Enforced Hierarchy

Enforced hierarchy is another term for ethnic dominance. When one ethnic group dominates the political office, the other group, whether majority or minority in terms of population, takes over the private sector. There has been uneasy balance and diminished harmonious interethnic relations in the past in places such as Trinidad and Tobago and Malaysia. While ethnic Malays dominated government bureaucracy, the minority Chinese had an upper hand in the business sector.

In developing countries, relative ethnic harmony resulting from uneasy balance in the social hierarchy created ethnic discrimination and tension. The dissipating levels of interethnic conflicts seen in nations such as Panama, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic between blacks who never climbed up the ladder of success in the political and economic order and the domineering other races who keep them at bay to uphold social cleavages, has been the harbinger for resentments, fractured community assimilations, and horrific atrocities.

The enveloping justification of authoritarian rule crippled many nations' political, military, and economic growth, according to modernization theorists. Authoritarianism gained momentum in much of Sub-Saharan Africa after raising their flags of independence in the late fifties and early sixties. Guided by personalistic dictators, the dominant one-party system became the norm in almost every Middle Eastern nation with Iraq's Saddam and Syria's Asad playing the unfettered political cards to their advantages.

In Latin America and Asia, socially detested brutal dictatorial leadership styles led to the creation of pro-democracy demonstrations that eventually conceived semidemocracies or pseudo-democracies. However, demonstrations in support of democracy failed in Communist China. The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in mainland China, especially in Beijing, ended up in a massacre that was orchestrated by the military using tanks and assault rifles.

Leaders like Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Peruvian Alberto Fujimori, General Suharto of Indonesia, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Colonel Muammar Qaddafi of Libya, and Carlos Menem of Argentina suffered the brunt of their poor leadership styles in one way or the other, while Charles Taylor of Liberia was tried for war crimes at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands. Slobodan Milosevic, the man who rose to prominence after the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, died mysteriously while awaiting trial.

Monarchical rules erupted in Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, while Sudan and Egypt got engrossed in powerful single-party or dominant-party systems that flourished for a long time. Perhaps, oil rich Arab monarchical hierarchies will remain in existence for sometime as long as some European countries cling to their old kingdom traditions. Even with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the mighty Soviet Union, the enforced hierarchy factor still remains a dominant force in many parts of the world.

Poor Governance

Good morning, Sir Stupidity

You have been a great friend of African dictators for a long time and to this day you are hanging around corners soliciting for more people to deceive because there are no defenses against stupidity. Since so many people don't understand what you stand for, allow me to highlight to the ordinary citizen the science of stupidity.

First and foremost I would like to notify my readers that you are a threat to humanity. It was Professor Carlo M. Cipolla, a professor of Economic History at the University of California, Berkeley who was the first to bring to the attention of humanity in his 1976 essay, the existential threat posed by the fundamentals of your stupidity.

According to the reputed scholar who passed away in 2000, there are five fundamental laws of stupidity:

Law 1: Bossologically, you may assume that you are surrounded by reliable and intelligent men and women to lean on though their exact numbers could be exponentially higher than your fake assumptions. Since you are lowballing the numbers of stupid employees around, they could be far much higher.

Law 2: You, the highest ranking official who is the boss, could be the number one stupid person. Since stupidity has no race and gender, belief or religion, political and national origin, even the highest institutions in the world could have substantial numbers of stupid people. There are stupid professors, CEOs, presidents and prime ministers, lawyers and lawmakers, kings and sheikhs, principals and head teachers etc.

Law 3: The stupid person causes tremendous losses to the other person while gaining nothing to his or her advantage. This is what Cipolla describes as "The Golden Law of Stupidity." When a Teller keeps you waiting to retrieve your money for an extended time, that's stupidity. Being kept longer on the phone by a customer service representative, is undoubtedly, sheer stupidity. Silly arguments on social media is decorated stupidity.

Now, let's have a glimpse of the three phenotypes that co-exist with stupidity:
The first one is the intelligent person whose functions benefit everyone, including himself. The second one is the bandit whose main intention is to benefit from others to his benefit. The third and last one is the helpless person who benefits others without gaining anything in return.

Law 4: A non-stupid person is clueless, not understanding the damages caused by the stupid person.

Law 5: Of all human beings, whether declining or successful, have numerous stupid people who are the most dangerous, though, the bandit, is more destructive. The non-stupid, who are simply bystanders, are the major causes of the collapse of stable nations.

Local and StateTaxes

Getting rid of of local and state sales taxes and substituting them with uniform sales taxes such that it would become the prerogative of the federal government do the collection and subsequently give back to state governments in piecemeal would gradually set a wrong precedent and usher in centralization which is alien to democratic governance. The constitution of the United States has been crafted in such a way that states enjoy independence and freedom that allow them to run their affairs without federal government involvement and meddling.

According to Bowen, Haynes, and Rosentraub (2006), states spend tax dollars with the view of developing their economies in the fields of education, social and safety programs, and healthcare. Giving the federal government what would have been the prerogative of state governments would undermine infrastructural development and lower the living standards of citizens in all states. When states collect local and sales taxes, there is that sense of ease and competition and the tendency to prosper to a desired level.

Devolution of power, a significant model of governance that spreads power such that states enjoy the right to administer state public policies, is a vital tool for increasing state and local government responsibilities especially the formulation of local laws, and the delivery of goods and services without federal government involvement (Bae, 2008). State and local governments are more capable than the federal government in the delivery of goods and services to the local population. The closeness of state and local government to the people in need of goods and services and the efficiency of service delivery is one factor that cannot be ignored. States have a better role to play in local and state matters than the federal government.

Retail taxes are usually generated from individual purchases from sales transactions. A sales tax is a tax levied on a buyer when a product is purchased for its usefulness (Hyman, 2011). Retail taxes emerge during transactions. In essence, in the cause of transaction, the buyer acts as a government intermediary.

