Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Passing of Lee Kuan Yew: Useful links

As you all know, GSCIS members were pleased to have been hosted by SMU, Singapore for our Second GSCIS Conference in January this year. Not least among the pleasures of having held our conference in Singapore was the opportunity we had to observe the great progress in development made by this small country. Efficiency and rationality are the hallmarks of Singapore's model which is much studied and observed, both by other Asian states as well as by global south countries around the world. Much of the work in building Singapore has been attributed to Singapore's :founding father" Lee Kuan Yew who passed away on Mach 23. As we did with Nelson Mandela, we recommend some links for your perusal:


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/world/asia/lee-kuan-yew-of-singapore-prasied-by-world-leaders.html?_r=0
 



Note: Alan Chong is one of the contributors to our forthcoming book, Diplomatic Strategies of Leading Nations in the Global South (Palgrave Macmillan).



Best,

jbw

Monday, April 6, 2015

Summary of Jim Mittelman's remarks at 2015 Luncheon New Orleans; Comments by our Distinguished Scholar Honoree Bahgat Korany on Mearsheimer

Next link: On the Passing of Lee Kuan Yew, Useful Links
 http://gscis.blogspot.com/2015/04/passing-of-lee-kuan-yew-useful-links.html
____________________________________________________________________

  Prof. Bahgat Korany On Mearsheimer:

Debating   Mearsheimer:    The   Tragedy   of   IR   Theory



The ISA roundtable on Wednesday Feb.18 was one of the first academic activities on the first day of ISA’s 56th Annual convention . The room was packed.. Not only were the roundtable participants some of the heavyweights of IRT but also the topic was crucial and timely: "Advancing Global IR"
One of those heavyweight speakers was John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago , whose Tragedy of the Great Powers is well-quoted in the field and rightly so .Indeed, Mearsheimer's concept of offensive realism adds to Waltz's structural realism and enriches the whole realism perspective.
The essence of Mearsheimer's talk was to affirm that only the Anglo-Saxons are building a worthwhile theory of IR , to the extent that even when he is in China these are the contributions that are mentioned.
Too categorical and not at all nuanced, the performance of such a well-established scholar of a supposedly-universal field was in the end disappointing  I even felt worried about the state of IR if it is so amputated. Mearsheimer is an intellectual leader in a leading institution, and some of his students are bound to take this amputated view of IRT as the truth and could go on spreading it in major schools in the U.S. and beyond.
Rather surprised and even shocked by this narrow approach, I dared to ask him if he feels that IRT is lagging behind such fields of equally " Anglo-Saxon" political analysis as Democratic Transition Studies or Development scholarship.Contrary to Mearsheimer's epistemology, these are fields that shunned arm-chair theorizing, went for field work in non-Anglo-Saxon areas and opened up. Instead of answering the question, Mearsheimer was condescending and went on repeating that present Anglo-Saxon IR contributions  are the ones that count .I felt he was really an unsuitable choice for the roundtable's theme on advancing global IR, and left in disappointment .I felt cheated as the roundtable's title turned out to be certainly a misnomer.
Apparently after my departure other members of the audience took him to task, and tried to pin him down , checking his knowledge about what others are doing in IRT outside his limited U.S. area. He became less categorical , but I wonder if he became so convinced as to go and read other contributions that enrich IRT , even by Anglo-Saxons , say in Historical Sociology or Comparative Politics . With Mearsheimer , we are not facing the tragedy of the great powers but the tragedy of an influential  brand of IRT---parochial and anachronistic.The ISA roundtable on Wednesday Feb.18 was one of the 1st academic activities on the 1st day of ISA 56th Annual Convention . The room was packed . Not only were the roundtable participants  some of the heavyweights of IRT but also the topic was crucial and timely : "Advancing Global IR"
One of those heavyweight speakers was John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago , whose Tragedy of the Great Powers is well-quoted in the field and rightly so .Indeed ,Mearsheimer's concept of offensive realism adds to Waltz's structural realism and enriches the whole realism perspective.
The essence of Mearsheimer's talk was to affirm that only the Anglo-Saxons are building a worthwhile theory of IR , to the extent that even when he is in China these are the contributions that are mentioned.
Too categorical and not at all nuanced, the performance of such a well-established scholar of a supposedly-universal field was in the end disappointing  I even felt worried abut the state of IR if it is so amputated. Mearsheimer is  an intellectual leader in a leading institution , and some of his students are bound to take this amputated view of IRT as the truth and could go on spreading it in major schools in the U.S. and beyond.
Rather surprised and even shocked by this narrow approach, I dared to ask him if he feels that IRT is lagging behind such fields of equally " Anglo-Saxon" political analysis as Democratic Transition Studies or Development scholarship .Contrary to Mearsheimer's epistemology , these are fields that shunned arm-chair theorizing , went for field work in non-Anglo-Saxon areas and opened up . Instead of answering the question , Mearsheimer was condescending and went on repeating that present Anglo-Saxon IR contributions  are the ones to count .I felt he was really an unsuitable choice for the roundtable's theme on advancing global IR , and left in disappointment .I felt cheated as the roundtable's title turned out to be  certainly a misnomer.
Apparently after my departure other members of the audience took him to task , and tried to pin him down , checking his knowledge about what others are doing in IRT outside his limited U.S. area.He became less categorical , but I wonder if he became so convinced as to go and read other contributions that enrich IRT , even by Anglo-Saxons , say in Historical Sociology or Comparative Politics . With Mearsheimer , we are not facing the tragedy of the great powers but the tragedy of an influential  brand of IRT---parochial and anachronistic.
(Comments welcome on this blog entry: JBW)
________________________________________________________________
  


