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Thomas Reuter
Reuter, Thomas
Reuter, ThomasProfessor, University of Melbourne, Australia; Trustee, World Academy of Art & Science |
Job Title
Professor, University of Melbourne, Australia; Trustee, World Academy of Art & Science
Thomas Reuter is a Professor at the Asia Institute of The University of Melbourne. After obtaining his PhD from ANU in 1997, he taught at Heidelberg University, held post-doctoral and QElI Fellowships at Melbourne, and a Research Fellowship at Monash University. He was President of the Australian Anthropological Association (2002-2005) and served as chair of the World Council of Anthropological Associations. He is currently Senior Vice-President of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, a member of the advisory board of Future Earth (Asia) and on the executive of the International Social Science Council.
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
The Crisis of Containment
( Human Security ), ( Peace and Security )
Seed Idea: The Crisis of Containment – Time for a New Approach?
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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 becoming obsolete. In the wake of technological innovations such as AI but also as a consequence of...
Human Security Starts at Home: The Case for SDG Localisation
( Human Security )
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Abstract
This article discusses the issue of localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how this is critical for achieving human security globally. It notes that while the SDGs have been successful in generating consensus around sustainability, progress has been lacking and many targets may not be met. A key obstacle is that the SDGs have not been properly localized, which is essential given that real change needs to happen at the local level. The author argues...
Imagination, Science and Education: How to liberate ourselves from the prison of rationality and create a secure future for humanity
( Human Security ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values ), ( Peace and Security )
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Abstract
Achieving Human Security For All (HS4A) is a process that depends on our ability to imagine a future state that is different to present conditions, under which HS4A remains elusive. Only a very few eminent thinkers have recognised, however, that imagination is its own unique and important noetic or cognitive function independent of rationality, giving us access to an ontological sphere that otherwise remains closed to us. Meanwhile, for rationalist science...
Transformations to Sustainability: Why integrated social change requires a political process based on inclusive communication
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1. Introduction: Ecological and Social Dimensions of Sustainability
Contemporary societies and their economies must undergo a transformation to sustainability without further delay if we are to avoid an ecological and socio-political disaster. To achieve a rapid transformation, principles consistent with sustainable ecosystems and social systems need to be identified, and then applied systematically across all sectors. What are these principles in their most fundamental...
Making Sustainability Happen: The Jena Declaration
( Sustainable Development ), ( Global Governance & Law )
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Abstract
The Jena Declaration, introduced below, argues that the SDGs cannot be achieved simply by intensifying the use of established methods and strategies. For a comprehensive transformation to sustainability a fundamental change in strategy is necessary, an approach that builds on the power of millions of citizens and local communities throughout the world and the integrative perspective of the social sciences and arts.
The Jena Declaration (TJD)
We are living in the...
Achieving Global Justice, Security and Sustainability: Compassion as a Transformative Method
( Sustainable Development ), ( Global Governance & Law )
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Abstract
This paper first examines the geopolitical trends of the post-Cold War era. The main features of this period are an escalating crisis of democratic institutions, extreme economic inequality with a concomitant lack of justice and compassion, and a rising sense of disenchantment with politics. This in turn has increased the appeal of nativist populism, especially among downwardly mobile middle classes. This crisis of political economy coincides with a severe and...
The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Systemic Stress Test: Who is most vulnerable to food insecurity and other risks in a crisis and why?
( Peace and Security )
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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that in a global systemic crisis, differences in impact are not confined to immediate threat, in this case virus infection and mortality rates. Indirect impacts such as reduced affordability of food due to income loss can be and often are more severe. Economic inequality thus acts as a massive amplifier of disaster impact. Inequality literally kills disadvantaged people under crisis conditions. Already the number of people subject to...
WAAS COVID-19 Pandemic Project
( Peace and Security )
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The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an acute global challenge at present, touching nearly all aspects of our lives. At its 60th anniversary conference, WAAS thus held a 2½ hours session on this issue, featuring an interdisciplinary line up of nine speakers and five respondents, and entitled: The COVID Pandemic as a Systemic Crisis: What can we learn from a diversity of impacts, responses and failures for future crises?,* convened and moderated by Prof. Thomas Reuter.
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Current Tasks of Academies and Academia
( International Organizations ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
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Abstract
The present article is written as an issue paper on academies for the GL-21 Project. It traces activities of academies and their associations in the present information-rich society. The state-of-the-art of the academic world is briefly described. This permits to focus on general trends in knowledge management in general and the role of academies. The successful strategies and interdependencies form the framework of activities, where one should also understand the...
Civil Society and Youth Leadership for Transformation
( International Organizations ), ( New Paradigm )
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Abstract
This discussion paper looks at the current historical momentum and potential future development of civil society and youth leadership for a systemic transformation to a sustainable new civilization. It identifies emerging challenges, obstacles, and some of the innovative new leadership strategies that have been developed to overcome them. Civil society is central in the process of transformation in a dual sense: As the target of transformation— it is civil society...
The Principle of ‘Unity in Diversity’ as a Measured Response to Resurgent Nationalism: Valuing local diversity as well as global citizenship is not a contradiction
( Law & Human Rights ), ( Global Governance & Law )
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Abstract
The ideological war between globalism and resurgent nationalism in recent years is seen as an invitation to take sides by many intellectuals. Demonising or dismissing followers of the new right-wing nationalism is easy, but the outcome of the Brexit referendum and the last presidential election in the USA should have taught us that ignoring the genuine arguments of this demographic is foolish and dangerous. It reflects a failure by globalists to appreciate...
The Future of Democracy: Challenges & Prospects
( New Paradigm ), ( Peace and Security ), ( Global Governance & Law )
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Abstract
Unprecedented speed, interconnectivity, complexity and uncertainty are impacting all spheres of global society today, presenting challenges that were not foreseen even a few years ago. The end of the Cold War was interpreted by many as the final victory for democracy and capitalism over authoritarian socialism. A quarter century after the sudden collapse of communism and the emergence of a new democratic consensus, liberal democracy itself is under threat....
Principles of Sustainable Economy: An Anthropologist’s Perspective
( Economy & Ecology ), ( New Economics ), ( Sustainable Development )
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Abstract
Contemporary economies must undergo a transformation to sustainability if we are to avoid a descent into ecological and socio-political crises of ever escalating severity. In order to achieve such a major reform, principles consistent with sustainable ecosystems and social systems need to be identified and applied systematically. What are these principles in their most fundamental form, how can they become widely accepted, and how can they be applied? To...