TANZANIA

Protracted state collapse in Somalia has led to a multiplication and diversification of armed groups. We can speak of at least five types of armed group: faction, warlord, business, court, and Islamic militias. These groups differ in important ways, yet often are simply classified as ‘militia’ or ‘warlord’. This essay seeks to add a measure of analytical rigour to the classification of armed groups and provides a comparison using a framework of purpose, motivations, logistics, and command, control and communication. It concludes with some observations about the importance of making these distinctions when formulating policy for this region.     

THE CHANGING MEANING OF SMALL ARMS IN NUER SOCIETY

The economic value, social status and symbolic meaning of small arms are particular and temporal in nature. This is demonstra ted through a historical account of the dynamics of cultural change and adaptation in Nuer society. Specifically, the article shows how attitudes towards small arms shif ted over time from a positive valuation of guns as prestigious objects, to ambivalence between the need for protection and the experience of increased local lawlessness and violence. More generally, it demonstrates how weapon-rela ted activities can only be fully understood when seen against a specific cultural background. Even if the display, use and circulation of weapons appear to carry cross-cultural references, typically as expressions of power and masculine identity, the meaning is always primarily local. Therefore, strategies to reduce the destructive impact of small arms through demand side programs, based on voluntary participation, can only be carried out successfully if built on an in-depth understanding of a particular cultural context.     

NEW TERRORISM

New or contemporary international terrorism associated with Islamic fundamentalism and the struggle against Zionism and American interests is a recent phenomenon in Kenya, different to that experienced during the struggle against colonialism. Many explanations have been offered as to why Kenya is being targeted, but have not sufficiently explored its close relationship with the West—especially Britain and the United States, the perceived connection between Israel and the former Presidency of Daniel Arap Moi, domestic forces and government policy. Externally the most important explanations for the increase in regional terrorism are the three waves of global terrorism since 1967, the most recent and significant of which is associated with Osama bin Laden and the Palestinian Intifada. These events reverberated in the region, Sudan and Somalia in particular, but also internally. Both internal and external attribution factors explain the resurgence of new terrorism in Africa. In the case of Kenya, terrorist attacks are associated with the country's internal domestic processes and a naïve approach to broader international issues.     

Comparative analysis of Arab Spring determinants

The Arab Spring, a pro-democracy uprising that has been sweeping through North Africa and the entire Arab world since 2010, has been described as a cataclysmic revolutionary wave that has left the overthrow of political regimes in its wake. Studies have comprehensively x-rayed the political and socio-economic circumstances that gave rise to the uprising. Apart from the impact of the uprising on political developments and democratic governance in the Arab world in particular and the world in general, the circumstances that resulted in the revolutions constitute empirical security implications for Nigeria. This is the focus of this article. Using the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) and other selected indicators, this article draws a comparative analysis of the key factors that led to the uprisings in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, pointing out areas of social and security tensions in Nigeria. Based on these findings, it points out the urgency of and imperative for security sector reforms in Nigeria.     

Political opposition,external threats,and elite responses: analyzing domestic security policy in post-Rose Revolution Georgia

In the years since the 2003 Rose Revolution, the popularly elected leadership of the Republic of Georgia has responded to organized protests with a variety of repressive tactics. These reactions suggest that former challengers to authoritarian elites may utilize similar methods of retaining power during crisis periods. Yet, the alleged involvement of agencies of the Russian Federation in fomenting domestic instability has also occupied a central position in the national security policies of the outgoing Saakashvili government. These conditions both preceded and were reinforced by the South Ossetia War of August 2008. This article proposes a theoretical model that represents the intervening effect of interstate conflicts on state–society relations in Georgia from 2003 to present. It presents several hypotheses and possible indicators, data sources, and techniques for analyzing the interaction between characteristics of opposition groups, external threats, and the domestic security practices of contemporary Georgian political elites.     

融心理学于高校思想政治教育的探索与研究

在新形势下,心理学知识与思想政治教育结合是一个必然的发展趋势。在思想政治教育中引入心理学,既尊重思想政治教育者的客观性,又有助于科学的把握教育者与被教育者互动的心理规律。思想政治教育者在开展工作中善于分析高校学生的心理健康的原因,并且能够提出解决策略。努力提高自身的综合素质,重视情感因素,通过了解学生的个体差异、从众心理、逆反心理等更好的引导学生,培养学生健全的人格和正确的思想认识方向,以实现思想政治教育的最终目标,提高当代大学生的全面素质。     

论现代大学治理下的权力配置

中国特色的现代大学治理是大学政党权力、行政权力、学术权力等多元权力优化配置和协调平衡的制度保障;现代大学治理下如何处理和配置好大学的多元权力,构建现代大学治理下的权力保障制度,应建立多方参与的董事会制度、党政联席会议制度、教授主导下的学术制度、教师学生参与决策管理的监事会议制度等。     

信息技术对军队政治工作主体的新挑战

信息技术的迅猛发展给军队政治工作带来了机遇,同时也提出了一系列新挑战。本文以军队政治工作主体为视角,深入分析了信息技术对军队政治工作主体的认知思维、工作方式和信息素质等三个方面带来的新挑战,提出了相应的对策,指出了军队政治工作主体需要改进的方向。     

Civil–military relations in francophone Africa and the consequences of a mistaken analysis

The Building Security Overseas Strategy is at its core an ‘Intervention to end all Interventions’ – from a Western as well as an African perspective. Two of its main pillars are security sector reform in specific countries and systematic support to the development of the African Peace and Security Architecture. This article addresses the question why such efforts have met little success in francophone Africa. It argues that the failure of Western advisers to understand the sociological dynamics of African armed forces, shaped by a political culture based on personal loyalty to the leader, is at the root of the problem. In that context, the Huntingtonian-type distinction between the civilians and the military does not apply as military and civilians act in concert within common clientelism systems. As a result of the curtailing of the state-formation experience in most African countries, the military never had to demonstrate its performance as a state builder, nor did it have to bargain its legitimacy against the support of the citizens. Partnership in that context will remain a misnomer, at least until African military can credibly demonstrate commitment to state-building grounded in a broad-based social contract.