Research Articles (Political Studies and Governance)
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Item Open Access Employing the Ubuntu approach as a lens to enhance risk management skills at a municipality(ASSADPAM, 2023) Choane, M. P.In South African cities, the approach to risk management skills training has relied heavily on positivist research approaches. However, such professional research models tend to restrict employees’ input on risk mitigation. Consequently, despite the existence of rich African philosophical approaches, such as Ubuntu, the methods of teaching and learning risk management in municipalities are ineffective. Some ineffectiveness is the result of ignorance of utilising the Ubuntu philosophy for the identification, assessment and mitigation of risks with a view to enhancing the internal operations of an organisation. The practice of Ubuntu in teaching and learning, with specific reference to risk management, encourages a culture of group solidarity in the research environment that embraces brotherhood and sisterhood for survival. The question this article seeks to answer is: How can the use of the Ubuntu philosophy as a lens enhance the risk management skills of municipal officials? A single case study was conducted at Xhariep District Municipality in the Free State. Data was collected from municipal officials through participatory action research. The article recommends a culture of integrated teamwork driven by Ubuntu principles. Such a culture will contribute to human resource development, which will improve employees’ competency and self-esteem for the provision of better and higher-quality services to the Xhariep communities.Item Open Access Co-operative governance and good governance: reality or myth?(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2010-09) Coetzee, TaniaSerious questions are being asked concerning the manifestation of instability in society. The phenomena of maladministration, corruption, unrest, protests, failure in leadership, and the results of protest marches and poor service delivery, make one believe that the value, functioning and contribution of co-operative governance and intergovernmental relations is a myth. When public protests and instability are analysed, the main issue found at the heart of the problem concerns co-operation, implementation and co-ordination between the various spheres of government. Co-operation is needed to ensure satisfactory service delivery. The question can be asked if there is a direct relationship between poor service delivery, public protests and co-operative governance and good governance. Firstly the conceptual and constitutional framework of co-operative governance and intergovernmental relations will be discussed. In the following section the problems and challenges facing good governance will be analysed. Aspects pertaining to structural tension, policy choices, responsibility, accountability and implications of problems with good governance will be assessed. The manifestation of practical situations will be viewed against the background of co-operative governance.Item Open Access Continuity and change: an evaluation of the democracy-foreign policy nexus in post-apartheid South Africa(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2010-09) Hudson, HeidiIf foreign policy is viewed as an “intermestic” arena where the external meets the internal, then it becomes possible to see how internal domestic factors drive foreign policy making. In this context the democracy-foreign policy nexus and the role of governmental and non-governmental foreign policy actors help to reconcile ideals and interests and put foreign policy contradictions into perspective. The desirability of democratic participation in foreign policy is taken as a given, but agency has to go beyond representation to include issues of participation and political dialogue. The focus of this article is the democratic deficit of the Mbeki foreign policy (1999-2008), with some reference to the Zuma administration. The way in which foreign policy was personalised under the presidency of Mbeki was instrumental in closing the space for meaningful participation in the foreign policy processes. The article concludes that democratic foreign policy making is impeded by an overall deterioration in the quality of democracy in post-apartheid South Africa. It further contends that there is more continuity than change across the Mbeki and Zuma administrations’ policy orientations (both domestic and foreign) and warns that the challenges which Mbeki faced in terms of democratic consolidation may be exacerbated in the Zuma period if certain demons are not tackled head on.Item Open Access Piracy on the African east coast: a political science perspective(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2010-09) Neethling, TheoGrowing activities of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa have increasingly threatened maritime security on the African east coast. The severity of the crisis has compelled the international community to actively pursue solutions to the problem. In this context a variety of state and non-state actors have become involved and concerned with the problems and challenges that confront(ed) relevant role-players as it became evident that the manifestation of piracy is a multifaceted phenomenon. There are longer-term strategic implications, but also short-term practical or tactical issues to be addressed. The phenomenon of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa is of special academic interest to the discipline of Political Science. Through assessment, interpretation, appraisal, and ascribing meaning to developments and events from different subdisciplinary angles, this article endeavours to provide a political science perspective on the phenomenon of maritime piracy on the African east coast.Item Open Access Potential for cooperation rather than conflict in the face of water degradation: the cases of the Nile River and Okavango River