Academic literature on the topic 'Zimbabwe – Politics and government – Foreign public opinion'

Despite increased attention to the linkages between domestic politics and international relations in political science literature over the last 20 years, considerable debate remains about how well equipped citizens are to act as informed constraints on governments or how attentive and responsive government actors are to public opinion. Debates about citizens' ability to act as a check on government behavior are not new, of course, and have a long tradition in political philosophy and in public discourse. Yet the proliferation of theories of domestic–international linkages in contemporary IR scholarship has unfortunately been accompanied by incomplete dialogue between public opinion and IR scholars and often by claims of unidirectional or unconditional causality regarding domestic constraints, elite framing and opinion leadership, citizens' informational capacities, and the role of the media. The relationship among these factors in shaping foreign policy is quite complex, however, and fortunately Thomas Knecht acknowledges this complexity and advances a conditional argument about the relationship between public attitudes and presidential decision making.

Politics is all about power in a democratic form of government. In a democracy, agitation is the part of politics in the developmental stage of human rights. Agitational politics is a kind of politics which urge the public demands and utilize the public opinion for the sake of specific issue. Sometimes, it would make public violent who acts as attacking the police and damaging the official establishments. Protestors cover the specific area and refuse to move on until their demands are measured by authorities. It affects the working of government institutions and also creates political instability. The main reason behind this, agitational politics, have lack of stout and genuine leadership in Pakistan. Agitational politics is a strategy used by the opposition that indirectly creates a weak situation for democracy. In agitational politics, parties and groups make use of speeches and public opinion to gain public support. This article discusses the dharna politics of 2014 arranged by the rising political party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf which directly disturb the political activities and also the reason of cancelation of the visit of foreign officials of different countries. This research paper will cover the impacts of agitational politics on the working of the institution. This work also explains that, how sit-in politics damage the state working institutions and also destabilize the democracy. Sometimes it strengthens the political system but most of the time it creates uncertainty in the political environment. It is the utmost scuffle that weakens the civil and national institutions and democracy faces a lot of dares.

This article maps the evolution of Zimbabwe’s Look East Policy (LEP) and specifically the bilateral relationship with China through the lens of Zimbabwe’s domestic politics. It argues that political elite in Zimbabwe has a vested interest in a close economic and political relationship with China at the cost of the interests of the people of Zimbabwe. The author establishes that Zimbabwe’s LEP was intended to respond to the economic sanctions imposed on it by Western nations. From the descriptive account of the LEP provided in the article, it appears that the LEP has been successful in doing that by having a broad-based economic and political relationship with China. The author further critiques the impact of Chinese investment in Zimbabwe as detrimental to the interests of the people. Foreign policy is an instrument that governs and protects the interests of governments, nationals, institutions, organisations and entities within the lenses of bilateral relations between the countries concerned. The Zimbabwe–China relations point to the fact that the latter China is politically and economically committed to engage and develop the former. However, at the heart of commitment and development in Zimbabwe lies questions of interests and the nature of the relationship which is affecting development and commitment to take place. Hence, this article argues that the failure of Zimbabwe to yield satisfying results from the bilateral relations lies mostly on the political and economic weaknesses of the Zimbabwean government and leadership. The fact that the LEP is not formally and publicly developed and disseminated to key stakeholders and the general public and that it remains largely an oral secret public policy statement affects the interests of Zimbabwean economy and interested stakeholders. This also reflects a weak foreign policy directive. As long as Zimbabwe continues to deny to engage with other superpowers and global institutions, the LEP will remain doomed as China will continue to manipulate and exploit the relationship knowingly that Zimbabwe has no other friends and partners for development and cooperation.

