In this study, I examine the substantive representation of women in the Provincial Legislature of Gauteng. The general perception is that if there is a substantial numerical representation of women in parliaments, then women's concerns will be adequately represented. My purpose was to understand how women perceived political representation. I found that although all the women whom I interviewed were interested in women's matters, they did not wish to be confined to the role of representing women, but wished to involve themselves in a broader spectrum of concerns. Although in South Africa there is an increase in the representation of women in the legislature, this is not necessarily being translated into effective and gender-sensitive policy-making. The partylist system of proportional representation was found to impact negatively upon the ability of women to represent women's concerns as women were constrained by the male dominated party and senior party officials. A legislated quota system would ensure that women from all parties are represented and the inclusion of a constituency-based electoral could counterbalance the control of parties. Female representation is subjected to numerous challenges from men, and from political parties which may not wish to prioritise the concerns of women. The introduction of formal political institutions in parliament would be best placed to monitor the selection process in parliament as well as ensure fair practice. The gender impact of the political and policy process can only be recognised through institutional mechanisms rather than the presence of women alone. Women themselves are by no means unanimous concerning what is best for them as parliamentarians or how they should represent the concerns of women. Channels of communication should be opened for women to understand each others cultural constraints. Although mechanisms, like the Women's Parliamentary Caucus, do exist for women to carry out representation, the effectiveness and status of the Caucus is questionable due its institutional status. Formalising the WPC as a standing committee would create a platform from which women could act to represent the concerns of women. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal,Durban, 2006.

Many in Lesotho had hoped that the 1993 elections would restore democratic rule and establish the political stability that had eluded the country since independence. The post-1993 transition to democratic rule created more problems than was anticipated. The country gradually became involved in the devastating political crises that posed serious political implications for peace and stability (Gumbi, 1995:1). The primary objectives of this study are to disentangle the focal problems that faced Lesotho's re-established democratic dispensation after the 1993 elections and how these problems contributed to political instabilities until and after the 1998 election. The problems of the reestablished democratic dispensation and which undermined the process of democratic consolidation included the inability of the organs of the state to maintain law and order. There was an established culture within the army, the police and the National Security Services (NSS) which caused them to fail to offer adequate support to the fledging multiparty democracy in 1993.The principles of democracy and its institutions were poorly understood by Lesotho's political elite which was unable to accept the practical implications of the democratic system of governance. The BCP government was reluctant to reinstate the deposed King Moshoeshoe II and this hardened the relations between the government and the monarch. Ultimately, the monarchy and the Catholic Church became the political instruments that undermined the BCP-LCD governments. Society was highly polarized along political lines and there was a lack of political tolerance despite the homogeneous culture. The political crises were aggravated by the electoral model of FPTP after the 1993 and 1998 elections which denied the losing parties participation in decision-making because, the assumption of governmental power is seen as the most reliable source of economic power. There was an absence of interrelated national policies to consolidate the country's young democracy whilst the youth constituency rising unemployment levels was ignored. There has been a persistent mutual suspicion and distrust between the leaders due to the absence of political leadership with competence, integrity and commitment to the long term vision of Lesotho. These violent confrontations among the political elites were goaded by the weaknesses of Lesotho's economy which does not have the potential to attain the demands of the population. This situation was worsened by the increasing levels of retrenchments of migrant laborers from the South Africa mines. There has been a problem on lack of internal democracy which has hindered the consolidation of democracy. The study concludes with an application of Huntington's thesis that there is high level of political mobilization and participation in Lesotho whilst political institutionalization lags behind (1968:2). Though elections are regarded as the pinnacle of democracy, the 1993 and 1998 elections in Lesotho did not make any significant development in the consolidation of democracy. In fact, they deepened the political differences that had been in existence since independence. The country is now "caught" between the process of democratic transition and consolidation. / Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

