scholarly journals THE END OF THE HONEYMOON: PENAL DISCOURSE AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF PRISONERS IN THE AFTERMATH OF SOUTH AFRICA’S SECOND DEMOCRATIC ELECTION − PART 1

Obiter ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Allister Peté
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Penal System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Gang Activity ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Democratic Election ◽  
The Many

The years immediately following South Africa’s second democratic election, held in June 1999, were significant in that they marked the end of the “honeymoon” period which followed the country’s transition from apartheid to democracy in 1994. This article focuses on the public discourse surrounding imprisonment in South Africa during this important “post-honeymoon” period. The article traces the continued systematic violation of the basic human rights of many of those confined in South African prisons throughout the period. Part One of the article deals with the many public debates surrounding chronic prison overcrowding and its effects, whereas Part Two deals with a host of evils which beset the South African penal system at this time, including very poor conditions of detention, high levels of gang activity, the spread of HIV/AIDS, the escape of dangerous criminals from different prisons in the country, and instances of corruption and other criminal activity amongst prisoners and staff.

scholarly journals THE END OF THE HONEYMOON: PENAL DISCOURSE AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF PRISONERS IN THE AFTERMATH OF SOUTH AFRICA’S SECOND DEMOCRATIC ELECTION ‒ PART TWO

Obiter ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Allister Peté
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Penal System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Gang Activity ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Democratic Election ◽  
The Many

The years immediately following South Africa’s second democratic election, held in June 1999, were significant in that they marked the end of the “honeymoon” period which followed the country’s transition from apartheid to democracy in 1994. This article focuses on the public discourse surrounding imprisonment in South Africa during this important “post-honeymoon” period. The article traces the continued systematic violation of the basic human rights of many of those confined in South African prisons throughout the period. Part One of the article dealt with the many public debates surrounding chronic prison overcrowding and its effects, whereas Part Two deals with a host of evils which beset the South African penal system at this time, including very poor conditions of detention, high levels of gang activity, the spread of HIV/AIDS, the escape of dangerous criminals from different prisons in the country, and instances of corruption and other criminal activity amongst prisoners and staff.  

scholarly journals The Right to Survival in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyoung Song
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Confucian Tradition ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
North Korean Defectors ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Over Time

AbstractFor the past decade, the author has examined North Korean primary public documents and concludes that there have been changes of identities and ideas in the public discourse of human rights in the DPRK: from strong post-colonialism to Marxism-Leninism, from there to the creation of Juche as the state ideology and finally 'our style' socialism. This paper explains the background to Kim Jong Il's 'our style' human rights in North Korea: his broader framework, 'our style' socialism, with its two supporting ideational mechanisms, named 'virtuous politics' and 'military-first politics'. It analyses how some of these characteristics have disappeared while others have been reinforced over time. Marxism has significantly withered away since the end of the Cold War, and communism was finally deleted from the latest 2009 amended Socialist Constitution, whereas the concept of sovereignty has been strengthened and the language of duties has been actively employed by the authority almost as a relapse to the feudal Confucian tradition. The paper also includes some first-hand accounts from North Korean defectors interviewed in South Korea in October–December 2008. They show the perception of ordinary North Koreans on the ideas of human rights.

(Un)Liberated and Contested Narratives

2019 ◽  
pp. 334-347
Author(s):  
Bongani C Ndhlovu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The State ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Many ◽  
Contested Narratives

This chapter analyses the influence of the state in shaping museum narratives, especially in a liberated society such as South Africa. It argues that while the notion of social cohesion and nation building is an ideal that many South African museums should strive for, the technocratisation of museum processes has to a degree led to a disregard of the public sphere as a space of open engagement. Secondly, the chapter also looks at the net-effect of museums professionals and boards in the development of their narrative. It argues that due to the nature of their expertise and interests, and the focus on their areas of specialisation, museums may hardly claim to be representative of the many voices they ought to represent. As such, the chapter explores contestations in museum spaces. It partly does so by exploring the notion “free-spokenness” and its limits in museum spaces. To amplify its argument, the chapter uses some exhibitions that generated critical engagements from Iziko Museums of South Africa.

How Media Shapes the Public Discourse and Influences Health

2020 ◽  
pp. 23-35
Author(s):  
Alonzo L. Plough
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Multiple Roles ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Inaccurate Information ◽  
Modern Media ◽  
Multiple Media ◽  
American Society ◽  
The Many

This chapter describes the multiple roles of modern media in determining not only what consumers know, but also how and what they think. The exponential growth of ideologically driven cable channels and social media, dovetailing with cutbacks in newspaper staffing and coverage, point to the many ways that the power and reach of media are shifting even as they continue to reshape American society and norms. In this environment, multiple media compete for viewers, readers, and listeners who will click on their websites, buy their products, sign their petitions, and often accept their spin, especially if it reinforces personal perspectives. Thoughtful information about complex public health issues is easily lost in that context, leading too many people to base their decision-making on incomplete, biased, and even inaccurate information. For the news media to help build a Culture of Health, people need to understand how it works, what it does, and how it can be used for widespread benefit.

