Reform and democracy in Mozambique, 1983-1991
- Authors: Morgan, Glenda Nadine
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Mozambique -- Politics and government -- 1975-1994 , Mozambique -- Economic conditions -- 1975-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2809 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003019 , Mozambique -- Politics and government -- 1975-1994 , Mozambique -- Economic conditions -- 1975-
- Description: Africa is currently experiencing a movement toward more democratic systems of government. The causes of such changes are numerous, but the literature on African democratization, like that on similar changes elsewhere in the world, places emphasis on the role of internal or domestic factors. The role of international pressures toward democratization is almost completely ignored. The case of Mozambique illustrates the dangers of such an omission. During the past decade Mozambique has undergone considerable political change. The single-party, Marxist-Leninist oriented state has been replaced by a multi-party system, devoid of explicit references to any guiding ideology. The government has also expanded its contacts with the West, particularly by means of its assuming membership of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These changes in Mozambique's political orientation have been accompanied by economic reforms, designed to arrest the precipitous decline in the Mozambican economy. In this dissertation I argue that the causes of both the economic and political reforms lie in this decline and in the government's need to secure capital and debt relief internationally. In order to do this, the Mozambican government had to change the aspects of its political system which were seen as being unacceptable by the West, in particular the lack of multi-party competition and its overtly Marxist orientation and close ties to socialist countries. Because the reforms had their primary genesis in Mozambique's need for international acceptance and not in the growth of popularly based democratic organisations, the reforms are fragile and their meaningfulness questionable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
- Authors: Morgan, Glenda Nadine
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Mozambique -- Politics and government -- 1975-1994 , Mozambique -- Economic conditions -- 1975-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2809 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003019 , Mozambique -- Politics and government -- 1975-1994 , Mozambique -- Economic conditions -- 1975-
- Description: Africa is currently experiencing a movement toward more democratic systems of government. The causes of such changes are numerous, but the literature on African democratization, like that on similar changes elsewhere in the world, places emphasis on the role of internal or domestic factors. The role of international pressures toward democratization is almost completely ignored. The case of Mozambique illustrates the dangers of such an omission. During the past decade Mozambique has undergone considerable political change. The single-party, Marxist-Leninist oriented state has been replaced by a multi-party system, devoid of explicit references to any guiding ideology. The government has also expanded its contacts with the West, particularly by means of its assuming membership of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These changes in Mozambique's political orientation have been accompanied by economic reforms, designed to arrest the precipitous decline in the Mozambican economy. In this dissertation I argue that the causes of both the economic and political reforms lie in this decline and in the government's need to secure capital and debt relief internationally. In order to do this, the Mozambican government had to change the aspects of its political system which were seen as being unacceptable by the West, in particular the lack of multi-party competition and its overtly Marxist orientation and close ties to socialist countries. Because the reforms had their primary genesis in Mozambique's need for international acceptance and not in the growth of popularly based democratic organisations, the reforms are fragile and their meaningfulness questionable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
Writing left: Ruth First and radical South African journalism in the 1950's
- Authors: Pinnock, Don
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: First, Ruth, 1925-1982 Journalism -- Political aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2822 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003032
- Description: In a prison cell in Johannesburg in 1953 after months of solitary confinement Ruth First, one of South Africa's finest investigative joumalists, attempted to commit suicide. In a sense, information for this thesis has been gathered around the question of why First felt her life had reached a point where she wished it extinguished. The answer involves who she was, what she believed in and her perception at that moment in time of the magnitude of the defeat of all she had worked for. But this question has broader implications - it has been asked because its answer throws light not only on the particular joumalist, but on the radical press and on the political movements which gave it both life and readers. This study is divided into six sections: Origins and influences looks, firstly, at early Jewish migrations and Ruth's life up to the end of her schooling in Johannesburg, then at her university years and the influence on her life of the Communist Party of South Africa. A vigorously provocative life traces debates which led to the formation of the South African Congress of Democrats and the Congress Alliance. It looks, also, at