Non-state Political Theoretical Paradigm of African Union Citizenship

The charter that created the African Union came into effect in 2002. It is now 12 years in place but most Africans would not be sure whether they know the rationale and ultimate role of the AU in promoting good governance, peace, security and progress on the continent. Annual summits take place in Addis Ababa, and several resolutions are taken, but it is though the respective heads of states just return to their colonially engineered states to resume business as usual. As a result, poverty, conflicts （both internal and regional）, bad governance continue to plague the majority of the African countries with a few exceptions. Of late emerging economies such as China and India deal with Africa as if it were a one country--this could be the time for Africans to begin envisioning a new continental political architecture, with an African citizenship. The provisions of the African Union Charter are enshrined in the Constitutive Act, are summaries in Articles 3 and 4, that deal with objectives and principles. The objectives are （Desta, 2013, pp. 160-161）： （1） Achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and peoples of Africa; （2） Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states; （3） Accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent; （4） Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; （5） Encourage intemational cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; （6） Promote, peace, security and stability of the continent; （7） Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; （8） Promote and protect human and people＇s rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples＇ Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; （9） Establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations; （10） Promote sustainable development at the economic. Social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies; （11） Promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples; （12） Coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union; （13） Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; （14） Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent. The principles of the AU Constitutive Act are （Ibid. 162-163）： （1） Sovereign equality and interdependence among Member Sates of the Union; （2） Respect for borders existing on achievement of independence; （3） Participation of the African peoples in the activities of the Union; （4） Establishment of a common defense policy for the African Continent; （5） Peaceful resolution of conflicts among Member States of the Union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the Assembly; （6） Prohibition of the use of force or threat to use force among Member States of the Union; （7） Non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another; （8） The right of the Union to intervene in aMember State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely： war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity; （9） Peaceful co-existence of Member States and their right to live in peace and security; （10） The right of Member States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security; （11） Promotion of self-reliance within the framework of the Union; （12） Promotion of gender equality; m. Respect for democratic principles, human rights, rule of law and good governance; （13） Promotion of social justice to ensure balanced economic development; （14） Respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities; （15） Condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of governments. While there is mention of participation of African peoples in the activities of the Union as principle （c） and objective （g）, there is no explicit mention of civil society organizations （media, faith-based organizations, and NGOs） as principle actors in implementing the objectives of the Union. I want to argue that the failure of the respective African states to eradicate poverty, end armed conflicts, and address governance issues is caused by lack of a common regional integration model that takes an African Union citizenship seriously, but at the same time respecting the role of civil society and faith-based organizations, that predate the state in Africa. It is evident that Afi＇ican Unity （AU） and sub-regional integration groups such as East African Community （EAC）, Southern African Development Community （SADC）, Economic Community Of West African States （ECOWAS）, as well the New Partnership for Africa＇s Development （NEPAD）, are designed and operationalized from a statist political philosophical framework. Moreover, since the African states are largely contested as a colonial creation, the AU cannot successfully implement the institution of an African citizenship without acknowledging the role of and giving space to non-state actors in AU and other regional integration models and initiatives. This paradigm shift will require rethinking the relationship between the state and non-state actors in Africa.

Paradiplomacy for Non-recognized States:Case of Palestine

This paper endeavours to elucidate the intricacies of Palestinian Paradiplomacy,focusing in the political impetus pioneered by its principle actors,namely the Palestine Liberation Organisation(PLO)and subsequently,the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority(PNA).Additionally,attention will be directed towards the creation of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs(PMOFA)and its subsidiary,the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency(PICA),albeit briefly discussed.Drawing inspiration from Alexander S.Kuznetsov’s seminal work“Theory and Practice of Paradiplomacy:Subnational Governments in International Affairs”(2015),this paper tries to scrutinize the trajectory of Palestinian paradiplomacy and its evolutionary course over time.When it comes to activity and growth,Palestinian paradiplomacy has a unique profile.The way in which topics pertaining to nations are not yet recognized has a great deal of bearing on current discussions and academic research about urgent political concerns like the right to self-determination and human rights.The analysis of de facto states via the prism of paradiplomacy naturally arises from the dominant state recognition procedures in international politics.

