Diaspora Voting In Kenya: A Promise Denied

2021 ◽  
Vol 120 (479) ◽  
pp. 199-217
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Iams Wellman ◽  
Beth Elise Whitaker
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Political Will ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Widespread Implementation ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
The World ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
External Voting

Abstract In 2010, Kenya extended voting rights to its estimated 3,000,000 citizens living abroad, thus joining a growing number of countries in Africa and around the world to recognize emigrant voting rights. Yet despite a politically engaged diaspora, intensive government outreach to emigrants, and high-stakes electoral competition, fewer than 3,000 Kenyans were permitted to vote from abroad in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections. What explains the failure of the Kenyan government to implement diaspora voting on a broader scale? Drawing on original interviews and archival documents, this article analyses the tumultuous battle over the adoption and implementation of external voting in Kenya, focusing especially on legal, logistical, and political challenges. We argue that uncertainty about the number of Kenyan emigrants and their political preferences, paired with a highly competitive electoral climate, meant there was little political will to push for more widespread implementation of diaspora voting. Our analysis of external voting in Kenya has implications for diaspora participation in other competitive electoral contexts across the continent and beyond.

Voting Rights, Electoral Systems, and Political Representation of Diaspora in Croatia

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 777-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjana Kasapović
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
The Political ◽  
Moral Reasons ◽  
Unique Case ◽  
The World ◽  
The Right ◽  
Political Economic

Croatia represents in many respects a unique case in the world in the way it standardized the right to vote, the electoral model, and the pattern of political representation of the diaspora in the national parliament. Besides standard theoretical arguments that explain the right of diaspora members to vote in parliamentary and presidential elections in the country, the authorities made use of a number of contextually specific political, economic, military, and moral reasons for that. It was shown that principled reasons which were used to justify legalizing diaspora voting rights and institutionalization of special electoral models as well as the patterns of political representation in the Croatian parliament were subordinated to the interests to symbolically integrate the Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the political system of Croatia, who would then, as a sort of generic voters, secure safe votes and bonus seats for the Croatian Democratic Union.

scholarly journals Paving Way for Entrenching the Diaspora’s Voting Rights under the Nigerian Laws: Legal Prospects, Challenges and Potential Solutions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
ABBA ELGUJJA
Keyword(s):  
National Development ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
The World ◽  
External Voting ◽  
Nigerian Government ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

Diaspora overseas or external voting (hereinafter referred to as diaspora voting), which hinges on the citizen’s universal right to vote, has become popular among modern democracies all over the world. Over a hundred nations have so far adopted overseas or (hereinafter referred to as diaspora voting) with varying scope and/or restriction, if any. Among these countries are nearly thirty African countries that also include all of Nigeria’s immediate neighbours except Cameroun.Currently, the Nigerian laws, including the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act (2010), do not provide for the right of Nigerians overseas to participate in elections unless they personally present themselves for registration and voting at designated centres in Nigeria.Since Nigeria’s return to democratic government in 1999, there have been persistent calls among Nigerians in the diaspora for law reforms to enable them to exercise their universal right to vote during elections. Since then, various administrations of the Nigerian government have, accordingly, yielded to those calls by setting up an independent dedicated body (Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM)) that is saddled with the responsibility of engaging and mobilising Nigerians in the diaspora as equal partners in national development.Political pundits continue to debate on and attempt to strike a balance between, its desirability and the potential logistical and operational challenges that may result therefrom. However, the overwhelming argument is that, in view of their contribution to Nigerian national development, and the contemporary international trend in the globalised modern democracies, Nigerians in diaspora, as equal citizens, should be allowed to exercise their right to vote just like their peers in similar climes.This article reviewed and found that there are some legal hurdles that have to be tackled along the way, and proffers some constitutional amendments and other legal reforms that are necessary for bringing this lofty concept into fruition.

Women in legislature after II World War

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Niewiadomska-Cudak
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
World War ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
The World ◽  
Promote Gender Equality

Summary The article treats not only about the struggle of women to obtain voting rights. It is an attempt to answer the question as to why only so few women are in national parliaments. The most important matter of the countries in the world is to confront stereotypical perception of the roles of women and men in a society. It is necessary to promote gender equality in the world of politics.

