Research
Ziaul Haque and David Carroll. Assessing the Impact of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) on Electoral Integrity. Election Law Journal (forthcoming).
The question of whether or not the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into critical aspects of election administration would improve electoral integrity has been widely debated. While there are strong arguments on both sides, there has been very little systematic investigation. In this paper, we examine whether the introduction of ICTs at multiple stages of the electoral process improves electoral integrity, using a multilevel mixed-effects ordered logit model. Based on cross-sectional data from 160 countries, we assess the use of ICTs in four aspects of the electoral process – voter registration, voter identification, election result processing, and publication of results – and test multiple variables to isolate the effect of ICTs on electoral integrity. Our findings indicate that countries using biometric ICT for voter identification at polling stations are more likely to have elections with higher levels of integrity. In contrast, we find that countries where election results are processed by an electronic tabulation system are more likely to have decreased levels of electoral integrity. In addition, we find that when we introduce a control variable on the margin of victory (or electoral competitiveness), the decreased levels of electoral integrity in countries using electronic tabulation is magnified, whereas the relationship with the use of biometric ICT data in polling stations becomes insignificant.
Joseph G. Bock, Ziaul Haque and Kevin McMahon. Displaced and Dismayed: How ICTs Are Helping Refugees and Migrants, and How We Can Do Better. Information Technology for Development (forthcoming)
Employing ICT platforms has the potential to improve efforts to assist displaced people, or to liberate them in being more able to help each other, or both. And while platform development has resulted in a patchwork of initiatives – an electronic version of ‘letting a thousand flowers bloom’ – there are patterns emerging as to which flowers grow and have “staying power” as compared to ones that wilt and die. Using a partial application of grounded theory, we analyze 47 platforms, categorizing the services they provide, the functionalities they use, and the extent to which end users are involved in initial design and ongoing modification. We found that 23% offer one-way communication, 72%, provide two-way communication, 74% involve crowdsourcing and 43% use artificial intelligence. We also found that only 17% of platforms involved end users in the design of ICT platforms, whereas 85% involved end users in ongoing modifications. In hopes of providing guidance to would-be developers, we offer a preliminary list of what leads to a successful ICT initiative for refugees and migrants. Finally, we list ethical considerations for platform developers to keep in mind.
Joseph G. Bock and Ziaul Haque (2018). Getting a Sharper View of the Humanitarian Marketplace: Introducing Conduit Engagement Theory. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 24(4), 517-535.
There are differing views on the strengths and weaknesses of faith-based organizations relative to secular international nongovernmental organizations. This article argues that the theory of comparative advantage and the theory of organizational alignment are inadequate in helping to assess these strengths and weaknesses. The article offers a different perspective, called conduit engagement theory. It holds that humanitarian organizations naturally have specific relationships, organizational linkages, affiliations, or shared philosophies (referred to in the article as conduits) that enable certain programmatic interventions. Maximum effectiveness within the humanitarian marketplace is a function of the robustness of engagement of conduits with high-priority initiatives that have adequate funding over the necessary length of time. A new kind of tool for strategic planning within specific countries and for auditing at an organizational level are proposed.
Ziaul Haque and Anashua Ananga (2018). Surging Illiberalism: How Do International Students Assess the Challenge of Populism? Social Science Review 35(1), 149-164.
The phenomenal rise of populism has appeared as a major watershed event across Europe and America, which casts a deep shadow over the potential overhaul of the exiting liberal political system. Within the growing volume of existing scholarship, however, there is barely any study that looks into how the new spectrum of political change impacts international students. Employing a qualitative research design and a purposive sampling approach, this study draws a sample of international students at Kennesaw State University (KSU) to explore how subjects assess the challenges of populism. 8 in-depth individual and 1 group interviews were held at KSU campus. Employing a content analysis approach, the study suggest that international students are socio-political actors who assess populist polices from a socio-relational perspective. They interpret populism in terms of policy courses. Future efforts can be directed to explore in-depth understanding of these interpretations.
Ziaul Haque and Anashua Ananga (2017). Does Transition to Democracy Improve Human Rights? Social Science Review, 34(1), 87-100.
The normative arguments about the impact of democracy on human rights are rather straightforward. Democracy constraints the opportunity and limits the capacity to violate human rights. It is seen as the best system that promotes and protects human rights. Yet, critics question both the statistical flexibility and the methodological measurements of examining this linear relationship. They argue that there is a threshold below which democracy bears no significant improvements on human rights violations. One common concern is that democratic reforms require time thereby transition to democracy does not necessarily advance human rights. Using Polity IV and CIRI Human Rights databases and engaging existing contending theoretical propositions, we examined the impacts of transition to democracy on human rights. Our study suggests that a country’s transition to democracy yields positive results for human rights irrespective of regions, societies, and the emergence from whatsoever authoritative structures.
Effective communication is fundamental in conflict resolution insofar as conflicts often begin after communication among belligerent parties has ended. From Fisher and Ury’s Getting to Yes (1981) to Lederach’s The Moral Imagination (2005), decades-long scholarship in conflict resolution has unearthed various dynamics of negotiation strategies and conflict communication. But the focus by conflict resolution scholars on communication’s behavioral aspects dwarfs inquiry into its structural aspects (debunking myths and facilitating attitudinal change). Owing to the proliferation of mobile-based digital technologies and their uses in social change processes, a new communication discourse is slowly emerging which holds that digital technology can help structural aspects among conflicting parties. How does this optimism regarding new communication tools resonate in conflict resolution literature, and what are the transformative impacts, if any, of mobile-based interactive digital technology in shaping structural issues in conflict? Drawing on a case study of HarassMap—a social movement NGO in Egypt focused on changing attitudes toward and preventing gender-based violence—we offer an analytical framework to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the evolving potentials of these digital tools in conflict resolution.
The relationship between religion and conflict has generated considerable academic and political debate. Although the majority of religions and spiritual traditions are replete with wisdom that propagates a broader unity among human beings, these same examples have been used to legitimize hatred and fear. While some studies claim that religion facilitates peacebuilding, reconciliation, and healing, others argue that religion exacerbates hostility, instigates vengeance-seeking behaviors, and heightens conflict. But religion does not act by itself, human beings are responsible for acts of peace or conflict, of division or reconciliation, in the name of religion. This book addresses these rather complex issues from the perspective of reconciliation, or atonement, to advance both the frontiers of knowledge and the global search for alternative paths to peace. The contributions in the volume focus in three areas: (1) Reconciling Religious Conflicts, (2) Reconciling Conflict through Religion, and (3) Religious Reconciliations. In each of these sections scholars, practitioners, and religious leaders address specific examples that highlight the complex intersections of religious practices with global conflict and reconciliation efforts.
Climate Change and Threats to Human Security in.: Bangladesh: An Analysis. (with Md Rafiqul Islam)
Climate change has emerged as one of the key challenges of our time with its sweeping effects on broad range issues that intricately link human, environment, and socioeconomic well-being. Based on a case study, this chapter explores some of the evolving risks and vulnerabilities to human security in Bangladesh caused by global climate change.