Magister Educationis - MEd / M.Ed. mini-tesis, Departement Filosofie van die Opvoeding, Universiteit van wes-Kaapland. Hierdie mini-tesis ondersoek die gebruik van geweld deur die Suid-Afrikaanse regering as regverdiging om'n ~ "demokratiese" staat instand te hou asook die gebruik van geweld deur magte wat "n "meer" demokratiese staat daar wil stel. In Hoofstuk 1 word daar geargumenteer dat die gebruik van geweld 'n morele kwessie is en word daar onder meer verwys na die verskillende soorte geweld wat aangetref word. Veral word daar gekyk of alle burgers " onder die verpligting is om die staat te gehoorsaam en of hierdie gehoorsaamheid onreflektiewe gehoorsaamheid is. In Hoofstuk 2 word gekyk of dwang ooit geregverdig is deur te kyk na die verband tussen Positiewe en Negatiewe Vryheid en dwang. In Hooofstuk 3 word daar kortliks gekyk na waarom die demokrasie die mees aanvaarbare vorm van regering vir die mens as rasionele wese is. Daarna (Hoofstuk 4) word ondersoek ingestel na eerstens die verband tussen moraliteit en demokrasie en tweedens na die verband tussen demokrasie en geweld deur te verwys na die klassieke en die kontempor~re teorie~ van demokrasie. In Hoofstuk 5 word daar veral gekyk na watter ruimte, indienenige, daar vir wettige teenstemming "dissent" in 'n demokrasie bestaan asook hoe daar binne 'n demokrasie teenstemming gebied kan word en watter beperkinge daar op vryheid van spraak en assosiasie as wettige teenkanting is. Daar word dan ook kortliks gekyk na hoe geweld indruis teen demokratiese prosedure en of daar ook ander faktore is wat die demokratiese proses beinvloed. In Hoofstuk 6 kyk ek na hoe die polemici voordeel probeer trek deur die konsep "geweld" op 'n bepaalde manier te hanteer deur daarop te wys dat "geweldloos" nie die teenoorgestelde van "gewelddadig" is nie. Verskeie vorme van geweldlose verset of pasifisme word kortliks ondersoek en word uitgewys dat ook daar 'n vorm van dwang teenwoordig is. Die verband tussen demokrasie en geweldlose verset word dan ondersoek. In Hoofstuk 7 word gekyk na geweld in die Suid-Afrikaanse skolestelsel deur te wys op hoe die studente en die staat onderskeidelik die konsepte geweld en demokrasie hanteer en toepas. Daar word kortliks uitgewys dat vrede nie sinoniem met egverdigheid is nie. Veral word gekyk na die polisie en weermag en morele regverdiging van geweld. In Hoofstuk 8 word gekyk na wat bedoel word met 'n demokratiese onderwysstelsel deur veral te kyk na 'n model van deelnemende demokrasie en hoe studente-praktyke moontlik aanleiding tot geweld kan gee. In Hoofstik 9 word 'n kort samevatting van die argument gegee.

This thesis will explore the engagement modes of museums on Instagram by looking at the content of 1230 posts published by forty museums in Sweden and New Zealand over a three month time period. The analysis will focus specifically on the museums intention behind each post, with the use of an analytical grid developed by Lotina and Lepik. The museums’ invitations for engagement and participation with their audience will be the main focus of the study, drawing on concepts of civic engagement and the role of public institutions as democratic forums where collaboration is championed. The results indicate a trend of a low number of invitations for the public to collaborate and engage with the museum, while marketing is instead the most common engagement mode, in particular among art museums. The concluding discussion reflects on these results, as well as the initial assumption that museums should be places for democratic collaboration.

