Suchergebnisse

Paper presented at the Strathmore University Annual Ethics Conference 2011 ; One of the key reforms of the constitution is the establishment of devolution through the country's government. It is in the current constitution and will only come into effect after the next general elections, when the county assemblies and governors will be elected. (Ghai, Y& Ghai, J,) In this paper we have talked about devolution and related it to the dignity of the human person. First we have given a definition for devolution as per the Kenyan context. Secondly, we will look at how the United Kingdom has being impacted since devolution was enforced. Thirdly, we looked at three aspects of devolution; objects and principles of a devolved government, financial aspect of devolution and the gender aspect of devolution. We came to the basis of these aspects by looking at how the common "mwananchi" will be affected by them. Lastly, we have given a summary of the responses we got from conducting an interview. We interviewed our fellow students and lecturer's on their thoughts about devolution being implemented in Kenya. This includes the positive and negative effects of devolution and whether the country can afford this form of government.

This article pursues two aims. On the empirical level, it challenges the view of Belarus as a 'denationalised', or 'failed' nation, and exposes the country as an area of intensive nation-building. The article demonstrates that, unlike most post-communist states, two versions of national identity have been advanced in Belarus since 1989, with divergent results for their proponents. On the theoretical level, such an atypical experience places qualifications on the instrumentalist approach, that regards nation-building as a political tool. The analysis of identity creation in Belarus suggests that nation-building as a political strategy may be limited by the existing attitudes in the society in question, the socio-economic structures, as well as by the influence of foreign actors. (Nations and Nationalism,ECMI)

Der Verfasser setzt sich zunächst auf theoretischer Ebene mit unterschiedlichen Konzeptionen von Nation, Nationalismus und nationaler Minderheit auseinander. Vor diesem Hintergrund schlägt er einen Ansatz vor, der die Sprache und Sprachenpolitik in den Mittelpunkt der Analyse rückt. Die Tragfähigkeit dieses Ansatzes wird anhand einer Reihe von Beispielen überprüft, bei denen es um die Aufwertung des Status' einer Sprache in einer Gesellschaft geht. Dabei werden Tendenzen einer sprachlichen Diversifizierung in den im wesentlichen unilingual geprägten Gesellschaften Nordamerikas (USA, Kanada) Entwicklungen in den Nachfolgestaaten der UdSSR gegenübergestellt, die umgekehrt von der Mehrsprachigkeit in Richtung auf eine einzige, einheitliche Staatssprache hin verlaufen. In einer politischen Diskussion seiner Untersuchungsergebnisse weist der Verfasser darauf hin, daß sowohl eine unilingual orientierte Sprachenpolitik als auch der Schutz von Minderheitensprachen akzeptable kulturpolitische Optionen sein können. (BIOst-Wpt)

This book addresses the question, 'Why has UN state-building so consistently failed to meet its objectives?'. It proposes an explanation based on the application of complexity theory to UN interventions in South Sudan and DRC, where the UN has been tasked to implement massive stabilization and state-building missions.

Intro -- Foreword -- Contents -- List of Figures -- 1 Stabilization and Reconstruction -- Introduction -- We Don't Do Nation Building! -- Why Reconstruction? -- Analytic Method -- 2 The Cross-Cutting Principles -- Introduction -- Cross-Cutting Principles: Conditions and Approaches -- Assessment -- 3 Stabilization and Reconstruction End States -- Introduction -- Safe and Secure Environment -- Assessment -- Rule of Law -- Assessment -- Sustainable Economy -- Assessment -- Stable Governance -- Assessment -- Social Well-Being Introduction -- Assessment -- 4 Observations and Recommendations for Future Stabilization -- Introduction -- Lack of Planning -- "Woefully Under-Resourced" -- Voter Fatigue -- The Civil-Military Dilemma and the Structure of Governance -- Governance -- Home Rule of Law -- Embrace Stabilization as a Mission -- Guiding Principles: Proposed Revision and Application -- Framework for Developing Stabilization Task List and Evaluation Tool -- Address Elite Bargaining as Part of Political Primacy -- Conclusion -- Annex I: Approaches, Conditions, and End States for Stabilization and Reconstruction from the Guiding Principles -- Index.

