Showing papers in "Journal of Asian and African Studies in 2022"
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors investigated the most important mental health facilitators and barriers for a Nigerian sample during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that the four most reported facilitators were social support, hobbies, creating space for or experiencing enjoyable feelings, bodily sensations, and comfort.
Abstract: We investigated the most important mental health facilitators and barriers for a Nigerian sample during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data from 122 participants (72% females) using Online Photovoice (OPV) method. We used Online Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (OIPA) approach and found nine facilitator themes. The four most reported facilitators were social support (34%); hobbies (26%); creating space for or experiencing enjoyable feelings, bodily sensations, and comfort (25%); and spirituality/religiosity (9%). Nine main barrier themes emerged (e.g. unenjoyable feelings, 53%; COVID-19 restrictions, 30%; inadequate social interaction, 19%; and financial issues, poverty, 18%). We discussed the implication and limitations of the findings.
20 citations
TL;DR: It was found that denominational affiliation mattered with respect to the perceptions about the credibility of the COVID-19 statistics and other government responses and those who believe they are false.
Abstract: Public trust in government can significantly determine the outcome of health policies in any society. Hence, studies have been gauging peoples’ level of trust in their governments’ commitment and capacity to win the fight against COVID-19. However, these studies have omitted religious leaders. This is despite the fact that religious leaders play key roles in the area of health in many societies. The present study, therefore, explored the opinions church leaders have about the credibility of the COVID-19 statistics and other government responses in Nigeria. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 church leaders drawn from Anglican, Catholic, and Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. A descriptive narrative approach was employed in the thematic organization and analysis of data. Findings show that only one participant expressed confidence in the credibility of the COVID-19 statistics and other government’s responses. The rest, with the exception of one participant who was uncertain, was distributed between those who believe the statistics and other government efforts are exaggerated and those who believe they are false. The study also found that denominational affiliation mattered with respect to the perceptions about the credibility of the COVID-19 statistics and other government responses. Implications of findings for policy and research are discussed.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors define precariousness as the condition of uncertainties brought to the women fishers by changes in water restrictions and show how these challenges interact with the current Zimbabwe socio-economic crisis to worsen the precariousness and vulnerability of women fisher at Lake Kariba.
Abstract: Man-made reservoirs are constructed to meet certain purposes and Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, was designed for hydroelectric power generation. However, it has developed other multiple uses, and the growth of fisheries on the lake has had a significant impact on the livelihoods of local communities. The declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic in Zimbabwe in March 2020 was quickly followed by the imposition of national lockdowns with varying levels of severity up to the present day. This was done to curtail the spread of the disease, meanwhile enhancing the nation’s capacity in terms of acquiring testing kits, constructing more admission and quarantine centres as well as educating the people about ways to keep safe. In response to the calls by the government to monitor the movement of people and compliance of the lockdown rules, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZNPWMA), the governing body of the Lake Kariba fisheries, imposed rules that have significantly impacted the fishing communities at Lake Kariba. Both gillnet fishers and rod and line fishers have been impacted, but our focus here is on women rod and line fishers. Using the precarious livelihoods conceptual frameworks, we show how the changes in water management during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns has generated high levels of precariousness on the livelihoods of women at Kariba. We define precariousness as the condition of uncertainties brought to the women fishers by changes in water restrictions. The precarity of women was induced by several factors. For instance, the women fishers reported that restrictions to accessing fish in areas with high catches impacted them. They are also now obliged to pay exorbitant fishing fees in a way to discourage them to fish; they were frequently chased away from the Lake by ZNPWMA officers; they had limited amount of time to fish due to curfews; and failure to comply results in heavy fines imposed on them among other challenges. We show how these challenges interact with the current Zimbabwe socio-economic crisis to worsen the precariousness and vulnerability of women fishers at Lake Kariba. Data presented in this manuscript are based on participant observation and interviews with women fishers at Lake Kariba.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the effect of fake news awareness as an intervention strategy for motivating news verification behavior among social media users in Nigeria was tested, with 470 participants divided into two groups, comprising the control group and the treatment group, n = 235.
