Are Alternative Livelihood Projects Alleviating Poverty in Mining Communities? Experiences from Ghana

This paper critiques the approach being taken in Ghana to implement Alternative Livelihood (AL) projects in mining communities. The rapid insurgence of illegal artisanal gold mining has forced policymakers to think more creatively about ways in which to deal with mounting unemployment in the country's rural areas. Most of the economic activities being promoted, however, have proved highly unpopular with target groups. The adopted policy approaches reflect how little in tune the organisations championing AL activities are with the mindsets and ambitions of rural populations.     

Book reviews

Jim Whitman (ed.); The Politics of Emerging Resurgent Infectious Diseases (London: MacMillan Press, 2000).

Francis Loh Kok Wah and Khoo Boo Teik (eds.), Democracy in Malaysia: Discourses and Practices ( Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 2002}.

Shu Gwang Zhang, Economic Cold War: America's Embargo against China and the Sino‐Soviet Alliance, 1949–63 (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2002).

John Funston (ed.], Government and Politics in Southeast Asia (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2001).

John Kane, The Politics of Moral Capital (Cambridge University Press, 2001).

Gurpreet Mahajan, The Multicultural Path: Issues of Diversity and Discrimination in Democracy (New Delhi: Sage, 2002), 239 pages.

S.R. Maheshwari, Administrative Reforms in India (New Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd, 2002).

Frank Cunningham, Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction (London and New York: Taylor and Francis ‐ Routledge, 2002).     

Arab Modernities: Islamism,Nationalism, and Liberalism in the Post-Colonial Arab World

Mumia Abu‐Jamal, ALL THINGS CENSORED. Edited with introduction by Noelle Hanrahan; foreword by Alice Walker (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2000).

Eric Parens and Adrienne Asch, eds., PRENATAL TESTING AND DISABILITY RIGHTS (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2000).

August H. Nimtz, Jr. MARX AND ENGELS: THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEMOCRATIC BREAKTHROUGH (Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 2000).

Leo Panitch and Colin Leys, eds. with Greg Albo and David Coates, WORKING CLASSES: GLOBAL REALITIES. SOCIALIST REGISTER 2001 (London, New York, and Halifax: The Merlin Press, Monthly Review Press, and Fernwood Press, 2000 and 2001).

James Blaut, EIGHT EUROCENTRIC HISTORIANS (New York: Guilford Press, 2000).

Susanne Jonas, OF CENTAURS AND DOVES: GUATEMALA'S PEACE PROCESS (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2000).

Bertell Oilman, HOW TO TAKE AN EXAM...AND REMAKE THE WORLD (Montreal: Black Rose Books, 2001).     

The European Trips-Plus Model and The Arab World: From Co-Operation to Association— A New Era in the Global IPRS Regime?

The advocation of stronger and higher levels of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) protection has been on the rise in recent years, particularly since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995. Although its establishment signalled the beginning of a new phase in the protection of IPRs internationally, no more than a decade later, it is seen that such a regime is still undergoing a number of significant changes. In this regard, the rise of bilateralism and the retreat of multilateralism resulted in the so-called ‹TRIPS-Plus’ recipe in which developing countries are increasingly giving way to the demands of the industrialised countries through incorporating higher levels of IPRs protection domestically. Although the USA has often been viewed as the primary advocator and enforcer of the TRIPS-Plus recipe globally, this article shows that in fact the European Union (EU) advocated the TRIPS-Plus recipe long before the USA. Thus, this article discusses the case of the European TRIPS-Plus model with the Arab World as a clear demonstration of such a trend. Developing and Arab countries are now faced with two determined superpowers acting at both the unilateral and bilateral levels to achieve their desired higher standards of IPRs protection worldwide. This will further erode the flexibilities of the TRIPS Agreement, and will entail grave repercussions for both the developing and Arab countries. LLM, PhD, Lecturer in Law, University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), UK. The author may be contacted at mel-said@uclan.ac.uk     

Impact of microcredit on income,poverty, and economic vulnerability in Peninsular Malaysia

This article examines the effect of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia's (AIM) microcredit programme on low-income households' income, poverty rate, and vulnerability in Peninsular Malaysia. This study employed a quasi-experimental approach, cross-sectional design, and stratified random sampling method. Findings indicated that participation in AIM's microcredit programme leads to an increase in household income and reduces both the poverty rate and level of economic vulnerability. AIM and policymakers, therefore, should focus on promoting a supportive environment to improve cooperation among participants by designing a dynamic and well-diversified microfinance programme and specialised skills-building training programme.     

