Reena Marwah, Reimagining India–Thailand Relations: A Multilateral and Bilateral Perspective. Singapore: WSPC, 2020, pp. 318, ISBN: 978-981-121-203-1 (hardcover) USD 108.00 & ISBN: 978-981-121-205-5 (ebook) USD 86.00.

(2021). Political Violence in Southeast Asia Since 1945: Case Studies from Six Countries. Asian Affairs. Ahead of Print.

Under the current confessional system, representative democracy in Lebanon suffers from a double crisis. At the institutional level, the prolonged presidential and cabinet vacancies combined with the slowness of the governmental machine reveal a considerable efficiency deficit. At the structural level, the current electoral representative system increasingly supports the organization of an oligarchic

Moral hazard theory assumes that the responsibility to protect (R2P) raises expectations of third-party intervention, thus creating a perverse motivation for vulnerable groups to act aggressively and incite a situation where foreign intervention becomes necessary to preserve their own safety. The promise of external intervention encourages vulnerable groups to rebel against their parent states under

What explains the gender gap in collective political activism in the Muslims world? Under what conditions do Muslim women actively engage in mass political activism? Utilizing the World Values Survey (2010–2012; n = 19,616) and shifting the theoretical focus on the largely ignored meso-level of analysis of organizational effects, this study conducts a two-level analysis to (1) chart and reassess the

Drawing from scholarship on authoritarian adaptation and on insight from legitimacy theory, we seek to examine to what degree the renewal of authoritarianism under ‘Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi in post-revolutionary Egypt can be understood as the establishment of a new political order with its own patterns of legitimation. The main focus of the discussion is al-Sisi's adaptation of legitimization strategies

This article estimates the tax capacity and tax effort of 17 major states of India from 2001–2002 to 2016–2017 using the stochastic frontier panel data model. It is found that per capita income, agriculture activity, infrastructure, labour force and bank credit are the significant determinants of tax capacity, while social sector spending and central transfer to states are significant in determining

ABSTRACT Portuguese texts resisted the use of Spanish holonyms for naming the Philippines during the sixteenth century and up to the dynastic transition of 1580, when Philip II became king of Portugal. As a result of their maritime ventures, the Portuguese spatial perception of the present-day Philippines differed from that of Spanish officials, by not recognizing a specific identity for the archipelago

Abstract: Thinking theoretically about three important and recent events affecting the Kurds can help us to understand better their political experiences.11 For background to the Kurdish issue, see David McDowall (2004 McDowall, D. (2004) A Modern History of the Kurds, 3rd edn. (New York: I.B. Tauris). [Google Scholar]) A Modern History of the Kurds, 3rd edn. (New York: I.B. Tauris). For a more recent

ABSTRACT The European Union Cohesion Policy lies on a variety of policy instruments including Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) on a regional level. Despite its proximity to Europe, there is currently no strategy of its own for North Africa, only a strategy-building process. Since Smart Specialisation claims to address regional disparities by initiating catch-up processes

ABSTRACT Activism against sexual violence was one of the Egyptian Revolution’s most significant mobilising forces, but the country’s return to authoritarian rule has circumvented possibilities for organising and carrying out political resistance, including activism against sexual harassment. This article shows that despite this political oppression, young feminists continue to raise their voices and

Abstract This article provides an account of the way in which the lives of women have changed and developed in the Trucial States, and later the United Arab Emirates, over the last century. It describes changes in areas including the domestic sphere, family life, religion, relationships, travel, education, and employment. The object of this article is to understand the world of the predecessors of

Abstract This article provides an overview of the internal and external political and economic problems facing the Middle-Eastern Kingdom of Jordan in the light of the so-called ‘attempted coup' of Prince Hamzeh which took place at the beginning of April 2021. It then discusses a number of key factors which may affect Jordan’s future prospects.

Party politics across Central and Eastern Europe has become less structured. Many of the divides that anchored political competition have waned in recent years, weakening the attachment of voters to the existing palette of parties and making them more likely to be attracted to new and non-traditional electoral vehicles. But for such parties to succeed at the ballot box, they need to be able to frame

The article explores the process of legal and judicial integration of Transylvania within Greater Romania, focusing on how Romanian legal professionals experienced the transition from the Habsburg Empire to the Romanian nation-state. I argue that lawyers, judges, and jurists placed greater importance on legal tradition, professional solidarity, and the pursuit of personal interests than nationalism

ABSTRACT It is difficult for any scholar on Yoruba culture to escape contact with the extensive literature on Orí, a metaphysical, ontological predicate for the existence of human selfhood, and self-other relations. This is not only because much has been written on the subject by scholars of different disciplinary persuasions, but also because this scholarship claims to be advancing, a peculiar point

(2021). Majek Fashek (1963–2020) Journal of Contemporary African Studies: Vol. 39, Doing sociology in Africa, pp. 384-388.

