Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Increasing Political Activism And Mobilization: Building An Oromo Agency And Capacity For Liberation, Asafa Jalata

Asafa Jalata

Without increasing our political activism, mobilizing and organizing our people, we cannot effectively challenge and defeat our external and internal enemies that are attempting to strangulate the development of Oromummaa and the progress of the Oromo national struggle. Our external enemies have been using Oromo clienteles to achieve their political and economic objectives in Oromia. Some Oromos have been used as raw materials in building other nations. Such Oromos have lacked political and national consciousness or lacked self-respect and attacked the Oromo nation for money and other interests. As the Said Bare government created and used the Somali Abo group …

National Humiliation, History Education, And The Politics Of Historical Memory, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

International Terrorism:Role ,Responsibility And Operation Of Media Channles, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

"Terrorism" is a term that cannot be given a stable defintion. Or rather, it can, but to do so forstalls any attempt to examine the major feature of its relation to television in the contemporary world. As the central public arena for organising ways of picturing and talking about social and political life, TV plays a pivotal role in the contest between competing defintions, accounts and explanations of terrorism. Which term is used in any particular context is inextricably tied to judgemements about the legitimacy of the action in question and of the political system against which it is directed. …

Faces Of Terrorism In The Age Of Globalization: Terrorism From Above And Below, Asafa Jalata

Asafa Jalata

This paper explains how the intensification of globalization as the modern world system with its ideological intensity of racism and religious extremism and its concomitant advancement in technology and organizational skills has increased the danger of all forms of terrorism. In this world system, the contestation over economic resources and power and the resistance to domination and repression or religious and ideological extremism have increased the occurrence of terrorism from above (i.e. state actors) and from below (i.e. non-state actors). We cannot adequately grasp the essence and characteristics of modern terrorism without understanding the larger cultural, social, economic, and political …

The Un-Exceptionalism Of U.S. Exceptionalism, Sabrina Safrin

Sabrina Safrin

This Article challenges the prevailing view that the United States acts exceptionally by examining the insufficiently considered legal exceptionalism of other countries. It puts U.S. Exceptionalism in perspective by identifying European exceptionalism as well as noting developing country exceptionalism, pointing to the exceptional rules sought by the European Union and by developing countries in numerous international agreements and institutions. It argues that most nations seek different international rules for themselves, or double-standards, when they perceive themselves to have an exceptional need. Indeed, in cases of exceptional need, numerous countries believe themselves entitled to exceptional legal accommodation and may even perceive …

Icomos Charter For The Interpretation And Presentation Of Cultural Heritage Sites, Neil A. Silberman

Neil A. Silberman

No abstract provided.

Las Razones De Presencia Y Éxito De Los Partidos Étnicos En América Latina. Los Casos De Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, México, Nicaragua Y Perú (1990-2005)., Salvador Marti I Puig

Salvador Marti i Puig

El texto explora si existe alguna causalidad entre la presencia y relevancia de los partidos étnicos (PE) en seis países latinoameri- canos y las “condiciones favorables” que indican diversas perspectivas de la literatura sobre acción colectiva. Para ello se realiza un análisis cuali- tativo multicausal orientado a los casos y a las variables que usa la lógica booleana para sim- plificar estructuras de datos complejos de forma sistemática. Con ello se trata de identificar la variedad de pautas causales de la presencia y éxito de los PÉ en Bolivia, Ecuador y Nicaragua, y no en Guatemala, México y Perú.

From 'Parliamentarized' To 'Pure' Presidentialism: Bolivia After October 2003, Miguel Centellas

Miguel Centellas

Among the many shifts in Bolivian politics since October 2003 is a subtle, yet significant change in the country's presidential system. Bolivia has recently transitioned from "parliamentarized" to a "pure" presidentism. In the previous system (1985-2002), Bolivian presidents were chosen by the legislature and led multiparty coalition governments. Since October 2003, Bolivia has instead been governed by two independent chief executives. This paper discusses the shift in presidential behavior by analyzing the similarities between Carlos Mesa and Evo Morales—who also fit the the description of "delegate democrats" or "populists"—and their consequences for democratic stability (the lack of a constitutional "crisis"). …

Africa, Mark J. Calaguas

Mark J Calaguas

The Africa Committee's contribution to the 2007 Year-in-Review issue of the American Bar Association Section of International Law's quarterly journal, The International Lawyer.

