OpenUCT :: Browsing by Subject "political studies"

Browsing by Subject "political studies"

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A study of state-based social assistance provision and its influence on the developmental character of the South African State: the case of the child support grant
(2006) Chagunda, Chance Arisitaliko; Taylor, Vivienne
This thesis aims at examining the extent to which state-based social assistance provision, in the form of Child Support Grant (CSG), influences the character of a developmental state. Social assistance provision is understood to be part of a developmental state response to the needs of its citizens. I have argued in this thesis that CSG influences the characteristics of a developmental state in as far as it is available to all needy children who pass the means-test regardless of race. I hold the view that the developmental approach to social policy should be of great assistance in a country such as South Africa where there is mass poverty by meeting people's needs in a short to medium term but also enabling them to depend on themselves in a long term. The history of the policy context in South Africa and three approaches to social policy have been examined. These are residual, institutional and normative approaches. My emphasis has been on the approach that best suits the developmental state. I argue that the developmental state that applies a normative approach will address issues related to the eradication of poverty, poor economic opportunities as well as social deprivation and promotes self-reliance. South Africa's conceptualisation of social policy and social welfare is in keeping with a developmental state. The problem however, is the implementation of social policy and social welfare provision. In this thesis I have focused on four research questions and these are: • Can the CSG illustrate an appropriate social policy intervention of a developmental state in the context of mass poverty? • Is South Africa's conceptualisation of social policy and social welfare in keeping with a developmental state? • What impact does social assistance provision, in the form of a CSG, have on poor households? • Can such impact together with other policy interventions contribute to lifting people out of poverty and building their developmental capacity? I have used both qualitative and quantitative to examine these questions. My findings show that social assistance in the form of CSG is consistent with the developmental approach to social welfare.
Open Access
An analysis of the challenges to the implementation of the revitalised agreement on the resolution of conflict in South Sudan from 2018 to 2022
(2024) Osei, Lois Ewuraesi; Akokpari, John
South Sudan has signed many peace agreements to ensure law and order, peace, and freedom after many years of political unrest and conflict. The most recent and promising agreement, the Revitalised Agreement on Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), signed in September 2018, has seen the implementation of some aspects of the peace deal. However, despite its promising content and stakeholder participation, the full implementation of the peace agreement is yet to happen on schedule. This study examined the factors that have led to the delay in implementing the R-ARCSS agreement. The study used interviews with participants across various professional fields, including academics, researchers, and Civil Society Organizations. The study outcome showed five main factors hindering the agreement's implementation: i) The history of unresolved misunderstanding between the key signatories, Reik Machar and Salva Kiir, resulting in lackadaisical attitudes in fully committing to the peace deal; ii) Unstable and inadequate state institutions in South Sudan, iii) Low regional and international support for the implementation, iv) Lack of funding, and v) an elite-centred peace process catering for high-level actors and stakeholders. Based on the study's findings, some policy recommendations were made to facilitate the implementation of the R-ARCSS peace agreement to ensure a return to law and order and economic and political stability in South Sudan.
Open Access
An assessment of how well social movement theory explains the emergence and development of Rape Crisis Cape Town
(2005) Cook, Alison; Seekings, Jeremy
This thesis uses three social movement theories to analyse the growth and development of Rape Crisis Cape Town (Rape Crisis). Rape Crisis provides counselling to rape victims, education and advocacy. The thesis also uses Rape Crisis to assess the analytic power of these theories, which were developed in the USA and Europe, in South Africa. This thesis seeks answers to several key questions about Rape Crisis's history. It emerged in 1976 at a time when there was relatively little self-conscious feminist activity in South Africa. How was Rape Crisis able to emerge and grow despite hostility from authorities and other left wing organisations; why Rape Crisis went from a modified collective to a collective when feminist organisations usually follow the opposite path; why Rape Crisis maintained its collective structure for much longer than most feminist organisations; why Rape Crisis changed dramatically in terms of structure and organisational culture after 1992? This work uses interviews, documentary evidence, and secondary sources to build a picture of Rape Crisis's development and the issues it confronted. The thesis covers the period 1976 to 2000. The main chapters consider a phase of Rape Crisis's development using the three social movement theories under consideration: resource mobilisation theory, political process theory and generational theory. The analytical power of each theory is considered. The thesis concludes that the theories considered offer a cogent analysis of Rape Crisis and combining the theories creates a strong analysis. The theories were able to provide answers to the key questions outlined above. The shortfalls identified in the theories were not caused because the theories were unsuitable for examining an organisation in South Africa. The problems stemmed from the failure of the theories to consider the impact of emotion on organisations. Thus, the criticism is applicable to these theories whenever they are dealing with social movement organisations that engage in emotional work. The key emotions for the purposes of this thesis were stress and those associated with trauma. These emotions impacted on decision-making, organisational structure and collective identity. However, the thesis concludes that the existing theories can be adapted to consider the impact of emotion. Rape Crisis's ability to emerge and grow without a sponsor organisation challenges the theories' arguments about the importance of social movement organisations being based in organisationally rich social sectors.
