Leader's third term plan will mar Benin's outlook

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Franc Zone ◽  
Regional Leaders ◽  
Negative Sentiment ◽  
Macroeconomic Stability

Subject Benin's political outlook. Significance Thousands took to the streets of Benin's commercial capital Conotou on December 11 in protest at the government's delaying of local elections previously scheduled for 2013. At the centre of opposition grievances is speculation that President Thomas Yayi Boni will seek a third term in office by introducing a constitutional amendment -- a move fiercely opposed by a broad range of political and civil society groups. Impacts Other regional leaders (eg, Togo's) third term plans -- despite domestic opposition -- could encourage Boni to ignore popular protests. Membership of the Central African Franc zone, which is backed by France, will help maintain macroeconomic stability. Although Benin registered no Ebola cases, negative sentiment towards the wider region has exacerbated investor unease.

Guinea-Bissau’s political turmoil will linger

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Election Result ◽  
Apparent Loss ◽  
Defence Spending ◽  
Military Support ◽  
Regional Leaders ◽  
Political Turmoil ◽  
The Military

Significance The country's political crisis has worsened over the past week, with rival administrations claiming power and the military appearing to throw its weight behind Embalo, a former general who was ‘inaugurated’ despite the Supreme Court failing to certify December’s election result. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which previously accepted Embalo’s victory, has urged the military to refrain from involvement in the crisis and allow the court processes to be completed. Impacts Pereira’s apparent loss, coupled with Embalo's party's growing popularity, could see the PAIGC’s historical dominance in jeopardy. Should his victory be certified, Embalo will likely look to increase defence spending to ensure continued military support. Embalo will probably try to organise another inauguration ceremony this year, with regional leaders in attendance, to legitimise his rule. Pereira and the PAIGC will resist any constitutional amendment that would alter the largest party’s right to appoint the prime minister.

Zambian economic gloom likely to worsen

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Private Property ◽  
External Debt ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Private Property Rights ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
The Status

Significance Amid escalating external debt, President Edgar Lungu’s administration recently directed the liquidation of KCM, majority-owned by Vedanta, and is suspected to want to sell these assets to a Chinese state-owned firm. This has compounded international doubts about the ruling Patriotic Front (PF)’s economic strategy. Impacts Despite the controversy over Vedanta, Zambians have little sympathy for the firm due to a pollution scandal and suspicions of tax avoidance. Recent mining sector upheaval will prompt wider investor concerns over the status of private property rights. Opposition figures face an increasing clampdown by the authorities due to pushback against a contentious constitutional amendment process. Recurring corruption revelations against state institutions and officials will prompt increasing civil society protests.

CAR election delay may weaken president

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Force Majeure ◽  
Political Turmoil ◽  
Ruling Party ◽  
Opposition Parties

Subject Political dynamics around upcoming elections. Significance The Central African Republic (CAR) is considering a constitutional amendment that would extend President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s mandate should elections need to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for December 2020 and the ruling party insists on filling a vacuum in the constitution, which does not anticipate election delays in the case of force majeure. However, opposition parties and civil society see the initiative as unjustified and potentially detrimental to stability. Impacts Election delays could facilitate embezzlement of international funds already disbursed for election preparations. A postponement might also further delay implementation of key peace deal provisions, including security and justice measures. Political turmoil and socio-economic disruptions due to the COVID-19 outbreak could provoke violence in the capital Bangui.

South African government’s GBV plans may disappoint

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Structure ◽  
National Strategic Plan ◽  
The Government ◽  
Gender Based

Significance Although President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly committed to increase funding to combat what he calls South Africa’s “second pandemic”, there is a lack of transparency in how the government disburses funds linked to its National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-based Violence and Femicide. Impacts Civil society groups will increase pressure on the government to make expenditure on GBV programmes more transparent. A new private-sector fund to contribute to the NSP has received strong early support, but its management structure is opaque. High levels of GBV will not only have significant humanitarian and social costs but may deter much-needed foreign investment.

