Localization in World Politics
This SSHRC-funded collaborative and interdisciplinary project connects scholars and practitioners to explore the diverse meanings and uses of “localization” in world politics. Outcomes include a special forum of Global Studies Quarterly, a web-based policy guide to localization, and a podcast series.
Special Forum
Jennifer Welsh (Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security; Director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy, McGill University), Emily K. M. Scott (Associate Professor, University of Birmingham) and Adam Kochanski (Assistant Professor, University of Guelph) co-edited a special issue of Global Studies Quarterly on localization in world politics.
The Special Forum features a co-edited introductory essay by Kochanski, Scott and Welsh, and contributions from leading scholars working on localization in the areas of humanitarianism, forced migration, transitional justice and Women, Peace and Security.
Click here to access the Special Forum.
Table of Contents
Localization in World Politics: Bridging Theory and Practice by Adam Kochanski, Emily K M Scott and Jennifer Welsh
Circular Dynamics of International Norms and Institutions: Localizations Beyond Their Original Contexts by Lisbeth Zimmermann
Torque: Searching for Localization at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal by Alex Hinton and Elena Lesley
Localization from a Postcolonial Perspective: African States’ Experiences with the International Criminal Justice Norm by Mohamed Sesay
Affective Archives of the Disappeared by Erin Baines and Ketty Anyeko
Through the Localization Looking Glass: Seeing Subaltern Power in the Refugee Regime by Merve Erdilmen, James Milner and Megan Bradley
Do Local Norms Affect Women Ex-Combatants Reintegration in the Postwar Era? by Luna K C
Challenge of Localization under Restrictive Government Rule by Dima M Toukan
How Insider-Led Processes Lead to Localization: The Case of Digital Technology and Humanitarian Protection by Oliver Kaplan and Emily Paddon Rhoads
Podcast
Hosts Jennifer Welsh (Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security; Director of the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies, McGill University), Adam Kochanski (Assistant Professor, University of Guelph), and Emily Scott (Associate Professor, University of Birmingham) are joined by leading scholars and policy practitioners to discuss localization, its history, how it is being studied, and how efforts to "go local" impact real people.
The podcast is avaliable on Spotify and Acast. The links can also be found in the drop-down menu here on our website.
Policy Brief
In this CIPSS Occasional Paper, “‘Walking the Localization Talk’: A Practitioner’s Reflections,” Marc Linning (Senior Protection Advisor) examines how one international humanitarian NGO – the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) – has changed its organizational culture in pursuit of a more localized approach. Drawing from several contexts in which CIVIC has worked (including Nigeria, Mali, Kenya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine and Yemen), the reflections captured in this occasional paper provide food for thought for others working in the field of protection, as well as the wider humanitarian sector, when it comes to operationalizing the key goals of localization.