Astuteness in Commitment: Rwanda and UN Peacekeeping 1994–2014

Abstract

This article traces Rwanda’s history under German and Belgian colonialism, through independence and genocide to international respectability and membership of the Commonwealth. It examines Rwanda’s impressive contributions to United Nations and African Union peacekeeping forces. There is no single explanation for the magnitude of Rwanda’s contribution. It owes something to Rwanda’s commitment to ‘African solutions for African problems’. Deployment is relatively cheap and allows Rwanda to use its participation for political leverage in international affairs, to attract donors and to benefit financially. Peacekeeping is a factor in the astute foreign policy of Paul Kagame’s government that enhances its authority and stability at home and its prestige abroad.     

Gender and the academic profession in contemporary Tajikistan: challenges and opportunities expressed by women who remain

This article attempts to describe the deleterious impact of higher educational changes affecting female faculty members working in Tajik universities in the post-Soviet era. Over the past two decades, the social and economic position women gained during Soviet times has significantly eroded, bringing enormous challenges to education and higher education access, completion and staffing. The demographic and cultural marginalization of women here has negatively impacted university teaching opportunities and the status of women faculty members. Ethnographic interviews – along with relevant secondary data – reveal that despite various official gender-equity policies announced by the state, female participation issues remain prominent in the university. Our interviewees also report continued difficulty entering higher faculty ranks and leadership positions in university. However, significant numbers of women are still to be found there, and they report a workable compromise between being professional educators and trying to navigate a local culture that is becoming more ‘traditional’.     

Russia’s energy relations in Southeastern Europe: an analysis of motives in Bulgaria and Greece

Although officially Russian state-owned energy companies operate as independent entities, their actions often lead to suspicion that they are acting as a tool of Russian state foreign policy. Countries on the southeastern borders of Europe – Bulgaria and Greece – are prime examples of where this might be the case, since they not only have a central position in Russia’s plans to penetrate European markets through new transport infrastructure but are also part of competing plans for routing non-Russian gas to Western markets. The main focus of the present research is on the natural gas and oil sectors, as these are the traditional foundation of Russian energy exports to Europe. The aim of this paper is thus to provide an objective, evidence-based analysis of Russian activities in the natural gas and oil sectors of Greece and Bulgaria in order to establish whether its actions have been implicitly or explicitly politicized and have served to strengthen Russian influence in the region.     

New shop owners in old buildings: spatial politics of the apparel industry in Kyrgyzstan

This article adopts a political economy approach with insights from the political geography literature to illuminate how the apparel manufacturing sector in Kyrgyzstan has thrived in a region known for significant challenges in electricity access and availability. In contrast to studies that have analyzed the role of state policies and informal relations in promoting industrialization, we focus on how myriad shop owners gain access to elite-controlled, privatized urban infrastructure through owner–tenant relations in a new market economy. Drawing upon original interviews with Bishkek-based shop owners, we find that despite the challenges associated working in these spaces, including poor infrastructure and exploitative relationships with owners, they remain due to the constant provision of electricity and convenient location. We contribute to understanding how everyday shop owners make sense of and grapple with production challenges in a new market context, against the backdrop of Soviet infrastructural legacies and post-Soviet privatization processes.     

关于1927年11月中共中央临时政治局扩大会议研究的几个问题

11月中央临时政治局扩大会议是大革命失败后莫斯科对华政策转折和探索的结果,它的错误是探索中的失误,它的探索对共产国际和中共中央后来确立中国革命的正确策略具有导引作用;会议对当时革命形势的估计以及在暴动策略的制定上是留有余地的,并非一味地强调即时暴动和拼命暴动;会议虽然犯了不恰当地强调党的指导机关干部工人化的错误,但是在当时提出把中共建设成为马克思主义布尔什维克党的决定,却是重新整合党的组织资源的必要,是保持无产阶级政党性质的必要,是统一全党思想认识、推进党内民主建设的需要。     

Pedagogical changes in curricula in higher education in Central Asia： A case study in psychology

This paper has three goals. First, to introduce a major pedagogical transition and discuss the challenges faced during the transition. Second, to provide a specific example of course changes that were required to meet this pedagogical transition and the challenges faced in adoption of new teaching techniques. The third goal of this paper is to provide faculty and universities with useful information to enhance their programs and meet the challenges faced during pedagogical transitions.     

英国新一轮警务改革给我国公安改革的启示

英国新一轮警务改革的主要内容包括:设立专门的警务标准机构;强化科学、统一的绩效考核;积极推行国家犯罪情报模式;变革警务活动主体结构。其经验可以给我国的警务改革提供如下启示:密切警民关系,走群众路线;发挥公安院校的作用;加强情报工作;建立一个专门的警务标准机构,实施科学、统一的警务绩效考核办法;把握未来,跨越时代。     

非洲猪瘟的疫情分布和传播及其控制

概述了非洲猪瘟在世界范围内的分布、流行和控制情况.认为非洲猪瘟是猪的重大传染病,该病主要流行分布于非洲大陆,并逐步向欧洲、亚洲等世界其他国家蔓延.其传播方式以软蜱、野猪、污染物等媒介以直接和间接方式传播.该病缺乏有效的疫苗预防,有必要在病毒和易感宿主之间采用严格的生物安全措施防止非洲猪瘟疫情蔓延.     

The weak domestic base of South Africa's good global citizenship

The self-appointed role of good international citizen that South Africa has played since 1994 is the external corollary of its supposed good governance at home. Weaknesses in domestic governance have, however, been evident since early in the life of democratic South Africa. These problems have become more acute, and internal dissatisfaction with and external awareness of ‘poor service delivery’ in South Africa have grown since 2009 when Jacob Zuma became president. The article illustrates that South Africa fails to meet core criteria of good governance and considers the implications of weak governance for the Republic's good international citizenship.     

部门间协作网络的结构及影响因素——以S市市域社会治理现代化试点为例

基层是国家治理体系中的重要一环,在社会治理的过程中,属地化的管理制度容易造成上级部门向基层的推责,基层部门往往面临资源缺位,责大权少的问题.部门间协作网络提供了弥合条块间资源缺位、权责错位的有效路径.通过对协作网络内生性结构与外生性节点属性的剖析发现,协作网络形成了以基层为主轴,条块部门结对的多部门协同网络结构,在协作...