The judicial system is the pillar of fairness and accountability in the nation state and women’s inability to access it to the same extent as men highlights a more hidden form of inequality that is...Show moreThe judicial system is the pillar of fairness and accountability in the nation state and women’s inability to access it to the same extent as men highlights a more hidden form of inequality that is however embedded with the others, notably socioeconomic dependency. It proves that while laws are necessary to ensure women’s rights, formal equality does not correspond to effective equality as discrimination remains present in various aspects of society. This research contributes to the investigation of barriers as well as good practices that can foster a more effective response to women’s access to justice while taking into consideration the strength and weaknesses offered by a centralized and decentralized approach.Show less
In the 2006 Care Reform Initiative (CRI), Ghana’s Department of Social Welfare (DSW) called for the deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and sought to move vulnerable...Show moreIn the 2006 Care Reform Initiative (CRI), Ghana’s Department of Social Welfare (DSW) called for the deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and sought to move vulnerable children towards a range of integrated family and community-based care services. The initiative is currently on its third five-year road map for 2017 to 2021 with specific targets and yet still children are in orphanages. Over a decade after the official launch of the initiative a myriad of challenges persist, especially the uncertainty over whether families are prepared to welcome OVC into their homes. Set in Central Region Ghana, using Country-Side Children’s Welfare Home (CCWH) as the main case study, this thesis investigates the underlying factors that are preventing families in the Bawjiase and surroundings from opening their homes and hearts to vulnerable children. Qualitative data was obtained through forty interviews; people interviewed included community leaders, men and women with an active profession in education, banking and informal trading sectors. The views of teenagers from two RHC were also examined through focus group discussion. The study shows that although financial means are often cited as a deterrent for adoption and fostering, the sluggishness in emptying orphanages in Ghana is often due to the lack of training of would-be foster parents and the complicated system of legal adoption. On top of that, the idea of being moved to a family triggers different attitudes among the children involved. The predisposition of OVC towards the idea of reintegration into family life is often conditioned by their memories of their initial experience of family life, or lack thereof. Most of them display a lackadaisical attitude because of their negative experiences of family life, whereas a small number are driven by the prospect of earning a living and being independent even when they are not necessarily looking forward to being integrated into families. This study brings to light the agency of children under care and shows the importance of the psychological and emotional state of OVC involved in deinstitutionalization which could be an influencing factor to be taken into account when taking measures to reintegrated children into a family or community.Show less
A case study of the infra-municipal/departmental decentralization in the city of Paris during the period in which Jacques Chirac was mayor of Paris (1977-1995), which shows that the institutional...Show moreA case study of the infra-municipal/departmental decentralization in the city of Paris during the period in which Jacques Chirac was mayor of Paris (1977-1995), which shows that the institutional reform led to improved local representative democracy.Show less
This thesis paper researches and interprets the Russian federal system with the intention of observing it’s functioning throughout recent history. Foremost, the paper identifies that the Russian...Show moreThis thesis paper researches and interprets the Russian federal system with the intention of observing it’s functioning throughout recent history. Foremost, the paper identifies that the Russian federal system has experienced two radically different political environments, one of extensive decentralization and one of strong centralization, all within the historical experience since the inception of the modern Russian Federation (1991- ). Hence, the thesis statement and research question try to capture this phenomenon by asking: How do both centralization & decentralization impact the functioning of the Russian federal system? This question observes that there is an interplay between significantly centralizing and decentralizing a federal system, indeed, this paper attempts to observe the effects of both orientations in their most expressed form. The main intention being, to create a credible analysis of the two phenomena and the specificities of the two processes, in distinct time periods. The topics of federal ties, asymmetry, ethno-federalism and separatism are discussed distinctly in each wave of centralization and decentralization due to the persistence of these issues based on our scope of research and the time periods observed. Most importantly, these are hereditary issues spanning from eras that preceded the formation of the Soviet Union and issues that developed during the socialist era. In essence, in order to properly observe the Russian federal system, we mostly focus on the legacies of ethnic conflict, regional inequality and separatism as elements which are the product of and influence the processes of centralization and decentralization.Show less
