- Table View
- List View
Responsibility in Context
by Gorana OgnjenovicThis path breaking volume raises a number of necessary questions related to various aspects of responsibility for others through its multidisciplinary approach. Unlike its predecessors it takes a starting point in various empirical contexts and consequently draws conclusions from there on. The importance of the topic is reflected by absolute domination of neo-liberalism: facing a dismantling of the welfare state, privatization and the spread of "privatist" mentality in the era of individualization. The economic rationality sets the values that we are expected to live up to, reincarnating yet again the classical Frankfurt School diagnosis: politics are determined by economy. The importance of the method is reflected by taking real life situations as a starting point. In doing so, the method also challenges the current trend science generally where concepts are kidnapped from their native contexts, and recycled: re-used in contexts unnatural to them, where the only reality that matters is the one determined by the scientists' ability to define it. This volume rejects the neo-liberal paradigm of 'responsibility' as the only valid interpretation of reality. Therefore academics, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as general readers will find this volume thought provoking. "...the commitment to situating questions of responsibility in social contexts - this is something that is neglected in philosophy and only recently coming to the fore in sociology." Keith Tester, co-author of Bauman Before Postmodernity: Invitation, Conversations and Annotated Bibliography 1953-1989, author of The Social Thought of Zygmunt Bauman (2004), Conversations with Zygmunt Bauman (2001). "This project is an original and valuable contribution to discussion of these important issues,... a good text for graduate and senior undergraduate texts in political theory, political philosophy, moral philosophy, and social and political thought." Lorraine Code, author of Ecological Thinking, The Politics of Epistemic Location (2006); Encyclopaedia Of Feminist Theories (2000); Feminist Interpretations Of Hans-Georg Gadamer (2003).
Responsibility in Environmental Governance: Unwrapping the Global Food Waste Dilemma (Environmental Politics and Theory)
by Tobias GumbertThis book provides a comprehensive study of the notion of responsibility in environmental governance. It starts with the observation that, although the rhetoric of responsibility is indeed all-pervasive in environmental and sustainability-related fields, decisive political action is still lacking. Governance architectures increasingly strive to hold different stakeholders responsible by installing accountability and transparency mechanisms to manage environmental problems, yet the structural background conditions affecting these issues continue to generate unevenly distributed, socially unjust, and ecologically devastating consequences. Responsibility in Environmental Governance develops the concept of responsibility as an analytical approach to map and understand these dynamics and to situate diverse meanings of responsibility within larger socio-political contexts. It applies this approach to the study of food waste governance, uncovering a narrow governance focus on accountability, optimization, and consumer behavior change strategies, opening up spaces for organizing more democratic solutions to a truly global problem.
Responsibility of the EU and the Member States under EU International Investment Protection Agreements: Between Traditional Rules, Proceduralisation and Federalisation (European Yearbook of International Economic Law #6)
by Philipp Theodor StegmannThis book provides a comprehensive portrait of how international responsibility of the EU and the Member States is structured under the EU’s international investment protection agreements. It analyses both the old regime as represented by the Energy Charter Treaty and the new regime as represented by the new EU investment treaties, such as CETA, TTIP, the EU-Singapore Agreement and the EU-Vietnam Agreement. The international responsibility of the EU, being a “special” international organisation, is in and of itself an important and challenging topic in public international law. However, in the context of international investment law, and especially with regard to the emerging new EU investment treaties, the topic is largely unexplored and represents new terrain. The book promotes the development of law in this area and provide a springboard for further research. The book puts forth the thesis that the determination of the EU or a Member State as respondent in a dispute under the new EU investment treaties has a substantive effect on the respondent’s international responsibility. The international law effects of the respondent determination will surely be one of the central topics in future debates on the new EU investment treaties. The book further compares the EU regulation that allocates financial burdens between the EU and the Member States arising out of international investment disputes with the only other genuinely existing allocation system in federal states to date, namely that of Germany. The book finally reveals many shortcomings of the new EU responsibility regime in international investment law and provides some suggestions on how they can best be remedied.
