Call for ScholarForum Submissions: Central Asia and Mongolia / The Politics of the Environment

Date:

July 23, 2009

The Open Society Institute Scholarship Programs invite current scholars and alumni to contribute ideas, comments, and photographs to be published in the upcoming issue of its journal, ScholarForum. Articles can be published anonymously upon request, and submissions in German or French from our DAAD and CNOUS fellows are welcome.

The topic for the next edition is politics of the environment, with a regional focus section on Central Asia and Mongolia.

Personal accounts, essays and creative works, recipes, thoughts on academic life, and notable events during and after your scholarship are also welcome, along with new website and blog suggestions.

Submission Guidelines

Topic Focus: The Politics of the Environment

The next ScholarForum seeks your thoughts and commentary on several key questions underlying the multifaceted issue of climate change, climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation, and local versus international policy formation. We pose our questions below, but as always, we are interested in your own questions and aspects you think need special emphasis.

Morality: Who should decide which countries and governments need to reassess their economic aims? Do developed states have responsibility or authority to define fundamental changes for developing world economies? Or is this a new form of environmental imperialism?
Democracy: Some populations are more directly on the frontline of climate change than others. Communities facing increasing levels of drought in Africa, or the loss of livelihoods around the retreating Aral Sea, are currently underrepresented in international discussion of the environment. How can these populations improve their representation on the world stage?
Sustainability: Recent years have seen the rising prominence of organic food production and an emphasis in advanced economies on sustainable agricultural practices. Should sustainability, as a development goal, take precedence over shorter term growth that can generate faster investment returns?
Migration and Cultural Shifts: Changing climates may force groups from the land which has been their home and the source of their livelihood for centuries. Are there major cultural changes, perhaps even new conflicts, which can be predicted from changing patterns of human migration? Will there be both positive and negative consequences?

These are just a fraction of the key questions in the debate over the potential impact of the changing environment and the interplay of human geography and politics. Your thoughts on these or other related topics are welcome.

Maximum word length: 750 words

Regional Focus: Central Asia and Mongolia

The next edition returns to Central Asia and Mongolia to look at developments in one of OSI’s traditional regions of work. Scholar Forum last visited the area in 2001 when articles captured grantee thoughts from unique cultural customs to the history of Lake Issyk-Kul. In 2010, as debate still surrounds the level of Central Asia’s progress in economic, political, educational, human rights, and environmental issues, we would like to hear from OSI scholars and alumni on current trends and thinking in the region.

Maximum word length: 400 words