Whilst literature has many monetary and economic policies that were enacted before and after the dawn of the New Dispensation in Zimbabwe the country still faces a downward trend in terms of economic recovery. This study reviews the various policies put in place by the government and their impact on socio-economic development of Zimbabwe. A review of Zimbabwe’s economic history shows that the country dropped from being one of the best economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and now ailing and characterised by hyperinflation, agricultural challenges, corruption, very high tax regime, huge domestic and foreign debts, increase in consumer prices and being a chief net importer of most goods or services. The study was underpinned by a case study survey from Singapore’s revival with both qualitative and quantitative instruments used. The study found out that even though the land reform had an impact on economic performance, corruption, party-power politics and absence of an economic institute eroded any necessary contribution to economic transformation and industrialization in Zimbabwe. The study also revealed that the bilateral and multi-lateral agreements that were enacted in the dawn of the new dispensation have not yielded the desired economic revival transformations. The study recommended establishment of an economic institute to direct policy as well as removal of unethical practices in both public and private sectors so as to ensure financial and economic discipline.

Anti-German sentiment in France has deep roots that extend back to the middle of the 19th century. A permanent theme of French foreign policy, it manifested itself with force during the campaign for the European elections of June 10, 1979. This explosion can be explained in terms of the fear of a part of the political forces to see themselves dragged too far into a process of European integration that would contribute to submitting France to the economic forces of a Germany very dependent on the United States. The Communists were the main standard bearers of this campaign in which the Gaullists and other politicians participated. An examinationt of the themes of their public statements shows that references to the Third Reich, to trials of former Nazis and to the role that present leaders of the FRG played under Hitler predominated. Criticism of German domestic politics was primarily concerned with the threat to freedoms in the FRG and with the rise of politicians such as Franz Josef Strauss. Comparisons of the economic, commercial and industriel statistics of the Federal Republic of Germany and France fed concerns that prompted once again speculation with respect to German reunification and the association of nuclear weapons with the FRG. In attacking social-democracy the FCP attempted to further undercut Franco-German relations and to accentuate its split with the French Socialist Party. The anti-German campaign did not, in fact, have a great impact on public opinion or government policy. Nevertheless, both the range and persistence of these themes show that xenophobia in general and anti-German sentiment in particular are not on the point of disappearing in France.

The article investigates approaches taken by major political parties and civil society in the FRG toward the Transatlantic partnership. It reveals the tendencies of the prospective promotion of Berlin’s cooperation with Washington; the article also gives a forecast of further interaction between the EU and the USA, indicates the direction of discourse regarding the future Russia–Germany relations model in the context of the Ukrainian crisis and in reference to the increased transatlantic solidarity. Disputes in German socio-political circles on the issue of the FRG’s policy toward the U.S. are emerging all the time, but they have to be considered within a concrete historical and political context. Being of primary significance for all German chancellors, the Trans-Atlantic factor has been shaping itself in a controversial way as to the nation’s public opinion. This has been confirmed by many opinion polls, including the survey on the signing of the EU–U.S. Agreement on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Chancellor A. Merkel is playing an important role: she is either ascribed full compliancy with Washington, or is being tentatively shown as a consistent government figure in advancing and upholding of Germany's and the EU's interests. A. Merkel has implemented her peace-seeking drive in undoing the Ukrainian tangle by setting up the “Normandy format” involving the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine while having cleared it through with the U.S. President B. Obama well in advance. Despite the increasing criticism of Washington’s policy among some part of Germans, for the majority of German voters, the USA remains a country of implementable hopes, the only power in the world possessing a high education level and the most advanced technologies. Americans, for their part, are confident of the important role that Berlin plays in world politics, particularly in what concerns the maintenance of unity within the EU. Berlin aims at further constructive interaction with the USA in the frame of NATO as well as within other Trans-Atlantic formats. Notwithstanding the steady tendency toward increasing of the Washington policy’s critical perception degree in German society, officially Berlin continues as Washington’s true ally, partner and friend. There is every reason to believe that after the 2017 Bundestag elections, the new (the former) Chancellor will have to face a modernized Trans-Atlantic partnership philosophy, with a paradigm also devised in the spirit of the bloc discipline and commitments to allies. The main concern for Berlin is not to lose its sovereign right of decision-making, including the one that deals with problems of European security and relations with Moscow. Regrettably, Germany is not putting forward any innovative ideas on aligning a new architecture of European security with Russia’s participation. Meanwhile, German scholars and experts are trying to work out a tentative algorithm of a gradual return to the West’s full-fledged dialogue with Russia, which, unfortunately, is qualified as an opponent by many politicians. Predictably, the Crimea issue will remain a long-lasting political irritant in relations between Russia and Germany. Although not every aspect of Berlin’s activation in its foreign policy finds support of the German public, and the outburst of anti-American feeling is obvious, experts believe that the government of the FRG is “merely taking stock of these phenomena and ignores them”. Evident is the gap between the government's line and the feeling of the German parties’ basis – the public. It is noteworthy that the FRG has not yet adopted the Law on Holding General Federal Referendums on key issues of the domestic and foreign policy. There is every indication to assume that the real causes of abandoning the nationwide referendums are the reluctance of the German ruling bureaucracy and even its apprehensions of the negative voting returns on sensitive problems, – such as basic documents and decisions of the EU, the export of German arms, relations with the U.S., etc. The harmony between Berlin’s "Realpolitik" and German public opinion is not yet discernible within the system of Trans-Atlantic axes.