his project adopts a coherent framework developed to enable assessment of the performance of the press in upholding democracy. The framework was developed by Pippa Norris for a developed world context, but proved by this project to be equally applicable in the developing world context of South Africa. The main functions of the press in relation to elections for public office are deemed to be facilitating pluralistic competition, public participation and the protection of civil liberties and political rights. The main research method employed in this project is content analysis; applied to press coverage of the election of 2004, but the results are correlated through interviews subjected to narrative analysis. The sample for the study includes a wide range of newspapers, from catch-all publications to publications with more segmented readerships and from provincial to national circulation newspapers. Despite the differences in the profiles of the various newspapers, the cross-title press election coverage in the case of the 2004 South African general election was internally very similar indeed. All publications covered the African National Congress more than the other parties and all gave the ANC much more parity between positive and negative coverage than the other parties. The Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party received a negative slant in the coverage over all. The Independent Democrats experienced the opposite. The publications had different directional bias in their editorial coverage to the one presented in the letters to the editor. The publications gave similar amounts of practical information to voters and only to a very small degree did they explicitly encourage people to get directly involved in the electoral context, for example by casting their ballot. All publications focused strategically on the electoral context and all allowed a few dominating themes to run through their coverage. The press carried a relatively small number of watchdog-category articles. While the benchmarks in the framework employed proved very useful indeed in uncovering characteristics of the election coverage provided by the press, uncovering determining factors behind the coverage was not an aim of this study, even though theoretical perspectives on some of the background to the coverage are discussed. Given that this is, to the best knowledge of the author, the first application of the employed framework to a specific case of media coverage, the results are just that, a first set ofbenchmarks. Only future research can determine if the results obtained here indicate that the press did well, or badly, in upholding their role in democracy when covering the 2004 general election in South Africa. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

The primary focus of this dissertation is the transformation of South Africa's foreign intelligence service. This transformation is seen in the light of the individual histories of the pre-1994 intelligence services (state, homelands and liberation movement) which contributed to the new structures. The legislation which governs these structures is examined. The role of intelligence in supporting foreign policy is discussed in the context of changing patterns of global politics and security concerns. The dissertation concludes with an attempt to draw up an 'intelligence agenda' for South Africa's new service and a discussion of the potential and limits of intelligence, using the Zimbabwe crisis as a case study. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

The Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) process is an initiative by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and various Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) deal with poverty. It is in some sense an updated and improved version of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) that were implemented in the 1980s. This study examines one of the central aspects of the PRS process which is national ownership that is expected to be achieved by means of the participation of various interested groups and individuals in the formulation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRS Paper). These would include: non – governmental organizations, civil society organizations, faith based organizations, academics, women’s groups, academics and members from the private sector. National ownership of the formulation of the RPS Paper is examined by looking at 4 country studies, namely, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1994.

Sedert die Tweede W!reldoorlog is daar buiten en behalwe die talle artikels en boeke van Nyerere en ander voorstanders van die Afrikasosialisme veel gepubliseer oor die vooruitsigte van die kapitalisme sowel as die kommunisme in Swart-Afrika. Die algemene indruk wat deur hierdie geskrifte geskep word, is dat nog die Westerse sosialisme, nog die doktrinere Leninistiese Marxisme, nog die kapitalisme, onveranderd op die konkrete toestande in Swart-Afrika toegepas kan word. Tot vandag toe is hierdie kontinent besonders eiesoortig, 5005 Scipio Africanus reeds ingesien het, toe hy beweer het dat daar altyd weer iets nuuts uit Afrika verwag kan word ("Ex Africa semper aliquid novit"). In hulle strewe om getrou aan hulleself te wees en teen die hele wereld vry te bly, word die Afrikane deur enkele beslissende faktore in 'n sterk posisie gehou. Eerstens is daar fisieke faktore, 5005 hulle huidskleur en tiperende gelaatstrekke wat die Afrikane van die meeste ander volkere op aarde onderskei en hulle help om van hulle eiesoortigheid bewus te bly. Verder en bowenal is dit die besondere aardrykskundige omstandighede van Afrika wat sy inboorlinge aanmoedig om hulle tradisionele lewenswyse wat hierby aangepas is nie maklik prys te gee nie. Sedert hulle die koloniale juk gedurende die afgelope kwarteeu afgeskud het, het hulle by die Verenigde Volkere -Organisasie en elders al hoe uitdrukliker opgeval as mense wat eiesourtig doen, dink en voel. Die Afrika-persoonlikheid kom besonder duidelik tot uitdrukking in die wyse waarop die Afrikane die kommunisme en die kapitalisme teen mekaar uitgespeel en van albei en almal wat in hulle belang stel deeglik gebruik maak. Dit is veral na aanleiding van hierdie opvallende selfgeldingsdrang dat die onderhawige verhandeling tot stand gekom het onder die titel: "Die Kapitalisme en Sosialisme in die Lig van die Werklikheid in Swart-Afrika, met besondere verwysing na die Afrika-gebonde Staatsfilosofie van kontemporere Tanzanie. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1980.

