Abstract

Ethiopia attempted to introduce federalism in general, and fiscal decentralization in particular back as far as the transition period (1991-994). Later, a clearer federal system was established with the adoption of the 1995 Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The constitution shared political power between federal and regional governments. Accordingly, the federated units exercised this constitutional right. The main objective of this study was to assess the practices and problems of fiscal decentralization in Ethiopia. The study employed a review of relevant empirical studies, discussion with experts and the researcher’s own observation. In Ethiopia, the practices of fiscal decentralization show that there is high vertical fiscal imbalance and regional disparities, problem of effectiveness and efficiency in resource utilization, problems of administrative malpractice and tight political influence mainly at local levels, and problems of spillover effect. The current study suggests that: civil service institutions should be divorced from party politics to allow a build-up of professional, committed and honest civil servants to serve the interest of the general public; assigning appropriate revenue sources for regional units so that subnational units could provide adequate public service to the local people; promoting transparency, and encouraging wider participation of the general public and civil society institutions so that they can play constructive roles.

Keywords: fiscal federalism, fiscal decentralization practices

Abstract

In the wake of the 2011 “Arab Uprising”, liberal elements were haunting in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya – countries which experienced the uprising at its early stage. The liberal elements triggered the youth particularly in Libya to boldly oppose their long-serving Libyan president, Muammar Qaddafi. In what followed, the West not only interfered to help the rebels and become involved in a direct military intervention in the guise of humanitarian intervention, it also tried to install a liberal peace in the process of state reconstruction and peacebuilding in the aftermath of the revolution that ousted Qaddafi. The intervention had an implicit agenda of regime change and installing liberal peace in post-Qaddafi Libya. However, the intervention descended the country into a protracted civil war that the country has been suffering from for more than six years after the downfall of Qaddafi, instead of bringing peace and stability to the Libyans. The liberal peace that was rising during the revolution and immediately after the fall of Qaddafi through the liberal ideals that triggered the Libyan revolutionaries ruptured as the country descended into protracted civil war among different factions due to Western intervention. The aim of this desk research is therefore to unpack the rise and fall of liberal peace in Libya. Employing discussion of the debate over liberal peace in Libya as a core methodological analysis, this paper argues that the liberal peace that the West attempted to install in the country failed mainly because it was rooted in hegemonic liberal values, which are incompatible with Libyan tribal society, and disregarded the indigenous peacebuilding mechanisms. This paper concludes that liberal peace, which privileges the international over the local, is irreconcilable with post-conflict environments in the Global South and hence was unable to solve the Libyan crises. Therefore, emphasis should be given to indigenous peacebuilding mechanisms, which are less recognized and understudied compared to liberal peace which is over-studied and hegemonized, to bring a resonant and sustainable peace in post-conflict environments of the Global South.

Keywords: liberal peace, Libya, NATO’s intervention in Libya, 2011 Arab uprising

Abstract

Buna Qalaa (Slaughtered Coffee) is the coffee meal which is prepared from dried coffee berries by cooking them with butter after washing appropriately and cutting the tip off each coffee bean with one’s teeth. This study deals with the buna qalaa ritual of the Boorana Oromo. It aims at investigating the worldview, philosophy and symbolisms of coffee which are rooted in the buna qalaa ritual of the Boorana Oromo. To this end, ethnographic field methods of interview, focus group discussion and observation were exploited in order to generate first hand data. The raw data was interpreted and synthesized drawing on the general framework provided by Turner (social drama) and Geertz (thick description) as a theoretical basis. The analysis revealed the procedures followed to prepare buna qalaa, the social actors of the ritual, its social values and the worldviews attached to the practices involved in the ritual, as well as the symbolic interpretations of the actions and blessings. Thus, it is possible to safely conclude that the buna qalaa ritual, which accompanies all ritual performances of the Oromo is beyond meal/consumption and reflects the philosophical outlook of the people. The philosophical viewpoint and worldview of the society ingrained in this ritual depict the strong and time tested attachment of the Oromo to coffee consumption and production.

Keywords: buna qalaa, ritual, boorana, oromo, worldview

Abstract

This study aims to explore the perceptions of teachers working in state schools in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, of their school principles’ “servant leadership behaviors.” This is a quantitative study conducted in a relational screening model. The sampling of the research consists of 330 teachers working in state schools in the city center of Kahramanmaras province, Turkey, during the 2016-2017academic year. The “Servant Leadership Behavior Scale” developed by Ekinci (2015) was used as the data collection instrument in the research. The scale comprises 36 items and five sub-dimensions of altruistic behaviors, empathy, justice, integrity, and humility. In the analysis of the data, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, t-test, and ANOVA test were employed. The study revealed significant differences between theschool administrators’demographic characteristics of age, branch, seniority, and education status, and the attitudes of servant leadership. Moreover, the differentiation of teachers’ views on servant leadership skills is dependent upon the education level of the school administrator, which leads to a statistical difference between the school principals’ servant leadership behaviors and their education levels. Thus, teachers see a direct connection between the school principals’ level of education and the exhibition of more servant leadership.

Keywords: servant leadership, teachers, school principals, leader

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the predictive level of variables such as school climate, school life quality and classroom teacher behaviors on students‘ commitment to the school. For this purpose, 422 students attending secondary and high school education in the central province of Elazığ, Turkey, were included in the research sample by random sampling method. It was determined that the dataset displayed a normal distribution and statistical analyses was applied. Firstly, it was determined that there was a positive and medium-level relationship between the level of students‘ commitment to the school and the school climate, school life quality and classroom teacher behavior. It was found that school climate, school life quality and classroom teacher attitudes explain 39.6% of the variance in the level of students‘ commitment to school. It was also determined that the level of students‘ commitment to school had a significant difference in favor of students attending junior high schools according to the school type variable and in favor of female students according to the gender variable.

Keywords: school climate, school life quality, classroom teacher behaviors

Abstract

The emergence and development of science and technology has been critical in improving the lives of mankind. It helps mankind to cope with a number of manmade and natural challenges and disasters. Science cannot totally diminish the level of human dependency on nature; but, with the existing availability of natural resources, science has increased our productivity. However, science and technology can also have its own negative impacts on the natural environment. For the purpose of increasing productivity and satisfying human needs, humans have been egoistically exploiting nature but disregarding the effects of their activities on nature. Science has also been trying its level best to mitigate the negative effects that results from mankind’s exploitation of nature. However, science alone is incapable of solving all environmental problems. This desk research employs secondary sources of data, and argues that environmental ethics should come to the fore in order to address the gap left by science with regard to resolving environmental problems that mankind faces today.  

Keywords: environmental ethics, human needs, natural environment, natural resources, science and technology