Final Collection of Essays
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Perspectives in Development: an Exercise in Worldmaking Best student essays of 2016/17 Editors: Peter Bardoel, Jeremiah F. de Guzman, M Adityanandana, Alejandra Ramirez Bermeo and Daniela Montero Peña Published by the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam Kortenaerkade 12 2518 AX The Hague, Netherlands Published in 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission of the editors, authors or publishers. A catalogue record for this book is available from the Royal Library, The Hague, The Netherlands Printed in the Netherlands by De Bondt, Barendrecht Who Participated (All 2016-2017 Masters Students) Editors Peter Bardoel, ISS Faculty – Academic Skills Jeremiah F. de Guzman (Philippines, GDP) M Adityanandana (Indonesia, AFES) Alejandra Ramirez Bermeo (Colombia, SJP) Daniela Montero Peña (Costa Rica, SPD) Contributors Carolyn Yu (Canada, SPD) Daniela Calmon (Brazil, AFES) Daniela Montero Peña (Costa Rica, SPD) Dao Kim Tung (Vietnam, ECD) Julio César Muñoz (Ecuador, ECD) M Adityanandana (Indonesia, AFES) Maria Wagner (Germany, SJP) Miriam Ayoo (Kenya, MMAP) Montserrat Hernández Pozo (Mexico, SPD) Naomi Mwangi (Kenya, SJP) Philomena Ngissah (Ghana, ECD) Rafael Guimarães Requião (Brazil, GDP) Silva Diaz (Colombia, GDP) Silvia McElroy (US, MMAP) Suthida Chawla (Thailand, GDP) Thanit Nilayodhin (Thailand, SJP) Front and Back Cover Design Ted Edward F. Ferreras (Philippines) Layout Design De Bondt Grafimedia Communicatie, Barendrecht Acronyms AFES – Agrarian, Food, and Environmental Studies ECD – Economics of Development GPPE – Governance, Policy, and Political Economy Mundus MAPP – Mundus Masters in Public Policy SJP – Social Justice Perspectives SPD – Social Policy for Development Acknowledgments This book is a product of collective efforts of members of the Editorial Committee spearheaded by Jeremiah F. de Guzman, with members M Adityanandana, Alejandra Ramirez Bermeo, Daniela Montero Peña and Pozhil Sampathkumar Geetha. They made everything possible with very little time --- from collecting essay submissions to editing them and ensuring timely publication of this book. Valuable contributions were also made by the following people: The professors, who submitted the finest essays in their respective courses; Peter Bardoel, who has been of great help in making sure that everything is in order; Sandra Nijhof and Jane Pocock, who assisted us in the printing of this book; Finally, the International Institute of Social Studies for the financial support. Thank you. Foreword The International Institute of Social Studies, like the country where it resides, is filled with windmills --- people that are constantly blown by the wind, but are still standing tall and making best use of the world’s hardest blows. Through this collection of essays written based on their learning, experiences and visions, we are fortunate to have this opportunity to experience even a fraction of the power they create. Reading these essays blew our mind. We rarely encountered pompous terminologies, which we thought would be everywhere in this book, but instead presented with perspectives and views that are otherwise unknown, forgotten or taken for granted. Some covered the world, others focused on areas close to their hearts. Some discussed concepts and theories, some told stories. Some bombarded us with numbers and graphs, some shared quotes. This collection, we must say, is like a tour that will not only enrich your mind but will also touch your sensibilities. We decided to start the book with a comprehensive essay by Dao Kim Tung (Vietnam, ECD) which pointed to inequality as the culprit in the sluggish global growth in the last two decades. Relatedly, the second essay by Silvia McElroy (US, MMAP) discussed the grave disconnect in theory and practice of the liberal internationalism theory and food sovereignty discourse, leading her to conclude that an alternative approach to developing global food system is necessary. Civil society groups, viewed as one of the primary actors in international, national and subnational development, are the subject of the next three essays. Philomena Ngissah (Ghana, ECD) wrote about the view of civil societies on trade agreements, which are argued to undermine citizen participation. Grounded on her experience as development practitioner, Daniela Montero Peña (Costa Rica, SPD)’s essay explored the value of “citizens’ approach” in analyzing and understanding the plight of migrants. We then present country-specific essays that would present unique economic stories of Brazil, Ecuador and North Korea. Daniela Calmon (Brazil, AFES) examined