Kenya faces a period of shifting political alliances

Subject Political realignments in Kenya. Significance Recent weeks have seen significant turbulence in Kenyan politics as President Uhuru Kenyatta has moved to reassert control over the ruling Jubilee Party, by strengthening relations with other political parties while sidelining Deputy President William Ruto and his allies. Impacts Kenyatta is now in a strong position to push changes through parliament and, if needed, mobilise support in a constitutional referendum. Several key opposition figures are now effectively working with the government, which will weaken the role of the official opposition. Opposition will stay lively as Ruto’s allies protest, socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic bite and electoral politics heat up.

Subject Political parties in democracy. Significance Amid a divisive standoff with the federal government, the leaders of Somalia’s federal member states on October 24 resolved to establish their own political party, the National Progressive Party, to advocate for a "federalist, progressive and consultative agenda". This development could represent a new phase in efforts to institutionalise the role of political parties in Somali politics. However, like other recent formations, it could ultimately remain more firmly grounded in existing models of political competition. Impacts Alliances among Hawiye clan-led political parties may incentivise other elites to create clan-centric formations. Universal suffrage would enhance the agency of political parties and increase the costs of electoral corruption. Conflict between the government and federal member states could derail efforts to adopt a new system in the next elections.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Joyce

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the 2016 elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and to compare them with those that took place in 2012. It seeks to evaluate the background of the candidates who stood for office in 2016, the policies that they put forward, the results of the contests and the implications of the 2016 experience for future PCC elections. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based around several key themes – the profile of candidates who stood for election, preparations conducted prior to the contests taking place, the election campaign and issues raised during the contests, the results and the profile of elected candidates. The paper is based upon documentary research, making particular use of primary source material. Findings The research establishes that affiliation to a political party became the main route for successful candidates in 2016 and that local issues related to low-level criminality will dominate the future policing agenda. It establishes that although turnout was higher than in 2012, it remains low and that further consideration needs to be devoted to initiatives to address this for future PCC election contests. Research limitations/implications The research focusses on the 2016 elections and identifies a number of key issues that emerged during the campaign affecting the conduct of the contests which have a bearing on future PCC elections. It treats these elections as a bespoke topic and does not seek to place them within the broader context of the development of the office of PCC. Practical implications The research suggests that in order to boost voter participation in future PCC election contests, PCCs need to consider further means to advertise the importance of the role they perform and that the government should play a larger financial role in funding publicity for these elections and consider changing the method of election. Social implications The rationale for introducing PCCs was to empower the public in each police force area. However, issues that include the enhanced importance of political affiliation as a criteria for election in 2016 and the social unrepresentative nature of those who stood for election and those who secured election to this office in these contests coupled with shortcomings related to public awareness of both the role of PCCs and the timing of election contests threaten to undermine this objective. Originality/value The extensive use of primary source material ensures that the subject matter is original and its interpretation is informed by an academic perspective.


Significance Many areas of the Caribbean have trade, investment and family connections with communities in Florida. As the state now plays a pivotal role in US electoral politics, crises in the region can take on added political importance for parts of Florida’s electorate. Impacts Forecasts of short-term economic recovery for Florida remain highly uncertain given the continuing impact of the pandemic. Clashing interests across the Caribbean may demand greater coordination of US policy than the government can currently offer. Healthcare and disaster relief capabilities within the state are severely overstretched and could be overwhelmed by a new crisis.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Kariuki ◽  
Maria Lauda Goyayi ◽  
Lizzy Oluwatoyin Ofusori

Purpose This paper aims to examine the role of electronic governance (e-governance) in enabling asylum seekers’ access to public services in the city of Durban, South Africa. Because of COVID-19, the government scaled down its operations, limiting access to public services, including among migrants. Design/methodology/approach Because of COVID-19-related restrictions, a systematic review was conducted of the relevant academic literature as well as the information portals of relevant government departments, municipalities and research reports on migration and refugees in South Africa. A total of 320 peer-reviewed research articles were identified. These were filtered and 68 relevant articles were selected. Findings The study found that asylum seekers have limited access to public services via information communication technology-enabled mechanisms. Whilst the city government has embraced e-governance, it is still in its nascent stages. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to a desktop one because of COVID-19 restrictions and it focused exclusively on asylum seekers. Therefore, its findings can only be generalised to this category of people. Practical implications Future studies on this subject should gather data from all categories of migrants to gain in-depth perspectives. Social implications All spheres of governance in South Africa should recognise asylum seekers as a constituency that deserves access to public services. E-governance can facilitate easier access to these services, and policies need to be aligned with this reality. Originality/value This study examined the efficacy of e-governance in enabling access to government services by asylum seekers during COVID-19. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other study on this subject was conducted during this period.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 460-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiwen Chen