Abstract: This study tests the effect of fake news awareness as an intervention strategy for motivating news verification behaviour among social media users in Nigeria. A quasi-experiment was utilized with 470 participants divided into two groups, comprising the control group, n = 235, and the treatment group, n = 235. Fake news awareness was found to be an effective intervention strategy used to intensify the urgency and need to verify news before sharing. Individuals exposed to fake news awareness campaigns reported a more positive attitude towards news verification, better self-efficacy towards verification and were more concerned about their reputation on social media.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examined the political and socio-economic undercurrents of #EndSARS protest and recommended symbiotic state-society relations, arguing that the predatory state-Society relations where the state is the predator and citizens are the preys nurtured the increasing distrust between the state and its citizens, and ultimately resulted in the deepening mutual mistrust between the police and people.
Abstract: On 20 October 2020, the military and police force opened fatal shootings at peaceful unarmed #EndSARS protesters. This article examines the political and socio-economic undercurrents of #EndSARS protest. It argues that the predatory state–society relations where the state is the predator and citizens are the preys nurtured the increasing distrust between the state and its citizens, and ultimately, resulted in the deepening mutual mistrust between the police and people. The article concludes that the #EndSARS protest created opportunity for the Nigerian state to accelerate and accumulate its bourgeoning repressive character instead of reducing it. It recommends symbiotic state–society relations.
4 citations
TL;DR: The impact of politico-economic crises induced by the Fast Track Land Reform Programme of the early 2000s and the COVID-19 pandemic on the actors involved in tourism in Kariba resort town is discussed in this paper .
Abstract: The tourism industry sustains the economies of many nations across the globe through contributing to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP); creation of employment and infrastructure development. However, its sustainability is vulnerable to various temporal and spatial environmental, socio-economic and political events. In the Zimbabwe case, the politico-economic crises of the 2000s and the COVID-19 pandemic have variedly impacted on the prevalence of tourism with the actors (such as employees, tourists and recreational facility owners) involved in this industry having been seriously impacted. Using the precarity conceptual framework, this article critically analyses the impact of the politico-economic crises induced by the Fast Track Land Reform Programme of the early 2000s and the COVID-19 pandemic on the actors involved in tourism. Information regarding the impact of the political crises and COVID-19 pandemic on tourism in Kariba town is missing in the literature, yet Kariba is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. The article discusses the precarity of these tourism actors in the context of the politico-economic crises as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. We define ‘precarity’ as a condition of vulnerability and uncertainty. Our results indicate that for employees, these factors have resulted in uncertainty in the tourism business with some shutting down and others scaling down their operations resulting in redundancy and vulnerability of the workers. For tourists, the successive lockdowns and surge in COVID-19 cases in Zimbabwe resulted in (re)booking and (re)cancellation of bookings; the politico-economic crises resulted in fear among the potential clients and a drop in the number of international tourists. The recreational and accommodation service operators have had the challenge of making food (and other resources) orders for trips that are eventually cancelled due to the surge in the COVID-19 cases. The article draws from data gathered in 2021 through face-to-face interviews with different stakeholders in the tourism industry including employees, hotel and boat owners, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority officials and local politicians in Kariba resort town.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors examined the phenomenon of crime-terror nexus from the standpoint of the linkage between banditry and Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria and revealed that both groups have functionally adapted each other's structures and strategies.
Abstract: This paper examines the phenomenon of crime–terror nexus from the standpoint of the linkage between banditry and Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria. Using a descriptive analysis predicated on a combination of primary and secondary studies, the paper reveals that both groups have functionally adapted each other’s structures and strategies. While Boko Haram and its splinter groups have occasionally engaged in acts of banditry, there has been mutual co-option by both groups as the exigencies of their operations demand. Nigeria’s drive at mitigating the banditry-terrorism conundrum must proceed with a pragmatic understanding of the gamut and dynamics of their situational nexuses.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors present a contextual model for analyzing the escalatory and de-escalatory trends in media reporting of seven conflicts in Pakistan and find that high security conflicts lead to a patriotic reporting scenario that results in high escalatory coverage.