Theories of the transition to socialism typically invoke, in one way or another, the notion of revolution. This dissertation is a discussion and analysis, largely conceptual in character, of the political dimensions of this notion. More exactly, it is a discussion of some principal Marxian accounts of revolution. In Part I the theoretical foundations of this account are explored by way of a methodological introduction (invoking the construct of essential contestedness). In Part 2 the contours of this account are sketched, and subjected to some (largely internal) analysis. The focus here is on Marx and the dominant figures in the political tradition to which his work gave rise, namely Lenin, Kautsky, Luxemburg and Gramsci. In Part 3 this distinctively Marxian account is subjected to a critique on two lines: the first line concerns the validity of its account of class, and the second the plausibility of its model of collective action. In both cases the Marxian account is found to be inadequate. Since the very heart of this account is a notion of purposive class action, the Marxian theory of revolution is thus called into serious question. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1988.

This study starts with the premise that the paucity of women in political leadership positions in society accounts for their absence from the formal peace table. Indeed, as many studies have shown, women are globally marginalized at all levels of public decision-making, and Africa is not left out of this trend. For a continent that is particularly plagued by armed conflict, Africa is generally known for masculinisng the public space including political governance. In this way, women in the continent are formally excluded from peace processes despite not only the roles they play during and after conflict but also their disproportionate vulnerability to the after-effects. Therefore, this study hypothesises that involving women in politics and governance on an equal basis with men would enhance the peace process in conflict-affected societies in Africa. To test this hypothesis, the study investigates the extent to which women’s participation in political processes or governance can enhance peacebuilding in conflict-affected communities using KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and the Niger Delta in Nigeria as case studies. Specifically, it poses the following questions: What is the impact of conflict on women in these study areas, and how does it define the women’s reality with regard to the conflict cycle? How have women responded to conflict and its resolution in these study areas? Will increased political representation of women both in government and decision-making points of the peace machinery enhance the peace process? What societal notions and ideologies under-gird the role perception and construction of women as ‘victims only’ in conflict situations, and which help to fuel their exclusion from peace processes? And what veritable lessons can be learnt from women’s involvement in conflict resolution in these case studies? In grappling with these questions, the study utilises a combination of research methods and approaches in collecting and analysing data from the both secondary and primary sources. For example, it adopts a qualitative method which it combines with feminist research (perspective and practice) and comparative case study approaches. Using the questionnaire and interview instruments, the study relies on data from surveys of 295 women and 4 men drawn from both case studies. In KwaZulu-Natal, an additional 40 students (25 females and 15 males) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal were also surveyed in two focus group discussions. While all data were analysed by content analysis with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), the questionnaire survey data were further subjected to statistical analysis (Chi Square and Logistic Regression Analysis) to test for the significance of the variables that could explain the perception that more women in politics would enhance peace building. Mainly, the study found out that just as women are victims of armed conflict, they are also agents of peace. Second, women often articulate conflict and peace in different ways to men based on the ethic of care which defines their femininity. Third, women are active peace agents (as reconcilers and community builders) at the informal levels in their communities and they can be used for reconciliatory roles in the peace process – that is to break down gender dualism which perpetuates conflict. Fourth, in partnership with men, women make peace building more effective than if there are few or no women. Therefore, there is a need to mainstream women into politics on an equal basis with men, and men need to be carried vi along in this project. Fifth, given the failure of male dominated politics to prevent and manage violent conflict, women need to be encouraged to come into politics as women so that they can bring their own values to bear. Finally, based on statistical analysis, some of the positive predictors of the characteristics of women which suggest that more women in politics would enhance peace-building include marital