Journal of Asian and African Studies

The idea of a ‘Liberal International Order’ has a long and controversial history. Until 1989, it was a fiercely contested project, but during the ‘unipolar moment’ of the 1990s, it underwent an unprecedented upsurge and appeared to achieve hegemonic status. This article offers a retrospective analysis, viewing the ensuing cycle as a discursive metanarrative, and covering the ensuing overreach and its more recent unravelling. It concludes with an overview of alternative conceptions of liberal order, and some brief reflections on how a revised Liberal International Order (LIO) might regain some of the ground it has lost, and what that would involve.

Over the past decade, a decline of democratic legitimacy has been observed in many countries across different world regions. The decline has many facets and borderlines due to international crises, the rise of populism, social polarization and institutional weaknesses. Against this background, the paper focusses on aspects of social and institutional trust as it relates to these developments on a worldwide basis. The analyses rely on the comprehensive database provided by seven waves of the World Values Surveys (WVS), an approach that makes it possible to offer a differentiated picture both by world regions and various political system types (Inglehart et al. 2015). The final section assesses the current situation in the context of an increased system competition between liberal democracies and autocratic regimes.

The submitted article constitutes a rather bold trans-cultural attempt to indicate which aspects of socio-political reality warrant attention if one intends to defend democratic principles. The endeavor is, in a sense, audacious, as the transfer of European experiences of democratic transformations—and of democratic backsliding—to the African continent is fraught with numerous challenges. Nevertheless, it seems worth undertaking such an attempt, particularly in the search for universal regularities, which, as we know, do exist, although they should be regarded more as possibilities than as ready-made prescriptions. The guidelines presented below are, of course, intended for those who consider it meaningful to defend democracy. The article is organized into several parts. The first part addresses foundational theoretical issues, including contemporary alternatives to democracy, challenges of democratic consolidation, economic development and inequality, the role of the state, and models of existing democracies. Parts II through V examine specific developments in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), focusing on early democratic successes, the rise of anti-liberal trends, the impact of institutional design, and unique context-specific phenomena. The conclusion distills broader lessons that African nations may draw from the CEE experience to strengthen democracy and, where necessary, counter democratic backsliding.

Religiosity plays an important role in Asia and Africa and accounts for political-economic preferences and beliefs. I trace the influence of collective religiosity on the redistribution and democracy preferences of respondents among 35 industrialising societies in Asia and Africa in the period 2005–2022. Religious attendees support redistribution less than their non-religious counterparts and believers who do not participate in collective religiosity. Relative social position (income end education), a substitution effect and being part of a majority explain the reluctance to support redistribution. Religious attendees also more readily identify with authoritarian rather than liberal interpretations of the meaning of democracy.

The global proliferation of “fake news” has become a critical concern in media and political discourse, extending beyond the United States and Europe to regions like Africa and Asia. This study conducts an exploratory comparative analysis of Taiwan and South Africa, utilizing data from the Taiwan Institute for Governance and Communication Research (TIGCR) and Afrobarometer, to examine the impact of misinformation and disinformation on democratic processes in these emerging democracies. Our findings reveal that perceived exposure to disinformation is significantly high in both Taiwan and South Africa, and this exposure negatively impacts the two democratic societies. Specifically, we observe correlations between various factors related to disinformation exposure and how people perceive fake news as worsening polarization and affecting the role of media in democracy. The analysis focuses on three key aspects: the relationship between awareness of false information and reliance on various media platforms, the impact of misinformation dissemination on societal polarization, and the role of media in promoting democratic processes. This research provides critical insights into how misinformation affects democracies in Asia and Africa, with broader implications for global democratic health. The study also offers recommendations for future research directions to further understand and address the challenges posed by misinformation in diverse democratic contexts.

