23 research outputs found
Global democracy, social movements, and feminism
No full textIn Global Democracy, Social Movements, and Feminism Catherine Eschle examines the relationship between social movements and democracy in social and political thought in the context of debates about the exclusions and mobilizations generated by gender hierarchies and the impact of globalization. Eschle considers a range of approaches in social and political thought, from long-standing liberal, republican, Marxist and anarchist traditions, through post-Marxist and post-modernist innovations and recent efforts to theorize democracy and social movements at a global level. The author turns to feminist theory and movement practices-and particularly to black and third world feminist interventions-in debates about the democratization of feminism itself. Eschle discusses the ways in which such debates are increasingly played out on a global scale as feminists grapple with the implication of globalization for movement organization. The author then concludes with a discussion of the relevance of these feminist debates for the theorization of democracy more generally in an era of global transformation
Engendering global democracy
No full textThe inadequacies of hegemonic liberal democratic ideas and institutions have been exposed by feminist theorists focusing on the marginalisation of women and by global theorists examining the impact of globalisation. These theorists have developed two distinct sets of reconstructive strategies that, until very recently, have remained in ignorance of each other. Further, both feminist and global democratic schemes have been dogged by problems in terms of their theorisation of power, politics, agency and change. Recent feminist arguments about citizenship and governance go some way to bringing together concerns about gender inequality and globalisation, but they remain centred on states and the states-system as vehicles for democratic representation and participation. This article argues that a more radical reconstructive strategy can be derived from debates about the democratisation of feminism itself. Drawing on the responses of black and third world feminists to racism in the white-dominated feminist movement, and examining their influence on efforts to organise transnationally, the article points to innovative ways of thinking about power, politics, agency and change. Together these amount to a democratic framework which has applicability beyond feminist organising and which confronts the marginalisations of both gender and globalisation
'We are heartbroken and furious!': rethinking violence and the (anti-)globalisation movements
No full textBook synopsis: This book provides a comprehensive and nuanced analysis of the 'anti-globalisation' struggles taking place around the world. It shows the complexity and diversity of these movements and illustrates this with detailed empirical studies of local, national and transnational resistance in the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa. The authors introduce a variety of competing theoretical perspectives from international political economy, social movement theory, globalisation studies, feminism, and postmodernism, explaining how activism has influenced theory and how theory can help activists to modify their tactics
Civil society and financial markets : what is not happening and why
No full textWhy have commercial financial flows – as a major force in contemporary society with a number of significant problematic consequences – attracted relatively little effective public-interest response from civil society? Change-oriented NGOs, labour unions, faith-based organisations and other social movements have mostly remained in the shadows vis-à-vis private financial markets. Impacts from these citizen associations have not gone beyond promoting modest rises in public awareness, certain limited policy shifts, and minor institutional reforms of a few public governance agencies. The reasons for these scant achievements are partly related to capacities and practices in civil society groups, relevant governance agencies, and financial firms. Also important in constraining civil society impacts to reform and transform contemporary financial markets are deeper structural circumstances such as embedded social hierarchies (among countries, classes, etc.), the pivotal role of finance capital in accumulation processes today, and the entrenchment of prevailing neoliberal policy discourses
Rumination and worry selectively modulate total calorie consumption within an online, nudge tactic paradigm
No full textRumination and worry, collectively referred to as perseverative cognition, have been implicated in the increased engagement of several health risk behaviours. The current study aimed to investigate the potential influencing role of these repetitive negative thought cognitions in an online snack paradigm. Participants were randomly assigned to either an even condition (a 3:3 ratio of ≤101 kcal and >201 kcal snacks) or an uneven condition (a 4:2 ratio in favour of ≤101 kcal snacks). Upon the presentation of six images of sweet treats, participants were asked to choose the snack they most wanted to consume “right now”, before completing the Ultra-Brief Penn State Worry Questionnaire (UB-PSWQ) and the brief (5-item) Ruminative Response Scale (RRS). The results showed that the reduced availability of higher calorie snacks significantly improved both snack choice and total calorie consumption. However, despite rumination and worry having no influence on the snack type chosen, higher levels of rumination still led to significantly higher overall calorie consumption. Although, contrary to predictions, higher levels of worry conversely led to significantly lower overall calorie consumption. This study adds to the growing work in the role of perseverative cognition and food consumption, which may aid in informing public health strategies. Further exploration is needed to assess whether rumination directly induces unhealthy eating behaviours or simply exacerbates them
Predicting suicidal ideation in a nationally representative sample of young adults: a 12-month prospective study
No full textBackground Evidence-based theoretical models outlining the pathways to the development of suicidal ideation may inform treatment. The current research draws from the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPT) and the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model of suicidal behaviour, and aims to test the interaction between perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness as proposed by the IPT model, and the defeat–entrapment pathway as proposed by the IMV model, in the prediction of suicidal ideation at 12-month follow-up. Methods The Scottish Wellbeing Study is a nationally representative prospective study of young people aged 18–34 years (n = 3508) from across Scotland, who completed a baseline interview and a 12-month follow-up (n = 2420). The core factors from both the IPT (perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness) and the IMV model (defeat, internal and external entrapment) were measured alongside demographics, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation at baseline. At 12-month follow-up suicidal ideation was assessed again. Results In multiple regression analysis perceived burdensomeness and internal entrapment, with baseline suicidal ideation, predicted 12-month suicidal ideation. No support for the interaction between perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness in predicting 12-month suicidal ideation was found. However, there was evidence that internal, but not external, entrapment mediated the relationship between defeat and 12-month suicidal ideation, but no support was found for the moderation of burdensomeness and belongingness on the entrapment to suicidal ideation pathway. Conclusions The current findings highlight the importance of targeting perceived burdensomeness and internal entrapment to reduce the likelihood that suicidal ideation emerges in at risk individuals.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin
The integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behavior
No full textThis chapter describes the Integrated Motivational‐Volitional (IMV) model of suicidal behavior, which accounts for the complex interplay between biology, psychology, and social factors in the etiology and course of suicidal behavior. The IMV model builds on the empirical and conceptual evidence from other models and perspectives and is able to make differential predictions in respect of suicidal ideation/intent and behavior. Although the development of the IMV model was influenced by a number of different models, the main drivers were the Theory of Planned Behavior, the diathesis–stress hypothesis, and the arrested flight model of suicidal behavior. As suicidology has been dominated by the search for risk factors since its inception, greater emphasis should also be given to the further identification and promotion of protective factors. Indeed, the IMV model identifies three stages along the motivational‐volitional pathway for potential intervention, not to mention numerous opportunities to ameliorate risk in the premotivational phase
'We are heartbroken and furious!' Violence and the (anti-)globalisation movement(s)
No full textThis is a much reworked and reoriented version of an earlier CSGR Working Paper (Sullivan 2004a). A somewhat shorter version is forthcoming as Chapter 10 in Maiguascha, B. and Eschle, C. (December 2004) Critical Theories, World Politics and ‘the Anti-Globalisation Movement’, London: Routledge. The piece began as an exploratory comment on militant discourse and practice within the ‘(anti-)globalisation movement(s)’. It emerged from my own process of sense-making regarding the experience of violently irruptive situations, as well as from my perceptions of the contextual causes of violence in these situations. My particular fascination has been the role(s) of affect – and particularly of the felt experiences of depression and anger – in drawing people to the decision to literally place their bodies and psyches in the path of violent police repression in protest events. In this version I open with data derived from ‘observant participation’ in a number of events to emphasise my embeddedness within activist communities and practice, and to clearly situate the bearing that my own subjective experience has on my interpretation of protest events and of ‘anti-capitalist’ praxis. In interpreting and analyzing emerging activist desires to assert agency through activism, I highlight two related conceptual arenas. 1. A thinking through of the biopolitical necessities and manifestations effected by Empire – the constrained locating of sovereignty in the global – which construct the body and psyche as the only viable and meaningful locales of resistance (cf. Hardt and Negri 2000 after Foucault e.g. 1998 (1976)). And 2., a consideration of the parallels between a growing global incidence of depressed and disengaged individual subjectivities and Giorgio Agamben’s discourse on ‘bare life’ (e.g. 1994, 1998), i.e. human life stripped of citizenship as in refugees, asylum seekers, detainees etc.; and a concomitant understanding of affective depression as a locale from where is possible for ‘new’ dissenting subjectivities to emerge. My intention remains to problematise the dynamic relationships existing between a microcosm of individual circumstances that effect a range of violent practices from self-harm to militant activism, and the macrocosm of structural societal violence within which these are located. In doing so, I offer some reflections regarding what really constitutes radical political praxis in a context of late capitalist modernity, emphasising the continual effort to subvert modernity’s assumed categories of the real, and the need for reflexivity in considering whether or not activist praxis simply mirrors, and thereby maintains, the violent biopower of Empire
Suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm: national prevalence study of young adults
No full textBackground:
There are few prevalence studies of suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH).
Aims:
We aimed to estimate the prevalence of thoughts of NSSH, suicidal thoughts, NSSH and suicide attempts among 18- to 34-year-olds in Scotland.
Method:
We interviewed a representative sample of young adults from across Scotland.
Results:
We interviewed 3508 young people; 11.3 and 16.2% reported a lifetime history of suicide attempts and NSSH, respectively. The first episode of NSSH tended to precede the first suicide attempt by about 2 years. Age at onset of NSSH and suicide attempt was younger in females. Earlier age at onset was associated with more frequent NSSH/suicide attempts. Women are significantly more likely to report NSSH and suicide attempts compared with men.
Conclusions:
One in nine young people has attempted suicide and one in six has engaged in NSSH. Clinicians should be vigilant, as suicide attempts and NSSH are relatively common
From ideation to action: differentiating between those who think about suicide and those who attempt suicide in a national study of young adults
No full textBackground:
Although many suicide risk factors have been identified, there is still relatively little known about the factors that differentiate those who think about suicide from those who make a suicide attempt.
Aims:
Using the integrated motivational-volitional model (IMV) of suicidal behaviour as a framework, this study hypothesised that (i) motivational and volitional phase factors would differentiate non-suicidal controls from those who had a history of suicidal ideation or suicide attempts, and (ii) within a multivariable model only volitional phase factors would differentiate between those who had a history of suicidal ideation and those who had attempted suicide.
Method:
The Scottish Wellbeing Study (n = 3508) is a nationally representative study of young people (18–34 years) recruited throughout Scotland. Using multinomial regression analysis, three groups (non-suicidal control (n = 2534), lifetime suicide ideation (n = 498) and lifetime suicide attempt (n = 403) groups) were compared on motivational and volitional phase variables.
Results:
Consistent with the IMV model, motivational and volitional phase variables differentiated the control group from both the ideation and attempt groups. Only volitional phase variables differentiated between the suicide attempt group and the suicidal ideation group in the multivariable model; with those reporting a suicide attempt being higher on acquired capability, mental imagery about death, impulsivity, and being more likely to know a friend who had made a suicide attempt. Having a family member or friend die by suicide or a family member attempt suicide did not differentiate between the groups.
Limitations:
The findings were based on cross-sectional data derived from self-report measures.
Conclusions:
These findings provide further support for the IMV model, and highlight potential targets for clinical intervention
