Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295105
- eISBN:
- 9780191600128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295103.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
A comparative analysis is given of both actual and simulated election results of the five country case studies (from Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) presented in the book, along ...
More
A comparative analysis is given of both actual and simulated election results of the five country case studies (from Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) presented in the book, along a number of dimensions relating to system inclusiveness: party system dynamics, disproportionality, executive formation, and descriptive representation. Chief among the questions addressed are: what determines the index of disproportionality, how representative are comparative parliaments in terms of the presence of women and ethnic minorities, what are the electoral system implications for voter accessibility, does the chosen system alleviate or accentuate entrenched and geographically concentrated party fiefdoms, how competitive or frozen is the party system, is there an electoral system effect on cabinet formation, and does the type of proportional representation (PR) used matter to the final results? The chapter concludes with a detailed discussion of the Horowitz alternative vote in multi-member districts (AV-MMD) proposal across all five case study countries, and an institutional choice-based analysis of the interaction between negotiated transitions to democracy and the type of electoral system chosen for the new democratic constitution. Overall, the chapter demonstrates that in the context of institutional design in southern Africa, PR systems outperform their plurality–majority alternatives in almost all the categories of analysis.Less
A comparative analysis is given of both actual and simulated election results of the five country case studies (from Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) presented in the book, along a number of dimensions relating to system inclusiveness: party system dynamics, disproportionality, executive formation, and descriptive representation. Chief among the questions addressed are: what determines the index of disproportionality, how representative are comparative parliaments in terms of the presence of women and ethnic minorities, what are the electoral system implications for voter accessibility, does the chosen system alleviate or accentuate entrenched and geographically concentrated party fiefdoms, how competitive or frozen is the party system, is there an electoral system effect on cabinet formation, and does the type of proportional representation (PR) used matter to the final results? The chapter concludes with a detailed discussion of the Horowitz alternative vote in multi-member districts (AV-MMD) proposal across all five case study countries, and an institutional choice-based analysis of the interaction between negotiated transitions to democracy and the type of electoral system chosen for the new democratic constitution. Overall, the chapter demonstrates that in the context of institutional design in southern Africa, PR systems outperform their plurality–majority alternatives in almost all the categories of analysis.
Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295105
- eISBN:
- 9780191600128
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295103.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This book is one of the series Oxford Studies in Democratization, and examines electoral systems and democratization in southern Africa. The design of electoral systems and executive types is ...
More
This book is one of the series Oxford Studies in Democratization, and examines electoral systems and democratization in southern Africa. The design of electoral systems and executive types is increasingly being recognized as the key lever of constitutional engineering to be applied in the interests of political accommodation and stability in ethnically divided societies. In this comparative study of democratic design in southern Africa, Andrew Reynolds finds that the decisions about how to constitute representative parliaments have wide-ranging effects on the type of parties and the party system that develops, the nature of executive–legislative relations, and the inclusiveness of both majority and minority interests in the process of governance. While electoral system design is the primary focus of the book, the related constitutional issues of whether to choose a presidential or parliamentary system, and whether to entrench consensual, consociational, or majoritarian government are also discussed. In analysing the experiences of Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the author presents conclusions that help shed light on the success or failure of democratic design in other fledgling democracies, in both Africa and beyond.Less
This book is one of the series Oxford Studies in Democratization, and examines electoral systems and democratization in southern Africa. The design of electoral systems and executive types is increasingly being recognized as the key lever of constitutional engineering to be applied in the interests of political accommodation and stability in ethnically divided societies. In this comparative study of democratic design in southern Africa, Andrew Reynolds finds that the decisions about how to constitute representative parliaments have wide-ranging effects on the type of parties and the party system that develops, the nature of executive–legislative relations, and the inclusiveness of both majority and minority interests in the process of governance. While electoral system design is the primary focus of the book, the related constitutional issues of whether to choose a presidential or parliamentary system, and whether to entrench consensual, consociational, or majoritarian government are also discussed. In analysing the experiences of Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the author presents conclusions that help shed light on the success or failure of democratic design in other fledgling democracies, in both Africa and beyond.
Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295105
- eISBN:
- 9780191600128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295103.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This work deals with the region of southern Africa in relation to democratic consolidation, dynamic modes of representation, and the mitigation of ethnic (and regional) conflict. It starts with the ...
More
This work deals with the region of southern Africa in relation to democratic consolidation, dynamic modes of representation, and the mitigation of ethnic (and regional) conflict. It starts with the premise that all three objectives are desirable, and poses the question: which institutional arrangements will best facilitate effective representation, political stability, and interethnic accommodation in the emerging democracies of southern Africa? The answer to this question is sought through a comparative analysis of the effect of institutional structures in five case study countries – Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – chosen because all have made the transition from non-democratic government to multiparty competition with varying degrees of success, and they represent at least half of the southern African region, so they comprise a useful cross section of democratic types, societal dynamics, and institutional arrangements. The study uses a hybrid methodology drawn from both new institutionalist and cultural, ‘rich descriptive’, traditions, hence, it utilizes comparative electoral systems methodology; at the same time, the discussions of the case studies are based on detailed social and politically historical descriptions. The Introduction is arranged in five main parts which: address the relevance of question of the best institutional arrangements for democratization; define the dependent (object of study), intervening, and independent (macro-institutional explanatory) variables used in the study; explain why the focus of the study is on political institutions, and discuss various alternative approaches that could have been taken; and give an outline of the contents of the chapters that follow.Less
This work deals with the region of southern Africa in relation to democratic consolidation, dynamic modes of representation, and the mitigation of ethnic (and regional) conflict. It starts with the premise that all three objectives are desirable, and poses the question: which institutional arrangements will best facilitate effective representation, political stability, and interethnic accommodation in the emerging democracies of southern Africa? The answer to this question is sought through a comparative analysis of the effect of institutional structures in five case study countries – Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – chosen because all have made the transition from non-democratic government to multiparty competition with varying degrees of success, and they represent at least half of the southern African region, so they comprise a useful cross section of democratic types, societal dynamics, and institutional arrangements. The study uses a hybrid methodology drawn from both new institutionalist and cultural, ‘rich descriptive’, traditions, hence, it utilizes comparative electoral systems methodology; at the same time, the discussions of the case studies are based on detailed social and politically historical descriptions. The Introduction is arranged in five main parts which: address the relevance of question of the best institutional arrangements for democratization; define the dependent (object of study), intervening, and independent (macro-institutional explanatory) variables used in the study; explain why the focus of the study is on political institutions, and discuss various alternative approaches that could have been taken; and give an outline of the contents of the chapters that follow.
Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295105
- eISBN:
- 9780191600128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295103.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This is the last of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book, as well as provides qualitative ...
More
This is the last of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book, as well as provides qualitative discussions of democracy in the five country case studies used: Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It deals with the theoretical debate underlying the debate over majoritarian or power-sharing governments in divided societies. The ethos and defining institutional characteristics of five democratic types that have, at some stage, been advocated for use in the new democracies of southern Africa are outlined: three majoritarian (unadulterated, qualified, and integrative) and two power-sharing (consociational, and consensual (integrative)). The five main sections of the chapter are: Majoritarian Democracy (unadulterated and qualified; integrative); Power-Sharing Democracy (consociationalism; integrative consensual power-sharing); The Relevance of Presidentialism; Applying the Types to Fledgling Democracies in Southern Africa; and Prescriptions for Southern Africa.Less
This is the last of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book, as well as provides qualitative discussions of democracy in the five country case studies used: Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It deals with the theoretical debate underlying the debate over majoritarian or power-sharing governments in divided societies. The ethos and defining institutional characteristics of five democratic types that have, at some stage, been advocated for use in the new democracies of southern Africa are outlined: three majoritarian (unadulterated, qualified, and integrative) and two power-sharing (consociational, and consensual (integrative)). The five main sections of the chapter are: Majoritarian Democracy (unadulterated and qualified; integrative); Power-Sharing Democracy (consociationalism; integrative consensual power-sharing); The Relevance of Presidentialism; Applying the Types to Fledgling Democracies in Southern Africa; and Prescriptions for Southern Africa.
Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295105
- eISBN:
- 9780191600128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295103.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This is the first of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book. It qualitatively and ...
More
This is the first of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book. It qualitatively and quantitatively assesses the trajectory of the five case studies along the lines of their political stability, ethnic accommodation, and the long-term prospects for democratic accommodation. In attempting to find useful indicators of the trajectory of democratization in each of the five country case studies, six possible approaches are considered: political violence (the measurement of politically related deaths), economic indicators, political and societal indicators (political rights and civil liberties; media freedom and influence), electoral indicators (turnout; spoilt ballots), and ethnic accommodation (worsening ethnic and interregional relations, as exemplified by Zambia and Malawi; improving ethnic relations, as exemplified by Namibia and South Africa; and ethnic relations with an uncertain trajectory, as exemplified by Zimbabwe). Eight institutional indices of democratization are chosen from these: ethnic accommodation, political violence, economic performance, civil liberties, political rights, free media, electoral turnout, and spoilt ballots. The findings on these indicators for each case study are summarised in a table.Less
This is the first of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book. It qualitatively and quantitatively assesses the trajectory of the five case studies along the lines of their political stability, ethnic accommodation, and the long-term prospects for democratic accommodation. In attempting to find useful indicators of the trajectory of democratization in each of the five country case studies, six possible approaches are considered: political violence (the measurement of politically related deaths), economic indicators, political and societal indicators (political rights and civil liberties; media freedom and influence), electoral indicators (turnout; spoilt ballots), and ethnic accommodation (worsening ethnic and interregional relations, as exemplified by Zambia and Malawi; improving ethnic relations, as exemplified by Namibia and South Africa; and ethnic relations with an uncertain trajectory, as exemplified by Zimbabwe). Eight institutional indices of democratization are chosen from these: ethnic accommodation, political violence, economic performance, civil liberties, political rights, free media, electoral turnout, and spoilt ballots. The findings on these indicators for each case study are summarised in a table.
Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295105
- eISBN:
- 9780191600128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295103.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This is the second of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book, as well as providing qualitative ...
More
This is the second of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book, as well as providing qualitative discussions of democracy in the five country case studies used: Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It first defines the intervening variable of ‘inclusion’, which is described as key to the explanation of how conflicts are best managed within divided societies, and discusses its relationship to the macro-institutional explanatory (independent) variables used in the study. It then defines and describes how to measure each of the explanatory variables used: electoral system type; democratic type (coalitions and grand coalitions – consensual– versus concentrations of executive power; fusion – majoritarian – or separation of executive and legislative powers; unicameralism or bicameralism; type of party system; issues dimensions of partisan conflict; unitary versus federal government; constitutions, minority vetoes, and judicial review); and executive type (presidential or parliamentary). The data obtained for each country are discussed, compared, and summarised in tables.Less
This is the second of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book, as well as providing qualitative discussions of democracy in the five country case studies used: Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It first defines the intervening variable of ‘inclusion’, which is described as key to the explanation of how conflicts are best managed within divided societies, and discusses its relationship to the macro-institutional explanatory (independent) variables used in the study. It then defines and describes how to measure each of the explanatory variables used: electoral system type; democratic type (coalitions and grand coalitions – consensual– versus concentrations of executive power; fusion – majoritarian – or separation of executive and legislative powers; unicameralism or bicameralism; type of party system; issues dimensions of partisan conflict; unitary versus federal government; constitutions, minority vetoes, and judicial review); and executive type (presidential or parliamentary). The data obtained for each country are discussed, compared, and summarised in tables.
Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295105
- eISBN:
- 9780191600128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295103.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This is the third of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book, and deals with the theoretical ...
