ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 22 (2008).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 22 (2008). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
Why does the state bureaucracy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) appear to have been affected very little by the post-communist transformation when compared to other public institutions and... Show moreWhy does the state bureaucracy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) appear to have been affected very little by the post-communist transformation when compared to other public institutions and sectors of the economy? Why have declared reforms of civil services failed so far to reach most of their objectives and even have had a counter-productive effect in some cases? On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the development of the Russian and Czech state administration over the last decade and a half the author provides a thorough insight into the causes of the prevailing tendencies in the administrative development of CEE countries and explores key factors that have led to more than modest results in the reforms of their civil services Show less
At present, virtually everyone working in the field of development agrees that reform of mal-functioning court systems is central in promoting good governance and rule of law. Unfortunately,... Show moreAt present, virtually everyone working in the field of development agrees that reform of mal-functioning court systems is central in promoting good governance and rule of law. Unfortunately, however, the record of court reform attempts is not very heartening. Those who intend to reform must take into account a complex set of courts' relations with other state agencies, dispute resolvers, and actors in the state legal system, but they also depend heavily on the quality of legislation and legal education. In reaction to this complexity, three types of strategies have been common for court reform programmes: the 'holistic', the 'tactical', and the 'strategic' approach. This Research and Policy Note discusses strategic court reform and its underlying ideas. Its main intention is to alert those involved in judicial reform to some of the pitfalls and choices connected to particular types of interventions. The concluding remarks will comment on the political nature of judicial reform and on a model to design a proper sequence of interventions for judicial reform Show less
This book takes an impartial look at the postcolonial history of Zambia, examining political unity and dissent, the public role of religion (Roman Catholicism, the Charismatic churches, and Islam),... Show moreThis book takes an impartial look at the postcolonial history of Zambia, examining political unity and dissent, the public role of religion (Roman Catholicism, the Charismatic churches, and Islam), the economy and the State, and new and old forms of politics in the Third Republic. It is the outcome of a conference organized by the network for Historical Research in Zambia, in Lusaka August 2005. There are contributions by Jan-Bart Gewald, Marja Hinfelaar, Giacomo Macola, David M. Gordon, Andrew J. DeRoche, Miles Larmer, Austin M. Cheyeka, Felix J. Phiri, Hugh Macmillan, Karen Tranberg Hansen, Friday E. Mulenga, Bizeck. J. Phiri, and Jeremy Gold. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This PhD thesis introduces an arena in which government policy, private-sector compliance and community actions interact. Based on South Africa's forestry sector and on two forestry companies -... Show moreThis PhD thesis introduces an arena in which government policy, private-sector compliance and community actions interact. Based on South Africa's forestry sector and on two forestry companies - Singisi Forest Products (SFP) in the Eastern Cape Province and Siyaqhubeka Forests (SQF) in KwaZulu-Natal Province - as examples, the author asks whether it is possible to fulfil disparate actors' objectives by negotiating the government's withdrawal from the forestry sector. She applies concepts of power and empowerment, co-management, and policy implementation as triple lenses that capture contemporary policy dynamics in South Africa. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2008
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 23 (2008).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 23 (2008). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
International policy is currently witnessing a renewed interest in customary tenure systems as well as traditional leadership, through which it aims to enhance the efficiency of local governance... Show moreInternational policy is currently witnessing a renewed interest in customary tenure systems as well as traditional leadership, through which it aims to enhance the efficiency of local governance and create general access to and secure rights in land. Contrary to these ideas, practice reveals a lack of security of customary tenure in areas with a high competition for land. Mounting evidence displays that customary systems often evolve inequitably and that traditional elites benefit disproportionally from commodification of land. In an effort to understand customary land management by traditional authorities and the role policymakers, lawmakers, judges and civil servants play in this process, this book studies practices of land management in peri-urban Ghana where traditional leadership forms a vibrant part of social life. This book combines local case studies with theories about efficient land management, the resilience of traditional leadership, the negotiability of customary law and the gap between judges' customary law and local practices. Doing so, it offers a unique body of empirical and theoretical knowledge for those interested in customary land management, as well as those interested in how customary law functions both at the local level and at the level of the state Show less
On New Year's Eve 2001, fourteen youngsters were killed and more than two hundred got injured by a fire in a bar in the municipality of Volendam in the Netherlands.After this tragic event, the... Show moreOn New Year's Eve 2001, fourteen youngsters were killed and more than two hundred got injured by a fire in a bar in the municipality of Volendam in the Netherlands.After this tragic event, the Dutch government intensified the administrative law enforcement of the fire safety regulation, especially in the catering industry. From an economic and social perspective important questions can be raised on this response to the 'Volendam disaster'.Are the costs and benefits of enforcement properly balanced? What effects on compliance can be expected from administrative law enforcement? Is private enforcement by liability claims of victims considered as an alternative? The main question of this thesis is:What is an effective and efficient enforcement policy for fire safety in the catering industry? In particular, this thesis discusses whether the use of informal, cooperative enforcement through warnings, persuasion and advice (a so called compliance strategy) is effective in inducing compliance with the fire safety regulation.The standard economic model of compliance and enforcement stresses the importance of immediately punishing individuals and firms for non-compliance (a deterrence strategy). In practice many administrative law enforcement officials do not impose the strict sanctions economists promote. Part I of this thesis analyzes the economic literature to discuss whether and when a compliance strategy can be beneficial. It discusses which enforcement method (private, administrative or criminal) is effective and efficient to enforce safety standards. Definite conclusions on the optimal enforcement policy can only be drawn by analyzing the actual data.Therefore, part II of this thesis analyzes which enforcement policy is effective and efficient for the case of fire safety in the catering industry in the Netherlands. Enforcement officials have been interviewed to examine the use of a compliance strategy.The benefits and costs of the enforcement efforts after the Volendam disaster are estimated to see whether these efforts have been a desirable investment. Also, the compensation of the victims of the Volendam disaster is investigated to analyze the incentive to take precautions. Finally, a simulation of different enforcement policies in a representative municipality examines which policy is efficient. This is a volume in the series of the E.M. Meijers Institute for Legal Research of the Faculty of Law at Leiden Show less
