• An Economic Assessment of the Institution of Land Use Planning in the Cities of Sub-Saharan Africa

      Egbu, Anthony; Antwi, Adarkwah; Olomolaiye, Paul (RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), 2006)
      The institutions of land use planning in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa have come of age. For more than 40 years, the received colonial town planning laws and associated regulations have guided urban land development processes in the region. In spite of the problems of ‘illegal’ developments and delays in the procedures for obtaining land and development rights, no economic assessment of the system of land use planning in Africa seems to have been attempted. This paper analyses the impact of land use planning on urban development and examines the incentive structure of the political market of planning in the cities of sub-Saharan Africa. The objective is to identify the institutional weakness of land use planning in the region. The paper concludes that it would appear the system of land use planning in sub-Saharan Africa operates in such a way that allows the externalisation of costs onto those actors of the society whose interests are not sufficiently represented within the land use planning system. (RICS)
    • Anglo-Irish Relations and the Northern Ireland Peace Process: From Exclusion to Inclusion.

      O'Kane, Eammon (Taylor & Francis, 2004)
      In the early 1990s the British and Irish governments moved away from the policy of attempting to marginalise the IRA and Sinn Féin to enticing republicanism into mainstream politics. This article examines why the two governments made this apparent shift in policy. The British and Irish governments were persuaded to change their policy on Northern Ireland due to a variety of factors, all of which need to be examined if the origins of the peace process are to be understood. The article questions existing explanations that portray the origins of the peace process and the Downing Street Declaration as simply a victory for Irish nationalism without taking account of the concessions secured by the British government from the Irish during the protracted negotiations. (Ingenta)
    • Apologies in Irish Politics: A Commentary and Critique

      Cunningham, Mike (London: Taylor & Francis, 2004)
      This article considers the reasons for, and the responses to, two recent apologies in Irish Politics. These are Tony Blair's statement in 1997 concerning the Famine of the 1840s and the IRA apology of 2002. A set of criteria are developed by which to judge the validity of these apologies. It is argued that Blair's statement did not formally constitute an apology although one would be valid if British policy of the period were to be considered unjust. The case of the IRA apology is more clear cut, as unjust actions were committed and responsibility can be clearly demonstrated.
    • Britain, Ireland and Northern Ireland Since 1980: The Totality of Relationships

      O'Kane, Eammon (London: Routledge (Taylor & Francis), 2006)
      This new study reveals how British and Irish governments not only had different reasons for co-operating, but also had different prescriptions for ending the conflict in Northern Ireland. Eamonn O'Kane shows how and why the two states were subject to demands and expectations from their 'client' communities in the North had conflicting historical explanations for the problem and different domestic considerations to take into account. He argues that all of these factors must be examined in context and in doing so makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the Northern Ireland conflict and offers a new explanation for the emergence and development of the peace process. Based on extensive new interview data, this volume is an invaluable resource for students and researchers of British politics, Irish studies and conflict studies.
    • British Government Policy in Northern Ireland, 1969-2000

      Cunningham, Mike (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001)
      This completely revised and updated second edition provides a comprehensive introduction to British government policy in Northern Ireland. It is a detailed study and looks at policy in four related areas - constitutional, security, economic and social - offering an overview of the questions of continuity and bipartisanship in British policy. For ease of reference, the book deals with these four policy areas chronologically by administration. The text is completely revised to cover the Major administration and the Labour administration up to 2000, including recent periods of intense legislative activity, such as the Good Friday Agreement, the reform of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and the reform of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. It will prove invaluable as an undergraduate textbook for modules on Northern Ireland, and as a reference source on government policy for students of British politics at undergraduate and postgraduate level. (Manchester University Press)
    • Compulsory Land Acquisition in Ghana - Policy and Praxis

      Larbi, Wordsworth Odami; Antwi, Adarkwah; Olomolaiye, Paul (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004)
      Compulsory land acquisition powers have been used extensively in Ghana since colonial times, as the main means of the state's access to land for development. The underlying principle is supremacy of the state over people and their private property, and is aimed at providing land for public and social amenities, correcting economic and social inefficiencies in private market operations and providing greater equity and social justice in the distribution of land. The paper analyses compulsory acquisition practice in Ghana in the light of these principles. It argues that few of the presumed principles have been met. Rather compulsory land acquisition has resulted in adverse socio-economic consequences including in landlessness, poverty and heightened tension in state-community relationship. The paper advocates for a new legal and institutional environment for employing compulsory acquisition powers.
    • Creating Jobs, Manufacturing Unity: Ulster Unionism and Mass Unemployment 1922-34