More
This is the third of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book, and deals with the theoretical debate underlying the choice of electoral system in divided societies. The five sections of the chapter are: The Importance of Electoral Systems; The Range of Electoral Systems; What Criteria Should Electoral Systems Aim to Fulfil?; The Debate over Electoral Systems and Conflict Management in Africa (single-member district plurality, proportional representation, the alternative vote in multi-member districts (the Horowitz proposal for South Africa); and Conclusion. The overall discussion includes reference not only to four of the country case studies presented in the rest of the book (Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) but also to numerous other countries worldwide.Less
This is the third of four chapters that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the research on democratization in southern Africa that is described in the book, and deals with the theoretical debate underlying the choice of electoral system in divided societies. The five sections of the chapter are: The Importance of Electoral Systems; The Range of Electoral Systems; What Criteria Should Electoral Systems Aim to Fulfil?; The Debate over Electoral Systems and Conflict Management in Africa (single-member district plurality, proportional representation, the alternative vote in multi-member districts (the Horowitz proposal for South Africa); and Conclusion. The overall discussion includes reference not only to four of the country case studies presented in the rest of the book (Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) but also to numerous other countries worldwide.
López Ramón and Michael A. Toman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199298006
- eISBN:
- 9780191603877
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199298009.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter reviews income and welfare measurement and examines the central topics of assets and sustainability with the evaluation of key conceptual and theoretical literature. It also outlines the ...
More
This chapter reviews income and welfare measurement and examines the central topics of assets and sustainability with the evaluation of key conceptual and theoretical literature. It also outlines the methods of asset accounting and presents selected empirical results from ‘greening’ the national accounts. Linkages to policy are explored, followed by broad conclusions on some basic questions: To what extent has the promise of environmental accounting been realized? Which approach has the greatest policy significance? And where is environmental accounting likely to be most useful? Finally, it studies the recent empirical results from Southern Africa and explores policy linkage with concluding remarks.Less
This chapter reviews income and welfare measurement and examines the central topics of assets and sustainability with the evaluation of key conceptual and theoretical literature. It also outlines the methods of asset accounting and presents selected empirical results from ‘greening’ the national accounts. Linkages to policy are explored, followed by broad conclusions on some basic questions: To what extent has the promise of environmental accounting been realized? Which approach has the greatest policy significance? And where is environmental accounting likely to be most useful? Finally, it studies the recent empirical results from Southern Africa and explores policy linkage with concluding remarks.
William H. Worger
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205661
- eISBN:
- 9780191676741
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205661.003.0033
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History, British and Irish Modern History
Between the 1860s and the First World War, all the indigenous inhabitants of southern and central Africa were brought under British rule. Historical writing on southern Africa, including what later ...
More
Between the 1860s and the First World War, all the indigenous inhabitants of southern and central Africa were brought under British rule. Historical writing on southern Africa, including what later became British Central Africa, began at the same time. Most English-speaking historians writing in South Africa after the First World War were certain that colonial expansion and white settlement were necessary for the economic uplift and civilizing of Africans, but highly critical of the racial policies being espoused by Afrikaner nationalists. With the British Empire virtually coming to an end in the 1950s and 1960s, and the transition to a multiracial majority-ruled Commonwealth receiving its greatest challenge in apartheid South Africa and federating Central Africa, Thompson’s contemporaries focused on the historical roles of white settlers and Imperial officials in bringing about division when there should have been unity. The writing of history has not flourished on campuses in the independent states, and the bulk of work done has been pursued in the universities of Europe and North America. In such circumstances, debate about the legacy of Empire will be as intense in the future as it has been in the past.Less
Between the 1860s and the First World War, all the indigenous inhabitants of southern and central Africa were brought under British rule. Historical writing on southern Africa, including what later became British Central Africa, began at the same time. Most English-speaking historians writing in South Africa after the First World War were certain that colonial expansion and white settlement were necessary for the economic uplift and civilizing of Africans, but highly critical of the racial policies being espoused by Afrikaner nationalists. With the British Empire virtually coming to an end in the 1950s and 1960s, and the transition to a multiracial majority-ruled Commonwealth receiving its greatest challenge in apartheid South Africa and federating Central Africa, Thompson’s contemporaries focused on the historical roles of white settlers and Imperial officials in bringing about division when there should have been unity. The writing of history has not flourished on campuses in the independent states, and the bulk of work done has been pursued in the universities of Europe and North America. In such circumstances, debate about the legacy of Empire will be as intense in the future as it has been in the past.
