African Journal of Political Science最新文献

{"title":"The Digital Party","authors":"Edwin Babeiya","doi":"10.36615/40qt8n07","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/40qt8n07","url":null,"abstract":"Over two centuries political parties have stood as one of influential organizations in humankind. Besides playing several functions such as capturing and exercising state power, political socialization and interest aggregation, these organizations have not been free from controversies. At the centre of these controversies is the mass-elite divide which Robert Michels referred to as Iron Law of Oligarchy. Michel’s revelation was a revelation that elite interests were not necessarily compatible with those of the mass. This observation notwithstanding, political parties have remained the very influential actors in politics irrespective of some speculations that globalization is likely to lead to the withering away of political parties and the nation-state. ","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"116 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139684853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Africa beyond Political Sovereignty","authors":"Siphamandla Zondi","doi":"10.36615/daqqe048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/daqqe048","url":null,"abstract":"This year marks 60 years since the establishment of the first inter-state institution for Africa, the Organisation of African Unity. It was established principally to support the achievement of independence and political freedom by African colonies during a decade that is associated with the idea of winds of change. Political sovereignty through the control of the nation-state was seen as critical to the achievement of the ideals of Pan-Africanism, including African unity, African pride, cohesion, and common African prosperity.","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"62 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139687882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Old Age Poverty","authors":"Sikanyiso Masuku, Sizo Nkala, A. Benhura","doi":"10.36615/56apwk71","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/56apwk71","url":null,"abstract":"Despite having over 500 000 pensioners, Zimbabwe is far from guaranteeing its elderly an effective social security system. The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) – is embroiled in numerous cases of corruption. Similar criticisms have also been levelled against personal pension schemes with the living potential of pensioners in Zimbabwe (who receive in some cases less than US$1 monthly), continuing to deteriorate. In contributing new data to the understudied phenomenon of the old age pensions industry in Zimbabwe, this study interviewed a purposively drawn sample of bureaucrats from NSSA and pensioners in three provinces. Profound challenges in decommodification – attributes of a zero accountability status quo and a tokenistic, non-transformative old age social security regime were noted with numerous recommendations being proffered. Old age pension administrators failure to define and maintain measurable social indicators was argued in the study as partly contributing to their inability to ensure compliance to their primary mandate of providing a social security net for pension contributors.","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"116 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139684801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Complexity of the Intersectionality of Domestic and International Non-Governmental Peacebuilding Organisations in South Sudan","authors":"Emmaculate Asige Liaga","doi":"10.36615/2xbk4h64","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/2xbk4h64","url":null,"abstract":"As peace operations and peacebuilding develop, recent discussions have centred on the growth of peacebuilding literature on inclusivity, bottom-up and local approaches. Given that a substantial number of peacebuilding is conducted by Non-governmental organisations, which occupy a middle level to governments and community levels, the paper unpacks the complexity of the interaction of the international and domestic middle-level organisations. The paper presents a case study of South Sudan’s experience, which proves difficult to operationalize the critical inclusivity debates in their operations. The article argues that although there is more participation of local organizations in peacebuilding, the internal and external organizations are still riddled with complex intersections that still maintain the liberal (international) order of peace constituted by a specific form of external governance.","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"303 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139822814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Afrocentric Revisit of Zuma led South Africa-China Relations, 2013-2017: Mutually Beneficial or Not","authors":"D. Maphaka","doi":"10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1483","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1483","url":null,"abstract":"Zuma’s administration remains the subject of scholarly debate and critics with many sections of the South African society calling it a nine wasted years. South Africa-China relations deepened largely during Zuma’s administration, specifically between 2013 and 2017. While the question of whether the relationship is mutually beneficial received large scholarly attention, the interrogation of this research phenomenon has not received attention from an Afrocentric lens. In view of the above, the current article revisits South Africa-China relations during Zuma’s administration to identify the benefits and challenges brought by the relationship using an Afrocentric perspective. In so doing, the article looks at South Africa-China cooperation in areas as cultural and academic exchange, financial trade, wildlife conservation and tourism. Methodologically, this a desktop qualitative article that relied heavily on secondary data and the collected data is analysed through discourse, and document analysis.","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"96 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121095798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The","authors":"Ameen Abdulkadir","doi":"10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1482","url":null,"abstract":"The paper examined the contributions of party system to democratic development in Africa. Democratic governance and meaningful elections have long been considered unachievable in the absence of political parties and party competition. This is because party system institutionalization is important for the consolidation of democracy. Democracy instead of being the bedrock of good governance stayed on as an unfulfilled promise because the method of power acquisition remained basically authoritarian and functioned on the basis of a hierarchy of networks and alliances with local tribe, ethnic group or through top-down utter sovereignty of institutions that choke the grassroots politicization of society which had been the moral fibre of the process of democratization. To this end, it was discovered that the relationship between political parties, electoral volatility and democracy in Africa cannot be addressed unconnectedly. The paper therefore recommends that; assumptions about the trajectory and outcomes of democratic development in Africa need to be more effectively investigated on the basis of empirically informed analysis of operationalized politics in these systems. It is important to bear in mind that most of the electoral systems, laws, institutions and constitutions