The Responsibility of the Philosopher
by Gianni VattimoOver the course of his career, Gianni Vattimo has assumed a number of public and private identities and has pursued multiple intellectual paths. He seems to embody several contradictions, at once defending and questioning religion and critiquing and serving the state. Yet the diversity of his life and thought form the very essence of, as he sees it, the vocation and responsibility of the philosopher. In a world that desires quantifiable results and ideological expediency, the philosopher becomes the vital interpreter of the endlessly complex.As he outlines his ideas about the philosopher's role, Vattimo builds an important companion to his life's work. He confronts questions of science, religion, logic, literature, and truth, and passionately defends the power of hermeneutics to engage with life's conundrums. Vattimo conjures a clear vision of philosophy as something separate from the sciences and the humanities but also intimately connected to their processes, and he explicates a conception of truth that emphasizes fidelity and participation through dialogue.
Responsibility, privileged irresponsibility and response-ability: Higher Education, Coloniality and Ecological Damage (Palgrave Critical University Studies)
by Vivienne Bozalek Michalinos ZembylasThis book uses the overlapping approaches of political care ethics and feminist posthumanism as a lens to focus on the notions of privileged irresponsibility, responsibility and response-ability within the context of higher education and as it pertains to the issues of colonialism/decolonisation, pandemics and the climate crisis. The book will appeal to scholars in the field of higher education as well as to those in several other fields, such as ecology, gender studies, sociology, philosophy, and political science.
Responsibility, Rights, And Welfare: The Theory Of The Welfare State
by J Donald Moon J. Donald MoonThis book explores the social, historical, and philosophical bases of the welfare state. It examines the ways in which the welfare state gives expression to the deepest impulses and values of our way of life as it deals with the issues of poverty and social dislocation.
The Responsibility to Defend: Rethinking Germany's Strategic Culture (Adelphi series)
by Bastian Giegerich Maximilian TerhalleThe rise or resurgence of revisionist, repressive and authoritarian powers threatens the Western, US-led international order upon which Germany’s post-war security and prosperity were founded. With Washington increasingly focused on China’s rise in Asia, Europe must be able to defend itself against Russia, and will depend upon German military capabilities to do so. Years of neglect and structural underfunding, however, have hollowed out Germany’s armed forces. Much of the political leadership in Berlin has not yet adjusted to new realities or appreciated the urgency with which it needs to do so. Bastian Giegerich and Maximilian Terhalle argue that Germany’s current strategic culture is inadequate. It informs a security policy that fails to meet contemporary strategic challenges, thereby endangering Berlin’s European allies, the Western order and Germany itself. They contend that: Germany should embrace its historic responsibility to defend Western liberal values and the Western order that upholds them. Rather than rejecting the use of military force, Germany should wed its commitment to liberal values to an understanding of the role of power – including military power – in international affairs. The authors show why Germany should seek to foster a strategic culture that would be compatible with those of other leading Western nations and allow Germans to perceive the world through a strategic lens. In doing so, they also outline possible elements of a new security policy.
The Responsibility to Protect: Ending Mass Atrocity Crimes Once and For All
by Gareth Evans"Never again!" the world has vowed time and again since the Holocaust. Yet genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other mass atrocity crimes continue to shock our consciences-from the killing fields of Cambodia to the machetes of Rwanda to the agony of Darfur.Gareth Evans has grappled with these issues firsthand. <P><P>As Australian foreign minister, he was a key broker of the United Nations peace plan for Cambodia. As president of the International Crisis Group, he now works on the prevention and resolution of scores of conflicts and crises worldwide. The primary architect of and leading authority on the Responsibility to Protect ("R2P"), he shows here how this new international norm can once and for all prevent a return to the killing fields. The Responsibility to Protect captures a simple and powerful idea. The primary responsibility for protecting its own people from mass atrocity crimes lies with the state itself. State sovereignty implies responsibility, not a license to kill. But when a state is unwilling or unable to halt or avert such crimes, the wider international community then has a collective responsibility to take whatever action is necessary. R2P emphasizes preventive action above all. That includes assistance for states struggling to contain potential crises and for effective rebuilding after a crisis or conflict to tackle its underlying causes. R2P's primary tools are persuasion and support, not military or other coercion. But sometimes it is right to fight: faced with another Rwanda, the world cannot just stand by.R2P was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit. But many misunderstandings persist about its scope and limits. And much remains to be done to solidify political support and to build institutional capacity. Evans shows, compellingly, how big a break R2P represents from the past, and how, with its acceptance in principle and effective application in practice, the promise of "Never again!" can at last become a reality.
