scholarly journals Witchcraft and Statecraft: Liberal Democracy in Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Tebbe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Large Majority ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Equal Citizenship

96 Georgetown Law Journal 183 (2007)This Article addresses the prospects of liberal democracy in non-Western societies. It focuses on South Africa, one of the newest and most admired liberal democracies, and in particular on its efforts to recognize indigenous African traditions surrounding witchcraft and related occult practices. In 2004, Parliament passed a law that purports to regulate certain occult practitioners called traditional healers. Today, lawmakers are under pressure to go further and criminalize the practice of witchcraft itself. This Article presses two arguments. First, it contends that the 2004 statute is compatible with liberal principles of equal citizenship and the rule of law. Second, it warns against outlawing witchcraft as such. Subjecting suspected sorcerers to criminal punishment based on governmental determinations of guilt that many will perceive to be unprincipled would work too much damage to individual autonomy and national unity, among other values. These arguments are designed to contribute to a wider discussion about the capacity of liberalism to respond to the global resurgence of religious traditionalism, especially in countries where traditionalists may comprise a large majority of the citizenry.

Membership Eligibility in a Europe of Liberal Democracies, 1970–2005

2021 ◽  
pp. 159-193
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Fast Track ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter uses extensive archival evidence to demonstrate how the membership norm adopted by the community around 1970—that only liberal democracies respecting human rights and the rule of law are eligible for membership—shaped its decisions on Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Ukraine over subsequent decades. The democratic governments that took power in Greece and Spain after the collapse of authoritarian rule in the mid-1970s used the community’s membership norm to pressure member states to fast track them to accession despite the hesitation of the European Commission and powerful domestic lobbies. Notwithstanding the growing controversy over Turkey’s membership prospects in this period, the community’s membership norm played an important role in keeping the relationship on track. Finally, the EU’s membership norm impeded Ukraine’s pursuit of closer ties after interdependence in 1991 because of widespread concern within the Union regarding the country’s actual commitment to liberal democracy and the rule of law.

Liberalism, Allegiance, and Obedience: The Inappropriateness of Loyalty Oaths in a Liberal Democracy

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liav Orgad
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Legal Institution ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Law ◽  
Loyalty Oaths

The Article examines the wisdom of loyalty oaths as a legal institution in contemporary liberal democracies. First, using comparative analysis the Article highlights the growing global interest in loyalty oaths. Second, based upon historical evidence the Article explores the functions of loyalty oaths and assesses their role. Third, through using legal analysis the Article challenges the validity of loyalty oaths and identifies three fundamental problems related to their content and form: the rule of law, freedom of conscience, and equality.The Article reveals liberal concerns associated with the added value of the duty of “loyalty to the law” (allegiance), as distinct from the duty to “obey the law” (obedience). It presents an ongoing tension between loyalty and liberalism and argues that the more loyalty liberal democracies demand, the less liberal they become. The Article concludes that loyalty oaths yield high costs but have low benefits and suggests that liberal states should abandon them as a legal institution.

Is Xenophobic Violence and Criminality Systemic in Post-Apartheid South Africa? A Critical Analysis of Growing Denialism to 2015 Incidents

Politeia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mbekezeli Comfort Mkhize ◽  
Kongko Louis Makau
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Hate Crime ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Foreign Nationals ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Structural Problems ◽  
The Government

This article argues that the 2015 xenophobic violence was allowed to spread due to persistent inaction by state officials. While the utterances of King Goodwill Zwelithini have in part fuelled the attacks, officials tend to perceive acts of xenophobia as ordinary crimes. This perception has resulted in ill-advised responses from the authorities, allowing this kind of hate crime against foreign nationals to engulf the whole country. In comparison with similar attacks in 2008, the violent spree in 2015 is characterised by a stronger surge in criminal activities. The militancy showcased fed a sense of insecurity amongst foreigners, creating a situation inconsistent with the country’s vaunted respect for human rights and the rule of law. Investors lost confidence in the country’s outlook, owing in part to determined denialism in government circles regarding the targeting of foreigners. While drawing from existing debates, the article’s principal objective is to critically examine the structural problems that enable xenophobia to proliferate and the (in)effectiveness of responses to the militancy involved in the 2015 attacks. Of particular interest are the suggested responses that could be effective in curbing future violence. The article concludes that xenophobia is systemic in post-apartheid South Africa. Strong cooperation between the government, national and international organisations could provide the basis for successful anti-xenophobia measures. The article further argues that the country is obliged to find a sustainable solution to the predicament for humanitarian reasons firstly, and in recognition of the support South Africans received from its African counterparts during the liberation struggle.

