EDITORIAL

ALEJANDRA RIPOLL *

* Editor

With the start of the new parameters required by Publindex, scientific publications are in a period of uncertainty; what will happen? Is the central question that all publishers are posing? Each day, expectations of all types increase considerably when facing the new challenges, but time will tell and then it will be known which publications responded and struggled in order to place themselves in categories Q-1, Q-2 or Q-3.

However, caution is required with the evaluation of journals according to quartiles, because if the competition goes beyond the Latin American borders, many will not make it. For this reason, one cannot discriminate or stigmatize our publications, because the accumulated efforts of years and years give them credibility and legitimacy. In previous editorials a discussion has been raised about the impasses that occur in order to be well-ranked, not just at local or regional levels but worldwide, and some have concluded that language is an almost insurmountable barrier.

Despite the above, the Chilean, Argentinian and Mexican academies defend the importance of publications in Spanish, as a symbol of identity. There are roughly 430 million Spanish speaking people, which is a respectable number. This population publishes, researches and reads in order to be informed not only of their surrounding, but also of what happens in the rest of the world. Contrary to what many say, reading levels have increased thanks to the open access.

Then, FARIES publication, committed to society and with the thoroughness that has distinguished it in the 17 printed numbers of its existence, in order to continue maintaining an outstanding ranking, presents its readers eight articles in the topics of International relations, Politics and Security.

International Relations includes three articles: the first, A emergência gives no postoperative China-crise financeira 2008: Beijing Consensus or from a microphysics to do, by Anne Bossler, Débora de Andrade Rodriguez and Priscilla Pereira. Many articles have been written highlighting the Chinese economic situation; for that reason is identified as the possible direct competitor of the United States and the Asian regional leader. This article is different and unique, because the epistemology used, places it far from those other writings and manages to articulate economic variables in different historical contexts within the discursive categories of Foucault. The second article, International relations of the Syrian civil war: The United States and Russia in the struggle for international power, by Rafat Ghotme and Alejandra Ripoll, analyses from the neoclassical realism that the actions of the powers are motivated to obtain a balance of power against the impossibility of an hegemony. It examines the situation in the Middle East, where distribution of power is multi-polar because the principal actors are not very distant from each other in their power resources. Even the U.S. is in a downward curve in its capabilities. In the third article, Comparative Studies in International Relations: ideal for trans-contextual studies, by Diana Arias Henao; the discipline of International Relations is characterized by being trans-disciplinary; in that sense, it is almost imperative to use comparative methodology, which is recognized by the author as a tool that optimizes scientific research. She shows that the methods most suitable for studies in international scientific research are the trans-conceptual ones, that include methodological cross-national and crosscultural variables. To prove this point, the author Arias analyses drug violence in Colombia and Mexico, presenting the theoretical concepts of overcame states and promiscuous wars.

Politics includes four articles: the first one, Social transformations: A discussion on the body, the state figure and inclusion/exclusion, by Valeria F. Falleti. The author explains how in the processes of modernity, institutionality and the submission of the subjects to the law from the perspective of Foucault are present, and, on the other hand, post-modernity is framed on the ideas of Deleuze. That makes society integrated on principles of inclusion and exclusion. However, the author visualizes an optimistic outlook if there is social participation to change adverse conditions. The second article, Territory and State- changes and challenges in the globalization of law, by William Guillermo Jimenez; globalization is a transverse phenomenon that has placed its mark in all situations and actions that occur at the international level, with a clear impact on the national. Its effects have permeated from diverse scientific disciplines to the most rooted beliefs in the minds of the world’s population. Some of the theories of globalization have tried to blur the State; however, the author intends is to explain the changes that have taken place in the relation State-territory, while acknowledging that, despite the many theses, the state remains an important entity in the international system, assuming different roles in the face of globalization. The third article, The Pendulum de-centralization, re-centralization and its application to the education reform in Mexico, by Juan C. Olmeda; Mexico is considered a model of education in the Latin American context; however, in this article it is intended to show how the political aspect has a decisive impact on the sector. Through four scenarios ranging from ones with a not very commendable purpose, to a State guarantor of the quality of education, the author concludes on a preliminary basis that there exists a re-centralization due to the intentions of the federal government to control education, so it will be more effective ensuring a better educational service. The fourth article, The triad market-state and civil society in the Latin American perspective, by Mauricio Gonzalez Bonilla; currently, Latin America has become an area of interest for scholars and politicians, due to the dire consequences that globalization has caused. From a historical perspective, the author shows that the links that bind state, market and society are not a new phenomena; on the contrary, they are old and have always affected the development of the region. They have also caused social, political and economic conflicts, as evidenced by the Colombian agrarian sector.

The Security Section presents one article: Human security and collateral water problems, by Jose Luis Cadena and Maria Fernanda Ramirez Soler: after the seventies, when the concept of security expanded, the human aspect emerges as priority, with a clear State responsibility to guarantee it. Along the same lines, one of the issues identified as priority was the protection of the environment, especially water, a vital resource that entered the list of scarce supplies, that in the future would be a source of power. In this article the authors explore two sides of the water problem: first, the supply of potable water, and second, the conservation of water sources to ensure the supply of water in a sustainable way.

Finally, it only remains for us to thank the writers and all others committed to making this issue a reality. We reiterate the invitation to continue their contributions and comments.