环境运动和环境组织在生态文明建设中的作用

环境运动和环境组织的兴起与世界范围内日益凸显的环境和生态问题以及政府和市场在生态文明建设中存在的失灵现象紧密相连。环境运动和环境组织在我国生态文明建设中发挥着积极的作用,具有扩大群众参与、反映群众诉求、增强社会自治的功能。环境运动和环境组织是我国生态文明建设中的薄弱环节,要推动其健康有序发展,必须将党的领导、人民当家作主和依法治国有机统一起来。     

论第三代中央领导集体反腐政治体系的构建——党的权力运行秩序视阈下的解读

基于社会主义市场经济的不成熟、不完善,从而滋生大量诱发腐败的劣变生态因子的情况,第三代中央领导集体在继承我党廉政建设有益经验的基础上,积极探索构建反腐政治体系。在政党文化层面,积极推进观念化意识形态的创新,为有效有序运行党的权力提供科学而恒定的价值方向和准则规范;在内政治社会化层面,强化对领导干部的政党文化内化教育;在政治制度层面突出准则和规范的实施以及源头防治功能,推进制度反腐新路径;在政治关系层面坚持"以法为轨"的准则,推动新形势下党的权力运行民主化和善治化;在政治行为层面加强对反腐工作规律的认识和继续实行群众参与制度化建设。     

African women in leadership: Current knowledge and a framework for future studies

Abstract

While the empirical literature on leadership and management in Africa is sparse, the literature on African women in leadership is even sparser. This article offers a critical examination of the current state of knowledge on African women in leadership and management. It draws from an extensive review of existing published research to summarise what has been studied and is currently known about their status, leadership styles, and the influence of gender on their experiences as leaders and managers. Based on this review, an integrative framework, drawing from African feminism and postcolonial theory, is proposed to advance the study of African women in leadership and management.     

Traditional institutions and the rural development challenges in Africa: Gender and agricultural transformation perspectives

Abstract

The tension between the conception of traditional leadership systems as mere cultural institutions and the lack of interest and/or ability to use them as practical development tools in Africa has prompted their critical reappraisal in this article. The article is based on the need for African countries to endeavour to achieve a dialectical mediation between traditional leadership institutions on the one hand and concrete rural development projects on the other, for the purpose of promoting sustainable development. It is argued that there is much that traditional institutions can do to influence activities in rural areas. Any lack of such involvement on the part of traditional leadership systems can only lead to little transformation in rural areas. The article discusses this position with reference to two rural activity systems related to gender-based issues and agricultural development. The article is structured in four parts. The first section is devoted to the introduction, the second and third sections examine the roles traditional leaders could play in the areas of gender and agricultural development, while the final section comprises the conclusion.     

Book Review

Adams, William C., Editor, Television Coverage of the Middle East. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1981, 167 pages.     

Moral Dilemmas of Community Leaders and Sense of Community

Abstract

This paper draws on Kohlberg's tiieory of moral development, and on an empirical research conducted with leaders (two women, two men) in Venezuelan urban working-class communities. The leaders were repeatedly interviewed during a two-year period, about their experiences leading their communities. Those narratives were analyzed and discussed with them. Based on these grounds, two interrelated products were constructed: (1) Three moral dilemmas to be used in educational discussions with community leaders such as members of organized community groups; civic volunteers, officers from non-governmental organizations working with communities, and (2) A developmental approach to the sense of community in urban working-class communities. Finally, it argues about the need of balancing the current approaches of moral development, through a stronger emphasis on the community dimensions of that sense and its consequences on leadership.     