This paper explores the intersection of democracy and organized crime in Colombia and South Africa, two countries that, despite their geographical distance, share significant socio-political similarities. Both nations fully democratized during the Third Wave and have since experienced high levels of criminal violence. In Colombia, the rise of the illicit narcotics economy since the late 1970s has deeply influenced its political landscape, while South Africa’s high organized crime rates emerged post-apartheid. The study categorizes both countries as defective democracies, characterized by limited electoral competition and significant corruption, which have allowed criminal governance to infiltrate state structures. The paper examines the historical context that has shaped the organized crime-politics nexus in both countries, highlighting the role of regional elites and the impact of socioeconomic inequalities. It argues that the criminalization of representative institutions and the intertwining of licit and illicit actors have undermined democratic legitimacy.

This article examines the evolving political trajectories of the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa and the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) in Namibia, two liberation movements that transitioned into dominant ruling parties after independence. While their liberation credentials initially conferred legitimacy and enabled early state-building, their prolonged incumbency has led to the entrenchment of party-state conflation, elite patronage, and institutional stagnation. Through a comparative analysis, the article explores how these liberation legacies have shaped post-colonial state institutions, electoral behaviour, and democratic development in the two countries.

This article presents three very diverse countries. The aim of the comparison is to illustrate that, differences notwithstanding, there are similarities in which democratic legitimacy may be maintained, undermined, or restored. Mapping the routes South Africa, Turkey, and Poland took in their respective journeys to democracy, the analyses reveal the multiple and varied challenges their democratic projects have faced since then. What becomes evident is that regardless of the geographic and cultural settings, democracy is never consolidated once and for all but has its ups and downs and may even die, with all three possible scenarios related closely to changing political, economic, and social circumstances both domestically and globally.

This study is a systematic review of research on higher education in Zimbabwe, in particular, it assesses the contribution of higher education towards engendering socio-economic development. This is achieved through identifying higher education activities prioritised in research during the study period which spans a three-year period from 2021 to 2023. This period comes just after the introduction of Education 5.0, which includes innovation and industrialisation. Furthermore, the articles are assessed on whether they address socio-economic development issues. A total of 41 abstracts of research articles were subjected to qualitative content analysis. The findings reveal five major activities that research has focussed on in priority order: teaching and learning; quality in education; management operations and policy; knowledge and research; and equity and equality. Furthermore, while the analysis indicates that the prioritised activities contribute towards socio-economic development, the nuances of balancing political, individual and epistemic priorities affecting higher education institutions are brought to the fore. The identified activities underscore the need for interventions at national, institutional, departmental and individual lecturer levels. However, there are concerns about the de-prioritisation of gender equality and equity in higher learning institutions in Zimbabwe. In conclusion, the research topics not only highlight the complexities and the dynamics faced by higher education institutions in Zimbabwe in playing their expected role of contributing to socio-economic development but also the need to foreground specificity to allow for the identification of effective interventions and processes required to support higher education’s goal of contributing towards economic growth. The study further concludes that the neglect of equity and equality issues may be detrimental to educational outcomes geared towards economic growth.

Globalization, trade and labour institutions have implications on the labour market affecting the regular nature of jobs and increasing dependence on contract labour. Using worker-level data for India’s manufacturing sector, this paper evaluates the influence of outward orientation of the worker’s industry on the informal nature of employment. We find that higher import penetration and export orientation of the manufacturing industries of workers promote employment of regular nature. However, the regular jobs come tied up with lack of job contracts in industries facing higher import competition. Export-oriented industries increase the chances of regular jobs with a written job contract.

Urban sprawl is at the centre of contemporary urban debates and is very often criticised for its negative social and environmental externalities. Building on geo-spatial methodology and field observations, this study sets out to develop a holistic approach to understanding urban sprawl through a particular focus on a rapidly growing metropolitan urban agglomeration of northern India, that is, Varanasi. Following an analysis of principal urban growth modes through landscape expansion index and changing patterns of urban landscape through landscape metrics, this research refers to a geo-spatially grounded logistic regression model in order to shed light on the dynamic impact of multiple growth factors on the trajectory of urban sprawl in the study area. Moreover, in order to address the evolving nature of urban sprawl in Varanasi and its immediate surroundings this study focuses on a temporal span of 20 years, encompassing two consecutive decades of the 21st century (2001–2011 and 2011–2021). The research concludes by paving a platform for an amalgamation of the findings from different geo-spatial metrics as well as by corroborating the principal findings with the propositions of a number of contemporary hypotheses concerning the spatial growth of urbanised territories.

