Assumption Of Office Research Articles

THREE POINTS FOREIGN POLICY AGENDA: AN APPRAISAL OF PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S FIRST TERM FOREIGN POLICY AGENDA

On assumption of office on May 29 2015, President Muhammad Buhari outlined three cardinal issues his administration will place a premium on Economic Development, the Fight against terrorism and the Fight against Corruption. These three issues have also continued to guide the administration’sforeign policy. This paper aims to appraise how the administration has performed in its first term from 2015-2019 with regard to these three cardinal foreign policy principles. Using secondary data sources from journals, books, newspapers, and government reports, the research found that President Buhari's trips across the world capital are in tandem with the administration’s foreign policy goals for the implication on national development. Considerable effort has been made towards the fight against insurgency by raising a multinational coalition to tackle the menace of terrorism, which had negatively affected Nigeria’s image on the International scene. This was made possible with collaboration with Chad, Cameroon and Niger to form Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) which played an important role in degrading Boko Haram Insurgency. As for economic development, the president's trip to China has brought about considerable infrastructural development and Foreign Direct Investment from other world capitals, which help the government in exiting the recession. The paper concludes that there is a need for the administration to follow up on agreements signed during this foreign trip to engender national development effectively.

Trump’s Muslim ban: A critical discourse analysis of AlJazeera English, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal

One of the major campaign promises of the former US president Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign was to bar Muslims from entering the United States. Donald Trump kept his promise by issuing an executive order on assumption of office. The executive order banned Muslims from seven countries from entering the United States until a judge in Washington halted the executive order. The story received wide coverage in the media. This article will study the news coverage of the executive order in three leading international media organizations, AlJazeera English (AJE), the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. These three media organizations were selected because they provide different perspectives to news and have global audiences that consume the news on daily basis. Using critical discourse analysis (CDA), the article seeks to compare how the three media organizations pitched the story. CDA is interested in identifying the relationship between power, ideology and social inequality. The article explores the issues related to power, ideology and social inequality in relation to the Trump’s executive order as reported in the three news media organizations. What are the ethnic, political and cultural issues that dominated the discourse of Trump’s ban on Muslims in the three newspapers? The results from the study found ideological differences in the coverage, with AlJazeera and the New York Times being slightly more critical of Donald Trump and his policies in their approach, while the Wall Street Journal was supportive of the executive order. Nevertheless, all three news organizations were similar in promoting discourse, which promotes the interest of power elites. This approach in news discourse further contributes to creating a divided society that is unequal in nature. The article concludes by recommending the practice of a more contextual journalism that promotes a peaceful and harmonious society.

Indian Military Modernization Under Modi's regime

The past few decades have seen a structural shift in international politics, with multilateralism replacing bilateralism, as evidenced by China’s rise in security and economic domains. The turn of the 21st century has also seen the rise of another aspiring power- India. With the assumption of office by Prime Minister Modi in 2014, the Indian military has been going through fundamental changes. Under the ‘Joint Indian Armed Forces and the Land Warfare Doctrines’, India aims to achieve greater strategic outreach. Indian military modernization since 2014 witnessed a steep rise. India being a strategic ally of the US, has been emboldened to modernize its military that, by and large, will make New Delhi more belligerent, augmenting Pakistan’s security concerns. Though a lot has been written on India’s military modernization, this paper seeks to address the gap in the literature on how the modernization factor has come about, driven primarily by the Hindutva ideology underpinned by the Modi regime. By incorporating the neo-realistic perspective, this paper argues that unless countermeasures are taken, Indian aggression and military modernization might trigger a full-blown war in the foreseeable future especially given that Modi may come back to power in 2023.

RECORDS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN GHANAIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF GHANA TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

This study was conducted to ascertain records management practices at the Ghana Communications Technology University (formerly Ghana Technology University College) a mid-sized Ghanaian public university located in Accra. All the staff at the Admissions and Records departments participated in the study. This comprised two (2) heads of department and seven (7) senior staff from both departments. The face-to-face interviews were employed as a data collection instrument for this study. The findings indicated that the University has neither a policy to regulate the management of students' records nor a professional archivist to manage records. However, the head of the Records office was given a three-day training on the assumption of office. It was revealed that the head of admissions, as well as all the staff of the two departments, had never been given any training. There were some challenges impeding records management in the Admissions and Records offices– among them are; lack of adequate staff, inadequate storage equipment, lack of periodic training, lack of policy to guide records management and inability of students to furnish the Admission office with the needed information. It was recommended that the University should employ a professional archivist to manage student records, provide adequate storage facilities, organise periodic training for staff as well promulgate a policy to guide records management in the Admissions and Records offices. Keywords: Accra Campus, Records, Management, Practices, Ghana Communication Technology University

Will India's Disengaging Trade Policy Restrict It from Playing a Greater Global Role?

