A Changing Mediterranean: Regional Organisations and North Africa during the Arab Spring

This article discusses the role played by the European Union, African Union and Arab League in the recent revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. It focuses in particular on the use and impact of political and economic conditionality, the decision-making processes within each organisation and the inter-regional forums created to deal with the crisis. The analysis acknowledges the increasingly active and vocal role played by regional organisations in the so-called ‘Arab spring’, but it highlights not just that they had few legal powers to intervene in these crises, but also that they seemed very reluctant to use any form of political or economic conditionality. It also reveals that the main purpose of inter-regional forums was arguably not to generate consensus internationally but rather to manage dissent. As such, the article encourages a reflection on the specific challenges and opportunities that North Africa and the Mediterranean region pose to regional conflict management.     

HIV/AIDS and governance along the corridors of conflict in West Africa

West Africa demonstrates a sub-regional pattern of violence and political instability that has engulfed Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, and now extends out from these states through corridors of violent conflict throughout the region; both physical and figurative. This article makes two arguments. That HIV/AIDS has developed a complex inter-relationship with violent conflict in the West African sub-region; and that the presence of HIV/AIDS in West Africa in zones of violent conflict is not given the recognition needed by the international policy community. The neglect of West Africa in the Pan-African response to HIV/AIDS, and the intractability of the region's Complex Political Emergencies, is creating an emerging phenomenon of Complex Human Emergency in the region. An acknowledged gap exists in social analyses of HIV/AIDS between policy speculations and the actual evidence base that these are built upon. Instead of speculative theorizing, this article presents seven key questions that need to be asked about HIV/AIDS and conflict in West Africa, in order to begin the process of serious policy research on the issue.     

What can the Basque peace process learn from Southeast Asia?

This article contributes to a bidirectional Asia–Europe comparative analysis of peace processes by exploring what experiences, both failures and successes, can the Basque peace process learn from the many interesting peace initiatives that Southeast Asia has seen in recent years, above all in Mindanao, Aceh, Southern Thailand and Burma. Although there are substantial differences between the Basque conflict and the Asian cases, it might be useful for the Basque case to look beyond the cases with which it traditionally has been compared to, such as Quebec, Northern Ireland or South Africa.     

The importance of IMC in dealing with negative,nongenerated publicity in the organisation

SUMMARY

This article addresses the implications of the absence of an IMC (integrated marketing communication) approach to negative nongenerated publicity by referring to two cases experienced at the University of South Africa (Unisa).

The article takes, as its point of departure, the emergence of the IMC approach and the position of publicity in the marketing communication mix, and concentrates on nongenerated publicity in that this has always been problematic for organisations due to its uncontrollable nature. This article proposes that an IMC approach can be used in overcoming the obstacle of negative, nongenerated publicity in organisations in that it allows better control of such publicity through application of specific criteria.

In conclusion, the author proposes that negative nongenerated publicity should be dealt with by using an IMC approach as part of the organisation's strategic marketing plan.     

Great effort,little help? Peace and conflict resolution organisations in Northern Ireland and Turkey

This article offers a comparative analysis of the role played by peace and conflict resolution organisations (P/CROs) in Northern Ireland and Turkey in negotiating solutions to ethno-nationalist conflicts in these countries. It argues that P/CROs have been instrumental in de-escalating violence and encouraging conflicting parties to resolve conflict peacefully. Examining both the elite and grass-roots levels, the article assesses P/CROs that have advanced middle-range approaches and track-two dialogue towards peace. Drawing on data from multiple sources, including semi-structured interviews, archival material and official documents, the analysis indicates that P/CROs have a range of tools at their disposal to influence political decision-makers. These include public (and closed) conferences, forums and events attended by current or former politicians, representatives of the conflicting parties and prominent figures and intellectuals in the conflict-affected society, as well as other grass-roots initiatives. The article finds that P/CROs provided help shaping and promoting non-violent processes of conflict resolution between the British Government and the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and the Turkish Government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).     