GLOBAL SOUTH CAUCUS: PAST AND FUTURE

Summary of Remarks Delivered at March 2015 Global South Caucus Luncheon
by Jim Mittelman

            Hearty congratulations to Baghat Korany on his well-deserved award as the Global South Caucus 2015 distinguished scholar. I want, too, to extend my gratitude to the Caucus for honoring me for my academic contributions and support for its work.  This affirmation of scholarship on the global South triggers introspection and reflection.

            Soon after returning from Makerere University in Uganda, I joined the International Studies Association (ISA). I attended my first annual ISA convention 40 years ago. The association struck me as a very white, old-boys network mainly oriented to the concerns of scholars in what we now call the global North.
            In the decades that followed, the ISA has made great strides. It is less intimidating to newcomers.  There is encouragement for young scholars and academics of all ages from overseas. The ISA is becoming more pluralistic, increasingly inviting for researchers who study Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean as well as North-South. This move toward tolerant diversity has required teamwork and leadership. In the case of the Global South Caucus, Jacquie Braveboy-Wagner campaigned with athletic-like stamina, grit, and determination to provide a home for colleagues whose interests center on the southern hemisphere and to expand intellectual space. Now, thanks to her and others Nanette Stevenson, Lisa Richey, and Tim Shaw, to name a fewthe Caucus is helping to build a more inclusive ISA.
To add diversity, the aims of the Global South Caucus chime with those of kindred groups in the ISA: among them, the Women’s Caucus and some of the association’s committees and sections. 
            But more is to be done. What then is the Global South Caucus’s agenda? Let me hazard suggestions.
            In the next three to five years, establish forums on how transformations in global order flow from both top down and bottom up. For the global South, the latter are particularly important. Critically-minded scholars are attuned to this vector. Many have their ear to the ground, listening to stakeholders closest to the fault lines in the world order, learning from their ways of thinking. Scholarship on the global South can pick up on indigenous knowledge. It has the potential, sometimes though not always realized, to pose distinctive research questions and produce methods that resonate locally and beyond. These bear the promise of alternatives to the queries and problems inscribed in paradigms that derive and travel from the West. Eventually, there may be spinoffsconcrete results for policymaking, such as improvements in the caliber of governance, following from the ways in which our universities educate the next generations, including future rulers.
            More specifically, I propose two priorities for consideration by the Global South Caucus membership: (1) redouble challenges to Eurocentrism in international studies; and (2) as a knowledge producer, foster cross-paradigm dialogue. Concrete proposals would flesh out these issues and the products would appear as special issues of journals and panels at ISA conventions. Other subject areas would be added to my recommended themes.
            In sum, the ISA has opened intellectually to more diverse constituencies, and the Global South Caucus can play a major role in encouraging it to move further in the direction of pluralism. The Caucus is well positioned to be in the forefront of this undertaking. Ultimately, it will be a matter of choice and resolve.   
 ______________________________________________________________
 Next link: On the Passing of Lee Kuan Yew, Useful Links
 http://gscis.blogspot.com/2015/04/passing-of-lee-kuan-yew-useful-links.html