This study aims to analyze how and why politicians and political parties exploit religion in election campaigns in postmilitary regimes of Bangladesh. In addition, this article explores the sociopolitical implications of employing religion during electoral campaigns. In recent years, religion has played an increasingly important role in Bangladesh politics as political parties have sought to mobilize voters and gain the support of religious leaders and groups. This study uses three theoretical frameworks: rational choice theory, the legitimacy crisis, and identity politics to unveil the reasons for using religious symbols and norms in election campaigns. Through robust content analysis using secondary sources and in-depth interviews, the study argues that political parties use religion not only to overcome legitimacy crises but also to present themselves as the protectors of Islam in Bangladesh. The article also argues that political parties exploit religious tradition to align themselves with Muslim identity politics. Religion in election campaigns has negative consequences in society and politics. It intensifies the contributing factors of political polarization, violence against religious minorities, and undermining democratic credentials. The significance of this study is that it provides a pathway for researching the using religions in voting campaigns in Bangladesh.

In the 1970s, the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) opened its bases in the mid-Zambezi Valley, at Paradise and Mayovhe, under Chief Mola’s territory. This move by ZIPRA was motivated by a variety of reasons. The most important fact was that the Tonga-Goba people of this region were ready to support the war because they wanted to regain control of the riverscape from which they were displaced by the colonial state during the late 1950s when the Kariba dam was constructed. This paper examines how the colonial displacements of the Tonga-Goba people, their marginalization as well as the colonial regime’s “broken promise” all shaped their participation in the Zimbabwe War of Liberation in the 1970s. To explore this history of war from below, our study builds largely from the local Tonga-Goba narratives.

The study investigated Maputo citizens’ decision to switch to clean energy. To measure residents’ intention and behavior, the study used Ajzen’s theory, suggesting that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control influence intention and behavior. About 300 responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The survey revealed that perceived behavioral control was the best predictor of intention and behavior, and suggested that to encourage a widespread transition to sustainable cooking energy, policymakers should focus on increasing awareness of the benefits of this transition, making these energy sources financially accessible and providing education on the safe use of associated equipment.

This article analyses Kerala’s development model through dependency theory, highlighting its reliance on foreign aid and consequent policy constraints. It examines how tied loans eroded Kerala’s policy autonomy and social model, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups. The state’s financial crisis and strained central relations led to accepting loans with neoliberal conditionalities, undermining welfare policies. Using the World Bank-funded Jalanidhi project as a case study, it contextualizes Kerala’s aid dependence within global capitalism, where aid often acts as “euphemized domination.” It reveals the model’s vulnerabilities, interlinked with exploitative global relations, and advocates for economic restructuring fostering self-reliance and people-centered development.

Indigenous knowledge and healthcare practices are deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of tribal communities, influencing every aspect of life and ensuring the well-being of individuals. This paper delves into the Indigenous knowledge systems of the Maram Naga community in Manipur, India, mainly focusing on practices related to mother and child healthcare. The study is based on qualitative data gathered from 225 households across 12 Maram Naga villages through in-depth personal interviews and focus group discussions. It explains the beliefs, rituals, and other traditional cultural practices integral to the Maram Nagas in promoting the health and wellness of the mother and child in pre-natal and post-natal care.

This research investigates the motivations driving the utilization of urban open spaces for subsistence agriculture and assesses its impact on the livelihoods of residents in Esikhaleni Township. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study conducts structured interviews with local farmers and in-depth interviews with municipal officials from the uMhlathuze Municipality. The findings highlight food insecurity, the necessity for accessible fresh produce, agricultural passion, and rising food costs as primary drivers compelling Esikhaleni residents towards open space farming. Moreover, the research underscores the significant contribution of open space agriculture to the livelihoods of Esikhaleni residents, including improved access to fresh food, reduced food expenditures, and supplementary income generation through produce sales. The study concludes by recommending the integration of urban agriculture into urban planning efforts to safeguard land for agricultural purposes, thereby enabling residents of Esikhaleni Township to engage in sustainable agricultural practices.

