WAR}MICK
GLOB#{u DEVELOPMENT SCOETY
NEWSTETTER,
@"rrtt"t/
Editorial
Russia: Getting from an island to a boat
Alexander Matueeu
On the Cuban Revolution and Development
Phiwo Mnyandu
Girl Child in School: Indian Case
Natasha Saini
Slovenia: Some reflections on
globalization and development challenges
for post-transitional country in Europe
AIma Bedijec
Oxjam: If you ain't jammin'
Gunjan Wadhtaa
Can'oGreen New Deal" inbreathe courage
into Korean economv?
Gang woniee
Global reactions and awareness: The "Slumdog" Effect
Saadia Gardezi and Deepali Gupta
And they said...
PAIS Frames
The current financial crisis has yet again revealed a deep crisis in capitalism, with significant
consequences in key areas of social and political
life. The economic downturn has many facets.
Rising unemploynnent is one key element and is
particularly gendered. The nature ofproduction as
well as employment will see fundamental shifts as
the EPZs slow down production. Both production
chains and consequently care chains across the
world will be affected. In both the manufacturing
and financial sectors, the shock of the crisis will
also lead to an increased concentration of capital,
which will have significant impact on production
and exchange patterns as the economy recovers.
One ofthe key battle grounds has been the discursive and real shift in the role ofthe state, as national governments seek to intervene to minimize the
collapse of the financial system, to use job creation
strategies (as per Keynesian economic model) to
prevent consumer demand collapsing entirely as
well as to invest in building economic infrastructure roads and rails as well as schools and knowledge centres - to absorb labour as well as to re-skill
it. There have been protests from the right but
there has also been a forging of a new centre
ground where the state is accepted as an important
economic actor in managing the current crisis. In
all the endless reams of material that is being rwitten about the crisis, there has been very little attention paid to the specifically gendered nature of this
crisis. From the discourses of competition in finan-
cial and product trading to the impact of unemployrnent, the breaking of global production and
care chains, from migration to violence, from
struggles for survival to struggles to intervene in
the changing economic landscape - questions
abound. These questions are globally relevant but
also point to the differential capacity of countries,
economies and peoples to respond. Development
and globalisation are both facing new challenges in
this time and we need to study these closely. I hope
that this Newsletter contributes to the conversa-
tion among the students on these important issues.
Shirin Rai
Prof. Shirin M. Rai
Director, Leverhulme Trust Programme
Gendered Ceremonv and Ritual in Parliament
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The mantra of the year so far appears to be,
"All eyes on Obama and on the financial markets". We are definitely in hard times. For many
students from the UK this has come in terms of
well known names/ labels/ brands sinking. For
international students there are distinct repercussions such as smaller chances of finding work
in the UK once they complete their studies. It
does not help matters that ESRC has decided to
reduce international student research scholarships, and that sponsorship will generally be
hard to come by. Many of us may have to shelve
what we had hoped would be our immediate
short term plans. Amidst the turmoil, however,
there is a need to lookbeyond the morning headlines, and understand longer term issues. A crisis
is usually only the manifestation of a graver
trend, and this trend should be examined as a
whole taking a longer term view than the immediate crisis warrants- both in terms of time and
the variables considered.
This newsletter is a humble attempt to address the broader concepts of globalization and
development. We have attempted to bring you an
interesting selection of articles encompassing
five different countries, seven different issues,
and an assortment of views and opinions. We
hope to have showcased the talent and diversity
of the PAIS Postgraduate Department.
For our part, we shall take a lot more from
our experience than what we have brought to the
table. With title submissions and essay deadlines
constantly looming large; the newsletter tested
both our editorial and persuasion skills. Reading
each ofthe pieces was a fantastic experience for
us, as we hope it is for you.
We have been fortunate to have had the support of Professor Shirin Rai, Dr Matthew Doidge,
and Dr Iain Pirie. We also thank our fellow students whom have supported and assisted us.
The Editorial Team
3
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MateevAlexander
This short article describes the transformation of
Russia's view on its place in the global economy. This
has been
by the global financial crisis.
World Economic Forum in
Davos, Switzerland, that gathers once a year business, government, cultural and society
leaders to debate the difficult
global challenges
of
our
planetl, was the stage of the
fundamental change in the
philosophy
of the
Russian
stance on globalization and development. This change happened just in a matter of one
year. The main cause of this
change is the global financial
Minister of Finance o/ crisis and its influence on
Russia, Mr. Aleksey Kudrin, Russia in times of increasing
January zoo8, Dauos
lntef0epen0enCe'
@World-Economic Forum 2oo8
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of
Russia, Mr. Aleksey Kudrin, speaking in January zooS
said that Russia was an island of stability in the sea ofthe
world crisis.2 Kudrin forecasted the growth of interest to
Russia as the U.S. economy was on the brink of recession
and the world economy was slowing down9 Just one year
Iater, the Prime Minister of Russia, Mr. Vladimir Putin,
had a different story. According to Putin, the "crisis has
affected everyone at this time of globalisation. Regardless
of their political or economic system, all nations have
found themselves in the same boat".4 These two opinions
highlight the change in the policy making taking place in
Russia.