Responsibility to Protect: Cultural Perspectives in the Global South (Global Institutions)
by Rama Mani Thomas G. WeissThis volume explores in a novel and challenging way the emerging norm of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), initially adopted by the United Nations World Summit in 2005 following significant debate throughout the preceding decade. This work seeks to uncover whether this norm and its founding values have resonance and grounding within diverse cultures and within the experiences of societies that have directly been torn apart by mass atrocity crimes. The contributors to this collection analyze the responsibility to protect through multiple disciplines—philosophy, religion and spirituality, anthropology, and aesthetics in addition to international relations and law—to explore what light alternative perspectives outside of political science and international relations shed upon this emerging norm. In each case, the disciplinary analysis emanates from the global South and from scholars located within countries that experienced violent political upheaval. Hence, they draw upon not only theory but also the first-hand experience with conscience-shocking crimes. Their retrospective and prospective analyses could and should help shape the future implementation of R2P in accordance with insights from vastly different contexts. Offering a cutting edge contribution to thinking in the area, this is essential reading for all those with an interest in humanitarian intervention, peace and conflict studies, critical security studies and peacebuilding.
Responsibility to Protect and Sovereignty
by Ramesh ThakurThe responsibility to protect ('R2P') principle articulates the obligations of the international community to prevent conflict occurring, to intervene in conflicts, and to assist in rebuilding after conflicts. The doctrine is about protecting civilians in armed conflicts from four mass atrocity crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. This book examines interventions in East Timor, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Kosovo. The chapters explore and question UN debates with respect to the doctrine both before and after its adoption in 2005; contrasting state attitudes to international military intervention; and what takes place after intervention. It also discusses the ability of the Security Council to access reliable information and credible and transparent processes to enable it to make a determination on the occurrence of atrocities in a Member State. Questioning whether there is a need to find a closer operational link between the responsibilities to prevent and react and a normative link between R2P and principles of international law, the contributions examine the effectiveness of the framework of R2P for international decision-making in response to mass atrocity crimes and ask how an international system to deal with threats and mass atrocities can be developed in the absence of a central authority. This book will be valuable to those interested in international law, human rights, and security, peace and conflict studies.
The Responsibility to Protect and the International Criminal Court: Protection and Prosecution in Kenya (Global Politics and the Responsibility to Protect)
by Serena SharmaThis book provides an account of how the responsibility to protect (R2P) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) were applied in Kenya. In the aftermath of the disputed presidential election on 27 December 2007, Kenya descended into its worst crisis since independence. The 2007-08 post-election crisis in Kenya was among the first situations in which there was an appeal to both the responsibility to protect and a responsibility to prosecute. Despite efforts to ensure compatibility between R2P and the ICC, the two were far from coherent in this case, as the measures designed to protect the population in Kenya undermined the efforts to prosecute perpetrators. This book will highlight how the African Union-sponsored mediation process effectively brought an end to eight weeks of bloodshed, while simultaneously entrenching those involved in orchestrating the violence. Having secured positions of power, politicians bearing responsibility for the violence set out to block prosecutions at both the domestic and international levels, eventually leading the cases against them to unravel. As this book will reveal, by utilising the machinery of the state as a shield against prosecution, the Government of Kenya reverted to an approach to sovereignty that both R2P and the ICC were specifically designed to counteract. This book will be of interest to students of the Responsibility to Protect, humanitarian intervention, African politics, war and conflict studies and IR/Security Studies in general.
The Responsibility to Protect in Darfur: From Forgotten Conflict to Global Cause and Back (Global Politics and the Responsibility to Protect)
by David LanzThis book analyzes the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in the context of the conflict in Darfur, using detailed empirical evidence. The volume traces Darfur’s evolution from forgotten conflict to a major global cause and back to obscurity. The emergence of a far-reaching international response to the war in Darfur began in 2004 and included the most influential international advocacy movement since the anti-apartheid campaign and one of the world’s largest peacekeeping missions. The book analyzes how Darfur slid back into international obscurity after 2011, despite ongoing violence against civilians and the continued risk of conflict escalation following Omar al-Bashir’s ousting in April 2019. Based on an analysis of more than 100 interviews and over 1,000 media reports, the book examines one of the most pressing questions related to the R2P: why do some situations of mass atrocities cause an international outcry, while others are met with complacency and silence? It argues that the presence or absence of a compelling narrative, which frames a situation in moral terms and unambiguously conveys who is responsible, who suffers, and what should be done, facilitates whether or not sufficient traction will be gained to beget a robust R2P response. This book will be of much interest to students of the Responsibility to Protect, human rights, peacekeeping, conflict resolution, African politics and International Relations in general.