Ex-colonial languages have exerted influence on the development of education and the shaping of other socio-economic and political structures in post-colonial countries. Based on an overview of language-in-education policies in Tanzania, the article offers a nuanced account of the disparity between the use of English and Kiswahili as medium of instruction (MoI). The dominance of English and the marginalization of Kiswahili have given rise to a dilemma with far-reaching implications for every stakeholder in education. The article proposes that the weakness of Kiswahili in comparison to English is attributed to the trend that Tanzania has been divided along the lines of several pairs of dichotomies, together with the infiltration of neocolonialism in post-colonial era. In this vein, the article comes to the conclusion that the issues of MoI choice and continuity should not remain unresolved, as their dysfunction creates backlash in other social contexts.

This paper addresses the pervasive absence of student verbal participation in the virtual classroom in a developing country context. While student non-verbal participation is not new, it has taken on new significance in the context of the virtual classroom as many institutions of higher learning continue to embrace online teaching post-COVID-19. The study focuses sharply on Botswana. A structured questionnaire that sought to capture students’ perception of the extent and impact on learning of student non-verbal participation in the virtual classroom was distributed to students at the largest university by student population in the country. Since the study is set in a developing country context, and such contexts are usually characterized by a pervasive lack of resources, the questionnaire also sought to capture students’ perceptions of the availability of resources to participate in virtual classrooms. The data collected were subjected to quantitative methods of analysis, with the help of STATA. The study revealed that student non-verbal participation in virtual classrooms is not unique to developed countries. The study also highlighted that students have different preferences regarding non-verbal participation in the virtual classroom: some prefer classroom engagement, while some prefer to listen to instructors rather than speak. The emerging policy implication is that it is essential for instructors to balance the needs and expectations of these different categories of students. There is an emerging literature that considers how instructors can enhance interaction in the virtual classroom. The best approach depends on context. The study also underlined the important role that institutions of higher learning can play in making online teaching accessible to students from different social backgrounds through program design. At the University of Botswana for instance, all students are introduced to information and communications technology (ICT) training in the first year of their programmes, equipping them with the necessary skills to gainfully participate in virtual classes. In terms of resource availability, the study revealed gaps that require policy intervention: there is a need for the government to consider subsidizing government-sponsored students to purchase digital devices within the context of their scholarships; it is also important for the government to continue investing in ICT infrastructure and developing pricing policies that make internet services accessible.

Acts of xenophobia are a persistent feature of life in South Africa. Daily animosity often spills over into violence against both locals and mostly migrants and their economic enterprises. One argument is that xenophobia has characterized post-apartheid South Africa partly due to increased migration flows. Can migration cause xenophobia? Using data from Xenowatch Reports, we examine the impact of migration flows from Zimbabwe on the onset and persistence of acts of collective violence targeted at foreign nationals’ lives and their foreign-owned businesses in South Africa. Results show that increased migration flows from Zimbabwe into South Africa leads to ethnic polarization, cultural diversity, and intolerance by residents toward immigrants. The variable migrants has a positive but statistically insignificant effect on xenophobia. However, migration can impact xenophobia through inducing ethnic fractionalization, cultural diversity and ethnic polarization, intolerance, and hostility with the coefficients of ethnic fractionalization and cultural diversity being positive and statistically significant and supporting the hypothesis that more migration flows from Zimbabwe lead to more xenophobic attacks in South Africa. These findings aid our understanding of the economic consequences of xenophobia.

JEL codes: Q15, Q32, Q54

The work studies how Christianity affects Igbo Christians’ choices for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). Using an ethnographic method of data collection like the interview, the study shows that while Christianity is a strong religious movement in Igboland, it does not affect choices for IVF among the people. This, notwithstanding the fact that some Christian tradition like Roman Catholicism strongly condemns the practice. On the contrary, our finding show that Igbo cultural value for children, who continue one’s lineage, is the main driving force that affects choices for IVF among the people. The affordability of IVF remains a problem towards its full embrace by Igbo Christians, though.