James Ferguson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265314
- eISBN:
- 9780191760402
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265314.003.0020
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
Key contemporary mechanisms of distribution are routed through the ‘social assistance’ programmes provided by states. While we still often think of such programmes on the model of the well-known ...
More
Key contemporary mechanisms of distribution are routed through the ‘social assistance’ programmes provided by states. While we still often think of such programmes on the model of the well-known ‘welfare states’ of the global North, new forms of state and international transfers to the poor (in Africa and elsewhere in the global South) suggest a need to rethink the question of social assistance from a less Eurocentric perspective. With a special focus on southern Africa, this chapter reviews the meaning of ‘social assistance’ in a region where the domain of ‘the social’ was never securely established in the first place. It reflects on the possibility that new rationalities and techniques of social assistance may be calling into question the assumed dependence of social service provision on traditional forms of population registration and documentation.Less
Key contemporary mechanisms of distribution are routed through the ‘social assistance’ programmes provided by states. While we still often think of such programmes on the model of the well-known ‘welfare states’ of the global North, new forms of state and international transfers to the poor (in Africa and elsewhere in the global South) suggest a need to rethink the question of social assistance from a less Eurocentric perspective. With a special focus on southern Africa, this chapter reviews the meaning of ‘social assistance’ in a region where the domain of ‘the social’ was never securely established in the first place. It reflects on the possibility that new rationalities and techniques of social assistance may be calling into question the assumed dependence of social service provision on traditional forms of population registration and documentation.
Geir Lundestad
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199266685
- eISBN:
- 9780191601057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266689.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The US and the Western European countries certainly had their differences over various European questions, but all debate took place against the background of a Soviet threat that disturbed the ...
More
The US and the Western European countries certainly had their differences over various European questions, but all debate took place against the background of a Soviet threat that disturbed the entire ‘free world’ and a NATO framework that had been established to deal with this threat. However, disagreements over out‐of‐area disputes (i.e. disputes outside the area covered by core Article 5 of the NATO treaty) between the US and many Western European countries were even more frequent and the common framework much weaker. At the beginning of the post‐war period, the US definitely saw itself as an anti‐colonial power, and its strong anti‐colonial views spurred progress towards independence not only for India and other British colonial territories, but also for those of other European colonies. The different sections of this chapter look at the changing nature of America's colonial policy, particularly in the face of prospects that communists might take control of a former European territory, and at its increasing role in other out‐of‐area questions, over the period 1945–1975. The areas discussed are East Asia (French Indo‐china, China, and the Korean and Vietnamese wars), the Middle East, and Southern Africa and Cuba. In addition a whole separate section is devoted to the Vietnam conflict, and another to the various disputes that led the Nixon administration to pronounce 1973 the ‘Year of Europe’ in an effort to bring the US and Western Europe close after a period of dispute that had involved, in particular, American support to Israel.Less
The US and the Western European countries certainly had their differences over various European questions, but all debate took place against the background of a Soviet threat that disturbed the entire ‘free world’ and a NATO framework that had been established to deal with this threat. However, disagreements over out‐of‐area disputes (i.e. disputes outside the area covered by core Article 5 of the NATO treaty) between the US and many Western European countries were even more frequent and the common framework much weaker. At the beginning of the post‐war period, the US definitely saw itself as an anti‐colonial power, and its strong anti‐colonial views spurred progress towards independence not only for India and other British colonial territories, but also for those of other European colonies. The different sections of this chapter look at the changing nature of America's colonial policy, particularly in the face of prospects that communists might take control of a former European territory, and at its increasing role in other out‐of‐area questions, over the period 1945–1975. The areas discussed are East Asia (French Indo‐china, China, and the Korean and Vietnamese wars), the Middle East, and Southern Africa and Cuba. In addition a whole separate section is devoted to the Vietnam conflict, and another to the various disputes that led the Nixon administration to pronounce 1973 the ‘Year of Europe’ in an effort to bring the US and Western Europe close after a period of dispute that had involved, in particular, American support to Israel.