Decentralisation for international NGOs

The work of international non-profitmaking non-governmental development organisations (NGOs) challenges them to adopt a decentralised structure. We know little, however, about how this decentralisation is organised, and even less about its impacts on NGO performance. Based on studies in southern Africa, this article identifies the gains and losses associated with the choice to decentralise. It goes on to pose questions about decentralisation as a critical variable for the organisational design of NGOs which need to be answered by more systematic comparative study.     

Getting ahead of the next disaster: recent preparedness efforts in Indonesia

While there is often a heavy emphasis on disaster response, disaster preparedness and mitigation are, rightfully, receiving more attention. In examining the state of preparedness in Indonesia, this article is divided into three sections. First, it reviews the hazards present in the country, such as conflict, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Second, it considers some of the current efforts underway by the government and international community. Finally, the article contends that the disaster-preparedness process is not yet complete. The main challenges remain: improving co-ordination between different organisations, creating a culture of disaster-risk management, implementing appropriate methods, and maintaining momentum on this issue in the future.     

The co-ordination of conflict prevention and development aid in southern Georgia

This article examines how various organisations co-ordinate conflict prevention and development aid in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southern Georgia, and how this co-ordination might be improved. Several contradicting perspectives are pitted against one another to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the region’s troubles and the manner in which these multilateral, bilateral, local, regional and nongovernmental actors have dealt with them. The paper pays particular attention to the question of whether organisations working in Samtskhe-Javakheti should focus on development assistance or conflict prevention, and whether early warning about the region has been exaggerated and uncoordinated. It concludes that there has been a reasonable balance between development aid and conflict prevention, that early warning has mostly been cautious, and that there has been considerable information sharing and synchronisation between agencies. However, this co-ordination has depended on a number of non-governmental organisations performing co-ordinating roles on their own initiative.     

Most Significant Change in conflict settings: staff development through monitoring and evaluation

Capoeira4Refugees is an NGO that uses the Afro-Brazilian art form of Capoeira to promote psychosocial well-being in children affected by conflict and occupation. Capoeira4Refugees introduced the Most Significant Change (MSC) methodology to monitor and evaluate project implementation and impact across two locations in the Middle East. Analysis of interviews conducted with five field staff revealed that in line with, and building on, previous research, MSC became an empowering tool that led to staff development. The potential for MSC to build staff reflexivity, independence, and leadership has implications for other organisations working in conflict areas, particularly in situations of remote management.     

Fair-trade coffee in Nicaragua and Tanzania: a comparison

Fair-trade activities in the South have tended to be studied in relation to the internal aims of the fair-trade organisations themselves. This article argues that it is also critical to consider the wider fair-trade ‘arena’ or set of interactions. The authors focus on Tanzania and Nicaragua and study the role of four key actors—small-scale producers, co-operatives, development partners, and public authorities. Using comparative data from field studies conducted in 2002–2003, the article identifies key national and international issues affecting local producers. Illustrating how fair trade evolves differently according to context, the article examines how the co-operative movement in Nicaragua has been strengthened by fair-trade production, in contrast to the situation in Tanzania. It concludes by discussing some of the challenges faced by fair trade, including how to reconcile the demands of the market with building solidarity.     

A meta-theoretical glimpse into the future of South African corporate communication management

Abstract

This article provides a concise discussion of meta-theoretical (critical-rhetorical, feminist and postmodernistic) approaches towards corporate communication management utilising meta-ethical points of departure with the aim of providing a glimpse into the meta-theoretical future of corporate communication management. The discussion is supplemented by an analysis of the challenges that face organisations in the fast-changing environment of the twenty-first century and corporate communication management as a critical/strategic management function that has the potential to assist organisations in adapting and remaining relevant to their environment, and by implication to the needs of their key internal and external stakeholders. The article is concluded by an explication of corporate communication management as being inextricably linked to ethical conduct and a product of the amalgamation of different meta-theoretical approaches, which interprets and advances the values of both stakeholders and the organisation in a manner that socially and ethically responsible, dialogical mutually adaptive, and contributes to democratising the organisation's decision-making and management processes. This poses challenges to, and insight into, the meta-theoretical approach held while engaging in discourse on the comprehensive nature of corporate communication management.     