This study deploys the ecolinguistics perspective to examine how purposively selected signs communicate environmental conservation issues in the city of Bulawayo as a linguistic landscape construction. Drawing on Haugen’s language ecology model and Halliday’s eco-discursive approach, the study reveals that the dominance of English and the invisibility of indigenous languages violate an inclusive ecosophy couched on principles of diversity and harmony, interaction and coexistence. The study also reveals an ecological orientation that is both beneficial and ambivalent. We therefore recommend the inclusion of indigenous languages and the framing of more eco-beneficial messages that foreground the benefit of positive environmental stewardship.

This study is a quantitative content analysis of advertising message strategies used in Ghana’s TV commercials (2020–2021) using the modified strategy of Wang and Praet with the objective of exploring the various advertising message strategies used in Ghana’s TV advertisement, and its variation according to product category. The findings indicate that, out of the 220 commercials used in the study, affective message strategy (n = 122, 55%) was the dominant message strategy used in Ghana’s TV commercials. The most advertised product category on Ghana’s TV commercials (2020–2021) was food category, and a significant relationship was observed between message strategy and product category as well as message strategy and brand type.

Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy has been implemented in many, diverse fields; in this article, I will present the implementation of Freirean thought in a new field that has not been mentioned in the literature to date—the encounter between groups in conflict. I will do this through the educational encounter between Jews and Arabs in Israel. In this article I will argue that the principles of the Freirean approach, mainly the dialog proposed by Freire, are most suitable for running educational dialog between groups in conflict. The use of Freirean dialog principles in meetings between Arabs and Jews is preferable to dialogs based on psychological principles. Freirean dialog does not ignore reality; on the contrary, it originates in reality and combines it with theory. Thus, it allows the participants to reach an awareness of the conflict and their role in it, and enables them to reconstruct their identity and take action if they so desire in order to change reality.

This study examines the influence of COVID-19 and climate change on food security in Oman using econometric methods. Time series data from 1990 to 2022 encompassing variables such as carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂), real GDP per capita (RGDPc), inflation rate (INF), and a pre/post-coronavirus dummy variable (DUMV) are analyzed. The dependent variable, FOOD_Impit, serves as a food security proxy, with data sourced from the World Development Indicators and Global Food Security Index databases. The study employs Johansen cointegration, canonical cointegrating regression (CCR), fully modified least squares (FMOLS), to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on food security in Oman. Johansen and CCR cointegration tests confirm a long-term cointegrating relationship among the variables in Oman, indicating their relevance to food security. However, the analysis reveals that while climate change, represented by CO₂ levels, significantly and adversely impacts food security in Oman, the effects of COVID-19, real GDP per capita, and inflation rate are statistically insignificant. In conclusion, this research provides valuable insights into the dynamics of food security and supply chains in Oman. It highlights the severe impact of climate change on food security and advocates for urgent policy reforms. Specifically, it recommends that policymakers focus on enhancing climate resilience within the food sector and invest in boosting domestic food production to reduce import dependency. The study also calls for further research to address potential omitted variables and refine the understanding of food security determinants in Oman, ensuring more robust policy formulation and implementation.

JEL classification: F11, F15, F04

The nuanced dynamics of Iran’s engagement with Africa have captivated the attention of a broad spectrum of analysts and academicians. Endeavoring to elucidate the underpinnings of Tehran’s involvement on the continent, these scholars have posited a variety of determinants, yet the empirical validation of these factors remains largely unexplored. Leveraging a comprehensive dataset of Iran’s high-level diplomatic visits to African nations, this study seeks to critically assess the relevance and explanatory capacity of the determinants in the literature. Our findings indicate that ideological imperatives, market needs and access to strategic resources predominantly fuel Iran’s interests in Africa.

