TFF global posts 2022

Elaheh Pooyandeh TFF Associate September 26, 2022 In Part 1, we explored the history of compulsory hijab in Iran and related incidents up to September 2022 when the name Mahsa (Zhina) Amini was heard for the first time by ordinary Iranians. On September 13th, 2022, a story was leaked to social media. A young Kurd woman, Mahsa Amini only 22 years old from Saghez who was in Tehran for vacation with the family, was transferred to the Kasra hospital (which is a few minutes from the Gashte Ershad HQ in Vozara street). A few hours before, she had been arrested and separated from her teenage brother by Gashte Ershad – often called the ‘Moral Police’ in the West but – see Part 1 – why I do not use that term – when she was leaving the Taleghani subway station and forced into a van. This ignited a fire that...

Elaheh Pooyandeh TFF Associate September 26, 2022 The story of Iranian women’s struggle for their right to choose what they wear is not a new story and, believe it or not, it is older than the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and includes thousands of Iranian female activists. This article is neither going to discuss this history in full detail nor do I intend to promote women’s right and their autonomy. Not the former because this history is long, and retelling it would overshadow the current developments happening in the name of Mahsa Amini. And not the latter because I believe there are enough resources available for it. I merely wish to reflect on the current situation and some of the root causes for those who are interested but might not have a source they can trust. This article will be in two parts. Part 1 which you are reading will...

– the author Peter Peverelli TFF Associate September 22, 2022 This article was originally published by Chinasquare on September 21, 2022. In her annual speech (State of the Union), the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, further sharpened the relationship between the EU and China. She noted that democracy in the EU is under threat as hostile countries, notably Russia and China, fund organizations within the EU to carry out propaganda. She announced a package to defend democracy. von der Leyen had, unfortunately, constructed her entire speech from a negative perspective. A significant part was devoted to the war in Ukraine. It is certainly true that this has a strong negative effect on the lives of EU citizens, but instead of going into the background of this conflict and the possibilities of ending this war as soon as possible, she turned her focus on the enemy who...

This article was first published in RSIS Commentary, No.069, 22 June 2022. RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical and contemporary issues. The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced with prior permission from RSIS and due recognition to the author(s) and RSIS. Synopsis In an era of social tension and conflict, building bridges to foster cohesion has become critical. As the classic song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” reminds us, we should not ignore the troubled water under the bridges that we are building. Commentary At the inaugural International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) in Singapore in June 2019, President Halimah Yacob called on countries and societies to build bridges, not walls, across increasingly identitarian divides. At the same event, Dr...

David Swanson TFF Associate September 6, 2022 It’s tricky to oppose both sides of a war, and rarer even than supporting both sides. The weapons dealers support both sides. In obedience to their televisions, people all over the world spend a great deal of time expressing the opinions dished out by those televisions regarding a particular war that is far from the worst war at the moment. It is the war that creates the greatest risk of nuclear apocalypse, but that does not typically enter into the opinions. Originally published at World BEYOND War on September 4, 2022 You cannot just state that you oppose both sides, because that will quite literally be understood by almost everyone as asserting the unrelated and ridiculous proposition that the two sides are identical, and that will be understood as outrageous propaganda on behalf of whichever side the listener opposes. So, you have to...

Tim Hayward – TFF Associate September 8, 2022 Introduction What does propaganda have to do with academic research and teaching? Citizens can reasonably expect the academic community to generate scholarly understanding and public awareness of what propaganda is and how propaganda operates. Academics should certainly aim to ensure their own research and teaching are not influenced by it. But how well does the academic community actually deal with propaganda? Addressing this question means considering both how propaganda should be dealt with and how academics actually deal with it. Given the distinctive social role of academics, there are five general responsibilities that it is reasonable to expect them to fulfil in relation to propaganda. The most basic is to engage in research and teaching with methods of developing and communicating knowledge quite different from those that constitute propaganda. Whereas propaganda involves strategically communicating information selected on the basis of a prior agenda, the methods of...