Good Governance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk Addink
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
National Level ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Modern State ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Third ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
Further Development

The pivotal aim of this book is to explain the creation, development, and impact of good governance from a conceptual, principal perspective and in the context of national administrative law. Three lines of reasoning have been worked out: developing the concept of good governance; specification of this concept by developing principles of good governance; and implementation of these principles of good governance on the national level. In this phase of further development of good governance, it is important to have a clear concept of good governance, presented in this book as the third cornerstone of a modern state, alongside the concepts of the rule of law and democracy. That is a rather new national administrative law perspective which is influenced by regional and international legal developments; thus, we can speak about good governance as a multilevel concept. But the question is: how is this concept of good governance further developed? Six principles of good governance (which in a narrower sense also qualify as principles of good administration) have been further specified in a systematic way, from a legal perspective. These are the principles of properness, transparency, participation, effectiveness, accountability, and human rights. Furthermore, the link has been made with integrity standards. The important developments of each of these principles are described on the national level in Europe, but also in countries outside Europe (such as Australia, Canada, and South Africa). This book gives a systematic comparison of the implementation of the principles of good governance between countries.

scholarly journals Poaching of marine living resources: Can the tide be turned?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik Van As
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The State ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Future ◽  
Full Power ◽  
A Priority

Certain marine living resources of South Africa are under severe threat from international organised crime syndicates in conjunction with local fishers. These criminal activities erode respect for the rule of law and lead to socio-economic degradation and the proliferation of gangsterism. The current government approach as custodians of the resources is to maximise the return from confiscations. SAPS are not using the full power of the law to address poaching of marine living resources, particularly abalone, as a priority crime and do not allocate their resources commensurate with the value of the commodity. As a country that is beleaguered by fisheries crime, overfishing and exploitation, South Africa must take a tough stance and should pursue criminal organisations with all the power that the state can muster. It must also ensure that national fisheries resource management is improved so that local communities can benefit. The implementation of a conforming strategy would be socially and politically unpopular, but the future benefits will outweigh the outlay.

The Politics of Public Order, 1795–1802

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard G. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Road ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
National Convention ◽  
New System

The Thermidorian National Convention, despite some efforts at ‘transitional justice’, failed to master the legacies of the Terror. Therefore, the fledgling regime needed to impose the new republican political order while also restoring basic law and order—two tightly entwined tasks. The Constitution of 1795 articulated a liberal democracy based on the rule of law, but political instability and endemic lawlessness led first to multiple violations of the constitution, especially in the wake of elections, and a steady shift from democratic republicanism toward ‘liberal authoritarianism’. This shift received added impetus during waves of repression intended to restore order on strictly republican terms. The result was the creation a new ‘security state’, one that combined coercive policing, administrative surveillance, exceptional justice, and militarized repression. The emergence of the new system helped to restore order, and thereby to legitimize the Consulate, but it also paved the road to personal dictatorship in 1802.

Support for Liberal Democracy and Populist Attitudes: A Pilot Survey for Young Educated Citizens

2020 ◽  
pp. 147892992094585
Author(s):  
Lisa Zanotti ◽  
José Rama
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Majority Rule ◽  
Theoretical Level ◽  
Young Voters ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Pilot Survey ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Levels Of Support ◽  
Better Than

At the theoretical level, even if populism and democracy are not necessarily antithetical, the former challenges the liberal component of democracy, advocating for the majority rule and putting under stress the principles of the rule of law. To test the relationship between liberal democracy and populism, we created four new questions that measure the support for liberal democracy conceived as a trade-off with different policies. We tested our battery of questions in a pilot survey with educated young voters. The results show that those individuals who exhibit lower levels of support for liberal democracy are the ones with higher populist attitudes. This might be due to the fact that the original battery of questions grasps the level of support for liberal democracy better than the standard ‘Churchillian’ question.

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