https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/46132 2026-04-14T23:42:07Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/46714 Title: Tunisia after the revolution : democracy between stalling and collapsing Abstract: On December 17th, 2010 a perfectly unknown man, who was named Mohamed Bouazizi and who lived in a little-known small town in the centre of Tunisia called Sidi Bouzid, decided to set himself on fire in front of the Governor’s office. Unable to get a steady job of any kind, he tried to eke out a living for himself and his family by selling few vegetables that he carried around on a cart, but the police kept confiscating his cart and vegetables because he did not have a licence to be a street vendor. On that particular day, the same scenario was replayed once again, and once again he went to the Governor’s office to try to recuperate his belongings and/or get a licence for his trade. But once again, they would not even let him into the building. So he decided to burn himself. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/46692 Title: Human rights, political representation and democracy : some reflections Authors: Grech, Omar Abstract: One of the many issues that arose in the context of the uprisings in North Africa refers to the relationship between human rights and democracy. It was suggested during and immediately after the uprisings that the authoritarian regimes that were displaced were not representative of the peoples over which they governed. The new dispensations that were to be established should follow the principles of representative government, democracy and human rights. However, the relationship between these concepts is not as straight forward as is, sometimes, imagined. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/46691 Title: From apartheid to democracy in South Africa Abstract: South Africa’s democratic settlement is generally viewed as a particularly successful transition from authoritarian government. The settlement in 1994 did bring political violence to an end and it established new institutions which have now been in place for nearly two decades. This success was partly the outcome of fortuitous conditions – of good luck, even. But it was also the product of the skills, capacities and predispositions that the main parties in the settlement brought to the negotiations. This paper will explore the developments and processes that helped South African peacemaking. Subsequently it will address political progress since the transition. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/46453 Title: The role of Turkey in the European energy market Abstract: This paper aims to examine the role of Turkey in the European energy market in the context of European Energy Security 1. In the paper we will attempt to answer two main questions: 1. What will the future role of Turkey be in the global energy market? As is usually argued, can Turkey play a leading role as an energy hub or an energy corridor/ transit land in the European Union’s energy security? Can Turkey satisfy expectations of the EU for its energy security in the future? Is Turkey irreplaceable as a transit land, through which natural gas and oil from Russia, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia, are brought to the global energy markets? Who are other political and economic competitors in the region? 2. It has been tirelessly argued by Turkish politicians and experts that the new role of Turkey in the energy markets would help it become a full member of the EU. Is this a realistic view or wishful thinking? 2012-02-01T00:00:00Z