The Extended Nation as a Political Project – Hungarian Diaspora Living in Western Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-103
Author(s):  
Ágnes Vass
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
National Belonging ◽  
State Budget ◽  
External Voting ◽  
Diaspora Policy

AbstractPolicy towards Hungarians living in neighbouring countries has been a central issue for Hungarian governments, yet Hungarian diaspora living mainly in Western Europe and North America have received very little attention. This has changed after the 2010 landslide victory of Fidesz. The new government introduced a structured policy focused on engaging Hungarian diaspora, largely due to the nationalist rhetoric of the governing party. The article argues that this change reflects a turn of Hungarian nationalism into what Ragazzi and Balalowska (2011) have called post-territorial nationalism, where national belonging becomes disconnected from territory. It is because of this new conception of Hungarian nationalism that we witness the Hungarian government approach Hungarian communities living in other countries in new ways while using new policy tools: the offer of extraterritorial citizenship; political campaigns to motivate the diaspora to take part in Hungarian domestic politics by voting in legislative elections; or the never-before-seen high state budget allocated to support these communities. Our analysis is based on qualitative data gathered in 2016 from focus group discussions conducted in the Hungarian community of Western Canada to understand the effects of this diaspora politics from a bottom-up perspective. Using the theoretical framework of extraterritorial citizenship, external voting rights and diaspora engagement programmes, the paper gives a brief overview of the development of the Hungarian diaspora policy. We focus on how post-territorial nationalism of the Hungarian government after 2010 effects the ties of Hungarian communities in Canada with Hungary, how the members of these communities conceptualise the meaning of their “new” Hungarian citizenship, voting rights and other diaspora programmes. We argue that external citizenship and voting rights play a crucial role in the Orbán government’s attempt to govern Hungarian diaspora communities through diaspora policy.

scholarly journals Maternal mortality in the developing world: why do mothers really die?

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwyneth Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Mortality ◽  
Death Certificate ◽  
Social Care ◽  
World Health ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
Health Organizations ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Cultural Attitudes ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The World

Every year some eight million women suffer preventable or remediable pregnancy-related complications and over half a million will die unnecessarily. Most of these deaths could be averted at little or no extra cost, even where resources are limited, but in order to take action, and develop and implement changes to maternity services to save mothers and newborns lives, a change in cultural attitudes and political will, as well as improvements in the provision of health and social care, is required. Further, to aid programme planners, more in-depth information than that which may already be available through national statistics on maternal mortality rates or death certificate data is urgently needed. What is required is an in-depth understanding of the clinical, social, cultural or any other underlying factors which lead to mothers' deaths. Such information can be obtained by using any of the five methodologies outlined in the World Health Organizations programme and philosophy for maternal death or disability reviews, ‘Beyond the Numbers’, briefly described here and which are now being introduced in a number of countries around the world.

scholarly journals The role of Anglo-German Naval Agreement in escalation of crisis trends of the Versailles system (based on the materials of new archival documents)

2020 ◽  
pp. 75-84
Author(s):  
Alexander Naumov
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
World War I ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
World War ◽  
Systemic Mechanism ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
Archival Documents

This article reviews the role of Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935 in escalation of crisis trends of the Versailles system. Leaning on the British Russian archival documents, which recently became available for the researchers, the author analyzes the reasons and consequences of conclusion of this agreement between the key European democratic power and Nazi Reich. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the moods within the political elite of the United Kingdom. It is proven that the agreement became a significant milestone in escalation of crisis trends in the Versailles model of international relations. It played a substantial role in establishment of the British appeasement policy with regards to revanchist powers in the interbellum; policy that objectively led to disintegration of the created in 1919 systemic mechanism, and thus, the beginning of the World War II. The novelty of this work is substantiated by articulation of the problem. This article is first within the Russian and foreign historiography to analyze execution of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement based on the previously unavailable archival materials. The conclusion is made that this agreement played a crucial role in the process of disintegration of interbellum system of international relations. Having officially sanctioned the violation of the articles of the Versailles Treaty of 1919 by Germany, Great Britain psychologically reconciled to the potential revenge of Germany, which found reflection in the infamous appeasement policy. This launched the mechanism for disruption of status quo that was established after the World War I in Europe. This resulted in collapse of the architecture of international security in the key region of the world, rapid deterioration of relations between the countries, and a new world conflict.