Abstract: In this study, we present a contextual model for analyzing the escalatory and de-escalatory trends in media reporting of seven conflicts in Pakistan. For this purpose, we combined findings from both survey and content analysis. While the survey helped to examine the journalists’ perceptions about the security threats of conflicts and the factors that influence the reportage, the content analysis was utilized to analyze the escalatory and de-escalatory characteristics in the coverage. The findings show that high security conflicts lead to a patriotic reporting scenario that results in high escalatory coverage. There is a significant decrease in the escalatory coverage as the assumed threat level of a conflict decreases. Similarly, we found that a conflict in which journalists exercised more relative freedom from pressure groups was reported in de-escalatory fashion. These findings can be useful for strategizing for the implementation of peace journalism in Pakistan in particular and elsewhere in general.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examined the contested nature of the global norm diffusion by focusing on intra-group rivalries and fragmentations shaping local responses (often reactionary and resistant) to global norms.
Abstract: This research problematizes the contested nature of the global norm diffusion by focusing on intra-group rivalries and fragmentations shaping local responses (often reactionary and resistant) to global norms. Such an examination is important primarily to account for what leads to shifts in the local reception of norms over time. This study empirically explores local fragmentation, rivalry and change in response nexus in the example of the reception of the global gender equality norms in Turkey by the conservative normative bloc. It reveals that the conservative bloc is not a monolithic normative order and that there are two main competing receptions of the gender equality norm within the group in Turkey. With a firm emphasis on Turkey’s first initiating and later withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, the study elaborates how the institutionalized conservative response to gender equality has shifted from a compromising acceptance to a rejection over time.
3 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examine India's vaccine diplomacy as an instrument of its "Neighbourhood First" policy during the COVID-19 pandemic and argue that India's health-focused approach has proved effective and aligned with its national interests.
Abstract: In recent years, India has established itself as the world’s ‘pharmacy hub’, and this claim was proven once again when it delivered COVID-19 vaccines to its citizens, neighbouring nations and across the globe. Following the philosophy of humanitarianism through the principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, India has decided to provide the COVID-19 health assistance to its immediate neighbouring countries. India’s immediate neighbourhood refers to the countries that are geographically adjacent to it. In addition, India’s vaccine diplomacy has exposed geopolitical fault lines in South Asia as China’s vaccine diplomacy aims to outpace India in the region. Against this background, the main objective of this paper is to explain and examine India’s vaccine diplomacy as an instrument of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that India’s health-focused approach has proved effective and aligned with its national interests. This review demonstrates that India’s health diplomacy has had an impact on medical and humanitarian assistance reciprocation at the regional and international levels. As a result of this strategy, during the second wave of the pandemic, India received medical devices and vaccines from other countries in dealing with COVID-19.
3 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors explored the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on agricultural production, social reproduction, labour relations and asset accumulation in rural Zimbabwe, using an agrarian perspective and the political economy approach as conceptual and heuristic tools.
Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic has had unprecedented global impact, creating multiple crises that have gone beyond the epidemiological, extending to the socio-economic and political. It has exposed structural flaws in global capitalism and intensified inequalities that have traditionally been imbedded in relations of production and social reproduction. In emerging Covid-19 literature, blind spots exist on its impact on peasant households. It is this knowledge gap that this article fills. Focusing on an agrarian context in rural Zimbabwe, the article employs a classical agrarian perspective and the political economy approach as conceptual and heuristic tools to explore the impact which this novel virus has had on rural livelihoods. It shows that the pandemic has impacted agricultural production, social reproduction, labour relations and asset accumulation. While its impact has been largely negative, opportunities were created with peasant agency being critical in dealing with shocks and vulnerabilities.
