Digital Commons Network^™

Female Secondary School Stipend Programs In Bangladesh And Pakistan: What Can We Learn From South Asia’S Ccts?, Julia Gibbons

Julia Gibbons

The Olympics In East Asia: Nationalism, Regionalism, And Globalism On The Center Stage Of World Sports, William W. Kelly, Susan Brownell

Susan Brownell

Yale CEAS Occasional Publication Series - Volume 3

Modern Chinese Defence Strategy: Present Developments, Future Directions, Rosita Dellios

Rosita Dellios

The author argues that the Chinese believe in the strategy of "people's war under modern conditions", and are confident that middle-range technology and unconventional warfare and the combination of the "human" and "weapon" factors represent a successful application of the strategy. Extract: A new era in Chinese defence policy followed the ascent in 1977 of China's most powerful political and military leader since Mao. After being disgraced in 1966 and again in 1976, Deng Xiaoping (Teng Hsiao-ping) returned to the ruling ranks for the third time in July 1977. A decade of self-strengthening and reform would result. The objective of …

App Newsletter 8, Riccardo Pelizzo

Riccardo Pelizzo

Eight Issue of the APP Newsletter devoted to SDG, South Sudan, Tanzanian elections, and the alleged dividends of statelessness in Somalia.

App Newsletter 7, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

The seventh issue of the APP newsletter, with contributions by Michele Croce, founder and President of Verona Pulita, and Abel Kinyondo, Senior Researcher at REPOA.

App Newsletter 5, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

Fifth issue of APP Newsletter

In Appreciation Of Birago I. Diop: A Subtle Advocate Of Négritude, Winston E. Langley

Winston E. Langley

The closing weeks of the last decade brought with them the death of three distinguished world figures: Samuel Beckett, the Irish-French playwright, novelist, and poet; Andrei D. Sakharov, the Soviet nuclear physicist, human rights advocate, and leader in the international disarmament movement; and Birago I. Diop, the Senegalese poet, storyteller, and statesman. In the case of the former two, leading U.S. newspapers and other media paid merited tribute in the amplest of proportions; in case of the last, however, it was as if he had either never lived or had gained no standing of importance worthy of much attention. Diop …

Beyond Anti-Semitism, Rebecca Gould

Rebecca Gould

Focusing on internal contradictions within the Israeli left, this essay considers the impact of the historical legacy of anti-Semitism on everyday thinking about Israel and the Palestinian territories. Contesting the view that to criticize Israel is to engage in anti-Semitic defamation, it offers an historical account of how Israel's actions in the West Bank have come to be immunized from conscientious criticism. It also documents how progressive media outlets in contemporary Israel have silenced or otherwise marginalized Israel's most active critics.

A System Of Exemptions: Historicizing State Illegality In Indonesia, Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb

No abstract provided.

Beyond Caudillos: The Need To Create A Strong Multiparty System, Miguel Centellas

Miguel Centellas

No abstract provided.

Don’T’ Know Much About History: Constitutional Text, Practice, And Presidential Power, David A. Schultz

David A Schultz

Assertions of presidential supremacy and power in affairs often invoke history, including events during the administration of George Washington, to defend their assertions. This article raises some questions regarding what we can learn from history for constitutional argument. It concedes generally that historical facts can support or buttress constitution argument, but more specifically it contends that acts undertaken by George Washington are problematic assertions for presidential power, especially those that assert “supremacist” or broad if not exclusive claims for presidential foreign policy authority. To do that, this article first describes how history is employed as constitutional argument for presidential power. …

Revolution In Political Affairs, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Extract:

"Recognising the marked impact of the internet on both practical politics and the practices of political scientists, it is not too large a step to paraphrase the US Department of Defence and decree the internet a Revolution in Political Affairs. Akin to its military phrase mate, the internet is effecting all areas of political discourse, exchange and public policy while, at the same time, forcing those who study and theorise politics to change their existing ways of thinking, working and imagining their chosen field..."

The Santa Cruz Autonomía Movement: Preliminary Considerations On A Case Of Non-Indigenous Ethnic Popular Mobilization, Miguel Centellas

Miguel Centellas

This paper discusses the recent autonomy movement in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, within a theoretical framework typically reserved for “ethnic” political or social movements. The paper begins with a brief chronology of the Santa Cruz autonomía movement as it developed into a powerful political oppositional movement during the rise of Evo Morales. In doing so, the movement’s leaders consciously adopted the organizational tactics and forms of discourse typically identified with traditional, indigenous-popular Bolivian social movements. As such, the Santa Cruz case both highlights the fluidity of multiculturalism and challenges our notions of how ethnic identity is publicly constructed.

