Although elections are fundamental to democratic consolidation by peacefully electing people to serve in public offices, in many cases they not only bring along ideological contestations but also interparty violent conflicts. Based on a Participatory Action Research (PAR) design, this paper presents field-based lessons on training conducted to curb interparty electoral conflict prior to August 2016 general elections held in Zambia. The study comprised 521 participants from nine political parties which contested in 2016 general elections. Party officials were purposely selected from their provincial, district and constituency level hierarchy. The study aimed at understanding causes for interparty political violence and identifying solutions to address the same. Findings show that major drivers of political violence in Zambia include a deep-rooted "tradition" of practicing politics of intimidation to gain political mileage, political players' ignorance about electoral laws, weak law enforcement, and poverty (an element that drives the desire to earn a living from any opportunity). Unemployed youths are particularly vulnerable and are abused by the political elites to fan violence at a small fee. The study affirms the importance of action research as a useful bottom-up strategy for conflict prevention, especially in illiberal democracies in Africa.
The phenomenon of elusive peace and its implications for socioeconomic development and political stability have remained a subject of scholarly interest in Nigeria’s post-colonial discourse. There have been diverging and converging opinions over the variables responsible for this, and the prospects for recovery. This paper seeks to contribute to the scholarly process of filling the subsisting gap in the extant body of literature by re-interrogating the role of culture in Nigeria’s quest for sustainable peace and development. Employing qualitative method of data collection, and adopting thematic approach for content analysis, findings reveal that peace and development have remained elusive in the country, despite available human and material resource endowments, because the valued components of its cultural heritage have not been systematically articulated and integrated into the mainstream of political ideology and socioeconomic philosophy. This paper argues that launching a renaissance of Nigeria’s cultural heritage is indispensable to maximizing its socioeconomic and political potential for peace and development within the context of its heterogeneous composition. Drawing lessons from plural societies elsewhere, the paper argues that the prospects for sustainable peace and development could remain a mirage at the expense of the valuable insights inherent in its cultural diversity. Therefore, the paper recommends a synergy between indigenous cultural values and external influences as the basis of policy framework for sustainable peace and development in Nigeria in the 21st century.
Despite disagreement among scholars over how precisely to define 'populism,' it remains a prevailing feature of European political dynamics, as evidenced by the rise of the right wing National Rally party under Marine Le Pen in France, the Brexit movement in the UK, the rise of the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) in Germany, the landslide re-election of the socially conservative "Eurosceptic" Viktor Orbán in Hungary, the merger of the left and right populist parties and the Five Star Movement in Italy, and the policies of Andrzej Duda and his government in Poland, all of which have engendered far right, anti-immigration tendencies throughout the continent.The fragility of the EU and the steady erosion of the liberal democratic order of Europe is an ominous trend that is shaking the foundations of Western politics.One of the central factors driving these populist movements is the immigration of Muslims from the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa into Europe.These Muslim migrants are associated with terrorist incidents in some European countries and elsewhere.Some Europeans also view Islamic culture and civilization as incompatible with the Christian and the Western liberal democratic ideals of their own society. 1 The most recent work by internationally known poet, playwright, filmmaker, and anthropologist Akbar Ahmed, 2 Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity, explores the relationship and friction between Islam and Europe in an in-depth investigation carried out by Ahmed and his assembled team of anthropologists.For several years between 2013 and 2017, the team conducted multi-site ethnographic research in some fifty cities and towns in Europe, interviewing a broad cross-section of people in various socioeconomic strata and age groups, including scholars, students, and religious officials such as chief rabbis, grand muftis, and the former archbishop of Canterbury.Various presidents, prime ministers, members of Parliament, and other politicians, including members of the Far Rightist parties that demonize Muslims, were also interviewed.The team conducted research in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy, countries within which Muslim empires once existed; in Denmark and Germany, countries with deep tribal roots and to which Muslims have been invited as guest workers; in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Greece, which claim indigenous Muslim populations; and in Scotland and Ireland, which once constituted part of the former British empire and which are currently revitalizing their nationalist and tribal identities, alongside Britain.The major theme of Journey into Europe is that Europeans are fundamentally divided regarding the Muslim presence in Europe.Although it appears that a majority of Europeans desire a plural society and accept the Muslim presence, a vocal minority expresses fear and are threatened by Islam.The book is divided into three parts.Part one investigates the interpretations of European identity based on its history and culture.On the one hand, Europe can be comprehended as a collective of multifarious countries formed on the bases of tribal or primordial identities, languages, blood lineages, and soil.On the other hand, European identity includes the pluralistic history of 'la Convivencia,' 3 meaning "the co-existence," referring to the historical period during which Jews, Christians, and Muslims coexisted and pursued knowledge, science, and humanistic endeavors together.Ahmed is careful not to romanticize the coexistence that developed in Spain, but he views it as an ideal paradigm for interfaith peace and cooperation.The second part of the book discusses the research findings of the team from the interviews with Muslim migrants, indigenous Muslims in various countries, and converts to Islam.The team also interviewed many Jews and investigated trends in anti-Semitism and the interrelationship
This paper aims to identify similarities and differences in the attitudes and traits of entrepreneurs in four countries, Japan and three Mediterranean countries, and it analyzes how cultural diversity can influence business and entrepreneurial experience. To this end, two questionnaires were completed by entrepreneurs of 188 small businesses in Japan, Italy, Spain and Portugal at a time when all these countries had been hit by the global economic crisis. The indices of the Hofstede dimensions were obtained from the VSM 94 questionnaire. The second open-ended questionnaire adds information about each case in the field of entrepreneurship. The qualitative case analysis shows a relationship between the cultural values of the countries and the traits and attitudes of entrepreneurs. The findings indicate that perseverance and tenacity traits emerge in times of economic crisis as values in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial motivation in Japanese society addresses personal achievement, while it seeks independence in the Mediterranean cultures. The index of individualism takes high values in the four countries. This supports the theory associating this dimension with the traits of creativity and achievement.
Japan's policy toward the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement has been controversial at the political, academic, and public levels. The domestic debate on the TPP literally split public opinion in Japan, and academic analyses are apt to be argumentatively divided into pros and cons. Likewise, earlier studies regarding the TPP in the field of international relations offered particular theoretical perspectives, yet tended not to conduct eclectic theoretical examination. In order to overcome the research gap, this paper attempts to provide both narrative and theoretical explanations by applying international relations (IR) theory in combination with "analytical eclecticism" as a research method in the field of global and international studies. As an application of IR theory and analytical eclecticism, this paper seeks to offer multiple theoretical perspectives and analysis on why Japan has supported and facilitated the TPP even after the withdrawal of the United States during the Trump administration.
