Suchergebnisse

History of tense relations between India and Pakistan dates back to the time of independence of both the states from the British Raj in 1947. Nonetheless, attempts have been made to pave the way for peace and trust building but in vain. This study looks at idiosyncrasy in policy making by looking at three different attacks that took place in India and the response of New Delhi to each. It further explores the personality of Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi vis-à-vis his religious and ideological beliefs and also analyses the extent to which these factors sway Modi in formulating policy particularly towards Indian minority (Muslims) and neighbours like Pakistan. Employing content analysis of the daily Dawn with the timeline of 2001 to 2019, the paper methodologically looks at three significant attacks in Indian administered territories till the Pulwama bombing. To have a perspective of the latter, this paper raises the question why the attack on the Indian parliament and Mumbai attacks failed to generate similar response as the Pulwama attack did. The paper argues that the Pulwama attack generated a different response due to idiosyncrasy, personality traits, religious and nationalistic tendency of the current administrator of India. More importantly, the season of election is always sensitive; meanwhile incumbent government is always scouting for event(s) to be exploited as political capital for election victory. Premised on the theoretical underpinnings of personality traits, religious ideology and an event such as the Pulwama attack, Modi has managed to change the playbook of India-Pakistan relations.

In this piece, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, publisher of Cassava Republic Press based in Abuja (Nigeria) and London (UK), discusses with Simidele Dosekun her founding and continued visions for the press, how these translate into the daily management and operations of the business, and the opportunities and challenges publishing presents for feminist, Black and African political purposes, including transnationally. We also discuss what it means to run and brand a feminist business in a contemporary cultural climate in which feminism is said to be 'popular'.

Competition amongst great powers is not new in international politics. It has traditionally been the driving force for the creation and collapse of empires and states. In the 19th–20th centuries, the British Empire established its dominion in the world over and maintained an uncontested global supremacy. To secure Britain's global dominance, in 1904, Sir Halford Mackinder dazed the world with his heartland theory. Ever since then, the theory remains one of the most discussed geopolitical theories. The article does not pretend or oblivious of the heaps of criticism Mackinder's theory has received over several decades, it nonetheless, employs the theory in the context of the contemporary international political environment, with particular reference to the happenings around the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. So therefore, the point of analysis here centres around the applicability of the theory and the implications posed by Mackinderian geographical rationalisation in formulating foreign policy around what the article considers as the contemporary pivot area – the Indian Ocean. Through the theoretical understanding of Mackinder's thesis, the article argues that the Indian Ocean and its adjoining seas corridors and Straits are 'pivot areas' potential enough to generate competition amongst regional and global powers. The new 'pivot areas' is enormously endowed with natural resources and is the major energy highway(s), upon which global economies are dependent. The article concludes by arguing that a complex power competition (CPC) is brewing along the neo-pivot region.

Competition amongst great powers is not new in international politics. It has traditionally been the driving force for the creation and collapse of empires and states. In the 19th–20th centuries, the British Empire established its dominion in the world over and maintained an uncontested global supremacy. To secure Britain's global dominance, in 1904, Sir Halford Mackinder dazed the world with his heartland theory. Ever since then, the theory remains one of the most discussed geopolitical theories. The article does not pretend or oblivious of the heaps of criticism Mackinder's theory has received over several decades, it nonetheless, employs the theory in the context of the contemporary international political environment, with particular reference to the happenings around the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. So therefore, the point of analysis here centres around the applicability of the theory and the implications posed by Mackinderian geographical rationalisation in formulating foreign policy around what the article considers as the contemporary pivot area – the Indian Ocean. Through the theoretical understanding of Mackinder's thesis, the article argues that the Indian Ocean and its adjoining seas corridors and Straits are 'pivot areas' potential enough to generate competition amongst regional and global powers. The new 'pivot areas' is enormously endowed with natural resources and is the major energy highway(s), upon which global economies are dependent. The article concludes by arguing that a complex power competition (CPC) is brewing along the neo-pivot region. ; Zjawisko konkurencji między wielkimi mocarstwami nie jest w polityce międzynarodowej niczym nowym. Konkurencja zawsze napędzała powstawanie i upadki imperiów i państw. W XIX–XX wieku Imperium Brytyjskie zapewniło sobie światową dominację i utrzymało niekwestionowaną supremację globalną. Aby zapewnić dalszą globalną dominację Wielkiej Brytanii, w 1904 roku Sir Halford Mackinder zadziwił świat swoją teorią "heartlandu", która pozostaje jedną z najczęściej dyskutowanych teorii geopolitycznych. Zdając sobie sprawę z głębokiej krytyki, jakiej przez kilka dziesięcioleci poddawano teorię Mackindera, artykuł wykorzystuje ją jednak w kontekście współczesnego międzynarodowego środowiska politycznego, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem wydarzeń w rejonie Oceanu Indyjskiego, Zatoki Perskiej i Morza Arabskiego. Dlatego też analiza koncentruje się tutaj na możliwościach zastosowania teorii i implikacjach wynikających z racjonalizacji geograficznej Mackindera w formułowaniu polityki zagranicznej wokół tego, co artykuł uważa za współcześnie kluczowy obszar (pivot area) – Ocean Indyjski. Teoretyczna interpretacja tezy Mackindera dowodzi, że Ocean Indyjski i sąsiednie korytarze morskie i cieśniny są "kluczowymi obszarami", których siła stymuluje konkurencję między potęgami regionalnymi i światowymi. Nowe "obszary kluczowe" są niezwykle bogate w zasoby naturalne i stanowią główne szlaki energetyczne, od których zależą gospodarki globalne. Artykuł kończy konkluzja, że w nowym regionie kluczowym wykluwa się kompleksowa konkurencja energetyczna (complex power competition (CPC)).

