What is a Chief without Land? Impact of Land Reforms on Power Structures in Namibia

Abstract

Land is a key element to socio-economic development, peace- and state-building in Africa. It is inherent to local identity and inextricably linked to power. In Namibia, land rights were historically administered and allocated by traditional authorities. However, with the adoption of the 2002 Communal Land Reform Act, these customary land rights were codified. Drawing on qualitative interviews conducted in Namibia with state officials, traditional authorities of the Nama and Ovambo ethnicity, workers and farmers, we show that although it was presented as a decentralization reform, the Act reintroduced the Namibian state as a central actor in land tenure. This has resulted in power struggles between the state and traditional authorities, albeit to varying intensities as some traditional authorities have historically restricted access to communal land and limited political leverage.     

Children and armed conflict: looking at the future and learning from the past

Children are currently being recruited to an increasing extent by armed groups, assuming both ancillary and combat roles. Academic research on this phenomenon has grown in scope over the last few years. However, the current research lacks a comparative perspective. As a result, we presently have a very restricted perspective of the state of the art on the subject of child soldiering, making it difficult to recognise research areas that urgently require further investigation. The ambition of this article is twofold: first, to explore the existing state of child soldier studies across disciplines, and second, to encourage potential research by highlighting three relatively underdeveloped research areas.     

Factors Associated with the Performance of User Groups in a Participatory Forest Management around Dodola Forest in the Bale Mountains,Southern Ethiopia

This study analysed and determined factors associated with performance in collective action of a forest under participatory forest management in Southern Ethiopia. Data were collected in 22 user groups and a performance index was computed using indicators including forest cover change, households' perception of the change and satisfaction in their livelihoods, management activity, and length of overdue rent payment. The results show that heterogeneity, level of forest dependence and geographical variables such as altitude and distance to town are important variables that may affect the performance of user groups. The findings indicate the importance of taking into account the needs of members of user groups, differences among local people in dependence on forest income, and differences in values attached to the forest in the design of participatory forest management.     

Wrongfully Convicted: How the Dutch Deal with the Revision of Their “Miscarriages of Justice”

During most of the twentieth century the very existence of judicial errors was considered an awkward subject in the Dutch legal system. This article considers the change of attitude in recent years. In previous years there was a remarkable self-confidence within the criminal justice system (and in most of the scholarly writings) in doing things the ‘right way.’ After a few warnings from (only partly legally trained) scholars, who became interested in the functioning of the system, and moreover, after a few clear and undeniable cases of judicial error, there was a volte-face in the general feeling amongst both the public and the profession. It is the opinion of the authors that this shift in opinion is historically important. This article therefore intends to draw a picture of the current state of affairs in The Netherlands.