In: Voluntaris: Zeitschrift für Freiwilligendienste und zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement : journal of volunteer services and civic engagement, Band 4, Heft 2, S. 237-243
This article argues that xenophobia is not a natural state of being for any society; instead, it is a product of socialisation which becomes excessive with violent abuses of the out- group immigrants where such conduct is institutionalised through state apparatus. In this context, post-apartheid South Africanisms cannot be generalised as intrinsically xenophobic because the dreadful societal attitudes and violent abuses are evidently products of institutionalized governance for socialization of public perceptions of hostilities and animosities through the politics and struggles of politico-socio-economic resources. The coinage and officialdom of rainbowism was admission that construction of a new national identity around culture was a virtual impossibility; and, the result was usurpation of exclusionary citizenship that came to define insiders away from outsiders. This notion of citizenship promised access to state and pubic resources, which did not materialise, leading to frustration against government and targeting of out-group African immigrants. Hence, the apparent "felt" collective threat among in-group communities against out-group immigrants over the untenable alibi of job and women stealing as well as acceptance of below minimum wages are inherently functions of irrational jealousy. This article frames this argument through a rigorous examination of the theorisation of xenophobia as "new racism", models of governance of xenophobic societal attitudes for public hostilities, animosities and violent abuse. Furthermore, it examines constructions of new South Africanism, African Renaissance, exclusionary citizenship, exceptionalism, differentness and the society's frustration with politico-socio-economic resources exclusionism amidst constitutional inclusivity, tolerance, cultural pluralism, inviolate human rights and the political elitism's hyperbolic public stunts of a better life for all.
As climate change impacts result in more extreme events (such as droughts and floods), the need to understand which policies facilitate effective climate change adaptation becomes crucial. Hence, this article answers the question: How do governments and policymakers frame policy in relation to climate change, droughts, and floods and what governance structures facilitate adaptation? This research interrogates and analyzes through content analysis, supplemented by semi‐structured qualitative interviews, the policy response to climate change, drought, and flood in relation to agricultural producers in four case studies in river basins in Chile, Argentina, and Canada. First, an epistemological explanation of risk and uncertainty underscores a brief literature review of adaptive governance, followed by policy framing in relation to risk and uncertainty, and an analytical model is developed. Pertinent findings of the four cases are recounted, followed by a comparative analysis. In conclusion, recommendations are made to improve policies and expand adaptive governance to better account for uncertainty and risk. This article is innovative in that it proposes an expanded model of adaptive governance in relation to "risk" that can help bridge the barrier of uncertainty in science and policy.
Abstract This paper evaluates the impact of austerity measures on national social protection mechanisms and on the European Social Model. The study is based on an in-depth analysis of austerity measures adopted in Italy and Portugal and the evolution of several indicators, such as unemployment rates and the percentage of citizens at risk of poverty. The analysis demonstrates that measures adopted in the field of new economic governance have had an impact on the organization and provision of SGEIs and have affected the solidity of the national welfare state. It will be argued that in this context the promotion of a social dimension of the EU requires innovative methods for the regulation of new economic governance.
AbstractThis article analyses the roles of the European Parliament and the US Congress in addressing regulatory interdependencies arising in the EU–US strategic partnership. It examines their international actorness as a potential remedy for the problems of democratic participation, executive dominance, and opaqueness in the shaping of transatlantic relations. It shows that legislatures significantly contribute to regulatory discrepancies and trade disputes and that the adverse consequences thereof justify more intensiveex antecooperation between them. The analysis conducts two groups of case studies to demonstrate how the EP and Congress influence law and policy in areas of transatlantic regulatory and foreign policy divergence. The first group of case studies analyses parliamentary involvement in the making of international agreements (TTIP and ACTA). The second group of case studies inspects legislative action with extraterritorial effects (US Helms–Burton and Sarbanes–Oxley Acts). The article argues that the EP and Congress have so far frequently acted against the spirit of the strategic partnership in ways that are injurious to the interests of the other side, and discusses whether an interparliamentary early warning mechanism could reduce legislative and political frictions and increase the coherence of transatlantic lawmaking.
Substantial research posits that institutions do matter in port development, resulting in path-dependent reform process. However, issues remain unaddressed, notably on how and why institutions matter during such process under diversified developmental phases and geographical settings. This paper investigates, based on the experience of two major ports in East Asia, in what ways and to what extent political institutions have shaped the process of change, the main sources of path dependency, the conditions under which path disruption can occur, and how existing institutional legacies can contribute to differentiated outcomes. The focus is not only about institutional structure, but also the behavior and policies that institutions produce in such reforms. By doing so, it contributes to the progress and refinements of institutional theories, as well as theorizing the impacts of institutions in reforming the governance and planning systems of transport infrastructures.