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ETHNICITY, NATIONHOOD AND THE `IRRELEVANT STATE': ISSUES IN GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC POLICY
-- Swati Banerjee and Pradip Kumar Sengupta
The concepts of ethnicity and ethnocentrism are very much relevant in the
contemporary social and political discourse, which is characterised (among other features) by
primordialism and traditionalism. In a modern day contextual setting, every nation-state, however
tradition-bound it may be, is guided by a tendency to modernise. As a result, a clash becomes
inevitable between the old setting and the new ethos and aspirations. Consequently, the whole
social system is exposed to turbulence and it becomes very difficult to maintain the very
structure of the social order. In this context, the role of the State as a political actor acquires
critical importance. The basic questions in such a situation are going to be modernity versus
old values, autonomy of the State, alternative(s) if State fails, and possible irrelevance of
the State itself. To enable the State to overcome these dilemmas and challenges, a sound
governing policy is needed to address all the social and political (as well as economic) issues in order
to bring about a social equilibrium. In this connection, the role of civil society needs to
be analysed closely because it can supplement the governing process in an effective way.
A vibrant and strong civil society can enhance self-governance by making it more
democratic and more responsive to the goals and concerns of the people at large.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
INTER-ETHNIC CONFLICTS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE
NIGER-DELTA REGION OF NIGERIA
-- James Okoro
As the Niger-Delta areas are under fire emanating from inter-ethnic conflicts, there is
indeed no greater challenge facing the Nigerian Government than finding ways and means to
resolve them. Conflict resolution refers to a society's capacity to mediate the conflicting (though
not necessarily violent) interests of different social groups. Conflicts in the Niger-Delta
region have in recent years attracted both national and international attention. The article
attempts to analyse the causes, consequences and efforts made by the past and present
governments and oil companies to resolve the conflicts. Setting up of large and bureaucratic
institutions, such as the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC), would not solve the
problems that have given rise to these communal conflicts. In addition, the article recommends
putting in place the decentralised institutional structures that will provide opportunities to
people to participate actively in making and executing development policies. The communities
in the Niger-Delta region should be encouraged to get involved in self-help projects, rather
than depending solely on the Federal Government and oil companies to solve all their
development problems. The issue of political stability is of vital importance to socio-economic and
political development. Political stability has been employed to mean the absence of violent
conflicts and instability. On the positive side, political stability has been used to characterise
internal peace and harmony.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
TOWARDS A PATH FOR HARMONY:
THE IMPERATIVE FOR COORDINATING NIGERIA'S ANTI-CORRUPTION CRUSADE
-- Isaac Terwase Sampson
Absence of a comprehensive national policy or strategy on corruption in Nigeria, with
a defined framework for coordination, has resulted in a parallel and disarticulated fight
against corruption among the anti-corruption agencies inter se, and between the agencies and
the civil society on the other. Consequently, there are jurisdictional conflicts and
multiple prosecutions of suspects by public agencies and divergent assumptions on the
commitment or otherwise of stakeholders, as well as the appropriateness of the strategies adopted
for fighting corruption. It is argued further that unless an acceptable framework for
the coordination of the war against corruption is evolved, inter-agency conflicts and
divergences in approaches will deter the much anticipated success. Therefore, a dual-dimensional
approach to coordinating the anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria in line with global best practices
is advocated.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
GANDHISM VS. TERRORISM
-- Nagindas Sanghavi and Usha Thakkar
Gandhism has slowly crystallised itself into a multidimensional approach to life in all
its proliferations, both for an individual and the society. Gandhi obviously thought and
acted only in moral terms, and terror is an antithesis of all moral values and as such it has
been universally condemned in every civil society. Gandhi's ideas and work can be a source
of immense strength against the danger of terrorism, which looms larger in our lives
today than it ever did in his times. Gandhi taught that violence and terrorism cannot be defeated by
counter-violence. Mutual exchange of ideas and understanding of the mindset of the
opponents have been prescribed and practised by Gandhi and may well provide an alternative to
the ruthless suppression, i.e., State Terrorism. Gandhism by its very basic postulates is
irrevocably opposed to all forms of violence perpetrated by any one under any banner whatsoever.
It condemns terror but not the terrorists, who are misguided zealots for the cause. At the
same time, Gandhi disapproves passivity in the face of any evil or injustice. The evil must
be valiantly and peacefully resisted without ever hating the evildoer. A satyagrahi cannot rest until the underlying cause of unrest or terrorism is eliminated and the terrorist is
reconciled with the society of which he is an integral unit. Such resistance may be peaceful but
never passive because Gandhi disliked passivity after violence, especially passivity arising out
of cowardice. For Gandhi, non-violence is promoted not just by rejection of violence, but
also by efforts to build societies in which violence would not be cultivated. Gandhi teaches us
to have confidence in the self even in a sheer hopeless situation, and to be truthful and honest
in the midst of falsehood and dishonesty. His ideology in its own serene way opens up
new ways leading to truth and equips the satyagrahi with techniques to counter violence
and terrorism.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
JUSTICE AND EQUALITY:
A DISCOURSE OF CONCEPTS
-- R.V. R. Chandrasekhara Rao
The review article critically analyses the perspectives offered by various authors on
the concepts of justice and equality. Rajeev Bhargava and others examine how literary
sensibilities in distinct cultural contexts perceive justice and highlight some contemporary demands
by those denied justice in the social order. Kunal Chakravarty designates the
Brahmanical jurisprudential order as one of the `natural inequality'. Yet he hastens to refer to the
presence of countervailing perspectives. The invidious distinction between white-collar and
blue-collar crimes often assumes pernicious proportions. Witness the stark fact that while crimes
like murder and treason are punished by death, colossal crimes in business dealings do not
fall under the same category of capital offences. Najaf Haider confines himself to an analysis
of Islamic juridical notions and barely covers the Indian context. Roma Chatterji observes
that slums are alternative housing realities and should no longer be viewed as
eye-sores to be eliminated, while Satyajit Singh focuses on the problem of `Water'. The
paradox of water is that a natural gift sustaining life is now rendered scarce. Vidhu Verma points
out that there is a transformation in the nature of `Justice' discourse. While the old
distributive justice claims continue, the debate has shifted to demands for equality irrespective of
caste, gender and tribe. Virginius Xaxa is a concise though descriptive account of the
manifest denial of justice to the tribal communities in India.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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