Beyond clannishness and colonialism: understanding political disorder in Ethiopia's Somali Region, 1991–2004

2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Hagmann
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Somali Region ◽  
Institutional Instability ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Ethiopian Government ◽  
Regional Authorities ◽  
Political Disorder ◽  
Recursive Relations

This article proposes an alternative interpretation of political disorder in Ethiopia's Somali Regional State since the rise to power of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in 1991. Some observers have perceived contemporary politics in the former Ogaden as an example of ‘internal colonisation’ by highland Ethiopians. Others attribute political instability to the ‘nomadic culture’ inherent in the Somali clan structure and the ineptness of its political leaders. This study argues that neither of these two politicised narratives grasps the contradictory interactions between the federal Ethiopian government and its Somali periphery, nor the recursive relations between state and society. With reference to the literature on neo-patrimonialism, I elucidate political disorder in the Somali Region by empirically describing hybrid political domination, institutional instability, and patronage relations, showing how neo-patrimonial rule translates into contested statehood in the region and political devices ranging from military coercion to subtle co-optation. Rather than unilateral domination, a complex web of power and manipulation between parts of the federal and regional authorities animates political disorder in Ethiopia's Somali Region.

scholarly journals International political uncertainty and institutional instability as a response to COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3C) ◽  
pp. 218-225
Author(s):  
Evgeny Sergeevich Streltsov ◽  
Viktoriia Vladimirovna Isaeva ◽  
Violetta Marselevna Dalyanova ◽  
Alina Pavlovna Vozdvizhenskaia ◽  
Dina Sergeevna Karsakova
Keyword(s):  
Real Option ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Political Uncertainty ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Institutional Instability ◽  
Flexible Response ◽  
Stationary Component

The article examines the features of international political uncertainty and institutional instability that act as a reaction to COVID-19. It is concluding that the greater the "non-stationary" component of the business environment, the less important are the long-term dynamic opportunities and the less reliable are the models aimed at predicting policy changes. By focusing exclusively on the basic institutions or specific risks, a firm can easily lose sight of where, why and by whom the unknowns are generated, and what this threatens it in the future. This implies the need for greater progress towards a real option strategic logic with components of strategic and operational modularity, which allows for flexible response to changes in the institutional environment. Business analysts in the coming years should focus on the specific qualities of political leaders and how they influence countless firm decisions. Perhaps this is the only way to give firms and managers a chance to adapt to a rapidly changing global situation.

scholarly journals Martin Luther’s Influence on Legal Reforms and Civil Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Witte
Keyword(s):  
Church And State ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Marriage And Family ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
State And Society ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Original Message ◽  
Two Kingdoms ◽  
German Cities ◽  
The Church

The Lutheran Reformation transformed not only theology and the church but law and the state as well. Beginning in the 1520s, Martin Luther joined up with various jurists and political leaders to craft ambitious legal reforms of church, state, and society on the strength of Luther’s new theology, particularly his new two kingdoms doctrine. These legal reforms were defined and defended in hundreds of monographs, pamphlets, and sermons published by Lutheran writers from the 1520s to 1550s. They were refined and routinized in hundreds of new reformation ordinances promulgated by German cities, duchies, and territories that converted to the Lutheran cause. By the time of the Peace of Augsburg (1555)—the imperial law that temporarily settled the constitutional order of Germany—the Lutheran Reformation had brought fundamental changes to theology and law, to church and state, marriage and family, criminal law and procedure, and education and charity. Critics of the day, and a steady stream of theologians and historians ever since, have seen this legal phase of the Reformation as a corruption of Luther’s original message of Christian freedom from the strictures of human laws and traditions. But Luther ultimately realized that he needed the law to stabilize and enforce the new Protestant teachings. Radical theological reforms had made possible fundamental legal reforms. Fundamental legal reforms, in turn, would make palpable radical theological reforms. In the course of the 1530s onward, the Lutheran Reformation became in its essence both a theological and a legal reform movement. It struck new balances between law and Gospel, rule and equity, order and faith, and structure and spirit.

The Rowdies of Darjeeling

2018 ◽  
pp. 135-153
Author(s):  
Mona Chettri
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Contemporary State ◽  
The Social ◽  
State And Society ◽  
The Face ◽  
Per Se

‘Rowdies or rowdy’ refers to a person who fits somewhere between a gangster and a goon, not a criminal per se but prone to crime and violence, usually at the behest of political leaders. ‘Rowdies’ are the face of political movements, an integral and ubiquitous feature of Darjeeling politics. Their centrality to popular movements indicates a form of hill politics that challenges accepted notions of political participation, democracy, and mobilization. The essay engages in an assessment of the political culture of Darjeeling through the perspective of the ‘rowdies’ who are a product of the social, political, and material circumstances of postcolonial Darjeeling. It examines the vital role that ‘rowdies’ play in shaping the political terrain of the region and how their lives provide a context through which to understand contemporary state and society in Darjeeling.