There is meaning behind the images
of island'
and
'boat'. The First image implies that the island dwellers are
quite passive and self-dependent; and it is the visitors
who must act. The island dwellers are relatively uninformed and go about their business without concern for
their environment. This is something that Russia has
often been criticized for in the past years.
The confidence of Russian leaders led them to take
steps against certain foreign investors - something that
was unthinkable for Russia in the r99os. Developmental
projects, like the introduction of special economic zones,
Bank of Development, stimulation of innovations, indus-
trial policy, infrastructure
development- although
needed, were not as effective and timely as they could
have been. Investors were welcomed, but the government
was not focused on this objective. The policy makers did
not pay enough attention to the forces ofglobalization.
Contrary to this is the image of a 'boat'. It implies the
necessity of'paddling', having a sense of direction and
working with team-mates. There are only limited provisions on the boat. Those who are on open waters will fast
learn their own weaknesses and disadvantages.
This image better describes today's Russia: policy
are more focused and pay more attention to the
feasibility of their decisions, programs, and plans. The
makers
hard work that has to be done is best described by the other
'naval' image used by Mr. Putin. When describing his eight
years ofpresidency, he compared it to working like a galley
slave, morning till night.s Thus, the future of Russia depends significantly on the enthusiasm and hard work ofthe
governmenr.
The popular media usu-
ally associates this change in
Russia's approach to globalization with the dramatic fall
of crude oil prices. Even
though this had a significant
impact on Russia, the country was affected by more diverse forces of globalization
than oil prices. Russian businesses have been more active
in theglobal arena in recentyears. More Russian corporations listed their shares on
foreign exchanges. Global- Prime Minkter of Russia. Mr.
ization has deeper effects on \4adimir Putin, JanuarA 2oog,
society itself. Russian people Dauos @ world Economic Forum
have consumer credits calculated in US dollars or Euro.
Their banks significantly depend on foreign loans, and
thus, global liquidity. The total foreign debt of Russian
banks reached about 2oo billion US dollars by rst October
zoo86, while Russian International Reserves at that period
were 557 billion US dollars.TThus everyone, not only
owners of oil corporations, are affected by the global economy.
However, this transformation is not about conceding to
the market forces. Russian leadership wants the country to
globalize on its own terms. This can be illustrated with the
example of international trade. In the declaration of the
Leaders of Gzo singed on 15th November 2oo8, Russia
made a commitment to free market principles and promised to refrain from raising new barriers to trade.S However, in December zoo8 the government increased the
import duties for new and used cars to support domestic
manufacturers Thus, taking into account the developmental approach ofthe Russian state as well as its readiness for
active intervention into the work of the market, Russia is
sitting closer to the countries like China and Japan in this
boat, rather than with the followers of the Anglo-American
model.
Understanding that Russia is not an island anymore is
an important premise for further action. It is mueh m6re,.
realistic approach considering the world we lirre in. How- '
ever, Russia's success depends not only on;th€ Russian 2
people, state officials, and businessmen who.wilMer=/ stand these new conditions, but on those r,tfilr-wjtstartl
i
\'
.-
4
'paddling' in the right direction. If the boat is successful
in surviving the storm of the financial crisis, Russia and
its government have a chance of becoming much more
efficient, fit, and capable.
r http://www.weforum.org/en/about/FAQs/
index.htm [accessed on rz February zoog]
2 'Russia, island of stability, may save the world from
global crisis', Pravda, 24 January 2oo8,
http ://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics I z4-otzooSltog6z5-russia_crisis-o [accessed on rz February
zoogl
3
http //www.weforum.org/pdf/AM_zoo9lOpeningAddr
:
ess_\4adimirPutin.pdf [accessed on rz February zoog]
5 Transcript ofAnnual Big Press Conference of Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, 14 February zoo8,
http://kremlin.ru/eng/speech es I zooS I oz I t4 I rou_typ
e8z9t5_t6oz66.shtml [accessed on rz February zoog]
6 Bulletin of Banking Statistics No r (r88), Central
Bank
of
Russia,
http://cbr.ru/eng/publ/BBS/BbsoSrze.pdf [accessed on
rz February zoogl
7 News of Central Bank of
Russia,
http //wrvw. cbr.ru/eng/statistics/uedit_statistics/print
.asp?file=inter_res_o8_e.htm [accessed on rz February
:
'Kudrin Calm at Woeful Davos
24 January 2oo8,
Forum',Kommersant.com,
http://www.kommersant.com I p8++ggo I finance_world
[accessed
on t2
February zoog]
-economy/
4 Speech of the Russian Prime Minister, Mr. Vladi-
mir Putin, at the opening ceremony of the World Eco-
nomic Forum, z8
January
zoogl
8
Declaration of Gzo Summit on Financial Markets
zoo8
http //www. gzo.org/Documents/gzo_summit_declarat
ion.pdf [accessed on rz February zoog]
and the World Economy, $ November
:
2oog,
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Phiwu Mynandu
This year the Cuban revolution turned 5o. Regardless
ofone's political stance on the revolution, its politics and
evolution since 1959, we who are interested in fighting
poverty and misery do our efforts no favour by denyrng,
downplaying, or only coyly admiring its positive achievements against poverty, instead of learning from them.
