Political capabilities for democratisation in Uganda: good governance or popular organisation building?

Opinion is divided about the capacity of civil society organisations (CSOs) to enhance the political capabilities of disadvantaged groups in neo-patrimonial contexts, and particularly through a hegemonic paradigm which seeks to advance poverty reduction through good governance. Drawing on a qualitative study of CSOs in western Uganda, this paper argues that strategies focused on increasing the participation of rural citizens in formal decentralised planning spaces may be less effective in enhancing their political capabilities than those facilitating social mobilisation through the formation of producer groups and federations. This has important implications for thinking and practice around popular empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Contested water,contested development: unpacking the hydro-social cycle of the Ñuble River,Chile

The way that water is entangled with broader social relations has become a prominent concern in political ecology, geography and beyond. Employing the concept of the hydro-social cycle highlights how water is produced by, and simultaneously constitutes, social and power relations. Applying and expanding the hydro-social cycle as an analytical lens, this paper explores the contestation of different discourses of water. Looking at the conflict over the construction of a proposed dam in Chile, we examine different meanings given to water to understand how these produce uneven power relations with material and symbolic implications. By teasing out the workings and contestations of this conflict as a hydro-social cycle, we aim to highlight the diverse range of elements enlisted in it beyond water, to expose its complexity and to search for more just and inclusive alternatives.     

Locating Ethnic Identity: Russian German Identity Construction in Ul’yanovsk

This essay presents a micro-level analysis of ethnic identity construction among ethnic Germans resident in Ul’yanovsk. The essay explores the local and trans-local situation of this group within a historical framework which informs the group's understanding of how to ‘be German’. It shows respondents’ participation in ‘return’-based, family-orientated diaspora networks. Analysis of the divergent discourses that emerge around the theme and experiences of mutual visits and travel to the Federal Republic of Germany and the differing identity outcomes which result are discussed. This reveals the ways in which transnational links can be utilised by non-movers both to problematise and to augment their local identities. This, in turn, uncovers the continuing relevance of issues around post-Soviet ‘returns’ for contemporary identity-construction and highlights the potential for analysis of non-movers as participants in migration networks.     

How much insecurity does security need? The discrepancy in assessing the sense of security of children,adolescents, and caregivers in institutions

When developing concepts for protecting children and youth who live in institutions, the perspective of the addressees has so far been insufficiently taken into account. This study aims to compare the assessment of children, youth, and caregivers in institutions with regard to group atmosphere, participation, and sense of safety. A combined quantitative and qualitative approach compares the assessment of children or youth and caregivers in child and youth welfare institutions, boarding schools, and clinics through the use of an online questionnaire and group discussions that address the topics safety, group atmosphere, and participation. The quantitative questionnaire included 233 youth age 14 years and up and 490 caregivers; 87 children or youth between the ages of 11 and 18 years and 73 caregivers were part of the qualitative group discussion. The questionnaire showed that youth and caregivers assessed the sense of security in principle as positive. With regard to group atmosphere and participation, youth tended to see these aspects in a positive light, but almost all youth-aged participants viewed these specific categories more critically than did the adult caregivers. The results from the group discussions make clear that children, adolescents, and caregivers often underestimate the real dangers. The existing sense of security in institutions may be the result of underestimating real dangers. Implications for the implementation of protection concepts are drawn.     

Congruence-building on multiple fronts: Indian elite perceptions of EU rule promotion in India during the EU-India FTA negotiations (2007–2013)

Asia Europe Journal - How does the European Union export its rules and regulations to its partners during free trade negotiations? While the research fields on EU foreign policy promotion abroad...     

The problem of interviewing drug addicts in custody: A study of interrogative suggestibility and compliance

Abstract

The interrogation of drug addicts in custody presents a problem. The reliability of confessions made either under the influence of drugs or during drug withdrawal may be adversely affected. This study explores the effect of drug use and drug withdrawal on interrogative suggestibility and compliance. These two psychological factors are relevant to erroneous testimony. The interrogative suggestibility and compliance of heroin addicts on an inpatient drug unit were measured on opiates, whilst withdrawing from opiates and drug free. The interrogative suggestibility and compliance of the group of subjects as a whole did not differ significantly in these three conditions. However the results did suggest that a subgroup of vulnerable individuals may have been more suggestible when under the influence of opiates. Further work is needed to clarify these results and to aid professionals assessing fitness for interview and cases of retracted confessions.     

Cash Transfers and Citizenship: Evidence from South Africa

Theoretical research has assumed a role for cash transfers in forging a state-citizen contract, yet evidence is scarce regarding whether social protection promotes citizenship among claimants in practice. The article explores the implications of cash transfers for notions of citizenship in the narratives of transfer recipients in Johannesburg, South Africa. Cash transfers created a space for state-citizen exchange, helping topersonalise views of the state, and giving citizens grounds for holding the state accountable. However, boundaries between state and citizens' responsibilities were contested, suggesting that expectations of a contractual relationship with the state were weak. Cash transfers are an important but partial means of promoting citizenship.