Suchergebnisse

Am 11. März 1994 war die Opposition im slowakischen Parlament mit einem Mißtrauensvotum gegen Premierminister Meciar erfolgreich. Die Ablösung Meciars beendete eine sich über Monate hinziehende Regierungskrise, die sowohl durch den Verlust der parlamentarischen Mehrheit seitens der Regierung als auch durch die Zerstrittenheit der Oppositionsparteien gekennzeichnet war. Die neue slowakische Koalitionsregierung unter Moravcik strebt eine Beschleunigung der marktorientierten Wirtschaftsreform und der Westintegration der Slowakei an. Sie sieht sich gleichwohl einer Vielzahl wirtschaftlicher, sozialer und politischer Probleme gegenüber. Für den Herbst 1994 wurden Neuwahlen angesetzt. (BIOst-Wpt)

Purpose The current paper aims to address the management dynamics of civil society organisations (CSOs) in volatile contexts. Along with analysing CSOs' management dynamics at a general level, it also offers specific insights into their management strategies in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative research design, where in-depth case studies are undertaken with four CSOs operating in post-conflict volatile Sub-Saharan African economies of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Findings Findings revealed that multiple stakeholder management plays an important role in social value creation by CSOs. The findings further state that, in volatile contexts, CSOs appear to have more legitimacy than state functionaries due to their capabilities in dealing with political pressures and conflict sensitivities. The findings also revealed that case CSOs operating in Liberia and Sierra Leone were quick to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by adjusting their working routines accordingly by switching to online working where possible and repurposing their management strategies. This repurposing of management strategies focussed on minimising economic disruptions caused by COVID-19 and continuing to create social value by helping youth and farmers particularly. Originality/value This paper contributes to the extant literature by being one of the first studies, highlighting the specificities of CSO management in volatile (especially Sub-Saharan African post-conflict) contexts and contributes to the literature streams on multiple stakeholder management and social value creation. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the current paper is also one the first study to address the management strategies of case CSOs in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Water diplomacy agents typically manage tensions between promoting peace and securing self-interest. This paper conducts a discourse analysis of a commissioned policy report by a leading Netherlands think-tank that helped inform Dutch policy on water diplomacy. We first establish the importance of the report. We then identify its focus on the theme of 'neutral broker' and apply vocabulary analysis, argumentation analysis and metaphor analysis, together leading up to frame analysis. From this report and the larger water diplomacy literature, we propose that water diplomacy must be viewed in connection with discursive politics and trade promotion. We illustrate relevant methods for future enquiry.

For the last two decades, the Congolese Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector has been undergoing reforms of its governing structures. A recurrent argument supporting the reforms — predominantly in the 3T ASM sector (i.e. tin, tantalum and tungsten) — is that artisanal mining feeds violence (including sexual violence), conflicts, underdevelopment, and poverty. The reforms have been extensively studied, and academic research in turn has triggered empirical policy and advocacy researches. Researchers have found different outcomes and interpretations of the effectiveness of the reforms. This study consists of a systematic review of the findings gathered from the literature on the changing role of the state in governing 3T mining. It argues that in the study areas (i.e. North-Kivu, South-Kivu and Tanganyika), the challenges faced by the state in governing artisanal mining tend to be similar, complex, and rooted in the mining history of eastern DRC. Recent armed conflicts have only added new layers to existing challenges. In addressing these challenges and given their complexity, the state has succeeded in some areas but has failed in putting in place a coherent 'model' for governing the 3T ASM sector.

The rise of citizens' initiatives is changing the relation between governments and citizens. This paper contributes to the discussion of how governments can productively relate to these self-organizing citizens. The study analyzes the relation between the social production of invited spaces and the invitational character of such spaces, as perceived by governments and citizens. Invited spaces are the (institutional, legal, organizational, political and policy) spaces that are created by governments for citizens to take on initiatives to create public value. We characterize four types of invited spaces and compare four cases in Dutch planning to analyze how these types of invited spaces are perceived as invitational. From the analysis, we draw specific lessons for governments that want to stimulate citizens' initiatives. We conclude with a general insight for public administration scholars; in addition to formal rules and structures, scholars should pay more attention to interactions, attitudes and meaning making of both government officials and citizens.

Breastfeeding has an important impact on maternal and child health, and is affected by several factors influencing its initiation and continuation. This qualitative study aimed to assess the main promoting and hindering factors for breastfeeding support in Lebanese daycare centers (DCCs), through the perspective of their directors and employees. The study was based on semi-structured interviews with 13 directors and 9 employees. It explored the influence of various cognitive factors as well as different environment types (physical, economic, political, and sociocultural) on their breastfeeding support. Findings suggested the directors and employees valued improving breastfeeding support in DCCs and the physical set-up of the DCCs allowed for this. However, various other factors restricted their abilities to support breastfeeding in the DCC, including limited knowledge and training on the topic, absence of written internal policies on breastfeeding, lack of enforcement in the application of national policies, and the current mothers' work policies that negatively influenced the decision to breastfeed. Improvements could be achieved through integrated interventions, targeting the interaction of internal DCCs factors and national and DCCs breastfeeding policies, as well as several social factors, to create a multilevel approach targeting breastfeeding continuation support in breastfeeding-friendly DCCs in Lebanon and the region.