Vol. 8 (2020) - Issue 2

Vol. 8 (2020) - Issue 2

March 28, 2024 2024-04-02 23:09

ABSTRACTS

La clef du progrès, le renoncement

To achieve progress, certain conditions have to be met. In 1861, Charles Périn pointed out that an essential one is the willingness not to remain idle and to renounce the gratification made possible by new discoveries. By calling its faithful to such a renunciation, Périn argued, Christianity has made the development of Western countries possible. Max Weber has defended a similar thesis when he described inner-worldly asceticism, as promoted by Calvinism. Pope Francis also acknowledges that sacrifices must be made, to ensure that progress will endure and benefit all peoples. Agreeing to renunciation in order to contribute to progress remains a real challenge in our days.

Using the Institutional Model to Overcome Social Sin

This essay tries to see how structures of grace can replace sinful structures with the help of the institutional model. The author uses colonialism as a case study. The first two sections look at the reality of social sin with its complexities. The institutional model, which is initially borrowed from development economics, is a strategic tool designed to positively change society’s structures and institutions. It is predicated on the assumption that human beings are social beings and not monads. There are five key institutions to look at, namely, norms, organizations, regulations, incentives and capacities. The institutional model can provide a concrete strategy that can supplement Catholic Social Teaching (CST) for instance.
Loïc Mben SJ, Kanien 8/2 (2020) 45-71.
nel peut fournir une stratégie concrète qui peut compléter l’Enseignement Social de l’Eglise (ESE) par exemple

Ravages of War through the Victims’ Eyes

This essay is an attempt at an ethical evaluation of multiple wars that have ravaged the African continent and its peoples for many years. The essay’s moral argument or ethical perspective is based on the silent, unnoticed sufferings and deaths of those whose voices I would like to raise in objecting to the use of war to solve human conflicts. It is these moral agents, subjects of their own rights, whom wars oftentimes turn into objects and means to achieve the belligerents’ interests. These silent victims’ dignity is worthy of recognition, protection and respect. It is on the basis of human dignity that I see moral inconsistency in arguing for a justifiable use of armed violence on ethical grounds. Through the victims’ eyes the essay interrogates the traditional criteria for just war in view of developing a coherent ethic for anyone involved in or contemplating war or armed rebellion.

U.S. Foreign Policy In Sub-Saharan Africa: When Human Rights Norms Clash With National Interests

U.S. foreign policy in Sub-Sahara Africa reflects a tension between human rights goals and national interests. However, when national interests clash with normative goals, the choice has clearly been in favor of national interests. When the balance has tilted in favor of humanitarian intervention, the decisive factor has been media coverage. The ascension to the presidency of Barack Obama, the first African American president, did little to reverse these structural imperatives of power projection. Despite the rhetoric of different U.S. administrations on human rights, freedom and democratization in Africa ranks very low in their agenda priorities.
Paul Tang Abomo, Kanien 8/2 (2020) 73-103.
les droits de l’homme, la promotion de la démocratie en Afrique demeure sinon un leurre, du moins un objectif secondaire.

XOF West African CFA franc
EUR Euro