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Item GENDER AND GOVERNANCE OF THE REINTEGRATION OF RETURNEE REFUGEE WOMEN IN LIBERIA(2011-08) YACOB-HALISO, O.Studies indicated that women and men experience conflict, displacement and return differently. In post-war contexts, gender aspects of returnee reintegration have however not been adequately addressed by researchers and policy makers. This study, therefore, examined the gender aspects of the governance of reintegration of returnee refugee Liberian women. It identified the challenges and factors affecting reintegration. Qualitative methods of data collection were employed. One hundred in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted with men and women purposively selected from five of Liberia's fifteen administrative counties, comprising both rural and semi-urban areas. Participants included stakeholders in the governance of returnee refugee reintegration such as government officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), donor agencies and returnee refugees. The IDIs were supplemented with six focus group discussions with returnee women and men, and documentary review. Reliability and validity were achieved by triangulation, inter-observer reliability and respondent validation. The data collected were subjected to content analysis. The governance of the reintegration of returnee refugees involved a combination of governmental agencies and NGOs with severe problems of coordination. The Liberian Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission and the Ministry of Gender and Development were not able to provide the enabling condition for returnee safety and dignity. These agencies were very weak in coordinating the activities of NGOs or mobilizing funds as they suffered from fund shortages and skill capacity deficits. Returnee refugees experienced great economic hardships, particularly with respect to access to livelihood and basic amenities such as water, healthcare and education. Consequently, there were constant backflows. Saddled with domestic responsibilities, and challenged by stayee resentments, sexual exploitation, molestation of their children and spousal abandonment, women lacked time and requisite skills to search for and secure jobs. Most of the women were unable to provide documentation to back up claims of ownership of property and were therefore disadvantaged in the midst of widespread tension over land ownership. Women returnee refugees that enjoyed extended family support had greater sense of security and safety than those without such support. Organisations such as the Women of Liberia Peace Network and the Liberian Agency for Community Empowerment mobilized women to participate in national elections and got them involved in various community and economic empowerment projects. Other issues that affected the reintegration process included limited knowledge of the security and legal system, poor implementation of the changes made in the inheritance and rape laws, the top-down approach supported by donors which limited the opportunities available to women, and the non-use of returnee skills transfer. The reintegration of returnee refugee women in Liberia was gender biased, determined by the differential effects of the cultural and social contexts on women and men. Although efforts have been made to empower women, the social division of labour and the limited opportunities for women advancement threaten the success, balance and sustainability of reintegration. It is recommended that government and donor agencies involve returnee women in reintegration policy formulation, and promote synergy between organisations working for short-term reintegration, and those working for long-term development in Liberia.Item GLOBALISATION AND THE NIGERIAN STATE(2013-06) TOBI, A. A.Globalisation is a multi-dimensional phenomenon with diverse consequences. The nature of the consequences has, however, remained contentious. There are contending perspectives on the effects of globalisation on modern states, particularly developing countries. In-depth studies that examined the cogency of these perspectives in relation to the Nigerian State are sparse. This study examined the manifestation of globalisation in Nigeria between 1985 and 2007 and its effects on the State and implications for democratic consolidation. The study was anchored on transformationalists’ theoretical strand and adopted a qualitative research design. It reviewed documents such as textbooks, journals, newspaper articles and Internet resources regarding globalisation and the Nigerian State. Other sources included official documents such as past and present Constitutions of Nigeria, policy statements by Presidents and Heads of States, Legislative Acts and Reports of the Political Bureau. Three components of globalisation, namely, global spread of ideas and norms, multiple sites of governance and the infrastructure of global technologies, were examined to ascertain their effects on the functions, power and State-Society relations in the Nigerian State. The data were content analysed. The infrastructure of new forms of technologies, adaptation of domestic policies to global developments and increasing involvement of non-state actors in the political process are manifestations of contemporary globalisation in Nigeria. The effects on the Nigerian State included stimulation of domestic policies as evident in the integration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) into Nigeria’s development strategies, dispersal of governance and external scrutiny of domestic policies visible in the activities of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The ascendancy of issues of good governance intensified the anti- corruption initiatives while global spread of democratic ideas facilitated democratisation initiatives that led to restoration of civil rule in 1999. The implementation of privatisation and commercialisation policies since the 1980s transformed the role of the Nigerian State from direct provision of services to enabler and facilitator of a private sector driven economy and also spurred public-private partnership in service delivery and infrastructural development. Others included application of the internet and other Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) which engendered e-government and online transactions and reconstructed the administrative and organisational functions of government .The Internet and CMC also provided platform for social networking and political activism beyond the direct censorship of State. These trends redefined power relations between State and society in favour of the latter in Nigeria and capable of deepening democracy. Contradictions such as retrenchment of welfare policies and safety nets for the citizens generated by privatisation and commercialisation, diminishing state capacity and security challenges resulting from perversion of the Internet were identified as threat to democratic consolidation. Globalisation has engendered profound transformation of the character of the Nigerian State spawning contradictory effects on governance. Mitigating the observed contradictions and consolidating democracy in Nigeria require proper adaptation to the realities of globalisation and management of its processes.