TL;DR: The authors examines the nature of the legal system in Hong Kong and its process of autocratisation under the Chinese sovereign, and suggests that Hong Kong's legal system follows the global trend of autocratic legalism that empowers the executive branch to use laws and courts to achieve the government's political goals.
Abstract: This article examines the nature of the legal system in Hong Kong and its process of autocratisation under the Chinese sovereign. This article suggests that, in colonial and post-colonial times, Hong Kong’s legal system follows the global trend of autocratic legalism that empowers the executive branch to use laws and courts to achieve the government’s political goals. With the recent imposition of the national security law, the political and legal systems of Hong Kong are further autocratised beneath the veil of securitisation, facilitating China’s authoritarian governance in Hong Kong.
TL;DR: The authors in this article argued that music and speech are at the center of ZANU-PF, evidenced in 21st century in a bid to win elections through political parties and individual image building.
Abstract: Music and speech have been utilized to enrich this study phenomenon to unveil the hero-worshipping in Zimbabwean leadership. The research examined that the post-independence Zimbabwe under Mugabe and Mnangagwa administration has found both leaders worshipped and attributed to as heroes, if not demigods. At the same time, how music and speech have been used to despise or smear campaign the opposition leadership. I argued that music and speech are at the center of ZANU-PF, evidenced in 21st century in a bid to win elections through political parties and individual image building.
TL;DR: A new wave of attacks by Sinhala-Buddhist extremist elements against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka started following the brutal end of the ethnic civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the SBS-dominated Sri Lanka security forces in 2009 as discussed by the authors .
Abstract: A new wave of attacks by Sinhala-Buddhist extremist elements against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka started following the brutal end of the ethnic civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sinhala-Buddhist-dominated Sri Lanka security forces in 2009. Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in 2019 by some Muslims polarized Sri Lanka and contributed to the compromise of the country’s security. Sri Lankan Muslims often claim they are a peaceful community and thus have no serious interests in violent mobilization. But the evidence would basically contradict Muslims’ claim of a peace-loving community. The Easter Sunday terrorist attacks did not take place in any vacuum. This paper will situate some key developments in the violent mobilization of Sri Lanka during the war against the LTTE. The primary goal of such an attempt is to read the growing religious conservative and violent trends among Muslims between 1977 and 2009. In understanding the growing religious conservative trends, an understanding is attempted to situate a later propensity for violence within the community that would manifest itself with the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. Interviews were conducted with members of the Islamic Dawah organizations and Muslim youth who were formerly associated with violent groups in the Eastern Province to understand the ground reality. The period of 1977–2009 is important as the rise of religious conservatist influences in Sri Lanka mirrors the global transnational influences of Iran and Middle East Petro Dollars, especially Saudi Arabia. The article draws mainly on secondary sources. But to gain a better understanding of the ground reality, we spoke to a few Eastern Muslims between July 2016 and September 2021 at regular intervals.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors argue that the debt trap has been caused by the structural disparity between China as an investor and African countries as investment recipients, while African countries are more in need.
Abstract: Since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was initiated in 2013, China under Xi Jinping has continued to expand its capital to various countries. This expansion is part of China’s strategy to shore up its position as a major global economic and political power vis-à-vis the United States. As nearly 70 countries have joined the BRI network, this economic cooperation scheme contributes to economic growth and helps close the infrastructure gap. Nevertheless, the case of China’s capital expansion in Africa has shown mixed results, where some economies are becoming more dependent and even facing a debt trap. This article addresses why such economic cooperation has turned into a debt trap for countries in the African region. Applying the concept of Structural Power in examining China’s investment in Zimbabwe, Cameroon, and Djibouti, this article argues that the debt trap has been caused by the structural disparity between China as an investor and African countries as investment recipients. China, in this case, has a more dominant “good” aspect, while African countries are more in “need.” This article also contends that the debt trap is a strategy carried out by the Chinese government to dominate the African economies in the long run. The three case studies are valuable as they represented different geographical locations in the region and portray a border of lower middle-income countries in general.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors argue that if the rich countries fail to go by the principles of global justice, can the Indian and South African (SA) patent diplomacy play a catalyst role in global justice?