It would be futile to carry out representative and encompassing service stipulation to society from sales tax managed by a federal government. The impact from transferring such a tax to a central administration would be catastrophic for the national economy as their would be a lot of mismanagement, inconsistencies, and incongruities resulting from the transfer of sales tax management to a generally powerful jurisdiction such as the federal government in Washington, DC. The notion of democracy is based on the devolution of power and also separation of powers. This system allows local jurisdictions to craft streamlined systems that make their operations attainable in a manner that brings in satisfaction in the effective delivery of goods and services to the population inhabiting in that jurisdiction.

Transferring local and sales taxes to a central authority would undermine state development and lower human progress especially the social and economic sectors that will be severely impacted by mismanagement ultimately spearheading drastic decline in the effective delivery of goods and services. The notion of freedom that is enshrined in the constitution will also be undermined and the general national administration will be akin to authoritarianism as the state and local governments will be deprived of the rights and privileges enjoyed previously. There will be mismanagement of taxes as some states would receive better preferential treatment than others.

The men and women on the helm in the central headquarters will be driven by favoritisms and affection for states inclined to their political ideals and philosophical thoughts. There is no question that humans have inherent sense of irrationality and preferences for people of like mind and ideas. Any preferential treatment of a state over another state would result in massive migration of people seeking better opportunities and avoiding burdening taxation in their original areas of settlement. Taxation is a government monetary imposition that cause reduction to citizen finances and that is why many abhor it altogether. However, despite citizenry abhorrence of taxation, what is worth comprehending is the significance taxation has on human progress especially when jurisdictions resourcefully and effectively deliver goods and services as demanded without any lapse whatsoever. There are nations on this planet that are free of taxation. However, people pay more for services such as plethora of commodities, groceries, insurance premiums, diesel and gas, electrical and heating utilities, water and garbage collection, school tuition, and other amenities to supplement the missing taxation. 

It would be improper to tax people and redistribute from a government-managed central jurisdiction. This would place a strain on the progress of local and state jurisdictions. In a nutshell, local and state jurisdictions would be unable to make recommendations to the central authority and as well be unable to design a formality that would usher in progress and prosperity to their areas of jurisdictions. On the other hand, the central government would have a hard time making universally encompassing deliberations on tax dispositions in such an expansive nation like the United States.

Centralization of taxation has failed in many authoritarian and dictatorial regimes where hunger and starvation, abject poverty and underdevelopment are the norm. The decline of national infrastructure in undemocratic countries results from poor management of national revenues and other sources of finances. Gross injustices and political decline visible in undemocratic countries emanate from mishandling of the overall governing structures that is based on individual philosophical thoughts as opposed to uniform social deliberations and freedom of choice. Thus, centralization of taxation is inconsistent with modern governance.

Taxation handled by a single governing entity would accelerate a decline in people’s purchasing power. However, since not all jurisdictions share equal resources, the federal government would be tempted to impose hefty taxation on states and local jurisdictions that it finds having significant resources. Likewise, the federal government would put more emphasis on the development of the region having potential for resource production such as in the fields of petroleum, forestry, fisheries, industries, education, medicine and pharmaceutical products, and mineral extraction.

In 2009, the total revenue raised by state governments from sales tax was 30% (Hyman, 2011). Some states depend more on revenues generated from retail sales than others such as Washington which accounted for 63% of total tax collections in the year 2009. Sales and retail taxes are regressive in nature and they are higher for low-income tax-payers. E-commerce, a modern way of conducting business over the internet is gaining ground as consumers become more adept at using this innovative technology. In e-commerce, transactions are usually done between businesses to business where taxation is nonexistent. One problem with the state sales tax is that government and nonprofit organizations are exempted from taxation during transactions. The aging of society may also impact sales tax revenue in the near future.

According to Hyman (2011), retail sales taxes are the prerogative of local and state government and never administered by the federal government. This is already an answer to the question that drives this essay. It was first enacted in New York in the 1930s because there was desire for stable revenue source. In most local and state governments, the administrative costs of running a government are made possible by retail sales taxes. It would be extremely difficult for any local and state government to administer a jurisdiction without collecting state and local taxes. Thus, transferring these taxes to a central government for redistribution would undermine the effective administration of local and state governments.

 

References

 

Bae, S. (2008). Revenue, growth, structure and burden across state and local revenue sources: The impact of state budgetary rules.  Conference Papers-Midwestern Political Science Association. Department of Public Administration: San Francisco State University. 

Bowen, W.M., Haynes, M.E., & Rosentraub, M.S. (2006). Cities, tax revenues, and a state’s fiscal future: The value of major urban centers. Public Budgeting and Finance, 26 (1), 47-65. DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5850.2006.00838.x.

Hyman, D. N. (2011). Public finance: A contemporary application of theory to policy (10^th ed.). 

Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.

 

When Leaders Resist Change

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Today’s leadership is confounded by a plethora of problems that need to be addressed if genuine organizational change is to be affected. One major obstacle to organizational change is the constant resistance to change that has become a daily occurrence and an enigma to all sorts of development. Most often, leaders, management, and lower level employees may resist organizational changes simply because of fear of being exposed to something new that they deem unnecessary or infringing on their previous working styles. A new environment that comes with alterations may not be welcoming to some individuals in a workplace.

Any leader whose goal is to effect new changes to an organization will need to be armed with some valuable philosophical resources to overcome perceptions harbored by some employees in the workplace. Since leadership is a personal characteristic that calls for persuasion and having an embodiment of vision and reflection, in the pre-launch phase, undergoing thorough self-examination could be an added advantage (Burke, 2011). Because undergoing organizational change can be messy and at times chaotic, having self-control, understanding employee behavioral changes, and inculcating tolerance could be vital tools for the pre-launch execution phase.

In the pre-launch phase, understanding the external environment of the organization is a means to improving relations with all people that have dealings with the organization. Coming up with priorities to institute change and providing vision and direction is a means to laying a platform for catapulting to the next phase. Effective leaders who have the trust of their followers have the best chance of succeeding when equipped with appealing behaviors and theoretically reflective foundations that serve as beacons for navigational purposes.

In the launch phase, the best equipment to stretch out immaculately in the launch pad will be effective communication tools. After all is ready for launching, there will be a need for further implementation and inspection of all available facilities to avoid last minute malfunction. In this phase, it should be noted that there will be extreme anxiety or excitement that can only be overcome with the application of scrupulous decision making. What comes after the launch phase will be the post-launch phase that will require collective perseverance and consistent scrutiny.