scholarly journals From Gospel to Law: The Lutheran Reformation and Its Impact on Legal Culture

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-291
Author(s):  
John Witte
Keyword(s):  
Church And State ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Marriage And Family ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
State And Society ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Original Message ◽  
Two Kingdoms ◽  
The Church

The Lutheran Reformation transformed not only theology and the Church but also law and the State. Despite his early rebuke of law in favour of the gospel, Martin Luther eventually joined up with various jurists and political leaders to craft ambitious legal reforms of Church, State and society on the strength of his new theology, particularly his new two-kingdoms theory. These legal reforms were defined and defended in hundreds of monographs, pamphlets and sermons published by Lutheran writers from the 1520s onwards. They were refined and routinised in equally large numbers of new Reformation ordinances that brought fundamental changes to theology and law, Church and State, marriage and family, criminal law and procedure, and education and charity. Critics have long treated this legal phase of the Reformation as a corruption of Luther's original message of Christian freedom from the strictures of all human laws and traditions. But Luther ultimately realised that he needed the law to stabilise and enforce the new Protestant teachings. Radical theological reforms had made possible fundamental legal reforms, which, in turn, would make those theological reforms palpable. In the course of the 1530s and thereafter, the Lutheran Reformation became in its essence both a theological and a legal reform movement. It struck new balances between law and gospel, rule and equity, order and faith, and structure and spirit.

scholarly journals Chinese Traditional Governing Approach: An Analysis from Ancient to Mao Zedong Politics

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 441-452
Author(s):  
Maria Mukhtar ◽  
Tatheer Zahra Sherazi ◽  
Riaz Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Mao Zedong ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
To Come ◽  
Chinese Political Culture

The study focuses on the traditional Chinese political culture and it discusses a multitude of rhetorical practices in imperial China. Simultaneously, it investigates the societal norms which alter daily, to fit with the ever-changing global politics. For these purposes, the traditional philosophies are studied, and the most prominent school of thought Confucianism has been discussed thoroughly. This research is an analytical, descriptive study written in the historical context. While tracing back the nature of political culture, it has been found that it has deep roots in the state and society since the ancient times however, is still relevant for the contemporary politics of China. At the same motive, it can be concluded that current Chinese system seems probable to persevere for many a long time to come. This study is fragmented into three portions; first element makes imperial Chinese politics and its problem; the second portion brings governance and politics of cutting-edge China under the lens; and the final and third portion gives the comparison of each and the findings garnered from this study.

scholarly journals Quest for Identity: Re-Examining the Process of Federal Restructuring of the Nepali State

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-37
Author(s):  
Asis Mistry
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Politics Of Identity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Constituent Assembly ◽  
Ethnic Affiliation ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
Democratic Polity ◽  
Maoist Insurgency

The agenda of restructuring the state has been the most deliberated issue for all intellectuals, political leaders and civil society activists in Nepal. The restructuring of Nepali state became a central component of the 2006 peace deal.  Federalism was, however, included in the interim constitution as a binding principle for the Constituent Assembly on the verge of violent protests in the Tarai in 2007.  The fundamental question during the Maoist insurgency remained whether federalism based on ethnic affiliation will be materialized. But after the Madhesh mutiny, the question that dominated the public discourse was whether “ethnic federalism” can be materialized as a mean to achieve more inclusive, institutionalized and sustainable democratic polity in Nepal. This article re-examines the process of federal restructuring of Nepali State on the backdrop of contemporary politics of identity.

scholarly journals Britain and genocide: historical and contemporary parameters of national responsibility

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 2417-2438 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN SHAW
Keyword(s):  
Settler Colonialism ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
National Responsibility ◽  
King's College ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
British State ◽  
Critical Overview

AbstractThis article (originally given as the Annual War Studies Lecture at King's College, London, on 25 January 2010) challenges the assumption that Britain's relationship to genocide is constituted by its ‘vigilance’ towards the genocide of others. Through a critical overview of the question of genocide in the historical and contemporary politics of the British state and society, the article suggests their wide-ranging, complex relationships to genocide. Utilising a conception of genocide as multi-method social destruction and applying the interpretative frames of the genocide literature, it argues that the British state and elements of identifiably British populations have been involved directly and indirectly in genocide in a number of different international contexts. These are addressed through five themes: the role of genocide in the origins of the British state; the problem of genocide in the Empire and British settler colonialism; Britain's relationships to twentieth-century European genocide; its role in the genocidal violence of decolonisation; and finally, Britain's role in the genocidal crises of the post-Cold War world. The article examines the questions of national responsibility that this survey raises: while rejecting simple ideas of national responsibility as collective guilt, it nevertheless argues that varying kinds of responsibility for genocide attach to British institutions, leaders and population groups at different points in the history surveyed.

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