AbstractIndia's ambition of playing a prominent role in regional and global affairs has been particularly visible since the assumption of office by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2014. The ambition has resulted in India's external engagement, abandoning the posturing of non-alignment for a more proactive multi-alignment strategy. Its efforts to engage with major powers such as the US and China, as well as other global middle powers such as Japan, the UK, and Australia, have been positioned on rapid economic progress, enabled by one of the fastest rates of growth among major economies. Attempts to expand global strategic influence, a natural outcome of robust economic expansion, should have seen India pursuing an aggressive outward-oriented external trade policy for increasing its share in global trade. India, though, has shown a marked resistance to open trade, including being reluctant to engage in regional and bilateral trade negotiations. This paper examines the dichotomy between India's desire to play a prominent global role and its aversion to open trade policies. Attributing the inward-looking approach to lack of competitiveness of Indian industry, absence of domestic pro-trade constituencies, and discomfort in negotiating new-generation trade issues, the paper argues India's quest for greater global strategic influence might be adversely affected by its restrictive trade policies.

The press and Nigeria's isolationist foreign policy (1993-1998)

Gen. Sani Abacha took over from Chief Ernest Shonekan's interim government which was formed when Gen Ibrahim Babangida "stepped aside". On assumption of office, Abacha was faced with the imminent disintegration of the country caused by the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, widely believed to have been won by the late businessman, Chief M. K. O. Abiola. Also, threatening the administration was the activities of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) both at home and abroad. The main objective of this study was to find out how the press covered Nigeria's foreign policy within 1993-1998. The study involved content analysis, historical and case study designs. The instrument for data collection included content analysis of newspaper contents library material related to the subject matter. The sampling technique used for the study is the purposive sampling, involving all the newspaper stories, features, opinion articles on the subject matter. The population included all newspaper stories published on Abacha’s regime within the period of 1993-1998. A total sampling size of 56 news stories, articles and features were selected purposively through the constructed weeks based on two days interval. Four national newspapers, namely, The Guardian, This Day, the Vanguard and the Post Express were used. From the findings of the study we concluded that press reports on the examined foreign policy did not make much impact on the outcome of these foreign policy issues since the military regime in power never wanted opposition or criticisms. Therefore, the regime went ahead to Isolate itself from main stream international politics and the press was helpless due to the fear of being gagged or proscribed as was the practice of the Abacha's administration. However, the press assumed a patriotic posture in her support for the regime's approach to Bakassi Peninsula dispute between Nigeria and Cameroun. Also the issue of peace keeping in the sub-region got the strong approval of the Nigerian press, even when a cross section of Nigerian citizens were skeptical about the regime interventionist policy in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Corruption in a diachronic corpus of Nigerian presidential speeches

Presidential speeches are often investigated as privileged readings of the state of the nation. A recurrent theme in the speeches of Nigerian presidents is corruption, and this reflects the enormity of national concern with the impact corruption has on social life, the economy and infrastructure development. Whereas research on corruption appears to be overwhelming due to its significance, questions useful for a more nuanced understanding of the subject have rarely been posed. Thus, little is known about the intensity of articulation of corruption over time, how social moments of enunciation can shape the articulation of corruption, as well as the types of corruption that are of concern. To provide answers to these questions, this article uses corpora, combined with transitivity analysis in systemic functional linguistics and critical discourse analysis, to analyse corruption in Nigeria from novel and especially diachronic standpoints. Findings show that (1) the articulation of corruption in the speeches, including the types expressed, have varied over time, and (2) the moments of enunciation of the speeches are often shaped, among others, by a need to gain legitimacy on assumption of office, a perception of how corrupt a preceding administration was and a verbalised determination to tackle corruption.