References

Burke, W. W. (2011). Organization change: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Social Responsibility

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In modern times, social change has become a vital tool for use in advancing the needs of society. Generally, social changes exist in various forms and can have positive or negative consequences. Social change, depending on impact, is a term implying changes in social, economic, religious, or political conditions. An example of social change is what is known as corporate social responsibility. This is when corporations engaged in philanthropy give back to society for the sake of maintaining societal health and foster close cooperation. Firestone, the great American tire manufacturer, in its pursuit of the precious rubber used in the manufacture of the durable tires we use in our cars, has been castigated for the tremendous environmental destruction it has wrought on the West African nation of Liberia (Makina, 2011). Rather than giving back something precious in return, Firestone has imposed on the land and the people of Liberia an environmental hazard that will take years to remedy. Firestone’s irresponsible actions have led to the destruction of vast tracts of land and the creation of other ecological hazards.

Social change can only materialize when those in authority partake in the training, educating, and transforming of communities. Social change is associated with fairness in dealings, accountability, changing attitudes, overcoming biases, organizing change, and determining solutions to problems. Leadership and social responsibility are inseparable. Hickman (1998) believes that corporations and business entities have to give back to communities and be thankful for the role society plays in their successes.

References

Hickman, G.R. (1998). Leading organizations: Perspectives for s new era. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Makina, A. (2011). The impact of globalization on Liberia’s ecosystem. Retrieved from http://wardheernews.com/Articles_2011/May/05_The%20Impac%20of%20globalization_makina.pdf

The Role of Organizations in Social Change

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When used effectively, public policy can be a powerful tool to effect social change. Changing how society lives requires thorough thought and reflection. Implementing social change also requires commitment to the cause, living up to expectations, getting the approval of society through communication, and monitoring the effects it will have on society. Because of the many failures associated with policymaking, policymakers have a responsibility to remain focused on how the policies they legislate impact society. Millions of dollars may be spent on a certain public policy yet fail to materialize in the end.

Currently, the American society is watching with keen interest the contentious tax policy issues being debated by the line-up of party presidential hopefuls competing to win the race to the White House. While taxation is a way of generating the financial resources required to run a government, public resentment can at times lead to tax evasions that drain the national economy. With fair taxation, government can be assured that business owners will not flee with their money for safe keeping in foreign countries. It is a social responsibility when lawmakers ensure business owners feel at home.

Organizations that conduct business in foreign lands have a responsibility to protect the indigenous or local people they encounter. Exploiting the environment and then leaving it depleted is a big plunder that can have catastrophic effects on entire humanity. Overworking or underpaying the locals that do the hard work is against the foundations of public policy.

Having a reliable public policy in place means that the living conditions of society will be sustained, their level of education elevated, and their health needs put to the fore. Seeing policy networks become internationally accepted norms means that governments have now more responsibilities than ever before when it comes to meeting the demands of society. Policy networks are state-interest relations (Thatcher, 1998) and inter-organizational with informal approaches.

References

Thatcher, M. (1998). The development of policy network analyses: From modest origins to overarching frameworks. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 10(4), 389–416.

Liberty vs Communism

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Liberty, happiness, and pursuit of justice are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. ferociously fought the former Soviet Union with a view to toppling communism; it played a great role in the emancipation of millions who have been victims of oppression and suppression. The collapse of communism in the former U.S.S.R brought about the birth of a dozen democracies in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. With the end of multi-polarity and bipolarity, the U.S. remains the undisputed unipolar power or hyper-power in the world today. Many historians attribute China to have a history of warmongering in the past but that is not the case. Two powerful forces that wrecked havoc in the world, the Manchu and Mongols, were not Chinese, but were people of different ethnic group. America’s problem with China is not about China’s rise as a power; instead, the problem lies with China’s political ideology which is communism. At present China remains a strategic partner and not a rival of the U.S. China has a long way to go before it overtakes the U.S. economically. A democratic China is in the interest of her neighbors, the U.S. and the world. China’s rise as a global power is only possible with the demise of communism that is holding back its majesty.

Influence of Election-monitoring on Public Policy

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Election-monitoring, an establishment overseen by the United Nations and founded to ensure fair, smooth, and violence-free elections, is a democratic process that has now become universally accepted where democratic governance is the norm. It is a democratic process overseen by election observers whose primary challenges are to deter fraud and irregularities in elections. Using a variety of techniques, international election observers, through the use of broad and long-term observations, assess pre-election, election-day, and post-election periods in areas of deployment (Carter Center, 2011). Working in concert with the United Nations, the Carter Center, founded by Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States and his wife Rosalyn in 1982 (Carter Center, 2010), has transformed into a visible and gigantic election-monitoring organization in the last decade. The most recent election monitored by the Carter Center was in South Sudan that declared independence in July 2011 and separated from the north to become the newest nation. Election observers or election monitors follow fundamental sets of rules and regulations that are exclusive to them.

Election-monitoring is the responsibility of the Electoral Assistance Division (EAD) of the Department of Political Affairs of the United Nations that oversees plebiscites, referenda and elections needs of member states worldwide (United Nations, 2011). Historically, election-monitoring got off the ground in the late 1940s with South Korea becoming the first testing ground followed by successive observations in the era of trusteeships and decolonization (UN, 2011). Since then, the UN has been actively involved in election processes in a dozen member states most notably Timor-Leste, South Africa, Mozambique, El Salvador, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Iraq, Nepal, Sierra Leone, and Southern Sudan. Election-monitoring is not possible without the presence of political parties or factions and intensive strategic lobbying.

Strategic Lobbying

Strategic lobbying is a democratic process and a tactical practice lobbyists use to influence political leaders. According to Henderson (2011, September 26), strategic lobbying implies the act of influencing certain decisions to the lobbyist’s favor. In the United States, according to the 1st Session of the 104 Congress (House of Representatives, 1995), the Lobbying and Disclosure Act of 1995 requires lobbyists and interest groups to register with the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate. Lobbyists and interest groups in the US spend a lot of money to advance their aims and objectives. It has been estimated that lobbyists and interest groups in the US spent $2.21 billon lobbying Congress in 2005 (Jennifer, 2006).

