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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 1 March 2011

Marco Bassi and Boku Tache

This paper seeks to describe an attempt to assess at the local level the progress that has been internationally achieved in recognition of community and indigenous rights, and of…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to describe an attempt to assess at the local level the progress that has been internationally achieved in recognition of community and indigenous rights, and of indigenous and community conserved areas. An action‐research exercise was implemented in Ethiopia with a mobile indigenous people of evaluating customary as well as government‐led governance of the environment, with the objective of strengthening the capacity of the Borana‐Oromo to conserve their landscape.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on collaborative research implemented by the authors in 2002 while SOS Sahel Ethiopia was introducing collaborative forest management, and on a 2007 action research project specifically designed to broaden the scope of the involvement of the customary leadership in sustainable landscape management.

Findings

The research demonstrates the high degree of articulation and efficacy of customary governance as opposed to the failure of State‐centric attempts to protect specific areas within the broader landscape. Customary institutions, however, are increasingly delegitimised and incapable of coping with new challenges such as massive immigration, political marginalisation and de facto land privatisation.

Research limitations/implications

The action‐research was insufficient to achieve the goal due to limitations in the national legislation, inefficiency by the government in implementing the existing policies, and the persisting practice of imposing development with insufficient prior consultation.

Practical implications

Based on an informed review of the international and national legislation and policies, the customary leaders of the Borana have released a public statement asking for support in addressing the gaps and problems they have identified, particularly achieving legal recognition of the customary institutions and customary laws in relation to biodiversity conservation. At national level it was recommended to organize a workshop on community conservation of biodiversity and community rights, with the objective of disseminating awareness about the latest instruments and Resolutions in the context of IUCN and the CBD.

Originality/value

The customary governance of the Borana is based on the gadaa generation class system, highly articulated in terms of norms and procedures. The territory is vast and it includes government‐protected areas due to the importance of the biodiversity. The case contributes to raising awareness about the relevance of legislation and enhancement of rights at national level.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 22 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Philosophy, Politics, and Austrian Economics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-405-2

Book part
Publication date: 9 June 2011

Abha Chauhan

Purpose – This chapter attempts to understand the impact of war, conflict, and forced migration in the northwest border of India on the security of the aged widows and the ways…

Abstract

Purpose – This chapter attempts to understand the impact of war, conflict, and forced migration in the northwest border of India on the security of the aged widows and the ways they respond, construct, and negotiate their lives.

Methodology – The study is based on group discussions in villages and camps and narratives of seven widowed women who were asked to tell the story of their lives.

Findings – The chapter highlights that widowed women's agency was exercised in a significant manner during the situations of war, conflict, and forced migration, but it was largely circumscribed by the intersection of patriarchy, rural structure, customary practices, and inheritance rights. New norms and new roles were taken up in the migrant camps, but village life with its traditional extended family structure was still considered ideal for the social security it provided. However, aged widows are no longer treated with respect and care, suggesting a decline in the traditional joint family system and of the dominant position of elderly widowed women in it. This was accelerated in conflict situations.

Research implications – The research calls for focusing on women's agency and moving beyond the victimhood paradigm in women's studies. It highlights the significance of individual interpretations of events and the relevance of qualitative methods such as life stories.

Value of chapter – The chapter is valuable for its work on themes such as rural life, gender, and conflict studies and for policy makers to initiate plans dealing with the problems of forced migrants and of the security of the older people, particularly widows.

Details

Analyzing Gender, Intersectionality, and Multiple Inequalities: Global, Transnational and Local Contexts
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-743-8

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 October 2018

Gen Sander and Rick Lines

The intersection between drug control and the death penalty represents a key nexus for human rights and drug reform advocacy and constitutes one of the most visible examples of…

Abstract

The intersection between drug control and the death penalty represents a key nexus for human rights and drug reform advocacy and constitutes one of the most visible examples of the link between abusive law enforcement and drug control in the current period. The issue has emerged as a flashpoint of international debates on drugs and is one that raises important questions and challenges for both ‘abolitionist’ countries that oppose the death penalty and ‘retentionist’ States that continue to execute people. The death penalty for drug offences cannot be dismissed as simply an internal matter for States. Not only do executions for drug offences violate significant international human rights legal protections, domestic capital punishment laws in many cases cannot be separated from the influence of the international drug control treaty regime. This chapter will explore the question of the death penalty for drug offences and the challenges it presents for the international drug control regime more broadly.1

