Research

Secularism and Diversity

The subcommittee on Secularism and Diversity studies the relationship between religion and politics and the impact of local identity on global liberal and democratic ideas. The problems that arise from these dynamics have become more pressing as global flows of capital, goods and people threaten to disrupt local cultures. For global citizens whom the flows of globalization have left disadvantaged and often desperate, the strenuous re-assertion of traditional culture is an often-brittle source of comfort and dignity.
 
Global Thought has devised a research and teaching program on these themes to look at the impact of such globalizing tendencies on questions of identity, secularism, diversity and terrorism.  Some large background questions must be kept firmly in mind:  when the miscellany of different local cultures is being—perhaps irreversibly—integrated by these global flows, can we still live together without always having to think alike? Are there local and national strategies left for dealing with issues that are no longer local and national but have a global profile (such as, for example, terrorist networks)?  How is it that religion seems more—rather than less—central to politics when there is a massive increase in the 'Westernization' of societies the world over? Is the rhetoric of the "Clash of Civilizations" describing anything real, or is it just a mask for Western efforts at domination which will make such a clash a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Global Governance

The subcommittee on Global Governance investigates the ways in which the era of globalization has resulted in new networks of interdependence and integration. Our existing systems of global governance - the Bretton Woods institutions - were established fifty years ago when international flows of capital, goods and people moved at a slower clip. Today, bilateral and regional trade agreements complement multilateral agreements while increasingly influential multi-national corporations and non-governmental organizations proliferate. These structural developments defy existing concepts of representation and accountability and pose new challenges at the global, regional, national and municipal level and new governance structures are necessary to manage the negative aspects of these new relationships.

Global Governance's research and teaching program strives to enhance our understanding of the critical issues of governance, and to identify policies and strategies that can be made in pursuit of global goals including the protection of the environment, the promotion of global economic prosperity and the stabilization of failed states. The subcommittee also raises fundamental questions as to the uneven distribution of growth and development, cities as the current loci for global policy challenges, and the social and moral accountability of governing structures to the global community. Of particular concern is the way in which globalization affects developing countries and how their concerns are inadequately or adequately addressed within existing governance structures. 

Poverty and Inequality

The subcommittee on Poverty and Inequality investigates aspects of economic globalization that have benefited parts of the world at the expense of, or without consideration for, other parts of the world. Recent decades have seen historically unprecedented economic growth around the world, yet the promises of progress and development have not been fulfilled for all people. Economists can point to significant successes in the fight against global poverty, yet there are still a great many failures. With close to one billion people in the world living on less than a dollar a day, and 40% of the world’s population living on less than two dollars a day, poverty is one of the major issues facing the world today.

The research and teaching components of the subcommittee on Poverty and Inequality seeks to understand the role played by globalization in development. This includes an investigation of global and national policy changes, discussions into the role and need for aid, and the disparate effects of climate change on the developing world.

This subcommittee is closely related to the Program in International Development and Globalization (IGERT) which supports graduate student doing multi-disciplinary studies in development and globalization. Through the Committee, IGERT offers interdisciplinary courses and seminars as well as summer internships and travel and research grants.