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Deforestation, Trade Liberalization, and Environmental Politics in the Brazilian Amazon: 1990-2022
Get PDFThis paper explores the relationship between trade liberalization and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from the beginnings of widespread trade liberalization in the 1990s to 2022. This paper, through an analysis of deforestation from soy and beef production, concludes that trade openness and foreign direct investment (FDI) alone cannot fully explain the rapid environmental degradation occurring in the Brazilian Amazon. Despite Brazil’s efforts to integrate into global markets, the levels of trade and FDI are relatively low. Instead, the policies of Brazil’s government play a decisive role in shaping deforestation trends. The contrasting presidencies of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro illustrate the significant impact of political leadership on environmental outcomes. Under Lula, pro-environmental policies led to a 70% reduction in deforestation while Bolsonaro’s pro-business and anti-environmental policies led to a resurgence in deforestation. I ultimately argue that while globalization and subsequent trade liberalization contribute to deforestation, the environmental policies of the ruling president are a more significant driver of deforestation
The Hindu Mahasabha: How Humanitarian Relief Became an Agent of Hindu Nationalism
Get PDFHumanitarianism is deeply linked with the politics of religion, and in South Asia, it has played a vital role in the spread of Hindu nationalism. Prior to British colonialism, South Asian humanitarianism was guided by spiritual traditions of service and duty, and relief typically took the form of religious donations. The only audience of those small-scale humanitarian actions were the giver’s interpersonal community and the gods. However, with the shift to British rule, humanitarian work in the Indian subcontinent became located within the state and donned broader political motivations. Once the audience of humanitarianism also included the ruling British state, relief work, in part, became a method of relationshipbuilding with the state and legitimizing one’s own status as a dutiful and charitable citizen. Therefore, the introduction of British imperialism led to the rise of a new strand of South Asian humanitarianism that was inseparable from political life under imperial conditions
First Comes Love: Advocating for a Revival of Pre-Obergefell Estate Planning Vigor for LGBTQ+ Couples and Families
Get PDFOn June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Beyond the obvious devastation this opinion wreaked on abortion rights nationwide, it also unleashed a fear in communities that have gained substantive rights through the Court’s decisions based on similar reasoning. News organizations and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups quickly published stories discussing the fate of same-sex marriage in a post-Dobbs society. If the Supreme Court were to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, it would be a crushing loss to the LGBTQ+ community. Not only would it signal the lack of respect for same-sex relationships in society, but it would deprive same-sex couples from the “constellation of benefits” marriage provides
