KURDISTAN’S REFERENDUM: THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE KURDISH FORCES IN KIRKUK

Less than a month after the Kurdistan independence referendum, the Iraqi Army and units of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) attacked the disputed province of Kirkuk on October, 16, 2017. Unlike most national defence forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga is divided along partisan lines between the two largest parties in Iraqi Kurdistan. This particular area was largely under the control of units affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which decided to make a strategic withdrawal in the face of superior numbers and firepower. The city was then retaken in short order by forces loyal to Baghdad, as were all other disputed territories previously under Kurdish control. Subsequently, the allegation that the PUK had retreated too easily has been described by the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and others as a betrayal of the Kurdish people by the PUK. This has created two competing post-event perspectives: first, that the Peshmerga forces should have defended Kirkuk to the last man and should not have left their front line trenches; second that the withdrawal of the Peshmerga was a deliberate and rational military reaction to overwhelming opposition. This article critically assesses both perspectives and finds that partisan divisions in the Peshmerga critically undermined the ability of Kurdish forces to defend the disputed areas that they controlled. Instead of serving as motivation of create a unified fighting force, the loss of Kirkuk has only served to deepen those divisions.     

RETHINKING AFRICAN SEXUALITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF HIV AND AIDS: THE LIFE AND DEATH DISCOURSE OF ‘MODERNISED POLYGAMY’ IN SUE NYATHI'S THE POLYGAMIST

ABSTRACT

This article is a study of Sue Nyathi's novel The Polygamist as a cultural production dealing with African modern polygamy1 in the context of HIV and AIDS. What is termed ‘modern polygamy’ in this article is a practice where men have several ‘wives’ but not in the African traditional sense, especially within the Shona culture, but in the sense of what is popularised as a ‘small house’ phenomenon. Nyathi's novel is discussed within the following frameworks corresponding to the three distinct parts of the article. In the first part of the discussion, the dichotomy between economic/ social status and ‘modern polygamy’ is explored. The second part of the discussion is a gendered perspective of ‘modern’ polygamy and particularly highlights gender constructions in Nyathi's representation of ‘modern’ polygamy. In the last section, multiple sexual relations and HIV and AIDS are discussed. Significantly, the article demonstrates that imaginative literature is a cultural site that can help us understand human behaviour and HIV and AIDS; particularly in what in religious terms would be referred to as ‘old testament’ polygamy that poses a danger to health and the social fabric in its new form in modern Zimbabwean society.     

SRI LANKA: HOW DID THE TIGERS LOSE?

Two separate trips to Sri Lanka provided the material for this brief examination of the reasons for the unexpectedly swift final defeat of the Tamil Tigers, whose ruthless methods had enabled them to resist for so long. But external fundraising was so successful that over time the priorities of the external contributors came to weigh over those of the Tamils in the North on whom the Tigers relied for their support and recruitment. The state they set up to sustain their campaign was none-too gentle. After 9/11, external funding was dramatically curtailed and this, combined with Chinese support and a crisis of recruitment set the stage for the final assault by the Sri Lankan army.     

INDIA'S MYANMAR POLICY AND THE ‘SINO-INDIAN GREAT GAME’

Recent literature has aimed to “deconstruct” the notion of a “Sino-Indian rivalry” in Myanmar. The argument is that China's leverage in Myanmar far outweighs India's, and that the Tatmadaw nevertheless prevents either country's manipulation of Myanmar. In contrast this article argues that the idea of a “Sino-Indian Great Game” still marks the Indian debate, thinking and policy on Myanmar. China's continued rise will remain a main driver behind India's Myanmar policy, and Myanmar will remain geostrategic relevant to India.

The article describes the historical legacy of India's relationship with Myanmar, discusses the role of China in Indian Myanmar policies, and examines the effects of Myanmar's democratization process. While the Myanmar playing field has changed, Indian perceptions of a “Sino-Indian Great Game” are lasting.     

