A critical analysis of ethnic conflict in Kenya : the politicisation of ethnicity in Kenya subsequent to the 2007 elections
- Authors: Daweti, Siyabulela
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Ethnic conflict -- Kenya , Kenya -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8345 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020780
- Description: This study examines the interface between Kenyan politics and ethnicity. More specifically it examines why ethnicity is at the core of Kenyan politics. Although this study discusses how colonialism influenced the ethnicisation of African politics, it focuses more on the era of post-colonial politics. The objective of the study is to investigate how post-colonial Kenyan leaders have shaped the content of Kenyan politics. This study explores ethnic conflicts in Kenya, more especially the 2008 conflict. In order to provide a clear framework for the analysis of Kenyan society, Zambian politics and its social dynamics were also examined in this study. In terms of political development and other variables, one could describe Zambia as Kenya’s peer. It is, therefore, an ideal country against which to evaluate Kenya. In terms research methodology, this study has taken a descriptive and an explanatory approach. Thematic and content analysis has also been employed as data analysis methods. This study has established that the manner in which Kenyan politics are organised is centred on ethnicity. The study found that Kenya’s unique political and social components have predisposed Kenya to ethnic conflicts. For example, a political future within Kenyan political parties and in public office is heavily influenced by one’s ethnicity. Ethnicity also plays a role in the nature of political coalitions. As a solution to the Kenyan problem, this author has recommended that Kenya’s politics (and political campaigns) be based on issues related to the development of Kenyan society, rather than ethnicity. Those in public office should also elevate national identity above ethnic identity.
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- Date Issued: 2014
A study of the reintegration of female former child soldiers in Gulu District, northern Uganda
- Authors: Bertelsen, Anna
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Women soldiers -- Uganda -- Gulu District , Child soldiers -- Uganda -- Gulu District , Patriarchy -- Uganda -- Gulu District
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8324 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020192
- Description: This research explores the perceptions and experiences of female former child soldiers in regard to their reintegration within the community of Gulu District, northern Uganda. In many societies women are generally excluded due to prevailing patriarchal hegemonies, with northern Uganda being no exception. Moreover, former child soldiers are commonly marginalized and discriminated against because members of communities commonly believe that they should be punished for the perceived atrocities that they allegedly committed during times of conflict, rather than be reintegrated into society. In this regard female former child soldiers can be identified as a particularly vulnerable and marginalized group. Therefore, it can be suggested that although the distinction between traditional gender roles has been eroded during times of armed conflict, there is still widespread evidence that women are largely overlooked and disregarded in the process of peace building. In order to explore the perceptions and experiences of former female child soldiers, a qualitative case study method was utilized based on in-depth face to face interviews with women from Gulu District, northern Uganda. The findings of this study indicate that, even though these women went through considerable hardships, all of them displayed a strong sense of resilience. Many of them had taken on the role as active change agents in their own lives and provided an array of suggestions on how their situation could be improved. The major themes constructed from the study include: challenges facing returnees; facilitating factors for returnees and suggestions on improved reintegration. Based on these findings a number of recommendations emerged. The recommendations are presented in order to assist organizations and other stakeholders involved in reintegration of child soldiers in northern Uganda and elsewhere in the world. Apart from providing information to the existing body of research, future areas of proposed research are also outlined.
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- Date Issued: 2014
An expression of South African youth identity : understanding deliquency, violence and vandalism amongst the youth in selected informal settlements
- Authors: Mohale, Keneuoe
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Youth and violence -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Squatter settlements -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Child rearing , Identity (Psychology) in youth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8321 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020155
- Description: This study sought to explore the perceptions of violence by the youth and to investigate the causes and consequences of violence amongst the youth. Specifically, the study aimed at exploring why the youth are predisposed to violence and violent crimes in informal settlements. A qualitative research design was used in this study. The researcher made use of the qualitative design because it allows for the richness of the personal experiences and meanings of the respondents to be explored, allowing the researcher to uncover variations between respondents. Based on the qualitative design, the study utilised the in-depth interview to solicit the views of young people living in New Brighton Township in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province. The objectives of the study were - To identify consequences of violence.- To assert if violence is normalised within a particular social environment.- To explore what predisposes the youth to violence.- To find out if parenting styles influence youth violence.- To explore the role of models in youth violence and crime. The respondents were selected through purposive sampling as the researcher sought typical and divergent data from the respondents. Data was collected through focus group interviews with nine young people aged nineteen to twenty- four years. The study established the following: Firstly, that violence is high in South African communities. It also found the following factors to be contributing to these high levels of violence: socialisation, unemployment, and family structures. The findings also indicated that some kinds of violence are normalised within the societies in which young people grow up in. Findings also indicate that, as a result of these violent behaviours, many South African youth lose their lives while others are imprisoned. This study also found that the environment in which a child grows up in has a greater impact on the child’s later behaviour in life. Overall, the study concluded that violence amongst the young people is a major problem facing South African communities. As one of the recommendations, the researcher indicated that punishing young people through imprisonment is not the solution, especially in a country where so many people are living in wretched poverty. Rather, the researcher recommended that minimising the levels of violence to which young people are exposed to on a daily basis could be one of the effective intervention strategies for decreasing this pandemic. This can be achieved by involving families, schools and communities in minimising this kind of exposure.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Investigating challenges faced by refugees in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Authors: Miketta, Janina
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Refugees -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Xenophobia -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Asylum, Right of -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8358 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021021
