Hala Soubra
Political scientist. Expert in International Organizations and Globalization. PhD in political Science, France. Research Associate, McGill University,Canada. Former Professor, USJ, Lebanon.
Location Montreal, Canada
Activity
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I like your comment Rogerio. You are right, after all IO have their own agendas that dont match necessarly with states needs unfortunately.
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You are right Alex. There is different implementations of democracy depending on historical, geographical and cultural aspects but that doesnt mean that there is no a set of principles that show if a state is democratic or no. I like the book of Raymond Aron on that issue titled "Democraties et totalitarismes".
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One of the solutions could be a strong regional coalitions in order to serve the states interests. Negociations are more advantageous when it is at multitateral level and not bilateral one.
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Hala Soubra replied to Alex Hamilton
@AlexHamilton The idea is the trade is reducing the chance of war because it will set down a solid relationship between states with mutual interests to have peace.
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You are right Rogerio, that's why all developped countries dont have same postion towards the same subject. It is a case by case.
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Hala Soubra replied to Rogerio de Oliveira Souza
That is the problem of the bilateral agreements. That's why the multilateral or the regional agreements are always better.
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It is food safety and animal and plant health.
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That's why we are talking now about "Culture security" which is the society ability to preserve its own culture.
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To conquere the world, a culture needs tools and the tools are the money and the big compagnies who are able to produce and diffuse musics and songs etc. All countries are not able to do this that's why soft power is related to strong powers. At regional level, we can observe as well the domination of some soft powers like Japanese culture in Corea or Indian...
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Hala Soubra replied to Martin Yakabuski
In fact, democracy come always with many adjectives just to distinguish between different applications of democracy. The procedural democracy is the democracy where the people have less influence than in substantive democracy which is a form of democracy that goes with the interest of governed. In the text, the difference between the two types of democracy is...
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Hala Soubra replied to Jennifer C
@JenniferC I reported your comment Jenny and Prof Schemeil will answer you soon. Thank you for your understanding.
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Hala Soubra replied to Sarah Vranckx
It is the balance of power, unfortunatley.
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Hala Soubra replied to Alex Hamilton
In fact, there is different model of separation. Religion in US has an influence at the national level, but not at the state governements. Religion is not interfering in states decisions. Moreover, US has a specific way to understand religion, it is more like social solidarity. So even the religion conception is different from a country to another.
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Minority must be controling majority in hope to become one day a majority again. The alternation of governement and power between majority and minority is the basic principle of democracy.
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We are always confusing theories with its applications. In theory, democracy is not the opposite of meritocracy at all. We can choose our deputies or president but give the responsabilities to professors and philosophers at all public administration levels . Citizens are not able to vote for the "best one" but the social mobility is always possible or should be.
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Very pessimistic vision Alex. Citizens should never give up. They should fight for their rights. The ideal type of democracy doesnt exist but we should be able to measure how far we are from this ideal type and trying hard to realize it. The human development index is a good tool in that matter.
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The democracy must be the masses controling the elite. That is the ideal type of democracy. But that is not happening in the reality. You are right. In some countries there is a fake democracy (regular elections) but the real issue is between elits themselves. The challege is how to wake up the masses to do their works and refuse to be controled by the elite...
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I am inviting you to read "Democracy in America" of Alexis de Tocqueville. He will answer you many questions especially about individualism and democracy. The democracy is not reduced to elections, the democracy is a continuous process at all levels of the society.
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Hala Soubra replied to Alex Hamilton
We have to distinguish Alex between the Universal rights as the Universal declaration of Human rights and its application in different countries.
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@RogeriodeOliveiraSouza You are right. It is a big challenge to preserve local cultures. Even more, the major pharmaceutical compagnies are trying to get the plant that you are mentionning in order to produce medicines. The issue is discussed actually in WIPO in terms of copy rights.
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/fr/tk/933/wipo_pub_933.pdf
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Hala Soubra replied to Sarah Vranckx
I am not convinced that there is different meanings of democracy. What is happening is that some countries were governed by authoritarian regimes for long time and therefore people are not able to see anymore their interests not even their rights. Those regimes are even working on education since democracy values and practices are learned, transmitted,...
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Hala Soubra replied to Sarah Vranckx
In UN there is a quota for each country (all countries must be represented in the secretariat). They are trying to respect it as much as possible. If all countries are not well represented (sometimes the countries are not submitting candidates) that doesnt mean that these organizations are driven by one culture or on country.
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Hala Soubra replied to MICHELLE KOSA
No, Unfortunately. English is the language of the course. Désolée.
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Totally agree.
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The challenge is how to preserve their cultures and way of living despite their openness to the technology and other cultures!