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Amended Charter of the GSCIS (March 2015)

Amendments were advertised April 2014 (see blog entry ) and affirmed as of March 31, 2015 in accordance with the GSCIS amendments procedure.
Here is the amended charter of the GSCIS.



Charter of the Global South Caucus of the International Studies Association, Amended 2012; amended 2015


PREAMBLE:
The Caucus encourages scholarship and research on Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Developing Eurasia.

ARTICLE I: NAME AND AFFILIATION

The name of this organization shall be: Global South Caucus for International Studies (GSCIS).
The Global South Caucus for International Studies shall be a “component unit” of the International Studies Association. GSCIS shall serve as an advocate and liaison to the ISA for the purposes listed below.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSES
1)      provide a channel for networking and the sharing of research, information and ideas among scholars and practitioners of/in the various regions of the south;
2)      promote the ISA as a forum for the dissemination of cross-regional global south research;
3)      encourage south scholars: to participate in relevant ways in the association’s conferences and other activities, and to publish in ISA journals;
4)      promote the recruitment of members from areas and institutions across the global south;
5)      encourage graduate students to work on south issues and regions, and to engage in professional development activities intended to improve the employment opportunities and advancement in the profession of south-oriented scholars;
6)      work with existing ISA sections and committees to achieve these goals.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
Any member of the ISA who agrees with the purposes of the Global South Caucus may become a member upon payment of dues. Members are entitled to attend annual meetings, vote, nominate candidates for and hold office within the Caucus, receive newsletters and other publications produced by the caucus, and participate in all activities sponsored by the caucus.
 ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS
1. The officers of the Global South Caucus for International Studies shall be as follows: Chair, a Vice Chair who will also serve as the Program Chair, a Secretary/Communications Manager, a Treasurer and a Newsletter Editor.
2. The term of office for the Chair and Vice Chair shall be two (2) years, unless the Executive Committee votes, under extraordinary circumstances, to extend these terms for no more than two additional years.
3. The term of office of the Secretary and the Treasurer shall be two (2) years. These two officers may stand for re-election to one other term, with the concurrence of the Executive Committee.
4. The term of office of the Newsletter Editor shall be two (2) years. This officer may stand for re-election to one other term, with the concurrence of the Executive Committee.
Executive Committee
5a. The Executive Committee shall consist of all current officers (as in Article IV.1), the immediate past chair of GSCIS serving ex-officio, and five (5) at-large members representing the following areas:
i) Latin America and the Caribbean; ii) South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific; iii) Africa; iv) Middle East/North Africa; v) developing Eurasia and/or North-South. The designation ‘North-South” refers to scholars working on issues linking North America and Europe with the global south.
5b. In so far as is possible, the Caucus shall endeavor to rotate the at-large membership among the various sub-regions of the broader regions of the global south.
6. At-large members shall serve a non-renewable term of two (2) years unless the Executive Committee votes, under extraordinary circumstances, to extend these terms for no more than two additional years.  However, three at-large members will initially serve a one-year term (renewable for another year by election), in order to allow for rotating terms and the maintenance of institutional memory.
 7.  The duties of the officers and Committee shall be:
a) Chair: To serve as spokesperson for the Global South Caucus; to make arrangements for and preside at the annual meeting; to serve as liaison between the Caucus and the ISA; to propose initiatives that will further the goals of the Caucus; to select members of and chair the nominating committee; to propose other special committees and tasks. (Special committee members will serve for one year, renewable in exceptional circumstances).
b) Vice-Chair: To assist the Chair in carrying out the duties above. In addition, the Vice Chair is responsible for organizing, with input from the Chair, caucus representation on the annual ISA Convention Program. The Vice Chair can serve as Chair in the absence of the Chair.
c) Secretary/Communications Manager: To maintain accurate records of meetings and relevant correspondence; to promote, in cooperation with the Chair, Vice Chair, and Newsletter Editor, the activities of the caucus via all appropriate media channels.
d) Treasurer: to handle the financial affairs of the organization under the direction of the Chair.
e) Newsletter Editor: to produce a newsletter, normally three times a year.
d)  Executive Committee:  To propose, debate and vote on initiatives in support of the Caucus’s mission; to assist with arrangements for the annual meeting; to set membership dues; to compose and fill vacancies on any committees constituted by the Caucus; to perform other tasks that the membership, assembled at the annual meeting, recommends or that the Committee itself initiates.
8. All terms of office normally end at the annual ISA Convention at which the Caucus will also hold its annual business meeting. A meeting of the Executive Committee shall precede the annual meeting.

