Bibliography: leaves 290-311. This study investigates the roles and experiences of "women warriors" in Zimbabwe's anti-colonial national liberation war, and reveals certain glorifications which have served to obscure and silence the voices of thousands of young girls and women involved in the struggle. The problems associated with the inclusion of women in an armed/military guerrilla force are discussed, and the (re)presentation of women in discourses of war, fictional accounts, public and national symbols and other multiple discursive layers which have re-inscribed the women back into the domestic examined. The Zimbabwean film Flame highlights the political sensitivity of the issues, including accusations of rape by male comrades in guerrilla training camps. An overview of women's involvement in Zimbabwean history, anti-colonial struggle, and the African nationalist movement provides the background for a critique of western feminist theories of nationalism and women's liberation in Africa. Historical records are juxtaposed with the voices of some women ex-combatants who speak their reasons for joining the struggle and their experiences of war. White Rhodesian women's roles are also examined in light of the gendered constructions of war.

This study analyses a Swedish solidarity organisation, The Palestine Solidarity Association ofSweden. In original language Palestinagrupperna i Sverige, abbreviated PGS. Like other solidaritygroups the PGS was founded in sympathy with liberation movements during the decolonisation erain the 1960s. The PGS supports the Palestinian attempt to form an independent state partly on thesame land as Israel.Many of the groups were organised in a different manner than traditional leftist organisations. Thisstudy tries to apply the theory of Social Contentious Movements to the PSG. The general idea isthat new social groups mobilise in new ways and apply confrontational tactics towards the state.Renowned scholars in this field are Sidney Tarrow and Charles Tilly. Some of these groups wereformed transnationally and used new ways of communication like the internet.The PGS is active in one such transnational organisation called BDS, Boycott, Divestment andSanctions. PGS have put pressure on Swedish businesses to boycott the Israeli factory SodaStreamthat has been producing on occupied Palestinian territory still labelling the products Made inIsrael.The study shows support for the fact that the PGS has gradually turned from mainly radical critic toan organisation of development aid in Palestine. The main hostile counterpart is the Israeligovernment, which has promised to stop PGS-members entering the country because of itsengagement in the BDS.The results of the study gives support to explanation of its survival where other leftist solidaritygroups have ceased to exist due to its work with development aid.The PGS supports the rights of the Palestinian people. The interest of the people has beenarticulated in different ways of the leadership. The initial wholehearted support seems to havechanged to a more sceptical one. The support now is more directed towards the civil society.

There were no "Rebellions" in 1896-7. The concept of "risings" which is to be found in the European perspective of the escalated violence has distorted an understanding of the complex nature of the events. The events of 1896-7 must rather be explained through an examination of the details of the conflict. European pressure on the African people prior to 1896 was minimal and cannot be assumed to be the "cause" of the first "Chimurenga". There was no planned, organised or coordinated "rebellion" in Matabeleland in March 1896. Further, no distinction can be made between a "March" rebellion in Matabeleland and a June "rebellion" in Mashonaland. A European war of conquest in 1896-7 evoked the responce known now as the first "Chimurenga". It was the war of conquest of 1896-7 which saw the ascendancy of the European perspective over the African and thereby established the psychological foundations of the Rhodesian colonial state. The complex nature of the events of 1896-7 is to be understood through an appreciation of the different perspectives of those who became embroiled in the conflict.