Abstract: The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had left heart-wrenching impacts on all facets of life in general and the availability, accessibility, and affordability of medicines and vaccines in particular. Rather, the world has been divided into two groups regarding access to medicine and vaccines as haves and have-nots. The rich countries had pre-ordered the vaccines of COVID-19 along with the holding of the same. The pandemic situation was further worsened, given the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in practice and restrictions on sharing technology of vaccines, medicines, and life-saving equipment. In this context, India and South Africa have proposed the joint proposal and garnered support for waiving off TRIPS to ensure equity, accessibility, and affordability of vaccines and the same as public goods. In this review, we emphasize that global justice is one of the important elements of normative international theories, which focus on all the moral obligations from the world’s rich to the world’s poor. The paper also questions and argues that if the rich countries fail to go by the principles of global justice, can the Indian and South African (SA) patent diplomacy play a catalyst role in global justice? The review concludes with an emphasis on global solidarity, and the acceptance of joint India–South Africa’s “patent diplomacy” for TRIPS waiver would result in mass production and fair distribution, making the COVID-19 medicines and technologies available to everyone regardless of their poor–rich status.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors tried to comprehensively explain the phenomena by analyzing the challenges of nuclear deterrence stability in South Asia at different levels, including political and strategic challenges, casus belli of the crises, and nuclear command and control systems dynamics between the two countries.
Abstract: The interplay of several international, regional, and local factors poses daunting challenges for deterrence stability in South Asia. The emerging revolution in the military affairs compounded with prolonged crises vis-à-vis the absence of any conflict resolution mechanism between India and Pakistan; the nuclear deterrence is budding a fragile relationship between the two nuclear-armed pugnacious belligerents of South Asia. The Indian aspirations to accumulate maximum power based on its strategic partnerships with the technologically advanced countries in the world are characterized by the classic Indian strategic thinking to establish its leadership in the region. At the same time, Pakistan’s reliance on China in its quests for acquiring military hardware required for the deterrence equation seemingly remains insatiable within the framework of the stability–instability paradox. Without a holistic analysis of the political and strategic challenges, casus belli of the crises, and nuclear command and control systems dynamics between the two, it would amount to a petitio principii to draw theoretical assumptions. Therefore, this study attempts to comprehensively explain the phenomena by analyzing the challenges of nuclear deterrence stability in South Asia at different levels.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors investigated the vulnerability of local Black women to flood impacts within the areas of Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu and Umlazi.
Abstract: This article probes the rural economic development approach in selected informal settlements in Durban and how such approach affects the vulnerability of local Black women to flood impacts within the areas. Qualitative data for the study were gathered through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with 25 local Black women from Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu and Umlazi. Five key informants from the eThekwini (Durban) metropolitan municipality were also interviewed. Findings from the study showed that although there is improved economic development in the selected settlements, which constitute informal settlements designated for Black South Africans during the apartheid era, such an economic development approach has not significantly improved the livelihoods and adaptive capacity of the local women. The article suggests a multidimensional approach to development that is practical, inclusive and equitable, and addresses local women’s challenges associated with climate adaptation and sustainable livelihoods.
TL;DR: This paper analyzed five main slogans and chants performed during the first 3 months of Iraq's 2019 Tishreen [October] protests and traced their origin to examine the transformation in the narratives created by each version.
Abstract: This paper analyses five main slogans and chants performed during the first 3 months of Iraq’s 2019 Tishreen [October] protests. It aims to trace their origin to examine the transformation in the narratives created by each version. Drawing on a social approach to narrative and a social semiotic multimodal approach to communication, I treat slogans and chants as an evolving genre and performance, capable of triggering, constructing, and negotiating a different set of narratives in each adaptation. Such narratives arguably determine their impact. Unlike earlier versions, Tishreen chants and slogans succeeded in conjuring up collective and cross-sectarian narratives that could challenge master political narratives and heighten an Iraqi identity in the first place. It would, therefore, be hard to erase them from memory.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors analyze the constitutionality of the presidential decrees and shed light on the juridical, socioeconomical, and political circumstances that allowed Saied to perform what can be described as a constitutional coup or a self-coup, which reshaped the future of Tunisia.