The article analyzes the connection between public policy and public religion, examines the problems and prospects of their interaction, links the expansion of religious freedom with the level and degree of this relationship. The authors clarify the concepts of "public policy" and "public religion", which are the basic postulates of the article, that rest on the definitions given by modern domestic and foreign science. Investigating the presence of religion in the public sphere, the authors draw on the methodology proposed by American sociologist of religion J. Casanova. He identified three forms of collective self-organization of religion: 1) institutional lobbying by religious groups; 2) the mobilization of religious groups into social movements; 3) self-organization and mobilization of religious groups into political parties. The authors use convincing examples of the presence or the absence of publicity in the religious sphere, which has a positive or negative impact on the religious freedom in the country. Based on the analysis of a specific socio-political situation, the authors argue that in Ukraine, especially after the Revolution of Dignity, there is a real possibility of public influence of people who unite in communities, incl. and religious ones. The right of public influence, then and now, is used by almost all religious organizations to express their attitude to politics and politicians, to the activities of state and public institutions. Going out into the public arena, churches, as a rule, describe themselves in a complimentary way, contributing to the growth of the authority of religious figures, the activation and self-organization of believers, the emergence of new forms of inter-denominational solidarity, and even ecumenical cooperation. But publicity does not only cover the positive aspects of religious organizations. Scandals, crimes, conflicts in the religious environment, becoming a public domain, exacerbate contradictions within the church structures themselves, between different denominational areas, between the church and society. The consolidating function of religion is dominant. Religious institutions as a component of civil society, on the one hand, and public policy, on the other, being attributes of a democratic state, capable of achieving sustainable development, overcoming contradictions and conflicts between different socio-political, socio-cultural and religious groups. The authors illustrate the importance of public activity of advisory and interfaith associations at higher levels of government. There are currently 8 institutions in Ukraine, which try to overcome misunderstandings and tensions in the religious and political sphere. Within their limits, public discussions between religious organizations and the state relate to various relevant areas (introduction of military chaplaincy, organization of alternative service and pastoral care, simplification of registration of religious organizations, reforms in the field of religious education, changes to the tax code, etc.). The dynamics of self-organization of religious groups into political parties is interesting. In Ukraine, unlike other countries, religious parties did not spread, did not become popular. Politicians are actually indifferent to a religious resource. This is evident from the article in the analysis of the election programs of the candidates of the last presidential campaign. All these trends are confirmed by opinion polls conducted annually by the Analytic centre of O. Razumkov. The authors illustrate their theoretical conclusions with these materials, which prove that the lack of transparent public policy may carry the risks of aggravation of the socio-political situation, which is why tolerance of inter-denominational and state-church relations is so important. The special role here belongs to religious scholars as subjects of public policy, through whom the interaction of society and the state with the religious sphere becomes more effective.