This work examines how the economic survival strategies of former fighters in Liberia can help explain the trajectories of war-to-peace transitions.

Offers insightful analysis of the policy paradigm informing international statebuilding interventions. This book covers the theoretical frameworks and practices of international statebuilding, the debates they have triggered, and the way that international statebuilding has developed in the post-Cold War era

This edited book on constructive ethnicity argues that the modernizing state system in developing countries unduly denies a legitimate place to the linguistic and ethnic groups who, despite habitual attachment to ethnic groups, might meaningfully help the slow process of state building. Here ethnicity is characterized as positive, and as such, moral and pragmatic. Despite ethnicity's natural inclination to polarization, a national community can be reconstructed, as is exemplified by recent events in Rwanda, Cyprus, India, Palestine, and China

Given that religion can contribute to the unity and integration of societies as well as to the reinforcement of division within societies, the role of Christianity in the process of nation building in West-Africa is studied. The article describes salient aspects of the relations between the missionaries and the political administrations and European traders, the cultural and political aims of the missionaries and the role of the Independent Churches and societies. It is concluded that the Christian Churches contributed in various ways to the processes of nation-building and nationalism in West-Africa. This section is followed with an account of the relations between the various church formations and the state in West-Africa. The whole article is concluded with some reflection on contemporary tendencies towards measuring the value of a religion in terms of the contribution it can make to national development and movement in the direction of civil religion.

Nigerian independence has spanned through 57 years (from October 1, 1960). Of these 57 years the military have ruled for over 32 years. It was expected that the new state of Nigeria in due course would develop public institutions and out of their multiple ethnic communities and diverse cultural groups would emerge the spirit of the nation. Unfortunately, however, at independence, the British not only handed over leadership to a class of educated elite, but also handed over a regionalized, ethnic based administration. So, the emergence of a 3-region structure for Nigeria at independence had implications for nation building. A conscious policy or plan of making Nigeria a nation definitely includes putting in place a set of cultural values and practices for all those referred to as Nigerians. But the question is, did the military in its lengthy years of rule ever have the ambition or dream of building a nation? This paper contends that the military rule is a dictatorship rule which in itself produced all kind of challenges to nation building. These challenges include; the challenge of power- sharing; the challenge of unequal socio-economic development, intergroup tensions and conflicts among others. The paper concludes that nation building is a task for all and sundry; military as well as civilian administration. Article visualizations:

In 1948, the Viennese city councilor in charge of cultural affairs commissioned a painting of the legendary Austrian football team of the early 1930s, the so-called "Wunderteam." Paul Meissner, the creator of the painting, chose to depict the team entering the pitch at Stamford Bridge football ground in London in 1932. Even though it was not publicly accessible for decades, the painting achieved the status of an iconic image in Austria's collective memory. Seeking to understand why particularly this group portrait gained such prominence, the article pursues a set of questions. First it looks at the event itself and analyses the contemporary visual media coverage of the game. In a second step, it discusses the painting, its composition, and what it reveals about the political agenda postwar Austria sought to set.

Malaysia is a multiethnic country, in which ethnic factors as the basis of political interests. So far, efforts to create national integration have been directed at strengthening relations between ethnic groups and creating a political balance for all peoples. Efforts to build a nation state are conducted through policy: political cooperation, economic affirmation for ethnic Malays, education, and strengthening the position of Malay as the national language. The challenge to the nation state development in Malaysia emerged during the economic crisis of 1998. The conflict brought political divisions among Malaysians, especially Malays. After Mahathir Mohamad's reign, efforts to promote national unity were carried out by introducing a moderate and tolerant concept of Islam Hadhari. During the leadership of Najib Razak, efforts to build a nation state were undertaken under the idea of One Malaysia. One of the challenges of developing a nation today is: The widening of gaps, racial prejudices, increased group identity, intolerance and corruption.