Jody Baumgartner
Dr. Mosier Talks on Coastal Sustainability
On Tuesday, April 4, 2023, Dr. Samantha Mosier presented at the Second Annual Johnston Coastal Sustainability Symposium held by the Bald Head Island Conservancy. The talk, titled “Sustainability – Challenges in Policy and Planning with a Moving Target Concept”, focused on the challenges in having a singular definition for sustainability and resiliency that can be used as a launching point for public policy and planning.
Research to date has demonstrated considerable variation in how sustainability is defined, and it is important to consider how the language is defined surrounding policy action given the variation sustainability perceptions and the emergence of resiliency planning. Of related importance, less than half of all U.S. local governments have established sustainability plans and policies, and most communities that have adopted plans do not include performance measurements, a key dynamic to identifying progress.
Given the low number of communities that have adopted sustainability plans and included performance measurements, it is important to concept how these sorts of policies are geared to address long-term challenges.
This Day in History (April 10): Anschluss approved in Austria
In a controlled plebiscite in Austria this day in 1938, soon after Adolf Hitler’s invasion of the country, 99.7 percent of Austrians approved the Anschluss (German: “Union”)—the political unification of Austria and Germany.
See: https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day
In a controlled plebiscite in Austria this day in 1938, soon after Adolf Hitler’s invasion of the country, 99.7 percent of Austrians approved the Anschluss (German: “Union”)—the political unification of Austria and Germany.
New Publication by Dr. Kassab
“Trading Human Rights for Cheap Products: The Rise of China and the End of the Liberal World Order in the Context of the Russia-Ukraine War” in Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations: An International Journal Vol. 8, No. 3, (437-478).
Abstract: In 1995, Michael J. Sullivan questions whether China’s human rights violations would cease given increased trade with the democratic world. Today, the United States and the European Union import more from China than any other major power or state. The European Union, a defender of international human rights as enshrined in its constitution, is working on a major investment deal with China. However, China’s human rights record did not improve; rather, China continues to violate the rights of Uyghurs, Buddhists, and other ethnic and religious minorities like Falun Gong practitioners and Christians. It now has the potential to directly challenge the liberal order of the United States. The Russian invasion of Ukraine will only increase China’s power and influence. Russian isolation from western backed sanctions generates an economic dependency on China. Thus, China’s military power and political influence will continue to increase, furnishing its position as a counter-hegemonic power to the United States. The article’s first task is to deconstruct liberal and neoliberal institutionalism theoretical frameworks that dominated American foreign policy architecture since the early 1980s. Its focus on absolute gains enabled China’s rise regardless of its totalitarian stance, specifically its human rights violations. China’s influence is now global as it exports its development model to developing states. Democratic states are thus responsible for the rise of China.
Spotlight on ECU MPA Alumni
ECU MPA alumni Duane Holder and Allysa Rouse were recently award NCPAA public servant of the year and early career public servant of the year awards: http://ncpaalliance.com/awards/ The NCPAA awards were delivered at NCPSA/NCPAA conference luncheon March 25th in Wilmington.
