African experiences and alternativity in International Relations theorizing about security

Deconstructing International Relations (IR) episteme acknowledges its generation of power imbalances in security knowledge that relegate African experiences to the margins of global politics. Central to this process of relegation is a pervasive ‘methodological whiteness’, which, while eliding coloniality and racism, projects white experience as a universal perspective. Accompanying this Eurocentric bias has been the intrusive projection of the Weberian state as the most effective site for security governance and conflict prevention on a continent with states that are characterized by a hybridity of political orders, which deviate substantially from the ideal-type state that they seek to mimic. Not only has this resulted in disastrous policies in many parts of Africa, but critical questions arise as to the relevance of conventional IR and security studies as neutral sites for dispassionate knowledge production and policy-making on African security, thereby necessitating alternative perspectives. This article reflects on the ways in which IR and security studies have been responsible, in part, for the production of a racialized mode of security knowledge generation that obfuscates the security policies and experiences of people in African locales. It draws on insights from post-colonial discourses and the episteme of alternativity to explore how the study of events and processes in Africa in a theoretically conscious manner could advance IR scholarship as a whole. It contends that incorporating African experiences as they manifest through hybrid security orders can broaden the empirical base for IR theorizing about security since they offer another perspective outside the conventional western assumptions and experiences.

Building the Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security Authority in the Kingdom of Morocco: Sharing Experience and Lessons Learned

Following the example of several countries, the Kingdom of Morocco adopted, in the middle of the twentieth century, nuclear techniques in the medical and industrial fields, which have experienced a greater and sustained growth following its membership of the IAEA in 1957. This chapter presents the evolution of the nuclear and radiological infrastructure in Morocco over the last 60 years and the prospects for its future development. The chapter outlines the continuous efforts made by public authorities to upgrade the national nuclear and radiological regulatory framework in compliance with international obligations related to safety, security and safeguards. In this regard, the Moroccan Agency for Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security (AMSSNuR) has, since its inception, been driven by the will and ambition to achieve its vision of establishing itself at the national level as an independent, effective, credible and transparent regulatory body; as well as a leader at the African level and significant contributor in the international arena. The Moroccan experience in safety and security governance and management is highlighted, and the lessons learned and experience gained in this area by AMSSNuR are shared.

IoT for Environmental Management and Security Governance: An Integrated Project in Taiwan

Taiwan is in a hazard-exposed area where people often suffer through typhoons, earthquakes, and landslides, and must face the challenges of environmental and climate changes in ongoing and future developments. Taiwan has implemented an integrated and interdisciplinary project, which is titled Civil IoT Taiwan, for better disaster risk management and risk communication with all stakeholders by cooperating closely with authorities, scientists, and industry. The purposes of this project are to raise public risk awareness to reduce disaster damage and loss and sustainably increase the social, economic, and environmental impacts. For measuring the social impacts of the Civil IoT Taiwan, the social return on investment (SROI) is an evaluation tool to demonstrate the outcomes and impacts of Civil IoT Taiwan to measure its social effects. The SROI ratio of this project is 1.12. Civil IoT Taiwan has just implemented the first development stage in establishing infrastructure for monitoring and sensing; thus, the significant changes and impacts on society, economics, and the environment will be evaluated in the next phase. This ongoing project will also involve more stakeholders for more sustainable and resilient environmental governance in future development.