Multilingual signage: a multimodal approach to discourses of consumption in a South African township

The paper explores how global commercial discourses and the politics of aspiration in post-apartheid South Africa may be seen as contributing to the restructuring of spaces of multilingualism and the refiguring of indexical values of English and South African languages. The analysis takes its point of departure in how late-modern lifestyles, identities, aspirations and imaginations are represented across local and transnational commercial signage in the Western Cape township of Khayelitsha, focusing in particular on how different languages are multimodally constituted and differentially represented in two different sub-genres of commercial billboards. We suggest that new late-modern multimodal representations of identity, and the way multilingual resources are configured into new repertoires and genres of subjectivity, may be one important factor in how social transformation is mediated in changing perceptions and practices of language, while simultaneously and paradoxically reinforcing traditional conceptions of cultural authenticity and self-representation.     

TOWARDS “UNITY IN DIVERSITY” IN EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT AID THROUGH DONOR HARMONIZATION AND DECENTRALIZED COOPERATION? A CASE STUDY OF FLANDERS AND BELGIUM

Official donors have over the past decade pledged to enhance aid effectiveness by improving donor harmonization. To this effect, the European Union (EU) launched initiatives on a division of labor among its Member States. At the same time, the EU encourages Europe's subnational authorities to engage in their own development cooperation. This however seems to undermine the same harmonization effort. Belgium, characterized by multiple levels of government, illustrates that these two approaches to aid effectiveness—collective division of labor at the national level and decentralized cooperation at lower levels—are only partially compatible. In partner countries where both the federal Belgian and regional Flemish governments are active donors, Belgium's composite aid is poorly harmonized. A principal–agent framework helps to explain such selfish positioning. This article argues that a higher degree of complementarity and harmonization among Belgium's various authorities is feasible, albeit in forms that are specific to recipient country and context. As both donors are not so much competing in aid supply policies but rather in terms of supply management, such technical arguments may assist in lessening the political pressure to selfishly emphasize diversity over unity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

South Africa's Economic Diplomacy: Constructing a Better World for All?

The article raises questions such as: 'Is South African "economic" diplomacy primarily "economic"?' and 'how altruistic in intention are the diplomatic efforts currently being undertaken by South Africa?' These questions flow from the interplay between the premise that economic diplomacy seeks to serve economic interests through diplomatic means, and the pronouncements made by South African decision makers that point to a broader, more altruistic agenda being pursued. In exploring the political and economic elements of current South African economic diplomacy, some pertinent aspects of South Africa's foreign and economic policies are highlighted, and South African economic diplomacy is broadly sketched. The focus is on the post-1994 period, but developments are put in historical perspective. The article concludes that current South African economic diplomacy serves both economic and political interests and that it is deployed in an extremely complex environment in which it is virtually impossible to disentangle the economic from the political and the altruistic from self-interest.     

冷战后东南亚与南亚两种地缘政治格局之比较分析

东南亚与南亚地缘政治格局的最大特点在于均势，均势通常是指国家间权力分配大体均等的一种态势，均势有两种，大国竞争型均势格局和直接对抗型均势格局，以东南亚与南亚分别为代表。形成原因在于两个地区在地理、历史、现实和各国自身政策选择这四点因素的不同。这两种均势格局在今后一段时间内仍会继续。中国在这两类均势格局中，应以和平共处五项原则为基础，结合自身的战略利益，分别扮演“参与”与“旁观”的角色。     

失落的必然——试析《玻璃动物园》中的南方女性阿曼达

<玻璃动物园>里的母亲阿曼达是在美国没落的南方种植园文化下长大的典型南方妇女.她的思想、性格及价值观在已崩溃的南方文化中铸成:贪图享乐、一味追求浪漫情调、对男人有着极大的依赖性.在北方工业资产阶级文化的冲击下,她的失落是不可避免的.     

金融危机以后的韩国对华直接投资

韩国金融危机后 ,韩国企业对华直接投资发生了许多新变化。投资的项目数和金额均大幅度减少 ,在华韩资企业也开始进行重大的结构调整 ,针对中国国内市场的投资逐渐增多。伴随着中国西部大开发事业的推进 ,在中国内陆地区投资的韩国企业逐渐增多。可以预料 ,随着中国加入WTO和经济结构国际化的进展 ,今后韩国对华直接投资不仅会有量的快速发展 ,而且在质的方面也会有很大的提高 ,投资地区和投资行业将进一步呈现出多样化的特征。     

Party systems in Africa: Problems of categorising and explaining party systems

Starting from controversial findings about the relationship between party systems and the prospects of democratic consolidation, this article argues that problems can only be properly addressed on the basis of a differentiated typology of party systems. Contradictory research results do not pose an ‘African puzzle’ but can be explained by different and inadequate approaches. We argue that a modified version of Sartori's typology of party systems provides an appropriate method for classifying African party systems. Based on Sartori's framework, a preponderance of predominant and dominant party systems is identified. This can be explained partly by the prevailing authoritarian nature of many multiparty regimes in Africa but not by electoral systems or the ethnic plurality of African societies. All kinds of electoral systems are connected to dominant party systems. High ethnic fragmentation does not automatically produce highly fragmented party systems. This phenomenon can be attributed to the ‘ethnic congress party’ that is based on an ethnic elite coalition.     

"9·11"以来南中国海形势综述

“9·11”之后,南中国海局势有了新的发展,从可能爆发冲突走向了和平与合作。尽管有一些小的摩擦如越南开辟旅游航线、修建飞机跑道等,但合作是主流:先是签署了《南中国海各方行为宣言》,接着有中菲合作协议,最后是中、越、菲的三方合作协议。这一切都预示着南中国海的未来合作与和平的前景。     

和平解决南海问题的现实思考

亚太地区安全形势和南海问题相关各国在低层次国际市场竞争的现实制约了南海问题和平解决的进程。非传统安全合作与跨国际市场梯次的共同开发将不仅有利于改善解决南海问题的外部环境,而且有利于增进相关各方的互信,推动深层次的共同开发。南海问题相关各国关系的发展和共同利益的增加将为南海问题的解决奠定坚实的基础。     

Human rights and development: the case of local government transformation in South Africa

Local governments throughout the world are assuming a more important role in economic development of their communities as an increasing number of governments begin to decentralise powers and functions. As these lower levels of government seek sustainable local economic development (LED) strategies the human rights approach towards development becomes pertinent as globalisation accelerates. This article proposes an emphasis on socio‐economic rights as the basis for sustainable LED in developing countries. The article is based on the experience of South African local government in the period after 1994, leading up to the first democratic local government elections on 5 December 2000. Proceeding from the view that the promotion of human rights is necessary for the promotion of economic development, the article critically assesses the role of local government in the promotion of LED through a rights‐based approach. It is argued that the identification in the South African Constitution of local government with basic service provision (recently emphasised by a Constitutional court judgement) will place socio‐economic rights at the centre of LED strategies in South Africa. It is argued that this is indeed the most appropriate cornerstone of LED in South Africa. However, the transformation process that leads the country towards its progressive Constitution needs to be maintained and this article identifies five broad areas for transformation that may still be needed to entrench an adequate human rights culture within the sphere of local governance. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.