Delivering reproductive health services through non-state providers in Pakistan:understanding the value for money of different approaches

Background:Delivering Reproductive Health Results(DRHR)programme used social franchising(SF)and social marketing(SM)approaches to increase the supply of high quality family planning services in underserved areas of Pakistan.We assessed the costs,cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of DRHR to understand the value for money of these approaches.Methods:Financial and economic programme costs were calculated.Costs to individual users were captured in a pre-post survey.The cost per couple years of protection(CYP)and cost per new user were estimated as indicators of cost efficiency.For the cost-effectiveness analysis we estimated the cost per clinical outcome averted and the cost per disability-adjusted life year(DALY)averted.Results:Approximately£20 million were spent through the DRHR programme between July 2012 and September 2015 on commodities and services representing nearly four million CYPs.Based on programme data,the cumulative cost-efficiency of the entire DRHR programme was£4.8 per CYP.DRHR activities would avert one DALY at the cost of£20.Financial access indicators generally improved in programme areas,but the magnitude of progress varies across indicators.Conclusions:The SF and SM approaches adopted in DRHR appear to be cost effective relative to comparable reproductive health programmes.This paper adds to the limited evidence on the cost-effectiveness of different models of reproductive health care provision in low-and middle-income settings.Further studies are needed to nuance the understanding of the determinants of impact and value for money of SF and SM.

Blurring the Distinction Between ＂High＂ and ＂Low＂ Politics in International Relations Theory： Drifting Players in the Logic of Two-Level Games

Since the beginning of international relations as a formal academic discipline in 1919, the realist paradigm has dominated academic debate, and consequently, major foreign policy decisions. This paradigm focuses on ＂politics＂ as the actions of so-called ＂high politics＂; that is to say, primacy is given to actions between states over the actions that occur within states. This article will aim to demonstrate that the ＂low politics＂ of domestic policy should be considered to a further extent than it currently is in the field of international relations theory. In doing so, this article will focus on sub-unit level factors that have considerable impact on international relations; namely, political parties, terrorist organizations, and lobbying groups. However, it is recognised that proponents of neo-liberal theory, such as Keohane and Nye, and academics studying interest group theory, such as Kabashima and Sato, have done much work to further the idea of international relations theory as more than state-centric analysis. This article will act as an attempt to further this idea both through normative and conceptual analysis. The article uses Putnam＇s concept of two-level games as a basic model of international-domestic relations, hoping to expand on the concept whilst retaining its integrity.

The post-Paris approach to mitigating Arctic warming——perspectives from shipping emissions reduction

The availability of increased Arctic shipping as a consequence of sea ice decline is a regional issue that is closely linked with international climate governance and global governance of the maritime industry. Sea ice decline creates favorable circumstances for the development of merchant shipping, but is accompanied by increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry is of utmost importance to prevent the destruction of the fragile Arctic ecosystem. This paper focuses on the core content of the Paris Agreement and suggests that the International Maritime Organization could guide the shipping industry to reach a fair agreement with states that includes market-based measures, capacity building, and voluntary actions of shipping companies as non-state actors.

A General Way for Determining Hawking Effect in Spherically Symmetric or Plane-symmetric Non-static Space-Times

A new general way for researching the Hawking effect in the spheri-cally symmetric or the plane-symmetric non-static space-times is proposed.The theoreticalfoundation of this way is laid.The Klein-Gordon equation must be reduced to the stand-ard form of wave equation near an event horizon when a generalized tortoise coordinateis adopted.Then,both the Hawking radiation temperature and the equation determining thelocation of the event horizon are obtained automatically.When the radiation is weak,thefirst approximation of our result is the same as the approximate result obtained with theradiation back-reaction method.

Post-Arab Spring:The Arab World between the Dilemma of the Nation-State and the Rise of Violent Non-State Actors(VNSAs)

The Arab world has witnessed two interrelated phenomena after the Arab Spring.The first is the aggravation of the crisis of the nationstate,where many states experienced failure and disintegration,such as Libya,Syria and Yemen,while many other states continued to suffer from weakness.The second is the rise of violent non-state actors(VNSAS)such as terrorist jihadi organisations,warlords,organised crime syndicates and armed militias affiliated with political parties,tribal,ethnic and sectarian groups.The second phenomenon is a natural outcome of the first one.When the state fails,it becomes unable to monopolise the use of force,impose its control over its territory and secure it borders.These conditions create a security and political vacuum and ungoverned spaces,which are considered a suitable environment for the expansion of VNSAs.Currently,in many Arab states,the role of VNSAs makes state-building and peacemaking efforts more difficult and complicated.This article aims to analyse the causes of the crisis of nation-state building in the Arab world,which explains the failure and collapse of many Arab states once the authoritarian regimes that have governed them for decades collapsed.Also,it discusses the types of VNSAs and the reasons behind the expansion of these actors and the escalation of their roles in many Arab countries,particularly in the post-Arab Spring era.Additionally,the future of VNSAS will be examined.

