The “Double-Battle”: women combatants and their embodied experiences in war zones

Our study contributes to the ongoing debate about women in combat by exploring women combatants’ experiences of war through interviews with women soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces who served as combatants or in combat-support roles in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We proffer that the bodily experiences of women combatants disturb conventional international relations and hegemonic masculine war metanarratives that either abstract or glorify combat. These otherwise silenced narratives reveal juxtapositions of feelings of competence and vulnerability and shed light on the women’s struggle for gender integration in the military. We conclude the article with a reflection on the challenges facing researchers investigating war and terrorism.     

Are lions democrats? The impact of democratization on economic growth in Africa, 1980–2010

If we look back at the past two decades, timing seems to point to a close connection between democratic reforms and economic growth in sub-Saharan states. Most countries in the area introduced multiparty politics and made dramatic – if incomplete – democratic progress between 1990 and 1994. Quite strikingly, it is exactly from 1994 to 1995 (and particularly from 2000) that the region began to undergo a period of significant economic progress. Because of the undeniable temporal sequence experienced in the region – that is, first political reforms, then economic growth – some observers pointed to a nexus between democratic progress and economic performance. But is there evidence in support of a causal relationship? As of today, no empirical research has been conducted on the democracy–growth nexus in the early twenty-first century's so-called “emerging Africa”. To fill this gap, we discuss the different arguments claiming an economic advantage of democracies, we present our theoretical framework and carry out an empirical analysis of the growth impact of political regimes in 43 sub-Saharan states for the entire 1980–2010 period. Our findings confirm that African countries, many of which had long suffered the combination of authoritarian rule and predatory practices, derived some economic dividends from democratic progress.     

The changing political culture of the African National Congress

The early elite of the African National Congress (ANC) embraced values of moral improvement, individual responsibility and a sense of social consciousness. The ANC now governs South Africa, but with what appears to be a different set of principles. The current scourge of corruption, increasing state control, coupled with a general lack of service delivery point to behaviour of the ruling party which is inward-looking, self-seeking and self-preserving. Arguing that political culture and its accompanying values and attitudes is a prime motivator of behaviour, the paper seeks to understand the changing political culture of the dominant party. To understand the political culture of the ANC we use interviews with ANC parliamentarians and ANC supporters conducted in 2006–2007 and 2013 as well as an analysis of the ANC's Strategy and Tactics policy documents. We contend that the liberal values of the early elites were never fully embedded, but in their stead is a liberationist culture, where the state is normatively understood to be extensive and embodying the will of the people. We argue, that through the resulting centralized determination of the interests of the people, patronage networks, and diminishing of accountability, a system conducive to corruption and the pursuit of personal interest is created.     

Social normativity,housing, and urbanisation in an Indian city

A significant part of urbanisation in India is happening through unregulated or partly regulated trajectories that are either informal or semi-formal in nature, and regulatory authorities have come to terms with them on a piecemeal basis over a period of time. This article contends that what is considered unplanned by regulatory agencies is actually planned by people and facilitated by the normativity surrounding both formal and informal institutions of urbanisation in society. The study looks at the processes through which such a housing settlement comes into being and negotiates legitimacy, authorisation, as well as basic civic services.     

国际武装冲突法及其相关概念辨析

目前,学界使用战争法、武装冲突法、战争与武装冲突法、国际人道法和国际人道主义法等词汇表达类似甚至是相同的法律体系。笔者认为国际武装冲突法及国际人道法是目前并行的两种法律体系,国际武装冲突法可以囊括国际人道法,但国际人道法却不能替代国际武装冲突法。其称谓不同,反映的是传播、研究者的职能需求及立场不同。     

论指挥员在作战行动中的战争法意识

现代战争法或日武装冲突法是规范交战国及其武装部队之间的关系和作战行动的原则和规则的总称.战争法能否得到遵守和执行,关键取决于双方军队的军人,尤其是各级指挥员.如何根据军事行动的具体任务,在战争法基本原则的框架内,将作战指挥与战争法要求结合起来,是我军适用战争法的前提,为此,各级指挥员必须了解战争法,强化依法指挥的意识.     

南齐萧道成之家教及其子孙之崇儒尚文——从一个侧面看萧齐皇族之“士族化”趋向

兰陵萧氏自晋宋之际以勋业进入社会上层之后,受到士族文化影响.齐高帝萧道成很重视其子孙的教育,形成了浓郁的家族文化氛围,诸子孙多具有较高的学术与文艺修养,甚至入梁后还创作出了标领时流或传之后世的佳作.萧齐子孙在为人气质及爱好等方面也显现出名士化的特征.这都表明萧齐皇族在获得统治地位后迅速"士族化"的趋向.     

人类学视野下的汉族民间巫术研究——以宁夏南部汉族的“送病消灾”巫术为例

巫术作为民间信仰的一个重要组成部分,在我国的一些乡村社会中仍然普遍存在,并且影响着人们的日常生活、价值观念和思维方式。普遍存在于宁夏南部乡村社会的“送病消灾”就是如此,它是当地乡村文化的主要组成部分。以人类学的研究视角来看,这种民间巫术是人鬼之间、人神之间沟通的主要渠道,具有深刻的文化内涵。     

Remembering A Year of Anniversaries, 2015

2015 was a year of significant anniversaries and commemorations related to the Commonwealth, Magna Carta, World War II and the United Nations. In this article the author reflects on these events, on his personal participation and on the media coverage of the events.     

Changing South Korean Water Policy after Political and Economic Liberalisation

This study explores the way in which South Korean water policy has been dynamically (re-)constructed by continuing political contestations among diverse social forces acting in and through the state in the face of political and economic liberalisation. The path-dependency of the state-driven water resource policy under the former authoritarian regime did not disappear even after the democratisation. It was difficult to transform the old authoritarian and hierarchical water governance to the newly democratic and environmentally friendly one because the Ministry of Construction, as a main actor in driving water policy under the authoritarian regimes, did not give up its interest in a dam-based policy orientation, although it did partially accept institutional tools for democratic policy making, such as public hearings and the participation of civil society in the process of establishing the water policy plan. It also showed democratic and environment-friendly gestures using the rhetoric of environmentalism and localisation. Overall, this article emphasises the importance of the path-dependency of the past authoritarian regimes under democratised society to better understand the current democratic regime’s policy orientation.