We spent time attempting to pin down exactly what we would focus on, and in the end rejected creating an issue which focuses on globalisation however topical. Instead, while acknowledging the context provided by the ease with which capital, goods and services have been enabled to flow around the world, we decided that what we were really doing was creating an issue which would look at the economies of militarism.
To this end, PN 2442 has tried to focus on four distinct areas:
The…Since 1993 the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been responsible for the provision of many services (health, education, social etc) to its population, but it has not had control of the most basic resources such as land and water, or access to international economic markets. Consequently the Palestinians have remained dependent on the state of Israel for economic co-operation (one figure suggests that 25% of Palestinian GDP comes from such co-operation).
Economic separation
The…
Personally I find the very notion of regulating warfare, of nations and peoples signing up to agree the rules of engagement, truly disturbing. If we believe that war is inherently a bad thing, why should we devote our time and energy to trying to make it a better thing, or a more humane thing. When is cutting peoples throats, dropping bombs from a great height or burning people who you do not even know, humane?
Surely by investing our energies in attempting to reform and improve the…
Richard Pakleppa was a conscientious objector to serving in the South African occupation army, and went to Europe, where he worked as a camera assistant. He then moved to Cape Town, along with other young Namibian radicals, and became involved in “civic youth, working class student struggles, organising mass campaigns, the powerful use of culture, propaganda, theatre, music, stayaways, boycotts”. In 1986 he returned to Namibia and worked for some years as an activist and union organiser for…