Burgeoning evidence suggests that rural households face a range of stressors and shocks. Using a qualitative strand, the study examines the drivers of livelihood vulnerability in selected farms in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. Results insinuate that socioeconomic and historical contingencies are the overriding determinants triggering rural livelihood vulnerabilities to poverty. Erratic rainfall, lack of financial and social capitals in particular, had practically heightened livelihood vulnerabilities to shocks. Livelihoods diversification is used to reduce losses from rain-fed farming, improve the quality of life and manage risk more effectively. The evidence of growing susceptibility also highlights how urgent it is for local communities and government agencies to work together to lower the risk associated with climate change. Specifically, creative and reasonably priced solutions that link dry lands and urban markets are required. The results are useful in developing interventions such as crop diversification and rural income-generating opportunities. Changing climate and livelihood policies for improved well-being and resilient communities should take into consideration the major components responsible for vulnerability along with other environmental, socioeconomic and demographic drivers.

This study explored the impact of socio-demographic changes on informal sector employment in South Africa from 2017 to 2020. Utilizing data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), descriptive statistics and logistic regression were employed to analyze relationships between age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, and education within the informal workforce. The results revealed significant shifts in employment patterns, particularly affecting youth and marginalized groups. The findings emphasize the vital role of socio-demographic factors in shaping the informal sector and highlight the need for targeted policies to support vulnerable populations and improve their economic opportunities in a fluctuating labor market.

Delimitation of the parliamentary constituencies in India has been delayed for more than 50 years since 1971, leading to significant disparities in political representation across the states. Our analysis reveals that states experiencing rapid fertility decline over the last half century have become politically overrepresented, while the states with slower fertility decline remain under-represented. This distortion has harmed the principle of equality of votes and disproportionately benefits more affluent states. This study has used the Webster Method to propose the expansion of Lok Sabha to 793 seats by 2026 to correct these imbalances and reflect Indian’s shifting demographic landscape.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are an essential component of an economy. However, in today’s increasingly challenging business environment, SMEs encounter challenges in their performance. Therefore, there is a necessity to identify strategies that can enhance their performance such as Entrepreneurial Orientation. Guided by the resource-based view and dynamic capability theory, the study assessed the impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation and SMEs performance. A survey research design was adopted to gather information from SMEs in Gaborone through the quantitative method. Data from 368 SMEs owners/managers were collected and analyzed through Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) technique. From statistical results, all dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation, except risk-taking have a significant impact on SMEs’ performance. This evaluation may assist decision makers in enhancing their business practices consequently influencing their performance and insightful implications for researchers.

This study concentrates on the impact that marriage has on the personal development of Israeli Arab women in the field of higher education and employment. These women are a minority within a minority as they belong to Israel’s Arab ethnic community but are also a gender-segregated minority within their patriarchal society. Whereas other studies touch on the overall struggle of Arab women to reach personal fulfillment despite intense family life, the focus of this study is specifically the marriage itself as a watershed in the young Arab Israeli woman’s life. To fully understand the challenges constructed by marriage, 25 Israeli Arab women were interviewed in-depth on a university campus. The findings indicate the negative effect that traditional marriage has on these women’s personal futures. The study concludes on the optimistic note that the interviews also revealed a deep awareness among young Arab women of their personal rights and liberties.

This study investigates the influence of WhatsApp on the voting behaviour of University of Nigeria, Nsukka students during the 2023 Nigerian presidential election. The agenda setting theory guided the study and ex post facto cum survey research design was adopted. Data were collected through questionnaire administered to 400 students of University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The data for the research were analysed using frequency counts and percentage. Findings indicate that political campaign on WhatsApp influenced voter turnout among University of Nigeria, Nsukka students during the 2023 presidential election. The study recommends that voter education on various student WhatsApp platforms could enhance voter turnout during elections.

This study aimed to assess how the distribution of communal grazing land to youths contributes to conflict in Ethiopia. Utilizing a qualitative approach with a descriptive case study design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with purposively selected informants and document review. The findings revealed that conflicts often arise between Gotts, Kebeles, and even across district boundaries due to the perception of communal lands as unowned property. Therefore, it is essential to promote adequate legal frameworks and self-governing institutions to sustainably manage the commons.

The governments of the Maghreb states appropriated and subordinated Islam after gaining independence, utilizing religion to strengthen national identity, unity, and establish political power. The goal of governmental control over religious doctrine was to stop “heterodox” Muslim beliefs and behaviors from deviating from the officially sanctioned conceptual framework of a national Islam. This study will employ a comparative methodology to examine the little-known function of the websites of the Ministries of Religious Affairs in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. It will highlight differences in the aims and scopes of these websites, as well as the state’s use of the Internet for religious purposes.

