Social Science Research Council

Posted on behalf of Rick Sterling. Rick Sterling is an Aerospace Engineer at UC Berkeley. He was active in support of the southern African liberation movements during the 1970’s and 80’s. He is currently on the board of the Mt Diablo Peace and Justice Center and a member of the Middle East Study Group in [...]

In her posting yesterday, Mia Farrow identifies the success of the "genocide Olympics" campaign—which she was instrumental in starting—as a "defining moment." She is right. For the first time, an international activist movement has compelled the Chinese government to recognize that it has global human rights responsibilities. Beijing’s rebuttal of Stephen Spielberg’s charges is the [...]

Editor’s note: Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow, who were instrumental in starting up the "genocide Olympics" campaign, have offered these words.

Without question this is a a defining moment for each of us, and a deeply consequential one for the people of Darfur and eastern Chad. Responsible leaders and citizens alike should think carefully as to how they might best use their leverage with China. The successful staging of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games have proven to be a lone point of leverage with a country that has thus far been impervious to criticism. Those who have Peking’s ear in the lead-up to the Games and those underwriting the ceremony–the corporate sponsors–must step up and do their part. [...]

Editors note: We are pleased to have this contribution from Daniel Large, a UK-based scholar on China—Sudan relations who has published widely on the topic. He recently authored a piece, “China and the Changing Context of Development in Sudan,” for the journal Development.

Europe and America have tended to regard China as the Great Hope or the Great Demon, moving historically between binary projections of China as an enlightened model to learn from or as an example to avoid. In the case of Sudan today, however, China is paradoxically held up to represent both: it is supposedly the route to peace in Darfur but it is also responsible for ‘empowering evil’ in Sudan.

Steven Spielberg’s decision not to continue his role as artistic director[...]

Editor’s note: Chris Alden, senior lecturer in international relations at the London School of Economics, contributed this post on Steven Spielberg’s withdrawal from his involvement in the Beijing Olympics. Alden is the author of the acclaimed China in Africa, part of the African Arguments series to which Alex de Waal’s book on Darfur, written with Julie Flint, also belongs.

Steven Spielberg’s decision to publicly withdrawal from his post as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics has reignited a simmering debate as to China’s relationship with the Sudanese government and its role in the troubled Darfur region. In what appears to be a carefully worded statement, Spielberg acknowledges that while the Sudanese government bore the ‘bulk of the responsibility’ for crimes in Darfur, the ‘international community and China in particular should be doing more’ [...]

This past Wednesday, the Hollywood director Steven Spielberg resigned from his post as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics. His stated aim in doing so was to attract attention to China’s ties with Sudan.

China responded by continuing to distance itself from the issue [...]

This week’s issue of New York magazine gives a shout-out to a next week’s Frontline program, “On Our Watch.” Alex de Waal is one of the people they interview, along with James Traub and Samantha Power.

Six months ago, John Prendergast and I debated the response to Darfur at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. This week we continued the debate online, courtesy of Newsweek. It’s a lively exchange and after just two rounds, Newsweek’s deadline was upon us so the editor called time. I would have liked to say more—so I am posting my response to him here.

I’m curious about the new film called Darfur Now, which features among others Don Cheadle, the star of the movie Hotel Rwanda. Has anyone seen it and if so, what will it do for the cause?

*Posted on behalf of an anonymous contributor.

How one chooses which "mistakes" or precursors to learn from reveals what one believes is necessary to know in order to change the current crisis. Searching for catharsis, too many analysts have chased the most dramatic examples available. The tragedy then becomes truly Hegelian, when the desire to ring the alarm bells and stem violence comes into conflict with a willingness to pay attention to what is actually happening.