Glenn Varona - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Glenn Varona

Research paper thumbnail of Police Ethics and Governance: Challenging Police and Social Corruption in the Philippines

Research paper thumbnail of Community Learning Through Participatory Governance and the Environment of Philippine Democratisation: Is Participatory Governance Possible in the Philippines

Philippine Political Science Association Journal, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Neo-liberalism and criminal justice policy: Law and order under the market system’

University of San Carlos Graduate Journal, 2006

Abstract Neo-liberalism has influenced the entire public sector, including the criminal justice... more Abstract
Neo-liberalism has influenced the entire public sector, including the criminal justice system, which includes policing and law enforcement. At first glance they may not seem to lend themselves to Neo-liberal principles, but the minimisation of government in public services has reached this far, creating far-reaching consequences for criminal justice policy. The treatment of crime as a rational economic activity instead of a form of moral and social aberration and the criminal as a rational person seeking to maximise gain instead of a social deviant has begun to change the nature of criminal justice. Policing is becoming less about law enforcement, as it is more about risk management in modern society. Society itself is becoming a risk society as levels of trust are reduced, and law enforcement is changing into the provision of security rather than the prevention and treatment of crime. This essay argues that increasing government involvement in criminal justice policy could actually address some of the extreme consequences of Neo-liberalism without negating its better qualities. This assumes that government is democratic and that crime is a moral issue that a democracy needs to address, as it is a system predicated on people being responsible for each other’s well being.

Research paper thumbnail of Social education and meaningful participatory governance: Towards building democracy as a public philosophy’

Research paper thumbnail of Business resilience in dealing with economic crises: Developing a model to measure business resilience

Journal of Business and Economics in Times of Crisis, 2017

Resilience is the capacity of any system, including business organizations and firms, to absorb t... more Resilience is the capacity of any system, including business organizations and firms, to absorb the
impact of an adverse event, adapt to it, recover effectively, and then return to a normal or better state.
Studies on resilience have grown in recent times, covering various disciplines, including but not limited
to individual human psychology and development, organisational dynamics, defence and security,
community disaster response, and business continuity. In light of current financial and economic
realities and the fact that businesses are facing increasing levels of risk, this paper proposes that:
• In addition to existing risk management and business continuity planning, business
organizations should seriously start developing a business resilience capacity that could address whatever risk management or business continuity planning could not foresee or deal with, and;
• In developing a resilience capacity, the first step is to develop a conceptual model of what business resilience is and how to measure it which could be adapted to serve any business entity in any situation.

Research paper thumbnail of Policing and the global commons: A research agenda

ALAR: Action Learning and Action Research Journal, 2009

Defining what the Global Commons consists of may not be an easy task, but the future of humanity ... more Defining what the Global Commons consists of may not be an easy task, but the future of humanity depends on its conservation and sustainable care. Humanity is inextricably linked with the Global Commons, and what we do to it would have far reaching consequences on us and our posterity. This article seeks to promote research into how policing could be employed and redesigned to enable us global citizens to protect, conserve and steward our Global Commons, starting with a discussion of how and why past and present developments in police and police reform are unable to effectively perform these tasks. It proceeds with presenting a tentative case for citizen participation in policing on a global scale that would enable both citizen and police stakeholders to work together and learn as they do towards the task of promoting sustainability for the future.

Research paper thumbnail of Politics and Policing in the Philippines: Challenges to Police Reform

Flinders Journal of History and Politics, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Business continuity and organisational resilience in the Australian context: Where do we go from here?

Research paper thumbnail of Ethics and the Resilient Society: Examining the role of ethics in building societal resilience