Political Parties

Another important aspect of profound importance in the democratic process is the presence of parties or factions whose absence makes democracy null and void. In healthy democracies, such as those found in the western hemisphere, political parties jostle for power in order to control the resources of a nation. Driven by ideals, factions either stick to their governing principles or advance effective changes they deem commensurate with their mode of leadership. According to Dislavo (2010, p. 273), “more specifically, factions often drive the parties toward or away from the political center”. Thus, a party may take a different course which could be beneficial or detrimental to the party and its leadership.

In conclusion, intense competitions between rival parties driven by the desire to control national resources are part of the processes that influence public policy. In the presence of checks and balances, strategic lobbying and political parties are two mutually supporting principles that subsist to formulate healthy democratic processes for the common good of all citizens. In case of negative influences, political irregularities or misappropriations, the long arm of the law is there to take the lead and bring culprits to books. Thus, lobbyists and interest groups can effect change in modern democracies as they have the capacity to generate remarkable developmental projects that benefit not only themselves, but the constituencies they live in.

References

Carter Center Calls for Calm as Parties Await Electoral Results (2011). Retrieved from http://www.cartercenter.org/news/publications/election_reports.html

The Carter Center at a Glance (2010). Retrieved from http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/news/annual_reports/annual-report-10.pdf

United Nations (2011). Electoral assistance. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/main/issues/elections/

Henderson, B. (2011, September 26). RE: Week 4-Discussion (Online Discussion group). Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5680882&Survey=1&47=9462243&ClientNodeID=404822&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Lobbying Disclosure Act (1995). House of Representatives report. Retrieved from http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/HReport104-339.pdf

Watkins, Z. L. (2008). Lobbyists and interest groups. Retrieved from http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RS20725.pdf

Disalvo, D (2010). The Politics of a party faction: The liberal labor alliance in the Democratic Party, 1948–1972, p. 273. Journal of Policy History, Vol. 22, No.

Democratic governance

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Democratic governance is often illustrated by the existence of political parties. A political party is usually an organization with broad political agendas whose main aim is to control government policy. Despite espousing different political views, leaders of political parties often sort out their political differences through cooperation and compromise. Unlike oligarchic and dictatorial regimes where a few leaders hold absolute power to suppress political fragmentation and dissent in their realms, in a genuine democracy, the smooth-running of the government of the day is the prerogative of elected political leaders. The terms party and faction have been used interchangeably by political leaders, researchers, and students of political science. According to DiSalvo, “factions are engines of political change that develop new ideas, refine them into workable policies, and promote them in government” (2010, p. 269).

Parties are the most important organizations that control the resources of a nation. In the United States, two conflicting and competing political parties, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, have been the torchbearers of the nation for many years (Belloni and Beller, 1976). Because these two political parties have been dominating American political arena for such a long time, the prospect of smaller parties emerging in a landslide victory have always been hampered by the domineering tactics of the bigger parties. It is common for political parties to align themselves with interest groups such as religious and secular organizations for the sake of emerging the majority party in the electoral process. A presidential hopeful may give a lecture at an institution or before a church that has a large following simply to garner support as did former president Ronald Reagan at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty Baptist College in 1980 (Williams, 2010).

Political parties play vital roles in the democratic process by injecting new ideas and implementing viable projects that they deem beneficial to the nation’s social, economic, and political wellbeing. Because members of political parties are accountable to the voting public, they have to avoid removal from office at all cost by making valuable contributions to the society they represent. As opposed to the clangorous Indian, Turkish, Taiwanese, and Somali parliamentary debates known for political pugilism , the United States political party deliberations always convene in peaceful atmospheres.

References

Belloni, F. P., & Beller, D. C. (1976). The study of party factions as competitive political organizations. Political Research Quarterly, 29(4), 531–549.

DiSalvo, D. (2010). The Politics of a Party Faction: The Liberal Labor Alliance in the Democratic Party, 1948–1972. Journal of Policy History, Vol. 22 Issue 3, 269.

Williams, D. K. (2010). Jerry Falwell’s Sunbelt Politics: The Regional Origins of the Moral Majority. Journal of Policy History, Vol. 22, No. 2, 126.

Representative Democracy, Constitutional Democracy, and Republic

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Representative democracy, constitutional democracy, and republic are governing systems that preserve the rights of the individual citizen. Citizens vote the type and government of choice through the ballot box. Representative democracy, a form of government whose basic elements are political representation and democratic governance, is the prerogative of voters who elect representatives in a given calendar year (Lovett, 2006). It is a form of government in which the top elected brass governs until the next elections. Representative democracy allows citizens to elect representatives at all levels of society from city to the federal level. These representatives then carry on with the responsibilities accorded them by their voters until next election session when they can either reclaim their seats or be replaced by new members. A change in government representation is made possible by frequent elections and that winning a seat is determined by the number of votes garnered by a representative.

Constitutional democracy is a system of government based on popular control where structures, powers, and limits of government are set forth in a constitution and that is an amendable authoritative document. Nations like Panama, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ghana are constitutional democracies (CIA, 2011). However, questions remain whether some countries that call themselves democracies are really democratic or just exist in name only. Some are pseudo-democracies where there is widespread corruption and manipulation in electoral processes. For governments that are partial democracies, the ruling party upholds absolute power such that it manages the constitution and denies opposition certain rights. In contemporary America, states have greater degree of control over matters pertaining to self-government and have the right to resist imposition of centralization by the federal government (Ritchie, 1936).

A republic is a form of representative democracy where elected deputies or representatives vote on acceptable legislation. In a republic, according to Roust and Shvetsova (2007), voters give consideration to representatives who they deem have the ability to reverse existing trends for the better. The United States, known for its strong democratic tradition, is a constitution-based federal republic. Nations like France, Finland, Georgia, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Moldova, and many others are republics. Iran is a theocratic republic; Mexico, Ethiopia, and India are federal republics while Iceland is a constitutional republic.

