The evolution of South Africa's democracy promotion in Africa: from idealism to pragmatism

South Africa is an emerging power with fairly strong democratic institutions that were crafted during the transition from minority to majority rule twenty years ago. How has South Africa used its position and power to promote democracy in Africa? Against the backdrop of debates on democracy promotion by emerging powers, this article probes attempts by successive post-apartheid governments to promote democracy in Africa. We argue that although democracy promotion featured prominently in South Africa's policy towards Africa in the immediate post-apartheid period under Nelson Mandela, the administrations of Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma faltered in advancing democratic norms. This is largely because South Africa has confronted pressures to maximize pragmatic national interests, which have compromised a democratic ethos in a continental environment where these values have yet to find steady footing.     

Towards a universal framework for democracy assessment

Assessing the state or quality of a country's democracy has become an increasingly widespread undertaking over the past ten years, whether to construct league tables of democratic attainment, to explore correlations between democracy and economic condition or performance, or to identify likely recipients and projects for international aid. This article reports on a civil society-based programme and framework for democracy assessment in which the author has been involved, whose purpose is to contribute to public debate about a country's democracy, to monitor its progress over time, and to identify pressing areas for reform. Distinctive features of the methodology are the derivation of assessment criteria from clearly articulated democratic values, its relevance to new and established democracies alike, and the comprehensiveness of the assessment framework, covering citizen rights and the rule of law, institutions of representative and accountable government, civil society and participation, and international dimensions of democracy. The article explores the intellectual underpinnings of the assessment methodology in the universal validity of democratic norms and a common imperative for democratization in developed as well as developing countries; and argues for the framework's usefulness in teaching as well as research. It concludes with a brief report on the comparative findings from pilot assessments undertaken with in-country partners in eight countries from across the world.     

From self-reliant churches to self-governing communities: comparing the indigenization of Christianity and democracy in sub-Saharan Africa

Christian missionaries, especially from Anglo-American Protestant denominations, have been remarkably successful in their effort to plant ‘self-propagating, self-supporting, self-governing’ churches throughout the world and especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Today's international non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations engaged in development, humanitarian assistance, peace-building and human rights resemble ‘secular missionaries’ spreading their gospel of democracy, good governance, peace, justice and sustainable development. This article investigates the extent to which today's secular missionaries might learn from the indigenization of Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa. I conclude that an essential ingredient in the missionary strategy of evangelization is conspicuously absent in contemporary programmes of development, democratization, or peace-building. In particular, the extensive efforts devoted by Protestant missionaries to the translation of their Biblical message into local languages and symbolic repertoires bear little resemblance to efforts to transplant Western ideals of universal human rights or the institutional templates of democratic governance first developed in the United States and Western Europe.     

非洲环境法简析

非洲各国在寻求可持续发展的过程中建立了自己的环境法体系。而且非洲环境法具有鲜明的特点 ,这主要体现为 :在宪法中明确规定环境权或国家在环境保护方面的基本职责和公民的基本环境权利与义务 ;在加强单行性专门立法的同时 ,制定跨领域、跨部门、跨行业的综合性环境法律 ;加强环境执法力度 ,制定专门的国家环境计划和行动规划 ;在环保领域进行广泛的区域性合作 ,以共同行动来对付日益严重的环境问题。但是由于非洲存在复杂的政治、经济、民族和宗教问题 ,环境法的实施常常滞后。非洲国家只有坚持可持续发展的道路 ,加强各国的协调与合作 ,才能最终解决环境问题     

Towards consolidating democracy: The paradoxical role of democracy groups in Thailand

Civil society is thought to contribute to consolidating democracy, but exactly how this happens is not especially well understood. This article examines the recent experiences of ‘democracy groups’ in Thailand. While acknowledging there are other factors that contribute to democratic consolidation, it finds the cumulative effect of Thailand's intermediating organizations, such as democracy groups, appears to be a redistribution of information and resources in ways that are causing changes in state‐society relations, making the country more pluralistic and contributing to consolidating democracy. Democracy groups and other civil society organizations are providing a widening circle of Thais with virtually unprecedented opportunities to participate in the policy‐making process. Yet despite their accomplishments, these groups might have greater consolidating effects if they themselves adhered more to democratic norms and procedures. Nevertheless, without democracy groups and other civil society organizations, Thailand would be less democratic than it is, although democracy is not fully consolidated yet.     

A critical assessment of Britain's Africa policy

A critical assessment of Britain's Africa policy Comfort Ero1 A number of Africa-related initiatives have emerged in the four years since UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's New Labour government assumed power. Many of them are welcome, suggesting a dynamic and different approach compared to the ad hoc methods of the past. Formulation of an Africa policy is best understood in the context of the government's claim that it will reshape Britain's international agenda. Without overstating the position of Africa—it remains ‘in Whitehall mandarin terms somewhere below South Asia and Latin America’—this paper contends that the continent is symbolically important in the struggle to broaden Britain's global role. But there are serious concerns about whether the policy has been well thought out and what it means in terms of resource commitments. For a government that has staked its reputation on ‘delivery’, it is still too early to tell whether the pledges will be followed through or whether they will amount to another policy initiative that promised much but delivered little.     

Competing perspectives on democracy and democratization: assessing alternative models of democracy promoted in Central Asian states

This study examines alternative understandings of democracy and democracy promotion advanced by the US, EU, Russia and China in Central Asia using frame analysis. In the context of this study, ‘frames’ refer to the relatively cohesive sets of beliefs, categories and value judgements as well as specific ways in which these ideas are packaged for the targets of international democratization. The study assesses the implications of alternative representations of democracy promotion and competing models of governance for the prospects of democratization in Central Asia. It concludes that the substance of US and EU democracy promotion in Central Asia has neglected the cultural and political contexts of these states, while the Russian and Chinese models of governance and development have provided a better match to the interests of the ruling elites.     

