Suchergebnisse

Since 1971, Belgium has been organized in two cultural communities, Flanders & Wallonia, & into three regions: Brussels, Flanders, & Wallonia. Each community & each region has its own financial means & its own legislative authority. In 1975, a sharp political controversy arose concerning the limits of the powers of the region vs those of the community. The crux of the debate was: which would be financially responsible for some matters (ie, education & cultural affairs), the region or the community? This conflict, to date unresolved, has made the coexistence of two communities & three regions in Belgium more sensitive. Modified HA

Summary in English p. 1120.

The rise of the new Zimbabwe in a changing Southern Africa: origins and repercussions, by John Barrat
In 1974, the collapse of Portugal's domination of Angola and Mozambique turned international attention to Southern Africa and to the future of Rhodesia in particular. Regional negotiations, organised on the initiative of Vorster and Kaunda, then the Geneva Conference in 1979, were unsuccessful and led to an escalation of the conflict. An internal settlement supported by the South Africans, who sought to apply it in Namibia, was also a failure. The 1979 elections and the victory of Muzorewa did not put an end to the conflicts, which strengthened the position of those who refused to recognise Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. The support brought by the United States and the Commonwealth to the Lancaster House agreements and the massive polling give all the more credit to Robert Mugabe's victory in February 1980. His conciliatory and realistic attitude prevented the exodus of the Whites. The pro blems of Zimbabwe remain nonetheless difficult to solve: reconstruction of the economy, unemployment, the need of land reform, ethnic problems, maintaining of unity in the country and within Mugabe's party. If political stability is maintained and economic growth achieved, this new state can be expected to play a leading role in Africa and in the Third World generally. Already the existence of Zimbabwe is reducing the economic and political influence of South Africa in the region and may lead Pretoria to rethink the Namibian problem and to consider negotiating with all the parties engaged in the conflict. The victory of Mugabe will undoubtedly reinforce black aspirations for a political change which the tide of history cannot halt.

Apartheid and ethnicism : the Zulu case.
White domination in South Africa is in crisis. For a few supporters of the system, this crisis, does not exist really, eventhough few reforms must be done. For them, there are only internal problems inside the non white communities : young against old, ethnic or tribal conflicts. G. Buthelezi and his Zulu mass movement fnfcatha are (for them) the living proof of the validity of their analysis. Inkatha claims more than one million members. However, with the domination of Inka- tha on the administration of KwaZulu, it seems that a lot of the card-carriers do not agree with the ideology of Inkatha and are more receptive to Black independent trade-union or Progressive parties... Eventhough Buthelezi claims some links of Inkatha with ANC, in fact his program is close to the PFP and opposed to the «one man, one vote» slogan.

Security problems of francophone Africa, by John Chipman
Recently there have been a number of military uprisings in francophone Africa. The western and central parts of Africa are now much more unstable parts of the continent than they were ten years ago. The security concerns of the francophone states vary from country to country and include problems caused by ethnic divisions, border disputes, religious and seperatist disputes subversive immigration, and disaffection caused by austere economic problems or natural catastrophes. No mere alliance of regional powers is likely to prevent the resurgence of vosilence or crises in these states. But security systems established within economic organisations may offer some promise in terms of reinforcing mutual confidence among member states and in providing structures for conflict resolution. The French can continue to play a stabilising role in the region by encouraging the development of such organisations. The source of instability in these states, however, is likely to remain internal.