New Routes is a quarterly journal offering analysis and commentary on issues of peace, justice and development as they relate to LPI concerns and programme areas. It includes information about current LPI activities, projects and publications.

The first New Routes issue for 2010 will be a mixed issue with, among other things, an article on UNRWA’s role in Gaza and an article on the xenophobic violence in South Africa.

The second issue is planned to be be a thematic issue with focus on extractive industries and their roots in and effects on conflicts and human rights.
Click here to download the issue

Related posts:

1. GLOBAL TRADE LOGISTICS IMPROVING, BUT MORE NEEDED TO BOOST RECOVERY
2. Ship to Gaza – The world is never black and white

The world talks about the Ship To Gaza issues and all media report on how the peaceful convoy was suddenly atacked and innocents killed. Just saying that there is always more sides to a story

Related posts:

1. “HOPE – the Obama Musical Story” World Premiere
2. If you tolerate this, then your children will be next
3. Just received a photo from Palestine

As indicated in our class discussion following the development of Social Disorganization Theory at the University of Chicago during the early Twentieth century, questions concerning the accuracy of a broad, integrated and consensual value and normative system emerged. Rather than conceptualizing deviance as a problem of the stress and strain related to a weakening of social control, the idea, rooted in a Marxist image of social inequality and competition, of the social system being constituted by diverse cultural groups with conflicting interests, values, and norms emerged. Within the Conflict perspective, deviance is conceptualized not as abnormal behavior brought on by faulty socialization or normative ambiguity, but as a normal, political process brought about by inter-group struggle for dominance.

Read more here http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/200/culflic.html

Related posts:

1. CONFLICT THEORY AND CULTURAL PARADIGMS
2. Culture and Conflict
3. Viewing conflict through the lens of culture

The Conflict & Culture Reader.

How many times have you heard people say that the French are rude, the English are cold, and Asians are passive? And what about the term “the ugly American?” It is unfortunate that cultural differences are usually viewed through the lens of such stereotyping. It is doubly unfortunate when such stereotyping is carried over in situations of conflict.

read more here http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3923/is_200105/ai_n8938161/

Related posts:

1. Culture and Conflict
2. Culture Conflict Theory
3. CONFLICT THEORY AND CULTURAL PARADIGMS

Let me share with you a model that was presented by the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. The first paradigm deals with rational choice where we look at the parties’ interests and positions. The second is the cultural paradigm where we address the values and worldviews of the parties and finally, there is the biogenetic paradigm which addresses the basic need for existence – the need for security, love, food (modeled after the Maslow hierarchy of needs). Our presentation focuses on the cultural paradigm and even though it is not necessarily in isolation from the others, we continue to witness more and more attention given to this topic.
First let me use the working definitions of conflict and culture. For the purpose of this presentation I will use the definition of conflict, as defined by Neil Katz, “…as a strong emotion resulting from a perceived difference in needs or values.” For example, a Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his international transcendental meditation movement are fighting a bitter battle with their neighbors in a European village over the St. Ludwig monastery, which is considered a historical national monument for the villagers. The battle arose because the guru plans to demolish the historic Franciscan monastery partly because it doesn’t face due east. According to the Maharishi’s architectural theories, building entrances should face east so they can gather their energy from the rising sun. The monastery is 29 degrees off. Bad architecture, according to one of the group’s many glossy pamphlets, promotes anxiety, bad luck and even criminal tendencies.

Read more here http://www.alhewar.com/Alma-Amr.htm

Related posts:

1. Culture Conflict Theory
2. Culture and Conflict
3. Viewing conflict through the lens of culture

Culture is an essential part of conflict and conflict resolution. Cultures are like underground rivers that run through our lives and relationships, giving us messages that shape our perceptions, attributions, judgments, and ideas of self and other. Though cultures are powerful, they are often unconscious, influencing conflict and attempts to resolve conflict in imperceptible ways.

Cultures are more than language, dress, and food customs. Cultural groups may share race, ethnicity, or nationality, but they also arise from cleavages of generation, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, ability and disability, political and religious affiliation, language, and gender — to name only a few.

Read more http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/culture_conflict/

Related posts:

1. Viewing conflict through the lens of culture
2. Culture Conflict Theory
3. CONFLICT THEORY AND CULTURAL PARADIGMS

Like other technology and communications companies, we regularly receive requests from government agencies around the world to remove content from our services, or provide information about users of our services and products. The map shows the number of requests that we received between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009, with certain limitations.