9. Voting rights: The Chair, Vice Chair, and members of the Executive Committee shall have the right to vote.  The Secretary, Treasurer, Newsletter Editor and Immediate Past Chair sit on the Committee ex officio with vote. Heads of special committees may attend meetings of the Executive Committee but without the right to vote.

10.  Quorum and decisions: Five (5) members of the Committee, including the Chair (if absent, the Vice Chair presiding) shall constitute a quorum at Committee meetings. Committee meetings may be held electronically. Committee decisions shall be adopted by a simple majority.
11. Vacancies occurring between elections in all elected offices, except the office of the Chair, shall be filled by action of the Executive Committee, and only for the completion of the term of the retiring officer. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Chair, the Vice Chair shall become chair.
 ARTICLE V: ANNUAL MEETING
The annual (business) meeting shall coincide with the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, This meeting shall conduct the ordinary business of the GSCIS.
ARTICLE VI: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
The Executive Committee serves as the nominating committee for committees other than itself. For membership of the Executive Committee, a nominating committee composed of three to five members of the Global South Caucus chosen by the Chair shall nominate candidates. Self-nominations are encouraged. The Chair and Vice Chair may also submit their own nominations to the committee.
The Vice Chair is eligible to serve as Chair as is any member who is deemed to have played a sufficiently active role in the caucus.
Candidates nominated should meet the required criteria of geographic and disciplinary diversity. The committee should take into account the contributions of nominees to the Caucus and the ISA.
Bios of prospective candidates shall be e-mailed to members before the annual election (which normally coincides with the annual business meeting) or before any by-election. Ballots shall be returned by e-mail within a specified period of time. New officers shall normally be presented to the membership at the annual meeting. 
In extraordinary circumstances, elections may take place no more than thirty (30) days after the annual meeting. In such a case, the terms of members of the EXCOM will expire with new elections rather than at the annual meeting.

ARTICLE VII: AMENDMENTS
Proposals to amend this charter may be submitted in writing by any member to the Executive Committee which shall, in turn, vote on the proposal. If a simple majority of the Executive Committee approves the amendments, they shall then be submitted to the membership by email (or any other appropriate method). Proposals will be adopted if approved by 2/3rds of the members present at the next annual business meeting.

Amendments duly circulated and approved as of  March 31, 2015.