Volume 5 Issue 3 Part 2

Revisiting the Power Triangle: A Note on Spillover Effects of Positive Power Externalities Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The environment is not an entity external to socioeconomic activities; but it directly interacts with and suffers from their effects. Sustainable development policies are a hard task for every country and power externalities may arise at any time. The spillover effects of... Read more

Human Security and Socio-economic Agenda: Need for Refinement and Action* Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The modern concept of security can be understood as the Socio-economic study of short, medium and long-term risks of society. The adoption of such an enlarged view expresses the new priorities, multidisciplinary relations and strategic conditions. Nowadays, security must encompass all... Read more

Human Security and Democracy: What’s next for Brazil Get Full Text in PDF Abstract When discussing Human Security and Democracy, especially from a Brazilian perspective but also with global implications, it becomes essential to consider the impact and influence of what is commonly called cyber activism, which has started influencing public opinion and altered the approach to electoral outcomes.... Read more

Report on Recent Reports #6, Winter 2023-2024 * Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The COP28 meeting in Dubai was a step forward, but the gap between what ought to be done to attain net zero emissions, and what is being done, may very well be widening. The 14 abstracts of authoritative multi-author reports collected here describe likely climate warming in the next decades (notably resulting in 26... Read more

A Scale Development for Volatile-Uncertain-Complex-Ambiguous (VUCA) World Management Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article is an attempt to develop a questionnaire, which presently is unavailable in the literature, so that the Volatile-Uncertain-Complex-Ambiguous (VUCA) world can be understood and relatively measured by governments, companies, and institutions. The aim is to measure the... Read more

Future as Emergence: Paradigms, Patterns and Processes Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Paradigms for creating Utopias based on “Human Agency” as the sole driving force, far from actually obtaining them, are the direct cause of the Mega Crises that threaten the very survival of humans as a species. This essay seeks to show that the survival of our species requires an orientation that Humans as “... Read more

Hard Times: The Thinking Crisis in the No-Knowledge Society Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The “new” digital (hyper) velocity, in its complex interaction with the human factor and with social relations, preserves the original ambivalence common to any “factor” of change and to any social and cultural process. The complexity of this interaction, apart from representing an extraordinary opportunity... Read more

What to do about the Persistence of Inequality? Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The focus of this paper is income inequality and, more pointedly, its persistence throughout generations. In the spirit of Atkinson (2014, 2015) and Roemer (1998), we take a normative stand and make concrete proposals to combat the persistence of inequality. In the view presented here, those inequalities derive, to an... Read more

Reintegration of Capitals and Emerging Global Governance Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Industrialism has produced enormous societal resources but its unequal distribution is largely responsible for widespread poverty. To make use of the societal wealth, the divorced financial, man-made, natural and human capitals have to be reintegrated, leading to more equitable global development. Such a... Read more

On Crossing the Threshold Towards a Regenerative Economy Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The neoclassical paradigm of political-economic governance today is self-destructing because it subordinates the well-being of people and Nature to the growth of GDP—regardless of the fact that people and Nature are the primary sources of economic value creation. Rather than continuing to put means and ends in... Read more

Global Leadership or Self-Governance: The Basic Laws of Governance Get Full Text in PDF Abstract In terms of its complexity, modern society is comparable to the intricacy of the human brain. Undoubtedly, the global leadership of a system with thousands of subsystems is a real challenge for humanity. Governance is the process of making decisions and solving national, regional and global problems... Read more

The Ubiquity of Machines: Will Machines Overcome Human Beings? Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The article discusses the ubiquity of machines in human societies and whether machines will overcome humans. It notes that societies find order through systems of values, resource management and allocation, which are both social constructs and technological representations of their environment. Any... Read more

Catalyzing Transformation: A Process Framework for Transformative System Change Sandra Waddock* Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article offers a synthesized perspective on a future-oriented process for transformational change makers, here called transformation catalysts, to catalyze systemic change through processes of connecting, cohering, and amplifying the transformational change work of... Read more

Principles of Social Development Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The efforts to evolve a comprehensive, integrated theory of social development have proved to be so difficult that many have concluded it is unattainable. On the surface, it appears that each field of social science is governed by different and often unrelated or contradictory assumptions, concepts and principles that would render a... Read more

Seed Idea: The Crisis of Containment – Time for a New Approach? Get Full Text in PDF In a recent discussion in the WAAS working group on Existential Threats to Human Security, David Harries, former chair of Pugwash Canada and associate executive director of Foresight Canada, raised the concern that the conventional approach to threat containment, based to a large extent on early warning, is... Read more

Participatory Framework for Creating a Global AGI Constitution Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Today, at this pivotal tipping point, we offer this participatory framework to guide the creation of an eventual Global Constitution for benevolent Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). We present this framework as a living compass, charting an unprecedented course toward a thriving future for life on... Read more

Multiplicity: Threats, Partnerships, and Stories of Success* Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The article discusses the crucial concept of human security in the context of global challenges and multilateral efforts. It highlights the interconnectedness of sustainable development, security, and human rights, emphasizing the imperative for collaborative international actions. The evolution of human... Read more

Time for a Peace Offensive* Get Full Text in PDF “It requires both neither gains nor loses.” – Bertrand Russell Foreword This article describes a proposal for a new WAAS initiative presented by the author at the WAAS General Assembly on June 27, 2024. It is intended to generate positive, practical momentum for the Academy’s HS4A global campaign on Human Security for All. In these precarious,... Read more

Stop All Wars Now! Get Full Text in PDF As the interconnected wars in Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine are threatening the lives of millions and could even lead to the use of weapons of mass destruction, thus endangering the survival of human civilization, there is an urgent need for action. None of us can stop these wars alone, however, all of us together as citizens of Earth have the power... Read more

Seed Idea: Human Security – The Bedrock of Sustainable Development Goals Get Full Text in PDF In the grand tapestry of human history, we have woven remarkable achievements and innovations. Yet, there is a persistent thread of impermanence—our goals, once reached, often unravel over time. Why does this happen? Because we have overlooked the unyielding cornerstone: Human Security. "Sustainability... Read more