(2021). Background note to the Mcebisi Ndletyana review symposium. Journal of Contemporary African Studies: Vol. 39, Doing sociology in Africa, pp. 389-389.

(2021). A critical review of Ndletyana's Anatomy of the ANC in Power: Insights from Port Elizabeth, 1990–2019. Journal of Contemporary African Studies: Vol. 39, Doing sociology in Africa, pp. 393-396.

ABSTRACT This review of Mcebisi Ndletyana’s Analysis of the ANC in Power draws on previous research on elections, democracy and development in the township of Kwazakhele in Nelson Mandela Bay, as well as on current literature on the ANC and corruption in South Africa. It argues that a political economy analysis best enables us to understand the failure of the democratic project in Nelson Mandela Bay

ABSTRACT This paper provides a critical review of Mcebisi Ndletyana’s book The Anatomy of the ANC in Power: Insights from Port Elizabeth, 1990–2019 which was published in 2020 by the Human Sciences Research Council. The review ranges from a discussion of the methodology and concept to a discussion of the major themes. With respect to the concept and methodology, it is argued that a study pithed on

(2021). Mcebisi Ndletyana’s Anatomy of the ANC in Power: Insights from Port Elizabeth, 1999–2019 – A critical review. Journal of Contemporary African Studies: Vol. 39, Doing sociology in Africa, pp. 415-417.

(2021). How the east was lost: finance, factions and feuds – A review of Mcebisi Ndletyana’s Anatomy of the ANC in Power: Insights from Port Elizabeth, 1990–2019. Journal of Contemporary African Studies: Vol. 39, Doing sociology in Africa, pp. 418-426.

ABSTRACT The publication of my book, Anatomy of the ANC in Power: Insights from Port Elizabeth, 1990–2019, attracted a number of scholarly reviews. I used the coastal city of Port Elizabeth as a case study to examine local politics, specifically the interplay between the local ANC and the municipality. The resultant reviews have been both complimentary and critical. They are unanimous that the book

ABSTRACT This paper draws upon recent research that explored Muslim youth identity constructions in southern Ghana. At a time when Muslim youth are often demonised and Islam is represented as incompatible with western democratic ideals, the research explored the intersections of nation, religion, ethnicity and gender in identity narratives of female students in high school and higher education in southern

ABSTRACT This article assesses the extent to which the Africa Museum (AM) decolonised itself according to Sarr and Savoy’s criteria for restitution applied to DR Congo’s cultural heritage. Rather than casting permanent restitution as a single objective, this paper argues that the long-term process consubstantial to the decolonising momentum can break an often-misleading taxonomy down and discern its

AbstractThis research note explores the ethical and methodological implications of using drones for ethnographic research at events that involve simultaneous activities and/or large crowds and large spaces. Based on the methodological challenges of collecting visual data using cameras in the case of royal funerals in Ghana, this note argues that the aerial viewpoint provided by drones could transform

AbstractThere are striking differences between state buildings in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and in how citizens living in each country’s capital city think and talk about them. In this article, we explore the degree to which these buildings illustrate very different ideas of statehood in West Africa. We draw on art theories from West Africa to argue that architectural aesthetics rest on juxtapositions

AbstractUrban renewal is central to ‘world-class’ city aspirations on the African continent: demolitions and evictions exemplify the power of the state to restructure urban space, prioritizing elite forms of accumulation and enforcing aesthetic norms of cleanliness, order and modernity. The ubiquity of world-class city-making has been taken by urban studies scholars as evidence of African leaders’

Women’s rights are being enshrined in African constitutions today to an unprecedented extent. African countries have on average more constitutional provisions addressing women’s rights than any other region of the world. This longitudinal cross-national study shows that constitutional reforms in African contexts are increasingly evident in the areas of gender equality, customary law, discrimination

African Affairs, doi:10.1093/afraf/adaa015.

AbstractLivestock owners, elites and non-elites alike, from different parts of Namibia fence in land that belongs to the indigenous San people who collectively manage their land as a conservancy. Fencing violates the Communal Land Reform Act of 2002. The conservancy started a lawsuit in August 2013 with reference to this Act to remove the fences and end the illegal occupation of land. The High Court

The path to genocide in Rwanda: Security, opportunity, and authority in an ethnocratic state, by McDoomOmar Shahabudin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. xviii + 412 pp. £75.00 (hardback). ISBN 9781108491464

African economic development: Evidence, theory, policy, by CramerChristopher, SenderJohn, and OqubayArkebe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. xiv + 319 pp. £35.00 (hardback). ISBN 978 0 19 883233 1. £24.79 (e-book). ISBN 978 0 256838 0.

