The Young League Forum

COALITION GOVERNMENT      This occurs when two or more political parties are joined together to form a government. This is usually common in the parliamentary system of government, especially after election if there is no political party that won a clear majority in the parliament, two or more political parties may agree to merge in order to form the government. Another name for coalition government is marriage of convenience. Note: Coalition is different from merger. Merger occurs when two or more political parties join together to become one party not necessarily to form a government but to form a formidable opposition party. This practice happened in Nigeria in 2013 when ACN, CPC, ANPP and some faction of APGA merged together to from the All Progressive Congress (APC) in order to provide a formidable opposition to the People Democratic Party (PDP) which was the ruling party then. These different parties succeeded in their merger, and APC defeated the ruli...

CLOSED/OPEN SYSTEM      This is a system of administration that does not allow interaction or criticism from the internal or external environment. A person that runs a closed system of administration always like to prevent citizens from making input into administrative mechanism in order to avoid excess demand or rational decision. And if they (citizens) succeed in making input there may be no output for them. This system of administration is usually run by an authoritarian supreme ruler whose belief is that, the citizens are inept, clumsy, irrational and incompetent to make or give any useful advice in the management of the state. This system opposes the tenets of democratic-participatory model. On the contrary, Open system is the direct opposite of closed system. Written by Eze Andrew O

CIVIL SOCIETY &#13 ;     Civil society is a group of non-governmental, non political and non religious organization that protects the civil liberties of individuals in a state. Civil society is a neutral, non partisan and unbiased body that fights against any forms of social injustice in society. It plays numerous roles in the formation and modeling of democratic structures in society. It is an agent of social change.

CIVIL SERVICE Nwankwo (1992:145) defines civil service as “a body of officials responsible for advising the government of the day on matters of policy and for implementing the decisions reached by the government.”       In a concise term, civil service is a body or institution of government ministries that carry out government administrative functions. Civil service performs solely administrative functions which are to advise and implement government decisions. It can also be described as an institution that transforms government policies into action. A person who works in the civil service is called a civil servant. Characteristics of the Civil Service  Civil servants have the following professional attributes which they are obliged to uphold in the course of their administration: 1. Impartiality 2. Permanence 3. Anonymity 4. Hierarchy 5. Professionalism 6. neutrality >

CIVIL LAWS OR LAWS OF TORT According to Hartjen (as quoted in Igbo, 2007: 21) civil law is “a body of rules and procedures designed to regulate the conduct of individuals in a social relationship.” It can be simply defined as non-criminal laws that deal with individuals’ social behaviour and relationship in society. Civil law is different from criminal law.  Civil laws deal with individual versus individual while criminal laws involve individual versus the state in case of breach and litigation. Some Legal Terminologies Associated with Criminal and Civil Laws: In criminal law, a party (state) who institutes criminal proceedings against the other in court is called the “prosecutor” and the person or party whom criminal charge was instituted against is called the “accused person”. While in civil law, a party or a person who institutes civil proceedings against the other in court is called the “appellant or plaintiff” and the person or party whom the civil case was institute...

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CITIZENSHIP :     Citizenship is a status bestowed on the individual by the state. United Nation Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines citizenship as “the status of having the right to participate in and to be represented in politics” Nwankwo (1992:102) also defines a citizen as an “individual who has full political and legal right in a state.”  According to Aristotle, citizenship is determined by the constitution of the state. This means that whatever or whoever constitution defines as a citizen so shall it. He also argues that citizens are those who share and take part in the administration of justice in a state. This Aristotelian notion of state actually captures the practical meaning of citizenship, especially in the Third World countries where citizens are treated as aliens if they are not in the corridors of power. Aristotle equated citizen with justice and fairness. This is because according to him only thos...

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE      Meaning: According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics, civil disobedience is “a political act involving disobeying governmental authority on grounds of moral objection with the aim of promoting a just society.” According to Heywood (2007) civil disobedience is law-breaking that is justified by reference to “higher” religious, moral or political principles. It is an overt and public act; it aims to break a law in order to make a point; not to get away with it. This assertion by Heywood vividly shows that civil-disobedience is a deliberate act.      Moreover civil disobedience has also been defined as intentional or voluntary violation of order or disrespecting a constituted authority. According to John Rawls (quoted in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2007), “civil disobedience is a public, non-violent and conscientious breach of law undertaken with the aim of bringing about a ch...

