Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1963. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-178).

Thesis--University of California, Berkeley. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 350-351).

Thesis--Université de Kinshasa, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-64).

Thesis (licencié en sciences économiques)--Université de Kinshasa, 1988. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-66).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1962. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-130).

Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1994. / Title from title page screen, viewed March 28, 2006. Dissertation Committee: David D. Ramsey, Michael A. Nelson (co-chairs), Ram D. Singh. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 293-301) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of Wisconsin at La Crosse.

The relation between verbal affixes and their effect on the predicate argument structure of the verbs that host them has been the focus of many studies in linguistics, with special reference to Bantu languages in recent years. Given the colonial policy on indigenous languages in Angola, Kikongo, as is the case of other Bantu languages in that country, has not been sufficiently studied. This study explores the form and function of six verbal affixes, including the order in which they occur in the verb stem. The study maintains that the applicative and causative are valency-increasing verbal affixes and, as such, give rise to double object constructions in Kikongo. The passive, reciprocal, reflexive and stative are valency-decreasing and, as such, they reduce the valency of the verb by one object. This study also suggests that Kikongo is a symmetrical object language in which both objects appear to have equal status. / African languages / M.A.

This thesis investigates the question of whether judicial review of legislation is a hindrance to democracy. My main claim is that the existing literature on this topic fails to pay adequate regard to the symbolic significance of political institutions, that is, the role that legislatures and courts play in the popular imagination. I argue that we should not view constitutional systems merely as decision-making mechanisms, since a society’s institutional structure will colour its sense of political agency and shape the way in which citizens view their relationships with political officials and with one another. Different constitutional structures accordingly project different visions of constitutionalism and democracy. In particular, I argue, representative government should be viewed not merely as a compromise between equality of input and quality of output, but as a distinctively valuable form of government in its own right. The representative assembly serves as the focal point for public political debate and symbolises a commitment to government through an inclusive process of deliberation. Legislative supremacy – the practice of accepting the enactments of a representative assembly as the decisions of the people as a whole – can therefore allow the law to be seen as the output of the political power of a self-governing people. Judicial review, on the other hand, will tend to signify a set of boundaries around the democratic political process, thus truncating the people’s shared sense of self-government.

In the years preceding the Third Wave of democracy, the prevailing belief was that democracy in Africa will not flourish unless it delivers the crucial economic goods its citizens live and die for. In an area of the world where poverty is highlighted, the individual pursuit of improved living conditions is more likely to drive citizen faith in democracy as opposed to the political process itself. By this popular belief, society will support democracy, or not, mainly for its perceived economic benefits. In this study, I revisit the assumptions of the theory of `politics and poverty' espoused over 20 years ago using recent data on individual attitudes and scores of democratic development in Africa. I find citizen support for democracy overwhelmingly a function of political performance factors, as opposed to the expectations of material returns as once believed. This finding runs contrary to conventional wisdom, even among citizens who reside in lesser developed democracies where one would suspect more ambivalence to regime type in the face of pressing economic concerns. If poverty is no more the root source in explaining democratic commitment in Africa, then, what is? I probe further into the specific instances of Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria and find commitment to democracy closely tied to government policy aimed at promoting democratization. The ambitious policies arranged in struggling democracies of today, such as Mali and Nigeria, attempted to emulate policy of the West but failed at cultivating democracy from the ground up, subsequently creating tentative democrats. Policies in successful democratic cases such as Ghana, however, reflected a keen attentiveness to context through the inclusion of citizens in deliberative practices between society and state, creating an empowered, committed populace. Politics and policy, not poverty, best explains democratic commitment, or lack thereof, in Africa. The implications, of course, fall on the significant responsibility of policy makers in crafting bottom-up strategies for further democratization and on politicians in delivering upon their promises when elected.