Divided Country Research Articles

Cross-country distribution dynamics of carbon emissions and intensity: Before and after the global financial crisis

Our study employs the distribution dynamics approach to uncover transition probabilities and the long-term evolution of relative per capita carbon emissions (REPC) and relative carbon intensity (REPGDP) across 204 countries. We split the period of analysis into pre-crisis (2000-2007), and post-crisis (2007-2016) and divided countries into four income groups. The results indicate the emergence of new convergence clubs post-crisis in both REPC and REPGDP. On the one hand, the majority (many) of the low- (high) income countries congregate to extremely low (above the global average) REPC levels in the long run. On the other hand, most of the upper-medium- (high) income economies cluster around REPGDP levels far above (below) the global average. Finally, using mobility probability plots, we identify above-average carbon emitters with the highest probabilities of diverging further above the global average in the coming years. The study delivers nascent evidence supporting the usefulness of the MPP display tool in clarifying the positions and responsibilities of specific countries in future agreements on climate change. The results support the argument for using both measures of carbon emissions as a suite of future multilateral climate negotiations and policies.

An Analysis of South Africa's Constitutional and UNCRC-imposed Obligations to Achieve Children's Socio-economic Rights: A Critique

Children require specific protection due to their heightened vulnerability to human rights violations, which can be attributed to several factors such as economic adversity, racial tensions, and armed conflicts. The current situation in South Africa is characterised by a pressing and significant prevalence of severe poverty. The enduring effects of apartheid have contributed to a broad range of socioeconomic challenges inside our deeply divided country. Children are particularly impacted by these issues and experience immediate suffering as a result. In the Republic of South Africa, a significant proportion of the youth population experiences the distressing circumstance of living in poverty. It has been reported that a significant proportion, ranging from 60 to 75 percent, of the youth population in South Africa is experiencing impoverished living conditions. The prevalence of HIV infection and the consequential mortality rates due to AIDS among caretakers have a detrimental effect on the well-being of children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) encompasses social, economic, and cultural rights under its provisions. Following the ratification of the UNCRC in June 1995, South Africa is legally obligated to implement the articles pertaining to the rights of children. The formulation and structuring of socio-economic rights and corresponding duties towards children under the South African Constitution were significantly influenced by the UNCRC. The interests of children in South Africa are effectively safeguarded through the provisions enshrined in the Constitution and the duties outlined in the UNCRC. This study assesses the extent to which South Africa has adhered to its constitutional and UNCRC-mandated responsibilities and commitments in order to achieve the socioeconomic rights of children.

Trusting others in a divided country: The determinants of social trust in South Africa

AbstractThis study investigates three key determinants of social trust to explain South Africa's social trust deficit: income inequality, confidence in institutions, and racial diversity. Despite the country's racially heterogenous society and segregated history, racial diversity arguments overlook alternative theories on the determinants of low social trust. We instead argue that the decline in social trust in South Africa can be explained by worsening levels of income inequality and declines in institutional trust in recent decades. Using the 2019 South African Reconciliation Barometer citizen survey data, the empirical analysis confirms that South Africans' confidence in institutions and their subjective perceptions of income distribution (or income inequality) have the strongest influence on social trust levels while racial diversity has a negligible effect. This is encouraging for a country with South Africa's racial diversity and troubled history. Instead, efforts to address South Africa's social trust deficit should focus on increasing citizens' confidence in institutions and addressing the high levels of income inequality. However, given the dire state of institutional confidence and income inequality in the country, it remains unlikely that these conditions will improve in the short term.

Nationalism and Economic Development in Lebanon: Challenges and Opportunities for Unity and Integration

Lebanon is a small country on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, known as a country with a strategic position geographically and politically. It was a divided country full of endless conflicts. This paper analyses the obstacles and opportunities to build Lebanese nationalism to realize the nation's integrity. Lebanon's main obstacles are the heterogeneity of society, foreign interference, and intergroup affiliations with other countries. At the same time, the foremost opportunity to build Lebanese nationalism is that they have the same language and culture, namely Arabic. Strong nationalism is the capital to build lasting political stability. This research is qualitative research that will collect specific qualitative data to create generalizations. Arabic as a language, identity, and culture is the most vital cohesive factor that unites the country and originates Lebanese nationalism. The problem of building Lebanese nationalism is mainly dependent on a strong government that can control the people. The challenge is that the ruling government comes from a minority religion, namely Maronite Christians dealing with Sunni and Shia Muslims and other Christian groups. Hence, a strategy is needed to create common interests that can be accepted by all groups, namely economic development amid the current Lebanese financial crisis. Received: 20 March 2024 / Accepted: 30 June 2024 / Published: 02 July 2024