We know these numbers are imperfect and may not provide a complete picture of these government requests. For example, a single request may ask for the removal of more than one URL or for the disclosure of information for multiple users. See the FAQ for more information.

http://www.google.com/governmentrequests/

Related posts:

1. Just received a photo from Palestine
2. Can you feel the winds of change?
3. Project management on the edge of chaos

I am so proud to tell you about this photo that I received from Palestine. This is what you can see there right now.

No one is alone in this world, not anymore. This project shows how a simple idea can move the world and hopefully bring everyone closer and open the eyes.

Please support our friends at www.sendamessage.nl

Related posts:

1. Write your own message on the Palestinian wall
2. “HOPE – the Obama Musical Story” World Premiere
3. Project management on the edge of chaos

Brazil, China, Bangladesh and Uganda see upgrade in rankings, as Germany tops list

WASHINGTON, January 15, 2010—The capacity of countries to efficiently move goods and connect manufacturers and consumers with international markets is improving around the world, but much more progress is needed to spur faster economic growth and help firms benefit from trade recovery, according to a new World Bank Group survey on trade logistics.

Germany is the top performer among the 155 economies ranked in the Logistics Performance Indicators (LPI), which are included in the report Connecting to Compete 2010: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy. The study is based on the most comprehensive world survey of international freight forwarders and express carriers.

“Economic competitiveness is relentlessly driving countries to strengthen performance, and improving trade logistics is a smart way to deliver more efficiencies, lower costs and added economic growth,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick, who is visiting Berlin January 13 -15 to discuss global development and economic issues. “Streamlining the connections among markets, manufacturers, farmers and consumers offers tremendous growth and investment opportunities and should be a top focus for developing country growth strategies. As we issue this global report, I’m pleased to be in Germany, the top performer on efficient logistics.”

According to the LPI, high income economies dominate the top logistics rankings, with most of them occupying important places in global and regional supply chains. By contrast, the ten lowest performing countries are almost all from the low and lower income groups.

Although the study shows a substantial “logistics gap” between rich countries and most developing countries, it finds positive trends in some areas essential to logistics performance and trade. Some of them include the modernization of customs, use of information technology, and development of private logistics services.

“Following our first survey in 2007, many developing countries have improved their capacity to connect to international markets, which is a key ingredient for competitiveness and economic growth,” said Otaviano Canuto, World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management. “But if developing countries want to come out of the crisis in a stronger and more competitive position, they need to invest in better trade logistics.”

“Countries with better logistics performance can grow faster, become more competitive and increase their level of investment,” said Bernard Hoekman, World Bank Trade Department Director. “Our research shows that increasing logistics performance in low income countries to the middle-income average could boost trade by around 15 per cent and benefit all firms and consumers through lower prices and better quality services.”

The report, headed by World Bank Group economists Jean Francois Arvis and Monica Alina Mustra, notes that among developing economies logistics performance transcends the level of per capita income: Many countries perform better than what their income level would suggest. The ten most significant over-performers include China (27), India (47), Uganda (66), Vietnam (53), Thailand (35), the Philippines (44), and South Africa (28).

Likewise, the countries with significant improvement in performance between the two surveys (the 2007 and 2010 LPI) are often those which implemented comprehensive logistics and trade facilitation reforms earlier, such as Colombia, Brazil, and Tunisia.

In terms of how developing countries are doing per region, South Africa (28) is the top performer from Africa; China (27) from East Asia; Poland (30) from Central and Eastern Europe; Brazil (41) from Latin America; Lebanon (33) from the Middle East; and India (47) from South Asia.

According to the study, logistics performance is heavily influenced by the quality of public sector institutions and the effective coordination of border clearance processes among all border management agencies. In this area, customs performs better than many other agencies, pointing to the need for border management reforms. In low performing countries, on average, half of the containers are physically inspected and one container out of seven at least twice.

Other areas for improvement include better transport policies, increasing competition in trade-related services such as trucking, freight forwarding and railways; and better trade-related infrastructure. For many low-income countries the most binding constraints are often in logistics services and international transit systems. Given they perform better on many other indicators, improving trade infrastructure is often reported to be a priority for middle-income countries.