Since Africa’s ‘second liberation’ from authoritarianism at the beginning of the 1990s, political parties have assumed a critically important role in the processes by which social interests are articulated, institutions are legitimised and conflicts are managed. Many authors question the extent to which these organisations recognise the intrinsic value of free political competition, personal liberty, political accountability and social inclusion, although relatively few studies have attempted a comprehensive exploration of either party or voter behaviour. This research project represents a hypothesis-building case study of Namibia and addresses three areas of concern. First, it builds upon existing party system research to demonstrate that Namibia’s opposition vote is characterised by acute volatility and attributes this phenomenon to weak parties, salient ethnic identities and a permissive electoral system, all of which serve to encourage party fragmentation. Second, it investigates the more proximate causes of party fragmentation and concludes that leadership succession contests tend, in Namibia, to trigger splinter group formation either when factional support has been mobilised around a divisive issue or when defeated contenders are coerced into submission. Third, it explores the nature and drivers of dominant-party motivation, challenging an assumption that ruling elites are primarily interested in gangster-style theft and demonstrating that Namibia’s governing party has pursued, not only a formally legitimate path to wealth accumulation, but also a set of progressive social policies designed to empower its support base. Finally, it argues that Namibia’s opposition parties are not primarily motivated by a desire to secure ministerial office through election or co-optation, as the literature would suggest, but by a determination to capture the salaries, party income and media opportunities associated with parliamentary office. Each of these four arguments is tested through comparative analysis, using secondary literature, of Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.

The definition of terrorism in international law The subject of this graduation thesis is to explore problem of defining terrorism in international law. Although it is very broad topic, the thesis has attempted to explore most of the questions this issue has offered. First of all, it examines reasones why define terrorism in international law. Further this study provides information about perception of the term terrorism in the past depending on the political and social conditions and about how the terrorist attacks influenced the effort to find the definition of terrorism. The thesis pays big attention to regional treaty in which terrorism is defined and uses it as a comparison basis for finding the elements of the definition, since regional international treaty law has achieved the biggest success in this area. However, in the last two decades successes have achieved on universal level, especially by the adoption of the International Convention for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism, which is the first universal agreement binding defines terrorism. This study also introduces the latest development of efforts to create a Comprehensive Convention on the Suppression of International Terrorism, which is, unfortunately, no more than small. Given the decades-long efforts to define terrorism, the...

M.A. (History) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This booklet is intended to serve as a report-back to those organisations which were party to the Conference for a Democratic Future (CDF) and to those who were unable to be present. It is also intended to act as a guide to action for 1990 and beyond. The CDF was a historic gathering of the forces for change represented by 4600 delegates from over 2100 organisations. These range form Bantustan parties on the one end of the political spectrum to ultra leftist groups on the other end. But perhaps the most significant presence was from organisations like Five Freedoms Forum, NAFCOC, the Hindu Seva Samaj, that of traditional leaders and the hundreds of other community organisations which are rapidly becoming an active component of the mass struggle for change. Also significant was the strong worker representation from a range of trade unions, including eight affiliates of NACTU whose leadership had turned down the invitation to be part of the Conference. The Conference for a Democratic Future was a major step in the overall process of building unity in action and maximising the isolation of the regime. It was, in this sense, not an isolated event. The year 1989 had taken unity in action to new heights with the Defiance Campaign and the mass marches. The process leading up to the CDF was intended td be more important then the Conference itself. Likewise, in the post-Conference period, the follow-up process should be given the importance it deserves. At the end of the day, it is this follow-up process which would determine the actual success or failure of the CDF exercise. The Declaration adopted at the Conference represents the strategic orientation of the broad forces for change. It calls for the intensification of the struggle and for the placing of the question of political power on the agenda of our united mass action. The Conference resolutions collectively contain the elements of a programme of action. Without exception, each resolution is a call to action. The task of all participants of the Conference is to translate these resolutions into Mass United Action. The adoption of the Harare Declaration should act as the starting point of a process which takes its content to the masses of our people in all comers of the country. The demand for the Constituent Assembly should become a popular demand of the people. By adopting the resolution on international pressure, the Conference sends an unambiguous signal to the world community on how the people of South Africa view their role in the struggle to end apartheid. The follow-up to the Conference should also be a continuing search for whatever common ground exists between the broad forces for change. This search must take place not only at a national level, but mere importantly at a regional and local level. Let us bear in mind the words of the Declaration: “The moral appeal of the Democratic Movement has never been greater”. by an MDM delegate on the CDF Convening Committee. / Includes the Harare Declaration: declaration of the OAU Ad-hoc Committee on Southern Africa on the Question of South Africa (Harare, Zimbabwe, August 21, 1989)