The Responsibility to Protect in International Law: An Emerging Paradigm Shift (Routledge Research in International Law)
by Susan BreauThis book will consider a rapidly emerging guiding general principle in international relations and, arguably, in international law: the Responsibility to Protect. This principle is a solution proposed to a key preoccupation in both international relations and international law scholarship: how the international community is to respond to mass atrocities within sovereign States. There are three facets to this responsibility; the responsibility to prevent; the responsibility to react, and the responsibility to rebuild. This doctrine will be analysed in light of the parallel development of customary and treaty international legal obligations imposing responsibilities on sovereign states to the international community in key international law fields such as international human rights law, international criminal law and international environmental law. These new developments demand academic study and this book fills this lacuna by rigorously considering all of these developments as part of a trend towards assumption of international responsibility. This must include the responsibility on the part of all states to respond to threats of genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansings and large-scale war crimes. The discussion surrounding aggravated state responsibility is also explored, with the author concluding that this emerging norm within international law is closely related to the responsibility to protect in its imposition of an international responsibility to act in response to an international wrong. This book will be of great interest to scholars on international law, the law of armed conflict, security studies and IR in general.
The Responsibility to Protect Twenty Years On: Rhetoric and Implementation
by Pınar Gözen ErcanThis book focuses on measures pertaining to the three-pillar implementation strategy of R2P and examines how and to what extent the three pillars have been practised. Rich in its geographical scope, this edited book provides a critical analysis of R2P practice over the last two decades by focusing on representative cases from different regions. Analysing not only recent and/or underexplored cases but also widely studied cases from a fresh and alternative perspective, it sheds light on the depth and scope of the norm as well as the variety of actors involved and how they impact R2P practice. Diverging from most accounts, this edited book does not approach the cases as a ‘success’ or ‘failure’ of R2P. By studying the background to the conflicts and making assessments on a pillar-by-pillar basis, each chapter addresses the root causes, traces the process of implementation, investigates the actions of the actors involved, identifies elements of success and failure and finally questions the sustainability of the protection provided to date. Meanwhile, the conceptual chapters complement the case analyses through an overall evaluation of R2P’s first two decades and the progress achieved so far with the aim to draw lessons for future implementations of R2P.
The Responsibility to Provide in Southeast Asia: Towards an Ethical Explanation (Bristol Studies in East Asian International Relations)
by See Seng TanDespite the long-held and jealously guarded ASEAN principle of non-intervention, this book argues that states in Southeast Asia have begun to display an increasing readiness to think about sovereignty in terms not only of state responsibility to their own populations but also towards neighbouring countries as well. Taking account of the realities of interstate cooperation in the region, and drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas, the author develops a new theoretical framework reflecting an evolution of attitudes about state sovereignty to explain this emerging ethic of regional responsibility.
The Responsible Administrator: An Approach to Ethics for the Administrative Role (Political Science Ser.)
by Terry L. CooperThose who serve the public trust must take special care to ensure they make ethical and responsible decisions. Yet the realities of bureaucracies, deadlines, budgets, and demands for quick results make the payoffs for dealing formally with ethics seem unclear. Since its original publication, The Responsible Administrator has guided professionals and students alike as they grapple with the challenges of making ethical, responsible decisions in real world situations. This new edition includes information on coping with new demands for accountability, as well as new cases and examples, an examination of current issues relevant to administrative ethics, and supplementary materials for professors. Coopers theoretical framework and practical applications and techniques will help you consider all of the factors involved in a decision, ensuring that you balance professional, personal, and organizational values. Case studies and examples illustrate what works and what does not. The Responsible Administrator helps both experienced and novice public administrators and students become effective decision makers, provides them with a solid understanding of the role of ethics in public service and the framework to incorporate ethical and values-based decision making in day-to-day management.
The Responsible Administrator
by Terry L. CooperThose who serve the public trust must take special care to ensure they make ethical and responsible decisions. Yet the realities of bureaucracies, deadlines, budgets, and demands for quick results make the payoffs for dealing formally with ethics seem unclear. Since its original publication, The Responsible Administrator has guided professionals and students alike as they grapple with the challenges of making ethical, responsible decisions in real world situations.This new edition includes information on coping with new demands for accountability, as well as new cases and examples, an examination of current issues relevant to administrative ethics, and supplementary materials for professors.Cooper's theoretical framework and practical applications and techniques will help you consider all of the factors involved in a decision, ensuring that you balance professional, personal, and organizational values. Case studies and examples illustrate what works and what does not. The Responsible Administrator helps both experienced and novice public administrators and students become effective decision makers, provides them with a solid understanding of the role of ethics in public service and the framework to incorporate ethical and values-based decision making in day-to-day management.
