Soldiers and Oil: The Political Transformation of Nigeria; Politics of the Sword: A Personal Memoir on Military Involvement in Ghana and of Problems of Military Government

1978 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 704-705
Author(s):  
William Gutteridge
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Military Government ◽  
Military Involvement

scholarly journals Authoritarian resilience through top-down transformation: making sense of Myanmar's incomplete transition

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Ruzza ◽  
Giuseppe Gabusi ◽  
Davide Pellegrino
Keyword(s):  
Political Reform ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Ongoing Process ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Divide And Rule ◽  
Events Data

AbstractStarting from the imperfect nature of Myanmar's democracy, this paper aims to answer two questions. First, can Myanmar's transition be defined as a case of democratization, or is it, rather, a case of authoritarian resilience? To state this differently: is the progress enjoyed by Myanmar's polity the outcome of an ongoing process that is supposed to lead to a fully fledged democracy, or, rather, an attempt to enshrine elements of authoritarian governance under a democratic guise? Second, if the balance leans towards the latter instead of the former, how did authoritarian resilience work in Myanmar? The transition is analysed from a long-term perspective, moving from the 1988 pro-democracy uprising up to the most recent events. Data were collected from available published sources and from three fieldworks conducted by the authors in Myanmar. The paper concludes that Myanmar's transition is better understood as a case of authoritarian resilience than as democratization and highlights three core traits of Myanmar's authoritarian resilience: first, the very top-down nature of the political transformation; second, the incumbents’ ability to set the pace of political reform through the use of repression and political engineering; and third, the divide-and-rule strategy used as a means to keep contestations separated and local.

scholarly journals Wybrane płaszczyzny sporu o samorząd terytorialny w początkach III Rzeczpospolitej

2020 ◽  
pp. 86-103
Author(s):  
Paweł Gofron
Keyword(s):  
Third Republic ◽  
Round Table ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
The Third ◽  
Implementation Scheme

Selected grounds of strife over the self ‑government at the beginning of the Third Polish RepublicThis article presents the selected grounds of strife over the self-govern-ment in Poland during the political transformation – from the end of the Polish People’s Republic to the beginning of the Third Republic of Poland. In the introduction the importance of the self -government re-form was emphasized. In the main content the discourse over the self--government during the Round Table Talks was reconstructed in outli-ne. Moreover, the projects of the implementation scheme of the reform were discussed. The last part of the text concerns the dispute over the introduction of poviats as the second level of self -government.

Between Intellectual Responsibility and Political Commodification of Knowledge: Nigeria's Academic Political Scientists under the Babangida Military Junta, 1985–1993

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-121
Author(s):  
Ade Kunle Amuwo
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Military Government ◽  
Commodification Of Knowledge ◽  
Intellectual Integrity ◽  
The Military ◽  
Major Criticism ◽  
Intellectual Responsibility

Abstract:The academic political scientists—mainly professors—who were hired by the Babangida military government in Nigeria between 1985 and 1993, ostensibly to theorize and articulate a new political culture and morality through the political transition program (PTP), have been objects, both then and ever since, of serious criticism concerning their role and contribution to a program that promised much but delivered little or nothing. The major criticism is that the political scientists, despite an initial commitment to help the military fashion a new political order, lost their “science” by providing an intellectual cover for the general's schemes and enriched the “political,” including the politics of corruption and self-enrichment. We examine this critique and show that these individuals, by choosing to remain in office—if not in power—even after witnessing so many broken promises by the regime, tarnished their intellectual integrity and moral credibility. Appointed to serve as an instrument of legitimization for the regime, they contained, constricted, and shrank the political and intellectual space rather than facilitating intellectual and democratic empowerment.

