Doctoral Degrees (Political Science)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/658

Browse

Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Political Science) by browse.metadata.advisor "Cornelissen, Scarlett"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A comparative study of the role of environmental NGO's in China and South Africa in conservation policy
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Burgess, Meryl; Cornelissen, Scarlett; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the roles of environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in conservation policy in two different political systems, one authoritarian (China) and the other a pluralist political system (South Africa). The study takes stock of the broader literature and debates on governance, participation and new institutional arrangements whereby private actors and civil society can have input into policy-making. Based on this, the study demonstrates that civil society and NGOs can fulfil various roles and undertake numerous functions in order to have an impact on the policy process. These roles can be categorised as essentially three: (1) In the supplementary model, NGOs fulfil the demand for public goods not satisfied by government; (2) In the complementary view, NGOs partner with government; they help with the delivery of public goods which are largely financed by the government; (3) In the adversarial view, NGOs prod government to make changes in public policy and to maintain public accountability (Young, 2000). A number of factors can determine the potential for NGOs to participate in policy-making and further influence the process when operating in terms of these roles. These factors include the size of the NGO‘s membership; cohesiveness, skill and social status; as well its financial and other resources. Similarly, the attitudes of public officials towards the NGO as well as the site of decision-making in the political system can also factor into NGO engagement in policy-making. The political system impacts on these factors, but does not as such preclude any of the three listed roles for environmental NGOs. This study shows that, in the field of conservation policy-making, environmental NGOs in both South Africa and China play all three roles in the political systems, as described in literature. It emerges that NGOs are active as playing roles supplementary and complementary to those of the state, and – somewhat contrary to expectations – also an adversarial role. South Africa‘s policy process is open to public participation at all levels of government. Formal and informal institutional arrangements are accessible for NGOs to play a role in policy-making. China‘s policy process on the other hand has few formal institutional arrangements for public participation; hence NGOs have limited roles to play in policy-making. Consequently, most NGOs in China use informal arrangements to participate in policy-making. In addition, this study shows that South African environmental NGOs contribute to fulfilling democratic ideals by performing all three roles, specifically challenging and holding government accountable. However, most NGOs in fact prefer to carry out mainly the complementary and supplementary roles, but are prepared to hold government accountable where and when this is necessary. In contrast, China‘s environmental NGOs are not attempting to contribute towards maintaining authoritarian settings but are forced to play a more narrowly defined role. NGOs are forced to fulfil roles and functions within the system‗s limitations and the government's control.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The role and behaviour of Chinese agricultural enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa : case studies of Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-12) Asanzi Mbeyata, Philippe; Cornelissen, Scarlett; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study aims to understand the motivations underlying the activities of Chinese agricultural enterprises operating on the African continent as well as the way in which institutional contexts – the physical and legal environments – shape their behaviours and/or modes of entry into local industries. Understanding the strategic motives of Chinese agricultural enterprises operating in Africa as well as the extent to which they implement those motives on the ground and the way in which they respond to local laws is crucial for assessing the medium- to long-term impacts of their activities on the welfare of African populations and forests. This dissertation relies on Dunning‟s eclectic paradigm to understand the motivations informing the activities of Chinese agricultural enterprises as well as on new institutional theory to study the behaviours and/or modes of entry of Chinese agricultural enterprises into local industries. This research is based on two case studies: Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. As far as data collection is concerned, it relied on secondary sources of data such as scholarly articles and books; official documents and legislation; and newspaper articles. This study also drew on primary sources of data, which consisted of documents obtained during the fieldwork such as contracts between Chinese agricultural enterprises and African governments, official documents from Chinese agricultural enterprises as well as semi-structured interviews. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders – including managers of Chinese agricultural enterprises, employees of these enterprises, farmers, officials from ministries of agriculture and researchers – in Mozambique and the DRC between April to June 2011. The data collected were analysed with the help of the qualitative analysis software: atlas.ti. The preliminary results collected and analysed in this study suggest that the motivations of Chinese agricultural enterprises operating in Mozambique and the DRC are: 1) to acquire farmlands in order to grow food crops and sell them mainly in local markets; 2) to supply agricultural commodities – cash and food crops – for Chinese markets; and 3) to provide agricultural aid by introducing new varieties of crops imported from China and offering training to farmers, students and technicians. However, the provision of agricultural aid is a secondary motivation of Chinese agricultural enterprises. The motivations informing the activities of Chinese agricultural enterprises operating in Mozambique and the DRC are globally consistent with China‟s foreign policy as these enterprises primarily aim to better position themselves in local markets and to access agricultural commodities for the benefit of Chinese markets. Furthermore, the preliminary results of this study also indicate that the institutional contexts in Mozambique and the DRC appear to affect the behaviours and/or modes of entry of Chinese agricultural enterprises into local industries. As such, the poor provision of infrastructure in rural areas appears to delay further investments by Chinese agricultural enterprises. Also, the complex process of gaining access to land and the weak regulatory capacity in the monitoring and implementation of the land laws appear to hinder investments by Chinese agricultural enterprises and in some instances lead to the cancellation of investments. In the specific case of the DRC, the weak enforcement of land titles appears to discourage further investments. The unfavourable institutional context depicted above has prompted Chinese agricultural enterprises operating in the DRC to adopt new models of business revolving around less risky or smaller agricultural projects.