scholarly journals “These Women are Making a Statement Against Rape and yet the only Thing Y'All can Focus on is ‘Eww They're Naked’”: Exploring Rape Culture on Facebook in South Africa

Gender Issues ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaida Orth ◽  
Michelle Andipatin ◽  
Brian van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
Rape Culture ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Aggressive Male ◽  
Public Reaction

Abstract Sexual assault on campuses has been identified as a pervasive public health problem. In April 2016, students across South African universities launched the #Endrapeculture campaign to express their frustration against university policies which served to perpetuate a rape culture. The use of hashtag activism during the protest served to spark online public debates and mobilize support for the protests. This article describes the public reactions to the South African #Endrapeculture protests on the Facebook social media platform. Data was collected through natural observations of comment threads on news articles and public posts on the student protests, and subjected to content analysis. The findings suggest that the #nakedprotest was successful in initiating public conversations concerning the issue of rape culture. However, the reactions towards the #nakedprotest were divided with some perpetuating a mainstream public discourse which perpetuates rape culture, and others (re)presenting a counter-public that challenged current dominant views about rape culture. Two related main themes emerged: Victim-blaming and Trivialising Rape Culture. Victim-blaming narratives emerged from the commenters and suggested that the protesters were increasing their chances of being sexually assaulted by marching topless. This discourse seems to perpetuate the notion of the aggressive male sexual desire and places the onus on women to protect themselves. Other commenters criticised the #nakedprotest method through demeaning comments which served to derail the conversation and trivialise the message behind the protest. The public reaction to the #nakedprotest demonstrated that rape culture is pervasive in society and continues to be re(produced) through discourse on social media platforms. However, social media also offers individuals the opportunity to draw from and participate in multiple counter-publics which challenge these mainstream rape culture discourses.

scholarly journals How to translate artificial intelligence? Myths and justifications in public discourse

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 205395172091996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Roberge ◽  
Marius Senneville ◽  
Kevin Morin
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Machine Learning ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Expectations ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
The Public ◽  
Gradual Introduction ◽  
Congressional Hearing ◽  
The Many

Automated technologies populating today’s online world rely on social expectations about how “smart” they appear to be. Algorithmic processing, as well as bias and missteps in the course of their development, all come to shape a cultural realm that in turn determines what they come to be about. It is our contention that a robust analytical frame could be derived from culturally driven Science and Technology Studies while focusing on Callon’s concept of translation. Excitement and apprehensions must find a specific language to move past a state of latency. Translations are thus contextual and highly performative, transforming justifications into legitimate claims, translators into discursive entrepreneurs, and power relations into new forms of governance and governmentality. In this piece, we discuss three cases in which artificial intelligence was deciphered to the public: (i) the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence, held as a prime example of how stakeholders manage to establish the terms of the debate on ethical artificial intelligence while avoiding substantive commitment; (ii) Mark Zuckerberg’s 2018 congressional hearing, where he construed machine learning as the solution to the many problems the platform might encounter; and (iii) the normative renegotiations surrounding the gradual introduction of “killer robots” in military engagements. Of interest are not only the rational arguments put forward, but also the rhetorical maneuvers deployed. Through the examination of the ramifications of these translations, we intend to show how they are constructed in face of and in relation to forms of criticisms, thus revealing the highly cybernetic deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.

scholarly journals ‘Embarrassing the State’: The ‘Ordinary’ Prisoner Rights Movement in Ireland, 1972–6

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 388-410
Author(s):  
Oisín Wall
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Political Prisoners ◽  
Penal System ◽  
Small Minority ◽  
Prisoner Rights ◽  
Penal Reform ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Emerging Issues

This article explores the early years of the campaign for ‘ordinary’, not politically-aligned, prisoners’ rights in Ireland. It argues that this campaign has often been overshadowed by the activities of ‘political prisoners’, who only constituted a small minority of prisoners in the period. The article follows the development and changing tactics of the ordinary prisoners’ movement, through the rise and fall of the Prisoners’ Union (PU) (1972–3) and into the early years of the Prisoners’ Rights Organisation (PRO) (1973–6), which would become the longest-lasting and most vocal penal reform organisation in Ireland, until the formation of the Irish Penal Reform Trust in 1994. It argues that the movement constantly adapted its tactics to address emerging issues and opportunities. Ultimately, it contends that by 1976 the PRO was an increasingly legitimate voice in Ireland’s public discourse on prisons. It shows that, although the campaign did not achieve any major penal reforms in this period, it had a significant impact on public debates about prisons, prisoners’ mental health, the failures of the penal system, and prisoners’ entitlement to human rights.

scholarly journals Sexualidad, derechos humanos y pensamiento demográfico. Convergencias y divergencias en un mundo cambiante / Sexuality, Human Rights and Demographic Thought. Convergence and Divergence in a Changing World

