Politics Of Trauma / Therapeutic Justice (Vanessa Pupavac)
Research could examine the theme of trauma in international humanitarianism and conflict management and its implications for the traditional principles and conduct of international politics.
War is increasingly discussed in international humanitarian policy as the continuation of psychology rather than in Clausewitzian terms as the continuation of politics. A therapeutic security paradigm regards war as a form of pathology, treating trauma as a cause of war, not just a consequence of war.
The adoption of a therapeutic model to manage conflicts implies a radical expansion of the role of international organisations in the internal governance of states. Governance of post conflict societies also increasingly sees justice in therapeutic terms. For example, therapeutic models of justice are evident in the role given to truth and reconciliation commissions.
Language Rights In Conflict (Vanessa Pupavac)
The importance of language in nationalist movements has long been recognised. More recently international conflict management strategies have become interested in language rights. Under international policy, recognition of language is becoming regarded as important not simply as a right of communication, but as a right to a specific identity. Affirmation of identity is regarded as important in enhancing the sense of human security and therefore promoting social stability. The importance given to linguistic identity is being codified into an international linguistic human rights framework.
The 1990s witnessed the elaboration of an international linguistic human rights framework which requires states actively to promote linguistic identities and linguistic communities on their territories, not simply refrain from discriminating on the basis of language. However, the issue of ‘when is a language?’ can be highly contentious, most notably in conflict situations as the case of former Yugoslavia illustrates.
As sociolinguistics have analysed, questions over what is a language and who belongs to a particular language community involve political and subjective issues, not simply objective linguistic criteria. Yet the international linguistic human rights regime has tended to treat the existence or not of a language and its recognition as unproblematic based on a group declaring itself a language community. To what extent, however, should the international law and international organisations accept subjectively-defined language claims? For subjectively-defined claims to linguistic difference may deny language as communication and reinforce ethnic divisions rather than overcome them. Research could examine an aspect of international language rights and politics.
Children’s Rights (Vanessa Pupavac)
It is now over a decade since the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted was adopted. The issue of children, and along with that of human rights more generally came to the fore of the international political agenda in the 1990s. To question children’s rights has been described as a modern-day heresy by Michael King. Few writers have critically examined the implications of the Convention for international politics or indeed children’s lives. Recognition of children’s rights in international politics is assumed to be beneficial for children’s lives globally. Criticism has focused on the failure to implement provisions rather than on the provisions themselves. Overlooked is how UNICEF originally opposed a convention. Research could examine the international politics of the Convention, its concept of political agency, rights and international governance, and its implications for sovereign equality and the rights of developing countries.
Humanitarianism (Vanessa Pupavac)
International Relations has paid new attention to humanitarianism in the concepts of humanitarian intervention and human security. International Relations literature on humanitarianism has tended to focus on the right of humanitarian intervention and assume the efficacy of intervention. In contrast the humanitarian sector itself has been racked by profound self-doubt over its mission and condemned the effects of humanitarian intervention. The 1990s’ crisis of legitimacy among humanitarian organisations led to a search for new guiding principles which continues. Research could analyse an aspect of humanitarian politics or the future of humanitarian organisations in international politics.