      Norton, Christopher (London: Routledge, 2001)
      The inter-war recession and resultant mass unemployment presented a serious problem for the new Northern Ireland government. Having weathered republican attempts to destabilise the state, the Unionist government found its credibility questioned by a core element of its own support: the Protestant working class. In its efforts to galvanise support and ensure Unionist unity the government resorted to a series of strategies to alleviate the unemployment problem. The pursuit of these strategies created tension and division within the Unionist cabinet. What became apparent was that Unionist unity could be secure not by the appeal of sectarianism but only by the appearance of competence. (Informaworld)
    • Crime Prevention as Law: Rhetoric or Reality?

      Moss, Kate (London: Routledge, 2005)
      This innovative and pioneering new book establishes links between crime reduction and the law, uniquely offering a detailed examination of how specific legislation and performance targets aid or undermine attempts at crime reduction. Providing a sustained analysis, this ground-breaking book considers the social policy, politics and legislation that surround and drive the crime reduction agenda. It analyzes: the creation of 'safe environments' through Town and Country Planning legislation, the role of local authorities in crime reduction initiatives, the nature of drug policy, paedophilia legislation, and programs to control mental disorder crime. Bringing together the work of internationally renowned experts in this field, this book will prove very useful to students of criminology and sociology, as well as crime prevention and reduction practitioners, police officers and community safety partnership professionals. (Routledge)
    • Crime reduction and the law

      Moss, Kate; Stephens, Mike (London: Routledge, 2005)
      This innovative and pioneering new book establishes links between crime reduction and the law, uniquely offering a detailed examination of how specific legislation and performance targets aid or undermine attempts at crime reduction. Providing a sustained analysis, this ground-breaking book considers the social policy, politics and legislation that surround and drive the crime reduction agenda. It analyzes: the creation of 'safe environments' through Town and Country Planning legislation, the role of local authorities in crime reduction initiatives, the nature of drug policy, paedophilia legislation and programs to control mental disorder crime. Bringing together the work of internationally renowned experts in this field, this book will prove very useful to students of criminology and sociology, as well as crime prevention and reduction practitioners, police officers and community safety partnership professionals.(Routledge)
    • Food and the Food Crisis in Post-War Germany, 1945-1948: British Policy and the Role of British NGOs

      Steinert, Johannes-Dieter (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006)
      This volume examines conflicts over food and their implications for European societies in the first half of the Twentieth century. Ranging across Europe, from Scandinavia and Britain to Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union, this volume explores the political, economic and cultural dynamics that shaped conflicts over food and their legacies. (Palgrave Macmillan)
    • Government and agency response to soil erosion risk in europe

      Fullen, Michael A.; Arnalds, Andres; Bazzoffi, Paulo; Booth, Colin A.; Castillo, Victor; Martin, Philippe; Ritsema, Coen (Wiley InterScience, 2006)
      Provides an assessment of soil erosion throughout Europe, an important aspect to control and manage if landscapes are to be sustained for the future. This book focuses on issues of: area specific soil erosion rates, on and off-site impacts, government responses, soil conservation measures, and soil erosion risk maps.
    • Nach Holocaust und Zwangsarbeit: Britische humanitäre Hilfe in Deutschland: Die Helfer, die Befreiten und die Deutschen