With a population of around 40 million people, Kurds are considered the largest nation without an independent state. Indeed, since the geographical division of Kurdistan in 1923, Kurds have been the victims of various forms of discrimination and oppression by the nation states of Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. They deprived Kurds of their legitimate political, social and cultural rights and they oppressed their demands for political and cultural freedom through violent means. With the eruption of civil war in Syria, the regime decided to withdraw its army from the Kurdish region of Rojava. The Kurds seized the opportunity and used the power vacuum to establish their interests and agenda through establishing a democratic structure in northern parts of the country. However, instead of building a Kurdish nation-state, the people of Rojava developed a hybrid political structure known as Democratic Confederalism. Today, this system functions through hundreds of councils and assemblies in northern Syria. In the course of my study, I conducted a content analysis to see whether the structure of Rojava’s political structure corresponds to a democratic model that can facilitate the development of human rights in general and the empowerment of women in particular.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Political Science) in the Department of History at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2015 / Sub-Saharan Africa has been faced with an increase in levels of intra-state armed conflict since the last century. Intra-state conflicts have not only shown to be complex by their very nature, but have also shown numerous challenges in finding a solution that could be applied in an effective manner to bring about a guaranteed lasting solution. It is on this basis that interest and attention has been given to the transitional processes from conflict to peace. The conflict transformational process of two dissimilar countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of South Africa form a case study for understanding this quagmire. The transitional negotiations of the DRC from 2003–2006 and that of South Africa from 1991–1994 are the cases in point. The major issues for conflict resolution therefore includes understanding transitional negotiations as a vital process that can make or mar lasting peace in conflict prone areas. This research questions includes; Does citizen participation in transitional negotiations impact on sustainable peace in post- conflict societies? Given the vested interests and the often conflicting interests of various citizen groupings, does citizen participation create stability in the negotiation process for the purpose of creating a sustainable peace, or does it create a greater possibility of non-agreement and regression into conflict? Is it possible to obtain peace in countries that are complex political emergencies where elite interests are outweighing and civil liberties and interests are compromised? How do mediators overcome the problem of self-serving elites in transitional negotiations? Using the post-conflict DRC and South Africa as case studies and for comparative analysis, how can the differences in their outcomes be aggregated? This study is a mix of explanatory and exploratory research. Qualitative methods were used in the research. An expert sampling technique was adopted to conduct interviews in order to represent the different perspectives and theories of the outbreak of conflicts and violence. The principal theories that the study was based on are the Protracted Social Conflict Theory and the Transformative Cosmopolitan Theory. The study hypothetically argues that the paucity of or inclusion of citizens in transitional negotiations can either lead to sustainable peace in post-conflict societies or regress to a conflict stricken society. It also gauged the relations between the state and civil society organizations in working with citizens in order to avoid local conflicts that can interrupt negotiation processes. It expounds on the relationship between the interests of the political elites and the interests of the citizens. This study has determined that the lack of citizen participation in transitional negotiations does impact negatively on sustainable peace in post-conflict societies. In both case studies, it was shown that conflict has continued at the local level. The study has shown further that an inclusive approach to negotiations as well as peace building in post-conflict societies can be beneficial to the state, as there would be sustainable peace. Where mediators have been unable to balance the interests of the self- serving elites and needs of society, the failure has led to high intensity conflicts such as the local conflicts in the DRC becoming independent of the national level, thus making them difficult to resolve.

Since the political party Law and justice's access to power in 2015, laws have been implemented that restrict the freedom of institutions such as the media and the court. The Church has also increased involvement in decision-making, including in the abortion issue and LGBTQ issues. These events among many have led to ideas that Poland, like Ukraine, will return to autocracy, a process known as democratic backsliding.The thesis aims to investigate in what way Poland meets the requirements for democratic backsliding. This by answering the question: In what way does Poland's political situation meet the criterias for democratic backsliding? In order to answer the question, two theories have been used, Nancy Bermeo's categorizations of democratic backsliding and Ozan O. Varol's theory of stealth authoritarianism. The method that will be used in the thesis is a qualitative case study method, where the period 2008-2014 is compared with the period 2015-2020. The study will be based on a selection of texts and reports. The results show that Poland met one of the criterias for democratic backsliding during the period 2008-2014 and all criteria except one during the period 2015-2020. This leads to the conclusion that the occurrence of democratic backsliding has increased during the party "Law and Justice" reign.

Yes / Sida requested the Helpdesk to present a ‘snapshot’ and analysis of the problem of conflict minerals in the Great Lakes region, and particularly of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In anticipation of instructions in the forthcoming country/results strategy for the DRC, Sida will use the report in order to identify possible Swedish efforts in the field. Sida requested that report should be presented with both a perspective on the Great Lakes region in general, as well as a more detailed analysis of the situation in DRC in a regional perspective.

Widespread concern over recent changes in American civic life has spawned arguments in a range of disciplines about the importance of social capital, citizen civic capacity and deliberative democratic engagement in supporting the development of engaged citizens, as well as supporting a democracy that is effective, publicly-minded and accountable. This study contributes to this literature by empirically investigating the potential for a specific type of place-based community development called "cohousing" to enhance the quantity and quality of resident civic engagement. Cohousing neighborhoods marry elements of social contact design with democratic self-governance and intentional social practices designed to build trust and cohesion among neighbors. In addition to investigating civic engagement in cohousing, this study investigates the degree to which U.S. cohousing neighborhoods build social capital, develop residents' democratic capacities and provide a platform for deliberative democratic practice. The results of the study indicate extraordinarily high levels of civic engagement by U.S. cohousing residents as compared to both the general population and to individuals with similar educational, income and racial characteristics. A multiple-case analysis of three neighborhoods, selected for positive deviance in civic engagement levels, were found to possess high levels of trust, social cohesion and norms of reciprocity. Case community residents were also found to be developing a range of democratic capacities, individually and collectively, particularly through engagement in community self-governance via structures of distributed leadership and the use of consensus-based, community decision-making processes. This study suggests that self-governing, communities of place, such as cohousing neighborhoods may represent a promising new avenue for enhanced citizen-engagement at the grassroots-community level. These neighborhoods also represent an excellent arena for future investigation into conditions, necessary and sufficient, to catalyze increased democratic capacity and civic engagement on the part of citizens. / Ph. D.