The World Bank Group has a number of projects designed to improve trade logistics in developing countries. The US$250 million East Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Project improved the corridor infrastructure and upgraded the main border crossing between Uganda and Kenya at Malaba, reducing border crossing times from three days to three hours. In Tunisia, a US$250 million operation is improving competitiveness by reducing trade costs and streamlining border clearance procedures. And in Afghanistan, the Bank is providing funding for a US$31.2 million project to modernize and computerize four major border crossings, increasing customs revenues from US$50 million when the project started in 2004 to over US$399 million in 2008.

In addition, the Bank is working with IBM, Microsoft and the Global Express Association as part of a public-private partnership on “Aid for Trade Facilitation.” The objective is to develop pilot projects in developing countries that apply innovative IT solutions to streamline border procedures.

To access the report under embargo, please visit: www.media.worldbank.org

The report and related material will be available to the public after the embargo expires at:
www.worldbank.org



Related posts:

1. Global Warming – Africa
2. Project management on the edge of chaos
3. The World Bank

One of the events of 2009 that I found to be among the more surprising, was the decision by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee to award Barack Obama the Peace Prize. The man had barely been in office for one year when he was awarded and the most he had achieved in the area of peace was to formulate an initiative for nuclear disarmament. Was the state of the world really so awful that there was now only good intentions left to promote?

Some voices were fiercely critical of the decision. The Irish peace campaigner and 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire was quoted in a New York Times article as saying: “They say this is for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples, and yet he continues the policy of militarism and occupation of Afghanistan, instead of dialogue and negotiation with all parties to the conflict. … The Nobel committee has not met the conditions of Alfred Nobel’s will, where he stipulates it is to be awarded to those who work for an end to militarism and war and for disarmament.”

The committee obviously wanted to influence future events, a “preemptive peace strike” if you like, but what they got was instead a decision by their laureate to increase US troops in Afghanistan only weeks after the prize ceremony. It started to smell like a major embarrassment for the people in Oslo.

It is not the first time that the The Nobel Peace Prize Committee is in the eye of the storm, but what seems at first sight to be an institution that has lost its compass, may actually be an institution in perfect sync with its time. A quick look at the list of laureates reveals that it has seldom in recent years awarded individuals or organizations where peace is at the core activity or issue (with the shining exception of the Finnish mediator Martti Ahtisaari in 2008). Undoubtedly Grameen Bank, Al Gore or Wangari Maathai deserve awards for their work, but what the committee actually states between the lines by constantly refraining from giving the prize to peace organizations is that there are none worthy the prize. Or even worse: that it is undesirable to work for peace in an organized manner. I have to go back over twenty years, to 1997 and the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines, to find a good example. Surely there must be other similar organizations whose actions have made an impact during the last twenty years? I can think of a few.

I would say that this tendency is quite symptomatic for our time, in which the peace efforts worthy of promotion seem to be such that are handled by armies or police forces, trough “humanitarian intervention”, with ”peace-keeping” and “rapid deployment” as keywords. The Orwellian newspeak classic ”war is peace” has perhaps never seemed more relevant than today where peace is “waged” trough warfare, where peace no longer seems to be synonymous with non-violence, disarmament and peace building.

It was when I visited the Nobel Peace Prize Gallery at Le Mémorial in the French city Caen in August that I was first struck by this ambiguous approach to the issue of peace. Right from the start the Peace Prize Committee awarded military people such as Theodore Roosevelt, who received the prize in 1906, side by side with pacifists and humanitarians, such as Carl von Ossietsky, the German journalist who became a pacifist after the first world war and who subsequently promoted peace relentlessly trough activism and his writing (When he received the prize in 1935 he was incarcerated by the Nazis and could not come to Oslo. He died three years later from the tuberculosis he retrieved in the concentration camps). In reality the Nobel Peace Prize never was a stand for pacifism, even though pacifists were sometimes awarded. But that was quite a long time ago.

Some, as Scott Horton in Harper’s Magazine, sides with the people in Oslo in when it comes to Obama being given the prize. I don’t. Instead I ask myself why it seems so difficult to promote the Ossietsky’s of today.

Photo:  Carl von Ossietsky in a concentration camp. Deutsche Bundesarkiv, downloaded from Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Related posts:

1. Congratulations to Barack Obama for the Nobel Peace Prize
2. Award Winner ALYN WARE (New Zealand-Aotearoa)
3. “HOPE – the Obama Musical Story” World Premiere