Rape of the Congo: Understanding sexual violence in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Though the occurrence of rape in the conduct of war is by no means historically new, research into its causes and functions has only really begun in the past couple of decades. War rape is a difficult phenomenon about which to generalise, considering the variances in context and actors involved. This article, however, attempts to synthesise existing literature through the analysis of a case study that can enhance our understanding of rape as a weapon of war and the contextual conditions that facilitate its use. Applying this theoretical framework to the extreme war rape occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this article offers insight into understanding the function of sexual violence in the ongoing conflict in the DRC. In particular, this article argues that the use of rape as a weapon in the Congo's bloody war must be understood in relation to both social constructs of masculinity and the politics of exploitation that have shaped much of the country's history.     

From rebels to politicians: Explaining the transformation of the RCD-Goma and the MLC in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This article analyses the transformation of two former Congolese rebel groups, namely the Congolese Rally for Democracy–Goma (RCD-Goma) and the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), into political parties following the conclusion of the Second Congo War (1998–2003) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is argued that three sets of factors influenced the process of the political transformation of the RCD-Goma and the MLC. These factors related to the stabilisation process that unfolded in the country starting with the signing of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement in July 1999, the make-up and the behaviour of the rebel groups involved as well as changes in international politics, especially the advent of the Bush administration to power in the United States in January 2001, which led to increased international pressure on Rwanda and Uganda to desist from interfering in Congolese internal affairs and the strengthening of the United Nations' peace efforts in the DRC.     

The Mouvement du 23 Mars and the dynamics of a failed insurgency in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This article analyses the link between the decision by the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) to occupy the city of Goma in November 2012 and the group's demise a year later in the hands of the revamped Congolese national army supported by the Intervention Brigade of the United Nations. The article argues that the military defeat of the M23 presents peace stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region with a valuable opportunity. The rebels' defeat emboldens the Congolese national army and the Intervention Brigade with regard to their ability to take on insurgent groups while raising the cost of continued rebellion for the latter and their potential backers. Although not a panacea for peace in the Great Lakes region, this turn of events should contribute towards stemming the tide of recurring rebellions in the DRC while paving the way for peaceful political engagements among Congolese socio-political stakeholders, on the one hand, and between the DRC and its eastern neighbours, mainly Rwanda and Uganda, on the other hand.     

Consociationalism and Intergovernmental Relations ‐ Linking Internal and External Power‐Sharing in the Swiss Federal Polity1

For several decades, comparative politics has treated the Swiss political system as the prime example of a power‐sharing polity in which consociationalism and cooperative intergovernmental relations co‐exist in a mutually reinforcing manner. Surprisingly enough, so far the linkages between these two types of power‐sharing have been neither adequately theorized nor empirically analyzed. In order to substantiate how intra‐governmental power‐sharing facilitates intergovernmental cooperation, this paper proposes a rational choice approach specifying different mechanisms driving actors' choices in favour of or against strong intergovernmental arrangements (IGAs). Just to mention two of the mechanisms at work: given multi‐party executives in the cantons, over time, party compositions hardly change and ideological differences between cantonal executives are moderate. Hence, a fairly stable horizontal interest profile characterized by little ideological divergence facilitates the setting‐up of strongly institutionalized IGAs. These mechanisms are examined empirically, first, by systematically assessing the organization of Swiss intergovernmental relations and second, by identifying the motives of Swiss intergovernmental actors to establish the given structures on the basis of in‐depths interviews. While the results indicate that intra‐cantonal power‐sharing facilitates inter‐governmental institutionalization, they also reveal what culturalist approaches on Swiss federalism presupposing actors' inclination towards cooperation commonly overlook, namely Swiss actors' strategic moves to guard own powers and defend institutional self‐interests affecting organizational developments in the intergovernmental arena.     

Consociationalism in the Low Countries: Comparing the Dutch and Belgian Experience

Despite their geographical proximity, common history, and joint experience with social segmentation, there is a surprising dearth of studies systematically comparing consociationalism in Belgium and the Netherlands. This paper aims to help fill that lacuna by discussing the similarities and differences between the two countries in this respect. The similarities range from the time period of consociationalism, the original cleavage structure, to the existence of cross‐pressures at the organizational level. The most important difference is that geography always played a bigger role in Belgium. This was true even before the politicization of the language divide, but it also explains why Belgium entered a new phase of consociationalism after depillarization and the Netherlands did not. Both countries currently face challenges by anti‐establishment parties against the elite cartel, which raises questions whether this is not inherent to consociationalism once the original social segmentation has eroded.     

Cultural Policy in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

The purpose of this paper is to introduce North Korean culture as well as its foundation, North Korean cultural policy. The paper consists of three broad sections. First, I explore the unique qualities and changes of North Korean cultural policy. Next, I look into what North Korea considers to be culture and how it is portrayed. Finally, I will analyze the similarities and differences between North and South Korean cultural policy, and the possibility of their convergence.     

Compensating the Victims of Human Rights Abuses in the German Democratic Republic: The Struggle for Recognition

This article examines the evolution of the compensation legislation for victims of human rights abuses in the former German Democratic Republic, and considers the reasons for the continuing dissatisfaction among victims' organisations following the most recent significant revision of the relevant laws in 2007. It charts political debates about adequate compensation for the victims and compares these discourses with the positions of the victims' organisations, demonstrating the ways in which party politics both influenced victims' perception of their own situation and raised expectations of a ‘recognition’ (Axel Honneth) of the victims in German society which has yet to be achieved. The article argues that, despite apparent agreement, the agendas of politicians and victims' organisations were ultimately incompatible.     

Power elites,war and postwar reconstruction in Africa: Continuities,discontinuities and paradoxes

This article interrogates the manner in which the composition, character, regeneration, and accumulation strategies of power elites and the organisation of their hegemony is being affected or unaffected by recent developments, most especially, civil wars and their corollary, postwar reconstruction, in Africa. By seeking to understand how conflicts and post-conflict reconstruction alter or transform the character, recruitment and role of power elites, and the operational context (the nature of the state) in Africa, this article draws attention to the prospects of transforming the nature of leadership in Africa. I contend that the capacity for violence and terror by individuals (especially young combatants who were previously marginalised) and armed groups has become a new marker of elitism and a leverage on peace agreements. Moreover, post-Cold War conflicts in Africa have accentuated the emergence of war-making power elites as ‘executors’ and ‘trustees’ of peace treaties, or ‘peace celebrities’ with considerable leverage on the course and outcomes of postwar reconstruction. The instability in post-1989 Liberia is used as a case study to reflect this claim. I also cite examples of members and leaders of armed groups in countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo where the capacity for violence translated into political rewards and gains in peace agreements.     

The situation of demography in the former German Democratic Republic and the problems of forecasting demographic processes

The failures in demographic research as a result of ideological constraints in the former East Germany are discussed. Attention is given to theoretical errors, population policy and its effects, and population projections.     

民主选举与社会分裂——东亚民主转型国家与地区的政治与政局

东亚民主转型国家和地区发生的社会分裂与其实行的民主制度之间存在较强的关联性。在经济发展不平衡、贫富差距大、民族国家意识淡泊及选举文化有欠成熟的情况下,参与选举的政治势力和社会群体倾向于将投票及相关活动视为扩大自身利益和削弱对方力量的机会,导致不同政治势力和社会群体之间的对立和冲突超出可控范围。