the political influence of the white Left and the radical social fratemity. Trumpeters of freedom locates the origins of the radical press tradition in South Africa, then looks at the development of the two publications to which Ruth devoted most of her time: The Guardian/New Age and Fighting Talk. Writing left focuses on First's writing in connection with three campaigns: the farm labour and the potato boycott, womens' passes and the bus boycotts. These chapters are not a history of these campaigns, but an analysis of the influence on them of First's joumalism. Word wars is about the Treason Trial of 1956. The contention here is that the trial, in which First was one of the 'chief co-conspirators ', not only put the Congress Alliance in the dock, but was about the definition of three words: communism, violence and treason. In many ways it was a trial of the language of the Left, the tools of First's trade. Shifting focus looks at the period after Sharpeville and the 1960 State of Emergency. It considers the shift in First's writing necessitated by greater political oppression, a banning order and her exploration of the writing of books. Chapter 12 considers the massive setback to the Congress Alliance of the Rivonia Trial and the tactical errors which led the Congress leadership to the conclusion that armed struggle would succeed at that point in time. The final chapter is about First's detention, and her perceived personal defeat which resulted in her attempted suicide. The Postscript looks at First's successful attempts to come to terms with both a political and personal defeat. The work effectively ends, however, with her departure from South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
- Authors: Pinnock, Don
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: First, Ruth, 1925-1982 Journalism -- Political aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2822 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003032
- Description: In a prison cell in Johannesburg in 1953 after months of solitary confinement Ruth First, one of South Africa's finest investigative joumalists, attempted to commit suicide. In a sense, information for this thesis has been gathered around the question of why First felt her life had reached a point where she wished it extinguished. The answer involves who she was, what she believed in and her perception at that moment in time of the magnitude of the defeat of all she had worked for. But this question has broader implications - it has been asked because its answer throws light not only on the particular joumalist, but on the radical press and on the political movements which gave it both life and readers. This study is divided into six sections: Origins and influences looks, firstly, at early Jewish migrations and Ruth's life up to the end of her schooling in Johannesburg, then at her university years and the influence on her life of the Communist Party of South Africa. A vigorously provocative life traces debates which led to the formation of the South African Congress of Democrats and the Congress Alliance. It looks, also, at the political influence of the white Left and the radical social fratemity. Trumpeters of freedom locates the origins of the radical press tradition in South Africa, then looks at the development of the two publications to which Ruth devoted most of her time: The Guardian/New Age and Fighting Talk. Writing left focuses on First's writing in connection with three campaigns: the farm labour and the potato boycott, womens' passes and the bus boycotts. These chapters are not a history of these campaigns, but an analysis of the influence on them of First's joumalism. Word wars is about the Treason Trial of 1956. The contention here is that the trial, in which First was one of the 'chief co-conspirators ', not only put the Congress Alliance in the dock, but was about the definition of three words: communism, violence and treason. In many ways it was a trial of the language of the Left, the tools of First's trade. Shifting focus looks at the period after Sharpeville and the 1960 State of Emergency. It considers the shift in First's writing necessitated by greater political oppression, a banning order and her exploration of the writing of books. Chapter 12 considers the massive setback to the Congress Alliance of the Rivonia Trial and the tactical errors which led the Congress leadership to the conclusion that armed struggle would succeed at that point in time. The final chapter is about First's detention, and her perceived personal defeat which resulted in her attempted suicide. The Postscript looks at First's successful attempts to come to terms with both a political and personal defeat. The work effectively ends, however, with her departure from South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
Namibia's long road to independence : the Botha era
- Authors: Ruiters, Michele René
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: United Nations -- Namibia , Namibia -- History -- 1946-1990 , Namibia -- Politics and government -- 1946-1990
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2754 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002001
- Description: This thesis deals with the ten years preceding Namibia's independence in March 1990. It examines the various characters and groups in this process, and how their roles delayed or promoted it. The era of Pieter W. Botha is very significant in that his rule brought many changes to the decision-making process and content of South African foreign policy. This period, 1978 - 1989, marked the formulation of the Total National Strategy in response to the Total Onslaught being waged on South Africa by perceived hostile external forces. Namibia's transition to independence suffered under this military-oriented policy as did the rest of the region. Never before in South Africa's policy-making history had the security sector played such a major role. Regional relations changed subsequent to the policy changes because of the distorted vision the Botha regime had of black-ruled states. Namibia was seen as an important pawn in the Total National Strategy as the last buffer state in Southern Africa protecting South Africa's white minority regime
