Past Issues
Working Paper 2012/2:
Michael T. Seigel, Consensus Building Revisited: The Experience and Approach of Toshio Kuwako [PDF 508KB]
This paper is a summation of material drawn from 18 papers written by Professor Toshio Kuwako of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The purpose of the paper is to present an overview of Kuwako’s approach to consensus building and make it available to the English-speaking world. The papers written by Professor Kuwako are largely experiential accounts with reflection on and analysis of that experience. The organization given to the present paper is that of the present writer. Given that doubts are sometimes raised about consensus building in regard to intractable issues where no agreement seems possible, and that it is precisely these kinds of issues that are the focus of Kuwako’s work, his contribution would seem important. The paper does not undertake any other discussion regarding the projects Kuwako has worked on. There is a good deal of information about these projects on the internet, but in line with the goal of the paper and the interests of brevity only Kuwako’s own discussion of these projects is presented.
Working Paper 2012/1:
Michális S. Michael, Developing a Regional Interfaith/Intercultural Network in Melbourne's Northern Suburbs [PDF 485KB]
By examining the experience of an innovative and ambitious initiative in the evolution of the interfaith movement in Australia, this article analyses three contested themes: (1) how to connect religion more closely with culture, thereby placing interfaith relations within the context of intercultural awareness; (2) how to develop a regional initiative which, informed by Australia’s urban history and sociology, would complement and dovetail with pre-existing interfaith and intercultural activities; and, (3) how to translate the general principles of dialogue into the operational environments of local communities. By analysing the insertion of dialogue into the modalities of ‘everyday’ life, this article illuminates how a multidimensional approach to interfaith dialogue can resonate with the cultural-political specificities of a major metropolitan concentration.
Working Paper 2011/1:
Les Dalton, Politics of the Australian Peace Movement: 1930s to 1960s [PDF 382KB]
Les Dalton, retired research scientist, has campaigned and written on world peace and nuclear weapons issues since the 1950s. He co-authored submissions to the Fox Inquiry on links between nuclear power and nuclear weapons. His special interest has been the preparation of information, written and visual, for community education.
Extant scholarship tends to depict the Australian peace movement from the 1930s to the 1960s, as too politically influenced, in its objectives and campaigns, by the Communist Party of Australia. Such judgement takes account neither of the diversity of activists, nor the range of issues on which the movement campaigned. The peace movement has always existed as a network of community bodies and individuals, who have a wide range of political, religious and philosophical leanings. The significant contribution of pacifists, often ignored, has been given the attention it deserves. Pacifist practice of non-violent civil disobedience, during protest actions, was adopted by the broader peace movement. This essay discusses the fortunes of the peace movement from the 1930s, which saw the rise of fascism, to the 1960s, and the signing of the Partial Nuclear Weapons Test Ban Treaty. The experiences of this time helped prepare the ground for the continuing anti-nuclear and anti-war activism of later years.
Working Paper 2010/1:
Hans Koechler, The Philosophy and Politics of Dialogue [PDF 284KB]
Hans Koechler holds the Chair of Political Philosophy and Philosophical Anthropology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria and is Visiting Professor at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He is Founder and President of the International Progress Organization (IPO), an international NGO in consultative status with the United Nations. Koechler is author or editor of more than 400 articles and books in over a dozen languages, including Cultural Self-comprehension of Nations; The New International Economic Order: Philosophical and Socio-cultural Implications; Democracy and the International Rule of Law; Global Justice or Global Revenge?; Civilisations: Conflict or Dialogue?; Globality versus Democracy? The Changing Nature of International Relations in the Era of Globalization; Philosophie – Recht – Politik (Philosophy - Law - Politics); World Order: Vision and Reality. He is also a member of the editorial board of the international academic journal Hekmat va Falsafeh (Wisdom and Philosophy) and of the Indian Journal of Politics. Koechler organised numerous conferences and expert meetings in international relations, in particular on intercultural co-operation and the dialogue among civilisations, and is member of the International Co-ordinating Committee of the World Public Forum ‘Dialogue of Civilisations’ (Moscow-Vienna). In March 1974, he gave the first lecture – at Jordan’s Royal Scientific Society in Amman – outlining his theory of inter-cultural dialogue; in the same year, he organised an international conference in Innsbruck (Austria) on ‘The Cultural Self-comprehension of Nations’ (July 1974). Koechler is the recipient of numerous honours and awards including a doctoral degree sub auspiciis praesidentis rei publicae (‘under the auspices of the President of the Republic’ of Austria); and honoris causa from Mindanao State University (Philippines); an honorary professorship of Pamukkale University (Turkey); the badge of honour of the Austrian College Society; the award ‘Apostle of International Understanding’ (India); the Honourary Medal of the International Peace Bureau (Geneva); and the Grand Medal of David the Invincible (Armenian Academy of Philosophy).