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Hala Soubra replied to Rogerio de Oliveira Souza
Hello Rogerio, nice to meet you in this course again. How to make those rules really effective? First of all it is good that those rules exist and this existence is related to many international and regional organizations. Second, the awareness is the key. People especially inside countries should be aware of their rights. This awareness generates the rights...
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Hala Soubra replied to Simon Grunbaum
@SimonGrunbaum Hello Simon, we can't reduce UN to the general assembly and security council. There are many other organizations trying to help in many fields like awareness, developement at governmental level and civil society level. They are promoting as well norms that can help states to have a common ground while negotiating. This said, that doesnt mean...
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Hala Soubra replied to Zarina Molchan
@IainMorrison Yes the course will be online again before the end of the year.
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Hala Soubra replied to Zarina Molchan
Yes the course will be online again before the end of the year.
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Sometimes the leading families prevent political parties in order to keep the statu quo and benefit from the situation.
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Hala Soubra replied to Zarina Molchan
Hello Iain. I reported your question. Will answer you soon.
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@StanHancock It is not that simple Stan. All the region and even the whole world still suffering till now from USA "target" because "it has to revenge". Even if as Rogerio said, there is no direct connection between USA attack to Irak and September 11.
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Hala Soubra replied to Stan Hancock
@StanHancock I am not sure stan than when we can say "evenly spread" when we are talking about immigrants . Immigrants are human being and we dont forget that host countries and immigrants have mutual interests. As you said, it should be planned. I would say that migration policy should be based on data and the state needs .
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Hala Soubra replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
I totally agree.
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@RogeriodeOliveiraSouza Changes need time and transitory periods. We cant pass from authoritarian regimes to democracy direct. Even after French Revolution, we couldn't apply democracy directly.
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Hala Soubra replied to john somensky
Participation is essential for democracy but it is definitly not enough. Citizens should be aware to control government all the time. It is not a matter of election and that's it.
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@JohnSnadden I think John that sometimes we are comparing authocratic regimes to chaos and therefore saying that authocratic regimes are better than liberal democracy. It is like what is happening now in the Arab World. We are saying that population prefere Kadafi or Saddam Hussein regimes and find them better than democracy. But is it true? What is happening...
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Do you really think Rogerio that there is a population or a culture that would like to live in authocratic regime? Is there "cultures" against liberty, dignity and equality?
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Hala Soubra replied to Shona Hardie
You are right Shona. I suggest that you continue the course and you will see the analysis from differents angles.
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Hala Soubra replied to Zarina Molchan
The idea is that arms race is accompanying risks and threats which are the consequences of overpopulation.
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You are right Rogerio. Supporting Assad Regime causes all this humanitarian crisis and the civil war. What is happening in Syria is not reflecting people aspirations. It is more powerful States interests. They didn't let Syrians citizens to decide by themselves what is the best solution for their country.
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Unfortunately, you are right! What is the way out? As if some countries are running in vicious circle.
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@ShonaHardie You are right Shona. Even more, Syrian crisis generates more than 2 millions refugees spread all over the world. Developed countries are now doing pressure on neighboring countries to naturalize refugees without taking into consideration the bad consequences of this act on the host countries. If the Syrians crisis has been resolved long time ago,...
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Hala Soubra replied to Richard Dennehy
Thank you Richard for the link.
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Hello Hammonade, the idea is that in the international or regional forums, the liberal states are dealing with all kind of states regardless what is happening at the national level. States still the main actors of international relations.
PS: Can you please write small letter because it is difficult to read the capital one? Thank you. -
Hala Soubra replied to Tom Oliphant
Thank you Tom for the article.
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Hala Soubra replied to Martin Smith
Regional or International organizations are not "by definition good", but they are indispensable for States cooperation. I would refer to Kant ant his essay "the perpetuel peace". In fact, we do have here two levels of reflections : The scholars or political theorists and the politicians . The scholars do believe that states cooperation through regional or...
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Selfish world yes, that is the meaning, plus pursuing own interests.
As for memory, the article is talking about nation's memory focuses on the past as you said. -
When talking about confusing globalisation with Americanisation, they mean confusing globalisation with American way of life or American culture spread everywhere.
More professional means more performant. -
Hala Soubra replied to Martin Smith
It is not an exteral dictat at all Martin. As you said, at regional and international level, states need to have common ground and to share knowledge and researches and get solutions for more than issue that cannot be solved at national level anymore. International organizations are not imposing state's policies but trying to influence it for global common...
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Hala Soubra replied to Andrew Webb
@AndrewWebb Of course French can take criticism Andrew. Everybody can take criticism. This is the objective of the course and the comments. Each learner enriches the others through his experience, his point of view and knowledge.