Indonesian cybersecurity faces geopolitical hurdles

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Data Protection ◽  
State Surveillance ◽  
Data Protection Law

Significance Such programmes contribute not only to Indonesia’s efforts to boost the cyber readiness of its booming digital economy, but are also designed to maintain China's friendly relations with South-east Asia’s largest economy amid the intensifying technology tensions between China and the United States. Impacts The Personal Data Protection Law would need to clarify key provisions and concepts to be effective. The BSSN’s extensive powers will fuel civil society concerns about excessive state surveillance. Turning down Chinese technology suppliers carries cost and wider economic ramifications for Jakarta.

Alternative tourism and civil society in Athens

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Hecate Vergopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alternative Tourism ◽  
Political Perspective ◽  
Web Forum ◽  
Guided Tours ◽  
Do So

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to tackle the issue of the meaning of tourism as it is being crippled by the economic crisis in Greece. Design/methodology/approach To do so, it brings together the findings of three different fieldworks related to tourism in Athens in times of crisis. Each one of these focuses on a specific player of tourism: a linguistic and semiological analysis led mainly on travel guides and ad campaigns deals with the industry of tourism; a linguistic analysis of tourists’ posts on a French web forum deals with the tourists themselves; and an ethnographical approach of alternative guided tours of Athens focuses on local players (associations and cooperatives offering out of the beaten tracks tours). Findings The whole study reveals that there is a misunderstanding between the industry and the consumers toward what the tourist practice should mean: whereas the tourists are in search of an ethical meaning, the industry claims there is no room for such issues. The alternative players, however, offer a political perspective that embraces the ethical issues raised by tourists. Originality/value They thus might, in the end, show us the way a so-called “civil society” could also have its own role to perform in tourism.

Nationalistic education in the Hong Kong and the Macao SARs of China

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric King-man Chong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Education ◽  
National Identification ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyse the role and implementation of nationalistic education in Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions (SARs) since their respective handover of sovereignty to China in the late 1990s. Both SARs face the educational need to cultivate a Chinese national identification among the students after the sovereignty changes. While Macau SAR has enjoyed a relatively smooth implementation of nationalistic education towards which Macau’s schools and students are largely receptive to nationalistic programmes since its handover in 1999, Hong Kong SAR Government’s nationalistic education was met by reservation from some parents, students and civil society’s groups under allegations of “political indoctrination” and “brain-washing”. The Hong Kong civil society’s resistance to National Education culminated in the anti-Moral and National Education protest in Summer 2012 and then Hong Kong schools and society. This paper attempts to provide an overview and analysis on the development of nationalistic education in both Hong Kong and Macao SARs, and to give some possible explanations on the factors that lead to differences of perceiving and responding to the nationalistic education between both places. Design/methodology/approach After conducting a literature review, this study utilises different sources of data such as curriculum guidelines, previous studies and other scholarly findings in examining the development of civic education and national education policy in both SAR societies, as well as in discussing the possible developments of nationalistic education in both SARs by making references to previous studies of citizenship and nationalistic education. Findings This study found out that different relationships between the two SAR Governments and their respective civil society, the extent of established socio-political linkages with China, as well as the introduction of a core subject of Liberal Studies in Hong Kong secondary schools, which emphasises on multiple perspectives and critical thinking skills, are some plausible factors that explain different stories and developments of implementing nationalistic education in Hong Kong and Macao SARs. Research limitations/implications For giving suggestions for a nationalistic education in both Chinese SARs, first, there should be an exploration of multiple citizenship identities. This will allow people to choose their identities and thus facilitate their belongingness in terms of local, national and global dimensions. In addition, there should be an exploration of a Chinese national identification with different emphases such as knowledge orientation and critical thinking so as to cater for youth values. Promoting the idea of an informed and reasonable-in-thinking patriot could also be a way to ease the concern that building a national identity negates a person’s freedom of thinking. Originality/value This paper attempts to compare and analyse the different responses to the same policy of enhancing nationalistic education development in both Hong Kong and Macao SARs of China. Some plausible explanations were given based on political, social and educational factors, as well as youth value oritentations. This paper would be an attempt to show that a top-down single-minded orientated nationalistic education may not work well a society such as Hong Kong, where civil society and youth values are quite different than that can be found in China.

