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Manifesto
Our Aims and What We Do
Institutional Affiliations
National Advisory Committee
International Professorial Board
Manifesto
The tumultuous and uneven globalization of social relations has forced upon us the task of re-imaging a better world. The presumed lack of alternatives to market globalism constitutes a world-wide challenge. It entails developing deeper understandings and more powerful explanations. This requires a renewal of critical engagement. The homogenizing effects of global movements of people, ideas, goods, and money, all too easily conceal the continuing divergence of the extremes of human existence. The billions around the world who live precarious lives are threatened by malnutrition, disease, and violence that know no borders, and yet, for people looking across the Googled Earth from metropolitan centres, these social problems remain largely invisible. Moreover, we are threatened by global war-without-end and environmental crisis. Our work is explicitly dedicated to cultivating and creating ethical Left alternatives.
The Melbourne-based Globalism Institute is committed to exploring the relationship between the global and the local. We seek to create a more deeply democratic world in which all communities and individuals can participate in determining their futures. The emergent forms of transnational and global consciousness call for creative and ethically-engaged approaches to making sense of shifting constellations of identity. A crucial dimension of our mission is critical cosmopolitanism and global citizenship, complemented by a concern for diversity and dialogue across political and cultural boundaries. While nation-states remain important for certain forms of regulation and redistribution, we see a need for modes of governance that respond adequately to local and global problems. Strengthening of democratic participation might take many forms from revitalized local forms of governance to the democratization of global economies, for instance through mechanisms of transnational financial regulation and taxation.
We recognize the diverse philosophical and theoretical traditions out of which we work, seeking to balance Western orientations with insights drawn from non-Western philosophies. We are developing richer and deeper narratives about globalization and globalism. Social scientific understandings and explanations are necessarily interpretative, temporal, and historical. An adequately understood notion of causality is central to our attempts to tell better stories about globalization. We are sceptical of all forms of exclusive theoretical and theological truths, without foreclosing on the possibility of spiritual and aesthetic insights. We are united in our desire to apply both critical-reflexive and ethnographic-immersive approaches to our work. We believe in methodological openness, and intellectual curiosity. Our methodological and thematic perspectives are framed by ethical concerns. Cognizant of maintaining a tight link between theory and practice, our work focuses on reinserting the importance of politics and culture—not ‘culturalism’—into globalization debates still dominated by economistic perspectives.
Key problems face us all in the twenty-first century: constraints on the movement of people across borders; the uneven production, exchange and consumption of those foundational conditions of human life: food, water, health, and culture; the global manifestations of violence and war; the exploitation of bodies, environments and the global eco-sphere; the undermining of relations of difference and equality; and the lack of democratic self-determination. Recognizing these issues, we have developed research projects that focus on the sources of insecurity, community sustainability and formation, the ideologies of globalization, the historical trajectories of globalizing dynamics, global education and cultural exchange, global democracy and sustainable governance of the world economy. We are committed to working within existing and developing networks of fellow scholars, and with community activists, civil movements and policy-makers across the world. Reaching out to others is central to the building of a better world.
Our Aims and What We Do
The Globalism Institute
Undertakes engaged research into globalisation, transnationalism, nationalism and cultural diversity. It seeks to understand and critically evaluate current directions of global change, with an emphasis on the cultural implications of political and economic transformation.
Builds transnational links with other world centres of excellence.
Educates the community, both local and global, about both the difficulties and the possibilities of globalisation and cultural diversity.
Provides research consultancy to all levels of government, industry and community, from the local to the international.
Provides a forum for analysing the role of Australia's culturally diverse diasporic communities in the processes of globalisation.
Sponsors conferences, forums and seminars to debate and formulate critical analysis and policy both for government bodies and for world and regional organisations and agencies.
Offers a rich research milieu for postgraduate study in the fields of globalism, transnationalism, multiculturalism, nationalism, identity politics and cultural diversity.
Key areas of research include the following:
Structures of globalisation, both past and present.
Formations of nationalism and the nation-state, and their continuing though changing relevance.
Configurations of transnationalism-the changing nature of diasporas, migrant communities and refugees.
Relations of integration-from indigenous and traditional face-to-face communities to the extended relations of mass broadcasting and electronic communication.