This article explains the general elements of Cuba's approach that have made the country successful in fighting
poverty and misery; particularly in the context of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which many
Sub-Saharan (SS) African countries will not achieve by
2O15.
Within five years of the Cuban revolution, Zambia,
received its independence (t964), yet their development
could not have taken more different trajectories since.
Questions must be asked: What has given Cuba a doc-
tor-to-patient ratio of t-to-47L (more than Greece and
Ireland), while Zambia has one doctor for every 83oo inhabitants? How did Cuba get to place 48th on the
Human Development Index (above Turkey, and Malaysia) while Zambia is ranked r63rd (sixteen places shy of
the last spot)? Why is it that 99 percent of girls born in
Cuba will be literate and likely live till the age of 8o,
while over 32 percent of the ones born in Zambia will
not, and are unlikely to live past 4z? Why is it that only 4
percent of Cuban children are underweight for their age,
while zo percent Zambian children are? Howhas a country that has been under a blockade and travel ban sur,-paqsed,jl development, one that has had no internation-
has enjoyed intermittent periods of in-t'-alentbrdr$, and
-<-vestm€n(f,qoms since independence? Imagine, a child
i.--Uonrir-gfrfirfuegos del Cuba today has, virtually, an
ofreaching puberty as one born in Annecy,
France, a better chance to do ballet, learn piano than one
born in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans! A country once
only known for its sugarcane, now exports doctors and
teachers all over the developing world and treats cancer
patients from developed nations. Where sugar used to be
its comparative advantage, now human capital is. There
is much Cuba can teach the world about how to take care
of the imperatives of development, without which, few
other more ambitious 'goals'will ever be possible. I suggest three.
r.Cuba de-constructed its poverty. In his speech at the
1979 LJN General Assembly, former president Fidel
Castro said, 'You cannot speak of peace on behalf of tens
of millions of human beings all over the world who are
starving to death or dying of curable diseases. You
cannot speak of peace on behalf of 9oo million illiterates." Early on, Cuba identified the obstructions to its development as hunger, curable disease, and illiteracy. Any
aid, therefore, had to conform to these imperatives. For
Zambia, this would effectively mean the disavowal of the
Washington Consensus and its prescriptions, a position,
I submit, the country might not be able to afford. When a
country's poverty is deconstructed, the country owns the
discourse of its poverty - definitions, causes, challenges,
and solutions. Ttris brings better stewardship and accountability. This is not only good for the countries involved but is also for donors, on whose aid a country like
Zambia heavily depends. The buck of delivery efficiency,
and application ofpolicy, all else being constant, stops at
the countries themselves. Yes, perceptions will differ,
and therefore an attempt to bridge these is better than a
wholly foreign definition that is unreflective ofthe envi-
5
who have no desire to volunteer and the poor one who
ronment in the countryis likelyto fail.
have but the slightest education and barely any scope
z.
Cuba set realistic goals reflective ofthe uniqueness
of
the problem in the country. It is unrealistic for the MDGs
to expect Zambia to halve extreme poverty (which stands
at 58 percent) by zor5, when it has only made 7 percent
progress since r99o, the goals'base-year. It is unrealistic
for many Sub Saharan African countries to set - or allow
others to set for them stringent environmental goals
the latter themselves did not have to consider when they
-
were still fighting curable polio. If we are honest with
ourselves, we will concede that for many in the poorest
countries, at least in the interim, poverty elimination or
alleviation are a distant dream, their primary concern is
survival. What is the answer then? I propose instead
poverty mitigation. Poverty mitigation for some countries for whom alleviation and elimination are a mockery. No poor nation today will follow the Cuban revolution, however miserable the lot of its citizens, however
defeated it is by want, and however much they admire
the Cuban doctor. Indeed, none should. But more should
harness what it is about the revolution that is good for
freedom from poverty and misery.
3.
Cuba successfully engendered a volunteering spirit.
Embedded in the Cuban approach, is the dictum that no
nation that is prosperous or ever wishes to prosper begs.
Volunteerism is what made the Cuban revolution itself
possible but volunteering did not stop in its later stages.
It is an army ofvolunteers that banished starvation, river
blindness, and illiteracy from the villages shadowing the
Sierra Maestra. A spirit of volunteerism must be promoted among the poorest countries themselves, one that
goes beyond the poor local who has nothing else to do
and the expatriate idealist. A new dawn would have
began if Sub Saharan Africa had its own Peace corps
an'Africorps'- whose ranks would swell with young, energetic, yes idealistic, and educatedAfricans. The disconnect between the middle and upper-middle class African
-
@a/
-
countries seeking respite from poverty and misery
should admit as much. and then learn.
e/ut*/ in,Jrh.ac/: ty'n.(nil.rtn
Natasha Saini
This article centers around two different broad iden-
tity groups of the Indian population- women and children. The focus on India, does not imply a negation of
the issue in other countries- developing or developed,
but simply defines the scope of my article within the national, cultural and macroeconomic boundaries of India.
India, is not just a vast country in terms of its geographical expanse, but in terms of its diversity as well.