that govern elections in Africa were inherited from colonialism. Electoral politics came as a proposed solution to other socio-economic and political problems. This therefore calls for an amendment to these electoral processes in order to mirror the present realities in Africa as well as adhere to best practice as it is in developed democracies. It is contended that if an electoral system is to append value to democracy, it must promote the accountability of the elected representatives to their constituencies which could be furnished through strong political parties. The paper relied on secondary data using descriptive analytical method.","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125733592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Power-sharing and Identity-Politics Transformation in Zanzibar, Tanzania","authors":"M. Haji","doi":"10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1362","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1362","url":null,"abstract":"Zanzibar has had a long unsettled political history from its colonial era to radicalized post-colonial politics. The core source of such politics is the cosmopolitan nature of the isles whereby races and identities reside on the island for a long time. Such nature made the political and social groups categorized and differentiated from others through identity. As a result, the struggle for the owner and ruler of the island becomes a high concern among the groups in the society. This situation resulted in turbulent politics for many years with violence, killings, and hostility. In 2010, Zanzibar inters in the negotiation to solve the political problem that marred the island for a long time. The Government of National Unity (GNU) which involves the sharing of power between the first and second winners was agreed upon as the structure of the leadership style of Zanzibar. This was done through referendum and constitution amendment. As political identity theory reveals that; political elites use identity groups for their political benefits. They organized and influence their political activities through the identity they are familiar with. So, in solving such an identity politics problem, the identity tragedy must be transformed and accommodated the rational politics. This paper seeks to examine the extent to which power-sharing transforms identity-based politics and is accommodated in Zanzibar. The study was conducted in three districts to represent Zanzibar. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from five in-depth interviews and two hundreds and eight seven questionnaires respectively. The in-depth interviews involved the GNU's current and former top leaders, members of the Cabinets, and political activists.  The questionnaire involves the citizens from districts Mjini, Micheweni, and Kusini.  The study found that to some extent the power-sharing successes in reducing the exercises of identity politics in Zanzibar. Three angles have been justifying that reduction. First is the existence and increase of political trust in society to large extent. The second one is the equal treatment of all identity groups, races, and regions by government institutions and society. The Last one is the exercises of political activities without the influence of historical and identity political narrations. This study pinpoints two important aspects of transformational identity politics through power-sharing. The first one is the role of leadership in transforming the mindset and bringing people together. The second one is social change due to generations' natural changes and opportunities. The study concludes that power-sharing can be the source of identity transformation from worst uses to recognition in the society. This will happen only if the power-sharing institution is set to consider the potentiality of mutual recognition of self and respecting social, cultural, and ideological differences in society.","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129418319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Kwame Nkrumah and the Pan-African Ideal: Debates and Contestations","authors":"Garth L. le Pere","doi":"10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1412","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1412","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116880900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Afrocentric Critique of World Systems Analysis as a Critical Theory in International Relations","authors":"M. Rapanyane, K. Shai","doi":"10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1317","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1317","url":null,"abstract":"In this research paper, authors provide a comprehensive overview and critique of the World System Analysis (also read as World System theory). This central focus is driven by the need to bring about a fair and justifiable explanation of the theory and appreciation by examining the work critically as the most persuasive theory in international relations. The aim of this paper is to bring about world system analysis as the best tool in analysing the world politics, understanding world history and key reasons for imperialism, and why core countries such as the United States of America (USA), China and etc., often intervene in world crises through grants and other forms of aid. The authors argue that the world system theory, unlike the dependency theory, is broader in perspective and place the world as a centre of attention in the analysis of the world economic distribution instead of the nation-state. Equally, it can also be deployed in understanding global inequality, dependency and power. The above argument which is achieved through the use of a qualitative approach that has taken the form of the adoption of secondary materials and the Afrocentric paradigm. \u0000In this research paper, authors provide a comprehensive overview and critique of the World System Analysis (also read as World System theory). This central focus is driven by the need to bring about a fair and justifiable explanation of the theory and appreciation by examining the work critically as the most persuasive theory in international relations. The aim of this paper is to bring about world system analysis as the best tool in analysing the world politics, understanding world history and key reasons for imperialism, and why core countries such as the United States of America (USA), China and etc., often intervene in world crises through grants and other forms of aid. The authors argue that the world system theory, unlike the dependency theory, is broader in perspective and place the world as a centre of attention in the analysis of the world economic distribution instead of the nation-state. Equally, it can also be deployed in understanding global inequality, dependency and power. The above argument which is achieved through the use of a qualitative approach that has taken the form of the adoption of secondary materials and the Afrocentric paradigm.","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116873444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"No Linear Path to Liberation: A Comment on the Political Biography of H. Selby Msimang","authors":"Bongani Ngqulunga","doi":"10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1334","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36615/ajps.v10i2.1334","url":null,"abstract":"Review Article \u0000  \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":158528,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Political Science","volume":"45 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125780452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}