In recent decades, the active interaction of innovative technologies and politics has given a rise to a new specific phenomenon –technopolitics. It is acquiring clearer outlines and seeks to obtain the status of a separate applied discipline. Technopolitics includes the whole range of tools used by politicians, political organizations and political strategists within the Internet space in order to collect information about the potential electorate, form a strategy and influence the mood of voters. The main elements of technopolitics are social networks, mobile applications and specialized sites. They become an ideal platform for understanding the mood in society, forming a roadmap on key issues, which allows solving both internal and foreign policy tasks. The authors of this research set the aim to analyze examples of technopolitics functioning in the countries of the Ibero-American region, which includes countries with an impressive number of Internet users and one of the highest levels of political participation. As a result of the research, the authors come to the conclusion that Spain and the countries of Latin America are actively involved in technopolitics, which is proved by the activities of local political organizations that develop their activity in the framework of Internet communications. The creation of social media accounts and own websites is aimed at an active interaction with citizens without the participation of traditional media as an intermediary. Operative response to changes in shades of public opinion allows political parties to timely change the vector of their movement. Citizens’ general engagement in technopolitics led to truly revolutionary changes in the hierarchy of the “candidatevoter”, endowing the voter with truly democratic instruments of influencing the government, and thereby increasing the percentage of political participation of citizens disenchanted with the former relations between the institution of power and the people. The Internet has allowed an ordinary person to turn into a real political actor organizing transparent discussions, easily involving a large number of people in solving political issues. People are no longer required to vote within the framework of the proposed alternative, but asked for their opinion. Much of this change is due to the creation of Twitter, a platform opened to discussion of various issues and free from censorship, very popular in the countries of the Ibero-American region.

This article is an attempt to understand what is happening in the system of power and public administration of modern Ukraine from the standpoint of scientific realism and socio - political objectivity. The author touches upon the problems of realization by the Ukrainian state of the interests of its people and values of the European choice, proves, in fact, the criminal essence of implementation in practice of the principles of ukrainism, nationalism and Russophobia, explores the «art» of anti-crisis management of the Maidan government and its effectiveness. The author also presents his vision of the historical lessons of the Ukrainian experience, the reasons for the impasse of many decisions of the current rigidly Pro-Western-oriented Ukrainian regime. The methodological basis of the research was made up of classical methods of scientific and legal research of relations, phenomena and processes in the sphere of modern Ukraine’s politics, public administration and its legal support. This analysis (including system-structural) and synthesis, abduction (hypotheses), induction ( from particular to General) and deduction ( from General to specif ic), history and comparativelaw, opinion polls and content analysis of documents, formal-logical method. The analysis is based on the relevant legal acts, sociological statistics, publications of government officials, scientists and publicists. The analysis shows that the conclusions and official statements of the current Ukrainian leadership in the vast majority of cases do not correspond to reality, that their strategic plans are wrong, contradictory and practically hopeless. At the same time, the Ukrainian experience teaches that even a wrong, not particularly effective and even destructive political course should remain in the field of close attention of the scientific community. The actual practice of political records should examine, assess and consider, trying to understand the essence of problems, investigate the causes of failures and deadlocks, and to draw the appropriate lessons. Objectivity of analysis, impartiality of assessments, sobriety of perception of alternative proposals are necessary in the process of state- building and the inevitable crisis stages with their numerous uncertainties, risks and legal conf licts. We need the ability to predict what difficulties and problems the country may face even in a highly developed economy and a fairly stable political and legal system. The easiest way to look for the reasons for failures on the side, shift the blame to predecessors or bad allies, blame foreign enemies or intractable opposition. It’s far harder to take responsibility, to admit to the lack of visioning and adaptability to constructive action.