Purpose Bottlenecked by rural underdevelopment, China’s overall development is bound to be inadequate and unbalanced. Through a brief retrospect of the reform directed against the “equalitarianism (egalitarianism)” in China’s rural areas, as well as the Chinese Government’s conceptual transformation and systemic construction and improvement thereof, the purpose of this paper is to clarify the panoramic significance of rural reform; the necessity, priority, and long-term nature of the current rural development; and the important role of public policy in doing so. It also looks ahead to consider the prospects for future rural reform. Design/methodology/approach This paper first reviews the rural reforms that were carried out in 1978. Second, it introduces the government’s conceptual change regarding rural reform and the establishment and improvement of the system that underlies it. Finally, the future of rural reform is envisaged. Findings The initial rural reforms brought extensive and profound changes to China’s rural areas. The experience of rural reform has been referred to and escalated by other fields of study. Hence, rural reforms have become something of global significance. Moreover, since the government can undertake reforms well beyond the reach of farmers, its views must be modified in a timely manner, and only then may it reasonably construct and improve the system pertaining to the “three rural issues (agriculture, rural areas, and farmers).” Originality/value This paper reviews the rural reforms carried out in 1978. It introduces the government’s change of concept with respect to rural reforms and the establishment and improvement of the system based on the “three rural issues,” thus looking forward to the future of rural reforms. The findings of this paper are of significance to the formulation of future agricultural policies.


Asian Survey ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Tomsa ◽  
Charlotte Setijadi

This article argues that new personality-centric movements have redefined the nexus between activism and electoral politics in Indonesia. It illustrates how these movements have challenged the role of political parties and consultants in electoral campaigning, and how their growing prominence may affect the future trajectory of Indonesian politics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Reni Kumalasari

This article tries to explain how the relationship between Islam and politics after the conflict between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). After the peace agreement between the two parties with the signing of the Helsinki MoU, the Indonesian government interpreted the agreement in Law No. 11 of 2006 concerning the Government of Aceh (UUPA). The presence of the act makes the ulama a partner of the government in running the wheels of government by giving fatwa on issues of government, development, community development, and the economy. Furthermore, after peace, the role of the ulama was not only to give knowledge to the community, some ulama participated in practical politics. This was one of the effects of the UUPA, where Aceh was given the privilege of establishing local political parties. At present some ulama have occupied various positions in party management, and even participated in the regional head election (PILKADA), where religious values are used as a means of gaining power.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Vasilev

PurposeIn this study, inventories are introduced as a productive input into a real-business-cycle (RBC) setup augmented with the government.Design/methodology/approachThe model is calibrated to Bulgarian data for the period 1999–2019. The quantitative importance of the presence of inventories is investigated.FindingsThe quantitative effect of inventories is found to be important: decreasing consumption volatility and increasing employment variability. Those results, however, are at the expense of decreasing wage volatility and increasing investment volatility, and generally worsening the contemporaneous correlations of the main variables with output.Originality/valueFluctuations in inventory levels matter for business cycle fluctuations in Bulgaria, which is a novel result. Still, there is a need for more research on the incorporation of inventories into RBC models to better fit the Bulgarian experience.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Muhammad Hidayansyah ◽  
Trisakti Handayani ◽  
M Syahri

