Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-126). / This paper uses a comparative case-study methodology to analyse two marine-based, Article XX exceptions cases: one each brought before the dispute resolution mechanisms of the GATT and WTO respectively. This research is driven by a desire to gain some insight into what happens when the imperatives of liberalised trade confront the interests of environmental protection, and also, to examine the similarities and differences between GATT and the WTO.

In this thesis I examine the causal linkages between natural resource scarcity and violence. In contrast to previous research, I posit that scarcity is an inherently personal experience, and thus argue that the consequences of scarcity too, should be empirically tested at the individual level. The available literature has heavily relied on macro- level aggregate data, often producing inconclusive findings on the exact causality between scarcity and violence. Based on the theoretical work by Thomas Homer- Dixon, I apply micro- level household survey data in a multi- stage structural equation model to test the effect of people's social and political perceptions and attitudes on the linkage between scarcity and violence. I find both direct and indirect significant linkages between respondents' experienced scarcity ('lived scarcity') and their propensity to use violence. I find that the indirect effect on violence is explained by decreases in policy satisfaction, political trust and state legitimacy, and increases of more positive attitudes towards violence. From this, I suggest that experienced scarcity is 'politicized' by respondents as a policy failure, rather than being perceived as exogenous to the political system. My analysis supports the relevance of conditional meso- level factors, and finds strong differences between moderator groups regarding their propensity to use violence. While I find that the highest levels of use of violence in Kenya are driven by political competition, rather than ethnic competition, my path models clearly demonstrate that experienced food scarcity is a significant root cause of this violence through its effect on how people 'politicize' the experience of scarcity. Overall, the models suggest that the effects of scarcity are more complex than previously acknowledged. The risk of violence should thus not be estimated only through direct effects between scarcity and violence, but the risk should be understood in terms of both immediate, direct effects, and mid- and long- term, indirect effects such as decreased levels of political trust, lower perceptions of state legitimacy and more accepting attitudes towards violence.

Bibliography: leaves 78-86. / Since the military coup of 1992, Algeria has been involved in a conflict which has claimed the lives of at least 100 000 people. The conflict has generally been portrayed as one which has pitted Islamists against the secular Algerian government. However, a study of Algerian history illustrates a sustained and dominant role of the Algerian military. The dominance of the military was firmly entrenched in the 1965 coup led by Boumedienne. His successor Benjedid, an active- duty colonel, selected by a core military elite upon Boumedienne's sudden illness, continued the military dominance, although during both reigns a civilian facade was maintained. The coup of 1992 was organised by a select group of generals who continue to wield power in Algeria today. The behaviour of the military in Algeria, subsequent to the coup, was marked by assassinations, disappearances, torture and violent repression of those who opposed the military controlled state. This behaviour reflects the behaviour of the military during the war of liberation, and during independence. Of equal importance is that the present military elite has used covert organisations whose modus operandi mirrors French military conduct during the war of liberation. This includes the use of torture to instil fear among the Algerian population. Consequently, to understand the violence which has engulfed Algeria since 1992 is to understand the dominance of the military and military elite. These men continue to wield power through the only means they have been confronted with and encountered, force.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-74). / An assessment of the influences and impacts of development NGOs reveal that in spite of their diverse and resourceful nature, NGOs working in the field of advocacy tend to predominantly have incrementalist influences. These influences, being predominantly short term in nature, do have long term implications for public policy in developing countries. Well resourced NGO networks , historically rooted in the missionary movement of the post Second World War period have succeeded in firmly establishing themselves in the body politic of poor Africa countries.

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The state claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of force. This is not to suggest however that the state cannot and does not outsource the practical exercise of force. On the contrary, the outsourcing of a wide range of military and security roles and functions is, to a greater or lesser extent, a feature of most states. Important, yet least well understood is the outsourcing of intelligence. Explanations of the outsourcing of this sensitive function usually cite the incapacity of the state and the efficiency of the private sector. But is such outsourcing efficient? The evidence suggests not. Rather the outsourcing of intelligence has been characterized by inefficiency, corruption and criminality. This has certainly proved the case in post-apartheid South Africa where the outsourcing of intelligence by the state has been popular. This dissertation examines the relationship between the state and private intelligence in post-apartheid South Africa. It is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is concerned with establishing key concepts; namely the state, intelligence, and public and private intelligence; and with developing an interpretative framework of the relationship between the state and private intelligence. The second chapter provides an overview of intelligence in South Africa between 1949 and 2008. The third chapter considers the relationship between the state and private intelligence in post-apartheid South Africa. This dissertation concludes that the relationship between the state and private intelligence in post-apartheid South Africa can be best described as contradictory. While on the one hand the state has been hostile towards private intelligence, the outsourcing of intelligence has been favoured by the post-apartheid state. For the most part, such outsourcing has proved inefficient, corrupt and criminal; and has undermined what are already weak mechanisms of oversight and accountability.

Includes bibliographical references. / The following paper investigates the current paradigm for economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Following a review of recent literature in international political economy, the author argues the present system is a result of national self-interest in the North, rather than being the best program for development in the South. A critical analysis of the popular Washington Consensus strategy is provided. The author contends these policies underutilize recent advances in the theory of economic development as well as international political economy. Empirical data is used throughout the paper to support the argument. While most of the data comes from leading researchers in the field, a portion is based on primary research into the statements and documents of government officials, international organizations, and non-governmental entities. A case study is used to illustrate the benefits of new theories for growth, as well as to identify the critical determinants of economic development. The author concludes that reforms are needed to improve the economic, political and social development of Sub-Saharan Africa. Policies would improve by properly pacing and sequencing the macroeconomic reforms of the Washington Consensus, building national unity and domestic institutions, focusing on productivity growth and agriculture and utilizing African intellectual and political contributions.

Includes bibliographical references. / International consensus exists in that any route towards re-writing past wrongs in environmental governance must include a mechanism for internalizing the social costs of emissions by the major polluters - mainly energy intensive industries and utilities companies, providing heightened financial motivation to adopt cleaner modes of production. It is widely agreed upon that to do so value must be attached to emissions reductions, and with the Kyoto Protocol one such mechanism has been established. At the forefront of Kyoto is an economic quantity instrument known in the carbon markets as 'cap and trade'. The central question[s] in this research paper [are:] Are carbon trading and emissions offsetting feasible in the context of international environmental governance? What are the obstacles posed by the carbon cap and trade system in a free-market?

Since the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948), the extent to which individuals should bear responsibilities for the fulfilment of universal human rights has been a contentiously debated subject. Despite conflicting value-based claims, the approach of international human rights law traditionally has been to recognise states as primary obligation bearers. While the UDHR focuses primarily on state obligations, deliberately unspecified duties of individuals are included under Article 29(1). The meaning of these duties has remained contested, often by relativist critics claiming that a stronger focus on responsibilities would provide a more balanced approach to human rights. The end of the Cold War brought a renewed interest in the normative potential of human rights and a parallel renewal of relativist objections to the universality of the UDHR. In this context transnational campaigns have emerged to advocate for a universal declaration of human responsibilities complementary to the UDHR. The issue has received attention from a number of initiatives, including those of United Nations bodies and agencies and of nongovernmental organisations. The most prominent of these initiatives have received firm opposition from influential Western state and non-state actors. Approaching the topic from a constructivist perspective, this dissertation draws on the social movement literature on the international political opportunity structure to argue that the activities of opponents to human responsibilities initiatives, particularly their framing of human responsibilities as having the potential to undermine and weaken the international human rights framework, have constrained the political opportunities available to human responsibilities campaigns.