Thesis MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Liberation movements came into being across the entire African continent as a political response to colonisation. However, Africa has in this field, as in so many others, been largely understudied, in comparison to revolutionary movements in South America and South East Asia. While many case studies on specific liberation movements exist, very few are comparative in nature. This study will do precisely that using the framework of Thomas H. Greene. The resistance movements in South Africa and Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia, consisted of several organisations, but the ones that emerged as the most powerful and significant in the two countries were the ANC and ZANU respectively. Although their situations were similar in many ways, there were other factors that necessarily led to two very different liberation struggles. This study looks closer at these factors, why they were so, and what this meant for the two movements. It focuses on the different characteristics of the movements, dividing these into leadership, support base, ideology, organisation, strategies and external support. All revolutionary movements rely on these factors to varying degrees, depending on the conditions they are operating under. The ANC and ZANU both had to fight under very difficult and different circumstances, with oppressive minority regimes severely restricting their actions. This meant that the non-violent protests that initially were a great influence for the leadership of both movements – especially with the successes of Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa and India, inevitably had to give way to the more effective strategies of sabotage and armed struggle. Like other African resistance movements, nationalism was used as the main mobilising tool within the populations. In South Africa the struggle against apartheid was more complex and multidimensional than in Zimbabwe. Ultimately successful in their efforts, the ANC and ZANU both became the political parties that assumed power after liberation. This study does not extend to post-liberation problems.