Wissenskonstituierung im politischen Online-Diskurs. Deutsche und polnische Tweets zum Präsidenten Donald Trump

Every day social media provide an enormous amounts of information and knowledge through language and multimodal texts. The most common topics in Internet communication are political events, their description and comments on them. Thus, by Internet texts knowledge is created and transferred. Depending on the country and political culture, this constructed knowledge of a particular political event may cover different areas. In order to demonstrate similarities and di erences in the constituting of knowledge, this article focuses on the semantic construction of tweets, that have been published by the German and Polish political stakeholders on President Donald Trump’s election win and his assumption of office.

E-102 Policy, practice and science in Nigeria: Implementing evidence based research for HIV programming in Nigeria

Nigeria with a population of over 180 million currently has a national estimate of 3% prevalence of HIV infection. Briefly, 3 million people are living with HIV; 160,000 pregnant women living with HIV and pediatric HIV infection account for about 30% of global burden. Following the assumption of office by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, the country initiated plan and began an aggressive drive in revitalizing the healthcare system towards attainment of Universal Health Coverage in the country. This presentation will chronicle policies, practices and evidences generated in-country on biology of HIV infection, transmission and management as well other non-orthodox claims of cure. The socio-cultural interpretations, perceptions and behaviours as it affects HIV infection within Nigerian space will be highlighted. The concluding section of the presentation will focus on key priority areas of HIV programming and research that requires international collaborations.

Press Framing of Anti-Corruption War on Buhari’s First Year Anniversary

This paper analyses how five Nigerian newspapers framed the fight against corruption embarked upon by the Buhari administration one year after his assumption of office (May 29, 2016). Using newspaper editorials published on Nigeria’s Democracy Day as unit of analysis, it draws on the methodological context of equivalent framing to demonstrate how the selected newspapers have framed the war against corruption which was the major thrust of the ‘Change’ campaign message articulated by Buhari as a Presidential aspirant and his political party (All Progressives’ Congress), during the build-up to the landmark 2015 general elections in Nigeria. Findings suggest that the Nigerian Press position on national issues, like the anti-corruption war, is subject to ethnic influence and political ownership as revealed by the ‘uncompromising frame’ and the ‘witch-hunting frame.’

The Law of the Land: A Grand Tour of Our Constitutional Republic. By Akhil Reed Amar. New York: Basic Books, 2015. 357 pp. $29.99 hardcover.

The Law of the Land: A Grand Tour of Our Constitutional Republic. By Akhil Reed Amar. New York: Basic Books, 2015. 357 pp. $29.99 hardcover.Constitutional law scholar Akhil Amar's latest book analyzes federalism under the constitution through the creative means of road tour-an examination of critical interpreters, cases, and constitutional provisions on the ground in 12 different states encompassing every region of the continental United States. The book, however, is not an analysis of the importance of regional constitutional politics on constitutional development, but rather series of observations designed to illustrate how American constitutionalism manifests itself in variety of ways inflected by its situation in the states. The seeds planted by the constitution's framework develop into the same American species of plants, but their local soil, water, and sunlight conditions have made them flower differently.Substantive issues that Amar addresses on the interpretive front in the book's first section include the problems of crafting multiracial union (Illinois), the modest populism of the constitution embraced by Alabama's Hugo Black, the practical reasoning of former politician and New Yorker Robert Jackson, and Justice Kennedy's gradual evolution toward Californian ideal of equality. The second section of the book uses landmark cases as both interpretive and geographic lenses. He explores the meaning of segregation as form of American apartheid outside the south in chapter on Brown, considers the central democratic importance of political dissent in discussion of Iowa's Tinker v. Des Moines, and explores the relationship between state and federal constitutional law through Florida's litigation culminating in Bush v. Gore. The final section addresses particularly vexed constitutional provisions in geographic situ: Ohio's and Texas's engagement with presidents and the problem of mandates and succession, Wyoming and the gendered and racialized implications of the Second Amendment, Massachusetts and the lost history of the warrant requirement, and finally New Jersey and the possibility of state enforcement of federal constitutional rights.The general theme of the book is that attending to this context enables us to understand a larger and distinctly American mosaic of federalism-a mosaic reflecting subtle constitutional variation from state to state and across broader geographic regions (Preface, xii). This point was well taken when the book was published in 2015, but it resonates more strongly in the wake of the election of 2016, as do several of Amar's individual chapters.When the book came out, readers likely encountered his discussion of the problem of presidential mandates and the technicalities of how the Twenty-Fifth Amendment allows the vice president to assume presidential powers as interesting thought experiments. Now, however, questions of what constitutes mandate in presidential election, how to understand voters' intentions in casting ballot for ticket with two ideologically disparate candidates, and how to think about potentially conflicted relationship between president and vice president are potentially concrete and serious. Amar criticizes the electoral college system as problematic primarily because it allows for lengthy lag between the election of the president and the president's assumption of office, but notes only briefly the potential legitimacy concerns with disjuncture between electoral and popular vote winners. …

