Friday, March 7, 2014

Published Article: Sustainability’s Inner Conflicts: From ‘Ecologism’ to ‘Ecological Modernization’

Bakari, M.E. (2014). Journal of Sustainable Development Studies 6(1), 1-28.

© Copyright 2014 the authors: 1

Mohamed El-Kamel Bakari *

* Department of English Language, Literature and Civilization, the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Humanities, the University of Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia.

Abstract:

Ever since its inception, the project of sustainable development has constituted a challenge to deeply entrenched political, economic, and social beliefs in modern societies. Now matured, the project seems to be highly incompatible with the predominant neoliberal capitalist economic system, constitutes a nuisance to the structure of global governance, and is a noticeably controversial issue in North-South politics. However, the project itself was born out of a conflict between two opposing needs – the need for continuous economic growth on the one hand, and the need to protect the environment and achieve intra-generational and intergenerational social equity, on the other. This article argues that reconciling the needs for economic growth with concerns for the environment has been a very intricate and thorny process, hence the controversy over sustainable development’s definition, aims, and feasibility. By categorizing, examining, and analyzing sustainable development’s inner conflicts, this articles aims at achieving a deeper understanding of today’s sustainability stalemate and potential ways to overcome it. A special focus is placed on the implications of the recent prominence of ecological modernization, especially in the developed countries, on the evolution and integrity sustainable development.

Keywords: sustainable development, inner conflicts, sustainability, ecological modernization, ecologism.

*Read the complete article here:  Journal of Sustainable Development Studies

Published Article: Globalization and Sustainable Development: False Twins?

Bakari, M. E. (2013). New Global Studies 7(3), 23–56.

© Copyright 2013 the authors: 1

Mohamed El-Kamel Bakari*


Abstract:

 Ideologically, the two projects of globalization and sustainable development are informed by totally different sets of principles and values. This article launches a thorough conceptual and theoretical juxtaposition of these two projects, which shows that these two phenomena overlap structurally but diverge ideologically on a number of economic, social, and ecological issues. In essence, the juxtaposition of globalization and sustainable development provides an illuminating insight into the structural affinity as well as the subsequent potential clashes between the two. This article examines the different aspects of affinity between these two projects, analyses the most significant differences and contradictions between the two, and discusses potential solutions to harness globalization forces to sustainability. By conducting such a critical comparative analysis of these two projects, a deeper insight is gained with regard to any potential that would make them mutually supportive rather than mutually exclusive.

Keywords: globalization, neo-liberalism, sustainable development, incompatibility, reconciliation

*Corresponding author:

 Mohamed El-Kamel Bakari, Department of English Language, Literature
and Civilization, the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Human Sciences, The University of Mannouba,
Tunis, Tunisia.

Read the article in New Global Studies Journal