ABSTRAKPemilihan umum presiden dan wakil presiden merupakan acara lima tahun sekali yang dilaksanakan di Indonesia, kegiatan ini sebagai wahana menyalurkan segala aspirasi masyarakat terutama dalam mempengaruhi keputusan politik, dan Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui peran dan partisipasi masyarakat Kota Malang dalam pemilihan presiden dan wakil presiden tahun 2014 di Kota Malang, selain itu untuk mengetahui peran KPU Kota Malang dalam pemilihan umum presiden dan wakil presiden 2014, dan untuk menjelaskan faktor pendukung dan penghambat partisipasi masyarakat dalam pemilihan presiden dan wakil presiden 2014.Penelitian ini menggunakan Model penelitian deskriptif, yaitu suatu model penelitian dengan mencatat, mendeskripsikan dan menginterpratasikan peran KPU dalam meningkatkan partisipasi politik masyarakat dalam pemilihan umum prseiden dan wakil presiden 2014 di Kota Malang, dan penelitian ini menggunakan tiga teknik pengumpulan data yaitu wawancara, dokumentasi dan observasi. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, diperoleh hasil bahwa peran KPU dalam meningkatkan partisipasi politik masyarakat dalam pemilihn umum presiden dan wakil presiden 2014 di Kota Malang sangat besar. Artinya ini sesuai dengan realita dan fakta yang terjadi di lapangan, bahwa tahun 2014 partisipasi masyarakat Kota Malang sangat meningkat. Hal ini didukung oleh hasil wawancara dan observasi kepada pememrintahan Kota Malang, Partai Politik dan Masyarakat Kota Malang, selain itu hal yang paling mendukung adalah hasil perthitungan suara di Kota Malang, menunjukan sebanyak 70% masyarakat Kota Malang ikut berpartisipasi dalam pemilihan umum presiden dan wakil presiden 2014 di Kota Malang.Kata Kunci : Peran KPU, Partisipasi Masyarakat.ABSTRACTGeneral election for president and vice president is an event held every five years in Indonesia. This is a program which is used for channeling the aspirations of all communities, especially in influencing political decisions. This study aims to determine the role and participation of Malang communities in the presidential and vice presidential elections 2014. Besides, this study also aims to determine the role of General Elections Commission (KPU) of Malang in general election of president and vice president in 2014, and to explain the enabling and inhibiting factors of communities’ participation in the election of president and vice president in 2014. The approach used in this study is descriptive study, which is a study model by noting, describing and interpreting the role of KPU in increasing the communities’ political participation in the elections of president and vice president 2014 in Malang. This study uses three methods in collecting the data. They are interview, documentation, and observation. Based on the result of the study, it can be concluded that the General Elections Commission has a big role in increasing communities’ political participation in the elections of president and vice president 2014 in Malang. This means that it corresponds to the reality and the facts which occurred, that in 2014 the participation of Malang communities greatly increased. This is supported by the results of the interviews and observations to the government of Malang, Political Parties in Malang and also Malang communities. Besides, the most favorable case is the result of vote counting in Malang which shows as much as 70% of people in Malang participated in the elections for president and vice president 2014 in Malang.Key words: Role of the General Elections Commissions, Communities Participations


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fauzia Jabeen ◽  
Mohd. Nishat Faisal ◽  
Marios I. Katsioloudes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the factors that influence the mindset of youth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in choosing entrepreneurship as their future employment. It also suggests the pathway to improve the role of the universities as strategic drivers in inducing an entrepreneurial mindset. Design/methodology/approach An exhaustive literature review of extant research followed by an exploratory study was conducted. Furthermore, to understand factors influencing the role of universities, interpretive structural modelling methodology is applied to evolve a hierarchy-based relationship among the strategic factors. Findings The results of empirical research suggest that young people in the UAE rank entrepreneurship as their first employment choice. However, most of them have not attended any formal entrepreneurship-related course in school or in college. The study also suggests that individual and environmental factors influence the entrepreneurial mindset of both males and females in the UAE. The structural model developed in the study indicates that to give an impetus to the entrepreneurial mindset, the government must create a supporting environment with UAE universities playing the role of a catalyst. Practical implications Professional entrepreneurship instruction is seen as a strategic tool to stimulate financial and societal growth. The results could provide insights for both entrepreneurship educators and policymakers and will boost their commitment to promote the entrepreneurial mindset within UAE society by enhancing and developing traits associated with entrepreneurial success. The results support recognition of the factors that induce educational programmes and economic incentives targeted at the development of sustainable entrepreneurial culture and ventures in the UAE. Originality/value The study is an effort to highlight the role of higher education in envisaging and cultivating entrepreneurs in a fast-growing developing country through a survey and a hierarchy-based model.


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