the expanding agribusiness in Brazil, with an attempt to position the active role of the state in promoting the sector in the contending economic schools of thought. The essay of Julio César Muñoz (Ecuador, ECD) tackled Ecuador’s macroeconomic stance and tagged it pro-poor following analysis of income growth, poverty and inequality using different approaches. Rafael Guimarães Requião (Brazil, GDP)’s essay is an interesting discussion of a bottom-up liberalization of the economy that resulted from spontaneous and simultaneous actions of the informal markets. Politics also play a key role in development, especially when understanding how power is used to achieve desired outcomes. An interesting case of politics taking center stage in development, which was explained thoroughly in Miriam Ayoo (Kenya, MMAP)’s essay, is the case of how Kenya’s sovereignty is upheld amid its dependency on international aid. Another political piece is Thanit Nilayodhin (Thailand, SJP)’s essay, which focused on the constitutionality of the promulgation of the military junta-created 2014 Interim Constitution in Thailand, paving the way for violence against civilians. Veering away from economic and political discussions, proceeding essays would deal largely on social issues, particularly on gender. Naomi Mwangi (Kenya, SJP) discussed in her essay the drawing case of forced circumcision in Kenya as a case of silenced sexual violence against men during war. Maria Wagner (Germany, SJP)’s essay is a novel gender-based story that studied the potentials and limitations of black lesbian cyberfeminism in Cuba, showing how internet could be another space for marginalization. Last in this group is Carolyn Yu (Canada, SPD)’s essay on Two-Spirit identities used across US and Canada and the post-modernist approaches to decolonizing LGBTQ+ movements. Next two essays are rather short ones, both touching on entrepreneurship. Silva Diaz (Colombia, GDP)’s essay analyzed two theoretical frameworks explaining how institutions affect behavior of entrepreneurs. Montserrat Hernández Pozo (Mexico, SPD)’s essay, on the other hand, discussed how a business model of an e-commerce company could be an alternative of local development. Finally, the last two essays are also short pieces featuring entrancing stories close to the authors’ hearts. M Adityanandana (Indonesia, AFES)’s essay is actually a preview of his research on how culture-specific philosophy is used in advancing political goals in environmental conflicts in Bali, the place where the author was born and raised. The last essay, written by Suthida Chawla (Thailand, GDP) is a story of a photography business that recently transferred from Bangkok to The Hague and relies on its Thai-Indian culture knowledge and history for its success. Table of Contents Explaining the Slowdown in Global Growth Over the Last Two Decades By Dao Kim Tung, ECD Liberal Internationalism and Food Security for a Just and Equitable Global Food System? By Silvia McElroy Why Do Civil Society Groups Feel That Trade Agreements such as CETA, TPP and TTIP Will Undermine Democracy? By Philomena Ngissah Is Civic Driven Change a useful framework to analyze and understand the way migrants individually or collective use the civic space in their country of residence? By Daniela Montero Peña ‘Go Forth and Multiply The (Agri)business’? State Promotion of A Brazilian Industrial Agriculture Frontier Under The Lens of New Institutional Economics and Marxist Agrarian Political Economy By Daniela Calmon, AFES Growth, Inequality and Poverty in Ecuador. A Pro-Poor Story. By Julio César Muñoz From Juche to Donju: Bottom-up liberalization in post-Cold War North Korea By Rafael Guimarães Requião Constitutionalism in the Promulgation of the 2014 Interim Constitution by the Military Junta in Thailand By Thanit Nilayodhin Liberal Internationalism and the “Sovereign Frontier”: An Exploration of Kenya By Miriam Ayoo The International Criminal Court as a site for silencing sexual violence against men during war: The case of forced male circumcision in Kenya By Naomi Mwangi The Internet as Space for the Marginalised: Potential and Limitations of Black Lesbian Cyberfeminism in Cuba By Maria Wagner Two Spirit Identities: Postmodernist Approaches to Decolonising LGBTQ+ Movements By Carolyn Yu Local Governance and Community Developments: Research Interview Analysis By Silva Diaz Crafting an alternative of local development By Montserrat Hernández Pozo Amidst Mass Tourism: Tri Hita Karana and Conflict of Valuation Languages By M Adityanandana, AFES The Relocation of KK Studio to Den Haag By Suthida Chawla Explaining the Slowdown in Global Growth Over the Last Two Decades By