basins(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2014-06) Solomon, HusseinAlthough the notion of environmental security is a relatively new dimension of international relations, and of politics in general, it would be inane to assume that problems of environmental change are in any way novel. Environmental security is a phenomenon that is distinctively associated with the end of the Cold War. Much attention has been paid in both the scholarly literature and the policy community to the potential for conflict to arise as a result of environmental degradation. The aim of this article is to examine the nexus between environmental degradation and the potential for violent conflict by specifically referring to the potential for conflict to arise out of fresh water disputes by utilising the Nile River and Okavango River Basins as case studies.Item Open Access Pik Botha and his times, Theresa Papenfus: book review(Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, 2011-06) Neethling, TheoAbstract not availableItem Open Access Vigilantism: a theoretical perspective as applied to people's courts in post-1994 South Africa(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2011) Swanepoel, M. P.; Duvenhage, A.; Coetzee, T.The article investigated vigilantism as phenomenon in South Africa. A metatheoretical framework was developed through which the constructed contextual and specific criteria were tested against one case study on people’s courts. The probability of the occurrence of vigilantism is more likely if the following context criteria are present Society experiences a state in disequilibrium, the state is dysfunctional, power vacuums exist and high levels of violence occur. People’s courts have been a continuous phenomenon in post-1994 South Africa. People’s courts qualify as vigilante groups and the context in which they occur is in line with the identified context criteria. This research has shown that vigilantism is a reality in post-1994 South Africa and a real threat to the authority of the state and requires the state’s attention and immediate action.Item Open Access Understanding the rise of Boko Haram and its discontents(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2014) Grobbelaar, Alta; Solomon, HusseinReligious extremism has plagued Africa for many years. From its earlier permutation in North Africa in the 1980s and 1990s to its recent expression in East and West Africa, every part of the continent has had its own story to tell about the violence unleashed by religious fanaticism. Boko Haram, a largely domestic group in Nigeria, has become one of the main players on the terror-front in the West African region. Although Boko Haram’s grievances are rooted in cultural cleavages and a sense of injustice regarding identity affiliation in Nigeria, the group’s activities are increasingly becoming regional involving neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin. Recently the group has been parachuted to the international limelight. The kidnapping of young schoolgirls in Nigeria has suddenly racked the international media’s attention, raising issues regarding Boko Haram which have been issues long before the social media increased awareness, especially by using the very popular hashtag #bringbackourgirls, on the social media site, Twitter. Boko Haram, like most insurgent groups in Nigeria, emerged from a background of an age-old conflict, which can be described as a conflict between different identities in the country. It is, however, important to remember that a variety of identities do not necessarily lead to conflicts. The fact that a country has several ethnic or religious groups does not make conflict inevitable; it is only when mobilisation around identities occurs or they are politicised that they constitute the basis for conflict.3 Within this article, however, it will be noted that the conflict can be attributed to many influences and factors which should be examined and taken into consideration.Item Open Access The SANDF as an instrument for peacekeeping in Africa: a critical analysis of three main challenges(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2011) Neethling, TheoUnder former President Thabo Mbeki South Africa started to play a salient leadership role in Africa and this role continues under President Jacob Zuma. In this context the SANDF has been and is still expected to be militarily geared for a peace support role. However, political functionaries, military analysts and scholars increasingly pose serious and critical questions with regard to “readiness” in the SANDF and whether the SANDF is still geared to serve purposefully, meaningfully and functionally as an instrument of foreign policy implementation – specifically with regard to involvement in peacekeeping operations. This article examines and analyses three areas of critical importance to the role of the SANDF in bringing peace and stability on the African continent, namely the strategic and financial management of the SANDF; force design and configuration; and the human resources situation. In view of this, it is pondered whether the SANDF is still ready and geared to play its role in peacekeeping operations, and whether public and scholarly criticism directed at the functionality of the SANDF is indeed substantiated and justified.Item Open Access The Zuma years: South Africa's changing face of power, Richard Calland: book review(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2014) Van der Merwe, BarendAbstract not availableItem Open Access The coming revolution: Julius Malema and the fight for economic freedom, Floyd Shivambu (Ed.): book review(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2015) Neethling, TheoAbstract not availableItem Open Access Eight days in September: The removal of Thabo Mbeki, Frank Chikane: book review(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2012-06) Neethling, TheoAbstract not availableItem Open Access Voorwoord = Foreword(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2010) Hudson, HeidiAbstract