The role of non-timber forest products in poverty reduction in India: prospects and problems

The vast natural resources of India's forests, including non-timber forest products (NTFPs), such as medicinal and aromatic plants, leaves, fruits, seeds, resins, gums, bamboos, and canes, offer employment that provides up to half the income of about 25 per cent of the country's rural labour force. However, poor harvesting practices and over-exploitation in the face of increasing market demand are threatening the sustainability of these resources, and thus the livelihoods of forest-dependent tribal communities. This article analyses the role of NTFPs in livelihoods-improvement initiatives and considers recent initiatives intended to enhance their conservation and sustainable management. It recommends policies to optimise the potential of NTFPs, both to support rural livelihoods and to contribute to India's social, economic, and environmental well-being.     

Funding development in Rwanda: the survivors' perspective

Why has the humanitarian world already forgotten the people of Rwanda? And why do the survivors of the Rwandan genocide continue to be sidelined, particularly those women who were raped and deliberately infected with HIV/AIDS in a campaign of systematic sexual violence? The focus of humanitarian organisations shifted from Rwanda after 1994, and these women – most of whom have to maintain their households alone – are needlessly dying because they have no access to treatment. Humanitarian and development efforts will not achieve lasting benefits without better coordination and the ability to act on lessons learned.     

Job creation in fragile states through SME financing: notes from post-war Liberia

Sustainable job creation in post-conflict environments often involves financing private-sector development. However, a poor business climate and the erosion of capacity in the domestic private sector reduce the effectiveness of traditional financing strategies in post-conflict environments. Using the experience of post-war Liberia, this article discusses strategies for improving small and medium enterprise (SME) development projects in post-conflict environments through innovative financing which takes into account the effects of conflict on managerial and entrepreneurial capacity and the business climate. Implementation strategies that support conflict-sensitive post-conflict development are also discussed.     

Political transformation in Japan as a source of insight

Abstract

This article is based on the assumption that the Japanese political system is fully comparable with the systems of other major systems, and that its analysis may afford useful insights for the understanding of political systems more generally. Its focus is upon five successive transformations of the system since the late nineteenth century that, in sequence and taken together, have created the present system. These are: (1) the revolutionary changes of the Meiji period (1868–1912), leading to modernisation, militarism, and ultimate defeat in war; (2) occupation, democracy, economic resurgence and single-party dominance (1945–1990); (3) low growth, electoral reform and neo-liberalism (1991–2006); (4) Liberal Democratic Party decline and the opposition in power (2006–2012); and (5) authoritarian leadership with weak opposition (2012 onwards). The article concludes with a discussion of three issues: (1) ambiguous aspects of strong leadership; (2) the chronic weakness of Japanese political opposition and its implications for democracy; and (3) the significance of radical transformations for the understanding of a political system.     

Reducing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: the need for participatory governance

Traditional approaches to fighting poverty have yielded unsatisfactory results in some African countries, and have been positively damaging in others. Economic growth and social expenditure on the part of both national governments and international donors have been ineffective in some countries, while in others they have exacerbated poverty. The author considers that this is due to the absence of participatory governance. From a theoretical perspective, support for participatory governance stems from Amartya Sen's approach to understanding poverty, which conceptualises poverty as a lack of capabilities, leading to social exclusion. The lack of such governance has led to the failure of traditional approaches in the fight against poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, the author proposes a tool for assessing the quality of governance, and its application in Cameroon.     

Civil war,genocide and political order in Rwanda: security implications of refugee return

Scholars and policy-makers now recognise the security risks posed by refugee militarisation, including the spread of civil war and regional destabilisation. These analysts pay little attention to the militarised exiles once they return home. Instead, repatriation is uncritically accepted as the most desirable solution to refugee crises and as a prerequisite for post-conflict peace-building. Undoubtedly, the vast majority of the refugees desire a peaceful and stable return home. For the minority of militarised exiles, however, return may facilitate a continuance of their programme of political violence. This article examines whether and how previously militarised refugees engage in political violence upon return. It does this by tracing five decades of forced migration in Rwanda, paying particular attention to the Tutsi exiles in Uganda and their eventual militarised return. In the Rwandan case, leaders relied on the mechanism of socialisation, defined as transformative learning and the development of new worldviews, to achieve their goals. Such socialisation operated in exile to form the Tutsi exile army and later functioned as a tool for the coercive imposition of political control in Rwanda.     

State formation and economic development in post-war Somaliland: the impact of the private sector in an unrecognised state

ABSTRACT

Unrecognised internationally, Somaliland operates as a hybrid political order where a range of state and non-state entities provide security, representation and social services. Local business elites have impacted state formation after war by lobbying against a range of regulations, providing the government with loans and contributions rather than paying sufficient taxes, and by hindering the development of sound financial institutions. The success of such activities has led to de facto protectionism, where foreign ventures have had limited access to the Somaliland market. While such protectionism may have negatively impacted economic development and growth opportunities, recent engagements by multinational corporations in the Berbera port suggest that foreign private investments risk sparking violent conflict. In contrast, domestic businessmen have played a role in preventing or resolving violent conflict at crucial stages in Somaliland’s recent history. Based on fieldwork in Somaliland, we argue that the impact of international corporate actors in post-war contexts needs to be understood in light of local culture and power dynamics, in which the political and economic roles of local business elites are central.     

