Suchergebnisse

In this article, I explore why and how some fifteen African countries, member states of the Franc Zone, have, after 60 years of 'independence', remained dependent on, and subjugated to the patronage of France in terms of their currency, economic and development policies. More precisely, I examine the (real) politics behind the Franc des Colonies Françaises d'Afrique (CFA Franc) and Comoros Franc – the collective name of three currencies in force in the fifteen African states of the Franc Zone – whose convertibility is guaranteed by the French treasury and pegged to the Euro. I consider the rationale behind France's commitment to guaranteeing unlimited convertibility of the CFA and Comoros Francs to the Euro, and question whether such commitment is driven by a genuine concern for development in the Franc Zone member states in question or whether other indeterminate motives justify France's interest. I further explore the extent to which the CFA Franc impacts negatively on the right to development formember states of the Franc Zone.

The paper reviews counterterrorism legislation in Cameroon in relation to (in-) security, human rights and the rule of law. In December 2014, to step up the fight against the terrorist group Boko Haram, the Parliament of Cameroon enacted a new law on the suppression of acts of terrorism. However, owing to both its suppressive nature and serious threat to the security and rights of the people it claims to protect, the content of this law appears to be controversial. The author attempts to break down this legislation and argues that the distinctive feature of the recent counterterrorism legislation in Cameroon is the disappearance of the distinction between the perpetrators of terrorist activities and civilian populations as well as political opponents involved in national protests both being subject to capital punishment. In so doing, the author provides critical insights into a unique anti-terror universe, that is, the current socio-political situation in Cameroon. From the recent unrests and arrests following the controversial outcome of the 2018 presidential elections, to the crisis in the English speaking regions of Cameroon as well as the (bloody) suppression of journalists, emphasis is put on the extent to which the current legal architecture of the state has been overshadowed by a fearsome piece of legislation coupled with the hyperactivity of military judges who have been busy leading Kafkaesque trials almost on a full-time basis. In the end, what is noticeable is the extent to which the counterterrorism legislation of December 2014 unveiled itself as a suppressive device aiming at protecting the regime instead of a security arsenal for the sake of the society.

This article analyses the election of the Speakers of both houses of the Belgian parliament, the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the period 1918-1974. According to the Belgian constitution, the election of the Speaker is a competence of each house. As can be expected in a system of parliamentary government, the Speakers belong to the government majority, as they did already before 1914. But with the disappearance of a homogeneous majority and the need for cabinet coalitions after 1918 - result of the proportional representation - someeffects which tended to erode parliamentary autonomy more substantially occurred. At several occasions the election of the Speakers was postponed until the result of cabinet formation was known. In addition, the coalition parties had to make an agreement for the partition of the two Speakers' positions. The coalition practice also affected procedure. Since agreements were less easily implemented in a secret ballot, the provisions of the parliamentary statute were put aside for an election by acclamation to strengthen party discipline. In this context a further shift in the election process occurs: from the parliamentary groups to the party leadership. Eventually, the appointment of the Speakers becamepart of the cabinet formation itself. This practice appears to be firmly established in the 1970' and has been criticized severely. It can be considered one aspect of the decline of parliaments in this period.

The Belgian scientific literature dealing with political parties has four main characteristics. First it pays great attention to party doctrines and to parliamentary struggle. Indeed, in the nineteenth century political parties do not strike by their organization, which is still undeveloped, nor by their functions, which are still limited, but by the public debate they are stimulating in Parliament and in the press. Only from the end of the century, when the suffrage is extended, the organization of the parties wilt get more articulated and their functions more complicated. Secondly the literature pays great attention to the legitimation of the political parties, which are still controversial particularly because they should threaten the national union. The authors exert oneselves to prove that parliamentary government is by definition a party government. They distinguish parties from factions in order to make the first acceptable. Thirdly the literature deals with the party system.The Belgian authors take the two party system which exists in Great Britain as example and try to prove that the alternation of two parties, the party of conservation and the party of progress, is necessary for the good working of the institutions. Fourthly, the literature, particularly the historica!, is rather descriptive and is characterized by a lack of comparisons, generalizations and hypothesis.Two periods can be distinguished in the literature. In the first period, 1830-1894, the suffrage is limited and the political scene is dominated by two parties (the liberal and the conservative or catholic parties) .This period is marked by the publications of Emile de Laveleye (1822-1892), one of the most prolific writers of the second half of the nineteenth century. In the second period, 1894-1914, the advent of the socialist party disturbs the working of the classical party government. Maurice Vauthier (1860-1931) is the main author of this period. He tries to establish the characteristics of the party government and its chances in the future.

The Congo of the Belgians --. - Independence --. - The empire strikes back --. - The Cold War comes to Africa --. - Dag Hammarskjöld and the UN --. - The government falls --. - Mobutu --. - Africans against Lumumba --. - The Central Intelligence Agency --. - The return of the Belgians --. - Lumumba imperiled --. - Killing Lumumba --. - Epilogue --. - Notes --. - Essay on sources

The authors examine developments in the relationship between Catholic social organizations and their electoral channel up to the beginning of the Second World War. Urwin's thesis, which suggests that the connection between Catholic organizations and the electoral channel was completed in 1884, must be rejected. This connection, which is also discussed by Rokkan in his general theory of pillarization, must be regarded as an ideal rather than as an actual situation. During the entire period under study, the ideal was never completely realized. The relationship between the two channels became more difficult as the organizations developed. It was probably not until after 1945 that the actual situation most closely resembled the ideal. The pillarization and the attempts to link the social organizations and the electoral channel can only be accounted for in a field of tensions between protection of one's own milieu, rechristianization, power acquisition, emancipation of social strata, and control by political elites. The results of the actions of the various agents in this field of tensions (episcopacy, socially active clergy and laity, politicians) were certainly not extensions of the direct motives and intentions of one or another group. Processes of power acquisition are complex and we cannot explain them by monocausal or voluntaristic schemas