Abstract: The president of Tunisia, Kais Saied, recurred to Article 80 of the constitution on 25 July 2021 to proclaim the “state of exception,” freezing parliamentary activities, removing the representatives’ immunity, and dissolving the government headed by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. The following presidential decree 2021-117 on 22 September granted him legislative powers by decree, dismantling the constitution of 2014, which was the cornerstone of the result of the “Jasmine Revolution” of 2011. This article will analyze the constitutionality of the presidential decrees and shed light on the juridical, socioeconomical, and political circumstances that allowed Saied to perform what can be described as a constitutional coup or a self-coup, which reshaped the future of Tunisia.
TL;DR: In this paper , the traditional agricultural practices of Chuktia Bhunjia tribe of Odisha, India, and attempts to comprehend as to how they negotiate with their ecosystem in order to ensure sustainable agricultural production and livelihood.
Abstract: This paper documents the traditional agricultural practices of Chuktia Bhunjia tribe of Odisha, India, and attempts to comprehend as to how they negotiate with their ecosystem in order to ensure sustainable agricultural production and livelihood. Data, collected using interview and observation, reveal that agricultural practices of the Chuktia Bhunjia are revolved around local ecology, beliefs, rituals and knowledge. The knowledge-based intercropping, agroforestry, crop rotation, crop diversity, rain-water harvesting and management of soil fertility are important domains involved in their agricultural practices that are found to as a function of long-term observation and experiments, and are reported to have been culturally reproduced through self-engagement and ritualistic practices associated with agriculture. Their agriculture is assumed to have significance in maintaining the soil fertility and moisture, and reducing greenhouse gases and enhancing carbon sequestration whereby to balance the landscape. The agroforestry-based agricultural practices, coupled with belief, ritual and technology, is also found to make their agriculture cost-effective and ensure conservation of ecological system. Climate change–driven agricultural decision-making among them is found to as a tool not only to arrest their crop failure but also to ensure sustainable food production and livelihood. Yet, the expected evacuation of inhabitant including Chuktia Bhunjia due to ‘tiger-project’ is assumed to be a threat to their agricultural knowledge and other cultural domains. Therefore, owing to the livelihood implication of traditional agriculture, any attempt to integrate their agricultural knowledge base with scientific knowledge would ensure sustainability of both ecology and livelihood together.
TL;DR: In this article , the effects of United Nations (UN) emergency Covid-19 aid on its organizational reputation in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region were explored.
Abstract: This article explores the effects of United Nations (UN) emergency Covid-19 aid on its organizational reputation in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region—the prominent aid recipient under this scheme. MENA states are traditionally critical of the UN, perceiving it as a representative of Western and colonial order. We argue that Covid-19 presented an opportunity to reinforce UN regional reputation, despite historical grievances. We perform an original online two-stage survey among 667 social media users in the three most funded MENA states—Syria, Yemen, and Sudan, where reliable data are particularly difficult to attain. The results demonstrate how long-term positive perception of the UN improved over time, enhancing UN reputation.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors explored the implementation of federalism and accommodation of ethnonational diversity in dominant party regimes by using Ethiopia as a case and argued that federalism enabled distinctive groups to promote their culture, use their languages and exercise self-rule in their territory.
