Suchergebnisse

The democratic transition processes in Africa since the 1990s have carried great hopes and expectations about 'civil society' and ambivalence about the state. This book explores the complex interactions between state fragility, self-help, and self organization in Nigeria. Nigeria's associational life is highly developed and multifaceted, reaching far beyond 'civil society organizations' (CSOs) or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There is a 'third sector' within civil society that encompasses a spectrum extending from community-based forms of self-help to ethnic or religious representation, and even militias. Some self organization formations have narrow, pragmatic aims. Others have an explicit socio-cultural or political agenda. Many respond to, and cope with consequences of the Nigerian state's inability to deliver services and provide functioning regulatory frameworks. Examining and analyzing the emergence of broader forms of civil society, the book considers its roots, dynamics and successes, but also pinpoints its costs, ambivalences, and contradictions. Despite strong traditions of self-organization in Nigeria, many pressure groups, organizations defending rights, independent policy consultants and other structures known as 'civil society organizations' are also dependent on foreign aid. The book contributes to deliberations on the relationship between state and civil society in Nigeria, Africa, and globally.

This article challenges claims that liberalising state regulated markets in developing countries may induce lasting economic development. The analysis of the rise of tourism in Egypt during the last three decades suggests that the effects of liberalisation and structural adjustment are constrained by the neo-patrimonial character of the Egyptian political system. Since the decline of oil rent revenues during the 1980s tourism development was the optimal strategy to compensate for the resulting fiscal losses. Increasing tourism revenues have helped in coping with macroeconomic imbalances and in avoiding more costly adjustment of traditional economic sectors. Additionally, they provided the private elite with opportunities to generate large profits. Therefore, sectoral transformations due to economic liberalisation in neo-patrimonial Rentier states should be described as a process, which has led to the diversification of external rent revenues, rather than to a general downsizing of the Rentier character of the economy. (GIGA) ; This article challenges claims that liberalising state regulated markets in developing countries may induce lasting economic development. The analysis of the rise of tourism in Egypt during the last three decades suggests that the effects of liberalisation and structural adjustment are constrained by the neo-patrimonial character of the Egyptian political system. Since the decline of oil rent revenues during the 1980s tourism development was the optimal strategy to compensate for the resulting fiscal losses. Increasing tourism revenues have helped in coping with macroeconomic imbalances and in avoiding more costly adjustment of traditional economic sectors. Additionally, they provided the private elite with opportunities to generate large profits. Therefore, sectoral transformations due to economic liberalisation in neo-patrimonial Rentier states should be described as a process, which has led to the diversification of external rent revenues, rather than to a general downsizing of the Rentier character of the economy. -- Egypt ; rentier state ; economic liberalisation ; economic development ; tourism ; Dieser Artikel stellt den Zusammenhang zwischen nachhaltiger wirtschaftlicher Entwicklung infolge der Liberalisierung staatlich regulierter Märkte in Entwicklungsländern in Frage. Die Analyse des Aufstiegs des Tourismussektors in Ägypten seit Anfang der 1970er Jahre zeigt, dass die Liberalisierung und Diversifizierung der ägyptischen Ökonomie maßgeblich durch den neopatrimonialen Charakter ihres politischen Systems bestimmt war. Infolge des Rückgangs der Erdölpreise seit den frühen 1980er Jahren wurde der Ausbau des Tourismussektors zur optimalen Entwicklungsstrategie, um Einnahmenverlust zu kompensieren. Die steigenden Tourismuseinnahmen halfen dem ägyptischen Staat, makroökonomische Ungleichgewichte auszugleichen und kostspielige Anpassungsprozesse in traditionellen Wirtschaftssektoren zu vermeiden. Darüber hinaus eröffnete die Tourismusentwicklung den privaten Wirtschaftseliten des Landes neue Möglichkeiten, erhebliche Profite zu realisieren. Sektorale Transformationen in neopatrimonialen Rentier-Staaten sollten deswegen vor allem als Rentendiversifizierung verstanden werden und weniger als Prozesse, die den Rentencharakter einer Volkswirtschaft im Allgemeinen verringern. (GIGA) ; Thomas Richter and Christian Steiner ; Parallel als Buch-Ausg. erschienen