      Steinert, Johannes-Dieter (Osnabrűck: Secolo Verlag, 2000)
      Abstract in English, text in German. After the Second World War, British voluntary organisations were among the first in the field of international humanitarian assistance in Europe. To begin with, British help was directed only to the survivors of the Holocaust and the German forced labour system, but in late 1945 it was extended to German civilians, in particular to children and refugees. Based on British and German archival material, the monograph examines the interrelations between British humanitarian assistance and British occupation policy in Germany. Special emphasis has been given to the work of British voluntary organisations and the interdependencies between governmental and non-governmental efforts. The study contributes to research on British civil society as well as to the ongoing Opferdebatte (debate on Germans as victims of the war) in Germany. The book is divided into seven chapters: Chapter one is dominated by an analysis of British and international war-time planning; the foundation of the 'United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration', the 'Council of British Societies for Relief Abroad', and the training of welfare workers are examined. Chapter two looks at humanitarian assistance in Europe during the final stage of the war, with a particular focus on the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Chapter three concentrates on the organisation and structure of British humanitarian assistance in Germany, the appeals for funds in Britain and their distribution in Germany. Chapters four and five analyse the help provided for Displaced Persons and the problems of repatriation. Chapter six focuses on the field of German welfare, the reconstruction of German voluntary organisations, and the cooperation between relief teams and the Military Government. Chapter seven examines how NGOs and relief workers viewed their work in Germany, and how they perceived the Displaced Persons and the German population.
    • Re-evaluating the Anglo-Irish Agreement: Central or Incidental to the Northern Ireland Peace process?

      O'Kane, Eammon (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007-10-18)
      The 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA) was one of the major achievements of Anglo-Irish diplomacy during the course of the Troubles. Yet its importance has been misunderstood and often ignored in subsequent histories of the development of the conflict and the peace process. This article seeks to re-evaluate the AIA. It examines the purposes of the agreement, taking issue with a number of the existing explanations. It is argued that London and Dublin had conflicting analyses of what the AIA was designed to do, which led to disappointment in both states with its impact. These differences also made it difficult for academics to accurately characterize the accord. However, the AIA played a profound and imperative role in shaping the subsequent peace process, but this arose out of consequences of the Agreement that were, despite recent claims to the contrary, unanticipated, and indeed unintended, by those who drew up the document. (Palgrave Macmillan)
    • Some observations on the factors that influence strategies for educational improvement in post-1992 universities

      Cartwright, Martin J. (Routledge, 2005)
      Along with the rest of the education sector universities have been encouraged to develop strategies for educational improvement. The strategies that have emerged have been heavily influenced by the policies and priorities of the government and government agencies, such as the Quality Assurance Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council, and the targets set as a consequence of these policies and priorities. The government's emphasis has been on such things as fitness for purpose and value for money, whilst at the same time demanding high standards of quality assurance and widening participation. To what extent are the demands for educational improvement and the approach to this taken by the post-1992 university sector justified or supported by the current research in this area? It is the conclusion of this article that there is a paucity of directly relevant research, but that the research that does apply indicates that the sector needs to rethink its approach to educational improvement if it wishes to avoid the impoverishment of the education it provides.
    • State Power and the War on Terror: A Comparative Analysis of the USA and UK

      Moran, Jonathan (Springer Verlag, 2005)
      This paper analyses the patterns and extent of state power in the war on terror. The paper argues that the War on Terror has seen important extensions in state power, which pose challenges not only for globalisation theorists and advocates of international law, but also theorists of the managerial or limited state, or those who see the state as over-determined in various ways by societal mechanisms or actors. Recent analyses, prompted by events in the War on Terror, have begun to focus on the extent of state power, rather than its perceived fundamental limits in late modern society. This reflects a need to analyse the politics and processes of national security. Having made this point, extensions in state power must be viewed in context and dynamically with regard to their effect on civil liberties, necessary to avoid a 'flattened' a-historical approach to state power and civil society. The problem of state power will be examined with regard to the UK and USA. The UK and the USA represent different constitutional arrangements, jurisdictions, legal and administrative intelligence and law enforcement powers, systems of accountability and political cultures. However as late modern liberal democracies they also display remarkable similarities and stand as illuminating examples to contrast structural patterns of state power, politics and civil society. They have also been identified as representing the evolution of the limited late modern state.
    • The Development of a framework for sustainable housing delivery in Lagos, Nigeria