Self-determination is a peoples' right to freely determine their political, economic and cultural destiny without external interference. However, the cultivation of a culture of respect for self-determination remains the greatest challenge to post-colonial Africa. Dictatorships and other oppressive regimes very substantially affected Africa's efforts to develop a culture of constitutionalism and respect for the right of peoples to selfdetermination. Most African countries typify the failed effort of trying to establish an enduring democracy and respect for the right of peoples to take part in the government. After five decades of transition from colonialism to constitutional democracy, most African peoples are still under the yoke of governments they consider undesirable or oppressive. This work primarily sets out to investigate if the denial of the right of peoples to self-determination justifies the use of force to secure such a right. Since independence, Africa has experienced armed rebel groups seeking either to effect radical transformation of the whole state or to separate from the state to which they belong in order to create a new state. In the main, this study explores the extent to which rebel groups acting on behalf of peoples are or are not allowed to use force for the attainment of self-determination. The thesis begins with an historical development of the right to self-determination in international law. It initially examines how self-determination has developed from a political principle to a legal right. Despite the fact that self-determination is one of the core principles of the UN Charter, there are still many controversies over its precise meaning, scope and application. The thesis considers the two aspects of selfdetermination: external self-determination and internal self-determination. The external aspect implies the right of people to form a new, sovereign and independent state, whereas the internal aspect implies the right of people to participate in the political framework of an existing state. The thesis also assesses the state of the academic literature over the right of peoples to self-determination, with a view to determining whether the right can be used by a group of people whose internal self-determination has been denied to effect secession from the state. It advocates that, outside the colonial context, the right of self-determination does not equal to a "right to secession and independence". The thesis argues, however, that in exceptional circumstances such as gross violations of human rights and the denial of internal self-determination, people should be endowed with a right to secession in the manifestation of a right to unilateral secession as a remedy of such injustices. The thesis further turns to the mechanisms for the protection of the peoples' right to self-determination, the problems and challenges in Africa. The challenges do not only include the legality of the use of force by rebel groups and national liberation movements in seeking to attain self-determination, but also the right of other states to assist them in their struggles. The work probes the nature of international law and critically assesses whether the persistent denial of demands for self-determination led to calls for drastic remedies, including the use of armed force. Before this theory is critically assessed, the thesis defines the differences between national liberation movements and rebel groups. It argues that as far as self-determination struggles are concerned, there must be representative organisations acting on behalf of people whose right of self-determination has been denied. In the light of these contentions, the study examines the general ban on the use of force as laid down by the UN Charter, and finds that the Charter does not expressly refer to self-determination as a situation where people may resort to the use of force for the attainment of such a right. It then turns to the history of and circumstance surrounding the use of force, examines the jus ad bellum regarding "liberation struggles", and concludes that the use of force by national liberation movements against colonial and racist regimes has strong theoretical foundations and support in state practice. Outside of the colonial and apartheid contexts, however, the argument that rebels acting on behalf of oppressed peoples may legitimately use force in pursuit of selfdetermination thus remains ambiguous. In that context, this thesis examines the practice relating to the use of force by rebel groups and the laws of war provisions that apply in civil wars, and concludes that none of them proves that the international community of states accepts rebels' right to use force as a legal entitlement. Finally, based on the lessons learned from and lacunae identified in all norms relating to the enforcement mechanisms of the right of self-determination, this study concludes with a set of suggestions and recommendations. / LLD (Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Self-determination is a peoples' right to freely determine their political, economic and cultural destiny without external interference. However, the cultivation of a culture of respect for self-determination remains the greatest challenge to post-colonial Africa. Dictatorships and other oppressive regimes very substantially affected Africa's efforts to develop a culture of constitutionalism and respect for the right of peoples to selfdetermination. Most African countries typify the failed effort of trying to establish an enduring democracy and respect for the right of peoples to take part in the government. After five decades of transition from colonialism to constitutional democracy, most African peoples are still under the yoke of governments they consider undesirable or oppressive. This work primarily sets out to investigate if the denial of the right of peoples to self-determination justifies the use of force to secure such a right. Since independence, Africa has experienced armed rebel groups seeking either to effect radical transformation of the whole state or to separate from the state to which they belong in order to create a new state. In the main, this study explores the extent to which rebel groups acting on behalf of peoples are or are not allowed to use force for the attainment of self-determination. The thesis begins with an historical development of the right to self-determination in international law. It initially examines how self-determination has developed from a political principle to a legal right. Despite the fact that self-determination is one of the core principles of the UN Charter, there are still many controversies over its precise meaning, scope and application. The thesis considers the two aspects of selfdetermination: external self-determination and internal self-determination. The external aspect implies the right of people to form a new, sovereign and independent state, whereas the internal aspect implies the right of people to participate in the political framework of an existing state. The thesis also assesses the state of the academic literature over the right of peoples to self-determination, with a view to determining whether the right can be used by a group of people whose internal self-determination has been denied to effect secession from the state. It advocates that, outside the colonial context, the right of self-determination does not equal to a "right to secession and independence". The thesis argues, however, that in exceptional circumstances such as gross violations of human rights and the denial of internal self-determination, people should be endowed with a right to secession in the manifestation of a right to unilateral secession as a remedy of such injustices. The thesis further turns to the mechanisms for the protection of the peoples' right to self-determination, the problems and challenges in Africa. The challenges do not only include the legality of the use of force by rebel groups and national liberation movements in seeking to attain self-determination, but also the right of other states to assist them in their struggles. The work probes the nature of international law and critically assesses whether the persistent denial of demands for self-determination led to calls for drastic remedies, including the use of armed force. Before this theory is critically assessed, the thesis defines the differences between national liberation movements and rebel groups. It argues that as far as self-determination struggles are concerned, there must be representative organisations acting on behalf of people whose right of self-determination has been denied. In the light of these contentions, the study examines the general ban on the use of force as laid down by the UN Charter, and finds that the Charter does not expressly refer to self-determination as a situation where people may resort to the use of force for the attainment of such a right. It then turns to the history of and circumstance surrounding the use of force, examines the jus ad bellum regarding "liberation struggles", and concludes that the use of force by national liberation movements against colonial and racist regimes has strong theoretical foundations and support in state practice. Outside of the colonial and apartheid contexts, however, the argument that rebels acting on behalf of oppressed peoples may legitimately use force in pursuit of selfdetermination thus remains ambiguous. In that context, this thesis examines the practice relating to the use of force by rebel groups and the laws of war provisions that apply in civil wars, and concludes that none of them proves that the international community of states accepts rebels' right to use force as a legal entitlement. Finally, based on the lessons learned from and lacunae identified in all norms relating to the enforcement mechanisms of the right of self-determination, this study concludes with a set of suggestions and recommendations. / LLD (Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015