The 2003 United States (U.S.)-led invasion and occupation of Iraq caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and led to the displacement of millions of individuals in that country. Between March 20, 2003 and late 2017, more than 172,000 Iraqis left their country as refugees and resettled in the United States. This dissertation focuses on a small cohort of that population who resettled in various locations in the U.S. after 2003. This research contributes an empirical and theoretical exploration of the possibilities for political agency for resettled Iraqis in the United States. Grounded in literature suggesting those displaced commonly experience constrained agency framed as "silence/ing" and/or "voicelessness," I identify three requirements to democratic participation: sufficient time to exercise voice, adequate information and attenuating lingering suspicion of (authoritarian) government. Moreover, despite constraints, opportunities for engagement existed including discussion and dialogue; civil society volunteering; and activism. Drawing on 15 semi-structured qualitative interviews, this work first critically explores the American invasion of Iraq and the social and political breakdown that it triggered in that country. I argue that the conflict was an aggressive war and that, consequently, the United States should be held responsible for all of the harm it has caused to the people of Iraq. I describe the violence committed by the American military and I trace the connections between the erosion of interviewees' personal safety and their decisions to leave Iraq and resettle in the U.S. I contend that their various personal decisions to seek refuge were important agentic acts. I then delve into participants' post-resettlement opportunities for belonging in American society and analyze several ways that negative media and government discourses and policies concerning refugees, Arabs, and Muslims contributed to experiences of constraint, unease and precarity. I explore the importance of finding opportunities to engage in personal and cultural exchange with friends, neighbors and colleagues. Thereafter, I examine participants' experiences and understandings of democratic membership. Elaborating several critiques of American political institutions shared by the interviewees, I consider three requirements they identified to democratic participation: sufficient time, sufficient information to make informed decisions and the lingering effects of having lived under an authoritarian government in Iraq. Subsequently, I explore the multiple sites and modes of engagement and participation shared by participants, including dialogue, debate and discussion about the decisions that affect their lives as well as volunteering with community and nonprofit organizations focused on various types of activities, and activism in response to the Trump 2017 Travel Ban. I argue that broad social mobilization and public invocation of norms of welcoming and diversity by native-born Americans can be powerful tools to enlarge spaces for democratic agency for refugees otherwise targeted by discriminatory government actions. I then return to the question of "silence" in refuge that prompted this study and the importance of deliberate, daily interactions and exchange among newcomers and native-born Americans to expand spaces for resettled refugees to engage in American society. Thereafter, I examine the salience of local organizations and activities as sites of engagement and venues for expressions of agency for those I interviewed. I then outline possible directions for future research investigating the role(s) of refugee-led organizations in resettlement and community building. I close by describing the implications this work has for policy and activism. / Doctor of Philosophy / The 2003 United States (U.S.)-led invasion and occupation of Iraq caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and led to the displacement of millions of individuals in that country. Between March 20, 2003 and late 2017 more than 172,000 Iraqis left their country as refugees and resettled in the United States. This dissertation focuses on a small cohort of that population who resettled in various locations in the U.S. after 2003. This research contributes an exploration of the possibilities for political agency for resettled Iraqis in the United States. Grounded in literature suggesting those displaced commonly experience constrained agency framed as “silence/ing” and/or “voicelessness,” I identify three requirements to democratic participation: sufficient time, adequate information and attenuating lingering suspicion of (authoritarian) government. Moreover, despite constraints, opportunities for engagement existed including discussion and dialogue; civil society volunteering; and activism. Drawing on 15 qualitative interviews, this work first explores the American invasion of Iraq and the social and political breakdown in that country that it triggered. I argue that the conflict was an aggressive war and that, consequently, the United States should be held responsible for all of the harm it has caused to the people of Iraq. I describe the violence committed by the American military and I trace the connections between the erosion of interviewees’ personal safety and their decisions to leave Iraq and resettle in the U.S. I then delve into participants’ post-resettlement opportunities for belonging in American society and analyze several ways that negative media portrayals and government policies concerning refugees, Arabs, and Muslims shaped those resettled individuals’ life experiences. I explore the importance for interviewees of finding opportunities to engage in personal and cultural exchange with their friends, neighbors and colleagues. Thereafter, I examine participants’ experiences and understandings of democratic membership. I then consider three requirements interviewees identified to democratic participation: sufficient time, adequate information to make informed decisions and the lingering effects of having lived under an authoritarian government in Iraq. Subsequently, I describe the multiple sites and modes of engagement and participation shared by interviewees including dialogue, debate and discussion about the decisions that affect their lives, volunteering with community and nonprofit organizations and activism in response to the Trump 2017 Travel Ban. I argue that broad social mobilization and public invocation of norms of welcoming and diversity by native-born Americans can be powerful tools to enlarge participatory spaces for refugees. I then return to the question of silent refuge that prompted this study and the importance of deliberate, daily interactions and exchange among newcomers and native-born Americans to expand spaces for resettled refugees to engage in American society. Thereafter, I examine the importance of local organizations and activities for participants. I then outline possible directions for future research investigating the role(s) of refugee-led organizations in resettlement and community building. I close by describing the implications this work has for policy and activism.

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