- Description: With a number of international and intranational conflicts still unresolved and new ones arising, refugees will continue to be in need of protection. South Africa, known for its tolerant constitution, is likely to receive more asylum seekers in the future. This research seeks to investigate the experiences of refugees in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, as reported by practitioners assisting refugees in the area. The explorative study aims at examining the issues refugees commonly find challenging, describing positive and negative developments in the experience of refugees and discussing how their experience can be improved. An analysis of basic human needs theory serves as a framework for the study. The researcher conducted face-to-face interviews with the participants. The analysis of the data gathered emphasised the challenges refugees face in seeking to satisfy their needs. The main themes that were identified from the data include: a lack of knowledge and awareness about refugee issues and a misconceptions regarding different groups of migrants; current socioeconomic challenges in South Africa; xenophobia; refugees as a heterogeneous group; and refugee access to services. The challenges faced by refugees in Port Elizabeth were identified as access to justice and correct documentation, access to healthcare, housing and education, as well as xenophobia, police protection and crime. Recommendations were made regarding the improvement of the refugees’ experience, including educating public sector employees and government officials about refugee rights, sensitising communities about refugee issues, offering refugees language courses and providing them with an induction into their rights and employing translators in health clinics to improve access to healthcare.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Perceptions of South African foreign policy in the African Union
- Authors: Lobo, Daniel Furahini Østerhus
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: International relations , South Africa -- Foreign relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8308 , http://hdl/handle.net/10948/d1020029
- Description: South Africa plays a very important role on the African continent, both politically and economically. She is often the main protagonist behind various peace-making efforts both regionally and continentally, and now she plays an even more important part in the African Union. In July 2012 South African candidate Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was elected as chairperson of the African Union Commission, in an election which highlighted a need to investigate the perception of South Africa in the African Union. South African foreign policy has gone through various stages, from being internationally isolated during the apartheid era to being on the forefront continentally during the successive post-apartheid presidents. The electoral discourse in 2012 however, highlighted some divergent opinions on South African foreign policy which this study investigates. What was identified during the election campaign was a possible negative perception of South African foreign policy, both politically and in terms of the private sector. The study sought to investigate how South Africa is perceived on the African continent, and in order to reach a conclusion it performed a policy analysis as well as a qualitative discourse analysis of the statements given during the election. The policy analysis contextualises and explains South African foreign policy agendas and choices, and the discourse analysis sought to reveal any negative perceptions of South African foreign policy. The findings of the study are that there is a general negative perception of South Africa and her foreign policy in Africa, due to several reasons, which will be discussed in the following study. The negative perceptions stem from the Eastern region, the Western region, as well as from South Africa itself, through political analysts and experts.
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- Date Issued: 2014
The construction of the flexible generalist: a Foucaultian and Althusserian analysis of the basic education system of South Africa
- Authors: Du Plessis, Corne
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Basic education -- Curricula -- South Africa , Education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8427 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020047
- Description: The aim of this dissertation is to ‘problematize’ the ‘flexible generalist’ - the form of subjectivity allegedly produced by the basic education system of South Africa. According to the South African Qualifications Authority, ‘flexible generalists’ are individuals who possess the necessary skills, knowledge and flexibility to successfully participate in new working environments, thereby sustaining an adaptable workforce and contributing to the national economy. The dissertation will illustrate that this economic viability comes at the cost of critical and relative autonomous thinking, and is therefore not as ‘beneficent’ as the South African Qualifications Authority suggests. Initially, Louis Althusser’s theory regarding the repressive state apparatus and ideological state apparatuses will be employed in order to indicate how the education institution is underpinned by consumer-capitalist ideology. Subsequently, in order to ensure docility, efficiency and obedience within the workforce, the formal education system subjects the learner to various disciplinary discursive practices. By applying Michel Foucault’s theory regarding disciplinary power, this dissertation will illustrate that, through the regimentation of the subject’s time and space, docility is, for the most part, ensured. However, the flexible generalist is not solely produced through disciplinary power, but also through Foucault’s conception of bio-power, which is disseminated through the deployment of sexuality. Disciplinary power and bio-power are both appropriations of pastoral power, since the learner is led to believe that the well-being and care of the ‘self’ is always in the hands of another: specialists in numerous fields who ‘guide’ the individual regarding the ‘correct’ and ‘normal’ conduct in relation to the self and society, thereby stripping the subject of critical and relative autonomous thinking. The dissertation will conclude by suggesting a possible offset to the discursive practices that produce the flexible generalist in the form of ‘philosophy as a way of life’, or philosophia – the love of wisdom. Unlike the current educational discursive practices in South Africa that are underpinned by an ‘ethos of skills’ (resulting in mere economic empowerment), philosophia is based on an ‘ethos of wisdom’ - a comprehension of oneself, others and existence, based on the mastery of the self, and resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions on a contextual basis.
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- Date Issued: 2014
The role of FDI in economic growth in Namibia
- Authors: Nashidengo, Victoria Ndinoshisho Peneyambeko
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Investments, Foreign -- Namibia , Economic development -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8878 , vital:26438
- Description: This report examines the role of FDI in economic growth in Namibia using annual time series data from 1980 to 2012. The relationship was explored using the VAR framework, in particular, the Granger causality. Impulse response functions and forecast error variance techniques were used for analysis. The results show that there is a positive relationship between FDI and economic growth in Namibia. The study then concluded that Namibia need more investment in other sectors such as education taking into consideration that most foreign capital is directed into the mining and manufacturing sectors. However, Namibia does not have all the necessary skill to be able to sustain the growth in GDP as a result of FDI. The study further suggested that Namibia can take advantage of export-led growth because of the positive relationship that exists between growth and export. However, there is great need to improve and diversify by focusing on exporting semi-finished and finished manufactured products instead of solid minerals and primary products that are of low value. This will enhance competitive advantage on foreign markets.
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- Date Issued: 2014