Academia Letters, 2021

Why is ethics in society essential to building societal resilience? This essay is being written w... more Why is ethics in society essential to building societal resilience? This essay is being written while under COVID 19 lockdown. But beyond this recurring pandemic is the even larger creeping disaster of Climate Change. Given these circumstances, it is essential to reexamine the discourse around resilience and why ethics is a necessary, though often forgotten component of its development. The enforced isolation of this writer's situation has become a good opportunity for thinking and writing. Resilience has largely been examined in the disciplines of Ecology and the environment; the social sciences and societal systems; and disaster management, engineering, and infrastructure. Ethicists have largely stayed away from or been ignored in this discourse. This does not mean that nothing has been written on the relationship between ethics and societal resilience. Indeed, Chandler (2013: 178-179) argues that a resilient society is truly possible only through an ethical sense of shared and relational responsibilities between and among society's members. Global problems, which currently include this viral pandemic, refugees, economic recession, and the Climate Crisis among others, should be interpreted as ethical lessons that people should reflect on to build self-awareness and eventually, social consciousness. In this, an ethical view of one another becomes critical to developing a resilient society. Many would argue that there is no standard definition of resilience (Arbon, Gebbie, Cusack, Perera, and Verdonk 2012: 10). They may be right, but if it is not possible to define resilience in a standard way, it is possible to conceptualize it. A good starting point is to look at resilience as the capacity of a human system, of society, to absorb the impact of an adverse event and return to normal as soon as possible (McAslan 2010: 1-2). Beyond this is the capacity of such a system to redefine normal and emerge in a better state, especially if it becomes impossible to return to the old normal (Varona 2017: 24). In Ecology, it is the ability

Research paper thumbnail of Collaborative Inquiry as a Critical Systemic Approach to Improving Ethics and Governance in the Philippine National Police

Systemic Practice and Action Research, 2012

Improving ethics and governance in policing is often considered an institutional function that po... more Improving ethics and governance in policing is often considered an institutional function that police agencies do as 'expert' institutions. Participation by other stakeholders may be welcome so long as police are able to control the processes and mechanisms of participation. This paper, based on research done with the Philippine National Police, argues that collaborative inquiry could be an effective critical systemic approach to participation by the wider society in police reform. This could enable both police and non-police stakeholders to work together towards mutual understanding and cooperation as equals towards better policing. This participatory approach is not meant to replace the institutional mechanisms that the police use for their own reform effort, but it is supposed to complement them. The research on which this paper is based was an attempt to design a model for collaborative inquiry at the local municipal level of policing in the Philippines, since the municipality is the lowest operational level for the Philippines' police service. The results of that study suggest that it is possible to establish such a mechanism and make it work, in effect establishing a Close Knit Knowledge Organisation at the lowest level of operational policing.

Research paper thumbnail of Police Ethics and Governance: Challenging Police and Social Corruption in the Philippines

Research paper thumbnail of Community Learning Through Participatory Governance and the Environment of Philippine Democratisation: Is Participatory Governance Possible in the Philippines

Philippine Political Science Association Journal, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Neo-liberalism and criminal justice policy: Law and order under the market system’

University of San Carlos Graduate Journal, 2006

Abstract Neo-liberalism has influenced the entire public sector, including the criminal justice... more Abstract
Neo-liberalism has influenced the entire public sector, including the criminal justice system, which includes policing and law enforcement. At first glance they may not seem to lend themselves to Neo-liberal principles, but the minimisation of government in public services has reached this far, creating far-reaching consequences for criminal justice policy. The treatment of crime as a rational economic activity instead of a form of moral and social aberration and the criminal as a rational person seeking to maximise gain instead of a social deviant has begun to change the nature of criminal justice. Policing is becoming less about law enforcement, as it is more about risk management in modern society. Society itself is becoming a risk society as levels of trust are reduced, and law enforcement is changing into the provision of security rather than the prevention and treatment of crime. This essay argues that increasing government involvement in criminal justice policy could actually address some of the extreme consequences of Neo-liberalism without negating its better qualities. This assumes that government is democratic and that crime is a moral issue that a democracy needs to address, as it is a system predicated on people being responsible for each other’s well being.

Research paper thumbnail of Social education and meaningful participatory governance: Towards building democracy as a public philosophy’

Research paper thumbnail of Business resilience in dealing with economic crises: Developing a model to measure business resilience

Journal of Business and Economics in Times of Crisis, 2017

Resilience is the capacity of any system, including business organizations and firms, to absorb t... more Resilience is the capacity of any system, including business organizations and firms, to absorb the
impact of an adverse event, adapt to it, recover effectively, and then return to a normal or better state.
Studies on resilience have grown in recent times, covering various disciplines, including but not limited
to individual human psychology and development, organisational dynamics, defence and security,
community disaster response, and business continuity. In light of current financial and economic
realities and the fact that businesses are facing increasing levels of risk, this paper proposes that:
• In addition to existing risk management and business continuity planning, business
organizations should seriously start developing a business resilience capacity that could address whatever risk management or business continuity planning could not foresee or deal with, and;
• In developing a resilience capacity, the first step is to develop a conceptual model of what business resilience is and how to measure it which could be adapted to serve any business entity in any situation.