For further information about Hans Koechler see: Fatemah Remedios C. Balbin (ed.), Hans Koechler Bibliography and Reader, Manila: Hans Koechler Political and Philosophical Society / Foundation for Social Justice, 2007; and M.-L. Frick and A. Oberprantacher (ed.), Power and Justice in International Relations: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Challenges. (Essays in Honour of Hans Koechler), Farnham (Surrey), UK: Ashgate, 2009.
Or contact the author via email: mail@hanskoechler.com
Working Paper 2008/2:
George Myconos, Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogue in Education: A Case Study [PDF 298KB]
Australia's education system has been a lightning rod for debates over how we should contemplate the past and negotiate the future. It has been a particularly important site of debate in recent years when the nature of national identity has been hotly contested. It has also long been regarded as an important domain where damaging cultural, racial and religious misconceptions and intolerance can and should be addressed.
This paper focuses on one the Centre for Dialogue's cornerstone projects – The Education Dialogue Project (EDP). Written by the programme's coordinator, Dr George Myconos, the paper outlines the philosophy and activities that underpinned phase one of the project (2005-2007). This includes reference to three dialogue ‘frameworks': declaratory-symbolic, (i.e advocacy for dialogue through formal declarations or scholarly exchange); practical-ameliorative approaches to dialogue (focussing on techniques and practical outcomes to ameliorate violence); and educational-foundational approaches (where the discourse and practice of dialogue is evident through formal and informal systems of learning). The author also identifies the philosophers and thinkers that have helped shape the programme's agenda, as well as those educational organisations that participated in the project (including six secondary schools).
Ultimately, Dr Myconos provides a unique insight into how the theory of dialogue can be applied. His account includes details of the workshops and the initiatives that constituted the project. These included innovative professional development events focussing, for example, on interactions in schools between unfamiliar cultures, and dialogue-friendly approaches to the curriculum. Other aspects of the project included establishing relationships with participating schools' diverse communities (including new migrants) and helping to equip teachers with the tools needed to incorporate a dialogic approach in their lessons. Dr Myconos reflects on aspects of the dialogic approach to education that are most suitable to the Victorian setting, and also on the limitations of such endeavours.
Related Link: Education Dialogue Project
Working Paper 2008/1:
Patrick Dodson, Reconciliation, Two Centuries On, Is Dialogue Enough? [PDF 261KB]
This Working Paper is the full text of the Centre for Dialogue's Second Annual Lecture, delivered by the 'father of the reconciliation movement', Patrick Dodson. The lecture was delivered just months after the then Federal Government announced a controversial military intervention in remote Indigenous communities. Under the intervention, the Australian federal government removed the permit system that enabled indigenous elders to prohibit outsiders from entering their communities, and welfare payments were quarantined.
In this paper, Patrick Dodson condemns the Howard Government's intervention as an example of wedge politics — the 'use of racism to extract support from sections of the community.' He labels the Government's relationship with Indigenous Australia as 'assimilationist', which is detrimental to Indigenous welfare and culture.
Dodson calls upon the Australian Government and public to develop a new national policy framework based on partnership between the indigenous and non-indigenous population. Dodson outlines a blueprint for such partnership, which would help Australia advance on issues relating to the native title agreement negotiation process, Indigenous governance, and community mediation and development at the local level.
The paper includes a response by The Right Reverend Dr Philip Freier, who has spent many years teaching in Indigenous communities and as an advisory teacher for Aboriginal education with the Queensland Education Department.
Related Link:Second Annual Lecture
Working Paper 2007/3:
Kevin J. O'Toole, The Muslim Man, the Western Man: Confliction of Being Greek [PDF 627KB]
It is commonplace in discourse about international affairs to refer to Islam and the West as distinguishable by values. It is also common to define each entity by the 57 nations that comprise the Organization of the Islamic Conference (the OIC), and the 47 nations that comprise the Council of Europe (COE). Yet, the comparative values of individualism, piety, liberalism, rule of law, family, and so on, are, epistemologically, arguably worthless. But when the OIC and the COE are analysed by reference to what they say and do, a case can be made that epistemologically useful respective values can be identified. Thus, for each of Muslim Man and Western Man, there is distinct doctrine and practice. The doctrine and practice of Muslim Man extol a virtue of conviction. The doctrine and practice of Western Man extol a virtue of doubt. For the Muslim Man conviction is unconditional, for the Western Man conviction is contingent; the one enjoys unconditional certainty, the legacy of a revelation; the other suffers reservation, the legacy of an experience of error. What for one is a virtue, for the other is a vice. Their respective dispositions are mutually exclusive.