Empowering families as an alternative to foster care for street children in Brazil

Although the emphasis in current thinking about work with street children has changed from aid-dependency towards youth protagonism, many organisations ignore the role of the children's families in their interventions. In so doing, they reproduce obsolete welfare traditions and also violate rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and national legislation. This article illustrates the importance of child–family ties for both children and families, and argues that interventions that lack the involvement of parents and families serve to reproduce images of failed families and inadequate mothers. The author presents an alternative approach from Brazil which respects the rights and needs of children and families through family empowerment.     

Methodological debate in poverty studies: towards ‘participatory qual–quant’?

Compared with the divisive views of the past, integrative thinking has recently come to characterise the methodological debate on poverty. ‘Qualitative vs quantitative’ has given way to ‘qual–quant’; ‘cross-disciplinarity’ has replaced ‘economics vs anthropology’. This article attempts to review this change. It begins with a historical overview of the pure economic approach to poverty and its critique. The critique, both from within economics and from the participatory and anthropological disciplines, is examined, and recent trends are considered. The current ‘qual–quant’ approach is illustrated with examples, and the author concludes that the future may well see the emergence of a ‘participatory qual–quant’ approach.     

Globalisation and homelessness in the USA: Building a social movement to end poverty

The authors explore the deleterious effects of economic globalisation on people in the USA, and explain the rise of poor people's organisations as a response to these conditions. They look at the impact of economic changes in terms of public policy and argue that the global economy is preventing a growing number of people from being able to meet their basic needs, by limiting or eliminating living-wage jobs as well as welfare programmes. However, poor people in the USA are organising to end poverty, and the Kensington Welfare Rights Union is given as a case study. Finally, the authors discuss the challenges faced by social workers and how they can be most effective in the face of a dying welfare state alongside growing exploitation and exclusion of the poor.     

Food and poverty in the Americas: Institutional and policy obstacles to efficiency in food aid

This article reviews trends in poverty, hunger, and food security in the Americas; examines some of the principal processes, institutions, and policies which generate unsustainable development; and speculates on reforms required at all levels in order to improve food security. While food aid offers opportunities for alleviating poverty and hunger, it may contribute to intensifying rather than resolving livelihood crises. Since the World Food Programme is a major player in the context of food aid, some issues crucial for WFP policies in the Americas are considered.     

The European union as a diplomatic actor: internal, traditional, and structural diplomacy

An investigation into EU diplomacy naturally requires an analysis of the diplomacy developed within the framework of the Common Foreign and Securiry Policy (CFSP) of the European Union (EU). But equally important is the 'internal diplomacy' focusing on the settlement of mutual relationships among member states and particularly the 'structural diplomacy' based on EU strategies and partnerships with other regions in the world, which is aimed at promoting structural long-term changes in these regions.     

The European union as a diplomatic actor: internal,traditional, and structural diplomacy

An investigation into EU diplomacy naturally requires an analysis of the diplomacy developed within the framework of the Common Foreign and Securiry Policy (CFSP) of the European Union (EU). But equally important is the ‘internal diplomacy’ focusing on the settlement of mutual relationships among member states and particularly the ‘structural diplomacy’ based on EU strategies and partnerships with other regions in the world, which is aimed at promoting structural long-term changes in these regions.     

No Place to Hide: Intelligence and Civil Liberties in Israel

In its quest for security and under constant threats, the Israeli state has assigned wide-ranging powers to its intelligence services. These powers include deep incursions into individual liberties and privacy, powers of detention and interrogation, as well as involvement in assassinations. To ensure that those powers are only used legally and against real threats, a system of legal controls and parliamentary oversight over the intelligence community has developed incrementally. The article examines the development of intelligence oversight in Israel and analyses its performance and limits. The article begins by examining historical milestones in the development of intelligence oversight, including the Tubianski affair, official assassinations and ‘Committee-X’, and the ‘Bus 300’ affair. It then analyses the 2002 General Security Service Law and the work of the Intelligence Community Disciplinary Court and the Knesset Intelligence Sub-committee. The roles of Commissions of Inquiry and of the State Comptroller are discussed against the background of various intelligence failures and scandals. The article concludes with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of intelligence oversight in Israel.     

The role of women in economic transformation: market women in Sierra Leone

Various studies have concluded that economic life did not die out during the conflict in Sierra Leone, but took on different forms. Different stakeholders at all levels were engaged in economic activities during the war. The specific roles of women in the shadow economy are under-researched, with the result that most analysis and policy-options are inadequate. While some of Sierra Leone's market women strategically participated in war economies to ‘do well out of war’, most did so out of the need to survive. With the end of the war, market women have been able to make a successful transformation to peace economies through micro-credit assistance.     

Legitimating transformation: political resource allocation in the South African constitutional court

This study examines the performance of the South African Constitutional Court in four cases in which it was required to review the allocation of resources by the political branches. According to the conventional view, political resource allocation should be immune from judicial scrutiny because it involves decisions that courts are neither institutionally equipped nor mandated to make. In new democracies, the added reason for judicial self-restraint in this area is thought to be that courts should avoid potentially damaging confrontations with the political branches un1i1 they have established their legitimacy. And yet, in the cases examined here, the Constitutional Court has not only skillfully negotiated its review function, but actively sought out opportunities to subject political resource allocation to the standards set by the Constitution. In this way the Court has been able to build its legitimacy by endorsing the overall thrust of the political branches' transformation efforts. In turn, those efforts have been legitimated by their exposure to judicial scrutiny. This finding suggests that the conventional view may be wrong, and that constitutional courts in new democracies may need to involve themselves in controversial political questions if they are to play a meaningful role in the consolidation of democracy.