南非高等教育语言政策管窥

2002年11月,南非教育部出台了《高等教育语言政策》,这是南非高等教育史上的一个里程碑,也是南非高等教育委员会和其他利益集团长期斗争的结果与集体智慧的结晶。它号召全体南非人民,尤其南非高等院校师生确保官方语言都得到同等尊重;提倡高等教育多语制,以促使那些想借助高等教育实现自身潜力的人们具有平等入学和获取成功的机会。但从现状看,南非过去十年的发展已经证明,南非高等教育并没有实现向多语制的方向发展。相反,单语制倾向已日显彰,已经对实施政策构成严重威胁。     

Constructing new environments versus attitude adjustment: contrasting the substance of democracy in UN and EU democracy promotion discourses

In contrasting UN with EU democracy promotion discourses, the article contributes to the debate on the substance of EU democracy promotion by approaching the question of ‘democratic substance’ from the vantage point of sovereignty. For its analytical framing, it draws on relevant aspects of Foucault's work on power. The article suggests that, due to their diverging obligations to sovereignty, the substance of democracy promotion in UN discourses revolves around an institutional-centric understanding, whereas in EU discourses we see a significant reconceptualization of democracy as a norms-based concept. The latter does not aim at the government of society but the ethical self-governance of socially embedded individuals. It is argued that, with the decreasing purchase of democracy as a universal political project and the growing concern with local contexts, the EU's norms-based conception emerges as better equipped to adapt to contemporary challenges of governing. The article concludes with raising some doubts about the democratic promise and potential of the democratic rationality underpinning EU discourses. Democracy, participation and political change are no longer conceived in terms of shaping and influencing public agenda but refer to socially shaping and influencing subjective perceptions and behaviours.     

Beyond elections: perceptions of democracy in four Arab countries

This article draws on public opinion survey data from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan to investigate first, whether a “demand for democracy” in the region exists; second, how to measure it; and third, how respondents understand it. The picture emerging from this analysis is complex, eluding the simple dichotomy between prima facie support and second order incongruence with democracy, which characterises current debates. Respondents have a more holistic understanding of democracy than is found in current scholarship or indeed pursued by Western or regional policymakers, valuing civil-political rights but prioritizing socio-economic rights. There is broad consensus behind principles of gender equality, but indirect questions reveal the continuing influence of conservative and patriarchal attitudes. Respondents value religion, but do not trust religious leaders or want them to meddle in elections or government. Moreover, while there is broad support for conventionally-understood pillars of liberal democracy (free elections, a parliamentary system), there is also a significant gap between those who support democracy as the best political system in principle and those who also believe it is actually suitable for their country.     

The economic transition in Central Asia: Implications for democracy

Ten years have now passed since the August coup of 1991 heralded the collapse of the Soviet Union. Whilst many of these states have successfully navigated themselves through the processes of democratic transition and consolidation, others have not. Although each of the states within the Central Asia region have held elections so that we can speak of some sort of formal democracy having been established, substantive democracy within these states is either absent or falls short of the mark. This article identifies the obstacles to democratic transition and consolidation arising from current economic circumstances and the leaders' appraisal of the political costs of further democratization.     

The Irish republican army: An assessment of sectarianism

Although the Irish Republican Army (IRA) has been active for more than 25 years, interpretations of the motivation of the IRA are varied. For some, it is a sectarian organization engaged in a tit‐for‐tat campaign with Protestant paramilitaries in Northern Ireland. For others, it is a guerrilla army waging a military campaign against the British presence in Northern Ireland. This article assesses the degree to which the IRA was or was not engaged in sectarian activity between July 1969 and December 1993. Although the Irish Republican Army killed more than 340 Protestant civilians in this time period, this examination suggests that the IRA, in general, was not a sectarian organization.     

Afghanistan's parliamentary election: towards the path of democracy

The parliamentary election in Afghanistan in September 2005, seen as the last step towards the establishment of a broad-based government based on democracy, depicts the overall political situation and power struggle among the involved parties, mainly the Islamic parties, the international community (mainly the USA) and the administration of President Karzai, all with different agendas. The immediate winners of the election were the Islamic parties, who not only used their wealth and power but also the ‘ethic card’. But they also had backing from the Afghan government and the Americans. This paper investigates what this election mean to different parties active in Afganistan's politics; the people of Afghanistan, its government and the USA. Will this election lead to the establishment of a democratic society or enhance the power of Islamic extremists and warlords?     

National liberation and the conflicting terms of discourse in South Africa: An interpretation

Abstract

Underlying the moves and countermoves of the current communal conflict in South Africa is a struggle to control the meanings of the key terms of discourse—race, nation, apartheid and socialism—by which the conflict is characterized within and outside the country. Although no definition, therefore, of any of these terms can escape politicization, there is a case, historically and with a view to a negotiated settlement, for having apartheid, the most emotion‐laden of these terms, limited to post‐1948 doctrine and practice. The foundation for a negotiated settlement unaccompanied by overt civil war must be rather detailed agreement, tacit or explicit, on what the end of apartheid means. But if there is to be such agreement, it must be the work of a broad coalition from all of the race/nations acting probably against the desires of two major groups: defenders of the status quo and proponents of revolutionary socialism.