When Peace Kills Politics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharath Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
Civil Wars ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Original Contribution ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Civil Politics ◽  
Political Realm

When Peace Kills Politics explains the role of international peacemaking in reproducing violence and political authoritarianism in Sudan and South Sudan in recent decades. Srinivasan explains how Sudan’s landmark north–south peace process that achieved the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement fueled war in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile alongside how it contributed to Sudan’s failed political transformation and newly independent South Sudan’s rapid descent into civil war. Concluding with the conspicuous absence of ‘peace’ when non-violent revolutionary political change came to Sudan in 2019, Srinivasan examines at close range why outsiders’ peace projects may displace civil politics and raise the political currency of violence. With an original contribution to theorizing peace and peacemaking drawing upon the political thought of Hannah Arendt, the book is an analysis of the tragic shortcomings of attempting to build a non-violent political realm through neat designs and tools of compulsion, where the end goal of peace becomes caught up in idealized constitutional texts, technocratic templates and deals on sharing spoils. When Peace Kills Politics demands a radical rethinking of the project of peace in civil wars, grounded in a more earnest commitment to civil political action.

Commemorating Martial Law as Treason

2021 ◽  
pp. 088832542110498
Author(s):  
Ela Rossmiller
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Discourse Theory ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Martial Law ◽  
Politics Of Memory ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Official Discourse

How and why have Polish state institutions constructed an official public memory of martial law (1981–1983) despite plural interpretations and growing apathy and amnesia in the broader society? Between 1992 and 2018, parliament passed eight commemorative resolutions endorsing a single interpretation of martial law as treason. This political consensus is surprising given not only the lack of social consensus but also the political polarization that existed between and among post-communist and post-Solidarity parties. Drawing on LaClau and Mouffe’s discourse theory as well as Brian Grodsky’s theory of transitional justice measures as political goods, this article analyzes the official discourse of martial law as articulated in commemorative resolutions, transcripts of parliamentary deliberations, parliamentary journals, court rulings, and reports of committees, subcommittees, special commissions, and governmental offices. It considers how this discourse has been deployed to legitimate the ruling elite, attack political rivals, and justify controversial initiatives, policies, and reforms. It contributes to the literature on the politics of memory during times of political transformation by examining a case of surprising stability despite factors that would seem to favor change over time.

Political-Administrative Interface at the Local Sphere of Government with Particular Reference to South Africa

2017 ◽  
pp. 242-255
Author(s):  
Purshottama Sivanarain Reddy
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
National Development ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Government Legislation

The ongoing political-administrative dichotomy discourse, which is steeped in public administration history, manifests in uncertainty about how the relationship between politicians and administrative officials should be structured. South Africa was democratized in 1994 and local government has subsequently undergone a fundamental socio-political transformation. “World class” local government legislation, with an entrenched constitutional development mandate, was introduced; however, the large numbers of public protests bear ample testimony to major challenges in basic service delivery. A critical issue impacting negatively on the functionality of the post-1994 local government dispensation is the political-administrative interface. The National Development Plan has mapped out a socio-economic vision to 2030, with stabilization of the political-administrative interface a priority. Consequently, the political-administrative interface has to be critically reviewed relative to the quality of local democracy, impact on efficient and effective service delivery, and good local governance.

Tensions between populist and feminist politics: The case of the Spanish left populist party Podemos

2020 ◽  
pp. 019251212093120
Author(s):  
Paloma Caravantes
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Political Field ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Feminist Politics ◽  
The People ◽  
Feminist Interpretation ◽  
Populist Party

This paper analyzes the interplay of left populist and feminist politics through a case study of Podemos (‘we can’), a Spanish left populist party that reproduces a dominant gendered logic of politics despite its feminist interpretation of democratic renewal. I argue that this is the result of fundamental contradictions between the feminist and populist projects of political transformation that coexist in the party. Even if left populism offers a more productive terrain for gender equality than right populism, central tenets of populism disrupt feminist commitments and goals. Chief among these are the oversimplification of the political field based on a limited diagnosis, the exclusionary appeals to the homeland and to a homogenizing collectivity of the people, the dominant masculine and personalistic logics of charismatic leaders, the prioritization of electoral success over other forms of political transformation, and the resulting gendered political culture that marginalizes empowerment, inclusion, and participatory democratic practices.

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