In a world where nationalist movements are on the rise with the potential to contest state legitimacy, the study of nationalism both as a political phenomenon and as an academic topic becomes more salient. / This study attempts to explain the causes of nationalism, as well as the conditions that contribute to its militarization. It advances working definitions of the concepts of ethnic groups, nations and nationalism, and identifies the differences between ethnic and national politics. The emergence of nationalism is analyzed through a model. which aims to present a causal relationship between nation, nationalism and militarized crisis. The derived propositions and hypotheses are tested on the Nagorno-Karabagh case, an irredentist conflict in Transcaucasia that has developed into a militarized crisis and has escalated to war.

No description available.

No description available.

The devastating consequences of the HIV and AIDS epidemic are endangering many lives and shaking weak economies of the Sub-Sahara Africa. The Church of Christ in Africa has decided to join hands with other players who are seeking appropriate responses to the epidemic. The Church has an important role of providing theological understanding upon which the response should be grounded. This study explores how the Free Methodist Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo could participate in the alleviation of suffering and loss due to the HIV epidemic in the region of Kivu. The eastern part of DRC, especially the Kivu region, has experienced a severe outbreak of HIV-related diseases as the aftermath of the six-year war (1996-2002) that has destroyed economic and medical infrastructures in the territory. The recent crisis is the result of rape, which was used as a cheap weapon of war and the impoverishment of the community due to political and economic instability in the area. This study therefore draws the attention of the Free Methodist Church to the urgent need of providing care to many poor people suffering from HIV-related diseases who are unable to access treatment or purchase medicines. It suggests that the doctrine of social holiness that has been the driving force behind the involvement of the Free Methodist Church in providing social services to poor community could be used as a theological framework for its intervention. The doctrine of social holiness is expressed in extending God's love and mercy to people who live in misery and marginalized, My argument is that, in the case of the Kivu region, the doctrine of social holiness could motivate the Free Methodist Church to meet the needs of those living with HIV and AIDS. As a matter of emergency the focus could be put on providing physical and spiritual care, and also care with justice. The doctrine of social holiness could be used to mobilize the community to provide care for the needy by sharing the theological insights about human sexuality, God's love, stewardship, acceptance of the other and restoring dignity to every person created in God's image. These theological themes could be integrated in formulating a theology of HIV that could become a tool in the hands of the Free Methodist church as it ministers to people living with HIV and AIDS in Kivu. This study advocates that, even though the response of the Free Methodist Church in responding to the HIV epidemic is still timid, there are enough potentialities in the doctrine of social holiness that could be re-examined and restated in order to meet the actual needs. The doctrine of social holiness requires that every believer who had received in his/her heart the love of God by faith may share this love with others, especially with the poor and marginalized. The misery and suffering of people living with HIV and AIDS in the Kivu region presents an opportunity to the Free Methodist Church in DRC to mobilize the community towards caring for the sick. The magnitude of the epidemic requires that the Free Methodist Church uses its theological foundation as a motivating factor in networking and lobbying other stakeholders in the region and externally so that those who are abandoned without care can find care and support. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

This study investigates the factors behind the mass rape of women from 1996-2001 in North and South Kivu provinces during the 1996-2003 armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Atrocities against women have always been a significant concern in feminist agendas and discourses. In time of peace as in time of war, women remain at the center stage of male violence. The Democratic Republic of Congo conflicts are reported to have killed more people than in Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur combined. Sexual violence against women in North and South Kivu, DRC is believed to be the worst in the world. Women in these two provinces were raped, forced into prostitution, mutilated, and to some extent, subjected to further inhumane acts such as shooting and the introduction of objects into their private parts. HIV and AIDS, and other sexual transmitted diseases constitute some of the extra diagnosis associated with the victims. Yet, to date, no one understands why these women continue to be raped on a daily basis. The 1996-2003 Congo conflict has witnessed the involvement of several countries such as Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Yet, none of these interventionist countries have ever condemned sexual atrocities committed against women in DRC, in general and in North and South Kivu, in particular. Despite having a democratically elected government and legitimate institutions such as courts of law and tribunals, crimes of this kind committed against women continue unabated. The policies of militarism and wars either intended for regime change or in the pursuit of the world's resources have increased the threat of armed conflicts which expose women to rape. The continuation of sexual violence in these two provinces has led to the view by many media groups and humanitarian organizations that rape is used as a weapon of war. The Constitution of the DRC prior to the conflict was biased towards women. The post conflict Constitution approved in February 2006 is theoretically accommodating of gender-based discrimination. Nationally, impunity for rape perpetrators has become a norm. Internationally, rape has long been mischaracterized and diminished by military and political leaders which lead to the belief that there is a strong undercurrent of patriarchal phenomenon involving many global institutions of power. The implication of discriminating, gender-based provisions in the constitution and the failure to implement policies that empower women has most of the time strengthened the social construction of masculinity and its idolization which are perceived as the social roots of violence against women during wartime. In many armed conflicts similar to that of the North and South Kivu, women have always been the victims. Yet, men involved in combat have often negotiated peace between themselves rather than justice for the victims. Justice for women in this part of the world remains elusive. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This thesis looks into the role of identity in ethnic conflict from social-psychological and cognitive perspectives. / The literature of Social Psychology suggests that one strategy of social groups under pressure or threat is to revert to their collective identity and manipulate it in ways that yield a distinct positive value for group members. Focusing on the main proponent of this view, Social Identity Theory, and transposing its premises onto an ethnic level, an Ethnic Identity Theory is proposed that explains ethnic identity's utility for the positive self-esteem of members of an ethnic group during a time of crisis. / As far as the cognitive aspect is concerned, the focus moves on to the individual level of analysis. It explores the issue of how information may be represented in the human brain, and proposes that it is due to particular 'exclusive' cognitive strategies of knowledge categorization, storing and re-processing that ethnic conflict is enhanced. Borrowing from Artificial Intelligence literature on Schemata and Frame theory, ethnic identity is treated as a frame with multiple slots for various traits that comprise an ethnic identity. Such modeling helps illustrate how properties related to the architecture of these mental structures result in the constructed ethnic identities becoming more rigid---their individual traits acquiring singular importance and, once challenged, affecting the whole identity. / This study concludes by pointing that, if intransigence and inflexibility concerning ethnic identity traits begins on a cognitive micro-level, then, little progress towards peace should be expected in on-going ethnic conflicts, unless cognitively unbiased third parties are involved in peace-making, and unless their involvement includes action on a cognitive-learning level to change convictions about warring groups members' perception of their own as well as others' ethnic identities.