This article takes news coverage of the Soweto uprising of 1976 as a case study to demonstrate the influence of South Africa and Britain on the media in post-colonial Zambia. In part, this can be accounted for by the growing popularity of Radio Republic of South Africa (RSA) among listeners in Zambia, particularly in regions that were on the front line of the liberation struggle. RSA defended the actions

(2021). Algeria: be careful what you wish for. The Journal of North African Studies: Vol. 26, Telling Histories of the Present: Postcolonial Perspectives on Morocco’s ‘Radically New’ Migration Policy, pp. 819-826.

ABSTRACT Political campaigning in 2019 in Andhra Pradesh took place against the backdrop of a recent (2014) bifurcation of the state and increasing fragmentation of its party system. The campaign focussed on two powerful leaders of regional political parties: Chandrababu Naidu, the incumbent Chief Minister and leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and Jagan Mohan Reddy, the opposition leader and

In India, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic-induced country-wide regulatory lockdown and consequential supply-chain disruptions and market instability have all posed serious challenges before the regulators and policymakers. Amid the pandemic, the stock market showed return volatilities primarily due to the unexpected investors’ behaviour. One of the behavioural biases is herding, which has the power

(2021). Health in a fragile state. Journal of Southern African Studies. Ahead of Print.

(2021). The General’s Trousers: A Cautionary Tale of India, Then and Now. Asian Affairs. Ahead of Print.

(2021). The great agrarian conquest: the colonial reshaping of a rural world. South Asian History and Culture. Ahead of Print.

ABSTRACT The paper is aimed at exploring how the meaning of universal free childcare was communicated during the first policy initiation process in 2012. In order to do so, interpretative policy analysis was utilised as a methodological approach, whilst relevant policy documents and in-depth interviews were used for data collection. I argue that failings occurred because the policy implementation was

(2021). Alexandria: The Quest for the Lost City. Asian Affairs. Ahead of Print.

(2021). Election commission of India-institutionalizing democratic uncertainties. South Asian History and Culture. Ahead of Print.

Zimbabwe has an extensive censorship infrastructure that operates both formally, through the board of censors, and informally, through intimidation by the police and other state and civil players. The use and misuse of censorship legislation in the country has made for a chaotic situation in which misinterpretations of the law have been widely used to justify police crackdowns, arrests and destruction

Abstract Through a close reading of two post-Fukushima plays by Setoyama Misaki, this article examines the potential of theatre to shape cultural memory and raise critical awareness. The playwright-director is known for exploring contentious issues in Japanese society based on in-depth interviews conducted with the people concerned. Among the various art works addressing the Fukushima nuclear disaster

ABSTRACT That Northern Ireland remains profoundly troubled by its own violent past becomes readily apparent in many of the movies that have appeared since the Good Friday Agreement and not least those released since its tenth anniversary. In this article, I provide a broad sketch of recent Northern Irish cinema before moving to a close reading of two critically and commercially acclaimed features released

ABSTRACT One of the most overlooked and yet unique connections between the architectural cultures of Ireland and Great Britain in the early twentieth century is the built work in Northern Ireland of London-based architect Clough Williams-Ellis. His housing, schools and church in Country Antrim represent a significant portion his architectural legacy. This paper re-examines previous scholarship on Williams-Ellis’s

ABSTRACT Solar Bones encompasses several interlinked crises. Mike McCormack’s 2016 Goldsmith Prize-winning novel speaks to the 2008 financial crash, the environmental and health crisis that was the 2007 cryptosporidium outbreak, political crises such as the Eighth Amendment and Citizenship Referendum, as well as various personal crises which link the local and national body politic. Throughout, McCormack

ABSTRACT This study explores expressions of Irishness by fans on the official YouTube channel of the Irish blues/rock singer and guitarist Rory Gallagher. Drawing upon a dataset of some 500 comments, I note the various strategies that fans, both Irish and non-Irish, adopt to engage in public displays of Irishness and explore the personal links that they make with Ireland and Irish culture to situate

ABSTRACT This article argues for an essential shift in the phenomenology of architectural representation and experience occurring between the nationally conversant fictions of James Joyce and Colm Tóibín. I examine the architectural figure of the threshold, demonstrating how their fiction proposes contrasting phenomenological engagements with the material and constructed environment. I focus on A Portrait

(2021). The Irish Buddhist: the forgotten monk who faced down the British Empire. Irish Studies Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 386-387.

(2021). The history of physical culture in Ireland. Irish Studies Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 387-389.

(2021). The Irish whales: Olympians of old New York. Irish Studies Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 389-390.

(2021). Art O’Brien and Irish Nationalism in London, 1900–25. Irish Studies Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 391-392.

(2021). Irish Literature in Transition 1780–1830. Irish Studies Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 392-394.

(2021). Irish literature in transition, 1830–1880. Irish Studies Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 394-396.

(2021). Surreal Beckett: Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, and Surrealism. Irish Studies Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 396-399.

(2021). Nonlinear temporality in Joyce and Walcott: history repeating itself with a difference. Irish Studies Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 399-401.

(2021). The Rebels and Other Short Fiction. Irish Studies Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 401-402.