Volume 1, Issue 1, 2012

Administrative decentralization in post communist countries: The case of water management in Ukraine.  Irina Khmelko
 

Abstract

Ukraine, along with the majority of the other post-Soviet countries, has been facing severe problems concerning water supply and quality. Transition from an authoritarian to a democratic state brought with it the hope of building a new decentralized system of water resource management. The analysis demonstrates that the contradiction between political decentralization in terms of its stated objectives and the heavily centralized decision-making process in terms of policy implementation contributes to the slow progress in improving water quality. The use of enforcement and assistance tools can prove to be valuable for the development of a sustainable system. Full Article

The Daily Graphic coverage of presidential campaigns in Ghana, 1992-2004.
Peter N. Amponsah
 

Abstract

This article examines the coverage of general presidential campaigns by the Daily Graphic (a Ghanaian newspaper) concerning the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) from 1992-2004. Content analysis revealed that advocacy is the most common topic of the campaign coverage. Discussion of candidates’ policy positions receives more mention than discussion of their character. Positive statements (acclaims) are the most common function in the news stories, followed by negative comments (attacks), and then defenses. Candidates represent the most common sources for the statements in the articles, followed by reporters, supporters, and others. Implications of these results on Ghana as an emerging democratic country are discussed. Full Article

 

Strategic Defense Run Amuck: Contextualizing the Iraq War

Rolin G. Mainuddin
 

Abstract
This paper argues that drumbeat for the 2003 Iraq War took place within an environment of reenacting an agenda of defensive deterrence. An effective ballistic missile defense was needed to deal with the emerging twin threats of WMD proliferation from rogue states and terrorist networks. The doctrine of preemption and democratic peace became two sides of the war on terror coin. In categorizing terrorism as a war, the strategy of defensive deterrence was transformed into one of offense within defense. Within that context, a preemptive strike against the "axis of evil" became the next act in the drama. Full Article