NATO in Afghanistan: Fighting to Define its Future
Almost sixty years after it was first formed, NATO has changed a great deal from the organisation which once prepared to fight the Red Army in Germany’s Fulda Gap. This essay will argue that the alliance is now fighting fto define its future, in Afghanistan.
The ‘Developmental State’ and Economic Development
The term ‘developmental state’ has been incorrectly used to describe any state presiding over a period of economic development and improvement in living standards. This essay describes the attributes of the ‘developmental state’ and explains how they led to highly successful economic development in the Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs).
Why has the ANC Government in South Africa Gone Slowly on Land Reform, and Why did Mugabe in Zimbabwe Abandon Gradualism?
Beginning in 1997 Zimbabwe’s ZANU-PF ushered in a radical land reform which rapidly accelerating after 2000. Despite ongoing racialised economic inequality in South Africa, the ANC has retained its measured approach along the market-based terms of willing-buyer/willing-seller with a focus on restitution. This essay explores the factors behind their different trajectories.
Does Karl Marx’s Theory of Alienation Explain Contemporary Social Disaffection and Disappointment?
Lebow’s assertion that human beings can reach spiritual satisfaction through ever increasing levels of material consumption is not supported by empirical evidence. Recent psychological research sharply contradicts his hypothesis. According to James, a twenty-five year old American is between three and ten times more likely to be suffering from depression today than in 1950.
“To the average person, politics during times of civil war is more about economics than anything else.” Discuss.
Although ideology might at first appear to be of major importance to average people involved in civil wars, it was often regarded as a means to an end: a method of securing basic necessities in times of political and economic flux. Economics, if it is taken to mean ‘how scarce resources are or should be allocated’, can be seen at the root of issues such as ideology and nationalism, or as a major contributing factor in their shift to prominence.
To What Extent Should States Regulate the Media Under International Law Relating to Violence Against Women?
This piece aims to influence campaigns which are combating violence against women and to help organisations holding governments to account for the violence that States do not take adequate action against.
What do you find more Convincing when Explaining the Outbreak of Intra-state Wars: Greed or Grievance?
Understanding the causes of such human devastation is arguably the most important question facing contemporary peace research. Can the desire for self-enrichment by corrupt government elites or rebel leaders be solely responsible? Are we to believe the rhetoric of the latter who claim they represent the interests of oppressed populations? In short, what is the most convincing explanation for the outbreak of intra-state wars?
Evaluating the Potential of Public-Private Partnerships in Global Governance
This essay deals with a central question regarding the value of Public-Private Partnerships: what governance functions can they accomplish that neither public nor private authority can accomplish independently? The question boils down to two subsidiary questions, which will be dealt with in turn: (1) What governance functions cannot be accomplished unilaterally by public actors on the one hand and private actors on the other? (2) How can PPPs overcome these governance problems?
Ethnicity, Identity and the 2007-2008 Electoral Violence in Kenya
Violence surrounding the recent election in Kenya has gained high-profile media coverage in Europe and North America. In this context, the dynamics of nationalism and ethnicity in Africa—and popular understandings of the role of ‘identity’—represents a pertinent subject for critical analysis.
State Building, the Colonial Legacy and Development: How the North and South Were Born
Developed regions are generally able to provide basic welfare services for their citizens, while developing regions are plagued by extreme poverty, government ineffectiveness, and other socioeconomic adversities.Many scholars have attributed these disparities to the different processes through which state formation occurred in developed and developing countries. It is the purpose of this essay to examine these claims by comparing the state building processes.
