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Sign upPodcast: 'In Chains' Episode 3
In the third episode of our new themed series In Chains, we speak with Dr. Alexis Aronowitz from University College Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands, who is the author of the article, “Regulating business involvement in labor exploitation and human trafficking” published in Journal of Labor and Society.
Brill Publishes Two New Book Series in the Social Sciences
Brill is pleased to announce the addition of two new peer-reviewed book series to its Social Sciences publishing program: International Studies in Maritime Sociology and Studies in Political Economy of Global Labor and Work. The series will be published online and in print.
Brill adds Two New Journals to Its Social Sciences Publishing Program
Two journals, the Journal of Labor and Society (JLSO) and Protest, have been added to Brill’s expanding publishing program in the Social Sciences. Both journals will be published online and in print. Previous volumes of JLSO are already available on Brill’s website, the first issues of Protest are planned for publication in 2021.
As a result of the parliamentary, presidential and regional elections, the South West African Peoples' Organisation (SWAPO) of Namibia further consolidated its dominance. The nomination of SWAPO's presidential candidate – succeeding the country's first head of state and president of the former liberation movement since its foundation in 1960 – resulted in fierce intra-party competition and the sidelining of longstanding political office bearers. The land issue became further politicised and initiatives to expropriate land contributed to growing insecurity among commercial farmers. Overall macroeconomic performance suffered through export losses due to the strong currency. Public expenditure came under pressure as debts accumulated further, and state finances face a critical degree of constraint.
2013 was a transitional year between the appointment of the future political leadership of the governing South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) at the end of 2012 and the parliamentary and presidential elections at the end of 2014. The general macroeconomic performance remained stable while aggrandizement of the new elite and the lack of public services and delivery for many continued. A serious drought added to the misery.
The second half of the year was dominated by preparations and campaigning for the national and presidential elections at the end of November. The dominant South West African People’s Organisation (swapo), the former liberation movement, in political power since Independence, retained its political hegemony as expected and even extended its control in the legislature. The swapo parliamentary majority adopted far-reaching constitutional amendments in August, including increasing the number of seats in the National Assembly and the National Council as from the next five-year term, and adding to the executive powers of Hage Geingob as the next elected head of state. Foreign policy continued with a ‘looking East’ orientation, while the controversial epa was finally signed. Macroeconomic data suggested little change in terms of both socio-economic trends and the stark inequalities in the distribution of wealth. Social protest against government policy was on the increase, with mounting confrontations, though the general climate remained one of relative stability.
The year saw the ascendancy of the new Head of State Hage Geingob, perhaps the last member of the first generation of the former liberation movement swapo (South West Africa People’s Organisation). He took over from Hifikepunye Pohamba, who was for his two terms in office awarded the Mo Ibrahim Prize for good governance. Geingob introduced several institutional innovations and expanded the senior level of the administration. This increased government expenditure and added to the growing fiscal stress. The economic fragility was also exacerbated by global economic volatility and other negative factors. Despite the limitations of the promised prosperity under Geingob, swapo further extended its political hegemony through regional and local elections in November. With hardly any opposition remaining in both national chambers and on regional and local authority levels, Namibian democracy de facto was dependent on one party. In terms of its foreign policy, Namibia clearly continued to turn more to the East and announced its planned withdrawal from the icc.
During the second year of his presidency, Hage Geingob’s administration continued announcing ambitious plans and statements selling Namibia as a showpiece of African progress and development, but little translated into visible practical reforms to improve the living conditions of the poor. Geingob continued to travel extensively, promoting Namibia abroad as an investment opportunity, while constitutional matters, the proposed enforcement of shared company ownership with the formerly disadvantaged, and new exploitation of resources, which at times clashed with environmental concerns, became contested matters at home. Increased government expenditure in combination with sluggish economic growth created precarious fiscal constraints, which required budgetary cuts and a prudent financial policy. The effects of climate change, not least a severe water shortage and a devastating drought, added to a critical situation, while matters of ethnicity and regional representation emerged as a controversial subject in politics.
This was a year of mixed performance. Politically, President Hage Geingob managed convincingly to consolidate his party base at the congress of the South West African People’s Organisation (swapo), warding off attacks on his leadership. This could be seen as stabilising the dominant party system and avoiding distracting interruptions from within. But attacks between competing factions displayed hitherto unprecedented divisions among the first- and second-generation of leaders in the former liberation movement, which had been in power since Independence in 1990. Ethnic-regional animosities bordering on tribalism also reached new proportions, not least in connection with disputes over land policy. Economically, the country remained in recession and continued to face a fiscal crisis. This required a reduction of the budget, with negative consequences for services and employment as there was less investment in public works and social expenditure was more limited. The promise of prosperity for all, a trademark under the Geingob administration, remained a remote dream. Internationally, Namibia’s image was dented by its continued emphasis on close ties with North Korea and by being categorised as a tax haven by the eu. Further downgrading by international financial rating agencies was considered by government to be motivated by hostile intentions.
The economic decline continued during the year, which was socioeconomically characterised by the effects of a full-blown recession. The necessary fiscal balancing act impacted on domestic policy matters, which focused increasingly on the parliamentary and presidential elections next year. The governing South West African People’s Organisation (swapo) faced continued internal party conflicts. Not least because of the government’s land policy, interethnic tensions were on the rise and contributed to a tenser political climate with the foundation of a new party. President Hage Geingob, who had been elected with almost 87% of votes in 2014, was confronted with growing public criticism over non-delivery of promises made.
This was a bumpy year for Namibians. The economic crisis continued with another year in recession, hampering socioeconomic development. The governance of the former liberation movement swapo (South West African People’s Organisation), which has been in power since independence, suffered again from a failure to deliver on promises made. The results of the National Assembly and presidential elections in late November marked a turning point in the country’s political history: for the first time swapo lost its two-thirds majority obtained in 1994. Hage Geingob, who campaigned for a second term in office, was the first party candidate who received fewer votes than the party and had to compete with an unexpected contender from his own party, swapo. The voting behaviour resonated with the general dissatisfaction over lacklustre performance by the party and government and pointed to hitherto unknown (or at least invisible) proportions of party-internal divisions and power struggles. In addition, a corruption scandal in the fisheries sector on an unprecedented scale involved highest-ranking political office-bearers and damaged the reputation of the government even more.
This was a challenging year for the governing South West Africa People’s Organisation (swapo) and citizenry in general. The political landscape changed in terms of the new legislative period that started on 21 March and the composition of the new government and parliament. Even more so, the governance map was considerably redrawn following the regional and local authority elections held at the end of November. This dramatically reinforced shifts which were manifested with the national assembly and presidential election results of November 2019. The rise of opposition parties was indicative of the growing frustrations among ordinary citizens concerning the degree of corruption revealed by #fishrot, as well as the hardship that the continued recession, exacerbated by the consequences of Covid-19, inflicted on them.
Namibians continued to battle with the devastating economic impact of the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the highest recorded rate of incidences worldwide in June. Continued socioeconomic decline, growing unemployment, and frustration over corruption scandals and other forms of self-enrichment by a political and administrative elite remained topics of domestic policy. Debates in the national assembly showed the deepening divide between government and opposition, though no major political changes took place. A bilateral Joint Declaration initialled with Germany over the genocide committed during 1904 to 1908 drew massive criticism from the descendants of the most affected population groups and dominated parliamentary debate for two months.