I examine some of the main philosophical, conceptual and normative issues in Colleen Murphy's recent book The Conceptual Foundations of Transitional Justice (2017). I am sceptical whether we need yet another theory of justice to fit particular 'transitional circumstances', as Murphy argues. Instead, before presenting an alternative normative, 'moral' theory, we need to re-examine the very concept of transitional justice. I examine particularly the following. Firstly, what we really mean by 'transitional justice' in various contexts; and I argue that transitional justice is not, as Murphy argues, 'a special kind of justice' needed during certain periods of political and social change. Transitional justice is rather an escape route from difficult questions of justice that transitional societies must deal with to maintain the delicate balance between justice and peace. Currently, the concept of transitional justice refers most directly to the overarching and expanding 'toolkit' of various mechanisms and processes used in post-conflict reconstruction. It is not quite clear how this toolkit fits with current debates on global, international, regional and local justice. Indeed, I would have preferred that Murphy focus on the complex conceptual foundations of transitional justice, rather than build a theory that conceptually and foundationally remains complex and ambiguous.

Publication of the final issue of Journal of Global Ethics for 2017 is an opportunity to look back at an eventful year and reflect on what might be in store for us next. As Martin Schonfeld, who is...

The article examines the implementation of UNSCR 1325 Women, Peace, and Security' within the framework of post-colonial feminism. The author argues that in current international development co-operation, there is a need for deeper understanding of the complex, context-relevant social and political power structures and processes that prevent gender programming from enhancing gender justice. As an empirical case study the article discusses the challenges that the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 has been facing in Kenya. (c) 2016 UNU-WIDER. Journal of International Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This article examines the relationship between philosophy and culture in global bioethics. First, it studies what is meant by the term "global" in global bioethics. Second, the author introduces four different types, or recognizable trends, in philosophical inquiry in bioethics today. The main argument is that, in order to make better sense of the complexity of the ethical questions and challenges we face today across the globe, we need to embrace the universal nature of self-critical and analytical philosophical analysis and argumentation, rather than using seemingly philosophical approaches to give unjustified normative emphasis on different cultural approaches to bioethics.

The article discusses how theory and practice in global ethics affect each other. First, the author explores how the study of ethics has changed in the era of globalization and ponders what the role of the field of study of global ethics is in this context. Second, she wants to show how the logical fallacies in widening study field of ethics produce false polarizations between facts and value judgements in social ethics made in various cultural contexts. She further elaborates how these false polarizations prevent constructive cross-cultural and transnational discussions on ethical guidelines and principles that are needed to produce joint action (plans) to deal with serious ethical issues globally and nationally. Finally, the paper argues that in order to find a way to solve our shared complex ethical problems in global context, we need to get back to basics by focusing on the method of ethics, that is, self-critical and logical analysis of sound argumentation and justification of our values and moral principles.

The paper examines why the efforts to promote gender justice by development aid have not succeeded in dealing with deeply-rooted structural injustices which prevent the realization of social justice and gender equality. The study analyses the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 ‘Women, Peace, and Security’ in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The paper concludes that in current, transitional setting of international development co-operation, there is a need for deeper understanding of the complex social and political power structures and processes that integrate sub-national communal (religious, ethnic, .../

The articles argues that due to the rapid development of new technology the boundaries of life and death, as well as the different phases of our physical, social and spiritual life are getting less clear-cut and evident than they have been before in the Western, traditionally dualistic cultural and historical experience. Thus, at the moment we are in a transitional stage in our understanding of “human life” is gaining new dimensions in form of “post-humanism” and “trans-humanism”. The current neo-holistic view of the universe and the human place in it requires us to consider the “existential risks” and seriously ponder the effects of the technological evolution to our social, cultural, ethical and metaphysical frameworks and normative principles.