MYANMAR'S ‘PIVOT’ TOWARD THE SHIBBOLETH OF ‘DEMOCRACY’

The recent reforms in Myanmar were not brought about by Western sanctions or some contingent event, but rather planned well in advance,. For there is more continuity than change in Myanmar's political system, which is dominated by the practitioners of national power-the army and the bureaucracy. Of course there are new actors, principally Aung San Suu Kyi and the party she leads, the NLD. Yet the reality remains: state security has to be maintained. Rebalancing with ASEAN, India and now the West is helpful in terms of independence vis a vis China. This is not an invitation to the West to attempt to subvert the existing order.     

THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON SAUDI MALE MILLENNIALS’ IDENTITY NARRATIVES

The term globalization, encompassing politico-economic and socio-cultural aspects, is widely used to describe the results of rapid modernization on Saudi Arabia in an era of rapid societal transformation. Whilst the outward signs of increased globalization in the Kingdom are highly visible, the underlying effects particularly in terms of the politico-economic and socio-cultural less so. Indeed, globalization is often characterized as inevitable or unstoppable. Yet, in a ‘globalized’ Saudi Arabia the impact of globalization is not always perceived as being positive, in particular its impact on notions of individual, national or Islamic identities. Research conducted for this article demonstrates that young Saudi men identify clearly both positive and negative effects of globalization on identity narratives, whether individual, national or Islamic. Indeed, the issue of how young Saudi men negotiate their identity in light of increased globalization raises important questions regarding the consequences of increased globalization on young Saudi men's sense of their own identity, and by extension the government's promotion of an officially sanctioned Saudi national identity, in an era of rapid societal transformation.     

THE END OF FOREIGN AID TO AFRICA? CONCERNS ABOUT DONOR POLICIES

For more than three decades, a key feature of Africa, and Africanrelations with the outside world, has been the aid relationship.In recent years, donors have given high priority to using aidresources to help solve Africa's poverty problems. In this article,contemporary policies and their likely impact on African povertyare put under the microscope. Six challenges to conventionaldonor views are presented. Firstly, the amounts of aid providedto Africa are not based on Africa's poverty needs and the gapbetween aid needs and aid provided is widening. Secondly, donorcommitments to poverty reduction in Africa are not new; theyare severely weakened by divisions among donors and large gapsremain between the rhetoric of support for poverty alleviationand the reality of sectoral aid allocations. Thirdly, thereare serious doubts about whether the devel opment model withinwhich aid funds are located will be able in practice to ‘deliver’the growth and employment generation required. Fourthly, thoughdonors have given increasing prominence to aid which reachesthe poor directly, there are doubts about the scale and effectivenessof such aid. Fifthly, the growing emphasis which donors areplacing on the results and effectiveness of aid risks shiftingaid towards the less poor. Sixthly, aid donors have tended inrecent years to place less emphasis on politics, the power ofself-interested elites and asset distribution in helping tosolve Africa's poverty problems—though these were dominantthemes when donors last focused so vigorously on aid for povertyreduction, in the mid-1970s. The article ends with some briefproposals for addressing these problems.     

AFGHANISTAN AFTER 2014 – WHO WILL BE THERE WHEN THE SOLDIERS LEAVE?

A number of the NGOs now working in Afghanistan, like Oxfam, Afghan Aid and the Agha Khan Foundation have been there for many years and show no sign of planning to leave when NATO troops withdraw. This article is written by a committee member of the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee, which was formally established in Bergen in 1980, as a political reaction to the Soviet invasion. In 1983, the Committee started sending health workers into unoccupied areas of the country and their activities have continued ever since, though the Soviets left nearly a quarter of a century ago. The goodwill and contacts built up over time by the Committee and other NGOs have been important in validating their presence, their activities and their motives. To be useful in Afghanistan needs a commitment to the long haul.     

