Browsing by Author "Darkwa, L."
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Item Between the Tiger and the Deep Blue Sea: A Critique of Western Perspectives on Contemporary Sino-Africa Relations(2012) Attuquayefio, P.; Darkwa, L.; Torto, B.Within the last ten years, China has made significant economic and political inroads in Africa. It has enhanced relations with a significant number of African countries and its trade volume increased from US$20billion in 2001 to an excess of US$114.8billion in2010. China’s involvement in Africa has generated interests from many quarters within the international community. While it appears that most African countries are keen on replicating China’s success story in Africa, perspectives on Sino-African relations largely emanating from the West, generally pointing to some form of continental exploitation by China. These perspectives are based on China’s dealings with countries such as Sudan, Zimbabwe and Guinea, largely considered as countries with politically repressive governments, disregard for environmental corollaries, unequal negotiating ground between China and African countries, and excessive control of Africa’s resources. Operating from a realist conceptualization of international relations, and using mainly qualitative data, this article presents a critique of the West’s perspectives on contemporary Sino-African relations. It proceeds on the hypothesis that contemporary Sino-African relations are mutually beneficial to China and Africa. It concludes that on the basis of the mutual benefits, African countries are likely to sustain their relations with China.Item Changing perspectives in the didactics of international affairs in Ghana(Changing Perspectives on the Social Sciences in Ghana, 2014-05) Attuquayefio, P.; Darkwa, L.The sheer velocity of global trends outpaces developments in many areas of study. This statement rings no truer than in the practice and discipline of International Relations in Ghana. The early study of the discipline in Ghana was subsumed under the study of Political Science, restricted largely to the areas of foreign relations, economic integration and international law and heavily influenced by the writings of practitioners from the immediate post-independence period. However, dynamic changes in world politics have necessitated and indeed provided the impetus for a movement towards re-engineering conventional thinking on International Relations in Ghana. In particular, the dynamics of the pre and post-Cold War eras, intractable armed conflicts within the sub-region and the twin processes of globalization and integration have necessitated the acquisition of additional expertise and skill sets by international relations practitioners. Consequently, it has become imperative to provide educational instruction which would equip practitioners with the needed tools. Using a mix of primary and secondary materials, the chapter reviews the evolution of the didactics of international affairs in Ghana, highlighting the epochal transformations and offering recommendations on ways of enhancing the utility of the discipline through the content and methodology of teaching.Item Interrogating the concept and practice of collective security regimes in the 21st Century(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Darkwa, L.Although the end of the Cold War ushered in a period of enhanced security and development cooperation in the world, existing regimes for collective security have not been able to effectively prevent and respond to the contemporary security threats confronting the world today. Whilst the military security of states continue to constitute a significant consideration in the assurance of international security generally, the world is now confronted with non-military security threats that undermine military, social, economic and political security of states and their citizens. These new threats challenge the cooperation frameworks that have undergirded the collective security regime of the international community and expose states and regions to significant security risks. Using a literature review of existing works to profile the contemporary security challenges and documentary analysis of extant security frameworks, the paper interrogates the strengths and limitations of the current international collective security architecture and proffer options for enhancing its utility in addressing contemporary security challengesItem Killing to Protect? Land guards, State Subordination and Human Rights in Ghana.(2012) Darkwa, L.; Attuquayefio, P.Since the return to constitutional rule, Ghana has intensified efforts to promote human rights. However there are several challenges with the promotion of property rights, especially with regard to land ownership. This challenge ,borne out of the tensions between the modern and the traditional state is exacerbated by the plural legal systems in place as well as the challenges of rapid urbanisation and a high unemployment rate, particularly in Greater Accra Region. The liberal market system promoted by Ghana’s return to constitutional rule led to increased investment in land and demands for greater security in land title. This led to efforts aimed at land reform. These notwithstanding, the inability of the state to enforce its rules and elicit compliance have meant that the land market remains a minefield. The consequence has been the emergence of private security service providers who employ illegal means of enforcement to protect land and landed property. Popularly known as land guards, these security providers are the nightmare of land owners in Greater Accra region. Using primary and secondary sources, this paper examines the rationale behind the demand and supply of land guard services and the implications of such services on property rights in Ghana. We conclude that the weak law enforcement capabilities of the state and rampant corruption in the land management institutions facilitate conflicts in land markets and encourage people to resort to individual security mechanisms. We argue that as long as such illicit security measures are employed, the state’s authority and monopoly over the use of force will remain irrelevant in the land sector.Item Winning the Battle and Losing the War: Child Rape in Post Conflict Liberia(International Journal of Children's Rights, 2015) Darkwa, L.Ten years after the end of hostilities, post conflict Liberia is confronted with the daunting challenge of addressing child rape. Using mix methods of data collection and content analysis the paper interrogates the drivers of child rape in Liberia, and submits that there is a chasm between the legally constructed concept of childhood enshrined in statutory documents and reflected in official processes, and the traditional and cultural construction by the citizens and children themselves. The paper draws attention to the impossibility of assuring security in a context where the state has not been able to assert itself throughout the entire territory and is unable to provide basic services to its entire population. The paper postulates that current efforts at addressing sexual violence against children has not yielded many results because they are not sufficiently comprehensive, enforcement mechanisms are weak and the critical mass of support needed for attitudinal and behavioural change does not exist. © 2015 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.