Diaspora and drug trafficking in West Africa: A case study of Ghana

This article interrogates the emergence of drug traffickingin contemporary Ghana and West Africa within the context ofa global political economy, situated within a deeper historicalperspective. It examines the earlier trafficking of cannabisalong the coast of West Africa in the colonial period, and thelater transnational networks that have emerged to promote internationaldrug trafficking (cocaine and heroin). The article probes howthe African diaspora and international travel service theseemerging drug networks in Ghana, West Africa, Europe and theAmericas. It suggests that the concept of an ‘ideologicaldiaspora’ could shed light on a shared global popularculture, which constitutes a counter culture and rationalizescriminal activities.     

The Concept of Appropriation and The Offence of Theft

The English law of theft is confusing and problematic in principle. Since the introduction of the Theft Act 1968 there has been inconsistency in the interpretation of appropriation as court and commentators have grappled with the intuition that appropriation must entail some subjective element and cannot be purely objective. Although subjectivity is traditionally associated with culpability rather than with conduct, it is argued that some acts can be subjective and yet factual and stand as causes to effects. Appropriation is such an act, its necessary and sufficient condition being a mindset, here termed proprietary subjectivity, on the part of the actor. It is argued that clarification of the concept of appropriation can help to resolve misperceived problems. Such clarification will also reveal other problems in the law of theft. Some tentative comments de lege ferenda are made suggesting how these problems can be addressed.     

A pilot study of the effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy on brain activation pattern in a man with pedophilia

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, such as leuprorelin, are recommended in the patients with pedophilia at highest risk of offending. However, the cerebral mechanisms of the effects of these testosterone-decreasing drugs are poorly known. This study aimed to identify changes caused by leuprorelin in a pedophilic patient's brain responses to pictures representing children. Clinical, endocrine, and fMRI investigations were done of a man with pedophilia before leuprorelin therapy and 5 months into leuprorelin therapy. Patient was compared with an age-matched healthy control also assessed 5 months apart. Before therapy, pictures of boys elicited activation in the left calcarine fissure, left insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and left cerebellar vermis. Five months into therapy, all the above-mentioned activations had disappeared. No such activations and, consequently, no such decreases occurred in the healthy control. The results of this pilot study suggest that leuprorelin decreased activity in regions known to mediate the perceptual, motivational, and affective responses to visual sexual stimuli.     

Restoring Fiscal Balances Post the Global Economic Crisis in Botswana

This article discusses the restoration of fiscal balances in Botswana after prolonged deficit financing. Botswana is a diamond-export-dependent country; resultantly, it suffered revenue losses due to depressed demand for diamonds during the global economic crisis. Reduced revenues necessitated deficit financing between 2008/09 and 2011/12. Debt was financed through dissaving and borrowing. However, the government restored budget balances in April 2012. While this case study is Botswana-specific, there are general lessons. These are: using a crisis to introduce public finance reforms; eschewing populism aimed at short-term gains; and the need for politicians to take very bold decisions to guide fiscal policy.     

Defining and Understanding the Jihadi-Salafi Movement

Jihadi-Salafi groups have been on the march in the post-9/11 years on a violent campaign to achieve their ends. From North America to South-East Asia and from Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa, Jihadi-Salafis have attacked Western and local targets with often devastating results. Despite growing attention to the Jihadi-Salafi movement, which includes both globalized and localized components, there are still questions that remain largely unanswered. Three new books can shed light on this modern phenomenon that has preoccupied Western security policies for the past decade. Jihadi-Salafism is a large and diverse movement with a global reach that has embarked on an armed struggle to defend the imagined ummah.     

Cadre institutionnel et gestion des ressources en eau dans les Alpes: deux études de cas dans des stations touristiques valaisannes

L'article analyse le cas de la gestion des ressources en eau dans les stations touristiques de montagne. Ces systèmes sont caractérisés par de fortes fluctuations de population et par une sélection des usages (eau potable, eau d'irrigation, production d'énergie et usages touristiques). L'article vise à répondre à deux questions. La gestion actuelle de l'eau dans les stations touristiques alpines est‐elle intégrée et durable? Le cadre institutionnel influence‐t‐il cette intégration et la durabilité? L'article montre que l'eau est une ressource exploitée en commun (common pool resource) et que sa gestion s'inscrit dans la discussion sur la "tragédie des communs". Deux études de cas (Crans‐Montana‐Aminona et Nendaz, en Valais) permettent de conclure que la gestion de l'eau dans ces régions est globalement caractérisée par une faible intégration, un faible degré d'information et une tendance au gaspillage. Le cadre institutionnel a un impact certain sur le degré d'intégration. Un impact sur la durabilité de la gestion est plus difficile à mettre en évidence.     

Double Decades of Existence of the Kilum-Ijim Community Forest in Cameroon: What Conservation Lessons?

Abstract

Abstract

At a time when natural forests remain a substantial framework for solving manifold human-induced environmental problems, forest conservation efforts have often been met with a number of challenges, especially in the midst of growing populations of forest-adjacent communities in the developing countries of the world. However, the initiation of the Kilum-Ijim Forest Project in the Western Highland region of Cameroon (erroneously considered to have been a naturally savannized environment) twenty years ago tells a success conservation story. This study, therefore, examines the fate of the Kilum-Ijim Forest prior to the forest conservation project, the conservation efforts put in place to protect and restore the biodiversity of the area, the conservation challenges, and also proposes other areas of intervention for a continuous successful conservation legacy. Due to the constant population pressure and the resultant overexploitation of the Kilum Mountain forest, the original forest size, estimated at 17,500 hectares in 1963, was reduced to 10,500 hectares by 1983. In recognition of the umbilical link between forest and forest-adjacent communities, the Cameroon Government and BirdLife International liaised with the adjacent tribal communities for a sustainable way of managing the forest. While these communities benefit through the non-consumptive use of the forest and other alternative livelihood means, the ecological viabilities of the forest are equally promoted through biodiversity restoration. Due to this community-based management approach, the Kilum-Ijim forest remains an outstanding example of a richly endowed highland montane forest, with a number of endemic wildlife species. Today, conservation efforts have restored the forest size to over 20,000 hectares. Having understood the need for forest conservation and the ensuing conservation benefits, perhaps it is time to increase the forest conservation sites while more alternatives serving human needs are designed and promoted. This conservation legacy should also serve as an example worth emulating in other highland regions with a history of forest degradation.     

Exploring the flexibilities in TRIPS: lessons from India's pharmaceutical patent law

This article examines the extent to which the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) permits countries to utilize two key flexibilities, i.e. the exclusion of new forms of known drugs from patent protection and local working requirements to facilitate access to affordable medicines and foster domestic pharmaceutical innovation. It examines how India has implemented and recently utilized these two key flexibilities and concludes with the view that other developing countries can equally follow the Indian model.