Thus, it houses numerous cultural, religious, ethnic, and
other identity groups. And eaeh group has a lineage, a
story of its own. The group I intend to write of is still
rather large- girl children, within the context of education.
for
upward mobility, must be bridged.
I am advocating for an admittance of the failure of
its discourse, international institutions
development
and process - so far. The fact that we can talk about poverty, infant mortality, access to primary education, empowerment of women under the umbrella of development, a sector that is divorced from institutions of politics, de-politicizes (i.e. trivializes) the agenda and ensures its doom.
Cuba's success refutes the current over-emphasis on
growth as a catalyst for fighting poverty and misery. One
only has to look at some nations that have, at one point
or another, recently subscribed to this idea. No burgeoning middleclass, the indicator The Economist so often
employs to judge a country's progress, will shield the
South African r6-year old from being afflicted HIV/AIDS
by z4 and never living past 5o.
Our education, however, ill-affords us to give credit
to the simplicity of the Cuban revolution's achievement.
For reasons I do not have space to articulate, it almost
feels wrong to admire what the Cuban revolution has
done forthe Cuban people andbe a democrat atthe same
time. However, if we venture beyond our gilded awareness, one that - for both good and ill - nuances the most
plainly observed phenomena, qualifies what should be
the simplest reasoning, and is given to abstracting the
very basic of the human condition; we will be able to
learn much from the Cuban revolution and see it for
what it is for the development of the Cuban people - a
success. It has given the Cuban people something none
of the development models or the theories for development we so diligently investigate can - dignity. Therefore, judged on these a-political merits, for all its weaknesses - and they are many and damning - history has
absolved the Cuban revolution. For their sake, poor
ezure
Before delving into a discussion it is a narrative that
spell out. Rajkumari was the daughter of a construction
site worker who was working on building a new auditorium for our college in Delhi. The seven year old, would
sit with me and chatter away in the mornings before my
classes. And once I asked her if she wanted to go to college when she grew up. She giggled, like I was silly to
have even asked, and said- college? Me? When I growup
I will be long married (I was,eightedn,,.
.'-.
:,,
Rajkumari had a younger brother anq'two oldei- -,
like you, didi,
then).
brothers, both of whom were enrolled in scKool;Shie;unl<
the other hand, had to rely on any goodwilf.edueatrionlf
'i'1:---s
6
that might come her way, through students like me who
were enrolled on college literacy programs and taught
"underprivileged" children for a year or two, or NGO's
that worked on literacy. When the construction workers
moved to the next site along with their children, her education would be discontinued again. But she kept busy,
babysitting her younger brother, doing house work, and
so on.
The question that I intend on raising is not so much
about formal literacy indicators, or female schooling, or
equalrty, but one ofaspirations. Aspirations among girl
children from poor households remain low, or fall low.
Female literacy in India has definitely been on a rise
since independence in tg47,bttt the absolute number of
girl children out of school is significantly high. Even
among those that are enrolled, a small percentage attend
formal schools, while others have to reb on makeshift institutions like para-teacher systems, Anganwadis, etc;
and more often than not girls enrolled in primary education systems do not continue to secondary and higher
education. These aspects are by no means exclusive to
the girl child. But they are nonetheless more prominent
among them and particularly in a gendered economy and
society such as India's. A number of questions come to
fore, even following this brief discussion. Why, if girls
enroll in primary education, do they not go on to secondary and higher education? Why, if they join schools to
begin with, do they eventually drop out? Is it female children themselves whom do not want to study, or are there
other'agents' at work here?
If you talked to a girl child in India and asked her if
she wanted to go to school to study it is likely the answer
would be yes. Ifyou asked parents ofgirl children, ifthey
wanted them to study, most likely, and contrary to some
common perception, the answer would be yes. The government has female education as a policy objective. So
where does the problem lie?
The issue is three dimensional- pertaining to the educators and the girl children and the 'agents'. Agents, here
refers to parents of the girl children, and the micro community that a household is part of.
The distinction should be made between levels of literary and levels offormal education, particularly in a society like that of India where social exclusion of certain
sections of the populations is a norm. Anybody can be
taught to sign a name, and anybody can be taught to read
and write a sentence in any language with reasonable
comprehension (which incidentally is the definition of
literacy followed by the Census of India). The question is
of capabilities- the capability of understanding, making
informed judgments, and effectively participating in the
governance of a state. This is the aspect of education and
the question is ofaccessibility, affordability, and quality.
Not purprisingly, on all three ofthese counts, girls tend
.---- to rediiyg the shorter end of the deal.
-aeeei6ibility (or rather lack of it), along with subt ____q!44dqld.sthool facilities and poor instruction, all contribute tq'large sections of the Indian population remain-.\ jUsiUitgale and uneducated by way of the "Discourage-
j-
)
j.
\-
ment effect" that sets indifference and contempt in the
minds of parents and children towards the schooling
system. The effect is only more pronounced in case of
girl
children, for whom the cost of education is particularly
high.
The gendered perception among the populace
prompts parents to believe that for parents that their son
will support them in old age, while their daughters will
be married and cannot be called upon for such support.