Has Nigeria Defeated Boko Haram? An Appraisal of the Counter-Terrorism Approach under the Buhari Administration

One of the campaign promises of President Muhammadu Buhari was that he would eliminate Boko Haram six months after assumption of office. By December 2015, the Buhari-led government gave itself a pass mark for countering the terrorists. The government declared that the group had been ‘technically defeated’. This declaration has led to debates in the public space as to the veracity of this claim. This article aims to critically appraise the on-going attempt to eliminate the Boko Haram threat under the Buhari administration. The author questions whether we can actually conclude that the anti-Boko Haram war has really been won. The article analytically demonstrates that Boko Haram continues to pose a threat to Nigeria and the West African sub-region, contrary to claims that it has been defeated.

Erratum to: Crassus’ Command in the War against Spartacus (73–71 BCE): His Official Position, Forces and Political Spoils

SummaryLate in 72 BCE, Spartacus’ stunning series of victories over the consuls L. Gellius Publicola and Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus and then the proconsul C. Cassius Longinus (cos. 73) triggered a dearth of candidates for the consular and praetorian elections for 71. This deadlock was broken only when M. Licinius Crassus announced that he would run for praetor, declaring he was prepared to accept the command against Spartacus. Immediately following his election, Crassus began preparing, probably receiving a grant of delegatedpraetorium imperiumto bridge the interval between election and assumption of office. Having raised no less than six legions, personally advancing the funds required, he also took command of the two consular legions in the field. By means of this enormous army as well as his relentless efforts and strict discipline, he managed to put an end to this protracted and inglorious war in the span of six months. At some point in the summer or early autumn of 71, the equestrian proconsul Cn. Pompeius Magnus, back from Spain, decided he would settle for nothing less than another public triumph and the consulship itself. In order to secure these top prizes, he brazenly refused to disband his army, instead using it as leverage, just as he had already done in 81 and 77.Crassus, for his part, felt he could not fall behind, and entered into an unlikely if formidable alliance with his political rival. As both men ran on a strongpopullarisplatform, the Senate now found itself between hammer and anvil. Consequently, the Conscript Fathers had little choice but to grant Pompeius as well as Crassus the required dispensations from the Cornelian Law. Although they subsequently honoured their popular commitments as consuls, that neither Pompeius nor Crassus chose to disband their armies until sometime late in their tenure suggests that their entente was anything but cordial. Interestingly, it was Crassus who defused this dangerous stalemate by making the decisive first move towards formal reconciliation, albeit in the face of massive public pressure. Paradoxically, the defining features of Sulla’s new constitutional arrangement were buried by two of his foremost associates as they first trampled two critical Cornelian laws in order to seize a joint consulship and next passed legislation restoring the powers of the tribunes of theplebsand altering the balance of power in the court juries.

Crassus’ Command in the War against Spartacus (73–71 BCE): His Official Position, Forces and Political Spoils

Summary Late in 72 BCE, Spartacus’ stunning series of victories over the consuls L. Gellius Publicola and Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus and then the proconsul C. Cassius Longinus (cos. 73) triggered a dearth of candidates for the consular and praetorian elections for 71. This deadlock was broken only when M. Licinius Crassus announced that he would run for praetor, declaring he was prepared to accept the command against Spartacus. Immediately following his election, Crassus began preparing, probably receiving a grant of delegated praetorium imperium to bridge the interval between election and assumption of office. Having raised no less than six legions, personally advancing the funds required, he also took command of the two consular legions in the field. By means of this enormous army as well as his relentless efforts and strict discipline, he managed to put an end to this protracted and inglorious war in the span of six months. At some point in the summer or early autumn of 71, the equestrian proconsul Cn. Pompeius Magnus, back from Spain, decided he would settle for nothing less than another public triumph and the consulship itself. In order to secure these top prizes, he brazenly refused to disband his army, instead using it as leverage, just as he had already done in 81 and 77. Crassus, for his part, felt he could not fall behind, and entered into an unlikely if formidable alliance with his political rival. As both men ran on a strong popularis platform, the Senate now found itself between hammer and anvil. Consequently, the Conscript Fathers had little choice but to grant Pompeius as well as Crassus the required dispensations from the Cornelian Law. Although they subsequently honoured their popular commitments as consuls, that neither Pompeius nor Crassus chose to disband their armies until sometime late in their tenure suggests that their entente was anything but cordial. Interestingly, it was Crassus who defused this dangerous stalemate by making the decisive first move towards formal reconciliation, albeit in the face of massive public pressure. Paradoxically, the defining features of Sulla’s new constitutional arrangement were buried by two of his foremost associates as they first trampled two critical Cornelian laws in order to seize a joint consulship and next passed legislation restoring the powers of the tribunes of the plebs and altering the balance of power in the court juries.