<p>Konstantinos Katsoudas, "<em>A Dictatorship that is not a Dictatorship". Spanish Nationalists and the 4th of August</em></p> <p>The Spanish Civil War convulsed the international public opinion and prompted most foreign governments to take measures or even intervene in the conflict. Greek entanglement either in the form of smuggling war materiel or the participation of Greek volunteers in the International Brigades has already been investigated. However, little is known about a second dimension of this internationalization of the war: the peculiar forms that the antagonism between the two belligerent camps in foreign countries took. This paper, based mainly on Spanish archival sources, discusses some aspects of the activity developed in Greece by Franco's nationalists and the way Francoist diplomats and emissaries perceived the nature of an apparently similar regime, such as the dictatorship led by general Metaxas. The main objectives of the Francoist foreign policy were to avoid any escalation of the Spanish civil war into a world conflict, to secure international assistance for the right-wing forces and to undermine the legitimacy of the legal Republican government. In Greece, an informal diplomatic civil war broke out since Francoists occupied the Spanish Legation in Athens and Republicans took over the Consulate in Thessaloniki. The Francoists combined public and undercover activity: they worked hard to achieve an official recognition of their <em>Estado Nuevo, </em>while at the same time created rings of espionage and channels of anticommunist propaganda. The reason of their partial breakthroughs was that, contrary to their Republican enemies, the Nationalists enjoyed support by a significant part of the Greek political world, which was ideologically identified with their struggle. Francoist anti-communism had some interesting implications for Greek politics. An important issue was the Francoist effort to reveal a supposed Moscow-based conspiracy against Spain and Greece, both considered as hotbeds of revolution in the Mediterranean, in order to justify both Franco's extermination campaign and Metaxas' coup. Although this effort was based on fraudulent documents, forged by an anti-Bolshevik international organization, it became the cornerstone of Francoist and Metaxist propaganda. General Metaxas was the only European dictator to invoke the Spanish Civil War as a <em>raison d'etre </em>of his regime and often warned against the repetition of Spanish-like drama on Greek soil. Nevertheless he did not approve of Franco's methods and preferred Dr. Salazar's Portugal as an institutional model closer to his vision. For Spanish nationalist observers this was a sign of weakness. They interpreted events in Greece through the disfiguring mirror of their own historic experience: thus, although they never called in question Metaxas' authoritarian motives, the 4th of August regime was considered too mild and soft compared to Francoism (whose combativeness and fanaticism, as they suggested, the Greek General should have imitated); it reminded them the dictatorship founded in Spain by General Primo de Rivera in 1920s, whose inadequacy paved the way for the advent of the Republic and the emergence of sociopolitical radicalism. Incidents of the following years, as Greece moved towards a civil confrontation, seemed to strengthen their views.</p>

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Race has been used as an instrument of domination and separation of the South African population for a long time. The dawn of the democratic dispensation in 1994marked a shift from the policy of racial separation to the creation of the non-racial democratic South Africa. However, political parties in this country have constantly re-politicised race in the post apartheid era mainly for political gain. The purpose of this study will be to describe, explain and analyse how political parties in South Africa use the crisis in Zimbabwe to racialise politics in this country. The study will show that the dilemma facing political parties in South Africa is that they cannot avoid focusing on racial issues. The focus is on four main political parties, the ANC, the PAC, the NNP and the DA. The study specifically looked at the following issues in Zimbabwe: the Land crisis, the 2003 March presidential elections and the economic crisis to see how they have influenced political discourse in South Africa. As anticipated, predominantly black parties have shown some empathy with Robert Mugabe's government, while predominantly white parties have called for a more confrontational measure against Mugabe's government. Nonetheless, this study found no conclusive evidence to suggest that the crisis in Zimbabwe has fuelled race conflict in this country. But that race is politicised by parties in South Africa for political gain.