Moreover, the girl child is required for work around the
house. This is compounded by the perception that there
is really not much benefit to sending a girl child to school
since she is not expected to be the bread winner. Her
work is domestic and domestic work doesn't
need
schooling. Thus, if money is spent on girl education, it is
pretty much a waste! In certain cases, education is actually even believed to have a negative effect. Ifthe girl is
educated, it may become difficult for the parents to find
a suitable boy for her who is more qualified than her, and
no matches may be forthcoming for her.
While this perception pertains to the agent dimension, the aspirations of the girls themselves are also a
concern. Aspirations are moulded over time by experiences which condition the future choices. A crucial
reason for a low girl child enrollment in schools is because a large number ofthese schools are not equipped
with separate toilets for girls! This is notjust surprising
but almost appalling. There is a clear bias even within
the school system against girls which only adds to the
discouragement effect. The attitude of parents and the
micro community towards female education, coupled
with the poor quality and bias ofthe education system
affect girl child aspirations. Added to this is the bias of
the labour market and the institution of marriage along
with the social stigmas such as against working wives.
To put it simply - the question is of costs and benefit
and the benefits ofgirl child educationjust do not weigh
out against the costs.
While this
discussion is
a pessimistic
account, it
should also
not be taken
without qual-
ifications.
There have
definitely
been efforts
by policy makers- the state and the non state actors in
this regard- While at the time of independence in t947,
barely r% of the females in India were literate, now the
figures are at least rp to 97%. Special initiatives designed for female education have been in place, and the
more recent Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is also beginning to
focus on secondary education as opposed to solely primary education. But there are still significant gaps in the
education system as a whole and more prominently for
girl children that need to be addressed. These efforts
7
need to take into account not just the quantitative aspects such as the number of enrollments, but also on
qualitative aspects pertaining to infrastructure, instruction and opportunity. Attention must be paid to re-
-
labour market and dealing with gender inequalities,
rather than treating education as a micro issue in itself.
The focus needs to be not simply on budget allocations,
tention of children rather than simply enrollment. It
but also on following up returns on the investment in
education. There is still a long way to go, even though a
should encompass social infrastructure, formalizing the
lot has been achieved.
@k a<t'urz, J arn.e t gfrzk rtnt
at t, r1z.aa./ry'ntrml
cl"all.engel
/ru"a,y'all-lrrqnlilicna/rclmlry,ut,61u,.ry'e
Alma Biiedic
; -' Slovenia is a small country in central Europe which gained independence from the Federal Socialist Re-
\
public of Yugoslavia in r99r. Since
then it has often been represented as
a successful transitional economy;
hiving joinecl the European Union (EU) in zoo4 atrd aclopted the Euro in zoo7.
Slovenia handled the transition period from socialist
to market economy successfu\ compared to other countries in the region. Political stability, high levels ofdevelopment prior to independence, as well as its willingness
to engage the West eased this transition. While Slovenia
represented less than ro per cent ofthe population ofYugoslavia, it accounted for one fifth ofYugoslav GDP and
a quarter ofits overall exports. Much ofSlovenia's success has also been attributed to its rejection of World
Bank and International Monetary Fund neoliberal transition reform packages. Rather than rapidly opening up
its economy to foreign capital, Slovenia adopted gradual
transition reforms, resorting to its own development resources.
Attempting to transition the economy while mitigat-
ing the socially destructive consequences of economic
globalisation for one's citizens is challenging. Slovenia
has been more occupied with the'positive'or economic
aspects of globalisation processes. Policy makers and
economists saw these trends as an opportunity for a
young country like Slovenia to seize economic benefits
and establish itself as a developed country. Economic reforms were designated as necessary for the country to realize its goal of becoming a member of EU, NATO and
other regional and global multilateral and regional arrangements.
However, the negative consequences of integration
with the neoliberal global system only became visible
when the transition process was complete. Slovenia is
now faced with more or less the same challenges the
other European countries are facing. One example is the
outsourcing of economic activity to countries where production and labour costs are significantly lower. Slovenia, along with other European states, has embarked
upon restructuring its economy in order to preserve its
competitiveness in the global market. This restructuring
involves a shift from labourintensive production to technolog' intensive production in
manufacturing and to a service
economy. While this trend existed in the capitalist countries
of Western Europe, young transition countries like Slovenia were forced to deal with these challenges over a
shorter time period.
In Slovenia, the textile industry has suffered the most
from this global trend. Other developed countries faced a
textile crisis earlier but for Slovenia, which was then a
part of socialist Yugoslavia, things were different. A
planned economy did not allow for these levels of competition. Furthermore, textile companies catered to a Yugoslav market of zo million of potential buyers (in contrast to only z million of Slovenian population). The war
in other ex-Yugoslav republics caused Slovenia to lose a
large part of this market and the textile industry was not
prepared for such a huge shock. It did not seek alternatives such as restructuring and updating manufacturing
capacities while these were an option. Meanwhile, because ofthe war in other former Yugoslav republics, foreign branded textile manufactures relocated to Slovenia.
