African Union Institutional Reform: Rationales, Challenges and Prospects

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-44
Author(s):  
Yayew Genet Chekol
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Member State ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
African Union ◽  
Main Attention ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Documentary Source ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
The Past

This paper aimed at investigating the rationalities, Challenges and prospects of Africa Union institutional reforms agendas. The paper has been analysed by using the documentary source of data. The institutional reforms of the African Union (AU) have gained significant prominence in recent years within the framework of promoting regional integration and strengthening the African collective action. Africa has witnessed significant changes over the past two decades on several fronts, which has made reforming the AU more urgent than ever before. The main attention of the institutional reform is its focus on key priorities with continental scope, realign AU institutions to deliver against those priorities, manage the AU efficiently at both political and operational levels and finance the AU ourselves and sustainably. However, having these focus areas with prospects, challenges facing the institutional reform agenda are prevailed and needs homogenous intervention amongst member State for real implementation of the AU reform.

Accelerating Agricultural Growth—Is Irrigation Institutional Reform Necessary? (Distinguishedl Lecture)

1996 ◽  
Vol 35 (4I) ◽  
pp. 399-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Mellor
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Residual Effect ◽  
Agricultural Growth ◽  
The Past ◽  
Major Reform ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Economic Growth Rates

The right to the flow of income from water is vigorously pursued, protected, and fought over in any arid part of the world. Pakistan is of course no exception. Reform of irrigation institutions necessarily changes the rights to water, whether it be those of farmers, government, or government functionaries. Those perceived rights may be explicit and broadly accepted, or simply takings that are not even considered legitimate. Nevertheless they will be fought over. Pakistan has a long history of proposals for irrigation reform, little or none being implemented, except as isolated pilot projects. Thus, to propose major changes in irrigation institutions must be clearly shown to have major benefits to justify the hard battles that must be fought and the goodwill of those who might win those battles for reform. Proponents of irrigation institution reform have always argued the necessity of the reforms and the large gains to be achieved. Perhaps, however, those arguments have not been convincing. This paper will briefly outline the failed attempts at irrigation reform to provide an element of reality to the discussion. It will then proceed to make the case of the urgency of reform in a somewhat different manner to the past. Finally, current major reform proposals will be presented. This paper approaches justification of irrigation reform by focusing on the agricultural growth rate. It does so because that is the critical variable influencing poverty rates and is a significant determinant of over-all economic growth rates. The paper decomposes growth rates and suggests a residual effect of deterioration of the irrigation system that is large and calls for policy and institutional reform. The data are notional, suggesting the usefulness of the approach and paves the way for more detailed empirical analysis and enquiry for the future.

Regional integration and free movement in Central Africa Integración regional y libre circulación en África Central L'intégration régionale et la libre circulation en Afrique centrale

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Marcel Nono
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Free Movement ◽  
African Union ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Politique Sociale ◽  
Afrique Centrale

A pillar of African emergence and an important issue of political debate that is central to regional integration, free movement is however not yet acquired in Central Africa. Yet a glance at the pre colonial history invites us to believe that Central Africa has been an area of free movement. The recognition of a right that cannot be realized only by an agreement leads to the Central African states pledging to work together in the context of regional integration by recognizing their citizens' right to full mobility. This contribution highlights the efforts, challenges and prospects of free movement in Central Africa by reference to the African Union framework, and asks if the legal and institutional framework of free movement in Central Africa has led to the emergence of a social policy supportive of free movement at the sub regional level. Spanish La libre circulación de personas es un pilar del África emergente, un tema importante en el debate político, un punto central de la integración regional, y sin embargo todavía intangible en África Central. No obstante, una mirada a la historia precolonial nos invita a pensar que África Central ha sido un espacio de libre circulación. El reconocimiento de un derecho que no puede realizarse sólo por un acuerdo, conduce a que los Estados de África Central se comprometan a trabajar juntos en el marco de la integración regional para reconocer el derecho de sus ciudadanos a la movilidad total. Esta contribución destaca los esfuerzos, desafíos y perspectivas de la libre circulación en África Central en referencia con el marco de la Unión Africana, y se pregunta si el marco legal e institucional de la libre circulación en África Central ha llevado a la aparición de una política social que apoye la libre circulación a nivel subregional. French Pilier de l'émergence de l'Afrique, enjeu des débats politiques et de l'intégration, la libre circulation n'est pas encore un acquis en Afrique Centrale. Pourtant, un regard porté sur l'histoire précoloniale nous invite à croire que l'Afrique centrale a été un espace de libre circulation. La reconnaissance d'un droit ne pouvant se faire que par l'objet d'un accord, les États d'Afrique Centrale se sont engagés dans le choix d'une histoire à réaliser ensemble dans le cadre de l'intégration, en consacrant dans des pactes communautaires la pleine mobilité de leurs ressortissants. Cette contribution met en évidence les efforts, défis et perspectives de la libre circulation en Afrique centrale par référence au cadre de l'Union africaine, et pose la question de savoir si le cadre juridique et institutionnel de la libre circulation en Afrique centrale a conduit à l'émergence d'une politique sociale en faveur de la libre circulation au niveau sous régional.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Kenny
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Party System ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Institutional Reforms

This final chapter draws out the two main conclusions from the book. First, it discusses the policy implications of its findings. It suggests caution in the decentralization of political authority as a remedy for democratic underperformance in patronage-based democracies. Rather than making government more accountable, it may instead exacerbate principal–agent conflicts between center and periphery. More important than decentralization in the short term may be institutional reforms at the center that make parties more programmatic and responsive to citizens. Second, it sets out some of the implications of the book’s findings for the study of populism and party-system change more generally. It shows that the varied ways in which voters and parties are linked creates different pathways to the decline of establishment parties and the success of populist alternatives. Further comparative research across party systems might contribute positively to institutional reform and political change.