Discourses of critical engagement, such as cosmopolitanism, postcolonialism, communitarianism, and multiculturalism.
Institutional Affiliations
The Globalism Institute is building ongoing research links with related organizations both locally and overseas. The Institute is involved in a range of collaborative activities with research institutes, publishers and grass-roots organizations that are concerned about understanding the implications of globalisation.
Arena Publications (Melbourne)
Established in 1963, Arena
Publications publishes both Arena Journal an academic biannual,
and Arena Magazine, Australia's leading left magazine of cultural
and political comment. Both publications frequently publish articles
and commentary pieces on areas ranging across the work of the Globalism
Institute, including Indigenous politics and culture, debates on biotechnology,
nationalism and national identity, including the history wars, and
the role of intellectuals and technology in the transformation of
the current cultural and political landscape. Arena has a thriving
centre in Fitzroy, Melbourne which combines publication, public discussion
and a commercial printery. The Globalism Institute has a presence
on the editorial board of Arena Publications through Paul James as
one of the Arena Journal editors and Christopher Scanlon
as co-editor of Arena Magazine.
BorderZone Arts (United States of America)
A community-based international arts and cultural program organization,
Borderzone Arts was founded in 2000 to address the needs of Indigenous and
historically under-represented artists whose works deserve greater attention in
contemporary art worlds. Projects explore cultural and artistic boundaries, and
allow for new forms of artistic expression to emerge in the 'borderzone', through
exhibitions, performances, publications, and public programs. Collaboration is
central to Borderzone's approach to strengthening and improving community
development and sustainability through the arts. Borderzone and the Globalism
Institute collaborated on an exhibition of indigenous artists that was shown in Los
Angeles in 2004.
The Common Ground Group (Melbourne and Sydney)
Common Ground, a humanities
and social science publisher based in Melbourne and Sydney, has been
collaborating extensively with RMIT for several years.
The Globalism Institute's involvement
with Common Ground is considerable and close. It includes joint research projects,
conferences and publications. Together, the Globalism Institute and Common
Ground have organized several conferences beginning with the Indigenous Peoples
and Racism Conference in 2001 and the Fourth National Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Visual Arts Conference in 2002. Other co-organized conferences include:
the Diversity Conference series; the Humanities Conference series; the Book
Conference series; and the Learning Conference series.
Globalization Research Center, University of Hawai'i (United States of America)
In April 2002 after a series of meetings in Honolulu it was confirmed that the
Globalization Research Center and the Globalism Institute would develop a
collaborative relationship including a joint conference on diversity and
globalization. The Globalization Research Centre through Professors Barry Gills and
Manfred Steger invited Paul James to participate in their dialogical conference on
ideologies of globalism in December 2002, and we became joint sponsors of the
'Cultural Diversity in a Globalizing World' conference run in February 2003 in
Honolulu. In September 2003, Paul James met with Deane Neubauer and Professor
Michael Douglass, the new director of the Center, at a forum in Ottawa where, they
collaborated with a number of other institutes in establishing the Globalization
Studies Network. In 2004 we worked together to develop a conference on
sustainability held in Hawaii in 2005.
Globalization Studies Network (International)
The Globalization
Studies Network (GSN) is a new world-wide association that links
programs of research, education and public policy regarding globalization.
The network is formed on an inclusive basis, encompassing diverse
regions, disciplines, cultures, perspective, and substantive concerns.
The GSN does not advocate any particular intellectual or political
approach, but rather fosters dialogue and debate - involving South,
North, East and West - about the nature, direction and possible redirection
of globalization. Two exploratory meetings concerning the formation
of the GSN were held during 2003 and involved 35 institutes from Africa,
the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe, including the Globalism
Institute. Paul James and Chris Scanlon were part of the GSN inaugural
conference at CSGR/Warwick in August 2004. The GSN is a co-sponsor
of ‘Pathways to Reconciliation and Global Human Rights, Sarajevo
2005’, a conference convened by the Globalism Institute, to
be held from 16–19 August 2005.