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Corrêa ◽  
Richard Parker
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Population Studies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Derechos Humanos ◽  
International Policies ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Convergence And Divergence ◽  
Hiv Aids

Al comenzar el siglo XXI hemos sido testigos de un replanteamiento del histórico debate sobre ética y demografía, pues se han priorizado los derechos del individuo sobre el bien público y se ha incluido en tal debate un conjunto de nuevos elementos, en particular la sexualidad. Este cambio está intrínsecamente relacionado con la aparición y el impacto de los movimientos sociales –iniciativas relacionadas con el VIH sida que promueven las organizaciones feministas, gays y lésbicas– interconectados globalmente y capaces de difundir un discurso público relativo a la sexualidad tanto en el terreno de las políticas nacionales como en el de las internacionales. A pesar de los logros obtenidos al abordar los temas de sexualidad y VIH sida en el marco de los derechos humanos, la concepción de las cuestiones éticas relacionadas con el cambio demográfico y la sexualidad no se ha incluido a cabalidad. En este artículo se abordan los aspectos conceptuales y las conclusiones preliminares de una investigación que se ha desarrollado por medio de un estudio y un análisis comparativo entre países relativo a la aparición de un diálogo público en torno al género, la orientación sexual, el VIH sida y otros temas torales en el campo de los estudios de población. AbstractThe beginning of the 21st century has witnessed a reformulation of the historical debate on ethics and demography, since individual rights have been given priority over the public good and a set of new elements, particularly sexuality, have been included in this debate. This change is intrinsically linked to the emergence and impact of social movements-initiatives related to HIV-AIDS promoted by feminist, gay and lesbian organizations that are globally linked and capable of disseminating a public discourse on sexuality within the sphere of both national and international policies. Despite the success achieved in dealing with the issues of sexuality and HIV aids in the framework of human rights, the conception of ethical issues related to demographic change and sexuality has not been fully completed. This article deals with the conceptual aspects and preliminary conclusions of a research project through a study and comparative analysis of countries regarding the emergence of a public dialog on gender, sexual orientation, HIV-AIDS and other key issues in the field of population studies.

scholarly journals HOLDING UP A MIRROR TO APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA: PUBLIC DISCOURSE ON THE ISSUE OF OVERCROWDING IN SOUTH AFRICAN PRISONS 1980 TO 1984 – PART 2

Obiter ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Allister Peté
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Media ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Ideological Struggle ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
Apartheid Regime

During the first half of the 1980s, the issue of chronic overcrowding within the South African penal system formed part of an intense ideological struggle between those who supported and those who opposed the apartheid regime. Public debate around this issue acted as a mirror, reflecting early cracks which were beginning to appear in the edifice of apartheid. Since the prisons were the ultimate instrument of social control within the apartheid system, the ongoing crises caused by chronic overcrowding within these institutions served as a kind of “canary in the mine” for the apartheid system as a whole. The debates which took place during the early 1980s around overcrowding are also important because they form part of a common theme running through South African penal discourse as a whole. This article seeks to show how the debates on prison overcrowding which took place in the first half of the 1980s fit into a long-term pattern of recurring ideological crises surrounding this issue. The article is divided into two parts. In Part One, the above themes were explored through the public discourse surrounding the Steyn Commission of Enquiry into the public media, as well as the Hoexter Commission of Enquiry into the structure and functioning of South Africa’s courts. Whereas Part One deals only with certain early debates arising out of the Hoexter Commission – up to February 1981 – Part Two takes this as a starting point and traces a number of further themes which arose in the debates surrounding the Hoexter Commission between February 1981 and April 1984, when the Commission delivered its report.

scholarly journals The Discursive Appeal to Solidarity and Partisan Journalism in Europe’s Migration Crisis

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-197
Author(s):  
Stefan Wallaschek
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Central Position ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Common European Asylum System ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
Political Solidarity ◽  
Strategic Framing

The article analyses the discursive appeal to solidarity in the mass media during the unfolding of Europe’s migration crisis. Solidarity was claimed by numerous actors in the public discourse to legitimise political decisions and mobilise public opinion. While it seems that the call for solidarity was shared by many actors, media studies show the ‘partisan journalism’ of media outlets. Thus, the political orientation of media outlets influences their coverage of public debates. Hence, to what extent do different quality newspapers cover the same solidarity claims in times of crisis? In order to answer this question, the crisis coverage of two German and two Irish newspapers with centre-left and centre-right political orientations is examined via the discourse network methodology. Germany is selected due to high political parallelism and a strong affectedness by the crisis, while Ireland is selected because of low political parallelism and a weak affectedness by the migration crisis. The findings demonstrate that partisan journalism persists during Europe’s migration crisis. Especially German party actors are present in both countries, underpinning the central position of Germany. Regarding the appeal to solidarity, political solidarity claims prevail in all four newspapers, indicating the political-institutional asymmetry in the Common European Asylum System. The study contributes to the strategic framing of concepts in public debates and demonstrates that the left-right distinction of media outlets is hardly affected by the migration crisis.

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