Robert W. Hefner
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520078352
- eISBN:
- 9780520912564
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520078352.003.0003
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Religion
This chapter tries to make a case for the defense and looks at everything that can be argued against the identification of African religion with the microcosmic and of mission Christianity with the ...
More
This chapter tries to make a case for the defense and looks at everything that can be argued against the identification of African religion with the microcosmic and of mission Christianity with the macrocosmic. It then turns to the key question of literacy, arguing that there was no necessary connection between its introduction into much of southern Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and conversion to Christianity, even though there was an actual connection. The generalizing potentialities of literacy have become available to the spokespersons of African religion. The ways in which mission Christianity was much less macrocosmic than the conventional model supposes are explored. It is noted that much of the continuing history of the religion in southern Africa, whether of Christianity or of African religion, lies in the working out of “this dialectic between the local and the central”.Less
This chapter tries to make a case for the defense and looks at everything that can be argued against the identification of African religion with the microcosmic and of mission Christianity with the macrocosmic. It then turns to the key question of literacy, arguing that there was no necessary connection between its introduction into much of southern Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and conversion to Christianity, even though there was an actual connection. The generalizing potentialities of literacy have become available to the spokespersons of African religion. The ways in which mission Christianity was much less macrocosmic than the conventional model supposes are explored. It is noted that much of the continuing history of the religion in southern Africa, whether of Christianity or of African religion, lies in the working out of “this dialectic between the local and the central”.
Peter Piot
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231166263
- eISBN:
- 9780231538770
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231166263.003.0003
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
This chapter begins with a discussion of the severe AIDS epidemic in Southern Africa. The region accounts for over one third of all people living with HIV in the world, and the nine countries with ...
More
This chapter begins with a discussion of the severe AIDS epidemic in Southern Africa. The region accounts for over one third of all people living with HIV in the world, and the nine countries with the highest prevalence in the world are in Southern Africa. Given these sobering statistics, as well as a continued high spread of HIV, the situation can be characterized as “hyperendemic.” The remainder of the chapter covers the vulnerability of women to HIV in Southern Africa; the drivers of hyperendemic HIV; the impact of apartheid and its ramifications on current sexual behavior, and hence the spread of HIV; the role of government policy in curbing HIV infection and death; and progress in the AIDS response in Southern Africa.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of the severe AIDS epidemic in Southern Africa. The region accounts for over one third of all people living with HIV in the world, and the nine countries with the highest prevalence in the world are in Southern Africa. Given these sobering statistics, as well as a continued high spread of HIV, the situation can be characterized as “hyperendemic.” The remainder of the chapter covers the vulnerability of women to HIV in Southern Africa; the drivers of hyperendemic HIV; the impact of apartheid and its ramifications on current sexual behavior, and hence the spread of HIV; the role of government policy in curbing HIV infection and death; and progress in the AIDS response in Southern Africa.
Peter Godwin and Ian Hancock
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198203650
- eISBN:
- 9780191675935
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203650.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
Two themes stand out in the domestic history of White Rhodesia between 1973 and 1975. First, the war and the events in southern Africa were already changing the political agenda and the Rhodesian way ...
More
Two themes stand out in the domestic history of White Rhodesia between 1973 and 1975. First, the war and the events in southern Africa were already changing the political agenda and the Rhodesian way of life. Secondly, most Rhodesians reacted to the new circumstances by affirming the dominant value of the past. Neither the world outside nor the threats from the inside figured prominently in the day-to-day outlook of communities whose version of reality had prepared them to enjoy the good and to absorb or deflect the unpleasant.Less
Two themes stand out in the domestic history of White Rhodesia between 1973 and 1975. First, the war and the events in southern Africa were already changing the political agenda and the Rhodesian way of life. Secondly, most Rhodesians reacted to the new circumstances by affirming the dominant value of the past. Neither the world outside nor the threats from the inside figured prominently in the day-to-day outlook of communities whose version of reality had prepared them to enjoy the good and to absorb or deflect the unpleasant.