Several textile manufacturers diverted their production
to sewing for brands such as Boss and Escada. As a consequence, important components of the firms, such as
innovative departments, designer sections and their own
brand stores were abandoned. Thus the majority of textile companies became dependent on foreign firms using
Slovenian textile capacities as a temporary place for
sewing their garments. When the war ended production
moved back to other former Yugoslav republics where
labour costs were lower than Slovenia. By the end of
199os the crisis in textile industryhad fully emerged and
was aggravated by the opening of European market for
Chinese textiles in zoo5. Prospects for the improving the
situation of Slovenian textile industry are slim. In its
current state it simply cannot eompete in the global
economy where only profits matter. Costs of prgluctio4.
are high due to high labour cost relative (ot Chinese ' :.,
labour costs. This is despite textile workers:iil Sloveniat !
being among those who receive the lowest 6gge+often-.-'Z
high enough only to satisfy minimal reguirementsJhis-d
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places workers in the textile industry among the most
vulnerable social groups. Current day realities involve
textile companies declaring bankruptcy and factories
closing their doors on an almost dailybasis, leaving hundreds of textile workers- predominantly women- unemployed. This trend is increasing inequalities. The vast
majority of workers in the textile industry who have lost
their jobs in recent years had only had a few years to go
before receiving their hard earned pensions. The profile
of the labour force - older women with training in a specific field- is hardly employable again and represents a
burden for state's social system. Moreover, areas of Slovenia where textile industry has predominantly been located are generally less developed and such high loss of
employment can have devastating effects on short and
long-term development of those regions. This is making
it very dfficult for the state to implement policies aiming
at greater social cohesion and more equal regional devel-
will address these challenges in the face of
References:
Finance (zoo5) Nad tekstilno industrijo se zgrinjajo novi
drni oblaki. Finance, January, 1 2oo5. Available at:
http://rvww.finance.si/ro85zo (accessed February
The case of once thriving textile industry that is now on
the verge of extinction is only an illustrative one - the
same trend can be noticed also in other labour intensive
industries. This is especially the case in industries which
have been completely privatised, with foreign investors
to markets with cheaper labour
force. The state lacks a coherent strategJ for addressing
these highly sensitive issues. It has directed all its efforts
into achieving competitiveness in the global market
while neglectinglrrlnerable social groups who are among
the first to bear the negative consequences of economic
globalisation. It will be interesting to see how the new
19,
2o09).
Klemenbid, \4ado (zoo7) Uspehi in neuspehi tranzicije.
Revrja Obrtnik, zooT (tz). Available
at:
http //rvww.ozs. si/obrtnik/prispevek. asp?IDpm=4147&
ID=$9i8 (accessed February 19, 2oo9).
Kovab, Bogomir (zoo6) Obsojeni na uspeh? Mladina,
(26).
2006
at:
:
Available
http ://rvww.mladina.si/tednikI zo o 626 I clanek/sloekonomija--bogomir_kovac/ (accessed February r9,
2o09).
Kovad, Bogomir (zoo6) Portret socialnega razvoja slov-
enske druibe. Mladina, 2006 (52). Available
opment.
increasingly turning
social issues-
the financial crisis.
at:
http : //vr'ww.mladina.si/tednik I zoo 652 I clanek/sloekonomija--bogomir_kovac/ (accessed February r9,
2o09).
Krese, Meta (zoob) Hektari absurda: Slovenske tekstilne
tovarne pred polomom. Mladina, zoo5 (z). Available at:
http ://rvww.mladina. si/tednik I zoo 5oz I clanek/slo-industrija-meta_krese/ (accessed February 19, 2oo9).
Matos, UrSa (zoo4) Selitev na tuje. Mladina, 2oo4 (3).
Available
http //www.mladina.si/tednik / zo
at:
4q / clanek/slo-globalizacija-ursa_matos/ (accessed February L9,
:
o
2o09).
social-democratic government- which has prioritized
.l;
J/r/r'rr rrin a//17rutti)t ...
Gunjan Wadhwa
It is not your usual every
day NGO raising money
for a cause, there are no clarion calls asking you to
gather for a protest march, no excessive precepts or
preaching; just means pure business: fighting poverry
and suffering and doing pretty much that but, with a
difference - a rock concert here and a jam session
there!
Oxfam, a leading international NGO, is known for
delivering aid and making development work progress worldwide. A cholera crisis in Zimbabwe or a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Oxfam is out there making
its presence felt. But, how do "you" make a difference?
O{am is Oxfam's music festival - with a difference!
You make it happen! You don't necessarily have to be
a music lover (although it really helps if you are) or be
able to wield a microphone (you are a rock star if you
can). All you have to do is put up an event - organise
it from the scratch if you will or just 'tag' an already
existing one - and you are ready to make a difference.
There are no mundane or monotonous days ifyou are
involved with Oxjam. There is music and there is
more music and its all for a good cause. Every pence
raised is used to help some one out there languishing
in poverty we don't even know exists.
My encounter with O{am was very thoughtprovoking. With the conventional desire of being associatedwith an international NGO and changing the
world I came to this country knowing little what
Oxjam had in store for me. Every day has been a new
one since then. From October 2oo8 to February zoog
our team has raised money- by organising music
events and tagging on to musical shows- to help
Oxfam fight poverty and tacHe suffering of innumerable kinds. It feels great to know that you helped a
poor family some where with a clean bucket or a tap
so that they can have access to clean water.