External Interventions in Post-Cold War Africa, 1989–2010

The study of external interventions in conflict management is critical and has implications for international relations and conflict theory. Quantitative studies of the relationship between external interventions and civil war have been prone to some conceptual limitations (understudied lower-intensity periods) and data limitations (unavailability of event battle death data). This article presents a new external interventions data set covering the period between 1989 and 2010 for Africa, building on the Regan et al. (2009) data set, which covers the period between 1945 and 1999. Novel features of this new data set are: the recoding of the overlap period; a broader range of categories of intervention, including UN and non-UN missions; and wider temporal scope, by extending the period of analysis to 2010, by lowering the civil war threshold to 25 battle deaths, and by starting the conflict period from the date of the first battle death in each civil war (based on UCDP GED version-1.5-2011). The advantages of the data set are illustrated with an analysis of the different effects interventions have on high- and low-intensity conflict periods.     

The economic community of West African states,the defence of democracy in Sierra Leone and future prospects

The wave of democratization in the 1990s has brought considerable challenges and opportunities for post‐cold war Africa. One such challenge is the democratic intervention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under the aegis of the multilateral intervention force, ECOMOG, to restore a democratic government and constitutional order. The ECOWAS democratic intervention in the West African state of Sierra Leone can be located in a wider debate about international dimensions of democratization. In several respects, it also reflects the changing nature of international politics in the post‐cold war period particularly with regards to certain traditional norms of international society, namely non‐intervention and state sovereignty. The ECOWAS democratic efforts in Sierra Leone demonstrate that it is increasingly becoming acceptable for regional and international organisations to ‘defend’ democracy, albeit under the auspices of forcible as well as non‐forcible humanitarian intervention. However, these kinds of external intervention on behalf of democracy have in most cases led to its retrenchment. This article therefore critically assesses how the nature of domestic politics led to the suspension of democracy in Sierra Leone, the domestic and international implications of the ECOWAS defence of democracy there and the country's post‐conflict democratic prospects.     

The Limits of Peace: Third Parties in Civil Wars in Southeast Asia, 1993–2004

At of the end of 2005, Asia had the highest number of active civil war dyads. The number of active dyads in other regions was either low or declining. Africa, in particular, experienced a sharp drop in the number of active dyads from 2001 to 2005. Civil wars in Asia also last longer than wars in other regions. With a high number of warring dyads fighting in long wars, the expectation would be that the region would be the focus of third-party conflict management, but this is not the case. In this article, we use an original data set to take a closer look at this gap in expectations by focusing on third-party efforts in Southeast Asia between 1993 and 2004. Bilateral talks were the most common form of third-party engagement, but mediation has been the most likely form to lead to agreements between warring parties. We conclude the article with a discussion of the policy implications of this research.     

NGOs and Ethnic Conflict: Lessons from the Work of the Project on Ethnic Relations in the Balkans

This article examines the impact of nongovernmental organization-sponsored contact and communication on fostering peaceful solutions to ethnic conflict via case studies of the activities of the Project on Ethnic Relations (PER) in Romania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Serbia. It explores five operational principles that guide PER activity: creating credible, neutral forums for dialogue; maintaining momentum; working within political realities; encouraging indigenous solutions from within existing processes; and acting with the backing of powerful states. These principles explain PER's success as a "weak mediator" of ethnic conflicts. According to this analysis, PER also exhibits organizational characteristics that contribute to success, including nonpartisanship, area expertise and extensive networks of local contacts, and an ability to secure the trust of local actors.
A significant indicator of the success of PER activities is the establishment by conflicting parties of institutionalized mechanisms for addressing their differences. Contrary to the view that electoral competition contributes to conflict, this study finds that the possibility of achieving an electoral advantage by participating cooperatively in conflict resolution activities creates incentives for local actors to recognize opportunities offered by PER activities and leads local actors to heed PER's advice. Finally, the article offers a cautionary observation. While PER's perceived influence with major international actors may contribute to its local successes, once a state actor with the power to impose a solution has committed itself to ending a conflict, its preferences outweigh any local interests in determining the outcome and renders the efforts of a "weak mediator" such as PER irrelevant.     