Open Access
Colonial world-making in future technological landscapes: a qualitative comparative case study of the Sophia the Robot and Miquela Projects
(2022) May, Abigail; Maluleke, Gavaza
Future technologies are being produced by private actors in projects promising radical societal changes. Little attention is given to the intention of these private actors. This increases the risk of missing the ways in which private political and economic interests shape future technological imagining. From Jeff Bezos floating space coloniesto Mark Zuckerberg's reality bending ‘metaverse', private companies envision futures that will be far better than present society. However, factors that caused the need for societal transformation are being reworked into the imaginings of future landscapes promising. Through a comparative case study analysis of the robot projects of Sophia the Robot and Miquela Sousa, the argument presented in this research study is thatthe improved and inspiring future landscapes each robot project presents cannot be achieved. This is because the ideological framing of each project replicates the logic of modernity, which functions on structures of oppression. By applying colonial and modern examples from the past and present, this study illustrates the ways in which systems of oppression – such as white supremacy and enslavement- are reproduced in the imaginings of the future in private actors' technological projects as well as the technologies itself.
Open Access
Exit, voice, and loyalty: an analysis of African states' behaviour in relation to the international criminal court
(2022) Rubin, Maxine; Seegers, Annette; Jolobe, Zwelethu
African states have been divided in their relations with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Despite these divisions, the literature on this relationship has focused on withdrawal behaviour to the neglect of other types of behaviour, such as support for the ICC. Consequently, it is unable to explain what influences the diverse behaviour. This dissertation adapts Albert Hirschman's Exit, Voice, and Loyalty (EVL) model into an International Relations model to categorise the different types of behaviour by African states and, subsequently, guide an explanation of the behaviour. Primary evidence of each African State Party's official policy position toward the ICC consisted of 208 country statements delivered between 2008 and 2018 at relevant United Nations and ICC forums. The study used discourse analysis to interpret satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the ICC in the statements and, consequently, categorise the states into one of the three behaviour groups for each year and forum. The country statement data are complemented by key informant semi-structured interviews, academic literature, news articles, and grey literature to explain the major factors influencing the behaviour of each state. Five explanatory variables were prevalent as explanations of African states' behaviour in relation to the ICC – head of state interests, domestic factors, regional politics, reputational factors, and economic factors. It was found that behaviour was caused by combinations of these variables. Broadly, exit and voice were primarily influenced by head of state interest and regional politics, whereas loyalty was influenced by reputational factors and/or economic factors. The results of this study have important implications for the study of Africa's international relations. The findings about the influence of the head of state variable demonstrated the relevance of the personalisation of power and how this affects the production of foreign policy. The heterogeneity of behaviour also challenges the usefulness of ‘Africa' as a category and highlights issues of essentialism and reductionism with the treatment of ‘Africa' as an indivisible unit of analysis, at least, regarding the withdrawal debate.
Open Access
Political violence, fear, and democracy: how violence shapes democracy in Mozambique
(2022) Sayed, Rami H; Mattes, Robert; Seegers, Annette
Abstract How does living in a violent context influence political participation, political behavior, and attitudes about democracy? Since the end of the Cold War, intrastate violence has increased across developing democracies. This growing violence has occurred in parallel with the proliferation of elections. Although today, in almost every country globally, citizens are afforded the chance to select their leadership, too often, bullets and ballots mix. The mix of voting and violence threatens the democratization process, undermines essential democratic institutions, and can lead to prolonged civil conflict. It is dangerous to the survival of democratic regimes and, in many ways, can be a path to upending or suspending democratic processes altogether. Political violence makes it difficult to establish peace and stability and strengthen citizen confidence in democracy. Despite the substantial literature on political behavior in Africa, we still do not fully understand how varying socio-political and socioeconomic contexts influence citizens' behaviors. Although cross-national studies have examined the influence of political and institutional contextual factors, such as electoral and party systems, on voter turnout, country-specific issues, like ongoing armed conflict or pervasive political violence, are not always included in these analyses. It is necessary to move beyond examining individual characteristics and include country-specific contextual factors that can explain voter behavior and attitudes about democracy within African countries. Individual characteristics alone do not tell the whole story, and by focusing solely on these variables, we miss out on a variety of social and political environmental factors that may shape how citizens behave and think. Based on theories stemming from the literatures on the legacies of civil war, terrorism, electoral violence, and political behavior, I argue that voter turnout, vote choice, and attitudes to democracy are shaped by the social and political contexts in which citizens find themselves. Ongoing armed conflict and pervasive political violence are crucial contextual determinants that shape whether individuals decide to vote, whom they choose to support, and how they feel about democracy and democratic institutions. I also argue that close ties to a political party play a crucial role in conditioning the relationship between violence and democratic citizenship. Using a rich array of data, I produce statistical evidence that shows violent contexts have a negative impact on these behaviors and attitudes. I examine the consequences of political violence and ongoing armed conflict in a country that regularly holds elections. The case of Mozambique, and in particular, its 2014 election, presents an opportunity to understand the impact of armed conflict and political violence on both elections, and the larger multi-party regime. The evidence supports the notion that the ruling party, FRELIMO, lost support because of the violence and that RENAMO was able to bolster its support. However, the identity of the perpetrators of violence, in combination with individual partisan identity influenced how violence shaped Mozambican political behavior. In addition to violent contexts, I find that fear of electoral violence reduces voter turnout, support for the incumbent, and satisfaction with and support for democracy. The effect of fear is particularly salient for individuals who are not attached to a political party. Thus, not only does violence shape how people behave in a given election, it also shapes how they view the larger multi-party regime in which elections take place.