Competition amongst great powers is not new in international politics. It has traditionally been the driving force for the creation and collapse of empires and states. In the 19th–20th centuries, the British Empire established its dominion in the world over and maintained an uncontested global supremacy. To secure Britain's global dominance, in 1904, Sir Halford Mackinder dazed the world with his heartland theory. Ever since then, the theory remains one of the most discussed geopolitical theories. The article does not pretend or oblivious of the heaps of criticism Mackinder's theory has received over several decades, it nonetheless, em- ploys the theory in the context of the contemporary international political environment, with particular reference to the happenings around the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. So therefore, the point of analysis here centres around the applicability of the theory and the implications posed by Mackinderian geographical rationalisation in formulating foreign policy around what the article considers as the contemporary pivot area – the Indian Ocean. Through the theoretical understanding of Mackinder's thesis, the article argues that the Indian Ocean and its adjoining seas corridors and Straits are 'pivot areas' potential enough to gener- ate competition amongst regional and global powers. The new 'pivot areas' is enormously endowed with natural resources and is the major energy highway(s), upon which global economies are dependent. The article concludes by arguing that a complex power competition (CPC) is brewing along the neo-pivot region. ; Zjawisko konkurencji między wielkimi mocarstwami nie jest w polityce międzynarodowej niczym nowym. Konkurencja zawsze napędzała powstawanie i upadki imperiów i państw. W XIX–XX wieku Imperium Brytyjskie zapewniło sobie światową dominację i utrzymało niekwestionowaną supremację globalną. Aby zapewnić dalszą globalną dominację Wielkiej Brytanii, w 1904 roku Sir Halford Mackinder zadziwił świat swoją teorią "heartlandu", któ- ra pozostaje jedną z najczęściej dyskutowanych teorii geopolitycznych. Zdając sobie sprawę z głębokiej krytyki, jakiej przez kilka dziesięcioleci poddawano teorię Mackindera, artykuł wy- korzystuje ją jednak w kontekście współczesnego międzynarodowego środowiska polityczne- go, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem wydarzeń w rejonie Oceanu Indyjskiego, Zatoki Perskiej i Morza Arabskiego. Dlatego też analiza koncentruje się tutaj na możliwościach zastosowania teorii i implikacjach wynikających z racjonalizacji geograficznej Mackindera w formułowaniu polityki zagranicznej wokół tego, co artykuł uważa za współcześnie kluczowy obszar (pivot area) – Ocean Indyjski. Teoretyczna interpretacja tezy Mackindera dowodzi, że Ocean Indyjski i sąsiednie korytarze morskie i cieśniny są "kluczowymi obszarami", których siła stymuluje konkurencję między potęgami regionalnymi i światowymi. Nowe "obszary kluczowe" są nie- zwykle bogate w zasoby naturalne i stanowią główne szlaki energetyczne, od których zależą gospodarki globalne. Artykuł kończy konkluzja, że w nowym regionie kluczowym wykluwa się kompleksowa konkurencja energetyczna (complex power competition (CPC)).

