Dealing with the fast-changing environment in the eastern DRC

This paper is a study of the phenomenon of trans-border ethnic relations and its impact on national integration and citizenship in the countries of West and Central Africa where trans-border ethnic groups exist. Despite the existence of many such groups in these regions, and the numerous problems associated with the continued relations among these groups across their countries of abode, the phenomenon has not been seriously studied, especially as it concerns the identification of members of such groups and how they are viewed by members of other ethnic groups, as citizens of one country or the other. This paper notes that trans-border ethnic solidarity ordinarily presents the relevant African states with two possibilities, namely: enormous benefits accruing from regional integration and cooperation among states harbouring fractions of trans-border ethnic groups; or, debilitating conflicts within and between these states. It is the reality of the latter possibility that this paper examines. The states and the international system are often incapable of containing this phenomenon of trans-border ethnic solidarity and usually respond in hostile ways, ultimately manifesting in citizenship problems. The study shows, however, that what is needed is not conflict but cooperation – within and between states having fractions of a trans-border ethnic group, and within the international system, for the enhancement of national citizenship and development in West and Central Africa.     

The ties that bind

Analysis of the failures of African security forces generally focuses on structural issues such as corruption of senior leadership, insufficient equipment and training, and coup d’état fears driving mistrust of armies that are too strong or effective. However, less examined is the role that sub-state identity plays; using Libya, South Sudan, and Mali as case studies, this paper examines how ethnicity inhibits the development of national armies, divides them, and exposes a critical flaw that adversaries are able to exploit. Given the increasingly ethnic nature of conflict throughout the world, and the rising threat that ethnic conflicts in Africa pose to regional and Western partners, it may be prudent for researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders to examine the critical role that sub-state identity plays in undermining African security forces.     

新疆高校少数民族人才培养模式创新研究——以新疆财经大学为例

新疆各高校是本土少数民族人才培养的主要力量,如何构建新形势下少数民族人才培养模式是新疆各高校一直探索和研究的问题。为此对新疆财经大学近二十年少数民族教学改革历程进行梳理,以"民汉一体化"教育教学改革中出现的问题进行深层次剖析,从高校实际出发,在高校办学模式、人才培养模式及教学模式等方面探讨少数民族教育教学改革的思路。     

社会工作视阈下少数民族大学生思想政治教育的思考

少数民族大学生既具有一般大学生的时代特征,又包含民族特色,思想政治教育工作需要进一步创新和完善机制予以应对。作为一种专业的助人服务活动,社会工作的价值观和方法可以融入到少数民族大学生思想政治教育工作中,使其更加凸显人文关怀,切实提高工作的针对性、主动性和实效性,在教育的理念、对象、内容、方式方法和环境等方面获得一定的创新。     

Understanding contemporary conflicts in Africa: a state of affairs and current knowledge

Understanding contemporary conflicts in Africa remains directly dependent on the approaches employed to decipher or interpret them. This article first examines the bias of conventional approaches (inherited from the Cold War) and then those of a series of supposedly “newer” approaches. Relying primarily on West African examples, it offers a brief overview of current knowledge, issues, and avenues for research, based on three apparent characteristics of a “new generation” of conflicts: the regionalization of wars, the privatization of violence and security, and the recourse to extreme forms of brutality. These three major trends bear witness to a rapid transformation of war and armed violence over the past 20 years, but they are not sufficient to establish a radical historical break between “old” and “new” conflicts in Africa. By concealing elements of continuity a priori, the most influential “new” approaches actually make it impossible to ponder their own limits. To that end, fashionability and struggles for influence within the Africanist field play a major role in perpetuating dominant, sensationalistic, or simplistic (and invariably incorrect) portrayals of African conflicts.     

分布式指挥控制决策冲突问题的一致性模型

基于复合标度的二元语义评价方法,提出了一种用于分布式指挥控制决策冲突问题的一致性模型。该模型首先对决策者的一致程度进行判断;其次,测量出个人与整体的偏好偏差,并由模型中的反馈机制提出相关反馈建议;最后通过算例表明该模型可以较好解决决策过程中由于个人认知不同而产生的冲突问题。