In the frontline of the backwater? The Nordic countries and the global population drama

Backed by a long history of domestic population statistics and analysis, Nordic social science -including demography - could well be in the forefront of international scientific attention to the global drama of population dynamics and development. But this appears not to be the case. The paper is devoted to a discussion of this state of affairs. Following a brief presentation of the current state of population dynamics, it offers a few examples to show the value of a wider social science approach to the analysis of population/development relations. Dramatic features in current development are contrasted against the relative lack of engagement of demographers and social scientists today.Finally, a case is made for the strengthening of links between demography and social science in general - indeed for “population studies” as a field of joint enquiry, combining the rigor of demographic methods and techniques with the theoretical substance of the social sciences

Poverty and fertility: reproductive change under persistent poverty

In recent contributions to the discussion of fertility change in poor societies, two main lines of interpretation can be identified, the “materialist” and the "ideational" respectively. While the former emphasizes economic and security factors as prime causes of reproductive patterns and changes, the latter stresses the importance of diffusion of ideas and norms. The ideational perspective supports “supply side” policies for fertility decline, while the materialist perspective lends support to a more indirect welfare or “demand" side orientation to population policy. Bangladesh belongs to a group of countries with persistent and widespread poverty where the beginnings of fertility decline have now been recorded. The absence of any visibly significant socioeconomic changes for its rural majority has been used to justify claims that family planning activities have an independent effect on fertility. The paper draws together available evidence on the circumstances of rural life in Bangladesh. Taken together, the evidence is that changes have occurred in social relations in the household, brought about by economic crisis and in turn enabling changes in childbearing. The Bangladesh evidence confirms the difficulties encountered on a conceptual level in trying to maintain a distinction between materialist and ideational approaches to fertility analysis. The distinction between the two lines is unclear, and upholding it could be counterproductive to advances in the understanding of fertility change

HIV/AIDS on the campus: universities and the threat of an epidemic

As the AIDS epidemic moves from the early stages of HIV spread into a growing wave of premature deaths, its in-house impacts are felt in all formal organisations. The paper addresses the particular situation of institutions of higher learning, known to be among the last to develop management responses to the epidemic. While some smaller Ugandan universities have adopted AIDS policies, Makerere University, situated in a country hailed for its success in fighting HIV/AIDS, is yet to offer a clear response to its toll among staff and students. The fates of initiatives taken on campus since the early 1990s are discussed within a context of general demands made on a university deeply affected by the turmoil preceding the NRM government. Organisational problems in decision-making on sensitive issues are studied. The paper ends with a review of suitable theoretical approaches to explain behaviours of universities, among them Minzberg's (1993) characterisation of ‘professional bureaucracies'. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review Vol. 22(2) 2006: 31-5

South Africa's bantustans : from dumping grounds to battlefronts

Within the South African State there are ten different bantustan "states", complete with administrations, military and police. Once the bantustans were described as "dumping grounds". In this paper the author shows that they are much more than that. They have turned into scenes of protest and resistance against apartheid. The bantustan leaders today are needed both by Pretoria and the ANC, and also try to defend their own interests. A post-apartheid government may need the bantustan state machinery as instruments of order and reform. This paper discusses the implications of this scenario

South Africa's bantustans : from dumping grounds to battlefronts

Within the South African State there are ten different bantustan "states", complete with administrations, military and police. Once the bantustans were described as "dumping grounds". In this paper the author shows that they are much more than that. They have turned into scenes of protest and resistance against apartheid. The bantustan leaders today are needed both by Pretoria and the ANC, and also try to defend their own interests. A post-apartheid government may need the bantustan state machinery as instruments of order and reform. This paper discusses the implications of this scenario

Mozambique : a dream undone

This study is a penetrating insight into the historical process of formation of a new state; the steps taken to create the basis for a democratic development, and the forces working for economic modernisation through centralisation and advanced technology. The study centers on conflicts between these two approaches in a poor and illiterate society. It connects the pre-independence processes with the politically dynamic period up to the the Party Congress of 1983 and the Nkomati Agreement with South Africa. It links the macro-perspective of Maputo to the efforts and frustrations of the simple peasants in the north.Contents: 1. Introduction – The study of a contradiction -- 2. The armed struggle: where socialist ideology was born -- 3. Popular power. Democracy and socialist tradition -- 4. No easy transition from extreme colonisation -- 5. The adoption of a socialist perspective -- 6. Economy and state during transition -- 7. Organising the people -- 8. Mueda in the 1980s – popular power and the peasant  -- 9. Popular power in Cuba – contrasts and similarities -- 10. Socialism in a poor country </p