In recent years, the European Union (EU) has seen and grappled with a varied degree of crisis, which a few observers considered as proof of its vulnerability and at worst scenario - existential threat. As it is with every crisis, there are gainers and losers; there are those who benefit from the fallout and others who manage to turn vulnerability into opportunity and strength. The crisis surrounding the EU can be characterized along the latter context, particularly in the backdrop of rising European populism. The rise of contemporary European populism has raised many questions and generated debates. Based on its anti-EU rhetoric and growing public acceptability, populism is interpreted as EU's political nemesis. In the midst of rising European populism, the paper looks at the debates in which the EU is considered as a failing or failed project. It also explores the extent to which European populism impacts the European political landscape. The paper explores the notion of populism as an anti-EU movement, bent at dislodging and disintegrating the Union. It argues that the actions of the populist parties suggest otherwise; populist dramatization underscores EU's continuous evolution and transition instead of its disintegration.

Intro -- Foreword -- About This Book -- Contents -- Editors and Contributors -- Abbreviations -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1 The Place of Legislature in Democratic Governance: An Introduction -- Introduction -- References -- 2 The Legislature in Nigeria: Origin, Significance and Relationship with Other Arms of Government -- Introduction -- Definition, Origin and Evolution of the Legislature in Nigeria -- Structure of Nigerian Legislature -- The Nigerian Legislature in the First, Second and Third Republics (1960-1999) -- The Nigerian Legislature in the Fourth Republic -- The Nigerian 4th Assembly (1999-2003) -- The Nigerian 5th Assembly (2003-2007) -- The Nigerian 6th Assembly (2007-2011) -- The Nigerian 7th Assembly (2011-2015) -- The Nigerian 8th Assembly (2015-2019) -- The Legislature and Other Arms of Government: A Theoretical Explanation -- Significance of Legislature in Nigeria -- Relationship with Other Arms of Government -- Conclusion -- References -- 3 Legislative Politics and Governance in Nigeria's Fourth Republic -- Introduction -- Conceptual and Contextual Explication -- Role of the Legislative Arm of Government -- Representation -- Lawmaking -- Oversight -- Legislative Politics in Fourth Republic's National Assembly -- Fourth and Fifth Assembly (1999-2007) -- Sixth and Seventh Assembly (2007-2015) -- Eighth Assembly (2015-2019) -- Effects of Legislative Politics on Governance in Nigeria -- Waste of Time and Resources -- Pursuit and Promotion of Selfish Interests -- Lawbreaking Instead of Lawmaking -- Lack of Quality Representation and Participation -- Lack of Quality Leadership and Governance -- Conclusion and Recommendations -- References -- 4 Interrogating Voting Patterns in Nigeria's Legislative Elections Under the Fourth Republic -- Introduction.

AbstractThis article shares empirical data about the returned and resettled natives and communities of North Waziristan Tribal District in Pakistan, which are undergoing the processes of post-conflict reconstruction and development. In order to present an analysis of the impact of prolonged conflict-induced displacement on the spatially excluded (or bounded) communities of North Waziristan, an inductive approach utilising qualitative methods and semi-structured interviews has been adopted to establish detailed accounts of the 'networks of interactions' and 'displacement-induced exposure'. The findings further suggest that these interactions and networks are transcending and redefining the margins (viz. material space), and the social space of North Waziristan since the natives have expressed growing inclinations towards movement in mainstream Pakistan. The aforementioned arguments establish new perspectives—admittedly controversial—where prolonged conflict-induced displacement has attributed to unintended 'development' for spatially excluded communities. Essentially, this article argues that the subject of displacement and post-conflict societies deserves further scrutiny beyond resettlement and return.

This study examined the relationship between Quality Control and performance of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Southwestern Nigeria. The study was conducted using the survey method. Data for this study was obtained through primary source. The primary source of data was collected through the administration of structured questionnaire to production managers, sales managers and quality control personnel as the respondents selected from the products and services industries such as pharmaceutical and food industry, medical sectors, and financial institutions that fall under SMEs. The sample size of the study was determined by Yamane (1967) formula, since the study has a finite population and the sample size was put at 400 SMEs. Applying proportionality procedure and rounding up to the nearest tens, 200 from manufacturing SMEs and 200 from service SMEs were surveyed. This study adopted both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings showed that there is a significant relationship between quality control and the performance of SMEs in southwestern Nigeria (Chi-Square 241.207, P<0.05). It is therefore recommended that commitment to total quality control must be backed by action and legislation.