Post-Conflict Planning And Reconstruction: Lessons From The American Experience In Korea, Marcus Noland

Marcus Noland

The American experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq have motivated a re-examination of earlier experiences with post-conflict planning and reconstruction. This paper reviews the US experience in Korea following the Second World War and the Korean War; addresses the political economy of establishing institutions of governance in post-conflict situations; considers the issue of “portability”: the extent to which the South Korean experience may reflect unique and irreproducible conditions; and then applies these ideas by comparing the South Korean experience to the contemporary case of Afghanistan. Some conclusions and policy recommendations are contained in the final section.

Political Attitudes Under Repression: Evidence From North Korean Refugees, Marcus Noland

Marcus Noland

What do citizens of highly repressive regimes think about their governments? How do they respond to high levels of repression? This paper addresses these questions by examining the political attitudes of North Korean refugees. Unsurprisingly the evaluations of regime performance are negative, and there is some evidence that they are becoming more so, even among the core political class and government or party workers. While the sample marginally overrepresents groups with the most negative evaluation of the regime, multivariate analysis is used to generate projections of the views of the wider population; this exercise indicates that that the null hypothesis …

Economic Crime And Punishment In North Korea, Marcus Noland

Marcus Noland

The penal system has played a central role in the North Korean government’s response to the country’s profound economic and social changes. As the informal market economy has expanded, so have the scope of economic crimes. Two refugee surveys—one conducted in China, one in South Korea—document that the regime disproportionately targets politically suspect groups, particularly those involved in market-oriented economic activities. Levels of violence and deprivation do not appear to differ substantially between the infamous political prison camps, penitentiaries for felons, and labor camps used to incarcerate individuals for a growing number of economic crimes. Such a system may also …

The Incredible Shrinking Pancasila: Nationalist Propaganda And The Missing Ideological Legacy Of Suharto, Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb

Although President Suharto dominated Indonesian politics for more than three decades, and although Indonesians spent millions of hours under his regime mastering the principles of the national ideology, Pancasila, remarkable little remains of his ideological legacy.

Bolivia's Radical Decentralization, Miguel Centellas

Miguel Centellas

No abstract provided.

The Mexican Kidnapping Industry: Does Federalism Hold The Government Hostage In Its Efforts To Combat Such Criminality?, Charles B. Bowers

Charles Bowers

No abstract provided.

A Primary Human Challenge, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

We may ask why, at both the individual and collective levels, it has seemed so difficult for us to choose to evolve our human games with Joy. There is no one answer for such a question, for each of us has the gift of free will. I will suggest, however, that built into our human games is what I call a primary human challenge. That primary human challenge is a dynamic tension, flowing from our creative urge for the freedom “to be” who we really are in our current physical form, and simultaneously to embrace our responsibility for our Being-ness.

Democracy On Stilts: Bolivia's Democracy From Stability To Crisis, Miguel Centellas

Miguel Centellas

Bolivia’s recent political crisis starkly contrasts to the preceding two decades of relative democratic stability. Though a unique system of “parliamentarized” presidentialism together with lingering consensus on the national project inherited from the 1952 Revolution supported democratic stability, using qualitative and quantitative methods, this study shows that seemingly benign changes in institutional design made in the 1990s contributed to the acceleration of already existing tendencies towards divisive sectoral, regional, and ethnic politics. A key observation is that successful long-term democratization requires institutions for adequately channeling and representing social demands as well as a shared vision of a political “imagined community” …

What Is This Gender Talk All About After All? Gender, Power And Politics In Cotemporary Nigeria, Shola J. Omotola

Shola J. Omotola Mr

Gender discourse is very influential everywhere, calling to attention the unwarranted discrepancy between the locations of men and women in the state and society in almost every facet of life. It places particular emphasis on the oppression and marginalisation of women at all levels. The feminist movements have for years continued to advocate for gender balance especially through affirmative action. Yet, only marginal progress has been made. Drawing insights from contemporary Nigeria, this paper argues that if the gender discourse will ever be productive, it would have to be reoriented and situated within the framework of power politics.

Asia Country Risk Analysis Cambodia, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

Cambodia, as it currently stands, does not make for an attractive or viable investment area. Based on a realistic point of view, Cambodia poses many security risks to potential investors based on their current domestic situation. In order to understand why this is so, this risk analysis will outline Cambodia’s internal domestic situation as it comes out of their tumultuous history. In addition to this the risk analysis will identify Cambodia’s bilateral and multilateral relations and explain how these do not provide strong support for investors looking to do business in Cambodia. In conclusion the risk analysis will provide a …

The Compact Of Medina: A Constitutional Theory Of The Islamic State, Muqtedar Khan

Muqtedar Khan

The essay explores the Compact of Medina as a constitutional basis for a modern Islamic state.