scholarly journals Accountability and governance in pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals: conceptualising how governments create value

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhash Abhayawansa ◽  
Carol A. Adams ◽  
Cristina Neesham
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
National Governments

PurposeDrawing on Adams (2017a) conceptualisation of value creation by organisations published in the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, the purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptualisation of how national governments can create value for society and the economy through their approach to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachAn initial conceptual framework was developed from literature situated at the intersection of accountability, public policy and sustainability/sustainable development. The authors' review of extant research on national policy development on value creation, sustainability and the SDGs identified gaps in (understanding of) approaches to national accountability and national governance (by state and civil society) processes. The subsequent thematic analysis of 164 written submissions made to the Australian Senate inquiry on the SDGs between December 2017 and March 2018, together with transcripts of five public hearings where 49 individuals and organisations appeared as witnesses during the second half of 2018, focussed on addressing these gaps.FindingsInput to the Australian Senate Inquiry on the SDGs overwhelmingly emphasised the importance of transparency and stakeholder participation in accountability systems, commenting on data gathering, measuring and communicating. There was an emphasis on the need to involve all parts of society, including business, investors and civil society, and for strong central co-ordination by the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. These data allowed the authors to refine the conceptualisation of how national governments can enhance social and economic value through a focus on the UN SDGs and their approach to accounting, accountability and governance.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications: for national governments in developing approaches to achieve sustainable development; and, for supranational bodies such as the UN in developing agreements, frameworks and guidance for national governments.Originality/valueBuilding on the extant literature about how global governance should be engaged to improve accountability in achieving the SDGs, the conceptual framework developed through the study shifts focus to national governance and accountability, and provides a blueprint for national governments to create value for the economy and society in the face of global sustainable development issues.

Analysing the features of negative sentiment tweets

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 782-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Zhang ◽  
Wei Dong ◽  
Xiangming Mu
Keyword(s):  
Research Area ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Word Use ◽  
Part Of Speech ◽  
Negative Sentiment ◽  
Media Data

Purpose This paper aims to address the challenge of analysing the features of negative sentiment tweets. The method adopted in this paper elucidates the classification of social network documents and paves the way for sentiment analysis of tweets in further research. Design/methodology/approach This study classifies negative tweets and analyses their features. Findings Through negative tweet content analysis, tweets are divided into ten topics. Many related words and negative words were found. Some indicators of negative word use could reflect the degree to which users release negative emotions: part of speech, the density and frequency of negative words and negative word distribution. Furthermore, the distribution of negative words obeys Zipf’s law. Research limitations/implications This study manually analysed only a small sample of negative tweets. Practical implications The research explored how many categories of negative sentiment tweets there are on Twitter. Related words are helpful to construct an ontology of tweets, which helps people with information retrieval in a fixed research area. The analysis of extracted negative words determined the features of negative tweets, which is useful to detect the polarity of tweets by machine learning method. Originality/value The research provides an initial exploration of a negative document classification method and classifies the negative tweets into ten topics. By analysing the features of negative tweets, related words, negative words, the density of negative words, etc. are presented. This work is the first step to extend Plutchik’s emotion wheel theory into social media data analysis by constructing filed specific thesauri, referred to as local sentimental thesauri.

Gender-based cybercrime is likely to rise in India

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
Personal Data Protection ◽  
Online Safety ◽  
Data Protection Law ◽  
Gender Based

Significance The experience of surfing the net is vastly different for women, who have been disproportionately at the receiving end of cybercrimes that undermine their safety online. As elsewhere, the forms of online offence included bullying, stalking, impersonation and non-consensual pornography. Impacts Lack of online safety will limit the female customer base of digital platforms. Entrenched weaknesses of the judicial systems impede reporting and conviction of cybercrime. Civil society demands for a personal data protection law will rise.

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