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
- Authors: Ruiters, Michele René
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: United Nations -- Namibia , Namibia -- History -- 1946-1990 , Namibia -- Politics and government -- 1946-1990
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2754 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002001
- Description: This thesis deals with the ten years preceding Namibia's independence in March 1990. It examines the various characters and groups in this process, and how their roles delayed or promoted it. The era of Pieter W. Botha is very significant in that his rule brought many changes to the decision-making process and content of South African foreign policy. This period, 1978 - 1989, marked the formulation of the Total National Strategy in response to the Total Onslaught being waged on South Africa by perceived hostile external forces. Namibia's transition to independence suffered under this military-oriented policy as did the rest of the region. Never before in South Africa's policy-making history had the security sector played such a major role. Regional relations changed subsequent to the policy changes because of the distorted vision the Botha regime had of black-ruled states. Namibia was seen as an important pawn in the Total National Strategy as the last buffer state in Southern Africa protecting South Africa's white minority regime
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
"Constructive critic" or "donor agency": does the World Bank have a role to play in sub-Saharan Africa's development beyond that of providing economic aid?
- Authors: Thompson, Christine Audra
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions -- 20th century , World Bank -- Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2835 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003045 , Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions -- 20th century , World Bank -- Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions
- Description: This thesis attempts to evaluate the role of the World Bank in Sub-Saharan Africa's development. It argues that the World Bank has stepped beyond the boundaries of a typical lending institution by linking its aid to political reform. The study argues that in this capacity the Bank has contributed to the halting democratization process currently underway in Africa. The economic effects of the World Bank's Structural Adjustment Programmes have been less successful. As yet, the programmes have not produced the expected results and there is no evidence of long-term, sustainable economic recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa. These programmes are, however, long-term strategies and it may therefore be too premature to reach a final conclusion. They may also have been affected negatively by unfavourable political environments. This study, noting the negative effects of the international terms of trade and prices for African exports, concludes that although economic recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa will be facilitated by domestic political and economic policy reform, there is also a need for reform of the international economic order. The World Bank has correctly identified the need for domestic improvement, but it has a tendency to disregard the negative consequences of the existing structure of the international economy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
- Authors: Thompson, Christine Audra
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions -- 20th century , World Bank -- Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2835 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003045 , Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions -- 20th century , World Bank -- Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Economic conditions
- Description: This thesis attempts to evaluate the role of the World Bank in Sub-Saharan Africa's development. It argues that the World Bank has stepped beyond the boundaries of a typical lending institution by linking its aid to political reform. The study argues that in this capacity the Bank has contributed to the halting democratization process currently underway in Africa. The economic effects of the World Bank's Structural Adjustment Programmes have been less successful. As yet, the programmes have not produced the expected results and there is no evidence of long-term, sustainable economic recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa. These programmes are, however, long-term strategies and it may therefore be too premature to reach a final conclusion. They may also have been affected negatively by unfavourable political environments. This study, noting the negative effects of the international terms of trade and prices for African exports, concludes that although economic recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa will be facilitated by domestic political and economic policy reform, there is also a need for reform of the international economic order. The World Bank has correctly identified the need for domestic improvement, but it has a tendency to disregard the negative consequences of the existing structure of the international economy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
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