scholarly journals On the impact of the occult on state legitimacy and democratization aid in Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Kohnert
Keyword(s):  
Belief Systems ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Political Class ◽  
State Legitimacy ◽  
Independent Churches ◽  
State Governance ◽  
The Impact

The impact of occult belief on legitimacy of the state and on aid for democratization in Africa: Among politicians and development experts in Africa alike there is a growing awareness of the never decreasing importance of the belief in magic and witchcraft on political decision making since pre-colonial times. Demonstration of the control of occult forces as a means of enhancing legitimacy of traditional or charismatic rule had been considered for over a century to be the prerogative of traditional chiefs and their marabouts; now it proved to be effective for the modern political elite and the state as well. An increasing number of African states officially recognized the existence of magic and witchcraft, and they adapted the imposed colonial law accordingly. In addition magic-religious belief systems, as represented by the vodun or African independent churches (e.g. the Kimbanguists), boasting to control witchcraft, are promoted by African political leaders to enhance legitimacy both of the political class and of state governance. At the same time, development experts tried to take into account the socio cultural dimension of development; they called for an "endogenization" of development aid. This call was justified, because endogenization should be considered as a pre-requisite of sustainable aid; however, under certain conditions it may be ambiguous and dangerous as well. Concerning the consideration of occult belief it may lead to the promotion of illegitimate rule and violation of basic human rights.

scholarly journals Afghan-Hazara Migration and Relocation in a Globalised Australia

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 670
Author(s):  
Aidan Parkes
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
The State ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Social Formation ◽  
Alternative Pathways ◽  
The Impact

This study examines a set of unique isolated lived-experiences to offer some general observations concerning Afghan-Hazara migration, relocation, and individuation in Australia. Culture may have the appearance of immutability. However, like any social formation, it is produced, reproduced, and contested through time. Everyone is an individual, and while we speak of the impact and culture, lived-experience is very different. People always have choices they can make about what lessons they might derive from experiences. If one faces discrimination within the realm of the state, which is historically well documented where Hazaras are concerned, one begins looking for alternative pathways to advancement. These include personalised networks in religious communities, education, and business entrepreneurship. The study analyses the fluid nature of belief systems, and the multiplicity of ways lived-experience shapes individuation and reshapes identity through pathways to advancement in a globalising Australia.

Female feticide: the role of national health mission in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Arti Sharma ◽  
Sushanta K. Mishra ◽  
Arunava Ghosh ◽  
Tuhin Sengupta
Keyword(s):  
Change Management ◽  
Sex Determination ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Female Child ◽  
The State ◽  
Male Child ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: to understand the cultural and ethical dimensions revolving around the issue of female feticide; to apply the lens of institutional theory with respective change management measures; and to analyze and evaluate the impact of such intervention programs such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao in the context of emerging economies such as India. Case overview/synopsis This case attempts to highlight the innovative and effective governance approach by the Government of Rajasthan (India) and, in particular, the State Health Assurance Agency to curb the menace of female feticide and the rising cases of abortion and sex determination in an attempt to favor a male child. The case concentrates on mainly three dimensions of Indian societal ecosystem, namely, the grave concern of preference of male child over female child leading to widespread cases of female feticide in different states in India with specific focus on the state of Rajasthan; the role of cultural dimension which primarily drives such preferential treatment in rural and urban areas in India; and the importance of using effective policy measures in monitoring various activities, introduction of incentive schemes to patients for preventing sex determination and promoting the birth of female child. Complexity academic level This case can be used as a teaching material in the Public Policy course – Social Welfare and Health Policy, Policy interventions, organization theory and change management at the Graduate/MBA level. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 10: Public Sector Management.

scholarly journals HARMONIZATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL REGULATION OF STATE GOVERNANCE OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN UKRAINE: SOME LANDMARKS

2020 ◽  
pp. 44-57
Author(s):  
Svitlana Bevz
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
The State ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Integration Policy ◽  
European Union Law ◽  
State Governance ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this article is to consider the impact of international law and European Union law on legislation of Ukraine in general and on the state governance of economic field in particular. The methods of formal logic are used: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, generalization. The author analyzes the notion of “international act” and “international treaty” and determines what acts impact to national legislation; synthesizes and generalizes her own vision of the degree of influence of acts of international law on the legislation of Ukraine. Elements of Europeanization of administrative and legal regulation of state governance of economic field is delimited deductively. Conclusions are drawn about the need to change the content of state governance functions in economic field with applying induction. Results and conclusions. The author draws attention to the different status of international acts and international treaties. The Ukrainian state implements the European integration policy and development of its legislation, the systems of state agencies are influenced not only by treaties and acts that have been ratified, but also by those not ratified by the Verkhovna Rada, though approximation to which is being implemented. It is emphasized that the legal personality implemented by the state shall define the enforceable international acts. The analysis of international acts developed by non-governmental organizations (UNIDROIT, UNCITRAL, etc.) suggests that they are mostly of a private law nature and may become a source of regulation in state – business entity relations at the micro level, i.e. those relations in which the state exercises its economic competence by acting as the owner of the property. At the same time, the regulatory framework of state governance of economic activity at the macro level is influenced by international treaties, in which Ukraine participates as authority. International treaties governing state legal relations also contain rules governing certain private legal relationships (trade agreements, double tax agreements, legal aid agreements). The article also highlights one of the trends in the development of administrative law in many European countries, including Ukraine, i.e. the Europeanization of administrative law. The elements of Europeanization of administrative and legal regulation of state governance of economic activity are determined.

