Violence among peoples in the light of human frustration and aggression

This article sets out to provide a general background to the study of aggression in the social sciences, with a particular focus on its link to collective violence. While the study of what happens in the human brain appears to be already highly complex, analysis of violent behavior appears to be even more intricate. A deductive system in the sense of a general and clear system of propositions logically connected to one another is not feasible, principally because contrary to the natural sciences there are no verities but merely “stylized facts.” One of these concerns the setting of human aggression in the light of frustration, as argued in the frustration–aggression hypothesis developed by Dollard et al. in 1939. Apart from conceiving of aggression as a pure human instinct, it may also be seen as externally driven, while a third possibility concerns culturally “learned” aggression. Proof of the latter is that the strongest correlation appears to be that between current violence and previous manifestations thereof. Attention is paid to the way in which Gurr has rooted his relative deprivation theory on causes of collective violence among peoples in mechanisms of frustration and aggression. That theory is taken a bit further in terms of “perceived acquirement failure,” which appears to be highly connected to the role of the state. Based on certain observations by Hannah Arendt, the argument then proceeds to violence as a manifestation of powerlessness. Finally, this leads to a discussion of justice as a crucial factor in what Durkheim used to call a “right to conflict.” In this way, human aggression is placed in a broad socio-economic context

The human rights mission in an African context

In the annual sessions of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, resolutions condemning African governments for gross and systematic violations of human rights are usually rejected with the whole African block against. Through such block voting even President Mugabe’s policies and actions against the rule of law in Zimbabwe have remained uncensored. Indeed, Africa’s record in the international venture for the realization of human rights looks rather dim. Whereas international human rights do not in any way refer to spiritual roots of the conviction that human dignity must be protected against any abuse of power, in an African setting it is abundantly clear that human rights is a mission that cannot be separated from people’s religious convictions and commitment. In Chichewa the word for God is Mulungu while justice is Chi-lung-amo. God, in other words, is the Upright one, while justice is to do God’s will. That connection is not an invention of the missionaries. It manifests the spiritual strength in which human rights in Africa might build upon a conviction rooted in African culture through the ages

Good governance in an African perspective: an essay on actors and actions

In preparation for this conference I have looked back at my own work and the work of others in the period just after most of Sub-Saharan Africa achieved independence. My own place was in the University of Zambia, from 1967 to 1971. Perusing our publications of the late sixties and early seventies of this quickly passing century, what strikes me is first of all our belief in the new politics as a basis for development. Not without reason colonialism had been regarded as the basic constraint to improvement of people's living conditions and to political integration. In most African countries those fighting for freedom had overcome. The independent African state not merely signified political liberty, it would also constitute the primary instrument towards the uplifting of its own people. A remaining constraint was of course white minority power in much of Southern Africa but liberation was certain. "One day", my colleague Richard Sklar exclaimed, "African nations will negotiate from strength.

Is socialism possible?

Apparently transition is a difficult process. The reform programme adopted in Russia and several other former socialist countries was based on a purely economic approach, neglecting socio-cultural and political conditions for successful transition. These conditions are still largely determined by the socialist project that preceded the current transition process. Hence any study of transition has to start exploring the question: Transition from what? What, exactly, is wrong with socialism

Poverty as human rights deficit : some implications for the international financial institutions

Following the World Bank’s World Development Report2000/2001: The attack on poverty and the voices of the poor studies on which that document had been based, this chapter explores Human Rights obligations of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). In this connection poverty is approached as part of the “human rights deficit”. International poverty reduction strategies are examined in respect of both economic effectiveness and public justice, with special reference to ‘pro-poor growth’. Six elements of a Rights-based attack on poverty come to the fore. Finally, these are applied to IFIs in particular, with some critical remarks on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Zambia’s economy: 1964-2004

Everyone knew, of course, that the copper price is purely the result of external factors. Yet, in post-independence Zambia there was no feeling whatsoever that “seven years of plenteousness” (Joseph in Egypt) might be followed by many more than seven years of famine. Six years after independence the March 1970 edition of Z, a beautifully illustrated magazine published by the Zambia Information Services, reports on impressive infra-structural achievements such as a new bridge over the Lufupa in Kasempa. This will definitely boost “our economic development traffic” between the country’s capital and North-Western Province, the article assures us. There is more on the economy: gravel extraction in Mongu, for example, and home woven textiles and glass fiber boats in Kafue. In terms of format the magazine could well compare to Time or Newsweek those days. Its price: 10n. The n stands for ngwee, the Kwacha cent that in those days was worth a Dutch “stuiver” (five cents of the Guilder). In forty years the Kwacha has dropped from ZK 0.2 to ZK 2,500 to the old Guilder (ZK 5,500 to the Euro). Its value, in other words, is now 1/12500th what it used to be in those plentiful years after independence

In search of a new paradigm: development interventionism from a human dignity perspective

“I shall sing no celebratory song!” Apparently, after more than fifty years of development co-operation this is how Philip Quarles van Ufford views the history of interventionism in the South since the idea of development emerged after World War II. “‘Something is rotten in the state of Development’ after more than fifty years of application”, he noted in a recent speech to Danish development researchers. Remarkably, those consistently expressed doubts on past efforts to transform society in the South through organized interventions, Quarles has in common with that other great critic of development co-operation, the late Prince Claus of the Netherlands; and with the latter he also shares the search for a new paradigm, based on the original pursuit of global responsibilities. This essay aims at an initial response to that quest. First I shall examine the critique, then go into the current mode of “human development” based on “human freedom”, and finally I shall try to lay certain foundations for an alternative paradigm

Is capitalism possible?

In the two ages of its existence capitalism has given proof of its reformability. It was, however, anti-capitalist blueprints and ideas that constituted a continuous spiritual driving force towards reform. Today, after the collapse of real existing socialism there is an urgent need for new alternative visions (de Gaay Fortman and Klein Goldewijk 1998). Without socialism capitalism is, indeed, impossible

Human rights

Human rights reflect a determined effort to protect the dignity of each and every human being against abuse of power. This endeavour is as old as human history. What is relatively new is the international venture for the protection of human dignity through internationally accepted legal standards and generally accessible mechanisms for implementation. That mission got a major impetus with the founding of the United Nations in 1945. While the primary focus of the international project for the realisation of human rights used to be on ways and means of limiting and governing political power, other institutions than the state are coming within its range of attention, too, including those of the corporate world. Recently, a ‘human rights approach’ to poverty has gained a prominent place on the development agenda. When human rights are seen as not just legal resources but also political instruments, this means that power is to be regarded as legitimate only if international human rights standards are followed. Legitimacy, in other words, becomes the core concept, referring to the right institutions and principles, the right procedures and also normatively acceptable outcomes. Hence, rights-based approaches to overcome poverty imply efforts to address economic injustices as well, in the first place at the level of the global economy as such

Quod omnes tangit …

In a multi-facetted judgment the European Court of Human Rights unanimously condemns Italy for that state’s failure to comply with the Rome Treaty’s provisions guaranteeing defence rights to citizens in the so-called Pellegrini case . The adversarial principle enshrined in what constitutes a fair hearing in the sense of art 6 § 1, holds under all circumstances, the Court rules, including procedures of Ecclesiastical Courts insofar as these would be granted civil effect (exequatur)