Markets And Famine In North Korea, Marcus Noland, Stephan Haggard, Erik Weeks

Marcus Noland

In the 1990s, as many as a million North Koreans died in one of the worst famines of the 20th century. Unlike the dramatic recent natural disasters in Burma and China, North Korea’s current food crisis, a product of self-destructive policies, bad weather, and global food price increases, has metastasized largely beyond public view, abetted by Pyongyang’s penchant for secrecy. Permanent resolution of North Korea’s chronic food problems requires revitalization of its industrial economy. Genuine opening would enable the country to earn foreign exchange and import bulk grain on a commercially sustainable basis, just as South Korea, China, and Japan …

Bolivia's Party System After October 2003: Where Did All The Politicians Go?, Miguel Centellas

Miguel Centellas

Bolivia’s political system has recently undergone a dramatic transformation after nearly two decades dominated by three “systemic” parties (MNR, ADN, MIR). Despite resisting challenges from “outsiders” (whether populists, leftists, or indigenous movements) for nearly two decades, the party system was quickly swept away after the “gas war” of October 2003. In its place, the new political landscape appears polarized into two distinct camps: Evo Morales’s MAS and an opposition led by PODEMOS. This paper offers a preliminary exploratory look at Bolivia’s most recent political transformation, looking particularly at the migration patterns of Bolivian career politicians between the 2002 and 2005 …

Special Collections At The United States International University Library In Kenya: Strategies For Development And Implementation, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

Due to the completion of a brand-new library building at the United States International University (USIU) in Nairobi, Kenya, opportunities for collection development at the library have appeared. This paper outlines three strategies for taking advantage of the special collections holdings and developing them over time. The authors provide research on creating an Africana collection, a United Nations (U.N.) Depository, and a UNESCO Memory of the World Program digital archive. These efforts are aimed at increasing indigenous knowledge and raising the profile of the university internationally. The global implications of this project dovetail with the university’s stated mission of expanding …

Kosova: Eski Dost, Yeni Devlet (Kosovo: Old Friend, New State), Cuneyt M. Yenigun

Cuneyt M. Yenigun

This study discusses Kosovo's unilateral independence proclamation and its positive effects to the Balkan Area.

Conditional Incentives As A Basis For Rural Development In Egypt, Gideon Kruseman

Gideon Kruseman

policy bvrief concerning outcomes of conference “Developing Policy Towards Dynamic Rural Areas in Egypt” held on June 16th 2008, focusing on four important components: agricultural competitiveness, environment and countryside, economic diversification and quality of rural life and local institutional capacity.

Struggling For Social Justice In The Capitalist World System: The Cases Of African Americans, Oromos, And Southern And Western Sudanese, Asafa Jalata

Asafa Jalata

This article identifies and examines the processes through which the social justice movements of African Americans in the US, Oromos in Ethiopia, and Southern and Western Sudanese in Sudan emerged, and the successes and failures of these movements in a global and comparative perspective. It specifically explores four interrelated issues. First, the paper deals with some theoretical and methodological insights. Second, the piece explains how the racialized capitalist world system and its political structures facilitated the creation of the states of the US, Ethiopia, and Sudan and legalized racial/ethnonational oppression, colonialism, exploitation, and continued subjugation. Third, it explains comparatively the …

North Korea On The Precipice Of Famine, Marcus Noland, Stephan Haggard, Erik Weeks

Marcus Noland

North Korea is once again headed toward widespread food shortages, hunger, and famine. As of this writing, the prospect of hunger-related deaths occurring in the next several months is approaching certainty. The expectation is based on four pieces of evidence, which we outline in the policy brief: - Food balances are as precarious as at any time since the great famine. - Access to aid or commercial import is limited by diplomatic tensions and the word food crisis. - Domestic food prices show the kind of extreme price inflation that is typical of pre-famine or famine settings. - The domestic …

Ripe For Cooperation Or Rivalry? Commerce, Realpolitik, And War Memory In Contemporary Sino-Japanese Relations, Yinan He

Yinan He

Sino-Japanese political relations, fraught with disputes and tension during the Koizumi years, only began to recover after Abe came to power. This article investigates the driving forces shaping recent and future bilateral relations. Using evidence from the Koizumi era, I argue that 1) bilateral commercial links prove a weak stabilizing factor for political relations; 2) the current distribution of power between China and Japan does not dictate their strategic rivalry, but they may still treat each other as rivals if they perceive the danger of longterm power transition and mutual hostile intent; 3) the frequent flare-up of bilateral history disputes …

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.

Partitioning The Past, Neil A. Silberman

Neil A. Silberman

No abstract provided.

