Russian America and the USSR: Striking Parallels

This article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the socioeconomic systems that have formed in the Russian colonies in Alaska and in the USSR. The author shows how these systems evolved and names the main reason for their similarity: the nature of the predominant type of property. In both systems, supreme state property dominated and, in this way, they can be designated as politaristic. Politarism (from the Greek ????????—the power of the majority, that is, in a broad sense, the state, the political system) is formation founded on the state’s supreme ownership of the basic means of production and the work force. Economic relations of politarism generated the corresponding social structure, administrative management, ideological culture, and even similar psychological features in Russian America and the USSR.

A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America

Book review

Gangs: Spatialities and Socialities in South Africa

The “making” of gang relationships has remained at the periphery of research, yet it is critical in understanding the continuity and sustainability of gangsterism in different contexts. This paper examines the ways in which young men involved in gang violence forge and sustain their relationships in the streets of a black township in South Africa. I argue that the “making” of gang relationships is never easy; rather, it is characterised by violence within and outside gang membership. The article asserts that, within gangs, violence is a technique which sustains their relationships, as it acts as a source of social and emotional support—especially in a context characterised by fractured families as well as social and economic marginalisation. The paper draws from an ethnography of walking the township streets, being in gang streets, talking to gang members, engaging with and observing young men involved in gang violence.

The Impact of Perceptions of Tribalism and Ethnicity on Public Administration in South Africa: A Case Study of the Vuwani in the Vhembe District

This study investigated the impact of perceptions of ethnicity and tribalism on public administration in South Africa with reference to the protests of Vuwani communities in 2016 against their area being re-demarcated to fall under the LIM 345 municipality (later named the Collins Chabane Local Municipality) dominated by Xitsonga speakers. The study adopted qualitative and exploration designs and used a literature review and key informant interviews in order to obtain secondary and primary data respectively. This study revealed that Vuwani communities feared domination by the Xitsonga-speaking majority in the proposed new municipality. The council of the proposed new municipality consisted of 72 councillors, 74 per cent of which were Xitsonga-speaking councillors and a mere 26 per cent were Tshivenda-speaking councillors. It also found that perceptions of ethnicity and tribalism in Vuwani had rendered public administration ineffective, thus bringing service delivery to a halt for several months. The study recommended that policy-makers should abolish majority representation based solely on regionalism and should seek to forge national unity. It concluded that the establishment of public institutions based on ethnic homogeneity had the potential of bringing about peace and stability in areas characterised by ethnic disparities.

An Alternative Exploration of Global Political Relations in Southern Africa during the Cold War: Modularity in the Global Arms Trade Network from 1975 to 1988

During the Cold War, two camps used arms to expand their influence in the Third World. In the present study, I used the concept of modularity (Q), developed within network theory, to study communities within the global arms trade network from 1975 to 1988. Using data provided by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, I showed that communities within this network had political ties with South America, Asia and Southern Africa. As part of the study I sorted countries based on their arms trade transactions, and in the process I established that China was positioned with the West in the period under study. Not only did my study show that the arms trade network reflected political alliances during this period, but it also indicated that this network highlighted international relations and the alliances of political organisations. Based on the findings of my study I put forward suggestions for future research.

Women in the Making of Place, Social Networks and Surviving the Gang Streets

Young women in Manenberg are often identified by their exposure to violence in the community within which they live. They are perceived as grieving mothers, daughters and victims. However, women in Manenberg are also visible as strategists to contesting violence and who are resilient to violent activity. Ungar defines resilience as a defence mechanism (dependent on context and cultural factors) that youth use to cope with adversity, and in this case, everyday gang violence. Current research in Manenberg falls short of revealing the experiences of gang violence by young women as complex and multifaceted. This study demonstrates women as more than victims of youth gang violence (as often portrayed in the media). This paper examines young women, their social networks and resilience to gang violence through the lens of their responses to dominant discourses of youth gang violence in the streets of Manenberg. Through “intimate” discussions, the formations of networks highlight multiple overlaps in the making of young women; their resilience, their homes and lives in the streets of Manenberg. Our discussions transcend normative gendered perspectives and produce knowledge from their interactions as a useful lens for informing how young women negotiate around the activities of gang violence in their everyday lives. The paper reveals meaning-making of gang violence, as well as interfaces and disruptions of social networks among young women in Manenberg.

Youth Resilience and Violence Prevention: Some Insight from Selected Locations in Zimbabwe

This article draws on qualitative research that was conducted in four areas in Zimbabwe, namely, Lupane, Bulawayo, Chipinge and Mutare. The aim was to extend the use of the concept of “resilience” in relation to working with the youth and preventing violence. Through the concept of “the everyday” it analysed how the youth was surviving in an environment that had undergone nearly two decades of socio-economic and political decline, resulting in high levels of unemployment. The methods used to obtain data were focus-group discussions and individual interviews. The findings showed that the youth applied all the elements associated with resilience (e.g. adapting to the environment, absorbing the pressures that the environment posed, and employing transformative elements) in an effort to emerge in a better position despite having to contend with an environment fraught with many difficulties and risks, which included drug and substance abuse as well as being coopted to participate in violence. Gaining an understanding of the ways the youth navigated environmental, political and social factors was difficult; consequently it was problematic in such a developmental context to define resilience. Nevertheless, the study provided some insights into how young people’s decisions about violence participation were informed. Contrary to dominant current discourses that portray the youth as violent, this study showed that many young people avoided relationships that carried the risk of their being mobilised to take part in violence.

How I Walk through the Gang Streets in Manenberg, South Africa

Gang violence is pervasive in the everyday life of residents of Manenberg, Cape Town, South Africa. Historical social displacement and socio-economic circumstances have led to an increase in street gangs among the youth and in youth violence. This article analyses the many ways in which the youth navigate their community to avoid or deal with this violence as well as the ways in which they manage to endure the effects of poverty, drug abuse and domestic difficulties. It looks at how young men spend their time on the streets, where they are vulnerable to the actions of local street gangs that operate in Manenberg. Despite facing the pervasive challenges of membership uptake in gangs and of related crime and violence, some youths find ways to safely make a life and survive in Manenberg. This article ethnographically explores the experiences and stories of these youths. Further, it explores factors that are determinants in building and maintaining resilience to violence, which assists young men not to become members of gangs.

Negotiating the Space of Youths amid Growing Insecurities: Lessons from Tanzania and Kenya

Today, the dominant discourse on violence and the youth is that the youth are either the victims or the perpetrators of violence. This discourse has led to the isolation of the youth and to the failure to tap the potential of the youth in order to address violence. Drawing on a qualitative research study done in Kenya and Tanzania, this article, however, disputes the dominant discourse that depicts youths as perpetrators of violence. The article maintains that while the youth could be trapped in conflict situations as victims, their help could be harnessed to find a positive solution to growing insecurities. In Tanzania, the participation of boda-boda (motorcycle) drivers in community security programmes has helped to curb violent incidents. In Kenya, self-help groups of youths are assisting in gradually defusing violent extremism among the youth. The article contributes to an understanding of the dividends in getting the youth’s help in defusing violent conflicts.