Abstract: Ethiopia is the most prominent example of the late 20th-century adoption of federalism to accommodate diversity and complete state-building. This article explores the implementation of federalism and accommodation of ethnonational diversity in dominant party regimes by using Ethiopia as a case. Drawing on legal documents, literature, news sources and government reports, the article argues that federalism enabled distinctive groups to promote their culture, use their languages and exercise self-rule in their territory. However, ethnonationalities’ constitutionally proclaimed self-determination rights and the practice rarely correspond. Although all ethnonationalities have the same constitutional rights, some are still subjugated, and self-rule remains their dream. The dominant party regime in Ethiopia met demands for self-rule and accommodation with suppression and violence. The constitution grants regions to use their legislative powers to accommodate region-specific demands; nevertheless, regions cannot operate out of the narrow framework of the federal ruling party. Thus, regions became repressive agents of the centre rather than genuine self-rule agents. Insights from Ethiopia have broader implications for states embracing federalism.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors provided empirical evidence on the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic and work outcomes of men and women in the case of Central Asia, region with under-established formal institutions, relatively poor social infrastructure, and mostly patriarchal society.
Abstract: This study provides empirical evidence on the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic and work outcomes of men and women in the case of Central Asia, region with under-established formal institutions, relatively poor social infrastructure, and mostly patriarchal society. These features of Central Asian countries make them different from other developed countries that vast majority of existing literature on COVID-19 pandemic and work outcomes nexus focus on. Findings suggest that medium-term employment level is strongly dependent upon short-term work productivity, with the latter being highly dependent on several explanatory variables, including gender. Further analysis reveal that women-mothers and women working from home-office tend to have lower work productivity as short-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn negatively influences women’s medium-term employment level. The paper sheds light on gender-disaggregated situation in the labor market of the country and provides empirical recommendations for decision makers at both government and business levels.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors investigated how protesters learned about and planned the 2020 #EndSARS protests in Nigeria and found that protesters who used Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter to learn about and plan the #SARS protest were more likely to join on the first day of the protest.
Abstract: This study interrogates how protesters learned about and planned the 2020 #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. Analyses of survey data collected in 2020 during the protests and content analysis of tweets demonstrate that protesters who used Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter to learn about and plan the 2020 #EndSARS protests in Nigeria and reported to be 30 years and older are more likely to report joining on the first day of the protest. Data showed a relationship between protesters’ perceived ease of use of a social media platform and their use of such platforms during protests. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors critically analyzed the Indian Government's commitment to the post-return situation and sensitivity toward the rural reverse migrants during COVID-19 and found that reverse migrants are sensitive to crucial aspects that bother them during their reverse migration such as mental stress, social issues, transportation issues, job loss, and income loss.
Abstract: Reverse migration was the trending issue in several news articles and channels during the pandemic. The authors attempt to investigate migrants’ sensitivity during COVID-19. Reverse migrants are sensitive to crucial aspects that bother them during their reverse migration such as mental stress, social issues, transportation issues, job loss, and income loss. The Government of India launched several initiatives to help the reverse migrants, but it is not reaching the migrant people adequately. Hence, in this article, authors critically analyzed the Indian Government’s commitment to the post-return situation and sensitivity toward the rural reverse migrants.
TL;DR: For instance, the authors found that the relationship between China and Africa is not equivalent to a Chinese "Scramble for Africa" and that it does not amount to economic plunder, political control, military destabilisation or racial domination.
Abstract: The ‘Scramble for Africa’ has historically been a concept used to describe the plunder of Africa by colonial powers, their subsequent economic capture of African resources, their political control and their racial domination of Africans. But, in recent times, many writers have pointed to Chinese ‘Scramble for Africa’. Of these depictions, The Economist’s has been both categorical and relentless. But is the set of relationships between China and African countries imperial? Does it amount to a Chinese ‘Scramble for Africa’? If so, what can be done; if not, why not? Neither content nor institutional analyses of 27 stories, sampled from 132 issues of The Economist from 2019 to 2021, show conclusive evidence that the relationship between China and Africa is imperial. Evidence of African indebtedness to China, Chinese opaque resource transactions in Africa, and the controlling effect of China’s Belt and Road Initiative typically emphasised by The Economist is serious. But it does not amount to economic plunder, political control, military destabilisation or racial domination. The Economist’s characterisation of China–Africa relations reflects wider processes of Westernisation. Its features include the use of mainstream economic analysis, (mis)representation of the Global South to maintain Western hegemony and inhibiting Southern struggle to break the Western chokehold on global development. As an elite newspaper, The Economist’s ‘frame analysis’ not only presents news, but also produces views that caricature Global South agendas, especially those that threaten Western liberalism and imperialism.