The ideologist Yu.N. Govorukha-Otrok and the philosopher N.Ya. Grot: polemics of 1890–1891

2021 ◽  
pp. 123-137
Author(s):  
Аleksandr А. Ermichev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Life ◽  
Editorial Policy ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Russian Philosophy ◽  
First Year ◽  
Evaluative Judgments ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Xix Century

The article analyzes a little-known episode in the history of Russian philoso­phy – the polemic of the editor of the journal “Questions of Philosophy and Psy­chology” N.Ya. Grot and the outstanding publicist of the conservative newspaper “Moskovskie Vedomosti” Yu.N. Govorukha-a boy who spoke under the pseudo­nym Yu. Nikolaev. The controversy took place in the first year of the magazine’s existence, when the principle and direction of the editorial policy were deter­mined. Yu.N. Govorukha-Otrok, sharing together with N.Ya. Grotto hope that the journal will lead to the formation of Russian national philosophy, insisted on the conscious circulation of the publication to the Slavophile tradition, defining the end goal of philosophical search for the creation of the Orthodox meta­physics meet the needs of aboriginal people's lives. His opponent, N.Ya. Grot, was a typical representative of the liberalism of the 80s of the XIX century, which was undecided in its socio-political preferences. Being a neophyte of meta­physics, the editor of “Questions” proceeded from an understanding of the ratio­nal nature of philosophical knowledge and justified the variety of directions of philosophical searches. He gave the pages of his magazine to the positivist authors from the liberal populist camp, which was completely unacceptable to his opponent. Thus, the circumstances of public life complicated the nature of the polemic on the issues of theoretical content and introduced social-evaluative judgments into it. Talker-Boy considered the polemic as an episode of the world-historical struggle of Christianity with the eudaemonistic idea of progress. The article claims that the subsequent development of Russian philosophy in the early twentieth century confirmed the correctness of the editorial line of the journal.

Revisiting Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa

2020 ◽  
pp. 45-60
Author(s):  
Vincent Carretta
Keyword(s):  
Slave Trade ◽  
Olaudah Equiano ◽  
Middle Passage ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Political Propaganda ◽  
Transatlantic Slave Trade ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Origin Story ◽  
Canonical Status

The backlash against challenging the origin story of Olaudah Equiano, author of the influential autobiography The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself, is the subject of this chapter by Vincent Carreta. Since first being published in 1789, the text has achieved canonical status as a rare first-hand account of an African-born person describing the horrors of the Middle Passage and slavery. Interesting Narrative was successfully appropriated political propaganda by abolitionists to help end the transatlantic slave trade and abolish slavery. After revealing archival documents calling Equiano’s birth in Africa into question, Caretta describes the firestorm of criticism he faced, including threats of assault, from some scholars. He suggests that the unwillingness of some scholars to confront the possibility that Equiano may have lied about his birthplace is too high stakes as it opens the door to questioning how much of Interesting Narrative is fiction and how much work that relies on the text may require reexamination.

19 Art. 20 GG: Democracy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bumke Christian ◽  
Voßkuhle Andreas
Keyword(s):  
Public Information ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Information Campaigns ◽  
The People ◽  
State Authority ◽  
Federal Constitutional ◽  
District Assemblies

This chapter discusses the democracy principle as articulated in Art. 20 of the Grundgesetz (GG). Art. 20 para. 2 GG defines democracy in this manner: ‘All state authority is derived from the people. It shall be exercised by the people’. GG associates the concept of democracy with the concept of the state. Although the Federal Constitutional Court has avoided any reference to the principle of democracy, it has interpreted some fundamental rights in light of the principle. The chapter first considers the Court's jurisprudence regarding political will formation in a representative democracy, focussing on cases dealing with voting rights of foreigners, elections to district assemblies, popular referendum, and public-information campaigns. It then examines cases relating to exercise of state authority, with emphasis on the position of Parliament in relation to other branches of government, forms of democratic legitimation, and functional self-government.

scholarly journals Design knowledge in the artistic–aesthetic development and transformation of the world

2019 ◽  
Vol 275 ◽  
pp. 05003
Author(s):  
Charikova Irina ◽  
Zhadanov Viktor ◽  
Kiryakova Aida
Keyword(s):  
Design Knowledge ◽  
Aesthetic Development ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
The World ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

The result of project activities is the adoption and implementation of decisions on the development and transformation of the world. Two related forms of project knowledge have a special influence on this process of project transformation: descriptive and prescriptive. This article contains the author’s interpretation of the concept of "project knowledge" as a set of developed historical experiences, scientific knowledges and peoples’ skills, abilities, ways, means andindividual project actions in the aesthetic transformation of the world. The purpose of this article is to consider the theoretical foundations of the formation of project knowledge in the aesthetic development and transformation of the world. An epistemological approach was implemented as the study’s methodology.

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