      Olagunju, Olatunji A. (2014-11)
      There is an estimated 16 million housing units shortfall in Nigeria and the government cannot meet the housing needs of Nigerians because of budgetary constraints and other competing needs. It is important to note that the leaders have failed on numerous occasions to tackle the key challenges associated with a lack of infrastructure development. The emphasis has been placed on the individual homeowners fulfilling all their own requirements. The aim of this research is to develop a framework that will aid sustainable housing delivery in Lagos one of the most challenged areas of Nigeria. A clearer picture of the housing environment in Lagos was documented based on critical literature reviews, analysis of the reasons why there is a deficiency in housing and its infrastructure delivery. The aim of the researcher was following the identification of the challenges to draw up a framework that would assist the relevant stakeholders namely the householders, developers and government in overcoming these and delivering further sustainable housing. The research was completed using a mixed method including qualitative and quantitative means of acquiring necessary information in the form of a detailed literature review followed by a questionnaire survey of 500 household respondents. A total of 496 sets of data were collected through the questionnaire survey and analysed using SPSS, Excel and selected statistical methods. Validation of the framework was done using focus group discussions with stakeholders. Interviews with key housing and government personnel were also held including an analysis of 5 case studies. The key findings are that 1) the market economy approach along with flexible, efficient economic instruments are key factors in enabling the construction industry to positively respond to sustainable development in terms of resource efficiencies and environmental protection in a developing economy like Nigeria. 2) The social and political barriers cannot be overcome without a meeting of wills amongst the stakeholders. 3) There needs to be transparency and the desire to achieve the objective so the monitors will be effective to counteract dissatisfied individuals that will come out of the bureaucratic woodwork. 4) There needs to be an urban redesign driven by stakeholders keen to see government policy align with sustainable housing objectives. Key recommendations from this research are that: 1) The government should partner with the private sector to provide enough homes for Nigerians. 2) The government should henceforth concentrate in outlining good policy framework for the sector providing much needed infrastructural and financial support that will encourage sustainability and systematic development of housing in the country. The framework developed in this research is envisaged to be contributory in road mapping the way and identifying key attributes and strategy for delivering sustainable housing in Lagos, Nigeria. Keywords: Sustainable housing, environment, government policy, urban redesign, framework
    • The Future of Crime Reduction

      Moss, Kate (London: Routledge, 2005)
      This innovative and pioneering new book establishes links between crime reduction and the law, uniquely offering a detailed examination of how specific legislation and performance targets aid or undermine attempts at crime reduction. Providing a sustained analysis, this ground-breaking book considers the social policy, politics and legislation that surround and drive the crime reduction agenda. It analyzes: the creation of 'safe environments' through Town and Country Planning legislation the role of local authorities in crime reduction initiatives the nature of drug policy, paedophilia legislation and programs to control mental disorder crime. Bringing together the work of internationally renowned experts in this field, this book will prove very useful to students of criminology and sociology, as well as crime prevention and reduction practitioners, police officers and community safety partnership professionals. (Routledge)
    • The Political Economy of Sub-Saharan Africa Land Policies

      Hammond, Felix Nikoi; Antwi, Adarkwah; Proverbs, David G. (American Review of Political Economy, 2006)
      The quest for African poverty alleviation has become a global issue and governments of rich nations have registered their commitment to the task both through the Millennium Development Goals and other international programs. While poverty is endemic in Africa, extant policies that continue to dictate proceedings in the land sectors of most African nations have been constructed in a way that concentrate benefits and wealth on a few while spreading costs and poverty on a larger segment of the African population. These policies which continue to impose greater restrictions on poverty alleviation have emanated from the peculiar political and economic history of Africa. An understanding of how these political events continue to shape the performance of land markets in these countries within the context of contemporary economic learning is thus key to understanding the policy directions required for success. This paper thus employs public policy and transaction costs insights to explicate the historical political events that have led to the promulgation of such policies together with a conceptual view of their social cost implications.
    • Understanding Victim Retraction in cases of domestic violence: Specialist Courts, Government Policy, and Victim-Centred Justice

      Robinson, Amanda; Cook, Dee (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2006)
      Victim retraction is almost universally viewed by criminal justice officials as a problematic outcome in cases of domestic violence, consequently policy initiatives have been designed to increase support to victims in the hope that more will decide to continue with their cases instead of retracting their statements. However our understanding of the various causes and full consequences of retraction remains limited. Using data from five Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVCs) in England and Wales, we analysed a sample of 216 domestic violence cases to assess the relative influence of victim characteristics, offence characteristics, features of case processing, and evidence available from case files on the decision to retract. Despite the innovative courts, each embedded in strong multi‐agency partnerships, half of domestic violence victims still chose to retract. The policy implications of these results are discussed in the context of current British government initiatives designed to `Narrow the Justice Gap' and `Bring Offenders to Justice' while at the same attempting to locate the victim “at the heart of the criminal justice system.