In many southern African countries, the incumbents have retained control of executive power since independence, while opposition parties fare poorly. Why have liberation movements-turned government tended to produce dominant party systems, despite multiparty elections? And, what accounts for this dynamic of beleaguered opposition politics? It is theorised that the historical influence of Marxism-Leninism and its ideas of the vanguard party, ‘democratic’ centralism, the use of violence and casting opposition as enemies of the state produces dominant party systems hostile to opposition. Using public survey data from Afrobarometer, a further cultural explanation is provided – a society distrustful of opposition. As citizens, eager for civil and political liberty, grow in their understanding of the importance of opposition politics, the region may yet see an expansion of competitive politics.

Donor involvement in development activities in the Global South has been questioned for failing to capacitate communities in the recipient country. Therefore, the need to establish whether the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) antiretroviral treatment (ART) programme in Zimbabwe contributed to capacity building for HIV and AIDS support, care and treatment triggered this study. A qualitative methodology involving semi-structured interviews with purposively selected participants was adopted. As a result of the MSF programme, community-based clinics created ART support groups which facilitated easy access to medication and health-related information. Dispensing of medication and testing could also be done in these clinics, which were previously the district hospitals. These interventions reduced waiting periods and long-distance travel to access HIV and AIDS care, support and treatment, thus improving the healthcare quality. Community-influenced strategies are recommended to sustain these improvements.

Microfinance has garnered significant attention in development discourse due to its acclaimed potential to reduce poverty. Its role as a poverty reduction tool, however, has yet to be thoroughly examined. A single case study was undertaken through interviews and observations involving 30 Savings and Internal Lending in Communities beneficiaries in Semonkong, Lesotho. The rural populations in Lesotho face poverty due to, among other reasons, a lack of access to microloans necessary for alleviating poverty. The study’s outcome sheds light on the phenomenon of community-led microfinance programme and analyses their contribution to the livelihoods of those living in rural communities. The study found that savings-led microfinancing has effectively increased household incomes among those participating in it thereby amplifying consumption and access to basic needs. Small loans have further facilitated the establishment of small businesses and the acquisition of assets necessary to curb poverty. While there are some negative consequences associated with participating in this activity, the study found that overall the positive impacts outweigh the negative ones. We, therefore, recommend the promotion of savings-led microfinancing as a poverty alleviation tool and envisage that the findings of this study will stimulate policy dialogue and promote advocacy for rural financial inclusion.

Governing migration and migrants is a contentious process across the country, and it has become more problematic in politically sensitive states like Manipur. The police regularly conduct document checks of labour migrants in various localities of Manipur to verify and confirm their legal status, which leads to their social, economic and psychological insecurity. While this is a routine law-enforcement procedure considered necessary for ensuring security, the exercise has often resulted in harassment, exclusion and detention of migrant labourers in case they fail to prove their legal status. The surprise execution of such checks provides an opportunity for the police personnel to extort money from these poor migrants, thereby compounding their financial burden. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with labour migrants in Manipur, we find Inner Line Permit (ILP), and state surveillance are employed as tools for governing the ‘conduct’ of labour migrants in Manipur. To understand the phenomenon and experience, the paper draws on Foucault’s theorisation of ‘governmentality’. It examines the history, trajectory and significance of documents for labour migrants in the existing literature. Furthermore, it explores the power dynamics between state and labour migrants in Manipur to govern the ‘conduct’ of labour mobility through ILP and their legal status. The paper also highlights the negotiation and navigation strategies adopted by labour migrants to overcome regular state surveillance, detention and police harassment.