References

Lovett, F. (2006). Republicanism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (spring 2010 Ed.). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/republicanism/

CIA (2011). Field Listing: Government Type. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2128.html?countryName=&countryCode=®ionCode=M

Ritchie, A. C. (1936). The Constitution and the states. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 185(1), 16–21.

Roust, K. & Shvetlova, O. (2007). Representative Democracy as a Necessary Condition for the Survival of a Federal Constitution. The Journal of Federalism volume 37 number 2, pp. 244-261.

Essential Concepts and Principles of Democracy

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For generations the concepts of democracy have been subjects of discussions or debates among legislators, between people in academia, and the ordinary citizen. What makes democracy distinct from the many political and philosophical thoughts is the freedom that comes with it. In antiquity, especially in the era of the Athenians, the application of eleutheria, a word that corresponds in meaning to “being free”, has been the driving factor that guided the principles of liberty. As opposed to douleia which implied “being a slave”, eleutheria signified the equality of the citizens of the state and foreign nationals (Hansen2010). Further, Hansen (2010, p. 3) states that “eleutheria was regularly invoked as a basic democratic ideal in debates that contrasted democracy and tyranny”. In essence, almost everyone involved in the discussion of democracy employs a different interpretation that edge toward a political dispensation unique to personal thoughts and imaginations. According to Landow (2011), democracy has been contentious in past American history with squabbling and confrontations being some of its noted features among legislators.

According to Prothro and Grigg (1960), for a democracy to be successful, there has to be consensus within the social fabric. However, to political scientists, there is no general agreement in mind as to the exact proportion of what constitutes consensus in government. Conversely, for the purpose of constitutional amendment, three-fourths is a good measure to reach an accord. King (2000, p. 661), argues that “any theory that might justify the use of a three-fifths (60%) or two-thirds (66.6%) decision rule should be equally effective at justifying a nine-tenths (90%) decision rule or even the rule of a single person (99.9999%)”.

Of the many concepts of democracy, the four unique and guiding principles that I have chosen to highlight are popular sovereignty, equality, elections, and consensus. The major factor that endears people to have a democratic government is for the most part for the protection and promotion of their rights, interests, and welfare. Some important concepts of modern democracy are democracy, constitutionalism, and liberalism. Post (2009, p. 430) defines constitutionalism as the “law of lawmaking”.

Popular Sovereignty

In popular sovereignty, the people, meaning citizens, are the ultimate source and authority of government and that it is a fundamental principle of government. King Concurs (p. 609) that the current U.S. Constitution requires the votes of two-thirds of Congress or states to initiate an amendment.

Equality

Going by the adage “no one is above the law”, equality entails equality of all people before the law regardless of color, creed, religion, sex and gender, religious and political affiliation, and national origin. In liberal democracy, even those regarded as minorities have equal right before the law. If there was no equality in democracy, those enjoying majority rules would govern according to their wishes and thus trample on the inalienable rights of the minority. That is why it is incumbent upon leaders to uphold the law and ensure the equality of all races and sexes. Stratification and marginalization of a select group of people is unacceptable in a genuine democracy. Equal sharing of the fruits of the nation should apply to all citizens.

Giving preference to one religion over the other is undemocratic; likewise, favoring an able-bodied person over a disabled, in any form, is illegal and subject to prosecution before a court of law. An era of political unrest known as the civil rights movement, gripped the U.S. in the sixties mainly because of inequality of races. Similarly, South Africa under the apartheid regime experienced proliferation of political and civil rights movements and increased chaos between the white regime and the oppressed black population.

Free Elections

Elections alone, without being free, fair, and frequent, do not fulfill the wishes of people electing government of choice. Any liberal democracy that wishes to see proper governance has to have a form of genuine representation that evolves out of free, fair, and frequent electioneering processes. According to the U.S. Constitution, free elections are meant to empower every citizen the right to contest and hold office without encumbrances. Regarding voting rights, the U.S. Constitution thus admonishes: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (U.S. Constitution, 1870). “Fair elections” imply fundamentally honest elections that never hinder voters from voting for the right candidate. “Frequent elections” means that there have to be elections now and then so that people can have control of the government. In pseudo-democracies, ruling parties enjoy leverage over the opposition by frequently proclaiming majority votes in major and minor elections at times corresponding to 99.99%. Opposition’s fear of government repression and refusal by the ruling elite to submit to defeat has been harbinger for continuous manipulation in many election processes where the rule of law is mandated by dictatorship.

Liberty

Liberty, a word having many connotations, is used to describe varieties of rights. The freedom to follow one’s conscience is described as personal liberty. The right to contract and follow one’s avocation or calling is economic liberty. When a citizen votes or partakes in an election process with the aim of making changes to the government of the day, that citizen is exercising his political rights. Civil liberty allows a person to join certain unfettered reforms while social and cultural liberty benefits people who are inclined to social and cultural beliefs (Stevens, 1998). A modern political inclusion or proposition, consensus is a fundamental principle that is essential to democracy and that it implies unanimity or general agreement though we are not told the nature and kind of agreement. Political consensus enables all sides of the political spectrum to agree on an agenda and reach a unifying solution.

Mill (1860) concurred that Christianity was restricted to Europe and European descendants, a reasonable occurrence that may have transpired during his lifetime. However, in the last few centuries, Europe and its descendants took their religion to greater heights while at the same propagating democracy far and wide. Mill’s explanation of individuality as being equivalent to development is an undeniable fact. It is evident from Mill’s essays that he exhaustively focused on various aspects of democratic tenets before concluding what constitute an essential democracy. His pioneering ideas and philosophical thoughts and works have impacted the nature of democratic governance we cherish today in many spheres of the globe.

Conclusion

The absence of one democratic concept or principle is cause for democratic failure. All the concepts/principles of democracy are interdependent and inseparable. Taking away one concept is like depriving a human being of one his/her senses: vision, smell, touch, hearing, and so on. Of the many principles of democratic governance in the world today, liberal democracy towers above others when it comes to rendering developmental services to the cause of humanity.