The “Tigers” in Xi Jinping's Anti-corruption Campaign

After Xi's assumption of office, an unprecedented number of vice-ministerial-level-and-above incumbent officials have been investigated for corruption charges, including Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Su Rong and Xu Caihou, a retired vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. Many of these probed officials have worked in the security and legal system, the petroleum industry, the Ministry of Land and Resources or the Sichuan province where Zhou Yongkang once held key positions.

How Should We Think About the Election of 1800?

How Should Think About the Election of 1800? Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vols. 33-38. Edited by Barbara B. Oberg, James P. McClure, Elaine Weber Pascu, Martha J. King, Tom Downey, Amy Speckart, Linda Monacao, and John E. Little. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007-2011. Vol. 33/Cloth, 800 pp.; Vol. 34/Cloth, 816 pp.; Vol. 35/Cloth, 878 pp.; Vol. 36/Cloth, 824 pp.; Vol. 37/Cloth, 844 pp.; Vol. 38/Cloth, 826 pp.)On March 15, 1801, eleven days after delivering his inaugural address, President Jefferson received a letter from a group of Irish immigrants, The Aliens of Beaver County Pennsylvania. It contains choice language, yet of a sort cautions today's discerning reader about any tendency to take at face value the celebratory outpourings followed Jefferson's election and the triumph of the Democratic-Republican Party. Aliens exulted over Jefferson's victory, confident who cherished liberty shared their sincere joy and real pleasure. With his assumption of office, they trusted the odious Alien Act would be repealed. Irish-born deeply regretted their disenfranchisement, noting inslavers prevented us by their alien Bills from being instrumental to your advancement. Alien and Sedition Acts had sought to silence their voices, and any movement away from liberty was movement toward slavery. If the Federalists had acted to enslave, Jefferson would soon become the great emancipator. letter did not stop there. Aliens were amazed former Revolutionary republicans could conduct themselves as the Federalists had. Strange, they wrote, that the Boaster of liberty thus wishes to inslave others.Thomas Jefferson was a complex person, and of course two centuries' worth of historical process intrude between our reading of line and his. But did line give him at least a moment's pause? Not likely. can presume the Aliens were not seeking to provide a subtext. boasters and enslavers were Federalists, for they alone had passed laws viz, the Alien and Sedition Bills, Laws never sanctioned by the people at large. And though the despised laws were primarily aimed at people like themselves, all the union severely feels the weight of them. Of course, they acknowledged, Jefferson was the last person who had to be told about the terrible danger and harm. We almost deem it needless to insinuate to your Excellency, the Aliens assured the president, how slavery breaks the spirit of patriotism.The Aliens had sailed from their native lands and Braved the boisterous ocean. . . . sought an Assylum on these happy shores from tyranny and oppression. Their hopes could only be realized once they had been delivered from modem American Federal Despots. source of deliverance was obvious to them: We look to thee not only as a citizen of the Patriotic state of Virginia, but as a citizen of the World, whose philanthropic Bosom generously Glows with the ardent desire to promote the happiness of Men. How far did philanthropic impulse carry? writers of the letter hope[d] to see the fulfillment of our reasonable wishes in the enjoyment of freedom and abolition of slavery, the Recovery of patriotism, and liberty: the downfall of delusion, fanatickism, Ambition, and falsehood; engines too long, too powerfully, And too successfully employed, in the subjugation of Man. letter ended with ecstatic optimism could only have grown out of former desperation. Those who had sought to enslave were defeated, their purposes having proved abortive; Truth and reason now assume their Place. . . . Liberty and tme Republickanism universally triumphs. future the Aliens beheld was one when peace and liberty shall universally prevail from East to West, from Pole to Pole . . . and an end put to arbitrary despotism and slavery forever.1Jefferson answered this letter some weeks later, having returned to Monticello in the interim. …

