Feminised international politics: three cases from Latin America

What role and impact do women have on politics and international affairs? Nearly a century ago, when suffragettes demanded the vote, a number of assumptions were made about female political representation. They included the claim that women would bring virtue and morality into what was seen as a largely immoral male public sphere, while later feminists argue that women share common interests that are distinct from those of men (e.g. a greater concern with reproductive rights and state provision of social care)

Views from the Summit

As the only students from an American university participating in the conference, we bore the brunt of criticism leveled at the United States during discussions on international trade and economic policy

IMPACTS OF PENSION REFORMS ON THE KENYAN PENSION INDUSTRY

The emergence of full-fledged reforms in Kenya from the introduction of the Retirement Benefits Authority in 1997 has rekindled hopes among the ageing population in Kenya. This paper examines the effect of the NSSF Act 2013 contribution rate by use of a contribution rate model as well as Kenyans’ perception towards the yet to be implemented Act by use of questionnaire analysis. The study asserts that the set 6% is sufficient to meet the welfare conditions of Kenyans. Further, this study also identifies the main social welfare reforms put in place, as well as the effects and challenges towards implementation of the reforms on the performance of the industry with a critical theoretical look at the NSSF Act 2013

IMPACTS OF PENSION REFORMS ON THE KENYAN PENSION INDUSTRY

The emergence of full-fledged reforms in Kenya from the introduction of the Retirement Benefits Authority in 1997 has rekindled hopes among the ageing population in Kenya. This paper examines the effect of the NSSF Act 2013 contribution rate by use of a contribution rate model as well as Kenyans’ perception towards the yet to be implemented Act by use of questionnaire analysis. The study asserts that the set 6% is sufficient to meet the welfare conditions of Kenyans. Further, this study also identifies the main social welfare reforms put in place, as well as the effects and challenges towards implementation of the reforms on the performance of the industry with a critical theoretical look at the NSSF Act 2013

A “Funa” in Australia?

A Funa in Chile is a public denunciation of a person identified as associated with crimes against humanity during the Pinochet regime. It begins as a web site notice of a planned procession, to be followed by a peaceful rally and demonstration, Some involve no more than thirty people, others, particularly those directed at notorious figures, have attracted thousands. My questions are: What is the effect of Funas in Chile?Could a Funa occur in Australia? Against whom? Who would organise it? For what reason? What would be the consequences? In discussing the question I will draw upon my recent work in reconciliation studies both in Chile and Aboriginal Australia

From state terrorism to state errorism: Post-pinochet Chile's long search for truth and justice

Patio 29 lies in the northern sector of Santiago's General Cemetery. To the naked eye, it is a grim unweeded field of some twelve hundred rusted tin crosses. But to the families of the 1,197 detained-disappeared during Augusto Pinochet's brutal dictatorship, Patio 29 is both a site of horror and a site of hope. Its story begins in September-December 1973 when 320 early victims of the repression were brought there in makeshift wooden crates that held as many as three bodies each, and buried in unmarked graves. A few years later, two hundred of those graves were exhumed by the military, and the remains presumably cremated. For another decade, the mass grave remained silent, yielding few of its secrets to the families' demands to know: Where are they? Today, nineteen years into the so-called transition to democracy, Patio 29-the most important single finding in relation to Chile's detained-disappeared-still refuses to reveal the identities of those victims, pressing upon the government of Michelle Bachelet a new question: Who are they? First state terror, now state error have conspired to make Patio 29 one of Chile's principal horror-cum-hopescapes. © 2010 by The Regents of the University of California and the National Council on Public History. All rights reserved

U.S. Involvement in the Overthrow of Salvador Allende: 1970-1973

In a subsystem such as Latin America, internal changes cannot be fully explained without assessing the role played by the region\u27s preeminent power [the United States of America] (Kaufman, 1988: 3). The overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende Gossens by the Chilean military cannot be fully examined without taking into account the involvement of the United States government. From 1969 to 1973, actions, both overt and covert, taken by U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. military promoted economic chaos, strikes, and subsequently the military coup that overthrew the Allende regime

Growth of Democratisation in Latin America Along Socialist Lines

Latin America is a highly volatile region. After it was exposed to the rigours of colonialism, it has experienced several doses of authoritarian rule before the process of democratisation gained momentum in the 1980s. This article analyses the tenor and quality of democratisation along socialist lines in three countries of Latin America. The paper tries to identify the positive aspects of socialist democracies in the volatile but resource-rich region and at the same time clearly highlights the shortcomings in the socialist experiments in Brazil, Chile and Urugay. All these countries are able to achieve the social democratic goal of high rates of economic growth while at the same time ensuring social justice. In all the three cases poverty fell significantly and income inequality also decreased. However the author also highlights that these neo-leftist regimes have been often repressive towards minority voices leading to a sense of alienation among a significant section of their population.Keywords : Latin America, socialist democrazy, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Democratisation, poverty alleviation, minority voices, authoritarism, repression, populis