Open Access
The effects of agencification on the capacity of the federal inland revenue service in Nigeria
(2020) Thomas, Edoye Bless; Naidoo, Vinothan
The wave of Autonomous Revenue Agencies (ARA) became popular in most Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) states in the early 90s. It has been adopted as a public sector reform instrument to improve the revenue collection capacity of its various host nations. Many countries believe that the adoption of autonomy which is reducing the political control of specialized public institutions will solve corporate and administrative problems and the same time drive efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery to the public. Autonomy of revenue agencies have been at the forefront of this movement since it is the source of revenue for the whole government. Agencification which is the theoretical tool of explaining autonomy can be define as the “transfer of government activities to agency-type organization vertically specialized outside ministerial departments” (Nchukwe & Adejuwon, 2014). Agencification is closely related to the NPM movement and governments across different nationalities and continents have established agencies at arm's length from ministries to handle certain regulatory and administrative functions. The Nigerian state joined the league of nations that reformed the institutional framework of its revenue authority in 2007 by making the Federal Inland Revenue Authority (FIRS) autonomous from the Ministry of Finance. Countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda etc. are among some of the countries in Africa that have adopted this institutional revenue model, and each has had its own implementation experience. This research intends to study the experience of Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which is the nation's revenue authority after it went through its reform and to examine the effects of agencification on the operational capacity of FIRS. The idea is to find out if the autonomy of FIRS has led to improved performance and service delivery. The research mainly used qualitative method through carrying out interviews with officials of the FIRS, who were actively part of the reform implementation. Their experiences can be valuable to test the variables of agencification in FIRS. The research will also adopt other publications on the subject area, government briefs, white papers and policy documents etc. The key findings of the research was despite the whole rationale behind agencification which is to reduce the political control of executive agencies in order to function efficiently and effectively is not an area that FIRS have been able to successfully managed despite the provision of the Establishment Act. The agency responsibility to report to the National Assembly especially on areas of its budget approval and oversight function have been a challenge in the meddling of its autonomy by politicians to meet their personal or group interests. Also managing the internal stakeholders especially, the top management team of the agency will require a lot of managerial dexterity when you consider the occasional resistance to reforms that happens. There is the usual tendency for people to want to maintain how things used to be. This resistance to change is a major challenge to driving reform. Quality of leadership is also very important in driving reforms within an agency. Appointment of the Chief Executive and Board members should not be used as a tool of political patronage or settlement but rather selection of persons who are well trained and positioned to drive change within an organization.
Open Access
"The Government Believes That History Unfolds as History Unfolds" In what ways have consecutive Dutch governments sought to address Dutch violence during Indonesia's independence war of 1945-1949? A study into the approaches applied by Dutch governments over the course of almost seventy years
(2019) Assies, Tessa; Scanlon, Helen
Since the end of the twentieth century, more and more countries have been confronted with how to deal with injustice from the past. Current governments are increasingly asked requested to assume accountability for crimes committed by their predecessors. Due to the growth of human rights, the discussion surrounding this, a more conscious society and the empowerment of victims, old cases are increasingly being exposed. This is also the case for the Dutch government. During the war of independence in Indonesia between 1945 and 1949, the population of this country fought to be released from under the Dutch rule. Later research would show that the Dutch army committed crimes there under the guise of 'an internal mission' to preserve the colony for the kingdom. After the war, it remained undiscussed, and successive Dutch governments even actively 'neutralised' the case. Later, when a clearly defined group of victims emerged, the Dutch government had to deal with it differently. In the spirit of the global developments concerning human rights and interest in history, the Dutch government took some tentative steps in addressing the Indonesian issue. Real changes however were enforced through a lawsuit filed by the aforementioned group of victims. These victims won their case, and the ruling established for the first time that the Dutch state had a responsibility towards the group of victims from Indonesia. Did this lead to a change in the Dutch governmental approach towards the Dutch violence during the independence war? Has anything actually changed over the years to this approach? This thesis examines the attitude and approach of successive Dutch authorities towards Dutch violence in Indonesia, divided over three periods: the five-decades post-war; the period 1995-2011 (in this last year the lawsuit was filed); and the time post-lawsuit.

Browsing by Subject "political studies"

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