scholarly journals Land, development and the political class: In a translocal ‘Londoni’ village

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-235
Author(s):  
Ashraf Hoque
Keyword(s):  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Land Development ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Class ◽  
Anthropology Of The State ◽  
Political Economies ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

This article expands Akhil Gupta’s (1995, American Ethnologist, 22(2), 375–402) thesis of ‘blurred boundaries’ between ‘the state’ and ‘society’ in South Asia to incorporate the impact of historic labour migrations, which complicate established conceptions of the state in Bangladesh. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in an area of high migration to the UK, the article draws attention to a class of transnational politicians, and their intra-class conflicts of interest, in shaping local-level politics. The article supports Faguet’s (2017, Modern Asian Studies 51(6), 1668–94) contention that the decentralisation of local government has led to the emergence of vernacularised political economies that operate in the shadow of the state, which are also intrinsically facilitated by it. It suggests that state actors appropriate symbols, offices and resources, together with traditional authority and kinship dynamics, to create an idiosyncratic polity. Aspiration towards power that might lead to the occupation of state offices are determined by either the aspirant’s status as a British citizen (Londoni) or through intimate social and economic connections to Britain through kinship (gushti) networks. The article thus makes a broader contribution to the existing literature on the anthropology of the state, transnational politics and the nexus of power, money and migration in postcolonial contexts.

scholarly journals Political Culture and Tourism Development: A Case Study of Tamil Nadu State

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-116
Author(s):  
S. Fazal Daoud Firdausi
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
The People ◽  
Tamil Nadu State ◽  
The Impact

Tourism development in any region is influenced by political culture and processes. It is inherently linked to the policies, agenda, decisions, outcomes and the type of government responsible for shaping policies related to tourism. The paper tries to find out the impact of political culture on tourism development. It also aims to assess the role of political culture in influencing tourist motivation through the data collected from urban tourist centres of the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Mixed method, consisting qualitative interpretation as well as descriptive and inferential statistics has been used to draw conclusions. It has come out from the study that the political culture of Tamil Nadu state may be characterized as a mix of subject and participant culture, where latter dominates the former. It can be concluded that the people of the state have always participated in political process through voting and changing the regime from time to time. The study also indicates that most of the people of the state are aware of their political obligations and actively participate in social campaigns and civic life. It can be concluded that the existing political culture in the state has compelled the political elite to think and work for the development of the state, including tourism development.

scholarly journals The role of military service in the development of the Serbian strategic culture

Vojno delo ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-104
Author(s):  
Srđan Starčević ◽  
Srđan Blagojević
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Logical Consequence ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Strategic Culture ◽  
Military Alliances ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Impact

The general obligation to do military service in Serbia was introduced in the second half of the 19th century with the national standing army. The authors show that this obligation has played an important role in the development of the Serbian strategic culture in the young modern Serbian state, but also in encouraging the Serbian military and political elite to hear the "whisper" of the Serbian social character and understand those structures of national culture that are important, perhaps determinative, for what is today called strategic culture. The development of the Serbian strategic culture has been considered through the analysis of the actions of two differently directed, but complementary currents, one being marked as elitist, and the other one as structuralist. Regardless of the obvious differences, both currents are important for the establishment of the Serbian military doctrine, at the dawn of the 20th century, before the historical storm of the Balkan wars and the First World War. The obligation to do military service was maintained until the Decision on the suspension of the obligation to do military service, which was passed by the National Assembly in December 2010. Having in mind that the Republic of Serbia has made the decision to be military neutral, the authors suggest that the reconsideration of the decision to suspend the obligation to do military service is a logical consequence of this choice. The decision on military neutrality requires not only that others (the international community) respect such a decision of a state, but also the respect within the state itself. This means that a state that aspires to neutrality does not give up on defending its own values or handing them over to the others at the mercy and/or protection, but establishes (or preserves) the ability to credibly defend its identity and values. The burden of the consequences of this decision is even harder because it does not count on military alliances. The neutral countries in Europe base their ability of credible defense mainly on the concept of total defense, but it also implies a large number of citizens trained for the military tasks and the tasks of civil protection, which calls for the obligation to do military service. At the same time, military service is the best way for citizens to understand the impact of the decision on military neutrality, but also to accept it as their own free choice and a part of a collective identity. Thus, the obligation to do military service remains an important fulcrum point of the state in actively shaping its strategic culture.

