New Publication: ‘The Global Politics of Human Rights’ [Available Online]

[Now available online] ‘The Global Politics of Human Rights: Bringing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) into the 21st Century’ (2020)

Hires coverThe Berlin Forum on Global Politics is excited to announce the release of our latest publication: a volume edited in collaboration with the Institute for Global Dialogue and RECLAIM! Universal Human Rights Initiative that collects 24 articles on the trials and prospects of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its Articles in the 21st century.

You can read more about the publication and download it here.

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Call for Papers: Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

The Berlin Forum on Global Politics, the Institute for Global Dialogue, and the RECLAIM! Universal Human Rights Initiative are pleased to announce that we are jointly organizing a call for papers on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its Articles. The UDHR is the landmark document for the international human rights movement of the 20th century, and remains its legal bedrock today.

Our publication will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Declaration, aiming to expand awareness about the document in general and understanding about contemporary human rights issues in particular. We believe that discussing and sharing ideas on the UDHR will help to make it more effective in protecting human dignity and security. For these reasons, we will also distribute our publication under a Creative Commons license, so that everybody interested in reading and sharing it can do so freely.

If you are an institution, organization, group, or individual who is interested both in the trials and prospects of the Declaration, we invite you to submit an abstract for an article – short, informative, and written without jargon –  and contribute to academic, expert, and public understanding of the UDHR and its Articles. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is Monday, 24th June, 2019.

You can read the call for papers in its entirety here and download it here.

(Photo credit: United Nations Photo | Flickr: Eleanor Roosevelt, Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, on 1st July 1947)

New Blog Post: On the Challenges and Opportunities to Curb Global Pollution

challopportGlobal pollution has become one of the leading causes of death worldwide, responsible for health complications and diseases that kill 1 out of every 6 people globally. In some countries, air pollution alone is already responsible for 25% of yearly deaths.

Co-founder Miguelángel Verde Garrido explains, in this blog post, that the the health and environmental implications of air, water, light, and noise pollution as well as those of electronic waste global politics are challenges that global politics must consider to effectively curb this somber and grave threat, However, data collection and public awareness, developments in technology, and national and international politics, provide opportunities to confront and overcome the world’s greatest silent killer.

The blog post, entitled ‘Confronting the World’s Greatest Silent Killer: Challenges and Opportunities to Curb Global Pollution’, is available here.

(Photo credits: Flickr | CIFOR; and, Flickr | UN Women)

Blog Post Series: Human Rights and Global Politics

frankieleon - flickrThe Berlin Forum on Global Politics welcomes a new contributor to our blog, Adam S. Wilkins, as we launch a blog post series related to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and a global political initiative to reaffirm support for the Declaration and the observance of human rights.

Adam starts the blog post series explaining the historical background of the UDHR, the nature of its political context, and the politics of its ratification, and poses questions about where the Declaration stands today. The blog post, entitled ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The Historical Background and the Challenge Today’, is available here.

For more information on the global political initiative, which will be explained in detail in another blog post, please visit the website of the RECLAIM! Universal Human Rights Initiative.

(Photo credit: frankieleon| Flickr)

From Millennium to Sustainable Development Goals

From MDGs to Sustainable Development Goals: The Travails of International Development
27th January 2018 | Librería Andenbuch: Andenbuch – Romanische Buchhandlung, Bergmannstr. 59

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Dr. Philani Mthembu (executive director of the Institute for Global Dialogue and co-founder of the Berlin Forum on Global Politics) will discuss ‘From MDGs to Sustainable Development Goals: The Travails of International Development‘, which he co-edited, at the book’s launch in Berlin.

For further information, please read here.

(Photo credit: UN Women & Ryan Brown | Flickr)

Looking Forward to 2018 – And So Should You!

coexistThis year, 2017, brought upon many changes, lessons, and challenges in political terms. During 2018, the Berlin Forum will redouble its efforts and deliver more public research and exchanges to clarify global politics and contribute to democracy, international understanding, and cooperation between countries and their civil societies.