Working Paper 2007/2:
Judge C. G. Weeramantry, The Dialogue of Cultures, Religions and Legal Systems: an Imperative Need of Our Times [PDF 312KB]
Dwindling earth resources, instant electronic communication, burgeoning international travel and an increasing world population are among the facts forcing on us the realisation that we are one global family sharing a common planetary home. Yet despite this interconnectedness, humanity remains a community torn apart with divisions, splintered into groups and festering with resentments, misunderstanding and hatreds.
The author calls for urgent international attention towards key areas: increasing dialogue between cultures, civilisations and religions; seeking the enormous areas of confluence of cultures in place of current preoccupations with a possible clash of civilisations; infusing educational systems with cross cultural perspectives; breaking down the formalism of law by reference to the broader principles lying behind legal systems; accentuating traditional concepts of duty, trusteeship and community as opposed to the modern concentration on rights, ownership and the individual; and drawing together the wisdom of all religions and infusing this wisdom into international law.
Working Paper 2007/1:
Rita Camilleri, Malaysia – A Tale of Two Conflicts [PDF 354KB]
Two intra-state conflicts involving Muslim minorities close to Malaysia's borders have been simmering for decades: the Moros rebellion in the Southern Philippines and Muslim unrest in Southern Thailand. Mindful of both external and domestic pressures, Malaysia has had to find ways of becoming actively involved without giving the impression of interfering in the affairs of either neighbour. This paper focuses on Malaysia's involvement in the Thai border conflict from 2004 when events threatened to destabilise the relationship between the two countries. The focus of this paper in the Philippines conflict begins in 2001 when fighting on both sides was intensifying. Here Malaysia played the part of mediator by hosting peace talks. This paper examines the nature and circumstances of Malaysia's involvement and the interplay between the various pressures that brought it about.
Working Paper 2006/3:
David L. Johnston, Chandra Muzzafar's Islamic Critique of Globalisation: A Malaysian Contribution to Global Ethic [PDF 339KB]
This paper seeks to elucidate how Chandra Muzaffar leverages central aspects of Muslim theology in order to construct an inter-faith vision of the unity of humankind, with the aim being to confront and transform the current western-led forces of globalization. The first part highlights Muzzaffar's critique of the international flow of capital, goods, services and even labour, powered by transnational corporations and accompanied by the diffusion of western ideas, tastes and values. Against this backdrop, Muzaffar would like to see a coalition of world faiths uniting around the unassailable dignity of the human person and thus providing the needed inspiration and guidance behind the movement of human rights and democratic governance that has floundered until now in its secular incarnation. Islam, in particular, is organically connected to the divine mission entrusted to humankind to foster justice, equality and freedom in global politics, and in the micro dimensions of human society, to spread the virtues of love, compassion and restraint. An analysis of Muzaffar's Islamic theology of humanity displays a hermeneutic of ethical priority over traditional scripturalist concerns, showing that he has placed his thought at the centre of contemporary Islamic reformism.
Working Paper 2006/2:
Akira Kawasaki, Disarmament and Conflict Prevention: A Civil Society Perspective [PDF 331KB]
Northeast Asia is the only region in the world in which state-level Cold War structures remain intact. The nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula confronts the region with a fundamental challenge: to dismantle those structures. NGOs working for peace in the region have proposed various policy changes for denuclearization, disarmament, confidence building and conflict prevention. By reviewing such efforts, including those made through such processes as the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) and NGO involvement in preparation for the UN Millennium+5 Summit, the paper aims at surveying civil society initiatives to achieve a mechanism for sustainable peace in Northeast Asia, and more broadly in the Asia Pacific region.
Working Paper 2006/1:
Michális S. Michael, The Cyprus Peace Talks: a Critical Appraisal [PDF 715KB]
Despite three decades of persistent efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement, the small island of Cyprus still remains physically and demographically divided. The failure of the 2004 Annan plan has compounded the need for a thorough reassessment of the Cyprus peace talks with a view to ascertaining the reasons for their collapse. By examining both the impediments and facilitating factors, the author traces instances of continuity and change and identifies the main obstacles that have militated against a successful outcome to the negotiations. Using a 'linkage perspective', the author argues that the inadequacy of the conventional UN diplomatic discourse, and the protagonists' preference for the status quo, have been the main obstacles to reaching a peaceful resolution. The paper highlights the positive impact of 'EU-isation' on relations: a development that necessarily entails placing more emphasis on the relationship between the Greek Cypriot community and Turkey. Such analysis leads the author to assess a series of potential scenarios and to conclude that change to the Cyprus conflict is a middle to long term proposition which requires the dynamic intervention of civil society.