Global Reconciliation Network
The Global Reconciliation Network, in which the Globalism Institute is key
participant, seeks to facilitate the process of reconciliation at both local and global
levels. It does so by providing a framework within which people can explore ways
of developing and extending exchanges of a cultural, educational and intellectual
nature. In accordance with its underlying objectives, it operates within a decentred,
democratic framework that permits the development of autonomous cells or
interest groups. Utilizing direct, face-to-face contact and contemporary means for
communication across geographical boundaries it seeks to recreate globalization's
'human face' and to formulate strategies, processes and proposals which bring the
peoples of the world closer together. The Network which in Melbourne draws
together academics from LaTrobe, Monash and RMIT universities -has convened
a series of conferences: Melbourne, 2002, London, 2003, India, 2004, Sarajevo, 2005.
Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University (Melbourne)
The Institute
for Citizenship and Globalisation (ICG) is dedicated to expanding
our knowledge of problems associated with citizenship and globalization.
The ICG comprises the Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights, the
Cultural Heritage Centre for Asia and the Pacific and the Corporate
Citizenship Unit. Through these centres and various interdisciplinary
working groups, the ICG brings together internationally recognized
scholars who provide a range of perspectives on the processes of globalization
and new meanings of citizenship. The ICG was a co-sponsor of the Fourth
International Conference on Diversity
in Organizations, Communities and Nations held at the University of
California
Los Angeles from 6–9 July 2004, and will co-sponsor the 2005
Diversity conference
in Beijing.
The Institute of Postcolonial Studies (Melbourne)
The Globalism Institute and the Institute
of Postcolonial Studies (IPS) have been working closely together
since 2002. The Globalism Institute is represented on the Postcolonial
Institute's Council, the Institute's peak policy body that oversees
academic programs, events, publications, external linkages, and future
directions for the Institute. The IPS publishes Postcolonial Studies,
an international journal, founded in 1997 by a group of scholars associated
with the Institute of Postcolonial Studies, including Paul James,
a past Associate Editor. Phillip Darby, the director of IPS was a
Visiting Fellow at the Globalism Institute during 2004.
International Literacy Research Centre (Universiti Sains Malaysia)
In 1999, the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and RMIT University signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the objective of developing
collaborative research projects across the two universities. In the same year, in
consortia with the Penang Department of Education, USM and RMIT conducted the
Sixth International Conference in Literacy and Educational Research Network in
Penang, Malaysia. USM and RMIT International Literacy Research Unit has also
established a jointly funded and managed International Literacy Research Unit
involving the Faculty of Education, Language and Community Services and the
School of Humanities, USM. The research unit is involved in literacy and language
research and associated areas of policy and practice of mutual interest. The unit
operates from two virtual nodes located at USM in Penang and RMIT University
in Melbourne.
 openDemocracy (International)
openDemocracy.com is an online global magazine of politics and culture. It publishes
clarifying debates which help people make up their own minds, based upon seeking
the finest political writing from contributors across the world. The magazine is
written by and for people across the world, from South and North, from the
powerless to the influential, seeking to bring together those who are not wellknown
with writers and thinkers of international repute. Their pages now include
over 1,500 articles. Tom Nairn from the Globalism Institute is a regular contributor.
The Sources of Insecurity Network (ATN)
The Globalism Institute is convenor of a global network of scholars working in the
area of globalization and human security. A website has been set up to facilitate this
relationship: www.sourcesofinsecurity.org. The first stage of the Network grew out
of a seed grant from the Australian Research Council which brought together complementary and
distinctive institutes from across Australia, working closely in association with more
than a dozen international institutes-all engaging with the new areas of 'human
security' and 'globalization studies'. The Australian core of the first stage of the
network comprised the Globalism Institute with an emphasis on globalization, the
Asia Research Centre (Murdoch University) with an emphasis on political economy,
the Centre for Communication and Culture (UTS) with an emphasis on regional
cultural research, and the School of Political Science and International Relations
(University of Queensland) with an emphasis on international politics. This was
extended in the second stage to form a collaborative network between the ATN
universities: RMIT, UTS, QUT, Curtin and the University of South Australia.
One of the strengths of the present project is to bring together and co-ordinate
researchers across disciplinary divides, researchers usually working in quite
separate fields within the social sciences, humanities and information sciences. This will create a basic foundation and encouragement for further research into this
subject that will feed back in innovative ways to those various disciplines. The chief
investigators have been forging a deepening relationship over the last couple of
years through their mutual work on new security issues, their co-ordination of the
ARC 'Sources of Insecurity' Network, and their common involvement in
conferences on new security questions in Melbourne (November 2004) and Sarajevo (August 2005).