An Analysis of South Africa's Constitutional and UNCRC-imposed Obligations to achieve Children's Socio-economic Rights: A Critique

Children require specific protection due to their heightened vulnerability to human rights violations, which can be attributed to several factors such as economic adversity, racial tensions, and armed conflicts. The current situation in South Africa is characterised by a pressing and significant prevalence of severe poverty. The enduring effects of apartheid have contributed to a broad range of socioeconomic challenges inside our deeply divided country. Children are particularly impacted by these issues and experience immediate suffering as a result. In the Republic of South Africa, a significant proportion of the youth population experiences the distressing circumstance of living in poverty. It has been reported that a significant proportion, ranging from 60 to 75 percent, of the youth population in South Africa is experiencing impoverished living conditions. The prevalence of HIV infection and the consequential mortality rates due to AIDS among caretakers have a detrimental effect on the well-being of children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) encompasses social, economic, and cultural rights under its provisions. Following the ratification of the UNCRC in June 1995, South Africa is legally obligated to implement the articles pertaining to the rights of children. The formulation and structuring of socio-economic rights and corresponding duties towards children under the South African Constitution were significantly influenced by the UNCRC. The interests of children in South Africa are effectively safeguarded through the provisions enshrined in the Constitution and the duties outlined in the UNCRC. This study assesses the extent to which South Africa has adhered to its constitutional and UNCRC-mandated responsibilities and commitments in order to achieve the socioeconomic rights of children Keywords: UNCRC, socio-economic rights, children, obligations, Constitution

Developing good person and citizen through civic and ethical education in Ethiopia: A content analysis of secondary school textbooks

There is broad consensus that citizenship or civic education plays an important role in preparing democratic, tolerant and socially active citizens, although the role of civic education in achieving this goal in divided societies is far from straightforward. There is also the interdependent goal of developing a good person and a good citizen. In order for this to be successful, the content and pedagogy integrated into the formal curriculum (core curriculum framework and textbooks) play an indispensable role. This article examines how the characteristics of a good person and a good citizen are presented as learners' distinctive personal development in the Ethiopian civics textbooks (grades 9 to 12) and to what extent the learning activities in textbooks enable learners to explore alternative qualities of a good person and good citizens. The study mainly used quantitative content analysis method. All pages of the textbooks were used as units of analysis. The results show that the textbooks presented the characteristics of a good person and a good citizen as distinct dimensions of students' personal development. However, almost two third of the contents emphasize social self-identity (good citizens), while a fifth of the contents deal with autonomous self-identity (good person). The results also reveal that there are open-ended and future-oriented learning activities that can help students discover alternative characteristics of a good person and a good citizen. Most studies on Ethiopian secondary school and university students question the extent to which students develop and demonstrate desired goals of civic and ethnical education. The effectiveness of civic and ethical education in divided countries where the goals of the formal curriculum are not reinforced by macro-social political conditions and other factors of socialization are discussed.

Challenges to Hegemonic Constructions of Militarized Masculinities in the Neoliberal Era: The Case of South Korea

In South Korea, military conscription lies at the core of the construction of notions of manhood and gender order as a whole. In a divided country, the hegemonic meaning of military service as a crucial marker of adult manhood remained unquestioned. However, since the implementation of full-blown neoliberalism, there has been a shift in societal gender norms and this in turn has changed the way in which militarized masculinities are constructed and enacted at the individual level. Drawn from qualitative interviews with South Korean former conscripts, this article examines the tension between militarized and neoliberal masculine ideals and how hegemonic constructions of militarized masculinities are challenged in it.

The role of direct contact in forming peace-oriented international relations of a divided country: Focusing on the division of the Korean Peninsula.