Esplorando dal punto di vista storico, antropologico e artistico l'incredibile successo e diffusione del motivo della Madonna Lactans, il presente scritto si propone di indagare le dinamiche politiche associate al motivo stesso e alla devozione ad esso correlata. Il motivo è un utile punto di accesso per indagare quali orizzonti simbolici, soprattutto legati alla corporeità, vengano attivati nel difficile rapporto tra élite di potere e cultura popolare nello stabilire la legittimità politica. Questa indagine si prefigge di esplorare questo rapporto in diversi contesti socio-culturali del Mediterraneo arricchendo l'analisi tramite una comparazione tra la censura post-tridentina sul motivo e la ripresa del tema nell'impero mughal tra il secolo XVI ed il XVII. ; Exploring the incredible success and diffusion of the Nursing Madonna motif from an historical, anthropological and artistic point of view, this paper aims to investigate the political dynamics associated with the motif itself and the devotion related to it. The Nursing Madonna motif is a useful point of access to see which symbolic horizons, especially those linked to corporeity, are activated in the difficult relationship between the power élites and popular culture in establishing political legitimacy. This investigation aims at exploring this relationship in different socio-cultural contexts of the Mediterranean by enriching the analysis through a comparison between the post-Tridentine censorship on the motif and the revival of the theme in the mughal empire between the 16th and 17th centuries.

AbstractAre majority-Muslim countries laggards when it comes to developing liberal economic institutions? Using an Index of Economic Freedom and its component parts, this study finds that Muslim-dominant countries (>50% of the population) are positively associated with free-market capitalism. Protestant dominance is also positively correlated, but the association stems from just two components of the index, mainly "legal security and property rights protection." Surprisingly, Protestant countries correlate negatively with "small government" and "freedom to trade," two critical components of free-market capitalism. Muslim dominance shows positive correlations with all areas except for "legal security and property rights." The results are consistent when assessing similar variables measuring property rights and government ownership of the economy collected by the Varieties of Democracy Project. Capitalistic policies and institutions, it seems, may travel across religions more easily than culturalists claim.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia attempted to keep up a hegemonic sphere of influence, at least in the geographical territory of the former Soviet Union. For their part, the three Baltic States soon opted for participation in the European political & economic integration process. Increased political & economic stability as well as increased security was expected in the region through EU Membership because political forces in Russia still hoped for a restoration of its hegemony or believed in its ability to block NATO Membership of the Baltic States. The negotiations of the three Baltic States for EU-accession can be described as dynamic, although agreement over some sensitive issues was rather difficult, e.g. Estonia: free movement of persons; Latvia: environmental protection; Lithuania: corruption; & in all three countries: energy. Other problems causing difficulties with neighbouring Russia were the significant Russian minorities in Estonia & Latvia as well as the continuing Estonian & Lithuanian dependency on Russian energy exports. Being a member of the first group of accession candidates Estonia started negotiations two years earlier than the other two states, however, the "late comers" Latvia & Lithuania succeeded in speeding up their efforts, so all three states could join the EU at the same time. Overall, the Baltic States so far have successfully managed a fourfold transformation process, comprising of (1) the regaining of independence from Russia, (2) the shift to liberal democratic polities, (3) the transformation to market economy & (4) the realization of most of the necessary adaptations required for EU Membership thereby showing a considerable ability for pragmatism during the negotiations. In the beginning the populations of the three Baltic States were quite sceptical about transferring their newly won independence to Brussels. However, support for EU Membership increased during the accession talks after 2001 in Latvia & especially Lithuania, while Estonia remained the most distanced country of all applicants. Finally the referenda resulted in a two thirds majority vote in favour of EU Membership, in Lithuania even with over 90%. 10 Diagrams, References.

"Basque Nationalism and the Spanish State is an original and provocative discussion of a phenomenon that has provided the Basques with an unusually strong ethnic identiry but has also generated important internal conflict among them, while vexing Spain's central government for many generations. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the Basques or in the development of modern nationalist movements."--BOOK JACKET.

The author puts forward the reason as to why time budget studies are not adequate to measure the amount of child care provided by mothers in rural areas of Bangladesh. A more fruitful method of measuring time spent on child care provided by these women is suggested. (DÜI-Sen)

This book provides a rich analysis of the history of Swedish victim support. With the majority of research on victim support centering on the Anglosphere, this book offers a unique case study for considering the role of the victim in the criminal justice system. While Sweden has enacted many laws to support victims, and victim assistance programs have grown rapidly, welfare policy has become more restrictive and crime policy, to some degree, more punitive. Drawing on archival material and interviews with key representatives for the Swedish Association for Victim Support (BOJ), this book examines what role the victim movement has played in a changing welfare state. It argues that BOJ filled a function in the decentralization and privatization of the Swedish welfare state and explores distinctive features of the Swedish victim movement and the form it has taken, as compared to that in other countries.This book will be of interest to scholars and students of criminology, sociology, social policy, civil society studies, and social work, and those engaged in studies of victims and victimology.