Rene Loewenson and Lucy Gilson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199566761
- eISBN:
- 9780191731181
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566761.003.0080
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Health is an outcome of the circumstances of people's lives, the communities and environments in which people live and work, the nature of the social relationships, goods, and services people ...
More
Health is an outcome of the circumstances of people's lives, the communities and environments in which people live and work, the nature of the social relationships, goods, and services people encounter, and the choices people make around these conditions. This chapter identifies these influences over the distribution of health and well-being across population groups, countries, and regions. It outlines models used to summarize and explain the social determinants of health. Further, it considers the types of interventions and actions that must be taken outside the health sector to improve the distribution of health and well-being, and what that implies for the role of the health sector within the wider health system. In some aspects, the chapter draws on the learning from the work in the World Health Organization (WHO) Commission of the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH), and particularly the Health Systems Knowledge network of the CSDH, and the learning and analysis from work in the Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET).Less
Health is an outcome of the circumstances of people's lives, the communities and environments in which people live and work, the nature of the social relationships, goods, and services people encounter, and the choices people make around these conditions. This chapter identifies these influences over the distribution of health and well-being across population groups, countries, and regions. It outlines models used to summarize and explain the social determinants of health. Further, it considers the types of interventions and actions that must be taken outside the health sector to improve the distribution of health and well-being, and what that implies for the role of the health sector within the wider health system. In some aspects, the chapter draws on the learning from the work in the World Health Organization (WHO) Commission of the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH), and particularly the Health Systems Knowledge network of the CSDH, and the learning and analysis from work in the Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET).
John M. MacKenzie and Nigel R. Dalziel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719076084
- eISBN:
- 9781781702741
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719076084.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Imperialism and Colonialism
This chapter begins with a discussion of Scottish involvement in the British Empire. It then considers whether there was a distinct Scottish identity which was maintained, promoted or even developed ...
More
This chapter begins with a discussion of Scottish involvement in the British Empire. It then considers whether there was a distinct Scottish identity which was maintained, promoted or even developed at the so-called periphery of empire, and argues that, for good or ill, Scots contributed more powerfully than their numbers would suggest to the processes of westernisation and modernisation in southern Africa. Through their linguistic and ethnographic activities, particularly in the context of the frontier missions, they had a considerable influence upon attitudes to African peoples, to the classic nineteenth-century activity, derived from the Enlightenment, of creating taxonomies and stereotypes for humans as much as for the phenomena of the natural world. Such activities led to strong, though inevitably diverse, ideas about the frontier, African administration, labour policy and much else.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of Scottish involvement in the British Empire. It then considers whether there was a distinct Scottish identity which was maintained, promoted or even developed at the so-called periphery of empire, and argues that, for good or ill, Scots contributed more powerfully than their numbers would suggest to the processes of westernisation and modernisation in southern Africa. Through their linguistic and ethnographic activities, particularly in the context of the frontier missions, they had a considerable influence upon attitudes to African peoples, to the classic nineteenth-century activity, derived from the Enlightenment, of creating taxonomies and stereotypes for humans as much as for the phenomena of the natural world. Such activities led to strong, though inevitably diverse, ideas about the frontier, African administration, labour policy and much else.
John M. MacKenzie and Nigel R. Dalziel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719076084
- eISBN:
- 9781781702741
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719076084.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Imperialism and Colonialism
Scots did not wait until the first British capture of the Cape in 1795 to be engaged in the establishment of a white community at the southern tip of Africa. In this respect, they were following a ...
