The Role of Non-State Actors Essay Example for Free

The Role of Non-State Actors Essay 5.1 Introduction It is generally recognized that the process of building a capable state requires the participation of all the vital forces of a nation. A capable state is one that has all the attributes of a modern, strong, responsible and responsive state, a state capable of effectively discharging its duties of delivering security, peace, prosperity and other pubic goods to its people. Although the state has traditionally been considered as the focal point of this process, other sectors, including non-state ones, have an important role to play, and the importance of this role has grown significantly over the past couple of decades as the limitations of the post-colonial state in providing for the needs of its people have been made all too clear. 1 It is thus important to identify these other actors and recognise those areas wherein they can contribute, and have indeed contributed, to the process, as well as to appreciate better their nature, their mode of intervention, the constraints hampering their action as well as to explore ways in which their participation can be rendered more fruitful and less problematic. But before we delve into the subject of non-state actors and their role in the creation of the capable state in Africa, it would be useful to look into just what the capable state is and means, and what it has meant for the African continent since the advent of independence half a century ago. 5.2 Definitional Issues 5.2.1 Overview The capable state may be defined as one that effectively fulfils its obligations to its constituents by providing and safeguarding a range of goods, both tangible and intangible,2 that assure its people of a secure public space wherein they can live and love, produce and reproduce, and pursue the enjoyment of the fruits of their labour and love. Such a state will have attributes such as territorial integrity, public order and safety under the rule of law; ample political space for individual and group self-realisation; and socio-economic justice and equity that minimise conflict and foster intra-national peace and harmony. It is the absence of these attributes within states that creates what have come to be known as â€Å"failed†, â€Å"failing† or â€Å"dysfunctional† states, whose common denominator are varying degrees of precariousness. In these terms, the African state that came into being upon decolonisation had its work cut out. From centuries of successive forms of extreme exploitation, oppression and brutalisation, African nations found themselves confronted with the daunting task of, on the one hand, putting in place governance systems that would ensure the survival of the nation-state that was essentially an artificial creation of the colonial regime, cobbled up from a multitude of disparate and often mutually hostile ethnic entities and, on the other, assure a minimum of livelihood for the people by delivering education, health and other social services, securing good prices for agricultural produce, providing jobs through mining and Mabogunje, A.L. Institutional Radical isation, the state and the development process in Africa. Development Policy Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria, 2000. 2 Anyang’ Nyong’o, Governance, Poverty and Sustainable Development in Africa, in The Quest for Equity in Access to Health and Development, Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development in Kenya. Industrialisation, and generally taking care of the nation, including providing welfare for those who could not fend for themselves. Herculean as these tasks were the first crop of African leaders assumed them with gusto. In fact it was the leaders who enthusiastically promoted these expectations, either because they needed seductive promises to make their peoples rally to the anti-colonial banner, or because they genuinely believed that once the colonialists were out of the way all was possible. Mkandawire3 sheds a harsh light on this â€Å"central preoccupation† with â€Å"development†. â€Å"African leaders have always been aware of the need for some nationalist-cum-developmentalist ideology for both national building and development†¦ The quest for an ideology to guide the development process inspired African leaders to propound their own idiosyncratic and often incoherent ‘ideologies’ to ‘rally the masses’ for national unity and dev elopment. If such ideologies are still absent it is definitely not for lack of trying.† Thus, it was made possible for people to expect that the state would do everything for them, in this way fostering the concept of l’Etatprovidence, the provider State. Some African states did indeed attempt, with varying degrees of success, to deliver on some of their promises, but it did not take long for most of these attempts to prove Sisyphean, rolled back by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the following: a) Poor governance and managerial practices; b) Over-centralisation of power in the hands of a small group, or of one individual; c) Emergence of authoritarian/dictatorial/military regimes; d) Failure/reluctance to devolve power and responsibilities to local authorities; e) State corruption; f) Ethnic bias, nepotism, exclusion of whole sections of populations; g) Deterioration of terms trade on the world market; h) Unsustainable levels of state intervention in delivering social services; i) A crippling dependency syndrome on the part of populations hea vily reliant