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Hala Soubra replied to Andrew Webb
Is it possible Andrew to discuss ideas quietly and deeply and especially without mentionning nationalities? We are not supposed to share same ideas but we would like to read an argument that could be a value added to the course and to the learners rather than read criticism in that way.
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Hala Soubra replied to Martin Smith
Martin, what about other issues than trading or taxation ? like per example, environment , medicines, education, migration? It doesnt need common regulations?
As for the sentence ".. to turn back the clock..", I think that Professor Schemeil wanted to say that there is no hope to stop globalization and live within the boarders of the country . He continues... -
Hala Soubra replied to Tom Oliphant
Sorry for this technical problem!
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Natives: people born there.
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Good answer Isabel. Thank you.
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You are talking about "the rights of the states to accept or not", what about the people? The regimes are not hiding in somehow people aspirations?
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Hello Neil, your participation in this course is really a value added. We are getting a lot of information about China from your comments. What your are saying is true but it prooves one more time that the situation is not so clear. As if they are doing one step forward and two steps back.
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Hala Soubra replied to Anne Middleton
Hello Anne, the idea is that states try to justify their actions when leaving treaties or organizations even if it is not well seen by others. They are not declaring the real reasons of their actions. They are always refering to "moral" issues or reasons of general principles,
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Hala Soubra replied to Ian Staines
What you said is an example that we cannot control it, but we should think about a way to let all people get benefit from it or at least to not suffer from it. When you are saying China is influencing globalization, is the welfare well distributed in china? if not that means that only a minority is getting benefit from it.
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Hala Soubra replied to Ian Staines
Reducing the number of humans on this planet could be possible when everybody get a level of education and a decent life. International Organizations are working on this. In Addition, the UNFPA is working on this in particular.
http://www.unfpa.org/ -
Hala Soubra replied to Harry Cather
1.22 and 2.17
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Hala Soubra replied to Ian Staines
The problem Ian is that Globazation is an uncontrolled process so the issue is how to make it more profitable to everybody rather than ignore it or trying to stop it. Dont you think so?
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We all know G that those countires were governed by authoritarian regimes for long time ago. So those leaders are not representing population and everybody is afraid to express himself. Now the interests of powerful states with those leaders is evident but it has nothing to do with the society needs or aspirations.
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1- Nobody can state if protesters were minority or majority.
2- They were asking for liberty and regime change. They were not neo fascist (I am talking at the begining of the revolution).
3- Nobody let Syrians deciding for themselves. States intervention confused the situation and changed it radically.
4- Assad regime is not the ideal regime to be supported... -
Hala Soubra replied to sybil gilbert
To Tina: Rational decisions mean deicions providing people with the greatest benefit or satisfaction — given the choices available — and are also in their highest self-interest. But in fact, it is hard to take a pure rational decisions. Individuals or states cannot have a full picture of the situation because of some missing or changing elements and then we...
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Hala Soubra replied to Um Abbas Yousuf
The audio seems to be working for me - can you please adjust the volume? If still not working, please tell me.
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In normal situation, when people are in the streets protesting and claiming liberty, even if it is a minority, the regime should change by respect of protesters. For sure nobody wanted to see Syria destroyed but when all states around the world supported the regime, then the crisis changed into civil war and destruction.
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Hala Soubra replied to Um Abbas Yousuf
Reported.
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Hala Soubra replied to Martin Smith
To Martin: I agree with Robert. The idea is to prioritize the national level and to be less involved with the regional level and to be a part of regional policies.
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I dont know why in those countries we are always afraid from change and we are only looking to the leaders and their role in the society. What about the population, their rights and needs?
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Hala Soubra replied to Douglas McDonell
Europe is not the world that is true but Europe is a good example of collaboration between states in a globalized world. Valuable insgihts and lessons can be drawn from this experience. In addition; comparative approach even if in the past is a good mean to analyze the present.
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The states still have the right of deportation. Migration issue is related to human rights and till now we can hardly find a compromise between human rights and migration policy especially in Europe well known for human rights respect. It is such a problematic issue.
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I dont think Angus that the door is really open for migrants as you mentioned. We all know that migrations policies are related to States interests, economy; rules and restrictions. They are not accepting migrants without a full examination of their files in accordance to the States needs. Am I wrong?
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Hala Soubra replied to Tom Dussman
You mentioned Tom the leaders in China.. What about chineese people? Are they unable to adopt and practice democracy ? Can we forget the weight of autocratic regimes in modeling the citizens minds, knowing that the objective of this kind of regime is to serve its own interests and not to preserve social integrity because the chineese are born to be submissive.
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I dont agree with you Michael. At the begining of the revolution, Syrians, inspired by the so called Arab spring, were protesting in the streets asking for liberty and regime change. It is the external intervention that you mentioned who deviate syrians aspirations and dreams.