Details

Collapse of the Global Order on Drugs: From UNGASS 2016 to Review 2019
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-488-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Thayla Zomer, Andy Neely and Paulo Savaget

How organisations interact with and respond to environmental pressures has been a long-term interest of organisational scholars. Still, it remains an under-theorised phenomenon…

Abstract

Purpose

How organisations interact with and respond to environmental pressures has been a long-term interest of organisational scholars. Still, it remains an under-theorised phenomenon from a project perspective. So far, there is limited understanding of how projects, which are composed by a constellation of organisations, “respond” to institutional pressures that are exerted on them. This research takes the perspective of projects as adopters/implementers of institutional pressures and analyses how they interact with, and respond to, such pressures. More specifically, this research explores how construction projects respond to the pressure of a Building Information Modelling (BIM) mandate.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple in-depth case studies were conducted to explore the practical implementation of a BIM mandate in the UK and understand how the construction projects responded to the coercive pressures to implement a new policy mandate for process digitalisation. Multiple sources were employed for data collection and the data were analysed inductively. The findings identify a hybrid response comprising four distinct ways that projects might respond to an institutional pressure.

Findings

We find that projects decouple both from the content and from the intended purpose of a policy, i.e. there are two variance of a policy-practice decoupling phenomenon in projects. The findings also reveal the underlying conditions leading to decoupling.

Originality/value

We advance decoupling literature so that it better applies to the temporary, distributed and interdependent work conducted via projects. Second, we define decoupling in projects as a provisional and fragmented process of wayfinding through heterogeneous institutional spaces, and discuss the potential policy-practice assemblages in projects, influenced by how, if and when project members' activities decouple from the many and often contradicting institutional pressures they face. Third, we discuss how the qualitatively different forms of decoupling that we identified in our work may act as part of a legitimation process in ambiguous situations whereby projects might share a resemblance of conformity with institutional pressures when they are de facto only partially conforming to them.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2001

Rein Van der Vegt, Leo F. Smyth and Roland Vandenberghe

Difficulties in implementing change in schools have been explained either by referring to the concerns of teachers or to the organizational dynamics of the school. This article…

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Abstract

Difficulties in implementing change in schools have been explained either by referring to the concerns of teachers or to the organizational dynamics of the school. This article presents a framework in which these two sets of factors are linked. It is suggested that the school, in responding to major policy change, triggers specific organizational issues that in turn will arouse specific concerns on the part of the individual teacher. The implementation of major change is seen as the resolution of these issues and their related concerns. The framework maps the interplay of organizational issues and personal concerns; it serves as a reflection on the dynamics of change and on the management of “the implementing school”.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 39 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 October 2011

Fabian Zhilla

The purpose of this paper is to explore the interplay between customary norms and organised crime and consider their implications for judicial corruption.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the interplay between customary norms and organised crime and consider their implications for judicial corruption.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses the links between judicial corruption and organised crime in the Western Balkans generally, and focuses on the role of customary norms in Albania in particular. The paper takes stock from secondary sources and a series of semi‐structured expert interviews with judges, prosecutors, and lawyers in Albania.

Findings

This study explains that the impact of customary norms in the interplay between organised crime and judicial corruption in the Western Balkans generally, and in Albania more specifically, although not frequently used, is real and that it carries significant consequences.