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In Apartheld-Suid-Afrika was rasse verskille gebruik as 'n instrument van onderdrukking en skeiding van die bevolking. Met die totstandkoming van demokrasie in 1994 het 'n verskuiwing van 'n rasse-beleid na 'n nie-rassige, demokratiese Suid-Afrika gelei. Politieke partye politiseer egter steeds ras in post-Apartheid Suid-Afrika vir politieke gewin. Die doel van hierdie studie is om te beskryf, verduidelik en te analiseer hoe politieke partye die krisis in Zimbabwe gebruik om politiek in Suid-Afrika steeds gebonde ras te hou. Hierdie studis al aandui dat politieke partye in Suid-Afrika nie die fokus van ras identiteite kan vermy nie. 'n Moontlike rede hiervoor is dat politieke partye in Suid-Afrika 'nsolidariteit met hul kiesers wil behou. Die studie fokus op vier van die mees prominente politieke partye in Suid-Afrika naamlik: ANC, PAC, NNP en die DA. Om elke party se stand-punt op hierdie onderwerp te verstaan, gaan die studie fokus op die volgende punte in Zimbabwe: grondhervorming, die 2003Presidensiële verkiesing en die impak wat die ekonomiese krisis in Zimbabwe op die politieke gebied gehad het. Soos verwag, het partye met histories oorheersende swart oortuigings empatie met Robert Mugabe se regering betoon. Mugabe word gesien as 'n slagoffer van onsimpatieke wit settelaars wat vasklou aan hul eertydse voorregte. Terwyloorwegende wit partye vra vir strenger optrede teenoor die regering van Robert Mugabe. Nie te min, het hierdie studie geen uitsluitende bewyse gevind wat aandui dat die krisis in Zimbabwe konflik rasse in Suid- Afrika aangespoor het nie. Dit is egter belangrik om in ag te neem dat die politisering van ras grootliks deur partye gebruik word om ondersteuning te werf.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: After a decade long multi-faceted political crisis, political parties in Zimbabwe signed the Global Political Agreement (GPA) of 2008 following the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) mediated talks culminating in the formation of an inclusive government. This study sought to investigate the political role, if any, played by the diasporic media in mediating the Zimbabwean crisis. This research focused on diasporic media using as a case study The Zimbabwean newspaper considering that during the research period it was circulating both in the country and diaspora communities in Western Europe, the USA and SADC countries. Diasporic media in Zimbabwe is a phenomenon associated with the rise of robust political opposition to the former ruling ZANU PF regime. Accordingly, such media operated outside the purview of the contemporary legislative and legal regime although the newspaper circulated in Zimbabwe. A number of anti establishment news media sprouted to challenge and offer resistance in the cyberspace and on shortwave and in print media. The Social Responsibility Theory was employed with the aim of establishing whether or not The Zimbabwean observed the journalistic ethics of reporting with truthfulness, accuracy, balance and objectivity. The Social Responsibility Theory’s thrust is on de-sensationalising reportage, promotion of media ethics and self regulation. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The research established that The Zimbabwean newspaper played, to a larger extent, an active role in challenging the ZANU PF-led government and gave a platform to the oppositional Movement for Democratic Change. The conclusion arrived at in this study was that just like the state media, which promoted the government’s propaganda, The Zimbabwean did the same for the opposition parties in Zimbabwe.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Politieke partye in Zimbabwe het ná ’n lang politieke krisis met vele fasette die Global Political Agreement (GPA) van 2008 geteken. Dit het gevolg op die Suid-Afrikaanse Ontwikkelingsgemeenskap (SAOG) se mediëring wat gelei het tot die vorm van ’n inklusiewe regering. Hierdie studie het probeer om die politieke rol, indien enigsins, van die diaspora-media in die mediëring van die Zimbabwiese krisis te ondersoek. Die navorsing het op diaspora-media gefokus deur ’n gevallestudie van die koerant The Zimbabwean te doen. Dié blad is gedurende die navorsingstyd in die land sowel as onder die Zimbabwiese diaspora in Europa, die VSA en SAOG-lande versprei. Diaspora-media in Zimbabwe is ’n fenomeen wat geassosieer word met die opkoms van ’n robuuste politieke opposisie teen die ZANU (PF)-regime. Dié media opereer dus buite die grense van die juridiese en wetgewende gesag van die land. ’n Verskeidenheid antiestablishment media het in die kuberruim, kortgolfradio en drukmedia ontwikkel wat beide uitgedaag en weerstand gebied het. Die Sosiale Verantwoordelikheidsteorie is gebruik om vas te stel of The Zimbabwean joernalistieke etiek nagekom het deur waarheidsgetrou en akkuraat, sowel as met balans en objektiwiteit, te rapporteer. Die teorie fokus om reportage te desensasionaliseer en om media-etiek en selfregulering te bevorder. Die studie het kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe navorsingsmetodes gebruik. Die navorsing het vasgestel dat The Zimbabwean tot ’n groot mate ’n aktiewe rol gespeel het om die ZANU (PF)-regering uit te daag en ’n platform te bied aan die Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)-groepering. Die slotsom is dat, net soos die staatsmedia regering-propaganda bevorder het, The Zimbabwean dit vir die opposisiepartye in Zimbabwe gedoen het.