Sources of Insecurity Network (International)
Australia
Academic Institutions
Academics from Australian universities, including:
- the Globalism Institute (RMIT)
- the Centre for Communication and Culture (UTS)
Non-Academic Institutions+
- Amnesty Australia
- Australian Conservation Foundation
- Australian Council of Trade Unions
- Caritas
- Catholic Commission for Justice
- Oxfam Australia
- United Nations Association of Australia
- World Vision
Asia-Pacific
Academic Institutions
- Institute of Global Studies, Nankai University, China
- International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
- Asian Network, University of the Philippines, Philippines
- Centre for International Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Centre for Development Studies, University of the South Pacific
Non-Academic Institutions+
- Network for Development Studies, India
- Focus on the Global South, Thailand
- CAVR, East Timor
North America
Academic Institutions
- Center for Global Studies, University of Victoria, Canada
- Globalization-Human Condition, McMaster, Canada
- Globalization and International Security Institute, Denver, USA
- Ethno-Political Conflict Network, Pennsylvania, USA
- Network for the Study of Public Security, Rutgers University, USA
- Disaster Management, University of Hawai'i, USA
Non Academic Institutions
- International Development Research Network, Canada
Europe
Academic Institutions
- Genése et Transformation Des Mondes Sociaux, Paris, France
- Department of Anthropology, Lund, Norway
- Globalization Programme, University of Oslo, Norway
- Globus Institute, University of Tilburg, Netherlands
Non Academic Institutions
- Open Democracy, United Kingdom
- Tropical Research Institute, Portugal
+ NB. Even though these relationships are firmly established, they are by necessity informal
due to the profound issues of independence in matters of political sensitivity.
The Transnational Institute (Holland)
The Transnational Institute is a non-government, non-university research
institute based in Amsterdam. The Institute is dedicated to engaging with issues of
globalization and social justice. In May 2002, Tom Nairn and Paul James met with
the Board of the TNI, agreeing to a memorandum of ongoing association and cooperation.
As part of the agreement we invited the TNI to participate in our
Humanities conference in Greece in July 2003. Tom also attended the TNI Fellows
meetings in 2003 and 2004.
National Advisory Committee
Professor Jon Altman, Director, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research,
Australian National University
Dr Bill Cope, Director, Common Ground Publications
Mr Tim Costello, CEO, World Vision, Australia
Professor Neil Furlong, Pro Vice-Chancellor, RMIT University
Mr Bruce Harvey, Chief Advisor, Aboriginal and Community Relations, Rio Tinto
Ms Jackie Huggins, Co-Chair, Reconciliation Australia
Professor John Nieuwenhuysen, Director, Monash University Institute for the Study
of Global Movements and Deputy Chancellor, RMIT University
Professor Chris Reus-Smit, Head, Department of International Relations,
Australian National University
Professor Geoff Stokes, Director, Institute of Citizenship and Globalisation,
Deakin University
International Professorial Board
Professor Perry Anderson, University of California, Los Angeles
Dr Alan Chun, Academica Sinica, Taipei
Professor Jonathan Friedman, Directeur d'Etudes, Ecoles des Hautes Etudes
en Sciences Social, Paris
Emeritus Professor, Jack Goody, Cambridge University
Professor, Bruce Kapferer, Associate Director, Institute of Research in International
Migration and Ethnic Relations, Bergen
Professor Krishan Kumar, University of Virginia
Professor David Lyon, Queens University
Professor Walter Mignolo, Director, Center for Global Studies, Duke University
Professor Juliet Mitchell, Cambridge University
Ashis Nandy, Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
Professor Brendan O'Leary, Director, Solomon Asch Centre for the Study of Ethno-
Political Conflict, University of Pennsylvania
Professor Fazal Rizvi, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Professor Jan Aart Scholte, Deputy Director, Centre for the Study of Globalisation
and Regionalisation, University of Warwick
Professor Peter Sellers, University of California, Berkeley
Professor Manfred Steger, School of International and Community Studies and Academic Director, Globalism Institute, RMIT University
Professor Jukka Siikala, University of Helsinki
Professor Gayatri Spivak, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities, Columbia
University
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