Rethinking humanity as a concept in our age of globalization and its relevance to the social and political reality of our times are the topic of this book. It calls for the reclaiming of humanism as an effective response to the conflict, turmoil, and violence we witness in the world today. Concepts of humanity and humanism have become suspect of naivete at best, and guilty of bad faith and repressive ideologies at worst. Yet, hope for improvement is incorrigibly human; the concept of humanity still holds enormous attraction to intellectuals and humanistic scholars. At the same time, it is important to realize that the critique of humanism is very much based on - and limited to - Western social and historical experience. To re-conceptualize humanity and humanism from a truly global perspective will help in relclaiming a more inclusive kind of humanism. In this sense, a cross-cultural perspective is important for reclaiming humanism in our age of globalization. The present volume is the result of such an effort. The diversity of the authors views speaks eloquently to the complexity of the concept of humanity or what constitutes the distinctly human, and therefore the necessity to have an in-depth dialogue on the fate of humanity.

Both human rights and globalization are powerful ideas and processes, capable of transforming the world in profound ways. Notwithstanding their universal claims, however, the processes are constructed, and they draw their power from the specific cultural and political contexts in which they are constructed. Far from bringing about a harmonious cosmopolitan order, they have stimulated conflict and opposition. In the context of globalization, as the idea of human rights has become universal, its meaning has become one more terrain of struggle among groups with their own interests and goals. Part I of this volume looks at political and cultural struggles to control the human rights regime -- that is, the power to construct the universal claims that will prevail in a territory -- with respect to property, the state, the environment, and women. Part II examines the dynamics and counterdynamics of transnational networks in their interactions with local actors in Iran, China, and Hong Kong. Part III looks at the prospects for fruitful human rights dialogiue between competing universalisms that by definition are intolerant of conradiction and averse to compromise.

This volume provides a compendium of papers presented at the 36th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology, papers which address issues related to the age of globalization and social change, including cultural diversities, migration and equality, social transformation, and national identity.

Globalization, Difference, and Human Security seeks to advance critical human security studies by re-framing the concept of human security in terms of the thematic of difference. Drawing together a wide range of contributors, the volume is framed, among others, around the following key questions: What are the silences and erasures of advancing a critical human security alternative without making recognition of difference its central plank?How do we rethink the complex interplay of human security and difference in distinct and varied spatial and cultural settings produced by global forces? What is the nexus between human security and the broader field of global development? What new challenges to Human Security and International Relations are produced with the rise of the ‘post-liberal’ or ‘post-secular’ subject? In what ways releasing human security from identification with the territorial state helps reconceptualize culture? How does Human Security serve as a subspecies of modern humanitarian thought or the latter reinforce imperial imaginaries and the structures of order and morality? Is the pursuit of indigenous rights fundamentally counterpoised to the pursuit of human security? What difference it might make to take the ‘doings and beings’ of communities-of-subsistence rather than basic-needs/wealth-seeking individuals as a point of departure in critical human security studies? How does reconstruction bind post-war and post-disaster states and societies into the global capitalist-democratic political structure?

Global developments have come to shape our lives, economically, culturally, and even religiously. Young people growing up in a global age have to be prepared for living in this age. Economic and technological demands are important, but there also is a need for personal and social orientations that go beyond them. This book provides both insights into the Protestant tradition in education as well as its meaning for the future of the church, for society and for individual persons. It follows an innovative approach by combining perspectives from three different contexts - Germany with its important Protestant starting points in the Reformation, the United States as a country which has been strongly influenced by Protestantism, and South Korea with its comparatively young Protestant tradition. The book is based on a combination of international points of view, on transnational cooperation, on comparative insights, and on making constant reference to a global horizon. Its presentations and ideas not only address globalization as a driving force behind many future developments, but also demonstrate an exercise of global educational thinking. Hyun-Sook Kim is professor of Christian Education at the College of Theology, Yonsei University, Korea.