In the New Year, 2018, we will share details about new international collaborations, an upcoming public event and discussion about sustainable development, a worldwide citizen initiative on human rights, new blog post series, and several others.

We wish our friends, religious and secular, the very best during the winter and new year celebrations, and look forward to continuing to better understand the world and shape a better tomorrow with you!

(Photo credit: Variation of designs by Piotr Młodożeniec and Jerry Jaspar)

Building a Coalition to Further Democracy

Shepard-DefendDignityDuring the last two months, the Berlin Forum on Global Politics has worked with a broad and diverse coalition of organizations and individuals to understand, explain, and confront the threats to democratic institutions and values, socio-cultural diversity, and the stability of global politics that are posed by the resurgence of far-right populism, discriminatory political discourses, and authoritarianism within Europe and the rest of the world.

Our collective efforts have only started, but we invite you – to that effect – to participate, today and throughout the weekend, in peaceful demonstrations that will be held in every state of the United States and in more than 30 countries across the world.

Come and voice your solidarity with women’s rights, affordable health care, and equal pay, and your rejection of far-right populism and its divisive politics of hatred and insularity.

Please read more on the demonstrations that will be held in Berlin today and tomorrow; on those that will also be held in European capitals today; and, on those that will be held in the US today and throughout the weekend.

Come and help us shape the future!

(Photo credit: Shepard Fairey | The Amplifier Foundation)

New Blog Post: Trump: A New Climate of Doubt

globalwarmingtweet2The election of Donald J. Trump cast a long shadow over recent negotiations at the Marrakech Climate Change Conference (COP22).

Before the third blog post of the series “Global Challenges of Climate Change”, our guest contributor, William Hull, assesses the new climate realities of a Trump presidency, the potential consequences for the Paris Agreement, and the on-going climate actions of U.S. corporations and citizens.

William also considers, in this blog post, the opportunities left for China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and lingering questions concerning the future role of the U.S. in climate diplomacy. The blog post, entitled ‘Trump: A New Climate of Doubt’, is available here.

(Image credit: Donald J. Trump | Twitter)

New Blog Post: On the US Presidential Election

23872390719_6a5c73e28b_hDonald John Trump’s victory in the 2016 United States presidential elections has shocked the country and the world. The offensive discourse that characterized the President-elect’s campaign has left the US starkly divided. Women and minorities are rightly concerned about their human and civil rights. Days and nights of protests have followed the electoral result.

The international community is also concerned about the implications of a foreign policy that would be characterized by stalwart insularity and disengagement from the political, economic, and military alliances and strategies that the US has nurtured since the end of World War II.   

Co-founder Miguelángel Verde Garrido explains, in this blog post, what are the potential implications of President-elect Trump’s victory to democracy, the state of the union, and human and civil rights in the US, as well as some of the potential implications of the Trump administration for global politics. The blog post, entitled ‘Time to be Brave in the Land of the Free’, is available here.

(Photo credit: Chris Piascik | Flickr)

Co-Founder Miguelángel Verde Garrido Awarded by Surveillance Studies Network

Anything To SayThe Berlin Forum on Global Politics is proud to announce that co-founder Miguelángel Verde Garrido was recently honored and awarded with a 2016 Annual Paper Prize and a 2016 Early Career Researcher Award by the Surveillance Studies Network.

The Surveillance Studies Network (SSN) is a registered charitable company based in the UK with a worldwide membership. SSN is dedicated to the study of surveillance in all its forms and the free distribution of scholarly information. The SSN awarded Miguel for an article that he published in their academic journal, Surveillance & Society, after a double-blind peer-review. The article, entitled ‘Contesting a Biopolitics of Information and Communications: The Importance Of Truth and Sousveillance After Snowden’ is published under a Creative Commons license and is readily available to be read and downloaded here

The Berlin Forum on Global Politics congratulates Miguel on the awards and is proud to count him among our co-founders and co-directors!

(Photo credit: AFP Photo & Tobias Schwarz | AFP)