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Violent conflict is very old in human society. The development of military technology brought with itself the worst tragedies loss of human live and material devastation in the second half of 20th century in the Horn of Africa. This region is one of the centers of various political violent conflicts in the world, according to length of these violent conflicts, the number of death of people, mainly civilian, refugees and internal displaced persons (IDP). This study elucidates the root causes of long wars in the Horn of Africa focusing mainly on South Sudan and Somalia. It also illustrates how the Super Powers during the Cold War helped their client states to prolong the suffering of people in the region. When Socialist system disappeared from Eastern Europe, Mengistu Haile Mariam's and Siyad Barre's regime ignominiously collapsed. In Ethiopia Amhara power elite, who ruled the Empire state from 1889 to 1991 lost their state power and Tigrian guerrilla fighters captured it through the power of the gun, Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia, South Sudan is emerging from long heinous war to independence. The violent conflict in Somalia transformed after the old regime demise in 1991 and the new leaders unable to build new central government. Somalia is fragmented and became the good example of failed state in the theory of contemporary political sociology. The paper tries to explain these complex violent conflicts in this part of Africa.

This text deals with the development assistance of the Republic of South Africa after the fall of the apartheid era. The article is framed by the theory of South-South cooperation, which was established in the 1950's and has risen since the beginning of the 1990's. The paper consists of two parts. The first one is focused on the theory of South-South cooperation with an emphasis on development cooperation. Five particular features which distinguish the South-South cooperation from the 'Western approach' are mentioned in this part. The second part tries to apply the mentioned features to the development cooperation of the Republic of South Africa. In the last section we briefly summarize some new information about the South-South cooperation. To put it briefly, we can say that the development cooperation of the Republic of South Africa is characterized by many particular features. Adapted from the source document.

This paper is focused on the sub-regional level of integration in the region of Southern Africa. It aims to sketch the formation and operation of the most important development corridors (DC), spatial development initiatives (SDI) and industrial development zones (IDZ). From a theoretical point of view, this article is based on the concept of the new regionalism approach (NRA), especially with its emphasis on non-state actors (such as civic society, private enterprises, and financial corporations) in the process of integration. The hypothesis of the text is the following: sub-regional integration is currently the most dynamically developing form of integration. Judging by the way it exists and works, it has the best potential to contribute to African economic development. The paper summarizes the most important cases of sub-regional integration projects, describes their specificities and main characteristics, and points out some weak and strong features of this kind of integration. Adapted from the source document.

The origin of the apartheid regime was based on the Calvinist idea of Afrikaners being "the nation privileged by God." This idea had resulted in sharp discrimination of the African population since the 1850's. This political process was even more strengthened during the Nationalist Party (NP) period of government after the 1948 elections. Afrikaner nationalism reached its peak in May 1961 with the unilateral declaration of an independent South African Republic. But the apartheid regime entered into a period of deep crisis at the end of the 70's, and the fragile status quo started to become untenable. The new Prime Minister PW Botha initiated a reform process, which was refused by conservative members. They withdrew from the NP and formed the Conservative Party (CP). Its strongly nationalistic rhetoric was caused by the increasing activity of black organizations, and was reflected in the results of the 1987 elections when it became the strongest opposition party with 30% of the votes. Nevertheless, the reform process continued. The new president FW de Klerk legalized the black organizations, released political prisoners, and arranged the national referendum in which white voters decided to end the apartheid regime. Together with the consecutive loss of influential positions in the army and the death of the CP's leader, it substantially weakened the position of the Afrikaner conservative right wing. Finally, one section of the right wing decided to terminate the boycott of negotiations and to participate in the forthcoming elections. The only Afrikaner party was called the Freedom Front (FF), but it gained only 2% of the votes. The peaceful course during and after the elections weakened the conservatives even further. In the elections of 1999 and 2004, the FF didn't exceed even 1% of votes and is now a marginalized political party. Some militarized illegal organizations still exist in South Africa, but the government has been successful in eliminating these groups. Afrikaner nationalism still exists, but due to the evolution of the political situation it is diminishing. Adapted from the source document.

Environmental change (including climate change) affects natural and socio-economic systems as well as migration patterns. Migration is a part of the cultural habits of various societies and serves as a survival or personal development strategy. If we focus on the relationship between migration and climate change (in terms of changes of temperatures, changes of precipitation patterns, extreme weather events occurrence, etc.), migration could be perceived as a short-term coping strategy or a long-term adaptation strategy. The main aim of the paper is to deal with the relationship between climate change and the migration strategies of various peoples who immigrate as a reaction to changes in their living conditions. Two case studies from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa demonstrate two different approaches of local communities to tackling the impacts of climate change. The empirical qualitative field research showed that the communities from South Asia perceived climate change as one of the significant factors encouraging migration, while in Sub-Saharan Africa migration on such a substantial scale in relation to climate change did not take place. Adapted from the source document.