References

Hansen, Mogens H. (2010). Democratic Freedom and the Concept of
Freedom in Plato and Aristotle. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 50 (2010) 1–2. Retrieved from http://www.duke.edu/web/classics/grbs/FTexts/50/Hansen1.pdf

Landow, P. (2011, August 10). Midlands Voices: Contentious democracy a tradition. Omaha World Herald. Retrieved from http://www.omaha.com/article/20110810/NEWS0802/708109938

Prothro, James W. & Grigg, Charles M. (1960). Fundamental Principles of Democracy: Bases of Agreement and Disagreement. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 22, No., pp. 276-294.

Post, Robert C. (2009). Democracy, Popular Sovereignty, and Judicial Review. California Law Review, Vol. 86:429, pp.

King, Brett W. (2000). Wild Political Dreaming: Historical Context, Popular Sovereignty, and Supermajority Rules. Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 2:3, p. 661.

The Constitution of the United States (1870). Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified 2/3/1870. Retrieved from http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am14

Stevens, M. (1998). The Philosophic Concept of Liberty. California State University. Retrieved from http://faculty.ncwc.edu/mstevens/default.htm

Mill, John S. (1860). On Liberty. Harvard Classics, Vol. 25.
Collier & Son, retrieved from http://www.constitution.org/jsm/liberty.htm

Federalism and Separation of Power

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Federalism and separation of powers are two commonly identical democratic concepts that share almost equal connotations and play a pivotal role in the endearing democratic system of governance exclusive to Western governments. Federalism is a political system in which power that was once concentrated in the hands of a central governing body is dispersed to allow for decentralization to take effect and enhance autonomy in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. In other words, federalism is a system of governance where several states or regions surrender power to a central government while maintaining a limited measure of autonomy. To Cameron and Falleti (2004), at the sub-national level, federalism acts as a constitutional pact that guarantees the establishment of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

James Buchanan, an influential American leader, in defense of federalism, is remembered for his resounding political stand regarding the effectiveness of the application of federalism. To Buchanan, competitive federalism was a means to extending the market economy and organizing the political configuration of the nation (Migue, 1996). The system of federalism specified by Buchanan was meant to deny the majority broad powers.

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, a French politician and socialist who lived to see the historic French Revolution prognosticated the spread of federalism long before anyone contemplated its global significance. Proudhon (1863) succinctly hypothesized the relevance of the spread of federalism and freedom from government in the twentieth century. For Proudhon, failure to implement federalism would have been purgatory for humanity. Proudhon’s political prophesy finally materialized as 40% of world governments today embrace some form of federalism (Cameron & Falleti, 2004).

Separation of powers is embodied in the U.S. Constitution and detailed in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Articles. The framing of the separation of powers in the U.S. resulted in the creation of 50 states. The American system of separation of powers divides branches of government into the Legislative branch which is the House of Representatives and the Senate and depicted in the 1st Article; the Executive branch composed of the President, Vice-President, and the Departments and mentioned in the 2nd Article; and the Judicial branch depicted in the 3rd Article and composed of the federal courts and the Supreme Court of the United States. In essence it is a means to ensuring the existence of checks and balances (U.S. Constitution, 1870).

Federalism and balance of power fare better than other forms of governance where power is concentrated in the hands of a central government. Federalism and separation of powers have been found to be effective political tools in that they are a relief in the effective running of governments and that they allow for checks and balances. Checks and balances help alleviate misconceptions because elected representatives perform their tasks in accordance with the demands of the state. Every leader is held accountable to the state and to the society he or she represents. Leaders found to be underperforming may be subject to disciplinary action at times resulting in removal from office. In oligarchic, theocratic, monarchic, and dictatorial governments, power is concentrated in the hands of a select few. Such governing styles contravene federalism and separation of powers enjoyed in the West.

References

Cameron, Maxwell A. & Falleti, Tulia G. (2004). Federalism and the separation of powers at the sub-national level. The American Political Science Association. Retrieved from http://www.politics.ubc.ca/fileadmin/user_upload/poli_sci/Faculty/cameron/Federalism_and_the_Separation_of_Powers_Aug11-04b1.pdf

Jean-Luc Migue (1996). Federalism and individual sovereignty: Comment on Buchanan. Th Cato Journal vol. 15 no. 2-3. Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj15n2-3-9.html

Pierre-Joseph, P. (1863). The Principle of federation and the need to reconstitute the party of revolution (Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press, 1863), pp. 68-69.

U.S. Constitution (1870). Retrieved from http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A1Sec1.html

Somali-Supreme Revolutionary Council: Harbinger for Social Injustice and Collapse of State Institutions

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"Little did we guess that what has been called the century of the common men would witness as its outstanding feature more men killing each other with greater facilities than any other five centuries together in the history of the world."
Winston Churchill-1945.

Abstract

This paper discusses the ethical and social justice issues that afflicted the Somali nation from 1969 to 1991 when the Somali-Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) acted as the only political revolutionary entity in the country. Two major aspects, ethics and social justice, that had been immensely undermined and abused by the state plunged the Somali nation into its current situation of statelessness. Ethics and social justice are two interrelated subjects that have been used interchangeably in legal matters and in social organization. In this period in time, Somalia, a country in the Horn Africa bordering Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, had been under the mercy of a brutal military regime headed by Major General Mohamed Siyad Barre. During SRC’s height of power the concepts of human rights, equality, justice, and liberty got trampled on by the revolutionary party thus affecting the lives of a homogeneous nation dominated primarily by peripatetic citizens whose livelihood depended on livestock raring.

Proclaiming independence and a pseudo-democracy in 1960, the first of its kind in Africa, after the merger of the northern British Somaliland protectorate and the southern Italian colony of Somaliland, Somalia’s political freedom worsened after a military takeover in 1969. Nine years into democratic rule, the political landscape tilted toward military rule with the sudden assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke. The subsequent coup d’état orchestrated by a junta comprising twenty-five military officers led to the dissolution of previous democratic

and parliamentary institutions. The demise of democratization and the rise of militarism gave birth to socio-political injustices that included tribal hegemony, political irredentism, nationalization of private institutions, superfluous corrupt practices, abuse of office, favoritisms and persecution of the clergy and political opponents. Sensing a power vacuum after the sudden departure of the assassinated president from the political spectrum, members of SRC resolved to massive sweeping operations that resulted in human rights violations. President Shermarke was gunned down by a close relative on October 15, 1969 while on a trip to the north of the country at Las Anod Airstrip (Mertz, 1992).