O{am is preparing for its seasonal end - a grand
finale in March with manv shows. events and rock
9
all over Central England
raising money for Oxfam. The idea is
to keep it simple. You can get your
friends together, have an event
your own and make it an Oxjam
event, volunteer and help out during
the events already lined up or just
spread the word and send out good
thoughts. All you have to do is
Google Oxjam and see how you can
get involved and do your bit for huconcerts
@
Oxfam
mankind!
So, make music-raise money-end
poverfy; promote-perform-or just
help out; be humankind, because
you ain't jammin'then you ain'thappenin'!
GangWon Lee
With the continuing global recession since the
second half of 2oo8, employment conditions have
worsened with unemployment swelling and the newly-created jobs declining over the world. On the other
hand, there has emerged new initiative regarding environmental issues by developed countries such as
the U.S., the U.K France, and Japan regarding clean
enerS/, green cars and green industries.2 In a same
vein, the Secretary-General of the U.N, Ban ki-moon
addressed the importance ofunderstanding the value
of transitioning to a low-carbon economy not only to
solve the economic crisis but also create jobs and
spur growth.3
In step with the current trend while facing the
economic crisis, the Ministry of Stratery and Finance
of South Korea announced the Green New Deal in
January zoog to overcome the economic recession by
dealing with both green growth strategies and job
creation.4 From an environmental perspective, given
the seriousness ofissues such as strengthening limits
on greenhouse gas emissions this is a good approach
to the current crisis. The Korean New Deal includes
refurbishment of four Rivers, expansion of green
transportation network, cultivation of green forest
and, constructing small dams and rain-runoff facilities.
By doing so, the Korean government expects to
build social safety network with the help of creating
job opportunities.
However, when one looks into the'Korean Green
Deal' further, one finds that it involves significantly
problematic issues. Most of all, the government is
still focused on construction near riversides. The
river restoration has been contested for one year
amongst government and academic fields and it has
been found that it is not only inefficient economically
but also non-eco friendly. The river restoration has
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been contested for one year amongst government and
academic fields and it has been found that it is not
only inefficient economically but also non-eco friendly. The river restoration has been revived in the apparatus of the Green New Deal. As is clearly known
what'Green'means, the 'Green New Deal' should be
eco-friendly projects. Ironically, the government goes
is able to stray far from eco-friendly with the shield of
'Green New Deal.'Looking at the Green New Deal in
detail, it is clear that the main focus of this policy is
on River restoration in terms of employment perspective and investment. Piling up cement near rivers
and digging from place to place cannot be eco-friendly and as such'Green'and'Deal'are the exact contradiction of each other. In addition to Kyungin Canal
which has been done by the government in the name
of green development, the river restoration projects
are inherenfly problematic if they are done without
proper assessment on environmental effects. The
problem with the Green New Deal initiative is that no
matter what it is done for the "Green New Deal"" or at-.
the cost of environment, we cannot judge:6th*Jto.what the government is doing is right or rSoag$e-J ',.
cause environmental effects would appearfu;-insensible degrees. Everyone knows that if a
increases spednding, more job
-:;
10
created. While the government is creating 960,000
jobs with the help of the 'Green New Deal', most of
them are temporary workers for construction. To
some extent, we may need manual workers, but it
cannot be a long-term solution for boosting a recessional economy or sustaining a sound economy. Emplolnnent is of course an urgent matter to be tackled,
but making this requires structural changes. The
hope that'Green New Deal'will bring momentum to
the Korean economy is, at this point, far from becoming a reality. The idea that the economy can be revitalized with the help of construction might have
sounded persuasive in Roosevelt's New Deal in the
r93os, buy what we now need is is not digging ground
but having a way ofturning around.
@h 6crl @D"uilotl
ct
r The Green New Deal was firstly used in the
report by The Green New Deal Group under The New
Economics Foundation of the U.K in July, zoo8.
http //www.neweconomics.org/gen/uploads/ zaj ogu
45crid4w55tofmpy55zo o7 zo o8t7 2656. pdf
:
(accessed
z
z4/oz/zoo9)
http://wrvw.unep.org/greeneconomyldocsl
GGND_Final%zoReport.pdf (accessed z4l ozl zoog)
3
http://r,l"vlr,rr.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?New
sID=29729&Cr=ki-moon&Crr=climate
(accessed
z+/ozlzoog)
4 http:l lenglish.mosf.go.kr/issues/policyissues/
economic_view.php?sect=laws_policies&sn= 6z8o
(accessed
z4/oz/zoo9)
S
http://wwrv.unep.org/greeneconomyldocsl
GGND_Final%zoReport.pdf (accessed z4 I oz I zoog)
nr|, l %irra rc,/r'.t..l%:, " @trrrlfug " @ert
Saadia Gardezi and Deepali Gupta
One of the most gripping things a movie can do is
put and image into your head, and make you think
about it, over and over again.
It
-
seems this could be
the reason behind the movie winning so many
Oscars. The image that gets left burned in the mind
with the hot poker of morality.
