The problem of Irish Unionism

The paper is a critique of a recent article by Luke Martell which attempted to set out a new, non-statist and non-coercive socialist agenda. The critique suggests that coercion and repression are probably inherent to the socialist project and that Martell's proposals fail to address this. It also takes issue with Martell's proposals for limiting the role of markets and for developing local forms of corporatist agencies. The assumption that market capitalism is in some way antithetical to communal morality is also challenged on the grounds that genuine communalism is likely to arise out of voluntary co-operation rather than state-sponsored initiatives and programmes.     

Reviews

Adopting a comparative historical approach informed by Marxist theory of imperialism, this study demonstrates the tendencies toward conflict between past and present rising and declining imperial powers. In the present context the study compares and contrasts two types of imperialism: a highly militarised US empire based on wars and territorial occupations and a market-driven Chinese empire driven by an alliance of state, foreign and national capital. Both imperial systems are influenced by “overseas” diasporas. In the case of the USA, an internal Zionist power configuration loyal to Israel subordinates Washington's Middle East policies to the economically prejudicial interests of a militarist state (Israel), while in the case of China the overseas diaspora facilitates and promotes investments and trade enhancing China's dynamic economic expansion. The emerging contradictions between and within the two conflicting styles of empire building, point to the need for a social transformation, enhancing the power and position of labour against the Zionised state and speculative economy in the USA and the new plutocrats in China.     

Rational or reckless? Georgia's zugzwang in the Caucasus

Although the 2008 Russian-Georgian war was a military defeat for Georgia, it has only reinforced Georgia's westward trajectory. One noteworthy difference from Georgia's pre-war policy is a new regional strategy – the North Caucasus Initiative – that seeks to create a soft power alternative to Russia's military dominance in the region. We suggest that this approach is rational rather than reckless, as some critics have claimed. It represents a carefully calculated strategy that is already benefiting Georgia and from which all concerned parties, including Russia, stand to gain. If the South and North Caucasus were more open and less divided – a direction in which this new initiative appears to point – the Caucasus could become more prosperous and more stable. That would serve Russia's long-term interest by significantly reducing the cost of subsidies to sustain and stabilize the volatile region.     

Ending the impasse in Kosovo: partition,decentralization, or consociationalism?

This paper argues that current Western-backed approaches to conflict resolution in Kosovo have failed to alter Serbia's policy toward the region and have contributed to the exacerbation of political tensions between Belgrade and Brussels, while deepening ethnic cleavages between Serb and Albanian communities. While there is no possibility of Kosovo returning to Serbia's control, there is an equal unlikelihood that Serbian-populated regions of Kosovo, especially the north, will submit to Pristina's authority. Most importantly, there is little hope that Kosovo can gain full international recognition and membership in international organizations without a compromise settlement with Serbia. While territorial partition has long been a suggested option, I conclude that the best possible solution for Kosovo, given the positions of all parties involved, is a process of significant decentralization beyond the internationally supported measures in the Ahtisaari Plan. A model of consociational power sharing is one in which Serbian and Albanian municipalities are granted high levels of autonomy similar to arrangements made for Bosnia. While this solution may not be ideal and further weakens central authority, I argue that consociationalism reduces the problems of ethnic conflict, encourages local self-government, and preserves the overall territorial integrity of Kosovo.     

Creating the National/Border Security Nexus: Counter-Terrorist Operations and Monitoring Middle Eastern and North African Visitors to the UK in the 1970s–1980s

Abstract

This article looks at an earlier episode in the history of the UK border security apparatus by examining how the immigration control system was used in the 1970s and 1980s to detect potential terrorists from the Middle East and North Africa. Using recently opened archival records, it shows that the UK government introduced a strict system of visa checks, interviews, and other measures to nearly all Middle Eastern and North African visitors to the UK to prevent the entry of suspected terrorist personnel. By using these highly arbitrary measures, it became the modus operandi of the UK authorities to treat all Middle Eastern and North Africans as potential terrorists until convinced otherwise.     

