Global Options, a nonprofit organization founded in 1986, is committed to research and education in the public interest. We share the general goals of community and professional groups working for the development of new, cooperative relations at the world and national levels. Among these goals are nonmilitary solutions to international conflicts, an equitable distribution of global resources, and a commitment to overcoming inequalities based on skin color or gender.
Within this broad framework, Global Options examines the political culture that reinforces inequalities between North and South, the persistent legacies of the Cold War, and political and economic injustice within the United States.
In particular, our projects probe the assumptions underlying U.S. interventions throughout the world and domestic expansion of the military-industrial complex in the post-Cold War context. Policies that increase the polarization within U.S. society and undermine the health, welfare, educational attainment -- in short, the general well-being -- of the population are closely scrutinized.
The research done by Global Options, in both its theoretical and practical forms, is made available to the public through publications, newsletters, and a journal, as well as through outreach and participation at conferences and community events.
We invite participation through our projects and our Associates program. Contributions to Global Options are tax-deductible.
Global Options is organized into projects, each with its particular focus and activities.
Social Justice: A Journal of Crime, Conflict & World Order publishes quarterly. Many of the current editorial staff have been with the journal since it was launched in 1974, when its focus was on the causes of crime and the social effects of criminal justice policies. The editorial scope has expanded over the years to address such important global issues as human rights, North-South conflict, sovereignty and self-determination, and crimes against humanity.
On domestic concerns, the journal focuses on health policy, environmental victims, welfare policy, immigration, prisons, and affirmative action. This publication has also served as a forum for "Guest Editors" -- respected academics from around the world with publishing projects such as that of the Global Environmental Change Program of the United Kingdom's Economic and Social Research Council.
The Future of Central America Project, which focuses on U.S. policy and the peace process in Central America, has conducted ongoing field research in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. The project is designed to reach a broad audience through books, articles in daily newspapers, and professional journals. Our staff also has considerable expertise regarding Mexico.
The Global Strategies Project analyzes future scenarios as we enter the new millennium. Studies published to date are "Latin America Faces the 21st Century," "Japan Enters the 21st Century," "The World Today" (published in conjunction with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Sciences and Humanities of the National University of Mexico), and "Reconfiguring Power: Challenges for the 21st Century," "Beyond the Neoliberal Peace: From Conflict Resolution to Social Reconciliation," and "Criminal Justice and Globalization at the New Millennium."
Global Options sponsored the Campus Coalitions for Human Rights and Social Justice, which produced educational literature on the challenge to affirmative action in California.
In addition, Global Options sponsors seminars featuring U.S. and international speakers. Members of Global Options frequently present their work at academic conferences.
As part of our outreach and research, Global Options offers an Associates program to people who share our interests, and who wish to exchange ideas and support our work financially. Global Options Associates receive occasional papers, correspond about research projects, use Global Options' resources, and contribute to our work. Sustaining Associates contribute $200 annually, which entitles them to a complimentary subscription to Social Justice. Supporting Associate membership costs $100 annually.
For more information, write:
Global Options
P.O. Box 40601
San Francisco, CA 94140
(415) 550-1703; e-mail: Social Justice (SocialJust@aol.com)