Los Ajiacos Colombianos, Shawn Van Ausdal, Juliana Duque

Shawn Van Ausdal

No abstract provided.

Democratisation, Identity Transformation And Rising Ethnic Conflicts In Kogi State, Nigeria, Shola J. Omotola

Shola J. Omotola Mr

This article explores the linkages between democratization, identity transformation, and rising ethnic conflicts in Kogi State, Nigeria. It argues that the changing character of identity politics in the state, partly a reflection of the contradictory character of the state such that it empowers some people and disempowers others, has been boosted by the democratization process. Ethnic identities have thus become an instrument for the construction and deconstruction of trust in the struggle for power among the competing ethnicities, which the democratization process typifies. The result has been rising ethnic conflicts across the state that do not bode well for sustainable …

A Security And Peace Mechanism For Northeast Asia: The Economic Dimension, Marcus Noland, Stephan Haggard

Marcus Noland

In this brief, we explore the economic dimension of multilateral security cooperation in Northeast Asia. We begin with a discussion of the purported security benefits of economic egnagement with North Korea. We then outline recent economic developments in North Korea, which provide a crucial background to any discussion of the issue. We raise some cautionary questions about the scope for multilateral economic cooperation in Northeast Asia before outlining how economic cooperation can complement long-run security and economic objectives on the peninsula, including economic reform in North Korea.

Brenda Shaffer (Ed.), The Limits Of Culture: Islam And Foreign Policy (Cambridge: Mit Press, 2006, 350pp), Mehmet Ozkan

Mehmet OZKAN

No abstract provided.

When Beef Was King. Or Why Do Colombians Eat So Little Pork?, Shawn Van Ausdal

Shawn Van Ausdal

This article seeks to understand why Colombians, compared to many other Latin Americans, have traditionally eaten so much more beef than pork. The article first points to the development of a culinary tradition that favored beef. The bulk of the argument, though, centers on the fact that, historically, beef has been substantially cheaper than pork. This price difference, in turn, is rooted in the low productivity of Colombian agriculture, which made corn, often used to fatten hogs, expensive. Additional factors that favored beef include a receding agrarian frontier, a small hog population, the various advantages of cattle, a conflict–ridden history …

South Africa And The Arab World: Facing Common Challenges, Marcus Noland, Howard Pack

Marcus Noland

Today the Arab countries of the Middle East face a challenge familiar to all South Africans: to create jobs for the large cohort of young people reaching working age. Over the next decade or so, the region may experience population growth of 150 million people—the equivalent of adding two Egypts (table 1). In demographic terms, the task is similar to that facing South Africa—only larger. Rising labor force participation by women only increases the pressure. The task is immense, and the stakes are high.

North Korea In 2007, Marcus Noland, Stephan Haggard

Marcus Noland

The year 2007 witnessed a gradual rapprochement between North Korea and the world, reflecting changes both in the country's external environment and domestic political economy. Key markers were the resumption of the Six-Party Talks and the second North-South summit. Whether these developments will endure depends largely on North Korean intentions.

Notes On The Impact Of Research On The Development Of Egovernment, Jane E. Fountain

Jane E. Fountain

In this article, the author sketches three dimensions of a research program that would have significant impact on European politics, economy and society. First, the design and political development of institutions is central to a mature research program, given the role played by these structures and systems in the capacity and behaviour of governments. Second, civil servants are the human actors within institutions who are the agents of change, the designers of the particularised elements of policy design and implementation, and the “nodes” of networked governance. Third, inequality reduction is one of the central tasks of a democratic society.

These …

Towards A Common Egovernment Research Agenda In Europe - European Review Of Political Technologies

Jane E. Fountain

No abstract provided.

The Israeli National Information Center And Collective Memory Of The Israeli-Arab Conflict, Rafi Nets-Zehngut

Rafi Nets-Zehngut

From the 1960s to 2003 the Israeli Information Center, the main Israeli institution for disseminating information to the Israeli public, put out publications which dealt with the Palestinian refugees of 1948 and the infiltrators of 1949-1956 and disseminated them to the Israeli public. Using content analysis of these publications (made up of books and booklets) and interviews with the Center’s and Agency’s directors from 1961 to 2003, this article explores for the first time the way this Center operated, the way those publications described those two issues over the years, and the processes and reasons that generated this description. By …

Ni Calamidad Ni Panacea: Una Reflexión En Torno A La Historiografía De La Ganadería Colombiana, Shawn Van Ausdal

Shawn Van Ausdal

No abstract provided.