Regenerating the City: People,Politics, Power and the Public Sphere

Abstract

The transformative potential that has come to be associated with networking in all areas of social, economic and political life, not least initiatives designed to tackle urban deprivation, is premised upon the idea that better outcomes prevail when state, market and civil society actors work together in partnership to agree and implement change. Such a perspective is informed by two underlying and related assumptions; first, an understanding of democracy as being essentially deliberative in nature; second, an understanding of social and political change as being essentially consensus based. An agonistic model and alternative explanation questioning these assumptions and the ‘transformative’ claims made on behalf of partnership is presented in this article. In contrast to what is termed a ‘neo-liberal orthodox’ approach an alternative interpretation of regeneration located within a radical conceptualisation of civil society is proposed. Regeneration, it is argued, is better conceptualised in terms of contestation between state, market and third-sector interests with better outcomes for communities prevailing when third-sector actors develop the legitimacy and power to engage politically within the context of a contested public sphere.     

Democracy and the politics of power alternation in Africa

Namibia's Nujoma, Zambia's Chiluba, Algeria's Bouteflika, Togo's Eyadema, Cameroon's Biya, Nigeria's Obasanjo, Niger's Tandja and Uganda's Museveni have all to varying degrees attempted to subvert the democratization process in their respective countries. These however are only a small selection of an increasingly similar pattern of action by incumbents in Africa. What is most troubling to democratic transitionists is a concerted effort by these leaders to curtail their fledgling democracies in the name of their continued ‘service’ to the people. This paper seeks to examine what has enabled an increasing number of African leaders to negate power alternation in favour of open-ended tenures otherwise ‘presidential careerism’. The article argues that while most of these states have been cited for embarking on some semblance of democratic rule, their rulers have utilized their weak democratic institutional structures, co-opted the elite and rallied the ‘mob’ to commit democracy ‘infanticide’.     

Managing and controlling HIV/AIDS talk among Ghanaians living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract

This study explored the meanings people attribute to talking about living with HIV/AIDS. Framed by interpersonal and health communication scholarship based on disclosure and the meanings of talk about illness, people living with HIV/AIDS are asked to describe how and why they discussed their health condition with others. Interviews (focus group and one-on-one) were conducted with 120 people living with HIV/AIDS. A grounded theory analysis of the interviews revealed how communication about HIV/AIDS may be particularly meaningful because it is something people feel they can control during what is already a highly stressful and turbulent time. However, attempts to manage communication are challenged by constraints imposed by others, such as unfavourable and unpredictable reactions to disclosure, which ultimately place limits on how people living with HIV/AIDS control information about them.     

India as a democracy promoter? New Delhi's involvement in Nepal's return to democracy

According to the theory of ‘democratic peace’, India, as the largest democracy in the world and as South Asia's predominant regional power, should be expected to promote democracy in neighbouring countries. However, New Delhi lacks any kind of official democracy-promotion policy, and its past record on democracy promotion efforts in the region is mixed at best. Against this background, the article analyses the substantial role India has come to play in the peace and democratization process in Nepal in the years 2005–2008, asking whether this constitutes a departure from New Delhi's traditional policy of non-interference in its neighbours' internal affairs and a move towards a more assertive approach to democracy promotion. However, the analysis shows that India's involvement in Nepal was the product of short-term stability concerns rather than being an indicator of a long-term change in strategy with the intention of becoming an active player in international democracy promotion.     

Democratically consolidated,externally threatened,and NATO aligned: finding unexpected deficiencies in civilian control

It has long been presumed in the literature that consolidated democracies that face serious external threats or are NATO-aligned should feature strong, civilian control institutions and personnel. This study of Israel, India, Taiwan, Spain and Poland reveals otherwise. Utilizing biographical data compiled by the authors, we researched civilian personnel within each country’s defence ministry – the organizational hub of civil-military relations. Rather than finding evidence of strong civilian control, what we found instead were ministries with serious deficiencies: they did not have effective power; they failed to engage in defence planning or provide strategic guidance to the armed forces; they were led by military personnel and staffed by civilian employees not properly qualified to handle defence affairs. To explain these discrepancies, we argue that long-standing deficits in civilian expertise spur the delegation of ministerial defence positions to more knowledgeable officers. Comparisons are made with benchmark states that have achieved civilian ministerial control.