More
Scots did not wait until the first British capture of the Cape in 1795 to be engaged in the establishment of a white community at the southern tip of Africa. In this respect, they were following a long-standing propensity to be involved in commercial ventures throughout the North Sea and Baltic regions. Thus, when such ventures reached out into the South Atlantic, they were soon there too. This chapter discusses prominent Scots in the British occupations, the Moodie settlement and the 1820 settlement.Less
Scots did not wait until the first British capture of the Cape in 1795 to be engaged in the establishment of a white community at the southern tip of Africa. In this respect, they were following a long-standing propensity to be involved in commercial ventures throughout the North Sea and Baltic regions. Thus, when such ventures reached out into the South Atlantic, they were soon there too. This chapter discusses prominent Scots in the British occupations, the Moodie settlement and the 1820 settlement.
KEITH KEITH
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199244898
- eISBN:
- 9780191697401
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199244898.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, HRM / IR
This chapter discusses the military leadership at the close of the nineteenth century in southern Africa. Here, the parallel cases are the British army's defeat at Isandhlwana at the hands of the ...
More
This chapter discusses the military leadership at the close of the nineteenth century in southern Africa. Here, the parallel cases are the British army's defeat at Isandhlwana at the hands of the Zulu army, and the repulse of the latter by the former, within twenty-four hours, at Rorke's Drift. Since the armies were identical and the tactics for both sides had been firmly established by their respective senior leaders, this chapter examines why the first battle went so badly for the British but the second so badly for the Zulus. It provides an outline of the background to the Anglo–Zulu conflict.Less
This chapter discusses the military leadership at the close of the nineteenth century in southern Africa. Here, the parallel cases are the British army's defeat at Isandhlwana at the hands of the Zulu army, and the repulse of the latter by the former, within twenty-four hours, at Rorke's Drift. Since the armies were identical and the tactics for both sides had been firmly established by their respective senior leaders, this chapter examines why the first battle went so badly for the British but the second so badly for the Zulus. It provides an outline of the background to the Anglo–Zulu conflict.
John M. MacKenzie and Nigel R. Dalziel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719076084
- eISBN:
- 9781781702741
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719076084.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Imperialism and Colonialism
This chapter examines the various ways in which Scots declared their identity in the second half of the nineteenth and early years of the twentieth centuries. Caledonian Societies emerged throughout ...
More
This chapter examines the various ways in which Scots declared their identity in the second half of the nineteenth and early years of the twentieth centuries. Caledonian Societies emerged throughout southern Africa. The totemic days of the Scottish calendar were widely celebrated. Highland games were instituted as major sporting and cultural events, matching their counterparts in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.Less
This chapter examines the various ways in which Scots declared their identity in the second half of the nineteenth and early years of the twentieth centuries. Caledonian Societies emerged throughout southern Africa. The totemic days of the Scottish calendar were widely celebrated. Highland games were instituted as major sporting and cultural events, matching their counterparts in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
John M. Janzen
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520072657
- eISBN:
- 9780520910850
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520072657.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This book is concerned with institutions carrying the designation ngoma and related terms. By entering African religious and therapeutic expression through its own language, some important ...
More
This book is concerned with institutions carrying the designation ngoma and related terms. By entering African religious and therapeutic expression through its own language, some important underlying, and possibly historic, commonalities and connections are identified. This can also help in the establishing of the basis for variants and transformations more intelligibly. A review of some of the scholarship relating to healing in community settings in Central and Southern Africa is presented. In addition, an extensive field survey of ngoma manifestations in four settings of Sub-Saharan Africa where the literature suggested it occurred is provided. Finally, the chapter offers an overview of the other chapters included in this book.Less
This book is concerned with institutions carrying the designation ngoma and related terms. By entering African religious and therapeutic expression through its own language, some important underlying, and possibly historic, commonalities and connections are identified. This can also help in the establishing of the basis for variants and transformations more intelligibly. A review of some of the scholarship relating to healing in community settings in Central and Southern Africa is presented. In addition, an extensive field survey of ngoma manifestations in four settings of Sub-Saharan Africa where the literature suggested it occurred is provided. Finally, the chapter offers an overview of the other chapters included in this book.