SPECIAL ISSUE： ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGIES IN TRANSITIONAL CHINA-- Criminal Sanctions against Non-state Functionaries Who Accept Bribes and Abuse Public Power

In order to penalize the acceptance of bribes by non-state functionaries who abuse public power, the anti-corruption system of China＇s criminal law has undergone successive transformations： from punishing non-state functionaries who accept bribes in accordance with the joint crime model to punishing them in accordance with the model for a single crime, and from seeking the rules of punishment in judicial interpretations to having the criminal code directly prescribe the criteria for determining a charge. Judicial interpretations have been particularly concerned with the punishment of non-state functionaries who have a relationship of common interests with a state functionary. The crime of accepting bribes given in return for trading in influence was established to solve the problem of the judicial vacuum created by judicial interpretations, but new legal obstacles have emerged. To generalize the class of offenders who accept bribes in return for using their influence is the route future improvement should take.

Securitization and State Sponsorship of Non-State Actors: Analyzing the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry

This article investigates the dynamics of rivalry and state sponsorship of non-state actors by explaining the Saudi-Iranian rivalry through the lens of securitization theory.The study elucidates that despite the enduring nature of their rivalry,both Iran and Saudi Arabia have exhibited a degree of restraint in escalating their conflicting dyadic relationship.It further notes that this behavior has forced them to securitize various issues in the region,framing them as potential threats to national and regime security,that has allowed them to build alliance and provide critical support to nonstate actors across the region.By so doing,Tehran and Riyadh seek to expand their influence and hunt their strategic and tactical objectives within the Middle East.This policy is primarily driven by geopolitical concerns rather than ideological or ethnic entitlements.

A review on evapotranspiration data assimilation based on hydrological models

Accurate estimation of evapotranspiration(ET),especially at the regional scale,is an extensively investigated topic in the field of water science. The ability to obtain a continuous time series of highly precise ET values is necessary for improving our knowledge of fundamental hydrological processes and for addressing various problems regarding the use of water. This objective can be achieved by means of ET data assimilation based on hydrological modeling. In this paper,a comprehensive review of ET data assimilation based on hydrological modeling is provided. The difficulties and bottlenecks of using ET,being a non-state variable,to construct data assimilation relationships are elaborated upon,with a discussion and analysis of the feasibility of assimilating ET into various hydrological models. Based on this,a new easy-to-operate ET assimilation scheme that includes a water circulation physical mechanism is proposed. The scheme was developed with an improved data assimilation system that uses a distributed time-variant gain model(DTVGM),and the ET-soil humidity nonlinear time response relationship of this model. Moreover,the ET mechanism in the DTVGM was improved to perfect the ET data assimilation system. The new scheme may provide the best spatial and temporal characteristics for hydrological states,and may be referenced for accurate estimation of regional evapotranspiration.

Security Governance in East Asia and China’s Response to COVID-19

A non-state centric approach challenged the concept of security governance in response to a changed security environment,bringing fragmentation of authority and heterarchical structures into the framework.The existing studies on this approach are largely contextualized from the European experience and developments in its security architecture.This leads to the questions as to whether and how non-state centric security governance occurs in other regions.This article contributes to the literature by studying security governance in East Asia,where the state is a dominant feature in security governance,and through the lens of non-traditional security,with China’s COVID-19 response as a case study.In this particular case,we find that security governance that opens spaces for greater involvement of actors beyond the state could happen,albeit in a more circumscribed manner and subject of certain conditions.We identify three conditions that catalyze the opening of governance spaces:when the capacity of the state is stretched to the limits,when the legitimacy of the government is under pressure,and when there is trust between the government and other actors.

Tripolye Mega-Sites:“Collective Computational Abilities”of Prehistoric Proto-Urban Societies?

In the East European region between Prut and Dnieper,proto-urban mega-sites developed ca.4100−3600 BCE with population agglomerations of around 10000 inhabitants per site.An outline of complexity categories,based on P.Turchin et al.(2018),illustrates that“computational abilities”are first developed to make the shift from dispersed to agglomerated settlement patterns.The development of an internal decision-making system for a polity that organizes communication via public buildings on different levels,together with a site-specific track system,may be responsible for this shift(or made it possible).However,after generations,this communication pattern was not developed into further collective communication abilities(e.g.,into a writing system),while at the same time a tendency toward centralizing decision processes probably destroyed the communication flow.This ultimately led to the collapse of Tripolye mega-sites.