The Punjab accounted for 30% of all plague mortalities in early 20th-century India. This article analyzes the economic impacts of plague mortalities on the occupational structure of the Punjab between 1901 and 1921. It highlights the effects of plague mortalities on main occupational groups, such as agriculture, commerce, and industry in specific districts in the Punjab. A focus on different districts allows us to gauge how plague fatalities affected particular localities. By deploying rich archival sources, this piece argues that massive plague mortalities played a huge role in the significant diminution of occupational formations of the Punjab in the early 20th century. The study discovers varied and differential effects of plague mortalities on agricultural, commerce, and industrial-based occupations in different districts due to their geographic, administrative, and economic idiosyncrasies. This work highlights the differential effects of epidemics on different districts due to their peculiarities. It generates new insights into the interface between epidemics and means of livelihoods of populations on a district basis. This article illuminates the probable effects of epidemics on varied populations and occupational groups.

This article provides a brief overview of digital financial inclusion for marginalised and vulnerable populations, particularly women. The focus is on understanding the status and how digital financial inclusion for women is critical for achieving gender parity, their empowerment and overall gender equality. The article assesses the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), which claims to promote financial inclusion and gender equality by extending and expanding affordable access to financial services such as bank accounts, remittances, credit, insurance and pensions. The framework of intersectionality is used to theorise digital financial inclusion and its implications for marginalised and vulnerable sections of society, followed by policy recommendations.

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the divergent outcomes of smart sanctions in Myanmar and Zimbabwe in the 2000s, examining their effectiveness in prompting political change. Smart sanctions, aimed at specific individuals and entities to minimize humanitarian impacts, have become a prominent tool in international relations. Their success, however, hinges on key factors such as the precision in targeting decision-makers, the political structure and stability of the regime, the cohesion of the sanctioning coalition, and the ability of targeted entities to evade the measures. An in-depth analysis of Myanmar’s military junta and Zimbabwe’s authoritarian regime reveals that smart sanctions were more effective in Myanmar, contributing to political reforms, whereas Zimbabwe’s entrenched political control and reliance on alternative international alliances allowed the regime to withstand external pressures. These findings emphasize the critical importance of tailoring sanctions to the specific political and economic context of each regime, along with the need for cohesive international cooperation and stringent enforcement to ensure the effectiveness of smart sanctions.

Over the past decade, India’s Internet and social media usage surged due to initiatives like “Digital India,” affordable smartphones and reduced Internet costs. While digitalization has brought numerous benefits, it has also changed the cybercrime landscape. Mewat, now dubbed the “epicentre of cybercrime” in India, poses a significant challenge to law enforcement and financial security. This paper examines Mewat’s rise as a cybercrime hub, attributing it to pre-existing developmental gaps worsened by the COVID-19 lockdown. Effective solutions require comprehensive development and robust policy implementation in Mewat to prevent ongoing exploitation by cyber-criminals.

The article investigates the importance of the audience (general public) in the securitisation process. It then applies the concept in the context of competitive authoritarianism using Pakistan as a case study. The article argues that similar to securitisation processes, the audience plays a significant role in the (de-) democratisation process. The article contributes to both theoretical and empirical literature on securitisation and democratisation by extending the role of the audience to the democratisation process during competitive authoritarian regimes.

Karachi, a bustling metropolis of Pakistan, was once called a city of lights. It was known for its “cosmopolitan” nature and mercantile temperament. Many business-minded people were settled here establishing their enterprises along with their neighborhoods and communities. British developed it into a modern port and more people got attracted to the newly found business opportunities, city diversified further. With the passage of time and due to the major political shifts in the Indian subcontinent, Karachi began losing its cosmopolitan character especially a sizable religiously diverse population. The rich cultural heritage that was part and parcel of the diverse makeup of a city was gradually pushed into the back and somehow became invisible and forgotten. To reclaim the memory of the city and mitigate this historic amnesia, a project that was designed and conducted with school- and university-going students is presented as a viable method.

This paper explores how stand-up comedy serves as a platform for political criticism in India, focusing on comedians Varun Grover, Vir Das, and Kunal Kamra. It aims to understand their perspectives on government actions through their performances. In a context where traditional media faces censorship, stand-up comedy emerges as a unique and impactful tool for free expression. These comedians use humor to address sensitive topics, empowering audiences to engage with critical political issues. By raising public awareness through laughter, they contribute to the democratic process and challenge the limitations of free speech in India.