Despite the SRC spearheading massive militarization and improvement of state economic structures on a grand scale in its initial years of governance, the sudden turn of political events in the country accelerated the collapse of state institutions, disintegration of social equality, and decline of economic freedom. Unethical running of state institutions by corrupt military cadres primarily from the SRC and their immediate relatives who espoused militaristic and authoritarian leadership styles opened a path for an atmosphere of disobedience, distrust, and recalcitrance. The absence of obligation to the citizenry (Cooper, 2006) brought about conflicting loyalties or conflicting obligations remorselessly revolving into a state of virulence. In this case, the SRC was to blame for the justification of state tyranny and propagation of rampant corruption committed in its name by the state machinery.

Scientific Socialism: Unethical and a Social Injustice

Somalia’s new military leadership adapted scientific socialism, a system of authority akin to communism and borrowed from the amalgamation of the theories of Marx, Mao, Lenin, and Mussolini. According to Mendel (1966), as defined by Marx, scientific socialism implied “preaching in the garb of analysis”. Contrary to Islamic teachings and democratic values, committee members of the SRC claimed that scientific socialism was commensurate with Islamic values and thus epitomized the self-help principle defined in Somali as “iskaa wax u qabso”. The kind of socialism implemented by the SRC was in essence, as Flew (1995) put it in the words of Hayek (1976) “entirely empty and meaningless”. Upon taking the reins of power, SRC took to sweeping destructive measures that caused untold suffering to the mass. This included arbitrary arrests of influential figures of the former government who were imprisoned in the infamous underground dungeons scattered all over the country. The revolutionary council used the dreaded National Security Service (NSS) to harass and intimidate members of select tribes that were considered a threat to the revolutionary structure and national sovereignty. The head of the NSS was General Ahmed Suleiman who was the in-law of the president.

Killing Rampage

Public execution by firing squad of high-ranking public figures became common in Mogadishu. The execution by firing squad of ten Muslim scholars who denounced a presidential decree regarding the equality of women to men in Islamic law coincided with the United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of the International Women’s Year in 1975. Members of the ten executed scholars included Ali Hassan Warsame, Ali Jama Hersi, Adan Ali Hersi, Sheikh Ahmed Iman, Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed, Hasan Issa Iley, Mohamed Siyaad Hersi, Sheikh Muse Yusuf, Saleeban Jama Mohamed, and Yasin Elmi Awl (Biyokulule, 2009). This hasty execution of religious scholars without legal justification put the SRC in political limbo with Muslim scholars especially those from Arab nations denouncing the killings as unjustified and without merit. Killing of opposition candidates and arrest of innocent civilians without legal representation was widespread such that thousands of educated elites sought refuge in neighboring countries, in the West, and in the Middle East.

Conflicting Loyalties

Censorship of publications that shed light on the regime’s poor performance became common. The government controlled what to read and what not to read. Xiddigta Oktoobar, a low-class newspaper consisting of a dozen pages and owned by the government, disseminated propaganda, presidential decrees, and other irrelevant materials emanating from the top leaders of the nation. The appalling human rights violations and excesses committed by SRC command forced the US, EU, and international human rights groups to call for sanctions and other military measures. The SRC’s obsession with communism and the nation’s leadership inclination to the Soviet Union inspired Somali leaders to brace shoulders with Russian, eastern European, Latin American, and Caribbean apparatchiks in Moscow, Havana, Berlin, and other communist hotspots respectively. Somalia switched sides by kicking out the Russians after the devastating 1977/78 war with Ethiopia over the Ogaden region. Somalia and Ethiopia fought over this predominantly Somali-inhabited Ogaden region in a brutal war that took the lives of thousands of innocent civilians

and displayed perhaps an equal number. Prior to the escalation of hostilities with the regime in Addis Ababa, Somalia had the strongest army in black Africa. Regardless of its military might, Somalia's exhausted and poorly-armed army was no match for the heavily-armed amalgamation of Ethiopian, Russian, Cuban, and Communist South Yemeni forces. Despite capturing most of its intended territory from antagonistic Ethiopia that was under the tutelage of Mengistu Haile Miriam, the torchbearer of the Derg regime and instigator of the Red Terror inflicted heavy losses on the invading Somali Army and the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) that was funded, armed, and directed from Mogadishu, Somalia's capital and seat of government. From the Ethiopian side, primary commanders of this devastating war included Mengistu Haile Miriam and his close confidant Aberra Haile Miriam assisted by Cold War allied commanders General Vasily

Petrov, a decorated World War II veteran and commander of the Soviet Army and Arnaldo Ochoa of Cuba. Major propagators from Somali side included Major General Mohamed Siyad Barre and his right-hand man Lieutenant General Muhammad Ali Samatar (Global Security, 1986). By the time the war ended, thousands of refugees from Ethiopia's occupied Ogaden region found themselves living in abject poverty in various refugee camps inside Somalia and relying on relief aid provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international aid agencies.

After ending the political imbroglio with the USSR, Somalia turned to the United States for military and economic aid. To ensure America filled the vacuum left by the Soviets, Somalia gave the US unconditional use of its Russian-built port in the town of Berbera overlooking the Gulf of Aden. In the early years of 1984 and at the height of the Cold War, the US, after signing contract agreement with the Somali Ministry of Defense, succeeded overturning the declining shape of the decrepit port and the ramshackle airport, which, at that time was reputedly considered to have been the longest in Africa. According to the New York Times (1995), “aid declined drastically as allegations of human rights abuses rose”. Driven by the desire to obliterate civil disobedience and silence all sorts of conceivable rebellion, the SRC used Berbera runway to catapult jet fighters operated by hired South African mercenary pilots in 1988 to carryout carpet bombings against the embittered northern Isaac clans who were up in arms for the sole purposes of reclaiming self-determination.