How about watching a movie depicting where you
live, where the destitute of your country live, where
there are tin roofs over your head and you dry your
laundry by the rush of a train passing by. Why not? If
your poverty of your society can be depicted, and
shown to millions, maybe someone will sit up and
take notice. Maybe it will pass be as just another film.
Maybe it will spark off a global reaction. The Indians
found its portrayal of India stereotlpical and offensive for focussing on poverty while ignoring for example, Mumbai's other side. The movie succeeds in
showing what a developing, industrial, modern, India
does not want to be represented by. An almost violent
demonstration in a Mumbai slum cried for banning
the film in India, on the grounds of invasion of privacy on the Indian poor, and against the inhuman
title of "dog" cast on this already-marginalized sector
of society. On the other hand in Britain and USA it is
ning aro.und Manhatten in 6 inch heels. It seems for
Delhi. The movie is not an Indian/Bollywood film,
but an English film. The lead actor in the movie even
speaks with a slightly British accent right in the
movie. It had huge publicity in Britain on busses and
billboard that a Bollywood movie of the same nature
could never have, which in a way points at the inherent north-south bias of globalization. Slumdog Millionaire is not the first project depicting poverty.
Indian movies have done this countless times. Khaled
Hosseini in his novels, weaves a gripping tale of Afghanistan and its social problems. Gregory David
Roberts, an Australian, in Shantaram gave a clear
and subtle account of Bombay slum life, far more nuanced that Slumdog Millionaire could ever depict.
Slumdog is so omnipresent in contrast because film
as medium and English as a language is much more
western'4udiences, Slumdog is a wholly different ex-
accessible to people.
being hailed as the holding profound truths and
being cinematically brilliant. Coming from South
Asia, audiences do not understand the hype, the
slums do not come as a surprise. It should not be a
surprise for the rest of the of the world either, unless
for the last twenty years everyone was lying buried
under images of doctors creating flirtatious havoc in
hospitals and the heels of Sara Jessica Parker run-
,.,
-.B-erie,nce.,
=- Slumdog Millionaire is a story in local dimen-
',
.
Vikas Swarup, on whose book it is based on , is a diplomat and expatriate who is familiar with London
and Pretoria, as much as he is with Bombay and
sions, y.qt produced in a global manner. The author,
The movie is said to have been exploitative. The
child actors, and the slum dwellers in the movie. still
live in the slums. Nothing has really changed for
tl
them even thought the movie is making millions. So if
this movie is indeed all about raising awareness, then
one would assume the production team would have
practiced what it preached. According to Fox Searchlight, the children were given wages at about three
times the average local annual adult salary. The fact
is that in a movie of this scale, the child actors could
legally have demanded a higher wage, and a much
better contract. It is not only this movie that has exploitative undertones in its production. The Kiterunner was much the same, with the child actors being
underpaid as they did not have the information to
demand a better contract. The silent truth is that the
movie was a profit making project as is any other
Hollywood/Bollywood/British/Foreign film ever
made. It was a small budget movie that audiences
took a liking to. The moral concern for poverty that it
has produced globally is just a symptom. A s1'rnptom
that will most likely fade into the back of our minds,
just like intermittent concerns about the favelas in
Brazil, the crippled children in Afghanistan, or the
child soldiers in Angola. There are words being used
like the "Glamorization" of the poor, "povert5r porn"
or "ghetto tourism", that try
appeal
images of slum life has on
thatffii
to explain the
audiences.
Why is this movie so important? It is important because of the response it has
produces and the questions
it has made us ask ourselves,
though that was not the real
intention of the movie.
Slumdog itself
is a rags to
riches project. It projected
cost was only $r5 million,
but the movie has
ters.
since alioog/ollze/
made more than $rzo million and won eight Oscars.
What has made audiences sit up is not the mediocre plot
of the movie but the descriptive aspects of the movie. In
the end what was taken away from the movie was not
that love, predestined, conquers all, but the powerful
snapshot of Bombay slum life that suddenly is staring
the world in the face.
WE ASKED WARWICK STUDENTS TO CIVE US THE FIRST WORD THAT COMES
TO THEIR MIND WHEN WE SAY, "CLOBALIZATION AND DEVELCPMENT"
Donalds &Money (Askar)
Urban & Investment (Tom Walford)
Melting Pot & Improvement (Nader
Food and Slow
& Progression
MyAlevel
lessons and buildings (Emma
&UN
Trade &
Job &Arrested (Chetan ShetV)
USA & Brokers
Communication & Third world fNaureen Su
Global Warming & Starvation
-a
=-a I
.-ii
t2
['r\li
f]l(;\,\i\F->
.ri"'
Etlttorial Tetnn
#r
Natasha Saini (MA IPE)
Deepali Gupta (MAIR)
Gunjan Wadhwa (MA IR)
GangWon Lee (MAIR)
Desirlri, "Loqo rurrJ Latloui
,9; '.-- ?n
+-"-?"G_
{-;
tr'r^E#
Saadia Gardezi (MA IPE)
C;"eriliue frttrirrf.s
Fred
Chetan Shetty