Managing Dissent in a Post‐genocide Environment: The Challenge of Political Space in Rwanda

This article analyses how political space, defined here as the ability of actors other than the government to critically engage in debate on government policy and practice, is being constituted in post‐genocide Rwanda. Using evidence from interviews with civil society activists and examples from the Rwandan Government's post‐genocide policies, it explores the kind of political space which results from an interplay of potentially competing influences. These include the promotion of a liberal approach to democracy, favoured by many of Rwanda's donors, and a more tightly‐managed and limited transition which is both preferred by and beneficial for the RPF Government. The article shows that although space could be seen in some areas as opening, this trend is hampered by government actions, including legislative and shadow methods, by donor reluctance to pressure the ruling RPF and by fear within civil society of tackling politically sensitive issues. In conclusion, the author suggests that this fear is reinforced by government policies which narrow perceptions of political space, exacerbated by perceived abandonment of civil society by donors, and that in combination these factors pose a long‐term challenge to more openly contested politics in Rwanda.     

The Political Thought of David Walsh: A Symposium

Abstract

David Walsh has published a trilogy of books on the ideological, political, and philosophical trajectories of modernity. He confronts the crisis of modernity and argues that modernity has the resources within itself to reestablish a collective commitment to the order of existence. This symposium offers four essays reflecting on and responding to Walsh's assessment of modernity and its prospects.     

网络技术：思想政治工作的挑战与机遇

人类社会正在进入信息时代,传统的思想政治工作正在面临着前所未有的机遇与挑战。本分析了我国的思想政治工作在信息时代面临的冲击,以及当前做好思想政治工作可以利用的因素,并对如何做好这项工作进行了相应的对策思考。     

The Political Organisation of Space: A Reformist Conception

This paper outlines four primary functions of the political organisation of space—participation, representation, service delivery and control It argues that there are inherent conflicts in the maximisation of these functions and that political geographers have paid insufficient attention to the degree to which territoriality implies a pre-eminence of the control function. It is suggested that a ‘reformist’ conception of political geography is necessary in order to evaluate the extent to which this actually occurs and to make the sub-discipline more policy relevant.