GHRN Information Bulletin, 6th September 2013
To the Glasgow Human Rights Network,
As we head into a new academic year, I want to thank all of you for your support. Last year we had an exciting array of events which confronted key current issues in the area of human rights, raised questions about human rights and the upcoming independence referendum, and provided for engagement between the academy and practitioners. In this current bulletin you will see just a few of the events we have planned for the coming year, focusing on current global and local human rights issues. In addition, please save the date of Tuesday 18 February when our annual Human Rights Lecture will feature a discussion by Prof. Hurst Hannum of Tufts University on the question of self-determination in the context of the independence referendum. This will complement other activities surrounding human rights questions and the referendum.
If you have human-rights related events you would like to appear in the bulletin, please send information to ghrnadmin@glasgow.ac.uk. Also, please note that we are keeping a list of events specifically focused on human rights and the referendum on our website (http://www.gla.ac.uk/humanrights). Please be in touch if you have any events specifically on this topic. Please contact us if you would like to explore collaboration between GHRN and your organisation.
I look forward to seeing you at our events in the coming year.
Kurt Mills
Convenor, Glasgow Human Rights Network
1. Events
Monday 16th September 2013
Accountability Scotland Conference: Making Scottish Public Services Accountable
The Scottish Parliament Committee Room 3, Edinburgh
Accountability Scotland is a democratic organization campaigning for transparent public accountability in Scottish governance.
The conference is free but booking is necessary for Parliamentary security reasons. To book, please contact treasurer@accountabilityscotland.org.uk
For more information and a full programme, please visit: http://www.accountabilityscotland.org.uk/
Thursday 26th September 2013
GHRN Roundtable Discussion on Syria
5.15 – 7.15pm, Senate Room, University of Glasgow
What are the ethical, legal, political and practical dimensions of the conflict in Syria? How should the international community respond? What responsibilities do we have to protect people in a situation like Syria?
Prof. Robin Geiss, School of Law
Dr. Naomi Head, School of Social and Political Sciences
Dr. Kurt Mills, School of Social and Political Sciences
Dr. Cian O'Driscoll, School of Social and Political Sciences
Dr. James Sloan, School of Law
The discussion will be followed by a drinks reception. To register, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/7621960489
Thursday 3rd October 2013
What is the Welfare State?
David Garland, Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology, New York University
6.00 pm, Sir Charles Wilson Lecture Theatre, University of Glasgow
Since the 1980s, the “welfare state” has rarely sounded a positive note in political debate. But if the phrase has gone out of fashion, the reality it describes continues to be a fundamental feature of the world in which we live. For all its defects and dilemmas, the welfare state is an essential element of contemporary capitalism and a vital concomitant of democratic government. It is neither a policy choice nor a political preference: it is a fundamental dimension of modern society. The aim of this lecture is to cut through the fog of myths and misunderstandings and explain in clear and simple terms, what the welfare state is, how it works, and why it matters.
This lecture forms part of a series of events hosted by the School of Law in 2013 to celebrate the Tercentenary of the Regius Chair in Law. The School will also host lectures by Eleanor Sharpston (Advocate General, Court of Justice of the European Union) and Martti Koskenniemi (Professor of International Law, University of Helsinki) in November 2013. Further details of these lectures and of other Tercentenary events will be made available via www.gla.ac.uk/schools/law/tercentenary.
Thursday 10th October 2013
European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought Panel Discussion
5.30-7.30pm, Hugh Fraser Seminar Room, Wolfson Medical School Building, University of Glasgow
The European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded annually to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression. The European Parliament Office in Scotland and the Glasgow Human Rights Network host this event at which students will mirror the process by which MEPs choose the winner of the Sakharov Prize.
The discussion will be followed by a drinks reception. To register, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/7621960489
Wednesday 13th November 2013
Update on the Arab Spring
5.15 – 7.15pm, Yudowitz Lecture Theatre, Wolfson Medical School Building, University of Glasgow
Two and half years ago, the Arab world erupted in protest and there were high hopes for sweeping social and political change. Since then, we have witnessed elections, a military intervention, a military coup, mass atrocities, including the use of chemical weapons, and millions of displaced people. What went wrong? To what extent have the hopes of 2011 been fulfilled and to what extent have they been dashed? What does the aftermath of the Arab Spring say more generally about the possibilities for sweeping social and political change?
Chair: Kurt Mills, University of Glasgow
Discussants:
Ahmed Ben Aessa, University of Glasgow
Keith Hammond, University of Glasgow
Naomi Head, University of Glasgow
Anthony Lang, University of St. Andrews
Adham Saouli, University of Edinburgh
The discussion will be followed by a drinks reception. To register, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/7621960489
2. Call for Papers
25 Years of Revolution: Comparing Revolt and Transition from Europe 1989 to Arab World 2014
8th -9th January 2014
The Playfair Hall, University of Edinburgh
The events from late 2010 in the Arab world and those of 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have invited many comparisons and even been described as two chapters in the story of democracy’s spread across the globe.
