Text Matters: Some Reflections on the Forging of a New Constitutional Jurisprudence in South Africa

The South African Constitution establishes a constitutional democracy with a strong form of constitutional review. The Constitutional Court is required to declare invalid any legislation or conduct of the President which is inconsistent with the Constitution. The author, a former judge of the Constitutional Court, argues that the text of the Constitution has been an important determinant of the Court's jurisprudence, both in relation to the Court's jurisprudence concerning the institutional structures established by the Constitution and its Bill of Rights jurisprudence.     

Cultivating “success” and “failure” in policy: participatory irrigation management in Nepal

Introduced over a decade ago and considered largely successful by irrigation professionals, Irrigation Management Transfer and Participatory Irrigation Management (IMT/PIM) policies were recently reviewed and seen to have resulted in more cases of “failure” than “success”. Primary research on two IMT/PIM projects in Nepal, which were among the few “successes” in the assessment supporting a “failed” PIM, shows how such policy-driven evaluations, when defining success, overlook incongruities between policies, institutions, and the evolving dynamics around class, caste, ethnicity, and gender. Without exploring the dynamics of practice, the process of “cultivating” success and/or failure in evaluations provides little insight on how irrigation management works on the ground.     

The role of caste in the implementation of herbal gardens in Bangalore

Over the past few decades home garden research has emphasised the promotion of home gardening for nutritional and other welfare benefits for the poor in urban areas. Still, the urban communities who cultivate plants in their home gardens are in general represented as rather uniform groups, and no distinction is made in terms of caste, ethnic groups, or social class. This article asserts that social stratification represents an important aspect that needs to be taken into account while devising educational programmes and community projects for the promotion of home herbal gardens in urban areas.     

Microcredit and power: examining how and why women encounter domination in Bangladesh

Using data from a recent ethnographic research project on microcredit, power, and poverty in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, this article demonstrates that the relationship of women with both NGOs and male relatives is one of dependency and subordination. Gendered power relations, embedded in NGO practices and socio-cultural gender norms, influence the female borrowers to accept the domination of the fieldworkers and their male relatives. This article examines how and why NGOs create power inequalities between fieldworkers and female borrowers, why the fieldworkers dominate a group of women, and why these women continue to participate in microcredit programmes.     

Religion and attitudes towards corruption in India: a collective action problem?

This paper argues that religion influences the ways that people think and speak about corruption, typically leading to condemnation. However, it is also argued that, in a systemically corrupt country, such condemnation is unlikely to influence actual corrupt behaviour. Based on fieldwork in India, the paper finds that existing anti-corruption policies based on a principal-agent understanding of corruption, even if they incorporate religious organisations and leaders, are unlikely to work, partly because people consider “religion” to be a discredited entity. Instead, the paper argues that if corruption were to be seen as a collective action problem, anti-corruption practice would need significant rethinking. Despite its current lack of influence, revised policies and practices may see a role for religion.     

Bright Prospects for China-South Korea FTA

正DURING President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the ROK in July,China and South Korea pledged to conclude negotiations on a free trade agreement(FTA)before the end of this year.Since China and South Korea established diplomatic relations 22years ago,trade between the two countries has grown at an average yearly rate of 23 percent.In 2012,bilateral trade reached a new high of US$256.3 billion.     

Third time lucky? Establishing diplomatic relations between Russia and South Africa

Diplomatic relations between Russia and South Africa were established in 1992, before South Africa's transition to democracy was completed. This move was perceived as a betrayal by many in both countries and beyond. For many decades the Soviet Union supported the African National Congress in its fight against the apartheid regime. South Africa's National Party government, in its turn, presented the USSR as the main force behind the ‘total onslaught’ – an all-out war purportedly waged against South Africa by international communism. Yet it was with the National Party government that the Russians established diplomatic relations. This article looks into the reasons for this change of heart in Moscow and Pretoria, discusses the political forces behind the decision to establish diplomatic relations, and analyses the process that led to this event and the results of establishing diplomatic relations the way it happened and at the time it happened for both countries.     

美国南海政策的军事化及其影响

当前,国际社会正处于"百年未有之大变局"中,中美两国竞争加剧。在这一背景下,美国南海政策的军事化倾向尤为突出。通过案例分析、运用比较分析的方法对美国南海政策军事化及其影响进行探究,可以看出美国南海政策军事化的主要目的是遏制中国的崛起。为达到这一目的,美国提升了"航行自由行动"的频率和烈度,增加了在南海内沿和外围的军事战略存在,还加强了与盟国的同盟关系。不过,美国国内有一部分人认为南海政策军事化目前并未达到其希望的效力,反而使美国在战争与和平之间愈加难以保持平衡。美国在南海地区的影响力受到挑战的同时,中美关系也因此有所倒退,南海局势变得更加复杂。鉴于此,中国一方面要保持克制态度,增强危机意识,做好预案,通过高质量外交对话等方式增进与美国的政治互信,另一方面也要加快推进与东盟国家《南海各方行为准则》的谈判与磋商,与东盟国家一道维护好南海地区的和平与稳定。     

非洲和平与安全建设：南非的区域大国角色及限度*

作为区域大国,南非在非洲安全秩序构建中发挥着重要作用。1994年民主转型后,南非国家身份定位由西方的"白人飞地"转变为"非洲国家","以非洲为中心"成为南非外交政策的战略优先。南非非国大政府秉持新的国家身份认知,不再将非洲国家视为国家安全的威胁,而是命运与共的合作伙伴。南非通过参与解决非洲国家冲突、加强非洲集体安全机制建设、支持非洲冲突后重建与发展进程、推动联合国与非盟加强战略协调与合作、参与多边维和行动等方式参与非洲和平与安全建设,扮演了区域安全公共产品供给者的角色。南非虽然在非洲和平与安全建设的某些领域发挥了独特的引领作用,但经济增长乏力和国力相对下降,使其越来越无法有效应对日趋复杂的非洲安全形势。域外大国和国家集团加大对非洲安全事务的干预力度、其他非洲区域大国的竞争,也对南非在非洲和平与安全建设领域发挥引领作用形成了制约。在新冠肺炎疫情冲击、经济增长陷入衰退和社会矛盾加剧的背景下,南非政府将把更多精力和资源用于解决国内经济和社会发展问题,直接介入非洲冲突解决的意愿和能力会有所下降。南非在参与非洲安全事务过程中将更加惜用自身国内经济军事资源,进一步提升对外交手段、非洲集体安全机制的依靠。     

调整与延续:杜特尔特政府的对华政策

2016年杜特尔特总统执政以来,菲律宾政府调整了对华政策,在南海问题上采取主动降温的方式,加强了与中国的政治沟通和经济合作,放弃了"联美制华"政策,转而奉行"大国平衡"政策。这种调整使得中菲关系得以平稳有序的发展。不过,杜特尔特总统仍然继承和延续了菲律宾的一些传统政策,主要表现在南海问题上坚持领土要求,坚持南海仲裁案的结果,以及对美国的防务依赖性。