The Rise of the Novice Cabinet Minister? The Career Trajectories of Cabinet Ministers in British Government from Attlee to Cameron

Some commentators have observed that today's Cabinet ministers are younger and less experienced than their predecessors. To test this claim, we analyse the data for Labour and Conservative appointments to Cabinet since 1945. Although we find some evidence of a decline in average age and prior experience, it is less pronounced than for the party leaders. We then examine the data for junior ministerial appointments, which reveals that there is no trend towards youth and inexperience present lower down the hierarchy. Taking these findings together, we propose that public profile is correlated with ‘noviceness’; that is, the more prominent the role, the younger and less experienced its incumbent is likely to be. If this is correct, then the claim that we are witnessing the rise of the novice Cabinet minister is more a consequence of the personalisation of politics than evidence of an emerging ‘cult of youth’.     

Heightening Leadership Effectiveness in Local Governments of Uganda: ‘Challenge the Process’ for Organisational Support

ABSTRACT

Leadership effectiveness is an enviable characteristic in public as well as in private organisations. This article presents a discussion of the leadership practice known as ‘Challenge the Process’; within the context of Bushenyi district local government administration in Uganda. The discussion reveals that the leadership practice of ‘challenge the process’ influences the organisational climate and can be influential in generating change within an organisation. The study also demonstrates that Bushenyi district employees associate the behaviour patterns of their leaders and supervisors with the organisation. Based on data collected, the argument is that the leadership practice of ‘challenge the process’ positively influences employees’ perceived organisational support in Bushenyi local government of Uganda. The conclusions are in agreement with Kouzes and Posner (2002) that leaders who ‘challenge the process’ can achieve extraordinary results and improve employees’ perceived organisational support.

The article recommends that in the current environment of local government administration in Uganda be characterised by a democratic political dispensation and private-public sector initiatives; leaders should consider not merely being mindful of the rules and standing instructions in public administration; must be innovative, willing to take risks, and challenge assumptions about the way things have always been done in order to increase employees’ perceived organisational support. As stressed by Kouzes and Posner (2002), leaders in local governments can promote the resourcefulness of employees at work through the practice of ‘challenge the process’.     

Desired or deserving leadership? A reflection on the leadership exercised in local governments of Uganda

Abstract

The article presents survey findings of the leadership styles exercised in local governments and examines whether leadership influences organisational performance in Uganda's local governments. Based on survey findings from Bushenyi District, both transactional and transformational leadership styles are evidently exercised in Uganda's local governments. The study findings further reveal that leadership behaviours in Bushenyi District are often characterised by idealised influence (behaviour), inspirational motivation, high laissez-faire leadership and high management-by-exception (passive). As a result, there is increasing job insecurity among subordinates, which undermines the internal organisational ability to perform. Four sub-counties in Bushenyi District were selected for the purpose of this research. Using Multifactor Leadership Questionnaires (MLQs), data were derived from 123 respondents (36 leaders and 87 raters).     

Explaining and Justifying Authoritative Decisions: The Case of Controversial Facilities for the Homeless in Rotterdam

Abstract

This article analyses the ways in which local executive leaders rendered account for the decisions taken on where to locate 19 controversial facilities for the homeless in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Despite the non-participatory nature of the decision-making process, executive leaders acquired a remarkable level of authority for their decisions. The analysis suggests that the accountability strategies employed by local executive leaders contributed substantially to this success. Specific ways of rendering account for the decisions made concerning the locations enabled local executives to develop the political repertoires necessary to make the authoritative decisions they deemed indispensable. Most important among these ways were the executives' recognition of the importance of forming direct, informal accountability relationships with local residents, the proactive rendering of account and the executives' partial control over the forums to which account was rendered. The author concludes that an authoritative ‘Decide - Announce - Defend’ approach may not yet be out of fashion in modern local governance. The findings suggest that we will better understand the practice of public accountability if we supplement the existing conceptual frameworks for analysing and assessing public accountability arrangements with an alternative conception of accountability that focuses on the strategic aspects of rendering account. ^{1 1.}?An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2009 EGPA Permanent Study Group Local Governance and Democracy, in the section themed New Forms of Local Democracy. The author thanks two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on an earlier version of the article.