Electoral Violence in Africa Revisited

This article addresses the still unsettled question of the incidence of violent election periods in Africa. It uses two new datasets, which report episodes of social conflict in the region for 1990–2011, and elections worldwide from 1960 to 2010. When combined, these data suggest that onsets of electoral violence peak around major election days in Africa as a whole, but with wide national variability in the volume of new episodes. Depending on the time span and type of social conflict, from one-quarter to three-quarters of the elections for national leadership have been without incident. The article also investigates the timing of electoral violence and the extent to which there is an experience curve effect, whereby subsequent elections have fewer onsets of social conflict. The data indicate that two-thirds to three-quarters of elections are free of onsets of social conflict, but that the proportion does not change much with experience. Overall, there appear to be reasonable grounds for optimism about peaceful elections in many African countries.     

Challenges in donor–NPO relationships in the context of corporate social investment

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to highlight challenges in the relationship between corporate donors and recipient NPOs within the context of corporate social investment (CSI) in South Africa and to link the relational challenges to problems NPOs face in general. It is theoretically argued that CSI forms an important part of sustainable development and that NPOs, in turn, form an integral part of many organisations’ social investment. The challenges faced by them need addressing for the sake of NPOs, donors and society as a whole. It was found that although the stakeholder relationship generally shows both positive and negative perceptions of the parties involved, the challenges that exist can be traced to challenges in the everyday functioning of NPOs, including resource limitations and dependence; staffing problems; and strategy, management and environmental challenges. These challenges facing NPOs manifest in their relationship with donors and can be seen in the power imbalance in the relationship that favours donors, the lack of transparency by NPOs, divergent views on commitment, the questioned competence of NPOs, time constraints in the execution of activities, a perceived incomprehension by NPOs of the realities of the business world, and an unwillingness on the part of donors to allow NPOs some decision-making power.     

Internet applications in the political sphere: perceptions and views of political institutions in South Africa

Abstract

The study described in this article consisted of a survey that was conducted among a sample of South African political institutions and organisations, and that was aimed at investigating their views and perceptions with regard to the use of the Internet. The main research question posed by the current study was: What are the views of politically orientated institutions in South Africa on their use the Internet, and what are their perceptions on how the Internet could impact on democratic processes in the country? The aim of this exploratory research study was to obtain information that could cast light on the issue of how likely it was that the Internet would contribute to a deliberative democracy in South Africa. The survey revealed that the Internet was perceived to have a significant role to play with regard to political and democracy issues in South Africa. However, if certain problems (the lack of access, the lack of basic and computer literacy, and the lack of training) were not adequately addressed by means of an integrated government Internet strategy, the ability of the Internet to impact positively on democracy in South Africa would be very limited.     

The South African Broadcasting Corporation's expansion into Africa: South African media imperialism?

Abstract

This article examines the commercial advancements of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) into the African regional media markets. In this examination, the focus is mostly on the SABC's Africa-orientated channels, SABC Africa and Africa2Africa, as a case study. The article posits that the SABC's regional commercial expansion is paradoxical in the sense that it is both advantageous and disadvantageous at the same time. At the theoretical level, the article identifies some limitations to applying theoretical and analytical frameworks such as the dependency paradigm, media and cultural imperialism in explaining regional expansionism driven by Southern-based national media organisations.