Research limitations/implications

Due to differences among cultures in the Western Balkans, findings based on Albania are suggestive only for similar societies and indicate areas for future research.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates that mechanisms of customary norms such as vendetta and blood feud killings can neutralise the judiciary and law enforcement agencies when they have been manipulated by organised crime out of their social context for criminal purposes.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 July 2022

Suraj Das and Anindya Jayanta Mishra

The present exploratory study aimed (1) to explore the traditional dietary habits of local communities, (2) to analyze the shift in traditional eating practices and (3) to examine…

Abstract

Purpose

The present exploratory study aimed (1) to explore the traditional dietary habits of local communities, (2) to analyze the shift in traditional eating practices and (3) to examine the changes observed in socio-cultural beliefs system due to climate change.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study was conducted with purposive sampling of 210 households in the select ten villages of the western Himalayan region. Open-ended interview questionnaires and a close-ended survey on a 5-point Likert scale are used. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 is used for the exploratory factor analysis. Further, Atlas-ti version 8 is also employed for thematic analysis.

Findings

The exploratory and thematic analysis illustrated that socio-ecological beliefs are crucial in food choices, but cultural beliefs are also changing due to climate change. Thus, the shift in socio-cultural beliefs can significantly affect the nutritional security of the indigenous societies during climate-induced emergencies in the mountain regions.

Practical implications

Therefore, the findings of the study are significant for a comprehensive understanding of the traditional dietary practice of the indigenous community for an evidence-based inclusive food security and climate change adaptation policy.

Originality/value

The inclusion of cultural practices is evident for ensuring the nutritional security. But, the magnitude of the climate-induced impacts on customary societies is not yet fully understood. Thus, the current study was conducted.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 February 2024

Samiksha Mathur and Sonu Agarwal

This paper aims to discuss the positioning of international organisations (IOs) in the realm of international law. It proposes a more robust approach, arguing IOs have legal…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the positioning of international organisations (IOs) in the realm of international law. It proposes a more robust approach, arguing IOs have legal obligations akin to states to the extent which could be fulfilled by them. This paper suggests making IOs parties to international treaties like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and Geneva Convention 1949 to codify their international responsibilities. In addition, it proposes amending multilateral treaties to grant IOs membership and create binding legal obligations for them, thereby enhancing the overall legal framework for IOs.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper opted for qualitative analytical approach of research by referring to international treaties and scholarly papers.

Findings

The authors have evaluated the bindingness of international law on IOs. The authors argue that jus cogens and customary international law are equally binding on IOs. However, treaties could only be binding on IOs to the extent of their consent. The authors have assessed prior violations of IOs. The authors argue that, to prevent such violations by IOs, creating obligations is the first step. Second, amendments are required in the existing international treaties that reflect the foundations of international humanitarian and international human rights law like the Geneva Convention 1949, ICCPR, and ICESCR, to permit IOs to join these treaties, resulting in binding international legal obligations.

Research limitations/implications

The most prominent assertion of this paper is that IOs as subjects of international law are bound by the principles of international law, including treaty law with consent, customary international laws, general principles of law and peremptory norms. To fulfil these obligations, a regime needs to be introduced wherein amendment is made in treaties to make IOs parties to them and structuring the law on responsibility for IOs. Considering the multifaceted nature of IO, the role it performs in contemporary times requires them to be bound by rules of international law just like states. There is a need to settle their position in global governance and give them more teeth to understand and fulfil their duties to ensure smooth functioning in the long run.

Originality/value

The paper fulfils an identified gap in the positioning of IOs under the international law.

Details

International Journal of Law and Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-243X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 May 2019

Ibrahim Sief Abdel Hameed Menshawy

This paper aims to explore the evolution of the notion of peremptory norms (Jus Cogens) in international law through the work of the International Law Commission on unilateral…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the evolution of the notion of peremptory norms (Jus Cogens) in international law through the work of the International Law Commission on unilateral acts.

Design/methodology/approach

The study depended on analyzing the work of the International Law Commission on two topics: Unilateral Acts 2006 and Reservations to treaties 2011 to reveal the relation between jus cogens and unilateral acts.

Findings

Jus cogens restrict unilateral acts like treaties due to the recognition of the importance and necessity of the concept of Jus cogens in protecting the fundamental interests of the international community.

Practical implications

States must be compatible with jus cogens when making any reservation on a treaty and also when taking any unilateral act.

Originality/value

This paper reveals the importance of jus cogens in promoting the values of the international community and the need of such notion to protect the common interest of that community.

Details

Review of Economics and Political Science, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2356-9980

Keywords

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