on government handouts, and on the part of governments dangerously dependent on donor handouts.4 By the end of the 1980s, it had become clear that the various development strategies different African countries had followed had not led to the desired outcomes. Despite the earlier promise of the 1960s, and the modest but positive growth figures of the 1970s, the 1980s came to be known as the ‘lost decade’, a grim epitaph epitomizing the shattered dreams of a whole continent, a reality from which African countries, having lost their initial elegance, have not fully emerged to this day. The World Bank blamed this inability to deliver development on â€Å"a strategy (that) was misconceived† in the sense that in their hurry to modernize, African governments were wont to copy rather than adapt Western development models, with the result that they found themselves with â€Å"poorly designed public investment in industry; too little attention to peasant agriculture; too much intervention in areas where the state lacked managerial, technical and entrepreneurial skills; and too little efforts to foster grassroots development.† This top down approach, according to the World Bank, â€Å"demotivated ordinary people, whose en ergies needed to be mobilized in the development effort.† It has been rather a case of ‘double jeopardy’ in the sense that the State that promised to deliver economic development – the ‘developmental State’ – also took away political and individual rights, constricting the political space in which citizens could enjoy full political participation, the argument being that incessant political bickering and rivalry would sap the developmental potential and undermine the nation building project. In the end, the African State, caught up in its ‘developmentalist’ quest, delivered neither economic development nor democratic governance6. The State became more ‘commandist,’ more intolerant of contrary ideas from its citizens, less reluctant to devolve power to local entities, more given to the use of force as a solution to political issues, and gradually descended into the mire of autocratic rule, the more egregious of which were military dictatorships and/or, later, rule by warlords and their militias. Faced with this stark reality, it became imperative to rethink governance with a view to finding alternative ways of confronting the development challenges of our peoples. At this same time, towards the end of Africa’s ‘lost decade’, momentous events were taking place in the world that were destined to usher in a major paradigmatic shift in world political relations. The end of the ‘Cold War’ was unfolding even as efforts were being made to see African countries ‘democratise’ and the discourse of that process threw to the fore a hitherto little heeded breed of protagonists, variously known as civil society, NGOs or non state actors. In Eastern Europe, some of these organisations played a central role in bringing about the fall of the Communist regimes, such as was evidenced, especially, by the Polish experience with the workers, union-based Solidarnos, as well as other civil society movements in Romania, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslov akia and the Soviet Union itself. Although there is little evidence to suggest that these movements sustained their role in the new, post-Communist governance systems –except that a trade union leader took over the State in Poland, and a poet in the Czech Republic – their importance had been recognized and stood ready to be deployed elsewhere. Africa, just like Eastern Europe, was emerging from a long period of negative development, and, as such, it was thought, what had worked in the former Communist regimes might work in African countries. As we shall see later, this would have a bearing on the way many of these non state actors, whether packaged as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) or simply Non State Actors (NSAs), would be viewed in many African countries, which would also, to a large extent, inform their effectiveness on the ground.

McDonaldization Essay -- essays research papers

George Ritzer describes McDonaldization as â€Å"the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world†. McDonaldization is the idea that our society is becoming more efficient and more fast paced. Rational systems can be defined as â€Å"unreasonable, dehumanizing systems that deny the humanity, the human reason, of the people who work within them or are served by them†.1 Today there are many types of businesses that are increasingly adapting the same values and principles of the fast-food industry to their needs. Rational systems are dehumanizing our society and seem to be even more irrational than convenient. â€Å"Almost every aspect of today’s society has been affected by McDonaldization including the restaurant business, education, work, healthcare, travel, leisure, dieting, politics and the family†. McDonaldization is turning our society into one which is built upon convenience and gaining the most for our money in the fastest way possible. The significant success of McDonalds, and of McDonaldization as a whole, is due to four basic elements- efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control.(Ritzer, p.12) The first dimension of McDonaldization is efficiency. Efficiency means choosing the optimum means to a given end. Efficiency does have its advantages for both consumers, who get what they want quickly and with little effort, and for workers, who can perform their tasks...