A er more than a century of women’s movement activism and abundant debate, we can fi nally celebrate the acceptance of gender analysis in academia and its emergence as a required aspect of policy making among the European Union (EU) member states. While we applaud these major achievements, we need to recognise that there is still no general consensus on the exact conceptualisation of gender inequality and, thus, EU requirements remain elusive on how to reach a more level playing fi eld between the sexes. In addition to conceptualisation, there is much work to be done on the various gender equality policies and their implementations. For example, while the EU requires that its members maintain functioning democracies and aim to eliminate discrimination, EU institutions only off er recommendations regarding many aspects of

This article discusses what 'global bioethics' means today and what features make bioethical research 'global'. The article provides a historical view of the development of the field of 'bioethics', from medical ethics to the wider study of bioethics in a global context. It critically examines the particular problems that 'global bioethics' research faces across cultural and political borders and suggests some solutions on how to move towards a more balanced and culturally less biased dialogue in the issues of bioethics. The main thesis is that we need to bring global and local aspects closer together when looking for international guidelines, by paying more attention to particular cultures and local economic and social circumstances in reaching a shared understanding of the main values and principles of bioethics, and in building 'biodemocracy'.

The article discusses the Kenyan post-2007 elections political crisis within the framework of ‘libertarian communitarianism’ that integrates individualistic self-interest with traditional collectivist solidarity in the era of globalization in Africa. The author argues that behind the Kenyan post-election anarchy can be analyzed as a type of ‘prisoner's dilemma’ framework in which self-interested rationality is placed in a collectivist social contract setting. In Kenya, this has allowed political manipulation of ethnicity as well as bad governance, both of which have prevented the building of a strong, impartial state. In Kenya, socio-economic disparities and historical injustices due to corruption, nepotism, cronyism and other forms of favoritism have maintained ethnic and other internal tensions, which exploded into open conflict after the disputed December 2007 elections. The author shows how the ‘libertarian communitarist’ politico-economic context lacks shared values and precludes forward-looking solutions for social justice that promote public good and national unity. Instead, a nation remains divided with its people set up in competitive positions, because there is public trust neither in partisan and self-interested governments nor in inefficient state structures with often (ethnically and/or regionally) biased (re)distribution of resources and unequal service delivery. The greed of the political elites and grievances of the ordinary citizenry maintain distrust across the nation and focus on past injustices rather than finding a shared agenda for future unity. The author suggests that in order to build up public trust, to strengthen the state structures and to gain national unity, it is necessary to focus on shared values and a forward-looking concept of justice, acceptable to all.

Theoretical and empirical studies analysing various ethical aspects of inter-national relations — and particularly those related to war, peace and conflict resolution — have primarily focused on the moral justification of war and intervention, as well as on 'the ethics of peace'1 by analysing the plausibility of various moral, political and economic means and ends in peacemaking. Since existing injustices and the quest for justice are usually seen to be the main causes for violent clashes, it is often claimed that the creation or restoration of justice must be the most important goal of post-conflict reconstruction. However, the current policy approaches, social movements, and theoretical models for conflict resolution tend to look at justice from merely a technical point of view, as a rapid fix to overcome war and violence. This relates the notion of 'peace' to 'security', and replaces the concept of 'justice' with the concepts of 'law and order'. Creation or restoration of justice, however, does not merely mean establishment of the rule of law; it has wider moral dimensions. Therefore, the concept of justice, and the normative framework justice offers to lasting social harmony, needs to be considered in relation to local social ethics and values, and to the public ethics requirement of impartiality.KeywordsSecurity CouncilSocial ContractSocial HarmonySocial Contract TheoryStructural ViolenceThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

A new world governance and economy characterised by globalisation has an increasing emphasis on knowledge and knowledge-transfer as the primary driver of economic growth, competitiveness, and participation. The economic, social, and political landscape in which future development will take place has then also changed. All countries, rich and poor, must now reconsider their approach to development to incorporate this new reality. Opportunities exist for poor countries to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to make rapid advances in their economic and political development, but there are also risks that a digital divide might widen the inequality between the “have’s” and “have not’s” across the world. This article focuses on the role of ICT and the development of e-democracy and e-economy in Africa. The chapter will discuss the prospects and problems in enhancing e-democracy and e-economy in Africa by examining global and local obstacles to the access and use of ICT in many African countries. It also discusses whether ICT can empower people locally and regionally to participate more actively in politics, public affairs and economics.