"Health and healing have been central concerns throughout human history. Individuals and societies have devised multiple ways to health. Healing practices have often been linked to questions of knowledge, power, politics, and morals. The limits of acceptable healing have been contested by men and women, priests and doctors, elites and commoners, indigenous peoples and colonialists. Successful healers have sometimes been labeled as witches, quacks, or dangerous political agitators. The contributions in this volume concentrate on healing in global history with case studies about Finland, southern Asia and Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean and North America. They discuss medical pluralism and consider the arguments for and against individual healers and different healing systems. The authors focus on the popularity of medical systems, the appropriation and adoption of healing practices in cross-cultural contexts, and the prohibition of certain forms of healing.
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This study deals with the issue of development relations between China and Africa in the context of the Beijing concensus. It attempts to provide an analysis of Chinese foreign policy since the beginning of the 90's. The text is divided into three basic parts. The first contains discussion on the theories of development, including the main features of the (post)Washington concensus based on liberalism, decentralization and privatization, followed by the Beijing concensus representing the counter-paradigm. The second focuses on the historical roots of bilateral relations since the beginning of the 20th century until the end of the Cold War. TAZARA, the Tanzania-Zambia railway built by China is chosen as the most representative example of Chinese foreign policy during the Cold War period. The last part deals with current relations influenced by Chinese oil diplomacy and the so-called one-China policy. Sudan and Angola are chosen as significant examples of African states in which China is involved. Adapted from the source document.

The theoretical concept of second-order elections has become a useful tool to analyze sub-national and/or supranational elections. This paper tries to apply the concept to the regional elections in the Czech Republic and to challenge the concept by analysis of the personalization of the vote in the regional elections to the assembly of South Moravia in the year 2008. Working with the electoral results (especially with preferential voting), the authors argue that the decisions and preferences of voters were influenced not only by the situation in the main political arena (e.g. by the governing or opposition role of political parties) but also by the composition of party lists, in terms of candidates' connections locally.

The article compares the foreign energy strategies of the EU and the PRC on the African continent within the context of the efforts of ensuring the diversifiction of the supply of fossil fuels. Both actors are connecting some sets of values to their strategies, and these values are integral to their perception of the international environment. The main purpose of the article is to compare these strategies, especially in the context of the values that are connected with them -- e.g. state sovereignty, human rights, and social responsibility -- and the impact of these values on the form of the energetic strategies. While the EU urges normative values such as democratic government, human rights and quality public domain management, the PRC adheres to the values of non-interference, state sovereignty and, last but not least, the principle of "One China". Despite the fact that, rhetorically, the two actors share some of the same principles, they are applied differently by each actor due to the actors' diametrically different understandings of these principles. In addition to that, it is necessary to lay emphasis on the difference between the official and the actual strategies of both actors. Adapted from the source document.

With the outbreak of famine in the mid-1990s, the DPRK has become a recipient of humanitarian assistance. Immediately after the inception of aid flows, an extensive diversification of donors arose. The most important donor duo was the Republic of Korea and the USA. Japan, Russia, and the European Union all had important roles in the matter, and Switzerland had a very specific role in it. Meanwhile, the Chinese assistance obtained an entirely unique position. There was a temporary suspension of China's assistance in the mid-1990s, but then it started again, and today, China is the DPRK's patron. The aim of this article is to provide a comparison of the donors' strategies and to outline the main trends of the assistance to the DPRK in the framework of the period of 1995-2012. The strategies of donorship have divergent tendencies, and in most of the cases, the donors preferred to make a strong effort to reach their political goals in the DPRK while providing humanitarian aid to it. Adapted from the source document.

The book approaches the history of Finnish development cooperation through the experiences of development aid workers. At its core is a small group of Finns (experts and officials from different fields) who have worked with international development aid in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Their memories and experiences, together with diverse archival material offer an interesting window into the world of development (cooperation), or "Aidland", from the 1960s to the turn of the millennium.
The research focuses on the personal motives and experiences of Finnish aid workers from the 1960s to the 2000s. The book offers perspectives on the historical construction of Aidland since the 1940s and on the gradual integration of Finland and the Finns into its structures. It describes the mindset of the first two generations of aid workers and the factors that made them interested in developing countries. The book follows their education, their first contacts with Aidland, adaptation to work and conditions, returning home and the challenges that come with it. The study gives the reader a view of the power positions, hierarchies and contradictions in Aidland and development cooperation, which at times led Finns to reassess their motives and justify to themselves the meaningfulness of the entire undertaking. Through their experiences, the book also deals with the less-known side of development cooperation, such as corruption, prejudices, and opposition to development projects, as well as their occasionally unwanted consequences in partner/recipient countries. It also sheds light on the effects of the Aidland experience on an individual's worldview and identity.
The book is an academic study suitable for a wide audience, from university students to ordinary readers interested in development cooperation. The book helps to understand both the history of development and the construction of multi-level connections of Finnish society with the countries of the Global South. It is therefore also ideally suited for readers interested in the development of Finland's internationalization in the late twentieth century. For its part, the book contributes to wider public debates on development cooperation.

UN peacekeeping operations are viewed as a relevant instrument of conflict resolution in the post-Cold War era. A significant part of them operates in Africa, the place with the largest "demand" for conflict resolution. Why are some operations successful, while others not? What are the determinants of their success? The author focuses on six determinants relevant for the outcome of peacekeeping operations: support of the UN Security Council, a clear & feasible mandate, equipment & size of the operation, duration of the operation, will of the belligerents to end the conflict peacefully & support of an African regional organization. Based on case studies representing ten UN peacekeeping operations in Africa, the author evaluates the determinants of success & thus shows the difficult striving of UN peacekeeping for success. Adapted from the source document.