Herrick’s Restaurant

Herrick’s Restaurant is a new restaurant company in its formative stages and is being organized in order to take advantage for the lack of significant number of product lines that present restaurants in the United States do not have at present days.Furthermore, with the opportunity to offer cheaper, variety of high quality food services to its target customers, Herrick’s Restaurant plans to dominate the restaurant industry in the United States. With the present unstable condition of the U.S. economy many consumers become price conscious and started searching for cheaper but high quality goods and services in the market.With this present market trend and behavior of American consumers, Herrick’s Restaurant expects to become more profitable relative to the present restaurants in the market through its cheap and vast variety of great tasting quality foods. Furthermore, in order to secure the success of Herrick’s Restaurant in the market, it plans to launch fi ve store branches every year so as to increase its market share faster.With Herrick’s Restaurant skilled chefs and crew as well as staffs, it plans to provide extra ordinary experience to its customers by giving them the combination of highest quality of food and services. Herrick’s Restaurant management’s value on the satisfaction of their customers would serves as the pillar of their success.The classy interior design of Herrick’s Restaurant would give relaxing experience to its customers and perfect for family gathering, business meetings, or even a place where peers could meet and make bond with one another.These unique qualities of Herrick Restaurant would give it enough room to easily out-perform its competitors in the market and at the same time make large amount of profit despite of the present unstable condition of the U.S. economy. It is being expected that after the next five years, Herrick Restaurant would start entering the international mark et and operate on many countries to further expand its horizon in the restaurant industry.Herrick Restaurant’s ObjectiveHire high skilled staff and the best Chefs in the culinary world through high salary payments and more employee benefits relative to other restaurants in the market To have 40 percent market share in the next 5 years operation of the restaurant. Double its revenue by the end of 2009.To out-perform its competitors in the market in terms of sales volume and profits annually. Become the top restaurant in the U.S. market in 2016. Operate internationally by 2013 to further expand the market and market share of the company. To add 5 or more restaurants in the U.S. market every year to support high growth for the company. Mission of Herrick’s RestaurantHerrick’s Restaurant has a mission of providing cheaper, vast variety of great-tasting-high-quality dishes plus superb services from its staffs to provide extra ordinary experiences to its target custom ers. All of our efforts and strategies will point towards attaining higher customer satisfaction and improving the skills of our Chefs, crew, and staffs.This premium that our management is giving to our target customers would serve as its main avenue towards being the top restaurant in the U.S. restaurant industry and have impressive growth in terms of profit and/or sales volume.Furthermore, it is not only great service and food quality that we offer to our target customers but also providing relaxing environment and atmosphere that will suit people from different walks of life while inside our store. In the end, this mission of ours will guide us in future decision making processes and would serve as the pillar of many strategies of the company towards the attainment of market success and dominance.Restaurant Industry OverviewRestaurant industry has been one of the most profitable and stable industries in the American market for the past years. This is the main reason why the owner s of Herrick’s Restaurants decided to establish a restaurant business than any other possible business venture in the market.The restaurant industry in the United States is being expected to have a sales equivalent to 558 billion USD this year and has been behaving positively since 1970’s and to have a sales growth equal to 4.4 percent in 2008 (Restaurant.org, 2007).Eating establishment is one of the types of restaurants that provide the highest sales projections for 2008 where Herrick’s Restaurant is classified. This only means that this year is a â€Å"good year† for the officials of Herrick’s Restaurant to become aggressive on its expansion programs in the market.

Themes and Issues in American History †1919-1945 - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1297 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/09/15 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? Themes and Issues in American History/4 October 13, 2006 1919-1945 President Wilson’s friend, George L. Record wrote him in early 1919 â€Å"that something would have to be done about economic democracy to meet this menace of Socialism. † This era became one of increasing paranoia about the effects of Socialism on society. Even as the Courts and Congress enforced suppression of certain ideas and acts, the class war in a supposedly class-less society was beginning to take shape. Strikes continued to plague the country and even with the jailing and suppression of union leadership, the Socialist support of the unions continued to attract more members and sympathy. The Seattle Strike of 1919 was seen as an attempt at revolution. It was defeated after five days by Federal troops who proceeded to trample on constitutional rights, by arresting and persecuting the Socialist and union leadership. In addition, printing plants were shut down and anti government propaganda destroyed. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Themes and Issues in American History – 1919-1945" essay for you Create order As revolutionary forces and sentiments gathered overseas, there was more and more pressure on the government to control the people or as James Madison stated in Federalist #10, the â€Å"violence of faction†. The government used various means of subversion in their attempts to break the morale and purpose of the strikers and Socialist. Conditions were put in place that resulted in many of the workers, and members of the party, to be deported back to their home countries as illegal or undesirable aliens. This petrified and demoralized many of the workers and membership, as the majority of the members were first generation immigrants. Racial hatreds were encouraged by promising jobs and positions to other non-union and politically unaffiliated newly arrived immigrants. Blacks were used as strikebreakers as they were denied union memberships and thus had no loyalties. By the mid-twenties, The IWW was destroyed and the Socialist party falling apart. The economy was doing better and more people were able to benefit. The Congress passed immigration quotas in an effort to control the influx of Marxist and the revolutionary passions that were sweeping the world. Quotas were based on color, creed, and politics. Countries that were predominantly Socialist had their quotas decreased. The â€Å"Roaring Twenties† promised prosperity and fun. Unemployment was down and wages were up. Forty percent of the people were consumed with consumerism and the stock market. They turned a blind selfish eye to the plight of the tenant farmer and immigrant families trapped in the tenements of the big cities. Prosperity was concentrated at the top of the economic scale with 42 % of the people making less than $1,000. 0 per year. Every year in the twenties, 25,000 workers were killed and 100,000 permanently disabled. There were a few triumphs of the 1920’s, such as the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment affirming the rights of the long suffering women to vote, but few politicians spoke out for the poor. In 1923, the â€Å"Mellon Plan† was passed that further eroded the people’s faith in unbiased government, by reducing the rates of tax ation for the rich. Communist Party members were continuing to stir up labor unrest whenever and wherever possible. The stock market crash of 1929 was attributed to unhealthy banking and corporate structures, unsound foreign trade, economic speculation and misinformation, and bad distribution of income. This plunged the country into the Great Depression and a period of unpredictability and instability. Thousands of banks and businesses closed as millions of people were unemployed, homeless, and helpless. These people were becoming dangerous as they became more desperate, and the spirit of rebellion was growing. Thousands of the unemployed and disillusioned WWI veterans converged on Washington in protest. They were crushed by Federal troops led by Patton, MacArthur, and Eisenhower. The government’s inaction in the economy, and the swift and brutal repression of the protesters, helped lead to the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. His support and the passage of much needed reform legislation became known as the New Deal. It promised stability of markets, relief, and the creation of jobs. Its main goal was to give enough hope to the lower classes to curb their tendency to revolution and the taking of property for survival. Legislative action was also necessary to control the strikes that were crippling the economies ability to repair it self. The passage of the Wagner Act of 1935 was enacted to try and stabilize labor unrest. Congress responded to strikes and organization of unions by enacting more legislation aimed at control. One of the forgotten aspects of the New Deal is that for most blacks and poor tenant farmers the system remained unchanged, as they did not qualify for many of the benefits created for them. Discrimination and repression still flourished in the South. The armed forces were segregated and the Federal government did little to change the status quo. The Communist Party radicals attempted to organize the workers to break the racial barriers. The fear of the Communist threat would soon be replaced by the march of Fascism to the east, and Japanese Imperialism and attacks to the west. The â€Å"peoples war† had begun and with it the organization of all people, races and political parties against the evil and totalitarian aggression of the Axis Party. However, as the Allied governments espoused patriotism and purpose, the world’s western powers were preparing to redistribute global wealth and fashion public opinion on politics (the Atlantic Charter) based on fear and uncertainty. The League of Nations or the United Nations was created during the war to act as an international buffer to the conflicts of the future. It was however, directed and controlled by the Western Governments through the Security Council memberships and simple majority of vote. This assured that the western democracies maintained the â€Å"bully pulpit† for the world. American business flourished during the war and profits hit record numbers as programs such as â€Å"lend-lease†, and foreign aid added to the coffers of capitalism. The loss of liberty was most pronounced during this time as immigrants were rounded up and detained based on race (Executive order 9066), subversive political elements held in check by legislation (1940 Smith Act and 1917 Espionage Act), and wartime freedom of the press controlled by the government through censorship. American workers were further put down by the no strike pledges of the AFL-CIO, and the Negros discrimination in the armed forces put into perspective by such practices as blood segregation and other acts of racism. The American worker continued to strike without the union’s approval, and more strikes were organized during the war than at any other time in American history. It became necessary in order to prove to the world and the seducing call of the new imperial power to the east, that America was strong in both military power and influence. On August 6, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was used in war. As true history shows, it was not necessary to drop the bomb in order to defeat Japan, but it was necessary to show to the world that the United States had post war prominence. It was the first major operation against Russia, in what would become known as the â€Å"Cold War†. It would show to the world the power of democracy and split the world politically between the Imperialist Democracies of the west and the Communist Totalitarian rule of the east. The Truman Doctrine would help formulate the political post war strategy of the United States. By warning of the dangers of Communism in the post war atomic world, the United States would embark on a mission of providing economic and military assistance abroad, and create thousands of postwar jobs in the defense industries at home. The â€Å"Iron Curtain† had fallen on the world. The war had rejuvenated American capitalism and stifled rebellion at home. The old lesson, of war solving problems of control, had been taught once again.