Suchergebnisse

Between November 1988 and February 1989 four elections took place in Sri Lanka and India which all had significance in different ways for the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. They were the Provincial Council elections, the Presidential elections, and the Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka, and the elections to the Legislative Assembly in Tamilnadu. Though the elections in Sri Lanka held no great surprises as far as the overall political constellations are concerned, the regional details are remarkable in several respects. As expected the EPRLF-TULF alliance won the Provincial council elections, but the high voter turnout surprised even optimists and went against the tenor of many predictions that promised a success for the boycott demands of some militant groups. In the Presidential elections the rather disappointing results for the USA-candidate Abeygunesekare in the Tamil areas must be mentioned, as well as the astonishing alliance of the ACTC with the SLFP. The biggest surprise, however, came during the parliamentary elections in the Tamil areas, where a group of independents known to be close to the LTTE practically eliminated the TULF from political life there. Not less remarkable were the elections in Tamilnadu: after ten years in the political wilderness the DMK gained a convincing victory and could form the new government under Chief Minister Karunanidhi. The article discusses the impact of these elections on the ethnic conflict. It comes to the conclusion that at the moment the Tamils seem to have gained a relatively advantageous position vis-a-vis the Sinhalese government and might be able to negotiate about political concessions and autonomy. This might induce them to try to put pressure on India as well, since in Tamilnadu, too, a government sympathetic to their demands is in power. This, however, needs diplomatic skill, and it remains to be seen whether the respective Tamil militant groups can meet the demands of this task. In the light of continuous JVP-attacks and the recent assassination of some ...

The 10th Parliamentary Elections in Malaysia on 29th November 1999 did not furnish any big surprises. The ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) won 148 seats out of 193, the Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) 42 and the PBS in Sabah three: While BN's two-thirds majority remained untouched, its share of seats and of votes fell compared to the elections in 1995. The party of the Malay majority was particularly hard hit. Two northern states - Kelantan and Trengganu - went to PAS and three others - Perlis, Perak and Kedah - saw the BN majority considerably reduced. PAS was generally considered the winner of the elections, UMNO and DAP - whose secretary general lost his constituency - counted as the losers. The election campaign had been dominated by the issue of the sacking and prosecution of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, which led to complaints about insufficient legitimacy and transparency of the government as well as nepotism and corruption. The Malays remained polar394 Summaries ised whereas the Chinese and Indians followed Mahathir's appeal to support him. One of the main tasks for Mahathir is to reintegrate and reunite the Malays. It is probable that the quiet times in Malaysian politics are over, though on the surface little has changed. Debates and controversies may be acted out within the governing coalition and not between government and opposition.

Am Beispiel des Charismas der Sonja Ghandi, der ursprünglich aus Italien stammenden Schwiegertochter Indira Ghandis, arbeitet die Verfasserin die Rolle dreier für Indien typischer Charismaformen heraus. Zentral ist dabei das dynastische Erbcharisma, das mit dem "magischen" Namen der Familie Nehru/Gandhi verknüpft ist. Zweitens profitierte Sonja Ghandi mittelbar von dem Märtyrercharisma ihrer ermordeten Schwiegermutter Indira und ihres ermordeten Ehemannes Rajiv. Nicht minder wichtig ist jedoch drittes Sonjas persönliches "Charisma der Entsagung", das sie durch den Verzicht auf das Premierministeramt erlangte. Zeitversetzt war für ihre politische Karriere zunächst das dynastische Charisma entscheidend, später gewann das durch persönliche Entsagung erworbene Charisma an Bedeutung. (ICE2)