This thesis concentrates on two discrete contexts in which Jewish and imperial concerns converged: the Boer War and the British Mandate for Palestine. For Britain's Jews, the Boer War represented a rare and uncomfortable moment in which the Jewish Question achieved relative prominence. However the war also generated a different set of 'Jewish questions', leading the Anglo-Jewish establishment to refine its own understanding of patriotic and imperial duty. The case of Palestine, by contrast produced less straightforward and predictable outcomes. Ottoman entry into World War I, which prompted both British and Zionist considerations into the merits of a Jewish homeland as part of the imperial system, created an acute conflict for British Jewry's communal leadership. Although not negating the advantages of a British-Jewish Palestine either to the Empire or to Jews in need of refuge, its decision to oppose the Balfour Declaration privileged at some cost a distinctive reading of Jewish interests over a more obvious synthesis of national and sectarian goals. Despite continued objections to Zionism's ideological outlook and its pursuit of statehood, the Anglo-Jewish establishment located in the interwar development of a British-Jewish Palestine a means to advance both Jewish communal and imperial agendas. As the alliance between the Zionists and Britain unravelled in the final decade of the Mandate, British Jews eager to safeguard their position as well as their vision of Palestine's future would persist in defending this relationship. In its exploration of the evolution of Anglo-Jewish attitudes towards Britain, the Empire and Mandatory Palestine, this thesis aims to address both thematic and chronological gaps in the historiography of Anglo-Jewry. By drawing attention to the uniqueness of Anglo-Jewry's imperial connection to Palestine and to the domestic impact of British involvement, my work also contributes to scholarship on Zionism and the Mandate Finally, it offers a framework for considering the impact of, and relationship to, Empire of minority groups residing in Britain.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between the executive and legislative branches of American federal government, during periods within which these two branches are led by different political parties, to discover whether the legislative branch attempts to independently legislate and enact foreign policy by using "the power of the purse" to either appropriate in support of or refuse to appropriate in opposition to military engagement abroad. The methodology for this research includes the analysis and comparison of certain variables, including public opinion, budgetary constraints, and the relative majority of the party that holds power in one or both chambers, and the ways these variables may impact the behavior of the legislative branch in this regard. It also includes the analysis of appropriations requests made by the legislative branch for funding military engagement in rejection of requests from the executive branch for all military engagements that occurred during periods of divided government from 1946 through 2009.
ID: 029809199; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (M.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 110-112).
M.A.
Masters
Political Science
Sciences

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2000.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Over the past three decades the practice of international election observation has shifted its focus from elections taking place within a decolonialisation context, to those in independent, but formerly undemocratic, states. The latter accepted the presence of international observers with some reservation, citing the contention that observation amounted to an infringement on national sovereignty. The demise of the former East Block, however, established the primacy of the liberal democratic ideology in world politics, leaving these states with a limited choice between democratisation and isolation. Pro-democracy supporters in former authoritarian countries embraced the change in ideological climate. Realising the lack of capacity and trust to run elections by themselves, they generally supported the presence of international observers in elections of states emerging from prolonged periods of authoritarianism. Over the past decade this affinity with international missions has been transformed into skepticism. Three primary reasons for this disenchantment have been the apparent lack of electoral standards, uncoordinated observer missions and failure to convince voters of their impartiality. This assignment represents a scholarly attempt to evaluate the contributions of international election observers to South African elections. On a theoretical level it addresses the three criticisms against foreign observation. Drawing on the vast body of international literature, the author suggests three countermeasures. These suggestions, aimed at enhancing the contributions of international observer consist of: 1) a greater consideration for the political context within which an election takes place; 2) the pooling of international observer capacity and 3) more scope to, and cooperation with, local observer groups. Each of these measures is transferred