KONY'S MESSAGE: A NEW KOINE?THE LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY IN NORTHERN UGANDA

The article offers a sketch of Joseph Kony's Lord's ResistanceArmy (LRA) both in historical perspective and in a wider frameworkof the world system. The authors discuss the different stagesand content of Acholi nationhood, from vague notions in pre-colonialdays, through the building of an ethno-military identity duringthe colonial period, until the Acholi heyday after Obote II.The second period can be described as Acholi-hood on the defensive.Initially, the campaign of resistance fought by the Acholi-dominatedUganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) still fits into standardconceptions of political resistance. However, social collapseeventually gave birth to Alice Lakwena's Holy Spirit Movementand finally to the LRA. Possessed of a charisma bordering onthe prophetic, Kony has forged a new vision of Acholi-hood,based on individual salvation and purity. This ‘biblical’vision of political redemption, at first sight an inward-lookingstrategy, is making this movement extremely vulnerable to outwardmanipulation.     

THE SOCIETY'S 2006 TOUR OF WESTERN MONGOLIA (28 JULY–14 AUGUST)

This article, accompanied by colour photos, records the author's recent archaeological expedition in the Taklamakan Desert. His advance northwards along the now mostly sand-covered beds of the Keriya River proved to be a march backward through time, from the Iron Age city of Jumbulakum to the early Bronze Age necropolis of Ayala Mazar. The artifacts he found are contemporary with, and similar to Chinese discoveries at Xiaohe. This proves that Xiaohe was not an isolated case and provides evidence for a whole culture based on some sort of fertility cult. The remains also suggest that some, at least, of the peoples concerned had Indo-European affiliations.     

THE END OF POLITICS BY THEYOUTH? HIGHER EDUCATION,YOUTH IDENTITY AND RECESSION OFPOLITICAL PARTICIPATION BY SOUTH AFRICA'S ‘BORN-FREES’:1 THE CASE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study is to examine the effects of political socialisation by the family and significant others on the political participation by South Africa's born-frees using a sample of undergraduate students at a public university in a metropolitan area. Overall, political participation is relatively low among the born-frees even though political awareness is very high. Political socialisation in the form of discussion of politics with parents, other relatives and peers is found to be an important predictor of youth participation in political activities. The youth of mothers with school leaving certificates or undergraduate education are more likely to be politically engaged compared to those of mothers with either no education or postgraduate education. Finally, older youth are more likely than younger ones to be politically engaged.     

CAPITALISM,THE KOREA–U.S. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT,AND RESISTANCE

Free trade agreements (FTAs) have become an essential part of the corporate effort to establish a global infrastructure suitable to its contemporary accumulation dynamics. Because they establish and reinforce patterns of economic activity that are destructive of majority interests, they should be opposed. This article scrutinizes one agreement: the Korea–U.S. FTA. It examines the motivations that led to its negotiation, the content of the agreement, and the arguments U.S. government officials and institutions have made in support of its ratification. It concludes with a critical evaluation of the efforts of U.S. and Korean opponents of its ratification and a call for a new organizing strategy.     

OF FIRE AND REJUVENATION: IN SEARCH OF THE ‘POST-’ IN ‘POST- APARTHEID’

ABSTRACT

In the novels, Scatter the ashes and go (Ravan 2002) and Rumours (Jacana Media 2013), Mongane Wally Serote depicts post-apartheid through a leitmotif central to which the soldier of the African National Congress military wing, ‘Umkhonto We Sizwe’ (MK), is ostensibly caught in an interrupted odyssey. In Scatter the Ashes and go, this soldier has returned from exile in various Southern African countries to a South Africa that is on the threshold of the post-apartheid era. By contrast, in Rumours, the soldier, having arrived from exile in 1990, then goes away to Mali in search of a solution for his post-traumatic stress disorder. The article imputes these disruptions on to the failure to ‘properly’ mourn the victims of apartheid's extra-judicial killing squads, and goes on to note that, as a result of Serote's attention to the subsequent angst, post-apartheid appears as a continuum of trauma. The discussion then proceeds to posit that the resolutions to these diversions are hinted at in these novels’ elaborate motifs of fire, and proposes that the depictions of this pattern recall how Batswana suture the spiritual, psychological and social fractures consequent upon death – especially the death that occurs unnaturally, and upon the breadwinner's return home from a long absence. The bulk of the exploration pays attention to the nuances of this symbol of fire, recognising it as an integral component of a social rite populated by a dynamic interplay between poetry and music.