not availableItem Open Access Voorwoord(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2010) Hudson, HeidiAbstract not availableItem Open Access Tendencies of a dominant party system in the Free State Legislature (1994-2008)(Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2010-06) Joannou, N. A.; Coetzee, T.Dominant party tendencies exist either when a single party enjoys monopoly of power through the exclusion of other parties, or when the electorate continues to re-elect the same party despite the existence of other political parties. Dominant party systems display various characteristics the tendency to rule for a prolonged period of time; complacency and corruption; competition within the dominant party; a weak and ineffective opposition; and, a blurring of lines between the party and the state. Under the apartheid regime, the National Party dominated the political system. In 1994, through a process of transformation, South Africa held its first democratic election. The African National Congress (ANC) won the election and successive elections, and has since governed by majority. This has led critics to argue that South Africa is becoming a dominant party system. This article discusses dominant party tendencies in the Free State Legislature. In the four elections held since this transformation process of democratisation began, namely 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009, the ANC dominated the Legislature whilst the opposition remained weak and ineffective, with no viable alternative for the electorate. Despite protests against service delivery and transformation projects, the electorate continued to re-elect the ANC. These tendencies reinforced the pattern of ANC dominance and weak opposition.Item Open Access The ‘shifting’ nature of theory in international relations: why the future of the discipline is its Waltzian past(University of the Free State, 2014) Coetzee, Eben; Solomon, HusseinWithin the discipline of International Relations (IR), ‘new’ conceptions of theory, specifically those subscribing to, on the one hand, an inductivist and empiricist conception of theory, and, on the other hand, a conception of theory as a loose collection of variables, have ostensibly challenged the conception of theory as advanced by Kenneth Waltz. The latter’s conception of theory, deeply embedded within the philosophy-of-science literature, illustrates that the essential qualities of theories are wholly irreconcilable with the conception(s) of theory as advanced by current scholars within the discipline. Moreover, despite the commonplace assumption that scholars have transcended Waltz’s work, scholars continue, however, to err by misinterpreting him on the nature of theory and by failing to heed the explanatory benefits emanating from his conception of theory. Contra the current vogue in IR, then, we argue that the anti-Waltzian conception(s) of theory is neither particularly new nor does it bode well for the explanatory ideals of the discipline.Item Open Access J R Bowen, a new anthropology of Islam(University of the Free State, 2014) Solomon, H.Abstract not availableItem Open Access Radicalisation to terrorism in Kenya and Uganda: a political socialisation perspective(Terrorism Research Initiative and the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies, 2015) Botha, AnneliAfrica is increasingly being classified as the new battleground against terrorism. Yet, despite this renewed interest, countries on the continent have been experiencing manifestations of this threat already for several decades. Similar to most countries in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Europe, countries on the African continent focus on addressing the symptoms and not the cause of terrorism. In addressing the manifestations of terrorism, countries directly affected by acts of terrorism predominantly adopted a security-centric approach in an attempt to bring an end to the violence. Although this might be effective in the short term, in the majority of cases, a security-centric approach has proven to be ineffective and often even counterproductive. Realising this, several scholars—and, since 2006, also the United Nations in its Global Counterterrorism Strategy—have called for addressing the underlying reasons, or conditions conducive to terrorism. Despite this positive shift in focus, governments on the African continent continue to refer to outdated lessons learned from other countries, mostly on other continents, when formulating their own counter-terrorism (CT) strategy. Learning from the experiences of others is necessary, yet foreign CT lessons often tend to be broad and general and, as a result, ineffective. Policy makers and practitioners tend to fall into the trap of framing counter strategies on what are assumed to be the underlying driving factors instead of actually conducting empirical research into the ‘real reasons’. It is from this premise that interviews were conducted with 285 individuals and family members associated with al-Shabaab and the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) in Kenya and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda in an attempt to find empirical evidence to support or discard what are perceived to be the root causes of recruitment into these four militant organisations. The resulting doctoral dissertation has as its most important lesson: countering and preventing terrorism should start with looking at the ‘who’ in addition to asking ‘why’. This article is a summary of the main research findings capturing the personal backgrounds of respondents representing the four organisations. Specific reference will be made to early childhood, the school and friends as socialisation agents in establishing ethnic and religious identity. The analysis concludes by describing the influence of these factors on radicalisation associated with external—most notably, economic, educational and political—circumstances in identifying the most critical factor driving radicalisation.