The division of the Korean peninsula involved many neighbouring countries in the Korean War. The relations with those countries have since been reorganised due to active exchange. This study examined how the quantity and quality of contact with traditional alliance (US and Japan) and strategic partner (China and Russia) countries affected their national images. To this end, this study analyzed the relation with the national image by measuring the quantity and quality of contact of an individual with each country. The quantity of contact included an evaluation of the individual's subjective amount of contact, contact path, and contact status, and the quality of contact was measured as an evaluation for the pleasure, competitiveness, intimacy, spontaneity, and necessity when contacting each country's culture. A total of 387 participants were divided into two groups based on the presence of direct contact and the quantity and quality of their contact and national images were examined. The participants were followed by a completion of the self-questionnaires including the Culture Experience Questionnaire, National Image Questionnaire, and demographic information questionnaire. The results of this study are as follow: first, regardless of the type of country, the national image was highly correlated with the degree of subjective contact evaluated by individuals, but there was a weak tendency with contact quality. Second, there was no significant interaction between the country type and contact status for national image, however, different national images for each country were detected. In other word, for contact quantity, contact groups showed more positive national images compared to non-contact groups in Russia, but not Japan, China, and the US. For contact quality, the positive contact experience group showed more positive national images compared to the negative contact experience group, but only in traditional alliance countries. This study highlights the importance of implementing different strategies for countries to maintain peaceful international relations.

Unraveling population trends in Italy (1921–2021) with spatial econometrics

Testing density-dependence and path-dependence in long-term population dynamics under differentiated local contexts contributes to delineate the changing role of socioeconomic forces at the base of regional disparities. Despite a millenary settlement history, such issue has been rarely investigated in Europe, and especially in highly divided countries such as those in the Mediterranean region. Using econometric modeling to manage spatial heterogeneity, our study verifies the role of selected drivers of population growth at ten times between 1921 and 2021 in more than 8000 Italian municipalities verifying density-dependent and path-dependent dynamics. Results of global and quantile (spatial) regressions highlight a differential impact of density and (lagged) population growth on demographic dynamics along the urban cycle in Italy. Being weakly significant in the inter-war period (1921–1951), econometric models totalized a high goodness-of-fit in correspondence with compact urbanization (1951–1981). Model’s fit declined in the following decades (1981–2021) reflecting suburbanization and counter-urbanization. Density-dependence and path-dependence were found significant and, respectively, positive or negative, with compact urbanization, and much less intense with suburbanization and counter-urbanization. A spatial econometric investigation of density-dependent and path-dependent mechanisms of population dynamics provided an original explanation of metropolitan cycles, delineating the evolution of socioeconomic (local) systems along the urban-rural gradient.

Sustainable Exchange and Cooperation Process in Exhibition and Convention: Applications for the Korean Peninsula From the Leipzig Trade Fair in Germany

This study aims to examine the exchange and cooperation process by applying the role and possibility of exhibitions and conventions to the Korean Peninsula as a means of fostering exchange and cooperation in divided countries. To this end, we examine the case of the Leipzig Trade Fair in Germany, an advanced country in the exhibition and convention industry that has successfully navigated its own division. The study reveals that in the case of East-West Germany, the trade fair continued to be held for different purposes. However, in the end, it served as a space where political and economic contacts took place, functioning as an essential conduit for human and material traffic and communication. Additionally, it played an important role in adjusting and alleviating existing conflict structures. The hosting of exhibitions and conventions, which facilitates interactions among people, becomes a critical starting point for inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, serving the purpose of creating economic benefits by promoting trade and transaction. These economic benefits lay the foundation for mutual trust and growth, mitigating conflicts and fostering a process of exchange and cooperation in exhibitions and conventions that ultimately leads to peaceful inter-Korean relations.

A Theological Critique of the National Security Act from the Perspective of Universal Human Rights

