Conservation on contested lands: the case of Namibia's communal conservancies

Community Conservation initiatives have become widespread in several Southern African countries and have also been increasingly involved in disputes over land claims, control of resources and territorial authority. The aim of this paper is to analyse how Communal Conservancies in Namibia are being used by rural communities as tools for gaining or securing access to and control of communal land in a moment when it is perceived as increasingly scarce. Peasants, Traditional Authorities, the State and conservationists all try to influence the use that will be given to contested lands. The paper will focus on two cases: King Nehale Conservancy, a heavily populated mixed agricultural land in North-Central Namibia (Owamboland) and Nyae Nyae Conservancy, a semi-arid land inhabited by a historically marginalised population, the Ju/’hoan San. In both cases Conservancies contribute to an increased control by communities over their land, but also imply the reinforcement of the presence of the State and private capital in communal areas, and become part of the internal struggles among sections of the communities themselves.     

Attitudes towards gender equality and perception of democracy in the Arab world

This article analyses the relationship between support of democracy and attitudes to human rights, in particular, support for gender equality, in the countries covered by the first wave of the Arab Barometer project. We use cluster analysis and negative binomial regression modelling to show that, unlike in most countries of the world, correlation between support of democracy and gender equality is very low in the Arab countries. There is a group of people in the region who support both democracy and gender equality, but they are a small group (about 17% of the population) of elderly and middle-aged people characterized by higher education and social status. A substantial number of poorly educated males express support for democracy but not for gender equality. Many people, especially young males aged 25–35 in 2007, are against both gender equality and democracy. Younger people tend to be both better educated and more conservative, those belonging to the 25–34 age group being the most patriarchal in their gender attitudes. Yet, controlling for age, education does have a positive effect on gender equality attitudes. Nevertheless, this phenomenon may reflect two simultaneous processes going on in the Middle East. On the one hand, people are getting more educated, urbanized, etc., which means the continuation of modernization. On the other hand, the fact that older people are the most liberal age group may point to a certain retrogression of social values in the younger generations.     

‘Intelligence,Public Confidence and Security’

Richard Gid Powers, Secrecy and Power: The Life of J. Edgar Hoover (New York: The Free Press, 1987). Pp. 624; $27.95.

Jeffrey Richelson, American Espionage and the Soviet Target (New York: William Morrow, 1987).

John Keegan, The Mask of Command (New York; Viking Penguin 1987). Pp. 368; $18.95.

Major General Rygor Slowikowski, In the Secret Service: The Lighting of the Torch (London: The Windrush Press, 1988). Pp. 285; £16.95.

Alexandre de Marenches and Christine Ockrent, The Evil Empire: The Third World War Now (London: Sidgwick &; Jackson, 1988), Pp. 224, £13.95

Robert Marshall, All the King's Men (London: Collins, 1988). Pp.314; £12.95. Brendan M. Murphy, Turncoat (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987). Pp. 301; $19.95.

Ray Godson (ed.), Comparing Foreign Intelligence: The U.S., the USSR, the U.K. and the Third World (New York: Pergamon Brasseys, 1988), Pp. 157; $18.95.

Stephen J. Cimbala (ed.). Intelligence and Intelligence Policy in a Democratic Society (Dobbs Ferry, New York: Transnational Publishers Inc., 1987). Pp. 262. $37.50.     

印度尼西亚对于中国崛起的认知

本文主要基于半结构化访谈的方法,对共计81名印尼外交官和学者的访谈内容进行分析。这两类人员代表着塑造印尼外交政策的官僚群体和非官僚行为者。本研究对受访者关于中国及其对外政策的认知进行实证研究。首先是分析受访者对于中国的总体印象,然后进一步研究他们对于中国外交政策行为的看法。可以说,从最初的认知分析出发,几乎所有受访者大体上都认为,中国是一个拥有巨大能力的国家。研究还发现,对中国持有较正面看法的人数,远远超过持负面看法的人,后者将中国看作是印尼当前的或潜在的威胁。就中国外交政策行为而言,绝大多数受访人认为,中国有着实现目标的决心、务实、拥有协调良好的官僚机构。他们认为,其他国家,包括印尼,在执行对外政策时也应该具备这些特征。本项初步研究所呈现的各种观点表明,至少在作为取样的受访人当中,关于中国形象的认知远非一致。不过,他们的中国认知也不能保证他们认为崛起的中国就是印尼应当依赖的唯一的信得过的合作伙伴。就此而言,雅加达和北京在外交和经济领域开展更多的互利互惠往来,将会为进一步改善印尼与中国的关系铺平道路。     

Who was ‘Venona's’ ‘Ales’? cryptanalysis and the Hiss case

One of the most notable messages in ‘Venona’ is No.1822, which the NKGB's Washington station sent to Moscow on 30 March 1945. As the message describes an agent of the GRU who circumstantially resembles Alger Hiss, it has strengthened the position of those scholars who have argued that Hiss was a Soviet spy. John Lowenthal, Hiss's lawyer, urges that an alternative reading of No.1822 exonerates his client. A review of the evidence shows that factual considerations exclude Lowenthal's reading of the cable. ‘Venona’ also contains another cable, hitherto unnoticed, that further strengthens the case against Hiss.