Ethnicity and participatory development methods in Botswana: Some participants are to be seen and not heard

Participatory methods are increasingly being used in development work at grassroots level in Africa. Western liberal concepts like 'one person one vote' underlie these methods. However, such concepts may not be easily compatible with a grassroots reality in which ethnicity (i.e. superior and subordinate ethnic identities) is an important factor shaping the social order. This article provides insights into the socio-political realities of ethnicity at village level in Botswana. The tension between participatory methods and the ethnically structured village reality are illustrated with examples from a project that tested the relevance of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in Botswana. The authors identify problems and opportunities of participatory methods in addressing the inequalities in ethnically divided communities.     

World Cricket as a Postcolonial International Society: IR Meets the History of Sport

This article brings together the English School literature, postcolonial approaches to culture, the historical sociology of sport, and IR's own tentative engagement with sport to argue that world cricket constitutes a sui generis postcolonial international society in the sporting sector. The international society tradition within IR has been criticised for its failure to take sufficient note of the history of imperialism, and contributions from postcolonial scholarship can provide a necessary corrective here. However, the adoption of cricket in colonial societies involved a complex mixture of acceptance of and resistance to elements of British imperial culture, as has been documented in the work of some historical sociologists of sport and of philosophers of cricket such as C.L.R. James and Ashis Nandy. Contemporary world cricket is an arena in which the former imperial centre and a number of postcolonial states compete with each other within a framework of quasi-legal provisions (the Laws of Cricket), associated normative expectations (“The Spirit of Cricket”), and an international/transnational sporting organisation (the International Cricket Council). The concept of a geographically (but not regionally) limited, historically specific, and sectoral international society therefore still has some purchase here. This sphere is currently being shaped not by a clash between imperial values and postcolonial resistance, but by tension between the routinisation of international cricket and a shift of wealth and power within the game towards India. World cricket can be characterised as a sphere of non-violent sporting competition which may, perhaps, function as a source of international civility in relations between regions of the world influenced by British imperialism.     

The impact of high‐quality workplace relationships in public organizations

Research has long found that high‐quality workplace relationships have a beneficial impact on employees and organizations. Although these studies have developed elaborate models to examine high‐quality workplace relationships, none were found to explore the association between high‐quality workplace relationships and job stress/exhaustion, commitment, and social impact. To fill this void in the literature, models were developed to explain the expected association that these employee attitudes have with one another. These models were then tested on full‐time, public employees. Several important findings emerged. First, high‐quality workplace relationships were positively related to social impact. Next, social impact was found to positively mediate the relationship between high‐quality workplace relationships and commitment. Finally, social impact was found to positively mediate the relationship between high‐quality workplace relationships and job stress/exhaustion. This latter finding was contrary to expectations.     

Partisan-motivated prorogation and the Westminster model: a comparative perspective

Recent cases of partisan-motivated prorogations of parliaments at the federal and provincial levels in Canada have focused attention on this phenomenon. While such prorogations are uncommon in the mature Westminster-style parliaments, the Canadian cases are not unique. Systematic study of partisan-motivated prorogations in the Australian states has illuminated the factors commonly associated with such cases. This paper outlines the results of this literature and then tests whether the Canadian cases fit the pattern. It shows that, on balance, these factors do apply. The paper thus concludes that, while partisan-motivated prorogations may not be predictable, it is possible to identify circumstances in which there is a substantially greater risk of their occurrence.     

UK development policy and domestic politics 1997–2016

Debate surrounds the relative importance of development aid and development policy in donor efforts to support international development. Likewise, the literature on UK development policy points to its putative stability and consistency over time. Both perspectives, however, underplay the political contention which characterises UK development policy and its variable effects. This article, therefore, examines UK development policy between 1997 and 2016 and the varying extent to which it gave rise to contentious politics over time. It explores three politically-significant periods in the context of UK development policy between 1997 and 2016: the first between 1997 and 2003, characterised, I argue, by political consensus and managed contention; a second between 2003 and 2010, characterised by transition and emerging political contention; and a third, between 2010 and 2016, characterised by contentious politics and political fracturing. I associate the first period with effective political vision and direction and the third with a significant erosion of both, to the detriment of UK development policy and its efficacy. In conclusion, I argue that UK development policy has been most effective when it has been underpinned by a clear and consensual political vision.     

Rebel movements and proxy warfare: Uganda, Sudan and the Congo (1986-99)

Sudan and Uganda have for many years carried out an undeclaredwar. One little-known aspect of this conflict is the use ofZaire/Congo as an outside battlefield where proxy guerrillaorganizations either fought each other or fought the armiesof their sponsor’s enemy. From a small scale prior to1996, the conflict grew to occupy a major place in terms ofmen engaged and battles fought after this proxy war morphedinto the bigger ‘Congolese’ conflict which developedfrom the fall of President Mobutu and lasted until 2002.     

Construction of contracts and the role of 'entire agreement' clauses

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. Key points

• The construction of commercial contracts has seena shift from a strict to a liberal philosophy of constructionand this has had an impact on commercial agreements and actors.
• Thereis an ongoing debate concerning the widening background or matrixevidence to include prior negotiations, reflecting the desireof parties to insulate commercial agreements from collateralterm arguments or other recourse to wider materials.
• This hasin part led to the emergence of ‘entire agreement’and ‘non-reliance’ clauses.
• This article considersthe construction of such clauses and whether such clauses takeeffect through construction or estoppel reasoning. It also looksat the merits of estoppel by representation and ‘estoppelby contract’, the impact of Unfair Contract Terms Act1977 and Misrepresentation Act 1967, and the effect of waiverof clause.

  The law of contract is fundamental to all markets, and participantsin wholesale markets are wedded to the . . . [Full Text of this Article]