International Journal of Social Sciences and English Literature

The Cold War Resurgence: A Discourse on the Rivalry between ECOWAS and AES in West Africa

Oluyemi, Opeoluwa Adisa — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Cold War, a descriptive of 45year (1945-1990) of ideological rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union, as well as their competing coalitions, which sought to contain each other‘s expansion and gain worldwide predominance has constituted one of the most notable events and a discourse topic in International Relations. Scholars have indicated the emergence of economic interdependence of states, the increasing need of societal security, environmental security, human security, the rise of capitalism and the role of non-states actors expounded within the various strands of liberal theory to have marked the end of realist/military construct of world politics that gained prominence during the Cold War. However, this research argues on the possible continuation of the old Cold War in the present contemporary era using the recent unfolding rivalry within the West African region as a case study. Recently, the Sahel region in West Africa has been confronted with political instability and security challenges, marked by the rise of insurgent movements, military coups and deteriorating state governance. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) was created in September 2023 by the three military juntas of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso as a counterweight to ECOWAS and the postcolonial influence of France and other Western allies. With the adoption of qualitative research method, depending mainly on secondary sources, this research examines the possibility of the Cold War resurgence between the two opposing blocs in West Africa (ECOWAS and AES), the prospect of the region becoming a proxy battleground through the involvements of opposing international allies (western and anti-western allies).

The COVID-19 Pandemic and its Impact on Consumers' Food Habits

Zamir Damani, Dritan Topi — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In January 2020, starting as a flu outbreak in China, COVID-19 was soon declared a pandemic, posing a significant threat to public health on a global scale. Albania experienced the initial impacts at the beginning of March 2020, resulting in the first confirmed cases and subsequent governmental measures that affected the entire population. The government implemented a lockdown, necessitating the cessation of operations for all schools and universities due to transportation restrictions and isolation protocols designed to mitigate the spread of the virus. During the first wave of the Pandemic, Albania distinguished itself as one of the countries that effectively managed the crisis. Social distancing measures considerably affected the coordination system, leading to challenges in food supply for families, particularly in urban areas—disruptions within the agri-food supply chain complicated food distribution to markets in sufficient quantities to meet consumer demands. Throughout 2020 and subsequent years, developed countries adopted an online and offline commerce model, deviating from practices established before the COVID-19 pandemic. Food catering services experienced significant growth during the lockdown compared to the pre-pandemic period. These services flourished by implementing various preventive and control measures calibrated to the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Tirana, the capital city, stringent measures impeded both market and governmental efforts to ensure food supply for residents. The unplanned participation of various entities in online food trading facilitated the resolution of this issue. This period proved to be a pivotal opportunity for individuals globally to conceive future solutions.

Women Participation and Party Politics in the Gambia’s Democratic Process, 1997-2020

Oyejide Felix Omotosho, Oluwadare Ojo Ayeni — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

For an all-inclusive party politics in a democracy to be achieved, all members of the society, irrespective of sex, religion and class, must be engaged in the spirit of human rights and freedom. This study investigated women participation in party politics in the Gambia with an established all-inclusive and gender-friendly mechanism under the second republic. It explored the extent of conformity with global practices and national policy on gendering in the country. The study extrapolated, through the gender lenses that are descriptive in analysis, on women’s participation in party politics with focus on various challenges besetting the process as a result of males’ dominance and government inadequate national policies to address the quagmires. For this reason, efforts are stepped up by human rights activists and gender scholars on how best to continue to address discrimination issues against women and how their participation level could be increased. Findings concluded that, if an all-inclusive party politics is to become realistic and effective in the Gambia, a public-private partnership and government re-strategy, through policy frameworks that are dynamic and pragmatic and which will be consultative enough in nature would be ideal.