This unique conference, marking 25 years since the upheavals of 1989 and 3 since the beginning of the Arab Spring, is organised by the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW), Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES), and the Centre for East European Language Based Area Studies (CEELBAS).
Proposals are invited for papers including but not limited to the following topics as they relate either to the Arab uprisings or the revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Papers may deal with one or other case, but priority will be given to those that include a comparative dimension and/or provide insights into analytical and theoretical concerns such as nationalism and ideology; democracy and democratisation; transnationalism; civil society; labour movements; revolutions and international relations; the politics of militaries and security sectors; non-violent resistance; civil wars; the role of religion; social movements; or the role of media and communications.
Deadline for proposals: 22 September 2013
For further information please visit: http://www.casaw.ac.uk/news-events/call-for-papers-for-the-international-conference-25-years-of-revolution-comparing-revolt-and-transition-from-europe-1989-to-arab-world-2014/
Human Rights and Change
16th – 18th June 2014
Kadir Has Üniversitesi, Istanbul
A joint conference organized by:
Human Rights Section, International Studies Association
Human Rights Section, American Political Science Association
Human Rights Research Committee, International Political Science Association
Standing Group on Human Rights and Transition, European Consortium for Political Research
In association with: Kadir Has Üniversitesi and Academic Council on the United Nations System
The human rights sections of the American Political Science Association, the European Consortium for Political Research, the International Political Science Association, and the International Studies Association, are pleased to announce the third joint international conference on human rights, on the theme “Human Rights and Change” to take place 16-18 June 2014 at Kadir Has Üniversitesi in Istanbul. The conference will take place immediately before the annual meeting of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (19 – 21 June), also in Istanbul (http://acuns.org/am2014/).
The so-called Arab Spring which began in early 2011 seemed to herald significant change in the human rights situation in the Middle East/North Africa, as well as broader regional and global political change. Yet, the changes have been highly ambiguous, both from a human rights perspective and a broader political perspective. The Arab Spring appears to be a product of significant normative and institutional change as well as a cautionary tale about the limits and ambiguities of change. This conference will address this theme of change – not only in the Middle East, but also globally. Thus, while there will be a number of panels and other events focused on the Middle East, a significant portion of the conference will deal with much broader contexts and issues, and paper submissions which address the broader theme in any context are welcome. We also welcome, and indeed actively encourage, participation from non-academics who are involved in human rights practice. Some of the questions to be addressed in the conference include:
• How do we understand change in the realm of human rights? What theoretical and conceptual perspectives do we have to help us analyze change?
• What is the relationship between broader geopolitical change and human rights development? Is human rights a product or a cause of such change?
• How do we explain changes in norms, laws and societies?
• Is change a top-down or bottom-up process?
• Has our understanding of human rights changed?
• Is human rights expansion a teleological process? Do we assume that it is?
• How do we deal with competing norms in times of flux?
• How have human rights been integrated (or not) into domestic legal and political orders?
• What role do human rights play in transitional justice processes?
• What explains the Arab Spring?
• How does the Arab Spring confirm or challenge current approaches to human rights development?
• What role of global and international actors played in fomenting or furthering the political dynamics of the Arab Spring?
The deadline for submissions is 1 December 2013. Notification of acceptances will be sent by e-mail by 15 January 2014.
Paper submission details can be found here (please note that proposals must relate to the theme of the conference to be considered): http://www.isanet.org/Conferences/HRIstanbul2014.aspx
The program chairs may be contacted at: humanrightsandchangeprogram@gmail.com
3. Resources
The Poverty and Social Exclusion (PSE) website, http://www.poverty.ac.uk, is a free educational resource for academics, students, NGOs and policy makers interested in evidence-based research on poverty and social exclusion in the UK. It is a comprehensive research tool, containing information on: methodology, conducting original and ethical research, research findings, international surveys, as well as up-to-date articles and a searchable digest of news stories and reports on welfare, poverty, inequality and more. It will also be publish the results of two major surveys over the next few weeks.
This website is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, (ESRC) and is a major collaboration between the University of Bristol, Heriot-Watt University, The Open University, Queen's University Belfast, University of Glasgow and the University of York, working with the National Centre for Social Research and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
OPPORTUNITIES TO TAKE PART
Join in the Poverty and Social Exclusion attitudes to necessities survey at www.poverty.ac.uk/take-part.
• Contact the PSE if you are interested in writing an article for the website.
• Follow and tweet comments @PSE2010
• Register to post comments on the website
The PSE are keen to hear from students and educators about what they would like to see on the PSE website, including any specific research papers they would like to suggest for inclusion. The PSE are also in the process of adding links on the PSE website to other organisations and projects researching poverty and social exclusion so if you have suggestions, again, do contact the PSE.
If you have an announcement for an event or resource which may be of interest to other members of GHRN, please send them to GHRNadmin@glasgow.ac.uk for inclusion in the bulletin.