The Hurried Justification of Sanctions

In this paper I try to see how the Derridean aporias of the law of the urgency of legal decisions (the law interrupts the input of knowledge in the decision-making process) and the épokhè of the rule (justice can never be done in the present) are revealed in the context of the justification of sanctions. I argue that sanctions can only be justified in a purposive manner in the last instance. They can only be means to an end of punishment which has been opted for, and which can be justified on grounds of principles, or an authoritative calculation of incommensurable entities. I argue against theories, which advocate the internal connection of law and morality, because if such a connection could be established, the aporia of the hurried and unjustified action would obviously disappear. In particular my target is discourse theory as formulated mainly by Robert Alexy with his Sonderfallthese(Special Case Thesis). My objection is that, because of their instrumental nature, sanctions cannot be justified on moral grounds. I also consider some objections that could be raised from Klaus Günther's theory of appropriateness and Habermas' distinction between the moral, ethical and pragmatic employments of practical reason. I am argue that the former, which would become relevant at the stage of application, that is sentencing, does not resolve the justificatory problem of sanctions, and the latter confirms rather than falsifies my claim that punishment can never be said to be just.     

Promoting country ownership and inclusive growth? An assessment of Feed the Future

This article investigates the level of country ownership and inclusivity in Feed the Future (FtF) projects in Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania. It finds that though interventions largely align with country-defined priorities and plans, other aspects of country ownership – consultation and provision of aid through local systems – are weaker than expected. Regarding inclusion, FtF is to some extent exclusive, perhaps as an unintended consequence of alignment with national development plans that do not reasonably promote equity. Focus is mostly on productive areas and ‘market-ready’ smallholders. The article suggests policy actions needed to better achieve expected results.     

From a ‘success’ story to a highly indebted poor country: Ghana and neoliberal reforms

Drawing on the experience of Ghana, which the World Bank itself proclaimed as an African success story in the early 1990s, this paper sheds important light on why neoliberal policies have had limited success in Africa and what strategies are likely to be necessary to foster growth and industrialisation in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. In 2001, a few short years after being proclaimed as an economic miracle, Ghana joined the growing ranks of highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) – an especially humbling development for this once proud nation. Why did Ghana's economy collapse after recovering so well? Ghana's experience highlights both the promise and limitation of neoliberal reforms.     

Testing Claims about Large Land Deals in Africa: Findings from a Multi-Country Study

Abstract

Despite much research on large land deals for plantation agriculture in Africa, reliable data remain elusive, partly because of limited access to information and practical and methodological challenges. International debates are still shaped by misperceptions about how much land is being acquired, where, by whom, how and with what consequences. This article aims empirically to test some common perceptions through an analysis of findings from research conducted in three African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania. The article presents new evidence on the scale, geography, drivers and features of land deals, relates findings to data from earlier research and international efforts to monitor land deals, and outlines possible ways forward for ongoing monitoring of the deals.     

The Role of Personal Benefits in Public Support for the EU: Learning from the Erasmus Students

This article presents evidence that the effectiveness of receiving personal benefits from one's country EU membership may have been overestimated. Based on the findings of a longitudinal survey on Erasmus students' attitudes towards the EU, it shows that the beneficiaries of the EU-funded programme did not strengthen their EU support over time. The data analysis controls for a number of alternative explanations and finds that they did not affect the failure of the Erasmus study-abroad experience to instil higher levels of EU support. Neither EU money nor personal contact with other Europeans was capable of influencing students' support for the EU. The empirical results highlight that the increased expectations from both the Erasmus programme and the egocentric utilitarianism thesis are likely to be ill-founded.     

Challenges and methodological flaws in reporting the global land rush: observations from Tanzania

Since international awareness of a global rush for land has grown from 2008 onward, various databases and reports have attempted to provide an overview of the situation by compiling information on individual land deals. While providing such an overview is challenging owing to the dynamic and untransparent nature of the investments, flawed methods of using and citing data are aggravating that challenge and allowing dissemination of inaccurate information. The consequences are an unnecessarily blurred picture of the land deal situation and thus an inadequate basis for related political decisions or social actions and a misleading starting point for new research projects. In this article we demonstrate some of the flaws in the use of data and their consequences, with examples from fieldwork and literature on Tanzania. The paper illustrates and contributes to the evolving debate on appropriate research methodologies for studying the global land rush.     

Understanding the dynamics of good neighbourliness under Rawlings and Kufuor

It is widely recognised that leadership influences relations between neighbouring states in international affairs. This article seeks to further illuminate the relationship between leadership idiosyncrasies and the nature of Ghana’s neighbour relations under Presidents Rawlings and Kufuor. The argument is that, while political institutionalisation and the international environment may influence neighbour relations to some degree, leader idiosyncrasy is an important intervening variable. Indeed, based on the findings, the international environment may have had less influence on Ghana’s neighbour relations in the period under study (1981–2008) than conventional wisdom suggests.     

Mixed fragmented migrations of Iraqis and challenges to Iraqi refugee integration: the Jordanian experience

This article focuses on Iraqis in Jordan who intend to migrate further. It is maintained that the distinction between forced and voluntary migrations and the formal labels used to categorize migrants do not express the complexity of movements within and from the region. It is argued that movements out of Iraq and into Jordan, and further migrations to the West, are underpinned by more than one reason though triggered by force or violence. Indeed, the reasons urging movements of Iraqis in our study took different turns as people got to particular places and faced the context of reception there. We have identified challenges to Iraqi refugee integration and related them to the variety of intended and unintended fragmented movements that go together with multiple changes in formal migrant statuses. The article thus contributes to discussions on mixed migrations and fragmented migrations in the region and portrays the agency of Iraqis in migrating amidst the structural factor of force. The article also provides valuable contributions to discussions on fragmented journeys of would-be asylum seekers in the West.