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Hala Soubra replied to Nancy Krieger
Reported, thank you. No need to quetion the rest of the article and course.
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Hala Soubra replied to sybil gilbert
The article is analyzing the decision making and the possible reasons to escape globalization. We can consider its ideas as common sense and that is the case of political science in general. Everybody is talking politics and we consider this science as obsolete. However political scientists are interested in analyzing decision making and what could influence...
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Hala Soubra replied to Chris Kozakevich
Yes. The author is talking about States which are tempted to leave International Organizations.
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I dont think that there is cause and effect relationship between globailization and the distance between the governors and the governed. This distance potentially exists since the transition from the natural to the social state and was the main concern of political philosophers.
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By phenomena the author means all known phenomena related to globalization as per example the dissimenation of information, techonology developement, migration, poverty, exclusion, pollution etc..
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Intergovernmental Organizations are constantly adapting objectives according to new facts and changes. They are elaborating action plans for 5 years and even sometimes for 10 years. They are reviewing programmes and activities on regular basis. They are doing evaluation as well but still it is a hard issue! It is difficult to measure the efficiency and...
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Hala Soubra replied to Michael Baker
National gouvernance is the key for the global one. Leaders in some African states and Middle east kept people in poverty and ignorance. Ressources are inequitably distributed.
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Thank you for the info.
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Hala Soubra replied to G Bowler
It is easy to conclude bilateral agreements but they are risky. In the bilateral, the balance of power "rapport de force" is evident. The medium and small states have no interests to negotiate alone.
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Hala Soubra replied to María José Salmerón
You are right Maria. Migration is a big issue for EU for the time being but we should always remember that migrants from Syria are not economic migrants but forced mirgrants or refugees. if Syria crisis was solved long time ago especially with the political role of EU in the region, calculations about how many syrians they can get and how much to pay would be...
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Hala Soubra replied to G Bowler
I like your comment! Very clear and precise. In that case, I imagine that all International organizations will dismantle. In fact G, all what you mentioned is true but they are not happening one shot in a linear basis in order to push states to leave. The issues raised are happening rather on circular basis depending on circumstances. So States are always...
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Hala Soubra replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
We should keep in mind that those articles are thought-provoking and they dont pretend to give the absolute verity. The conclusions are debatable as much as introductions.
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Hala Soubra replied to Michael Baker
What about the power in negotiation at international level ? In addition, according to Financial times research, after Brexit the UK should renegotiate at leat 759 treaties dealing with 168 countries!
https://www.ft.com/content/f1435a8e-372b-11e7-bce4-9023f8c0fd2e -
Hala Soubra replied to Michael Baker
I partially agree with you. US is playing a big role in keeping Middle East unstable, that's true. In the same time, nobody can deny that the authoritarian regimes of the region are responsible of what is happening there and especially the regional powers struggle's for influence (Iran and Saudi Arabia).
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Hala Soubra replied to Malcolm Crocker
The idea is that alliances are provisional and the states are doing their calculations before taking any decision.
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Hala Soubra replied to Raymond Johnson
It could be a way to catch your attention for the course before talking about methodology!
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Hala Soubra made a comment
Amaizing begining and Interesting discussion ! It appears from your comments that it is difficult to have a single and simple defintion of "globalization". As for the Brexit, will have for sure more and more discussions to see the link with globalization and why it is considered, by some scholars, as a rejection of globalization.
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Hala Soubra replied to JOHN SHARP
You are righ John. Indeed, some terms are difficult to define because they are related to such complicated issues. The term of globalization itself has a lot of definitions. But if you need a specific clarification for one or more term, will be ready to do it.
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Hala Soubra replied to G Bowler
Even wars aspects changed with globalization. The world war "seemed left behind" and it is replaced by civil wars or even proxy wars. Dont you think so?
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Hala Soubra replied to Simon Middleton
1.Yves is talking about "World conflicts" which "seemed left behind", he didnt mention civil wars. Moreover, I am not sure if we can put all the civil wars that you mentioned in the same category and get a simple explanation to them. The issue is much more complicated than leaders "that they don not wish to follow the elite's plan".
2. When we are... -
Hala Soubra replied to Yves Schemeil
Thank you Yves! It was a real pleasure to discuss with learners all these precious articles and global issues. At the end, I think that we all kept a lot of information that enable us to have a professional view on global concerns. All the best for all of you!
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Hala Soubra replied to Dayo Macaulay
Noted.
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Hala Soubra replied to Eva Durant
The most important thing is to "be informed" as you said in another comment. Re-thinking our opinions or confirming them, it is another issue.
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Hala Soubra replied to John Kelly
Well said, it is a thought-provoking course. So goals achieved!
