive opinions shared by these global nomads. By exploring the lives and experiences of repatriates, the author emphasizes the need for increased intercultural contact and for educational programs that prepare young Americans to better understand the United States as part of the world community. This work will be of interest to sociologists and psychologists, as well as to Absentee Americans themselves, and to managers of public and private institutions with an international or intercultural dimension.

This book documents and analyzes the experiences of the United Nation's first Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. It highlights the conceptual advances in the legal understanding of the right to food in international human rights law, and analyzes key practical challenges through experiences in 11 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Although social legislation in the United States is always in the tradition of social reform rather than fundamental social change, the 1960s are considered a progressive period because of the union of government and societal obligations; class consciousness was aroused, and the redistribution of power and resources were salient issues. In Civil Rights and the Social Programs of the 1960s, Marcia Bok describes the background, analyzes the process of decision making, and traces the passage of selected landmark decisions of the 1960s. She tracks the changes that have occurred in this legislation in the last two decades, and discusses the current and possible future status of social policies and programs.

The legislation examined is chosen for its diversity and reflection of Great Society programs, and includes: The Civil Rights Act, 1964; The Community Mental Health Centers Act, 1963; The Economic Opportunity Act, 1964; Medicare and Medicaid, 1965; and Head Start, 1965. Bok considers the concepts of equality and social justice as the bases for the social legislation discussed, and includes analysis of historical, political, and legal aspects of the civil rights movement and concurrent events.

Exploring the most formidable human rights challenges facing the Middle East--the rights of women, minorities, migrant workers, those of various sexual orientations, and the rights of all people to engage in civil disobedience--this volume addresses the extent to which dynamics surrounding human rights conditions in the region conform to or diverge from such dynamics in other parts of the world. Offering wide-ranging and rich analyses, the contributors to this volume argue that for human rights to be effectively enforced, they must be locally justified and achieved. The 2011 Arab revolts demonstrate that the people of the region can shape the condition of human rights in their societies.

Written by a member of the Black Haitian community, this book brings to life the mechanisms that shape Haitian immigrant identity and underscores the complexity of such an identity. Zephir explains why Haitians define themselves as a distinct ethnic group and examines the various parameters of Haitian ethnicity. Through hundreds of interviews, the author gathered the voices of Haitians as they speak, as they feel, and most importantly, how they experience America and its system of racial classification. This work is a description of the diversity of the Black population in America and an effort to dispel the myth of a monolithic minority or sidestream culture.

During the 1970s human rights took the front stage in international relations; fuelling political debates, social activism and a reconceptualising of both East-West and North-South relations. Nowhere was the debate on human rights more intense than in Western Europe, where human rights discourses intertwined the Cold War and the European Convention on Human Rights, the legacies of European empires, and the construction of national welfare systems. Over time, the European Community (EC) began incorporating human rights into its international activity, with the ambitious political will to prove that the Community was a global “civilian power.” This book brings together the growing scholarship on human rights during the 1970s, the history of European integration and the study of Western European supranational cooperation. Examining the role of human rights in EC activities in Latin America, Africa, the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, The Human Rights Breakthrough of the 1970s seeks to verify whether a specifically European approach to human rights existed, and asks whether there was a distinctive ‘European voice’ in the human rights surge of the 1970s.

This book examines matters of religious freedom in Europe, considers the work of the European Court of Human Rights in this area, explores issues of multiculturalism and secularism in France, of women in Islam, and of Muslims in the West. The work presents legal analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, focusing on concepts such as laicite, submission, equality and the role of the state in public education, amongst others. Through this book, the reader can visit inside a French public school located in a low-income neighborhood just south of Paris and learn about the complex dynamics that led up to the passing of the 2004 law banning Muslim headscarves. The chapters bring to light the actors and cultures within the school that set the stage for the passing of the law and the political philosophy that supports it. School culture and philosophy are compared and contrasted to the thoughts and opinions of the teachers, administrators and students to gage how religious freedom and identity are understood. The book goes on to explore the issue of religious freedom at the European Court of Human Rights. The author argues that the right to religious freedom has been too narrowly understood and is being fenced in by static visions of Islam. This jeopardizes the idea of religious freedom more broadly. By becoming entangled with regional and domestic politics, the Court is neglecting important nuances and is jeopardizing secularism, pluralism and democracy. This is a highly readable and accessible book that will appeal to students and scholars of law, anthropology, religious studies and philosophy of religion. 2004

Rejecting the extreme arguments of today's debates, the author examines what the framers of the Constitution actually said about religious freedom The debate over the framers' concept of freedom of religion has become heated and divisive. This scrupulously researched book sets aside the half-truths, omissions, and partisan arguments, and instead focuses on the actual writings and actions of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and others. Legal scholar Michael I. Meyerson investigates how the framers of the Constitution envisioned religious freedom and how they intended it to operate in the new republic. Endowed by Our Creator shows that the framers understood that the American government should not acknowledge religion in a way that favors any particular creed or denomination. Nevertheless, the framers believed that religion could instill virtue and help to unify a diverse nation. They created a spiritual public vocabulary, one that could communicate to all-including agnostics and atheists-that they were valued members of the political community. Through their writings and their decisions, the framers affirmed that respect for religious differences is a fundamental American value. Now it is for us, Meyerson concludes, to determine whether religion will be used to alienate and divide or to inspire and unify our religiously diverse nation.

The UK's leading Green Political Theorist presents the first book-length treatment of the relationship between citizenship and the environment. He offers an innovative, international, intergenerational, and justice-based conception of citizenship which will change the way we think about the environment and our responsibilities to it.