Responsible Citizens and Sustainable Consumer Behavior: New Interpretive Frameworks (Routledge-SCORAI Studies in Sustainable Consumption)
by Pietro LanziniThere is broad consensus on the need to shift to a new paradigm of lifestyles and economic development, given the un-sustainability of current patterns. Given this, research on consumer behavior is to play a crucial role in shedding light on the motives underpinning the adoption of responsible behaviors. Stemming from a thorough discussion of existing approaches, this book argues that the perspective of analysis has to be modified. First, acknowledging that a profile of the responsible consumer does not exist since all of us can be more or less sustainable and environment-friendly: the sustainability of an individual should not be considered as given, being something dynamic that changes according to both subjective and contextual factors. Moreover, the book hypothesises that integrating dimensions and perspectives that have been so far overlooked by mainstream research will help deconstruct responsible behaviors adopting a flexible and holistic approach. Relevant policy implications are discussed, and empirical research on responsible behaviors is illustrated. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of consumer behavior, sustainable consumption, environmental psychology and environmental studies in general.
Responsible Development: Vulnerable Democracies, Hunger and Inequality (Routledge Studies in the Growth Economies of Asia)
by Omar NomanUntil the dramatic economic collapse of 1997, East Asia was the symbol of a successful market-led development strategy for Western governments, aid agencies and academics, despite underlying concerns about a lack of rights and freedoms. The crisis changed Asia and the world; currency depreciations, personal and state indebtedness, mass unemployment and rioting brought the paternalistic capitalist phase to an end in Asia. The decade following the economic crisis has seen a swift response, with the major restructuring of Asian economies, improved corporate governance, banks recapitalized, more attention paid to the environment and foreign exchange reserves restored so the IMF became redundant in Asia. Dividing the countries that emerged from the crisis into three categories - the Insecure Rich, the New Aspirants for Prosperity and the Danger Zone - Noman analyses the complex Asian recovery and future challenges within the framework of Responsible Development, an agenda for Asia that emphasizes the simultaneous challenge of building sustainable democracies, a viable environment and an equitable economy. Covering the many related issues that pose a threat to Asian economic stability - climate change, religious fascism, inequality and hunger - this book will have particular relevance in the areas of development studies, economics, international politics and Asian studies.
The Responsible Globalist: What Citizens of the World Can Learn from Nationalism
by Hassan Damluji'Thought provoking and well-written... a good read for people who care about solving global problems. Damluji puts forth ideas that can help make global systems more successful' - Bill Gates An incisive, optimistic manifesto for a more inclusive globalismToday, globalism has a bad reputation. 'Citizens of the world' are depicted as recklessly uninterested in how international economic networks can affect local communities. Meanwhile, nationalists are often derided as racists and bigots. But what if the two were not so far apart? What could globalists learn from the powerful sense of belonging that nationalism has created? Faced with the injustices of the world's economic and political system, what should a responsible globalist do? British-Iraqi development expert Hassan Damluji proposes six principles - from changing how we think about mobility to shutting down tax havens - which can help build consensus for a stronger globalist identity. He demonstrates that globalism is not limited to 'Davos man' but is a truly mass phenomenon that is growing fastest in emerging countries. Rather than a 'nowhere' identity, it is a new group solidarity that sits alongside other allegiances. With a wealth of examples from the United States to India, China and the Middle East, The Responsible Globalist offers a boldly optimistic and pragmatic blueprint for building an inclusive, global nation. This will be a century-long project, where success is not guaranteed. But unless we can reimagine humanity as a single national community, Damluji warns, the gravest threats we face will not be defeated.
Responsible Governance: A Case Study Approach
by Steven G. KovenThis book is designed to show readers how ethics can constrain improper behavior. To demonstrate the relationship of ethics to good government, the author presents high profile case studies that were selected for their notoriety and their ability to connect the reader to fundamental ethical questions. Themes of public interest, natural law, and rule of law provide a framework for the case studies, which include torture (Abu Ghraib), impeachment (Clinton), competence (FEMA), electoral violation (DeLay), and historical corruption (machine politics). The chapters discuss concepts that help to define responsible behavior in terms of behavior in elections, honesty and competence, and international law.