status, education and place of interview (context). The study also explores some theoretical considerations for feminising peace-building. These include the human security paradigm, the human factor paradigm and John Lederach’s moral imagination model of peace building. The relationship between these paradigms/models and peace building is located in their emphasis on the importance of the human agency in peace building discourse and action. For instance, while the human security paradigm emphasises the significance of factoring people into the security, peace and development calculus, both the human factor and moral imagination paradigms underscore the fact that the quality of the people that can make the difference between violent conflict and peace matters. For example, while positive human factor qualities such as integrity, accountability, selflessness and truthfulness can create a fertile environment for good governance and development, from a moral imagination perspective, relatedness, collaboration, love, empathy and tolerance are necessary and sufficient factors for creating a fertile environment for peace building. From a critical survey of literature on women, politics and peace building in pre-colonial African societies, this study found that women in Africa generally embody positive human factor traits and moral imagination capacities which reinforced the high moral authority society accorded them. Oftentimes, women drew on this moral authority, which was based on the ethics of care that defined their femininity, to exert themselves politically, economically and socially. For instance, they leveraged on this moral authority to assume peacemaking and peace building roles by mediating in intra-community and inter-community conflicts, educating children to value peaceful co-existence and, frequently, carried out peace sacrifices and purification/cleansing rites to reintegrate their warriors into civil society. Based on this, and the practical illustrations/stories of women’s peace agency in parts of post-colonial Africa, this study contends that the values they represent can be appropriated and developed into an African feminist ethic of peace which can be utilised as both a conflict-prevention and post-conflict reconstruction model in other conflict-prone areas of the continent. However, the potential of women’s peace agency is clogged by their exclusion (by both men and women themselves) from the peace processes of their communities and nation-states, and this is perpetuated by the political marginalisation of women. Therefore, based on the finding that women (in partnership with men) make peace building more effective than if there are few or no women, the study makes a number of recommendations which are in line with the mandate of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. These include: African states should enact constitutionally guaranteed electoral laws and policies to enable women to appropriate their own political spaces. Second, the peace process should be engendered in ways that will enable women to continue to play traditional reconciliatory roles especially at the grass root level. Third, because men remain critical to the gender equality project, they should be carried along through re- enlightenment that will make them see women empowerment as an African renaissance rather than as a western imposition. In the same vein, re-socialising men to assume co-parenting responsibilities will help deconstruct the basis of patriarchy in society and in the process enthrone a new kind of civilisation. This is imperative considering that gender equality in private and public life is both a necessary and sufficient factor for peace building. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

The conjunctural dynamics of the Zimbabwe crisis after 2000 have produced a distinctive pattern of accumulation .Four features are noticeable in this pattern - firstly ; disorder and/or violence has become common , both as a general feature and driver of wealth accumulation and the political project accompanying it . Secondly ; the State has increasingly become more central and pervasive in driving accumulation and in the distribution of both economic and political goods . Thirdly , the crisis has awakened , reinforced and reshaped a distinctive acquisitive culture peculiar to the period in question , albeit resonating with the historical formation of Zimbabwe's ruling elite . Lastly , the current crisis has modified and reinforced a culture of 'strategic contradictions ' within ZANU-PF . This dissertation is an analysis of Zimbabwe's 'political economy of crisis ' in the post 2000 period . It examines how the Zimbabwean ruling elite and those connected to the state have benefited from the unregulated forms of accumulation attending the Zimbabwean crisis . A broad combination of a contextual analysis of the crisis and its beneficiaries and a close case-study analysis of an 'informal ' (illegal ) gold-mining site in Totororo , rural Kwekwe's 'Empress ' are a in Central Zimbabwe are employed to try to distil accumulation patterns that have resulted from the present economic and political crisis . / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.