The Chinese government has attempted to bolster its legitimacy as a political response to emerging social, cultural, political, economic, environmental challenges and crises experienced during market-oriented reforms and rapid modernization in China. However, contrary to the Western preference for liberal democracy and 'procedural legitimacy,' the Chinese government's attempt at bolstering legitimacy has emphasized performance-based, responsibility-based, morality-based, and ideology-based arguments in order to gain popular support and maintain regime stability. In order to understand and explain political phenomena in China, it is necessary to revisit the concepts, theories, and sources of legitimacy and their applications in the Chinese context. Contributors of this book have approached legitimacy from both normative and empirical perspectives, and from Western and Chinese perspectives, thus this edited volume offers lessons and insights for and from China, and contributes to the ongoing theoretical debates as well as empirical research on legitimacy in the Chinese context.

Constructing Moral Concepts of God in a Global Age focuses on what people say and think about God, rather than on arguments about God's existence. It advances a theological method, or step-by-step approach to explore and reframe personal convictions about God and the worldviews shaped by those convictions. Since a moral God is more likely to foster a moral life, this method integrates an ethical check to ensure that understandings of God and their associated worldviews are validly moral. The proposed method builds on the work of twentieth-century theologian Gordon Kaufman during the Kantian phase of his work. It anticipates a person-like God who hears prayers, loves without end, and comforts in times of hardship. To accommodate today’s pluralistic and globalized world, the ethical check integrated in the method is a widely collaborative and vetted global ethic, the Parliament of the World’s Religions "Declaration Towards a Global Ethic." This volume of constructive philosophical theology is written for seminary students, educators, clergy, study groups, and anyone interested in delving more deeply and systematically into understandings of God, whether their own or those of others.

This unique textbook seeks to promote students' critical and analytical skills and to provide a teacher-friendly resource featuring: in-depth scholarly introductions to each chapter, multiple questions for discussion and reflection, and an extensive bibliography and annotated filmography.

Sustainable Human Development in the Twenty-First Century is a component of Encyclopedia of Human Resources Policy, Development and Management in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty Encyclopedias. The volume of Human Development examines the state and nature of human development and identifies factors that determine its promotion for the twenty-first century. A general goal, since the ultimate goal for human development is to enhance the quality of human life. However, the concept “quality of human life” is not well defined. It is determined by a set of interrelated factors that cut across many disciplines with varied perspectives and paradigms. These include the prevailing culture, health status, economic performance, technological development, political and social conditions, the building of human capacity and capabilities, and institutional development on the local and global levels. For example, in an environment characterized by a better quality of human life, it is expected that people will be able to lead long and productive lives. They are also expected to enjoy good health, have access to knowledge and educational opportunities, and be treated by all with respect, in a socially equitable and dignified manner. In the sphere of political economy, they are expected to have the opportunity to participate in governance decisions that affect their lives and the community in which they live; and to have the potential to earn sufficient income to supply themselves with adequate nutrition, shelter, and other material and aesthetic needs. Furthermore, people are expected to maintain a sustainable environment and equitable social contracts across space and generations, especially in the context of the evolving global governance. The volume of “Sustainable Human Development in the Twenty-First Century” is divided into five topics which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter presented in two volumes. The first is “Major issues in Human Development” and provides an over view of the Topic with emphasis on the sociological foundation of human development. The second Topic, “Diversity and Historical Processes” reviews the historical and technological processes which have led to the present state of human diversity and differentiation. The third Topic, “Causes of Global Change” focuses on whether it is possible in the present global environment to enlarge people's capabilities so that economic progress may be translated into a multidimensional human happiness. The fourth Topic, “Consequences of Global Change” examines global change not in the narrow sense of short-term economic change, but rather as historical waves of long-term development. The fifth Topic on Planning Strategies reviews current practice and projects challenges in the next century. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.

Globalization is a fascinating spectacle that can be understood as global systems of competition and connectivity. These man-made systems provide transport, communication, governance, and entertainment on a global scale. International crime networks are also outgrowths of the same systems. In this course, you will learn how to identify and analyze global systems and better understand how they are changing societies around the world.