Responsible Innovation: Business Opportunities and Strategies for Implementation (SpringerBriefs in Research and Innovation Governance)
by Katharina JarmaiThis Open Access book, Responsible innovation provides benefits for society, for instance more sustainable products, more engagement with consumers and less anxiety about emerging technologies. As a governance tool it is mostly driven by research funders, including the European Commission, under the term “responsible research and innovation” (RRI). To achieve uptake in private industry is a challenge. This book provides successful case studies for the implementation of responsible innovation in businesses. The importance of social innovations is emphasized as a link between benefits for society and profits for businesses, especially SMEs. For corporate industry it is shown how responsible innovation can offer a competitive advantage to adopters. The book is based on the latest insights from theory and practice and combines conceptual work with first-hand experience. It is of interest to innovation managers, entrepreneurs and academics. For academics, the book will provide a combination of analysis and discussion, and present recent learnings from first-hand interaction with entrepreneurs. For innovation managers and entrepreneurs, it will provide inspiration and better ideas about what responsible innovation can look like in practice, why others have “done it” and what the potential benefits might be. The book will thus serve the purposes of spreading the word about the responsible innovation concept among different audiences whilst making it more accessible to innovation managers and entrepreneurs.
Responsible Leadership for Sustainability in Uncertain Times: Social, Economic and Environmental Challenges for Sustainable Organizations (Responsible Leadership and Sustainable Management)
by Tanuja Sharma Rupamanjari Sinha Ray Nayan MitraThis book contains compilation of emerging discourses on responsible leadership for sustainability in uncertain times. Uncertainty is looming large at global level due to COVID, climatic disruptions and persisting social discriminations, especially since the pandemic, which have disrupted economies at both local and global levels. Technology was a boon to mitigate hardships emerging from such disruptions. The book documents the leadership roles, welfare issues, best practices and innovations that help organizations to sustain in a VUCA world. Economic, social and environmental concerns and their mitigation as documented in this book will be relevant for future planning and execution for sustainable existence. A blend of research by practitioners and academicians, capturing organizational experiences through case studies makes it attractive for a wide range of readership. Business leaders will find this book extremely helpful to understand the nuances and insights for responsible leadership and innovative strategies for stakeholder management and engagement for sustained businesses. Practitioners would get insights into responsible leadership for improving existing sustainable practices and speed up the transition which is necessitated due to disruptions. Prospective entrepreneurs may find that book helpful for creating responsible organizations which are sustainable due to responsible management of resources, employees and environment. Students and researchers can learn from the cases and documentation on responsible leadership, social and environmental concerns and sustainability in this book.
Responsible Parties: Saving Democracy from Itself
by Frances Rosenbluth Ian ShapiroHow popular democracy has paradoxically eroded trust in political systems worldwide, and how to restore confidence in democratic politics In recent decades, democracies across the world have adopted measures to increase popular involvement in political decisions. Parties have turned to primaries and local caucuses to select candidates; ballot initiatives and referenda allow citizens to enact laws directly; many places now use proportional representation, encouraging smaller, more specific parties rather than two dominant ones.Yet voters keep getting angrier.There is a steady erosion of trust in politicians, parties, and democratic institutions, culminating most recently in major populist victories in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Frances Rosenbluth and Ian Shapiro argue that devolving power to the grass roots is part of the problem. Efforts to decentralize political decision-making have made governments and especially political parties less effective and less able to address constituents’ long-term interests. They argue that to restore confidence in governance, we must restructure our political systems to restore power to the core institution of representative democracy: the political party.
Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins
by National Research Council of the National AcademiesThe effort to understand and combat infectious diseases has, during the centuries, produced many key advances in science and medicine--including the development of vaccines, drugs, and other treatments. A subset of this research is conducted with agents that, like anthrax, not only pose a severe threat to the health of humans, plants, and animals but can also be used for ill-intended purposes. Such agents have been listed by the government as biological select agents and toxins. The 2001 anthrax letter attacks prompted the creation of new regulations aimed at increasing security for research with dangerous pathogens. The outcome of the anthrax letter investigation has raised concern about whether these measures are adequate. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins evaluates both the physical security of select agent laboratories and personnel reliability measures designed to ensure the trustworthiness of those with access to biological select agents and toxins. The book offers a set of guiding principles and recommended changes to minimize security risk and facilitate the productivity of research. The book recommends fostering a culture of trust and responsibility in the laboratory, engaging the community in oversight of the Select Agent Program, and enhancing the operation of the Select Agent Program.