Transition and the Pitfalls of Nondemocratic Institutions: A review of Constitutionality in Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-87
Author(s):  
Tadesse Melaku
Keyword(s):  
Case Analysis ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Constitutional Review ◽  
The Past ◽  
Government Power ◽  
Review Mechanism ◽  
And Control ◽  
Regional Elections ◽  
Do So

Ethiopia has undertaken important political reforms after the fall of authoritarianism in 2018. This article examines the performance of Ethiopia’s constitutional review mechanism amid the ongoing political and institutional reforms in the country. The study focuses on the process and merit of the constitutional ruling to delay the 2020 national and regional elections because of the coronavirus pandemic, thereby extending the government’s tenure. It further unravels the challenges posed by nondemocratic institutions of the past regime in navigating the transition. In doing so, this study draws on legal, documentary and case analysis, and a literature review. While the mandate extension comes as no surprise, the reasoning of the decision to do so was disappointing for many, dashing the hope and sense of a constitutional moment that accompanied the highly publicised constitutional hearing process in June 2020. The judgment reveals an endemic deficiency of the institutional system. Thus, it is imperative for Ethiopia to establish an independent constitutional umpire to check and control the exercise of government power and support the transition to multiparty democratic governance in the country.

scholarly journals The Interconnectedness between Institutional Quality, Civil War and Institutional Reform: A Case Study of Nepalese Maoist Civil War

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-70
Author(s):  
Saroj Kumar Aryal
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Institutional Quality ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Made In

Various factors trigger civil war, depending on the society and stages of political development. But analyzing it through the quality of an institution or some provisions of institutions may lead to a possible cause of a civil war. Thus, the primary objective of this article is to investigate institutional quality and its role in triggering a civil war. This paper argues that there is interconnectedness between institutional quality, civil war, and institutional reforms, which occurs as a series of events. Although the article provides many examples, in the second section, the case study of Nepalese decade-long civil war and post-civil war institutional reform has been presented to back the argument made in the paper. By discussing various dynamics of historical institutionalism, the paper mainly analyzes the primary and secondary sources.

scholarly journals Contriving the Future by Tampering with the Past: A Deferral Tactic in Chinese Internet Censorship

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUSUNG SU ◽  
Siyu Sun ◽  
Jiangrui Liu
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Political Event ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Internet Censorship

How do Chinese information inspectors censor the internet? In light of the assumption that inspectors must follow specific rules instead of ambiguous guidelines, such as precluding collective action, to decide what and when to delete, this study attempts to offer a dynamic understanding of censorship by exploiting well-structured Weibo data from before and after the 2018 Taiwanese election. This study finds that inspectors take advantage of time in handling online discussions with the potential for collective action. Through this deferral tactic, inspectors make online sentiments moderately flow regarding an important political event, and thereafter, past discussions on trendy topics will be mostly removed. Therefore, reality is selectively altered; the past is modified, and the future will be remembered in a ``preferable" way.

Self-Undermining Rhetoric in the Past and Present

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Seth Levine
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Economic Insecurity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Broad Concept ◽  
The Face

This chapter considers the prospects for political change in the face of communicative barriers to collective action. It begins to address this question by identifying several of the most well-known historical and recent moments in which there was large-scale mobilization on some economic insecurity issues. This discussion, in concert with the empirical findings in this book, helps clarify the prospects for political action (and policy change) on these issues. The chapter then uses the findings from the book to identify three types of people that are most likely to become active. It also talks about the implications of having this (narrower) set of people active as opposed to the full range of people that find the issues to be important. It concludes by reiterating how self-undermining rhetoric is a broad concept that can apply in many different situations beyond those considered herein.

20. Indonesia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyda Marås Sindre
Keyword(s):  
Regime Change ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Political Mobilization ◽  
New Order ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Radical Reform ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
Growing Economy

This chapter examines the dynamics of regime change in Indonesia since 1998, with a particular focus on political mobilization against the backdrop of institutional reform. In the decade since the collapse of the ‘New Order’ — that is, the authoritarian military-based regime that governed Indonesia from 1966 to 1998 — Indonesia has become one of the few success stories in the post-1970s wave of democratization in the Global South. In addition to being considered the most stable and the freest democracy in South East Asia, Indonesia remains the region’s largest and fastest growing economy. The chapter first provides an overview of the legacies of authoritarianism in Indonesia before discussing the government’s radical reform agenda of democratization and decentralization after 1998. It then looks at political mobilization and participation that accompanied regime change in Indonesia and concludes with an assessment of the role of civil society in political mobilization.

scholarly journals Increasing Legal Certainty without Trust: Why Regulation 2019/515 Cannot Achieve the Unachievable

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Benjamin JAN
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Market Access ◽  
Mutual Recognition ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Certainty ◽  
The Past

More than 40 years after Cassis de Dijon, the mutual recognition in the field of goods is still a failure. The promise of this principle for ensuring both market access and regulatory diversity has not been kept. Therefore, today, businesses rarely rely on mutual recognition to sell their products in another Member State. In an attempt to stimulate this procedure further, the European Union legislator tried to simplify the procedures to be followed by businesses and public administrations through Regulation 2019/515. This article argues that, although the Regulation creates more legal certainty, it fundamentally fails to address the underlying problem of lack of trust that has stalled mutual recognition in the past.

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