We mentioned the following special lecture by Fiona Terry in class yesterday. This should be of special interest to all of us. Here is some information from Kenan's website (they are sponsoring the event):
The annual Kenan Distinguished Lecture in Ethics brings a distinguished speaker to campus to address moral issues of broad social and cultural significance. Fiona Terry will discuss her analysis of the ethical dimensions of the humanitarian aid system, drawing both on her book Condemned to Repeat? and her recent work in Myanmar and the Sudan.
Terry has spent most of the past 15 years involved in humanitarian relief operations in different parts of the world, including in Northern Iraq, Somalia, the Great Lakes region of Africa, Liberia, and along the Sino-Korean border. From 2000 to 2003 she worked as a research director with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) in Paris, before spending three years in Myanmar (Burma) with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). She is currently based in Sudan, working as an independent researcher conducting a study for the ICRC.
Terry holds a PhD in international relations and political science from the Australian National University and is author of Condemned to Repeat? The Paradox of Humanitarian Action (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002). Her book won the 2006 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order.
Fiona Terry will deliver the 2008 Kenan Distinguished Lecture in Ethics on September 18.
5:00 pm (seating available at 4:30 pm)
Fleishman Commons, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy
2 comments:
I came across an article particularly relevant to recent class discussions (yes, I'm sure there are many!) in the FT yesterday. I was particularly struck by Zoellick's strong comments insinuating that the US is responsible for weakening the international "rule of law" by, essentially, not playing well with others, or being too self-interested.
World Bank chief calls for rethink over fragile states
By Daniel Dombey in Washington
Published: September 12 2008 03:00
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4d5ca4de-8064-11dd-99a9-000077b07658.html
The international community needs to overhaul its approach to fragile states, Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, will say today.
In a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Geneva, he will argue there is inadequate co-ordination between security and development objectives, and that economists rarely take account of political- constraints.
He will add that policy is fragmented, with individual donors such as the US reluctant to pool resources and crucial issues such as fostering the rule of law left relatively neglected.
"The most fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development is an effective rule of law, including respect for property rights," he will say.
"Yet the international security and development communities have let the task of building justice and law enforcement systems fall between the cracks."
Setting out a doctrine he terms "securing development", Mr Zoellick argues that the consequences of current shortcomings are grave, since failing states such as Afghanistan in 2001 have posed a threat not just to their own citizens and their regions but to the world as a whole.
"Only by securing development can we put down roots deep enough to break the cycle of fragility and violence," he says, emphasising the importance of a common approach that marries development, security and political concerns.
"Soldiers and aid workers need to co-operate to help the people in these countries shift from being victims to becoming the principal agents of recovery," he says. "Without this co-operation, efforts to save fragile states are likely to fail and we will all pay the consequences."
The World Bank chief calls for lessons to be learnt from the US experience in Iraq, where violence decreased and infrastructure work increased after Washington sent in more troops.
"If we are serious about breaking the downward spiral of violence and state breakdown, larger forces need to be kept in place longer," he says.
"To build confidence, United Nations peacekeeping mandates and renewals should be authorised for much longer than six to 12 months."
Mr Zoellick is a Republican who, before taking his post at the World Bank, was due to work on John McCain's presidential campaign.
But in his speech he favourably quotes Anthony Lake, one of the main advisers to Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, on the importance of reconciling economic and political goals rather than pushing through economic reform despite political objections.
He also calls for the US to work harder at co-ordinating its aid efforts with others. Citing the reluctance of the US and Japan to contribute to general trust funds rather than individual projects of their own, he emphasises that the average developing country has to deal with 260 visits from donors a year.
Mr Zoellick also calls for more flexible funding for the World Bank and adds that his institution is already reshaping its operational and training procedures.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
"If we are serious about breaking the downward spiral of violence and state breakdown, larger forces need to be kept in place longer."
The trouble with the argument for an extended foreign military presence in any sovereign country is that it raises questions of governmental legitimacy and national self-determination. This is the problem we are confronted with in Iraq. For my part, I don't believe any occupied country can be meaningfully democratic.
But should state autonomy be compromised in the interest of guaranteeing human rights?
That is an open question.
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