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CENTRE-PERIPHERY / DEPENDENCY THEORY     This is a theory that explains the structural inequalities between western or developed countries like the United States, Germany, China, France, Canada etc., and the underdeveloped or poor countries like Nigeria, Sudan, Niger, Iraq, Haiti, Kenya, Somalia, Mali, Central Africa Republic, etc.      This theory or model divides the world into two unequal poles namely: the centre nations and the periphery nations. The centre nations are the advanced or developed countries while the periphery nations are the under developed or poor countries. Hence, the theory explains that the centre nations, through imperialism and colonialism lured the periphery nations into the capitalist world (mode of production) which they (peripheries) do not know how to operate or to capitalize effectively and rationally. Due to the ignorance of periphery nations on how to run or manage capitalist economy, they wholeheartedly depend on t...

CENTRALIZATION      Politically speaking, this can be simply defined as the act of concentration of political powers and functions on the central government. This type of administrative system is usually obtainable in the unitary system of government. Under this system, the component units are solely dependent on the central government to delegate or decentralize some of its powers and functions to the component units before they can perform or exercise some powers. (See Devolution, Decentralization).       Heywood (2007:164) rightly states that the case or reasons for centralization include the following: 1. National Unity 2. Uniformity 3. Equality 4. Prosperity

CLIENTEL ISM      Politically, clientelism is the exchange of goods and services for electoral support. The patron-client relationship or clientelism is based on the principle of trade by barter. It goes like this: if you will vote for me, I will provide social services for you. It is a strategic tool used by political parties or politicians to convince voters. (See Treating).    

CENTRALIZATION      Politically speaking, this can be simply defined as the act of concentration of political powers and functions on the central government. This type of administrative system is usually obtainable in the unitary system of government. Under this system, the component units are solely dependent on the central government to delegate or decentralize some of its powers and functions to the component units before they can perform or exercise some powers. (See Devolution, Decentralization).       Heywood (2007:164) rightly states that the case or reasons for centralization include the following: 1. National Unity 2. Uniformity 3. Equality 4. Prosperity

CAPITAL ACCUMULATION    Politically speaking, the issue of capital accumulation has gained political momentum especially in post-colonial states. This is, because politics is nothing more than “concentrate economy”. It becomes vital for us to introduce this economic concept which will help us to understand other concepts. Capital accumulation is the recapitalization or reinvestment of profit made in the business in tangible asset to maximize more profit. Capital accumulation is often equated with excess profit and exploitation of workers by those who own and control the means of production for profit gratification. Profit maximization is an essential force that is driving the capitalist system of economy. Therefore capital accumulation is a subset of capitalism.     According to the renowned scholar of political economy, Claude Ake (1981) in his book entitled Political Economy of Africa, he contends thus: That capital accumulation is a law that gover...

CAPITALISM     Capitalist economic system first emerged in the sixteenth century and seventeenth century in Europe. It developed from feudal system of production which was predominantly obtainable in Middle Ages. Feudalism was characterized by agrarian-based production geared to the needs of landed aristocratic class and baron lords (Heywood, 2007).  The emergence of capitalism started with the emergence of bourgeois merchant class who placed too much emphasis on capital rather than the land. This led to Industrial Revolution which brought in capitalism as a means of system of production.     According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics, capitalism is “a term denoting a distinct form of social organization, based on generalized commodity production, in which there is private ownership and/or control of the means of production”. Nwankwo (1992:29) defines capitalism as “an economic system which allows private ownership of property, m...

Analysis of Capitalism How can we know a capitalist society? What is the parameter or yardstick for measuring capitalism? What are the nature and characteristics of a capitalist state?      These fundamental questions have remained an intractable debate among scholars and students of political science and other social scientists. This work was done out of the curiosity to fill an existing vacuum and to answer these puzzling questions.      Over the time, some scholars have argued that the parameter for measuring or knowing a capitalist society is by the level of roles played by government and private individuals on the areas of production and distribution. In other words, it means how government or state involves in economic management in the state. If the economic system is managed by private individuals for profit making and other self-aggrandizement, the country in question is a capitalist state. If the government dominates the ec...