No description available.

Increasing and unsustainable demands on Africa's natural resources are having a profound effect on wild primate populations. Whilst wild populations are decreasing, numbers of orphaned primates, sanctuaries and attempts to reintroduce primates back to the natural environment, are increasing. Data were collected on the present status of African ape sanctuaries from questionnaires distributed to sanctuary managers. Across Africa there are 18 sanctuaries housing over 500 African great apes. Facilities and ideologies vary but the majority of sanctuaries profess a commitment to conservation through education, local capacity building, facilitating the enforcement of wildlife laws and other activities. From 1996 to 2001 the non-governmental organisation Habitat Ecologique et Liberte des Primates has released 37 wild-born chimpanzees(Pan troglodytes troglodytes) from an island sanctuary to mainland forest in the Conkouati-Douli National Park, Republic of Congo. Twenty-seven chimpanzees have been successfully reintroduced, three are known to have died and the status of seven remains unknown. This thesis investigated the behavioural adaptation of 15 of these released chimpanzees and reviews the reintroduction process employed. Analyses of post-release behavioural data revealed that activity budgets and diet were comparable to those of wild chimpanzees, and that seasonal variation influenced feeding behaviour and plant speciess election. The chimpanzees utilised both terrestrial and arboreal zones and all nested in trees. A number of recommendations are made for future reintroduction projects. These include selecting a release site that has no, or a low density of, wild conspecifics; developing a relationship of trust between chimpanzee and caretakers without excessive dependency; using the release site for pre-release training; use of radio telemetry; post-release support and monitoring. This study has revealed the many complex factors that are involved in the reintroduction process. Future attempts to reintroduce chimpanzees should be guided by the experiences and recommendations of the present study to maximise success.

The relationships between parasitic infections, environmental and living conditions, and health outcomes were studied in subdivisions of lower (LSES) and higher (HSES) socio-economic status Lubumbashi, Zaire. The two LSES subdivisions had higher prevalences of Plasmodium infection and higher rates of stunting, abdominal pain and low packed cell volume (PCV) than the HSES subdivision. The prevalence and intensity of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura was not associated with socio-economic status. Maternal education was a significant predictor of A. lumbricoides intensity in both LSES and HSES subdivisions. Factors related to poor sanitation were risk factors for A. lumbricoides in LSES subdivisions, whereas a high ratio of relatives to immediate family members per household predicted high intensity infection in the HSES subdivision. The risk of stunting was higher in children with A. lumbricoides, that of wasting was higher in children with A. lumbricoides or T. trichiura whereas the risk of kwashiorkor was high with T. trichiura but very reduced in those with A. lumbricoides. The four most common clinical conditions were diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever and low PCV. Hookworm infection, T. trichiura infection, young age and residence in LSES subdivisions were determinants of diarrhea. T. trichiura infection, young age and living in a LSES subdivision were risk factors for abdominal pain. Plasmodium infection and young age were associated with fever. LSES was predictive of low PCV. No combination of parasites had antagonistic or synergistic effects on clinical indicators examined. Based on this study, it is suggested that one parasite will increase the risk of infection with another. Although maternal education should be improved in all subdivisions, attention to sanitation, crowding and diet in the LSES subdivisions, and to the role of relatives and visitors in parasite transmission in the HSES subdivision should be priorities.

The recycling of consumer items and their use as building materials have long been recognized by researchers and scholars in studies of informal settlements. There they are used as substitutes to traditional materials for walls and roofs, scarce or unaffordable in urban areas. However, they are also used as a means to repair or protect dilapidated materials and building components. / Recycled consumer items are neither accepted nor regarded as standard building materials. Nevertheless, builders continue to use them, recognizing the existence of a market where they are regarded as alternative materials in housing. The use of these materials is defined by the users' needs and priorities. However, the decision-making process also depends on availability in the market, opportunity cost of the products, the performance of each material and its perceived aesthetic and social value within the community. In the process their use has created complex supply networks that deliver building materials according to local supply and demand. / Based on a field study, this thesis presents the recycled consumer items used for the provision of housing in a squatter settlement. All the recycled non-conventional materials found are recorded according to their uses in the dwelling units, classified according to building types. Later on these materials are classified and analyzed according to their properties, their provision and acquisition.