The Use of the Holy Bible, the Holy Qu’Ran, Juju and Others for Oath of Office: To Fight Corruption in Nigeria

The rate and magnitude of corruption (official and non-official) in Nigeria now appear endemic. Many solutions have been proffered and put in place. None appear to have shown any sign of a remedy. Not minding that all the government officials entrusted with the common-weal of our people take oath of office, corruption is still a brooding omini presence in Nigeria.On one occasion, a Nigerian took an Oath before a Juju when Oba Market was burnt down. In his oath he denied the allegation that he burnt the market. There and then, he charged the person(s) that set fire or looted the market to show up and return their loots. The arsonists and looters brought their loots in broad day light because Juju (Iyalala) was involved.Based on the preceding paragraph, this article will expound the need and the reason why all public officials in Nigeria should swear all oaths ie the Bible, the Qu’ran, juju etc brought to them for oath before their assumption of office. No one should lead or be entrusted with the resources of our people without believing in all that the people believe in, because 'All anomalies are inadequate.' Jesus could never say 'fellow sinner' because He had no sin. Public officers should not use or manage the resources of the people they do not share the same faith with; they used their votes to win election because all believe in ONE GOD. Experience has shown that some politicians, whether Christians, Muslims or adherents of other religions go for and use charms before, during and after elections. So like General Hamurabi 'where there is no way, the people should create way'. Criticism may be either positive or negative; I accept both for writing this article. The essence of this work is therefore a timely refocus of public and scholarly attention on Oath of office and allegiance to curb the menace of corruption in Nigeria.

Transfer of Power to a New Administration in Ghana’s Democratic System: The Way Forward

This paper examines the transfer of power to a new administration in Ghana’s democratic system. Since independence in 1957, Ghana’s attempts at democracy failed due to successive coups d’etat. Ghana succeeded in changing government through the ballot box for the first in 2001 when the National Patriotic Party (NPP) emerged a winner in the 2000 general elections and took the political baton from the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The wheels of power turned when the NDC won the 2008 elections and took over the political baton from the NPP in January 2009, a sign of democratic consolidation. However, the experiences of the transitions for these two democratic successions smacked of military take over, leaving in their trails ‘acrimony, tension and ill-feeling’. Difficulties with transition and succession are creating instability and impeding the development of a fully functioning democracy in Ghana. Stronger legal foundations for more orderly transfer of power are being put in place, though these need to be supported by impartial police enforcement and right of judicial redress to ensure that these laws are respected and injustices are addressed. The polarisation and rancour of transition may also be eased by a briefer period between election and assumption of office. There may also be a case for moving away from the ‘winner takes all’ nature of the Ghanaian system by increasing the separation between executive and legislature and possibly introducing less polarised proportional representation. The underlying requirement is greater respect for political opponents and their rights within a safe and vibrant democratic system.

Russian culture and perestroika: An appraisal

Following Mikhail Gorbachev's assumption of office as leader of the former Soviet Union in 1984, the country witnessed unprecedented freedom of expression - the cultural side of glasnost. The effects of this were enormous changes, including in reading habits, in film and television viewing, show attendance, musical styles, the quickening of amateur culture and a decentralization of cultural life through the spread of electronic media.

New Zealand: The Privy Council is replaced with a domestic Supreme Court

The steps taken by the French President and by Italy to reconsider the criminal liability of state officials demonstrate that the status under criminal law of holders of the highest offices requires closer scrutiny and, possibly, new regulation. At a time when high state officials are punishable—for certain crimes, at least—under international law, their criminal liability should also be subject to regulation at the national level. A similar inference may be drawn from the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda and that of the International Criminal Court, each of which specifies the irrelevance of the official status of a defendant. The cases in Italy and France attest to a gap in national law concerning the prosecution of high officials for criminal offenses committed prior to their assumption of office, as well as offenses, unrelated to their official functions, that may be committed during their term of office. The principle that immunity is not synonymous with impunity must be given full legal effect. The procedural immunity that is dictated by the need for continuity of the state should be enacted only by constitutional amendment, in recognition of the fact that high officeholders are being accorded special treatment. In this way, the principle of equality, which demands that such privileges be kept to a minimum, will be advanced.