Freedom of thought and conscience are fundamental human rights and are guaranteed in a democratic society. The Constitution of the Republic of Korea states that “the state has the duty to affirm and guarantee the inviolable and fundamental human rights of individuals”(Article 10). However, in South Korean society, this common sense goes out the window the moment someone is labeled a “bbalgaengyi” (reds) or a “jongbukjueuija” (followers of North Korea). This is because the National Security Act legally supports a divided country with anti-communism at the forefront. When it was first enacted in 1948, it was seen as a temporary device to maintain authoritarianism under the divided system, but the reality was different. Even as political democratization has progressed and inter-Korean relations have improved, it has remained powerful as a device for restricting popular movements and unification movements and controlling ideas. It has not only restricted social movements but also controlled academic and artistic activities and regulated people’s inner worlds. The National Security Act has been controversial since the 1987 democratization, but it is still alive and well in 2023. For a long time, research on the National Security Act was a taboo subject that was not easily accessible because it could be considered a violation of the law. Adding to the difficulty of research was the lack of access to documentation of cases where the law was applied. With the democratization of 1987 and the development of the Northern Policy and inter-Korean relations in the early 1990s, the environment was ripe for rethinking the meaning of the National Security Act. Pioneering studies before and after 1990 and the Constitutional Court’s unconstitutionality review process, which began in 1990, led to a serious examination of its legal issues. Theological commentary on the National Security Act is scarce. Not only from the point of view of the church, which was responsible for integrating the public into the anti-communist ideology during the formation and development of the pro- American anti-communist state, but also from the point of view of Minjung theology. For theologians, too, it was not a simple matter to overcome the taboo of anti-communism. They were always conscious of the limits of that taboo, and when they crossed them, they were bound to face the swift blade of state power. In the absence of a theological response to the National Security Act, this article begins that discussion. Approaching it from a theological position is based on an awareness of universal human rights that can no longer be avoided as a theological task today. After articulating that position, this article briefly reaffirms the problems with the National Security Act and addresses the issues of the rule of law and human dignity.

Who’s left out when conferences are held in a divided country?

Who’s left out when conferences are held in a divided country?

The Last Emperor of Mexico: The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World

The Last Emperor of Mexico: The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World

‘All My Life is Built on Memories’: Trauma, Diasporic Mourning and Maternal Loss in Roma Tearne’s Brixton Beach

This article examines the representation of women’s experience of migration in the era of transnational crisis in Roma Tearne’s Brixton Beach (2010) in terms of maternal loss, silenced voices and ungrievable lives (Butler 2016. Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? London, New York: Verso). Beginning and ending dramatically with the 7/7 terrorist bombings in London, the novel depicts the life of Alice Fonseka whose apparently idyllic childhood in Sri Lanka comes to an abrupt end in the horrific civil war whereupon she, her Sinhalese mother and Tamil father are forced to flee to England. Tearne depicts the traumatic cleavage this represents, figured in the novel as move from ‘paradise’ to ‘hell’, and Alice’s painful and isolated adolescence in 1970s and 1980s London. Amidst family breakdown, and her mother’s endless grieving for a stillborn baby, Alice’s only outlet is found in art classes at school where she finally learns to express herself. As an adult, Alice becomes an artist whose work memorializes her family trauma and, in the process, enables her to reconstruct the silenced and fragmented cultural memories of her divided country. By making this process central to her novel, Tearne foregrounds the restitutive possibilities of narrative: despite tragic losses, the novel ultimately affirms the power of art to represent and mitigate human suffering in times of war. Drawing on the insights of a range of contemporary theorists working in the fields of diaspora theory, vulnerability studies, postcolonialism and/or trauma studies, including Vijay Mishra, Yasmin Hussain, Irene Visser, Sandra Bloom and Judith Butler, the article argues that the novel gives voice to women as minoritized and marginalized subjects, and thus provides a valuable gendered perspective on issues of collective and individual trauma, memory and identity within a transnational frame.

Romanticising the Nation: Allegory, Ambiguity and Unity in José Mármol’s Amalia

The Argentine journalist and writer José Mármol (1817–71), famously known as “el verdugo poético de Rosas”, offers one of the most effective literary exposures of the Rosas regime in his novel Amalia (1851). Written during Mármol’s exile in Montevideo (1846–52), it is set in 1840 during the French blockade and covers the months leading up to Lavalle’s anticipated but failed invasion and subsequent withdrawal in September of that year. Amalia is considered one of the most prominent anti-Rosas texts as it depicts the dictator as a force of evil and emphasises the plight of the people living under his rule: “with Amalia, Mármol consciously attempts to initiate a canon of representation of the Rosas era as ‘la tiranía’ as he directs his novels at a future public” (Rea 29). Amalia was considered “the novel of triumphant liberalism” (Sommer 111) and is celebrated to such an extent that it is considered to be the first Argentine novel to seek to unite a divided country. This article offers an original analysis of how Amalia is considered a more progressive novel in comparison with other works such as Esteban Echeverría’s divisive El matadero (1871), in that it seeks to encourage national reconciliation between the Unitarians and Federalists and end a tumultuous political conflict, which Mármol argues was exacerbated by Rosas. I explore the way in which Amalia aims to promote political unity, addressing Mármol’s positive and compassionate, but likely inaccurate representation of Manuela Rosas, while shedding light on his – and other Unitarians’ – problematic depictions of race and gender, which disempower and dehumanise Federalist women, thus proving detrimental to the pursuit of national harmony.

