Land tenure and political conflict in Ankole,Uganda

In Ankole District, Western Uganda, a serious land problem is developing. Land is increasingly being acquired for commercial and speculative purposes; access to land for the majority of Banyankore becomes problematic. This paper is concerned with the origins of only two avenues of land acquisition in Ankole, mailo grants and individual freehold titles. Both have contributed to nascent problems, if only through their inducement of interests in land as a commodity. The paper explores the effects of these policies on Ankole sociopolitical divisions and questions general (especially ‘individualization') land policies concerned with agricultural growth alone.     

Information technology in the legal curriculum—reaction and realities*

Abstract

In the light of official apparent assumptions about the use and effectiveness of C & IT in teaching and learning this article, by reference to empirical studies carried out by the authors and others, offers observations and conclusions about the most effective use of CAL in delivering legal education. We detail the type of electronic packages used in delivering modules to Woherhampton students (studying both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes), evaluate their responses and conclude by making recommendations as to the most effective use of CAL in academic programmes; in particular that by itself it be limited to providing a foundation of basic legal knowledge upon which the higher cognitive skills can be developed by face to face contact     

Hegemonic Duopoly at the Grass Roots: Why Progressive Third Parties Rarely Win State House Elections

This article addresses why US progressive third parties today seldom win state legislative elections, despite apparent opportunities to the contrary. It analyzes seventeen illustrative races for state representative in New England. It finds that seemingly viable progressive third-party candidates often lose because they are not sufficiently connected to their districts socially. Due to this deficit, they are unable to appeal to as many voters as typically better connected major party opponents. This is interpreted as indicative both of major parties' hegemonic ability to dominate local elections through sheer social influence and of the corresponding need for progressive third parties to develop more such influence.     

Memories of Nehemia

This article is both a biographical sketch of the career of Nehemia Levtzion and a reminiscence. Levtzion grew up in Israel during the period of its founding. He early chose to study Islamization in Africa and became the leading interpreter of the history of Islam in West Africa. Though often called on to assume administrative responsibilities in the Israeli educational system, he maintained a commitment to scholarship. The small conferences he held in Jerusalem over the years often involved a re-thinking of basic problems in the history of Islam in Africa and in the larger Muslim world. He was particularly interested in processes of conversion and the dynamics of change. Though he described many varieties of Islam and different levels of Islamization, he never accepted the notion of a distinctively Africa Islam. He saw instead processes that were similar throughout the Muslim world.