Research paper thumbnail of Policing and the global commons: A research agenda

ALAR: Action Learning and Action Research Journal, 2009

Defining what the Global Commons consists of may not be an easy task, but the future of humanity ... more Defining what the Global Commons consists of may not be an easy task, but the future of humanity depends on its conservation and sustainable care. Humanity is inextricably linked with the Global Commons, and what we do to it would have far reaching consequences on us and our posterity. This article seeks to promote research into how policing could be employed and redesigned to enable us global citizens to protect, conserve and steward our Global Commons, starting with a discussion of how and why past and present developments in police and police reform are unable to effectively perform these tasks. It proceeds with presenting a tentative case for citizen participation in policing on a global scale that would enable both citizen and police stakeholders to work together and learn as they do towards the task of promoting sustainability for the future.

Research paper thumbnail of Politics and Policing in the Philippines: Challenges to Police Reform

Flinders Journal of History and Politics, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Business continuity and organisational resilience in the Australian context: Where do we go from here?

Research paper thumbnail of Ethics and the Resilient Society: Examining the role of ethics in building societal resilience

Academia Letters, 2021

Why is ethics in society essential to building societal resilience? This essay is being written w... more Why is ethics in society essential to building societal resilience? This essay is being written while under COVID 19 lockdown. But beyond this recurring pandemic is the even larger creeping disaster of Climate Change. Given these circumstances, it is essential to reexamine the discourse around resilience and why ethics is a necessary, though often forgotten component of its development. The enforced isolation of this writer's situation has become a good opportunity for thinking and writing. Resilience has largely been examined in the disciplines of Ecology and the environment; the social sciences and societal systems; and disaster management, engineering, and infrastructure. Ethicists have largely stayed away from or been ignored in this discourse. This does not mean that nothing has been written on the relationship between ethics and societal resilience. Indeed, Chandler (2013: 178-179) argues that a resilient society is truly possible only through an ethical sense of shared and relational responsibilities between and among society's members. Global problems, which currently include this viral pandemic, refugees, economic recession, and the Climate Crisis among others, should be interpreted as ethical lessons that people should reflect on to build self-awareness and eventually, social consciousness. In this, an ethical view of one another becomes critical to developing a resilient society. Many would argue that there is no standard definition of resilience (Arbon, Gebbie, Cusack, Perera, and Verdonk 2012: 10). They may be right, but if it is not possible to define resilience in a standard way, it is possible to conceptualize it. A good starting point is to look at resilience as the capacity of a human system, of society, to absorb the impact of an adverse event and return to normal as soon as possible (McAslan 2010: 1-2). Beyond this is the capacity of such a system to redefine normal and emerge in a better state, especially if it becomes impossible to return to the old normal (Varona 2017: 24). In Ecology, it is the ability

Research paper thumbnail of Collaborative Inquiry as a Critical Systemic Approach to Improving Ethics and Governance in the Philippine National Police

Systemic Practice and Action Research, 2012

Improving ethics and governance in policing is often considered an institutional function that po... more Improving ethics and governance in policing is often considered an institutional function that police agencies do as 'expert' institutions. Participation by other stakeholders may be welcome so long as police are able to control the processes and mechanisms of participation. This paper, based on research done with the Philippine National Police, argues that collaborative inquiry could be an effective critical systemic approach to participation by the wider society in police reform. This could enable both police and non-police stakeholders to work together towards mutual understanding and cooperation as equals towards better policing. This participatory approach is not meant to replace the institutional mechanisms that the police use for their own reform effort, but it is supposed to complement them. The research on which this paper is based was an attempt to design a model for collaborative inquiry at the local municipal level of policing in the Philippines, since the municipality is the lowest operational level for the Philippines' police service. The results of that study suggest that it is possible to establish such a mechanism and make it work, in effect establishing a Close Knit Knowledge Organisation at the lowest level of operational policing.