Islamist Civilizationism in Malaysia

Malaysia is known to have a diverse population across the racial and religious spectrums. However, a majority of the population identifies as Malays, and, thus, legally, as Muslims too. Although the development of the Malay identity had begun immediately after World War II, the stark division between Muslims and non-Muslims came out of the 1971 New Economic Policy that prioritized the Malay population in the name of reducing poverty and stabilizing the country. With the Malay-nationalist party United Malay National Organization (UMNO) being in power for six decades, the position of the Malays became undisputed. At the same time, international and domestic development such as the Islamic revival of the 1970s, the Global War on Terror and the splitting of Malay votes in the 2000s further pushed UMNO and, later, the Islamist PAS to redefine Malay identity as part of the larger Muslim ummah under the framework of ‘civilizational populism’. By conflating ethnicity and religion, Islamist and Malay nationalist parties together with their leaders used populist discourses to ensure the people’s continued support, even at the expense of non-Muslim Malaysian citizens. Using process tracing, this article shows that civilizationism is effective to unite the majority Muslim population in a divided country such as Malaysia when policies in place failed to engender unity. As a result, Malay-Muslims sought a community beyond its borders, and with the rise of Islamist politics around the world, it has become much easier for the Malay-Muslims to highlight the plight of Muslims over that of their own co-nationalists for the benefit of domestic politics.

Picturing Political Power: Eighteenth-Century Korean Portraits in San Francisco's Asian Art Museum

Picturing Political Power: Eighteenth-Century Korean Portraits in San Francisco's Asian Art Museum

Why the Far-Right Will Continue to Radicalise in Brazil

“Brazil is back on the world stage” – this was the main message Lula delivered as honorary guest at the UN Climate Summit in Egypt, less than a month after beating Bolsonaro in the runoff of Brazil’s presidential elections with a narrow margin of 50.9% against 49.1%. Lula’s high-strung victory in a divided country has attracted global media and political attention, reflecting not only concerns about the fate of Brazilian democracy after a long cycle of authoritarianism (2016-2022), but of how the election could point to a change in the correlation of forces in a number of consequential themes that resonate on the international agenda: the urgency of environmental protection and regulation, the resumption of the South American integration process, the possibility of a more assertive BRICS coalition pushing for a transition in economic development policies, the attention to social inclusion, the need to reverse neoliberal reforms related to labour market and public spending mechanisms, the hopes of re-organising international left-wing solidarity, among others.

Conflict and the changing geography of state capacity: Ukraine since 2013

ABSTRACT Considerable attention has focused on Ukraine as a divided country along ethno-cultural lines. But regional economic differences and trends over time are the primary drivers that influence citizens’ wellbeing and likewise contribute to a sense of place. This article focuses on how Ukraine’s economic development has unfolded across the country during a time of conflict and how these changes can be understood. Using the framework of state capacity, aggregate data reflective of human security are adduced to illustrate and suggest reasons for these shifting patterns and the implications thereof for a postwar Ukraine. Findings suggest that the spatial realignment of Ukraine’s economy has been and will continue to be a function of location, markets, and human capital.

The tattered state: Falling through the social safety net

The past decade of austerity in the UK has accelerated changes in the relationship between citizens and the state. Cuts to welfare spending have resulted in uneven geographical impacts, further distorting the UK society and economy. Analysing specific policies within the new patterns of welfare spending, we argue that austerity policies have compromised the UK state’s promotion of an ethics of care. We distinguish between welfare changes which intensify long standing policy trends, and others, such as automation and digitalisation of the welfare system, which are qualitatively different to previous reforms. To offer an example of how this is playing out in place, we explore a detailed case study of the English coastal town of Great Yarmouth, which was an early pilot town for contemporary welfare reform in the UK. The case study situates welfare changes within the widespread and uneven austerity measures of the past decade, showing how public services of the local state are weakened despite increased need. We find that many non-profit organisations try to fill some of the gaps in the tattered social safety net. However, they too are dependent on state funding, and so austerity also depletes their capacity to care. In this sense, care is interdependent, multi-sited, and interlocking. Through this case study of a town with high claimant counts, we show how these changes in the redistributive state precipitated a crisis in care, and exacerbated poverty and territorial injustice in an already highly divided country. UK austerity has drastically altered the role of the state, leaving many people more susceptible to other crises.