Suchergebnisse

This article attempts to understand why ethnic-regional civil war has challenged the national unity of Côte d'Ivoire and not Ghana, two neighbouring countries with nearly identical ethnic, religious and regional divisions, by examining politics at the grassroots. Based on a carefully controlled comparison of two similar regions of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, the study investigates how participation in local voluntary associations reinforces the local experience of the state to shape the ongoing development of political values and affect the prospects for ethnic peace and democracy. The article finds that participation in ethnically heterogeneous voluntary associations does not necessarily promote democratic values and practice. In fact, in Côte d'Ivoire, participation in ethnically heterogeneous cocoa producer and mutual assistance organisations reinforces vertical patronage networks based on narrower ethnic identities. In contrast, in Ghana, participation in more ethnically homogeneous local church groups encourages the development of democratic values and practices at the local level that mediate the potential for ethnic conflict and support the consolidation of a democratic regime.

This article attempts to explain why, despite nearly identical cultural & economic landscapes & the potentially homogenizing pressures of globalization, social policies differ in Ghana & Cote d'Ivoire, two neighboring countries in West Africa. In Ghana, the government has generally attempted to strengthen the informal social welfare systems of the extended family & community through a more decentralized social policy, whereas the government in Cote d'Ivoire has tried to replace these informal social networks with the centralized arm of the bureaucracy. The article shows how different legacies of colonial rule produce these divergent social policies in a complex & iterative process over time. While domestic institutions do mediate the effects of globalization, the domestic factors highlighted in this article are not the formal political institutions cited in most studies. Rather, the analysis reveals the critical role of informal institutions, or normative frameworks, that existed under colonial rule & continue to endure in the postcolonial state. The article also contributes to current theories of institutions by showing how formal & informal institutions dynamically interact in the construction of the state & the African family. 1 Table, 57 References. Adapted from the source document.

Woldemikael, Tekle M.: Introduction to special issue: postliberation Eritrea. - S. V-XIX. - Bariagaber, Assefaw: Globalization, imitation behavior, and refugees from Eritrea. - S. 3-18. - Bernal, Victoria: Civil society and cyberspace: reflections on Dehai, Asmarino, and Awate. - S. 21-36. - Bozzini, David M.: The catch-22 of resistance: jokes and the political imagination of Eritrean conscripts. - S. 39-64. - Poole, Amanda: Ransoms, remittances, and refugees: the gatekeeper state in Eritrea. - S. 67-82. - Riggan, Jennifer: Imagining emigration: debating national duty in Eritrean classrooms. - S. 85-106