Philanthropic Organizations and Community Development

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-434
Author(s):  
Jose Kalapura
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Field Study ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
The State ◽  
Eastern India ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Philanthropic Organizations ◽  
The Impact

Philanthropic organisations are engaged in diverse welfare and development works including community development in India. A substantial number of these organisations are faith-based organisations (FBOs). While religion impacts people in many ways, religious tenets and practices have shaped, and in many cases strengthened, much of philanthropic activity. This paper focuses on the socio-economic change impacted by a philanthropic organisation called Bettiah Parish Society, successively managed by two FBOs since 1745, for the development of a Christian community, located at Bettiah, West Champaran District, in the State of Bihar, eastern India. The two FBOs were the Capuchin Mission Society (1745–1921), and the Patna Jesuit Society (1921–2000). The paper explores the influence and impact of these two external, goal-oriented FBOs on the 265-year-old Bettiah Christian community in Bihar. Aside a brief discussion on the missionary agents and their religion-induced ideologies, vision and motivations that seem to have goaded them engage in philanthropic works, the main discussion will be on the second aspect, namely the impact of their philanthropic action on the recipient community. The overall impact was (1) the construction of a Christian community (the Bettiah Christians) from among disparate convert groups, formerly belonging to different Hindu castes, and (2) changes in the socio-economic structures of the community through development aid and education. I have used an inter-disciplinary method for this study, relying much on historical, sociological and anthropological data, collected during a field study in 1998, and again in 2010.

scholarly journals Improving the Operation of Management Mechanisms in the Implementation of the State Regulation Measures in the Sphere of Public Procurement

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (516) ◽  
pp. 77-83
Author(s):  
O. M. Sidorenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Procurement ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
The State ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Financial Control ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
The Public ◽  
State Governance ◽  
Procurement System ◽  
The Impact

The article is concerned with considering the current trends in improving the State regulation of the public procurement system in Ukraine. The author defines that one of the key elements of ensuring an adequate level of the State regulation of the public procurement system in our country is the effective organization of the State-based financial control in this sphere. The basis for ensuring the latter is the smooth operation of the relevant State governance mechanisms. The research is aimed at disclosing modern aspects of the State regulation of the public procurement system by implementing the State-based financial control measures, allocating existing problematic issues and developing a model for assessment of efficiency of the measures that will be implemented in the course of its improvement, taking into account the peculiarities of the sphere of public procurement in Ukraine. When writing this article, a direct relationship between the level of efficiency of the State-based financial control in the sphere of public procurement and the level of efficiency of the State regulation of this sphere is determined. It is specified that the key management mechanisms used in the implementation of the State-based financial control in the sphere of public procurement are the organizational, informational and legal ones. Precisely on their condition directly depends the efficiency of the State-based financial control in this sphere. It is determined that each of the above-mentioned the State governance mechanisms has a number of complex, interrelated problematic aspects that impede the maximum level of efficiency of the State-based financial control in the sphere of public procurement. In order to neutralize them, the author proposes to use an automate model for assessing the efficiency of eliminating the shortcomings of the major management mechanisms used in the implementation of the State-based financial control measures in the sphere of public procurement. The presented model allows tracing the impact of relevant measures over time for both the short and long term, is adapted to the economic and socio-political realities of Ukraine, takes into account most of the economic and social risks in the sphere under research.

scholarly journals Containing COVID-19 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Government Measures and Women's Compliance

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Carolien Jacobs ◽  
Patrick Milabyo Kyamusugulwa ◽  
Rachel Sifa Katembera ◽  
Henri Kintuntu
Keyword(s):  
Research Team ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
The State ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
State Legitimacy ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Desk Research

Abstract This article concerns the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It analyses the sanitary measures that the government has taken to respond to the pandemic since March 2020, the way these measures are enforced, and the extent to which women comply with the measures. The article draws from desk research and empirical data from the eastern city of Bukavu, where the research team conducted 134 structured interviews. The findings show widespread willingness to comply with some of the main measures because of fear of sanctions, fear of the pandemic and because of trust in the state or church. The article argues that many women hold the state accountable for the success in containing the virus, but also criticize the state for not providing livelihood assistance during the state of emergency. Further research is needed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on state legitimacy.

scholarly journals The Contours of State Retreat from Collaborative Environmental Governance under Austerity

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Kirsop-Taylor ◽  
Duncan Russel ◽  
Michael Winter
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
The State ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
State Legitimacy ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
State Governance

Although the effects of public austerity have been the subject of a significant literature in recent years, the changing role of the state as a partner in collaborative environmental governance under austerity has received less attention. By employing theories of collaborative governance and state retreat, this paper used a qualitative research design comprised of thirty-two semi-structured interviews within the case study UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the United Kingdom to address this lacuna. Participants perceived that the austerity period has precipitated negative changes to their extant state-orientated funding regime, which had compelled changes to their organisational structure. Austerity damaged their relationships with the state and perceptions of state legitimacy whilst simultaneously strengthening and straining the relationships between intra-partnership non-state governance actors. This case offers a critical contemporary reflection on normative collaborative environmental governance theory under austerity programmes. These open up questions about the role of the state in wider sustainability transitions.

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