The Global Justice Academy
What is it?
Understanding Global Justice
Our Themes
How we Work
Who are we?
- What is the Global Justice Academy?
The Global Justice Academy is a new inter-disciplinary network of people, centres and networks established to explore Global Justice and support research and courses reflecting global justice concerns. It seeks to build on the work of these centres and networks and to better connect them.
In particular, the Global Justice Academy has been established to provide:
- A multi-disciplinary exploration of what global justice is
- A network of people, centres and networks of those working on global justice issues across the University (see Centres and Networks)
- An intellectual meeting place regarding new ideas regarding a more just world
- Increased dialogue with those engaged in justice issues locally and globally (see Local-Global Dialogue)
As we begin our work we have set out four current themes around which we are organized.
- Understanding Global Justice
What is Global Justice? We view the idea of ‘Global Justice’ as something that needs discussion and exploration, and this will be a central purpose of the Global Justice Academy. We hope to encapsulate some of our debates by encouraging discussion among those associated with the Academy, on our website. See our initial thoughts by Director of the Just World Institute, Tim Haywood, and Arriana Andreangeli, Lecturer in Competition Law, School of Law.
Why and how is it ‘global’?
There are different senses in which Global Justice may be global.
Global Justice as a ‘unified’ justice that asserts itself across the globe. A global justice agenda could mean a concept of ‘unified’ global justice, for example asserted by globally applicable legal norms that aim to create a more just and peaceful world. International legal standards, in particular those relating to human rights, humanitarian law, and international criminal law could be understood as the normative underpinning of a ‘global justice’ agenda in this sense. However, these norms on their own set out a limited agenda, and also on occasion pit universal norms against different local conceptions of justice.
Transnational approaches to global problems. Global justice could alternatively be understood as justice responses to transnational challenges, in the sense that they are ‘cross-border’ in their reach. These could include issues as diverse as climate justice or organized crime both of which have cross-border dimensions. Or the transnational dimension could be understood slightly differently, as justice challenges that different countries across the globe experience in common, such as reform of the justice sector or responses to new technologies or urbanization.
Justice issues thrown up by globalization. Or global justice could be understood as justice responses to globalization, such as the need for some sort of new global constitutionalism to provide for the accountability of new global governance, or how just responses to global crises such as the economic crises could be fashioned.
Globally Just Order. Or global justice could be understood as justice that seeks for some more social just order, for example through global re-distribution between those who have and those who have-not both within and between countries.
Justice as language of change. For people and communities in different situations, the language of ‘justice’ unlike the language of ‘law’ is a language that aspires to change. The idea of global justice from this point of view, speaks to an agenda for change that is of global relevance.
Current Themes
To begin our discussions we have identified current themes relating to global justice in which members of the University are engaged, where we hope to assist exchange and the building of inter-disciplinary agendas.
Understanding Global Justice. This strand of work situates global justice theoretically by questioning what we mean by the term ‘global justice’ and what it means to work together under that banner. (see Hayward and Andreangeli blogs). Under this theme we examine
- What is Global Justice?
- Global Constitutional Law
Citizenship and Belonging. Under this theme we examine
- Citizenship
- Equality and non-discrimination
- Gender Justice
Human Rights, Humanitarianism, Conflict and Peace. This strand of work includes those who engage with legal norms, but also with questions of conflict and peace. Under this theme we consider
- Human rights, Humanitarian and International Criminal Law
- Conflict and Peace
Transnational Problems. This strand of work groups those who examine problems that are seen as transnational because they have a cross-border manifestation, such as climate change or organized crime, or economic collapse, but also problems that are transnational in the sense that they are manifest across a range of countries where they present similar justice issues, such as urbanization (see Tahl Kaminer’s blog on Urban Justice).Under this theme we consider
- Economic Justice
- New Technologies
- Urban Justice
How do we work?
The Global Justice Academy at present meets as a group of steering committee members from across colleges or departments. Through the website it also attempts to further network those across the University who are working on global justice issues with a view to developing new ideas and connections between disciplines. We hope to also communicate with those beyond the University who study or are engaged in global justice issues.
As a practical matter, we hope to use the website to highlight four things:
- relevant events relating to Global Justice issues
- new research relating to Global Justice issues
- relevant courses relating to Global Justice issues
- relevant student reading groups
We hope that by highlighting these activities we can things we can help to foster new ideas and synergies. We view the Academy’s strength as lying: first, in its loose network structure that aims to support and build the work of existing centres and institutes; and second, in its ability to cut across University Schools and Colleges to provide a fluid mechanism of communication and cooperation.
We hope to also be pro-active in assisting new cross-cutting discussions, and initially view the steering committee meetings and small-group discussions as one such place in which this type of discussion can take place.
Who are we?
The Global Justice Academy currently meets as a Steering group with a wider group of those interested and working in global justice issues connecting as Members and taking part in and arranging University-wide events. If you wish to be involved or mailed re our events please contact us.
This summer, the Global Justice Academy ran its first Summer School in conjunction with the School of Political Sciences, and the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. GJA Co-Director, Dr Mathias Thaler, reflects on the success of the three-day course, and plans to revise the Summer School for 2016. Dr Thaler also reports on initial forays into establishing a ‘Democracy Lab’ at the University of Edinburgh, following the launch of his new honours course on democratic theory.