CARPET-CROSSING     Carpet-crossing is the act of changing political alliance from one political party to another especially in the parliament. Carpet-crossing can also be loosely used interchangeably with decamping, defection, party hopping, party switching, floor-jumping, etc. But it differs slightly from other related terms like decamping, and defection. Though, there is correlation between them, they involve changing from one political party to another. But cross-carpeting takes place only in parliament; therefore only elected members of Parliament can cross-carpet. While the decamping or defection can be outside parliament. Besides, Kamara (2012) differentiated them more clearly by saying that: To cross carpet, one must first be an elected member of parliament and the act really takes place within the four walls of parliament. While political defection takes place outside the walls of parliament and the actors are not elected Member of Parliament. Reasons for...

CAUCUS      This is an executive meeting of a group of legislative body or political party for strategic purpose. In other words, it is a small powerful body of an organization that is hierarchically positioned on the top. The members of the caucus initiate policies and programmes of an organisation. They even determine who gets what, when and how in a political milieu. This term originated from the United States which is used to describe the party’s organizational structures in the Congress (that is US parliament).

The logo represents African continent. It contains an open book with a hand of a writer in action inside African map which is in the accordance with the name of the organization. At the edge of the logo there is a write up there (to inform and to educate) which is the motto of the organization. The organization was formed on December 14, 2014 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

BIPOLARISM      This is a concept used in international relations to refer to the situation in which there are two dominant or opposing forces or powers in the international system. Onuoha (2008: 207) noted that bipolarity “is characterized with two roughly equal actors or coalition of actors.”  According to Obi, Ozor and Nwokoye (2008:148) “a bipolar world emerged out of the ruins of the World War II. One faction headed by the United States, the other by the USSR.” This led to unhealthy rivalry between the two super powers.      This system of power configuration was obtainable during the Cold War in which the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) were opposed to each other. Heywood (2007:134) rightly stated that “…the emergency of two superpowers implied inevitable rivalry and tension, meaning that the bipolar world order was destined to be characterized by hostili...

BOURGE OISI E       In the capitalist society those who own and control the means of production are called the bourgeoisie. They are the most powerful, strongest and richest class in society. They are the members of the ruling and guardian classes. They also determine who gets what, when and how in a capitalist society.     The bourgeois class originated during the French Revolution when merchants overthrew the aristocratic feudal lords and also during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and North America. The Age of Enlightenment was based on the principles of liberty, equity, and fraternity. It was one of the contributors that led to the French Revolution in 1789 which refuted and overthrew the existing social system (feudalism). (See Proletariat, Petty- bourgeois, Feudalism and Enlightenment) . Types of Bourgeoisie 1.The National Bourgeoisie: These are those who got their wealth through the legitimate means. In other words, they became ric...

BUREAUCRACY       Bureaucracy literally means “rule by officials” (Heywood, 2007). Bureaucracy is an administrative mechanism that is based on adherence to existing rules and regulations that govern an organization. This type of administration is usually obtained in the large public and private organizations which are based on hierarchical structures and strict observance of organization protocols. According to Roskin et al (1988: 308) “the term refers to any large-scale organization of appointed officials whose primary function is to implement the policies of the decision makers.” They further argue that bureaucracy, in ideal form, is a rational system or organized structure designed to permit the efficient and effective execution of public policy.      It was a German sociologist, Max Weber who popularized the concept of bureaucracy in his work entitled ‘‘Ideal-type of Bureaucracy’’ in early 1920s. To him, bureaucratic organization...

BYE-ELECTION    By-election is the type of election conducted to fill a vacant post or position in parliament or at any other government levels when the incumbent dies or resigns or impeached or recalled or declared incompetent to continue in the office. The importance of by-election is that, it ensures continuity in administration in a situation something happens to the incumbent that may lead to his exit. Note: By-election and Run-off elections are not the same thing and it is wrong to use them interchangeably.

BYE-LAW     A by-law is a law made by a local government authority and other public corporations . A by-law is different from the law made by National Assembly or Parliament . The dichotomy is that by-laws are made by non-sovereign body, which sources its authority from another sovereign body like National Assembly.