TL;DR: This article explored a new approach to football fandom by Liverpool F.C. supporters in Nsukka, Nigeria and found that the reason for the thanksgiving ceremonies by the group is anchored on a tenacious faith in God, who can do all things, including helping Liverpool FC.
Abstract: This article explored a new approach to football fandom by Liverpool F.C. supporters club in Nsukka, Nigeria. Between 2019 and 2020, this group embarked on thanksgiving ceremonies to commemorate the successes of Liverpool F.C. within that period. The study adopted participant observation and oral interviews as methods of data collection. Findings show that the reason for the thanksgiving ceremonies by the group is anchored on a tenacious faith in God, who can do all things, including helping Liverpool F.C. win trophies. This finding brings to scholarly attention the much-neglected role the Christian faith plays in football fandom among young people in Nsukka, Nigeria.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors argue that the interplay of the skewed neo-liberal and global architecture, decline of traditional labour absorbing sectors, and the debilitating syncretic ‘informal’ sector constrained sustainable youth employment and deflated interventions.
Abstract: The paper interrogates the paradox of persistent youth unemployment amid an upswing of impressive economic growth after Neo-liberal reforms in Uganda. The government of Uganda undertook targeted interventions to ameliorate youth unemployment, which escalated. Why was the growing economy failing to absorb labour? Why were the interventions failing? We argue that the interplay of the skewed neo-liberal and global architecture, decline of traditional labour absorbing sectors, and the debilitating syncretic ‘informal’ sector constrained sustainable youth employment and deflated interventions. The paper opines that Uganda’s neo-liberal capitalism was unique, as it was structured in a way that did not enhance domestic actors and sectors, which would have increased sustainable labour absorption and utilisation. Otherwise, Uganda’s celebratory growth was largely aid-driven and in the controversial and constrained informal sector, limited service ‘enterprises’ and import consumerism, which undermined domestic productivity and employability. Neo-liberalism and the reconstituted state did not align the domestic and global economic structures for meaningful employment. Unemployment spiralled into the socio-political landscape, while youth agency strived for better positioning.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors investigated the intra-urban distribution of child hawking in Enugu Municipality, Nigeria, by enumerating child hawkers across three residential areas (core, transition and sub-urban) simultaneously on different weekdays and at different locations (activity-nuclei) in the Enugu municipality.
Abstract: This article investigated the intra-urban distribution of child hawking in Enugu Municipality, Nigeria. The study first enumerated child hawkers across three residential areas (core, transition and sub-urban) simultaneously on different weekdays and at different locations (activity-nuclei) in Enugu municipality. A questionnaire was then employed to obtain information from 95 incidentally selected child hawkers, comprising 49, 21 and 25, respectively. Information sourced was their socio-economic characteristics and factors influencing their taking to the street to hawk. The data were analysed using percentages, cross tabulation and standard scores. Results showed that 58.9% were males, 53.7% were out-of-school and 47.4% realized ₦501.00–₦1000.00 ($1.4USD–$2.78USD) per day. Factors influencing child hawking, measured through an index tagged ‘Child Hawkers’ Factor Index’ (CHFI) on a 5-point Likert-type scale, showed that poverty was the most prevalent factor in the core, transition and sub-urban areas of the municipality, respectively, with (CHFI = 3.67), (CHFI = 3.64) and (CHFI = 3.37). The study further showed that there was a relationship between child hawking incidence and land use activities. It observed that the core residential area, junction, Motor Park and market land uses were generators of child hawkers. The study suggested effective urban planning and policy measures in addressing the menace of child hawking.