Boin, M.; Eijkman, E.M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2008
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 21 (2008).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 21 (2008). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
This thesis explores the postwar reintegration strategies of young women who had forcibly become affiliated with one of the fighting factions during the ten years of civil war in Sierra Leone.... Show moreThis thesis explores the postwar reintegration strategies of young women who had forcibly become affiliated with one of the fighting factions during the ten years of civil war in Sierra Leone. Instead of conceptualizing reintegration as the result of policies, the author defines it as the dynamic process that revolves around the (re-)establishment of relations between the individual and social networks. The thesis seeks to understand how the local meaning of the social identities 'youth' and 'female gender' affect the course of this process. It demonstrates how the social and cultural identity of the women as either daughters or wives influenced their decision to return or not to their former community and how they constantly have to negotiate their social identities in the community in order to integrate into new networks. Data collected during six months of fieldwork in Sierra Leone in 2003-2004 provide the basis for describing how reintegration is highly diversified and contextual. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Leiden University was conceived as the embodiment of specifically academic ethics which sought to improve society through a cumulative process of knowledge acquisition. Drawing on the idea of... Show moreLeiden University was conceived as the embodiment of specifically academic ethics which sought to improve society through a cumulative process of knowledge acquisition. Drawing on the idea of Leiden as a 'bastion of liberty', the renowned historian Willem Otterspeer proposes that concepts such as 'equilibrium' and 'mediation' are key to understanding the university as an institution. Modernity and scale expansion have made Leiden University a different institution in the twentyfirst century, one scarcely comparable to what had gone before. As this lively and erudite study shows, a university is a form of social capital, one of Western society's answers to the dilemma of collective action, an instrument for preserving and restoring equilibrium, and hence for fostering continuity. From this vantage point, a university is a confidence-building mechanism that generates solutions to the serious problems facing society today. Also available in Dutch: "http://www.aup.nl/do.php?a=show_visitor_book&isbn=9789087280246">ISBN 978 90 8728 024 6 Show less
Adepoju, Aderanti; Naerssen, Ton van; Zoomers, Annelies 2008
This book aims at achieving a better understanding of the implications of international migration for national development from the perspective of the sending countries, with an emphasis on sub... Show moreThis book aims at achieving a better understanding of the implications of international migration for national development from the perspective of the sending countries, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. More specifically, the volume explores (1) current perceptions of the links between international migration and national development, as seen from the perspective of the countries of origin, and (2) current trends in policymaking aimed at minimizing the negative effects of international migration, while optimizing its development impact. The book examines how a coherent international migration policy can contribute to the fight against poverty. Chapters are included on the migration-development nexus in Botswana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal. For comparative purposes, attention is additionally paid to Mexico, the Philippines and the People's Republic of China. Contributors: Aderanti Adepoju, Fabio Baggio, Annelet Broekhuis, Hein de Haas, Thando Gwebu, Maggi Leung, Marianne Marchand, Koki Muli, Ton van Naerssen, John Oucho, Inês Raimundo Oucho, Marcel Rutten, Maguemati Wabgou, Annelies Zoomers. [ASC Leiden abstract]. Show less
How law can aid development has been the focus of much recent discussion among development workers, scholars and policy makers. Indeed, reforms to improve poor people's access to justice and to... Show moreHow law can aid development has been the focus of much recent discussion among development workers, scholars and policy makers. Indeed, reforms to improve poor people's access to justice and to promote their legal empowerment comprise the latest trend in legal development cooperation. This volume answers a number of basic questions about this new trend, such as access to justice and legal empowerment entail and its importance; the obstacles the poor and marginalised face in seeking justice and empowerment through the legal system; and the reforms proposed by these approaches to legal development co-operation. Furthermore, it outlines important considerations for policymakers concerning access to justice and legal empowerment reforms Show less
The study concentrates on the capabilities of children and young people to cope in child-headed households in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. In contrast to the dominant view of these children as... Show moreThe study concentrates on the capabilities of children and young people to cope in child-headed households in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. In contrast to the dominant view of these children as vulnerable and in need of protection and support by family and community members, this study focuses on the coping strategies of these youngsters and their access to support and its quality. Moreover, it addresses the problematic of conceptualizing child-headed households in the South African context. This new type of information provides us with valuable insights on how such households could be supported in a more effective way. Show less
Over the last decades there has been increased recognition that law and governance matter for development, be it macro-economic growth or the improvement of micro-level basic needs and freedoms.... Show moreOver the last decades there has been increased recognition that law and governance matter for development, be it macro-economic growth or the improvement of micro-level basic needs and freedoms. Legislation is a central part of state legal systems, and often the written legal norms are a starting point when seeking improvement of the legal system as a whole, or one of its specific aspects. This volume discusses how legislation (the product) and lawmaking (the process) function in developing countries, and how legislation contributes to development and how lawmaking and legislation can be improved either by the country itself or by donor assisted projects. It covers topics including legal transplantation, legislative quality, linkages between legislation and implementation, and the politics of lawmaking. The resultant volume combines insights from scholars, based on conceptual analysis and empirical research, with ideas from practitioners involved in lawmaking in legal technical assistance projects. Doing so, this volume aims to be useful for both academia and practice Show less