Social Division

SRC committed social stratification that elevated a sector of society while suppressing those found not to be towing the line. Likewise, social disintegration, tribal divisions, economic strangulation, and unwarranted political obscurantisms rose exponentially in some areas like the northern and eastern provinces leaving a portion of the country cut out from the rest of the country. Such infringements on the rights of the individual Somali citizen retarded the nation’s economic status in the global economy ultimately leaving Somalia a pariah state lacking credible friends in the international community of nations. Under General Barre NGOs were prohibited (Marchal, Mubarak, Del Buono & Mozalillo, 2000) because they were considered as tools for hiding under clan umbrella. Barre’s clan dominated all sectors of the economy and the military. The president’s family enjoyed tremendous leverage over other clans in banking and other financial institutions such that members had fixed assets in the country and overseas trusts.

Aid earmarked for rejuvenating the nation’s dwindling economy and for the underprivileged class ended in the pockets of the tops echelons of the party. Instead of opening the nation to the world, SRC espoused a policy of allowing a few tribal members travel abroad for business trips, scholarships, and leisurely purposes. The department of immigration, headed by a close relative of the president issued passports through the use of favoritism and kinship ties. Selection of heads of diplomatic missions and consular office representatives depended not on applicant merit and reliability, but on factors related to subservience to the regime, closeness to a reputed figure, giving out bribes, or accepting party directives however unfavorable the terms may be.

Land Grabbing

Despite enjoying moderate climate and dependable arable land straddling the Juba and Shebelle rivers, Somalia became an aid dependent nation. The most corrupt nations enjoyed joint ventures with the regime’s top most fraudulent bureaucrats grabbing land belonging to poor riverine tribes living on the margins of the nation’s only two perennial rivers that fall to the south of the country. Nations that had vested livestock, fishing, veterinary, and agricultural interests included Italy, Libya, the former Soviet Union, and Romania. Somalita, a joint Somali-Italian agricultural enterprise enjoyed exclusive rights to farming in the southern fertile lands producing bananas on a wide scale. Regardless of Italy’s large scale agricultural produce in this part of Somalia, the area lacked basic infrastructure; towns were deficient in the acquisition of accessible water and sewerage systems; electricity was almost nonexistent; and the few existing medical facilities could not cope up with the spread of diseases.

Protracted Theft and Retarded Development

With the exception of the 500 km highway that connected Mogadishu to Kismayu in the south, the rest of the region was inaccessible especially during the rainy seasons when large tracts of land became flooded. The former Soviet Union unconditionally managed Las Kore Fishing Cannery in the east of the country. Much of the fishing produce was intended to feed Communist Russia’s explosive population leaving Somalia’s impoverished population with nothing except few employment opportunities. Despite Somalia having the longest coastline in Africa (Earth Trends, 2003), the ruling SRC failed rendering assistance to the few local fishermen fishing along Somalia’s 3898 km coastline to raise production. Fisherman plied the coastline using unreliable and dilapidated motorboats resulting in failure to meet consumer demands and consequently accelerating reduced fishing production. Instead, fishermen sold their catches to SOMALFISH, the only government industrial fishing monopoly in the country.

In another joint fishery cooperation known as SIADCO, Somalia and Iraq jointly operated four trawlers allowing Iraq to haul much of the Somali fish to Iraqi markets (Sonu, 1982). Despite generating millions of dollars from fishing and despite receiving millions of dollars in the form of grants and awards from friendly foreign governments, ordinary Somali citizens ended up receiving nothing in return to overturn the sorry state of the economy. In the absence of accountability, social justice, ethical considerations, and quality leadership, the feasible or tangible monetary gains generated from marine fishing ended up in private overseas accounts.

Another worthless joint venture known as RomSoma, a farming project implemented by the Government of Romania in cooperation with the Somali government, carried out low-level farming in the town of Balad, about 30 km from Mogadishu. This farming venture, according to Douthwaite (2003), applied endosulfan, a dangerous industrial chemical to eradicate the killer tsetse fly.

However, the result was reduction in bird incubation and disappearance of various bee species from the area. RomSoma and the repressive Somali regime may shoulder the blame for taking away agricultural lands that could have benefitted the residents of the town.

Recommendations

The SRC failed miserably in its political governance endeavors such that after twenty-one years of military rule, the country still remains in a condition described by the media and political scholars as ‘statelessness’. The problems created by the SRC could have been averted if the party followed constructively applied distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice. The lingering political divide in the country was spearheaded by the party in power whose ideals rested on authoritarian sacrifices. Party apparatchiks had the responsibility to prevail over the spread of social inequality and social inequity in the nation yet negligently left things to get out of hand. The elevation of some tribes over other tribes spearheaded hate and schisms of the greatest magnitude.

It is a requirement for top governing institutions willing to preserve national coherence to be fair and impartial when dealing with the ordinary citizen of the state. Those endowed with authority should take the lead and ensure equal and profound spread of ethical concepts and social justice without regard to race, creed, color, sex and gender, origin, and political and religious affiliation. The SRC could have achieved success in the workplace if it had paid

particular attention to fair social equity and social justice in the workplace. One other factor the party leadership would have scrutinized carefully entailed keeping an eye on procedural justice which is determining job allocations. Because of widespread abuse in the workplace and absence of interactional justice, Somalia under SRC became a place where human dignity was not given the worth it deserved.

Conclusion

Despite abundance of natural resources and untapped mineral wealth, the plethora of social injustices and unethical misdeeds perpetrated by the SRC eventually left the Somali nation succumb to poverty and destitution and prolonged reliance on foreign aid. The underlying recurring cycle of violence evident in the country since the fall of the central government in 1991 may be attributed to the past injustices perpetrated by the irresponsible SRC bureaucracy and its oligarchic revolutionaries that malevolently fleeced the economy for selfish paltry gains. The international community’s adamancy in restraining the erratic double dealings of the SRC and its misguided ideological principles gave Siyad Barre and his confidants to tread a path of irreversible destruction. Lack of practicable human rights, justice, liberty, and equality undermined the party’s struggle to impose level governance.

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