to the South African electoral reality to establish the extent of their application in this practical context. With regard to the first proposal the author finds that clear consideration has been given to contextual factors in both elections. An assessment of the quality of coordination of international observer groups also indicates that the practice of pooling resources have been employed with success by a number of missions. In this field the U.N. played a leading role. Cooperation between international observers and their local counterparts is however an aspect that has been lagging behind. The opportunity for capacity building, a significant benefit of such cooperation, has therefore to a large extent been lost. In the light of this, and the uncertainty of future international involvement, the author asserts that in future South Africans will increasingly be dependent on the cultivation of homegrown capacity. He therefore believes that initiatives such as the creation of the SADC Electoral Forum in 1998 are commendable and should be encouraged.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die fokus van internasionale verkiesingwaarneming het in die loop van die laaste drie dekades wesenlik verskuif van die tradisionele dekolonisasie verkiesingskonteks, na waarneming binne onafhanklike state waar die omskakeling van outoritêre na demokratiese regeringsvorms redelik onlangs plaasgevind het. Laasgenoemde state moes waarnemers, en die verkiesings wat waargeneem is, met voorbehoud aanvaar. Die alternatiewe was egter beperk. Die val van die voormalige Oosblok en die gevolglike triomf van die liberale demokrasie, het ondemokratiese state met 'n eenvoudige keuse gelaat: hervorm of staar isolasie in die gesig. Pro-demokratiese groepe in voormalige outoritêre state het die nuwe klimaat van politieke vryheid verwelkom. In die besef dat nuwe demokrasieë waarskynlik nie oor die nodige ervaring en wedersydse vertroue binne die bevolking beskik om verkiesings volkome te laat vlot nie, is buitelandse bystand - met inbegrip van internasionale waarneming - deur dié groepe verwelkom. In die afgelope dekade het die positiewe konnotasie aan internasionale verkiesingswaarneming egter in gedrang gekom. Drie kernredes hiervoor was die skynbare gebrek aan universele verkiesingstandaarde, swak georganiseerde waarnemer afvaardigings en 'n algemene gebrek om hul motiewe bo verdenking te plaas. Die sentrale oogmerk van hierdie werkstuk is die evaluasie van die bydraes gemaak deur internasionale verkiesingswaarnemers in die twee Suid-Afrikaanse verkiesings van 1994 en 1999. Op 'n teoretiese vlak is die drie bogenoemde gebreke aangespreek, en na raadpleging van internasionale literatuur oor die onderwerp is drie teenmaatreëls geidentifiseer. Hierdie aktiwiteite, gemik op meer effektiewe internasionale betrokkenheid bestaan uit: 1) groter aandag wat geskenk moet word aan politeke konteks; 2) die kombinering van internasionale waarnemer vaardighede vir beter resultate, en 3) groter klem wat gelê moet word op samewerking tussen nasionale en internasionale waarnemers. Elkeen van hierdie vereistes is oorgedra na die Suid-Afrikaanse verkiesingskonteks om vas te stel tot watter mate dié gebruike in Suid-Afrika wortel geskied het. Wat betref die eerste voorstel met betrekking tot konteksgebonde evaluasie, is daar vasgestel dat dit wel deel was van internasionale waarnemer praktyk in beide verkiesings. 'n Waardeskatting van die koordinasie van internasionale waarnemingsgroepe dui verder daarop dat samewerking tussen waarnemergroepe oor die algemeen bygedra het tot 'n versterking van inisiatiewe deur internasionale waarnemers. Op hierdie gebied het die Verenigde Nasies veral 'n sleutelrol gespeel. 'n Aspek wat egter agterweë gebly het, is die vlak van samewerking tussen internasionale waarnemers en hul Suid- Afrikaanse eweknieë. Hier is 'n waardevolle geleentheid verspeel om die kapasiteit van plaaslike verkiesingswaarnemers te versterk. Dit, en die feit dat toekomstige internasionale teenwoordigheid in die toekoms nie 'n sekerheid is nie, sal volgens die skrywer, beteken dat Suid-Afrikaners in die toekoms toenemend aangewese sal wees op die ontwikkeling van eie kapasiteit. In die lig hiervan moet inisiatiewe soos SAOG se nuutgestigte Verkiesingsforum verwelkom en aangemoedig word.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
During the early Cold War, 1949 through 1963, the federal government, through such agencies as the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) (1950-1957), the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization (OCDM) (1958-1960), and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) (1961-1963), regarded children and young adults as essential to American civil defense. Youth-oriented, voluntary organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), assisted the federal civil defense programs by promoting civil defense messages and agendas. In this thesis, I will explore how the GSUSA and BSA translated federal civil defense policies for their Scouts. What were the civil defense messages transmitted to Scouts during the early Cold War? How were those messages disseminated? Why? What was the social impact of BSA and GSUSA involvement with civil defense on America’s evolving national ideals?