Rethinking Crisis

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Peter Son discusses the power of the term ‘crisis’ to initiate action, both for better and worse.

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When one hears the word ‘crisis’, alarm bells start to ring. To be in crisis mode means to border on anarchy. There is no rationality and no governance. There is no clear resolution to a crisis. At least this is what the mass media portrays. We are often the victims of such sensationalism. The truth is sometimes distorted and we are misled into believing that an ‘issue’ of global magnitude is an undeniable ‘crisis’. However, whilst adopting a cynical approach to this label of ‘crisis’, it seems almost foolish to not tag a global ‘issue’ as a ‘crisis’, as anything else would seem a rather dangerous euphemism. [...]

Patrick J. Lewis argues that the current definition of genocide is an inadequate description for the Darfur conflict in western Sudan.

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Since 2003, more than 300,000 people have died in a bloody war in west Sudan’s Darfur region, situated in the heart of Africa. Decades of drought, desertification, and overpopulation caused the pastoralist Baggara nomads to take their livestock further south in search of water, causing conflict in land primarily occupied by ‘black African’ farming communities. In 2003, there was a violent rebel uprising by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLA), which accused the government of oppressing non-Arabs in favour of Arabs. The Sudanese government responded by destroying entire villages suspected of harbouring rebels, with a devastating impact on civilians. [...]

Flora Ho explores the different narratives of crisis associated with nuclear proliferation.

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As North Korea pre-emptively launched its three-stage rocket on April 5, 2009, and subsequently ordered the departure of all American IAEA inspectors, the international community felt a heightened sense of crisis associated with the growing nuclear ambitions of Kim Jong-il. The U.S. described the launch as a “threat to the safety and security of other countries”, which could not go unpunished. Meanwhile, China and Russia dismissed such anxiety by blocking all rebuke of the actions at the UN Security Council. [...]

Genevieve Curtis explores the plight of those straddling the U.S.-Mexican border.

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A new global order has forged power blocs that transcend the limits of national boundaries. In a world of cultural collision and intense economic integration, the ebb and flow of the global economic system plays out in real time on the United States-Mexico border, with little regard for the human element that suffers in the elusive pursuit of the American Dream. [...]

Holly Crain makes the case for nuclear non-proliferation.

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Global society is currently in the midst of numerous, challenging and complex crises, ranging from the ongoing devastation caused by the financial crisis, to the various humanitarian crises plaguing the developing world. However, none is more devastating than the crisis being produced by the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Despite the inconceivable humanitarian threat posed by the use of nuclear weapons, world leaders have continued to respond to this danger with political rhetoric alone, ignoring the urgent need for policy reform from states and international organisations alike. [...]