Jan Oberg August 20, 2022 This analysis of warfare, peace and economic thinking was written at the invitation of the esteemed magazine China Investment and published in its July 2022 issue in both Chinese and English. I was delighted to be invited to write and to learn that a Chinese investment/economics magazine would take interest in peace. I have never been asked to do something like that by a similar Western magazine. In addition, the cooperation about it with editor Wang Xiaobo was smooth and super-professional, and the editor-in-chief has expressed an interest in printing articles by me in the future too. Please now read “From Warfare to Peacefare Economic Thinking” in “China Investment” in English or Chinese. Or as PDF which you can also download freely: From Warfare To Peacefare Economic ThinkingDownload

Abolish NATOOr Convert ItTo ServePeace 30 Arguments & 100s of Inspirations This report can be reproduced or quoted freely,but only when referring clearly to TFF, the author and the link Read and download as PDF at the end of the catalogue • Read as Flipbook Media & other inquiries to tff@transnational.live or +46 738 52 52 00 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Catalogue contains 30 arguments for the abolition of NATO. Each argument is based on rational peace research analysis, in contrast to the fact-resistant propaganda that NATO and mainstream politics and media promote about the ’defensive’ peace alliance. The Catalogue is based on the democratic assumption that diverse perceptions and concepts can exist – for instance, about what peace is – and that this hugely influential Western organisation is not sacrosanct and shall, therefore, not be exempt from critical analysis. While set up in 1949, NATO passed its ”best before” date long ago. The alliance of...

Right after US House Speaker Mme Nancy Pelosi, had landed in Taipei, Taiwan, on August 2, 2022, I was asked by Russia Today (RT) to comment on that tension-increasing event. It was a news program, but thanks to the excellent questions raised by Rory Suchet, the very knowledgeable anchor at the desk, we got an unusual 15 min conversation out of it. Delightful! – I would add, not the least compared with some media people I’ve come across in the Western/Scandinavian mainstream press. If for some reason you can’t see it, use this link instead.

Richard Falk July 21, 2022 The U.S. Government at the highest level criticized Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, because she went to China on a mission to develop opportunities for cooperation with respect to the protection of human rights. I found that criticism appalling at the time. The mission had been carefully prepared several weeks earlier by UN staff that had visited China and negotiated the itinerary of the visit, which occurred in May of this year. The whole experience seemed a win/win breakthrough as a major country opened itself up to a high degree of independent international scrutiny with respect to its human rights record, an exposure the U.S. itself has resisted and opposed. High officials in Washington let it be known in advance that they considered the trip ‘a mistake,’ and expressed consternation that its hyped allegations of ‘genocide’ associated with the treatment of...

Let’s look at NATO’s reaction to Russia’s ill-considered and international law-violating military action in Ukraine. From a conflict-analytical point of view, it is reasonable to say that Russia is responsible for the war but that NATO, with it reckless expansion against all promises given to Russia and a series of expert warnings, is responsible for the underlying conflict. It can safely be concluded that the Western/NATO response has moved beyond the proportionality principle, beyond rationality and a realistic image of the world and its own role in it: NATO country leaders express limitless hatred of everything Russia; historically hard and time-unlimited economic sanctions have been imposed – using the illegal method of collective punishment of a whole people; weapons for an estimated US$ 60-100 billion will be pumped into Ukraine to defeat Russia there. NATO has added US$ 350 billion in military expenditures since the US-instigated regime change in Kiyev...

Jan Oberg July 8, 2022 There have been lots of reports about how G7 leaders snubbed dinner, photo-op, handshake, concerts, etc. since Russia’s foreign minister Lavrov would also be present during the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Here is Lavrov’s comment to Tass: “This is how they understand protocol, politeness and code of conduct.” Here is another report. This is of course neither professional, good diplomacy nor statesmanship – but, worse, it is an indicator of how little knowledge these people have about how to make peace – an indicator of peace illiteracy – and without wanting to offend children: How childish international politics has become. Diplomatic skills are decreasing as military skills and rhetorics take top priority à la ‘We have overwhelming military power and we do not need to think about the future or show good manners.’ A kind of diplomatic decadence. I do not believe for a...