De-radicalisation interventions as technologies of the self: a Foucauldian analysis

De-radicalisation has become increasingly prevalent in the UK as a strategy for tackling the threat of religiously inspired violence/extremism. Recent events, such as the tragic murder of Lee Rigby in May 2013, British citizens fighting in Middle Eastern conflicts, and the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, have rekindled the preoccupation of policymakers with the radicalisation of British Muslims. Indeed, the work of the Prevent strategy in UK counterterrorism post-2011 has primarily been recalibrated towards a greater focus on de-radicalisation interventions, which is perceived by policy-makers to be a more streamlined and effective way of dealing with radicalised/extremist individuals. And, yet, despite the greater attention paid to de-radicalisation, the discourse on de-radicalisation is characterised by the absence of detailed research, little or no empirical evidence for policy development, and confusion surrounding its conceptual framework. This article therefore offers an alternative conceptualisation of de-radicalisation to the one found in the Prevent strategy. Drawing on the works of Foucault, I argue that de-radicalisation is best understood as a “technology of the self”. This article will enumerate the interplay between the three major types of technologies that constitute the technologies of the self: discursive, disciplinary, and confessional technology. It is argued that conceptualising de-radicalisation as a technology of the self allows us to reframe it beyond the narrow confines of counterterrorism policy and places it within wider governmental relations.     

Asia and European colonialism

  The article reviews the effects of “colonial discourse” for the interpretation of national history in colonized Asian nations. Eurocentric perspectives in early Western narratives and historiography were followed by postcolonial myths termed “cultural nationalism” after independence. The native intelligentsia had acquired modern concepts of nation, nationalism, progress, welfare, democracy and technological modernity from their erstwhile colonial masters. Once the “democratic honeymoon” following independence had turned sour the artificially conceived myths of “cultural nationalism” served to justify various dictatorial regimes. Yet this ideology fails at it is presently being challenged by globalization, representing normative and economic pressures to orient towards the one single dominant pattern of Western liberal capitalism in all spheres.     

Testing for Individual Factors for the Fear of Crime Using a Multiple Indicator-Multiple Cause Model

In the extant literature, very few studies have simultaneously examined the impact of individual attributes, neighbourhood disorder and social cohesion on an individual’s fear of crime. This article addresses the use of multiple-indicator, multiple-cause (MIMIC) analysis for testing different variables related to the fear of crime based on a number of theories. Face-to-face interviews with residents of a high-crime council estate were conducted to examine the crime rate, disorder, cohesion and the fear of crime in the participants’ residential area. The results support the incivilities thesis and the vulnerability hypothesis, while the social disorganisation theory was partially supported. It was concluded that women and the elderly demonstrate higher levels of fear than men and the nonelderly and that crime, disorder and social cohesion have a direct effect on one’s level of fear, as the decreases in neighbourhood cohesion increase the individuals’ levels of fear. In addition, people who have been victimised and those who perceive higher levels of incivility were found to be more fearful of crime. By incorporating the three theories, the final model is able to account for 50 % of the variance in the fear of crime.     

Social Protection Policy or a Political Largesse: Disability Fund Efficacy Assessment and Roadblocks to Sustainable Development Goals

ABSTRACT

Social protection policies have been tools for fighting social exclusion, inequality and reducing poverty incidence among vulnerable populations in developing countries. In this regard, the government of Ghana through the institution of the disability fund has demonstrated a commitment to advancing the cause of people with disabilities. In assessing policy efficacy, the realities on the ground, as well as policy challenges, 130 persons with disability (PWDs) and 10 Key Informants (KIs) were recruited from across five regions. In addition to conducting face-to-face interviews with PWDs, the study conducted a number of interviews with key informants (KIs). The study findings concluded amongst other things that, the policy is plagued with challenges such as limited information about the fund, fund access difficulty and disbursement delays. It was also revealed that; the policy is saddled with opacity and partisan politics. To ensure efficiency and expedite the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1, the research proposed for policy restructuring. In addition to introducing financial literacy and management training for beneficiaries, the study proffers decoupling the fund management from political structures to help meet the objectives for which it was incepted.