‘Responsibility to protect’ and the African Union: Assessing the AU’s capacity to respond to regional complex humanitarian and political emergencies

Despite its many institutional and political weaknesses and limitations, the African Union (AU) has been developing a variety of tools and mechanisms to respond effectively to complex disasters and emergencies (both natural and manmade) by building up a comprehensive regional security architecture. Furthermore, it has become the first and only regional or international organisation to enshrine the principle of ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P) in its Constitutive Act. This regional approach to and formal endorsement of the R2P principle allowed it to assume a particular place in the promotion of peace and security in its area. This article aims to critically assess the effectiveness of the AU on the African continent by exploring its real capacity in preventing and responding to emergencies and violent conflicts, and therefore in rendering the principle of R2P operational. The article argues that the formalisation of principles does not necessarily mean their effective implementation. The organisation's use of the R2P principle is also greatly conditioned by internal and external factors.     

Security sector reform in Africa: Donor approaches versus local needs

Many African states have security sector reform (SSR) programs. These are often internationally funded. But how do such programs account for previously existing security institutions and the security needs of local communities? This article examines SSR all over Africa to assess local ownership and path dependency from a New Institutionalist perspective. It finds that SSR, particularly in post-conflict countries, tends to be driven by ideas and perceptions of international donors promoting generalized blueprints. Often, such programs only account in a very limited way for path-dependent aspects of security institutions or the local context. Hence, the reforms often lack local participation and are thus not accepted by the local community eventually.     

论毛泽东对中国共产党领导本质的理论贡献

毛泽东在领导中国革命和社会主义建设事业的实践中,科学地论证了中国共产党的领导本质,即全心全意为人民服务。继承和发展毛泽东关于党的领导本质的理论,对于实践“三个代表”重要思想,保持共产党员先进性,具有重要的理论和实践意义。     

从抗日民族统一战线的建立看中国共产党的中流砥柱作用

抗日战争是中华民族进行的一次伟大的民族解放战争。在这场为人类文明而战、为中华民族生存而战的残酷较量中,中国共产党及其领导的人民武装逐步成长为抗日民族统一战线的核心力量,成为中华民族团结抗战中坚不可摧的中流砥柱。     

论中国共产党是社会主义事业的领导核心

中国共产党的领导是历史和人民的必然选择。科学认识关键在党是中国共产党90年光辉历程的经验总结、中国共产党是社会主义事业的坚强领导核心、坚持中国共产党核心领导地位和作用的基本原则,对于全面建设中国特色社会主义伟大事业具有重大的理论和实践意义。     

高校学生党支部建在班上的SWOT分析与实践

高校学生党支部建在班上拥有坚实的理论基础和实践基础,然而,高校学生党支部建在班上在实践中也存在一系列问题。本文采用SWOT分析分法,对高校学生党支部建在班上的优势、劣势、机遇、威胁进行了较为详细的研究,并在此基础上,有针对性地提出了高校学生党支部建在班上的实践方案。研究结果有助于我们对“学生党支部建在班上”有更加客观、全面的认识,并更好地加以改造和利用。     

关于新时期高校党校教育有效性的几点思考

在当前政治、经济、科学技术发展的新形势下,高校党校只有提高教育实效,才能实现党校的功能,保持党校的生命力。文章从党校教育内容、对象、形式、手段等方面,提出了高校党校提高教育实效的对策,即以教学内容体系的创新来实施“示范工程”;以扩展培训对象来实施“规模工程”;以教育形式和手段创新来实施“品牌工程”;以加强科学研究来实施“质量工程”。     

UNAMID: an African solution to a complex case of geopolitical dynamics

This article examines the geopolitical dynamics associated with the African Union (AU) and United Nations hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) from the start of the Darfur conflict in 2003 until the time when UNAMID became fully operational in 2011. It provides an overview of the complex forces and geopolitical dynamics that affected the deployment of UNAMID and shaped its unique hybrid character. It mainly highlights those primary geopolitical factors that hindered the full deployment of UNAMID. It is concluded that this period was a showcase for the newly established AU and its support for its member states, as well as a new approach for the international community to maintain international peace and security in alliance with regional organisations.     

South Africa's arsenal of terrorism legislation

After only ten years in existence, the African Union (AU) has already made its mark on the landscape of peace and security in Africa. This paper seeks to explore the relationship between the AU's leading collaborative interstate security policy, the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), and sustainable peace in the Horn of Africa. It examines four countries – Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Kenya – and how engaging with the APSA through early warning systems can contribute to developing the elements necessary for sustainable peace, namely regional stability, conflict management, and good governance.     

‘What Kind of War is This?’

This article explores the nature of the American war in Vietnam in an effort to determine whether it was a response to an indigenous uprising or an external effort by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) to use a wide array of policies and programs to unite North Vietnam and South Vietnam under the party’s leadership. It argues that, although there initially were elements of the South Vietnamese population that rose against the southern leadership, the CPV gained control of their resistance and relegated it to a secondary role in the CPV war effort.