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Copyright of Cahiers d'Études Africaines is the property of Editions EHESS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During the level 4 COVID-19 pandemic in July 2021, South Africa suffered rioting that resulted in business plundering, employment losses and arrest of 337 Black people from townships and rural communities who were affected by the high unemployment rate. This occurred due to the arrest of a political leader, which exacerbated underlying concerns of nearly three decades of democracy that the government has been unable to settle. Because the South African Police Service was unable to maintain order, the state president was forced to proclaim a state of emergency and release the military to restore order and at the same time, involve traditional leaders to restore order. This article applies a qualitative document analysis (QDA) to elicit meaning and uncover trends of the events during the stage 4 national lockdown. The data was analysed and reported as themes following a manual thematic analysis. An indigenous lens was applied to draw meaning from the themes to establish the role traditional leaders played in restoring peace and order during the unrest. The findings show that to restore law and order across the country, the government engaged traditional leaders to address communities and implement indigenous conflict resolution techniques. This approach proved effective because, as stated in the Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996, traditional leaders are important figures with authority and access to the communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For 30 years, Armenia has carried out ecological terrorist incidents against the Republic of Azerbaijan. In our territories under occupation, our natural resources were destroyed, burned, water resources were polluted by the Armenians, nearly 60 thousand hectares of forest area were burned and destroyed. In general, Armenia has caused great damage to the ecology of the region. As a result of these environmental terrorist incidents deliberately committed by the aggressor Armenia, serious consequences have arisen in the region, the natural vegetation, the top fertile layer of the soil formed over thousands of years has been completely burned, the rare and rapidly decreasing plants and animals included in the "Red Book" of Azerbaijan and the International Red List the animal world has been destroyed, the habitats of animals have been destroyed, the balance of the ecosystem has been disturbed, and environmental components have been seriously damaged. It is not even possible to talk about the ecological environment in the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia. Armenia's policy of aggression has endangered the natural ecological environment not only of the Republic of Azerbaijan, but of the region as a whole. The looting of Azerbaijani territories and the enemy's destruction of flora and fauna in these lands had a very negative impact on the ecological situation of the entire Caucasus. During the 44-day Patriotic War, Armenia again invaded the civilian population living outside the war zone, the ecological environment, natural resources, biological diversity of the region of global importance, and rich forest areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically analyses purposively chosen case studies from media coverage of the lootings in South Africa in July 2021. Our goals are to help make sense of a collectively traumatic event and to move beyond theories of looting as "deviant" consumption. We explain the context of the lootings, offering a long-view of crises building up to an intense eruption of social unrest during the pandemic. Then, we analyse four selected looting stories that captured significant, even spectacular, public attention. We present each story and explicate its meaning in relation to the South African polity and show how each allows for a departure from the concept of deviant consumption. We conclude by arguing that spectacularised mediated moments of looting from this event require theories of the carnivalesque and aspiration rather than those of deviant consumption. These have specific resonance in contexts of inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the problem of incorrect understanding of such a relevant today phenomenon as looting, responsibility for which is provided for in Art. 432 of the current Criminal Code of Ukraine. An attempt has been made to show in detail the true content of the objective and subjective features of the legal composition of the considered socially dangerous phenomenon with a simultaneous comparative analysis of it with some criminal offenses against property, which, like looting, involve the taking of property, in particular in the form of theft. The relevance of the research is noted, due to the lack of adequate coverage of the content of looting. Certain opinions of other researchers regarding some signs of such a criminal act are highlighted, and arguments of both a supporting and refuting nature are given. Attention is drawn to the fact that looting, although it is a robbery in its content, is only a special manifestation of it, connected with a number of signs, only in the presence of which it will take on the appearance that will characterize it in essence. At the same time, the impossibility of a free, not related to the textually expressed form of looting in the norm of its criminal legal interpretation is indicated. At the same time certain comments of extended content are quite admissible, where it does not contradict the characteristics of the action under consideration (characteristics defined in Article 432 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). It has been noted that the question of the qualification of looting is a question of the need to determine the conformity of the signs of an act actually committed, potentially considered as looting, with the signs that characterize such an act normatively, taking into account the rules and approaches to understanding such a phenomenon as a war crime laid down in legislation. Moreover, cases of actions that resemble looting in appearance, but committed by civilians, as well as representatives of Russian units and persons supported by them from illegal armed formations fighting on the other side, have been differentiated.

The loss of archaeological heritage continues today, because of both natural disasters and human-made actions. Alarmingly, a significant amount of the destruction is perpetrated by looters and illegal excavations. This problem is not a new one. However, it has increased exponentially in recent years, especially in countries which witnessed internal turmoil (i.e., the Arab Spring) but also throughout Europe. Local authorities struggle to provide adequate controls because of a lack of human resources, budget constraints or technological know-how. This paper describes a multimodal documentation and monitoring workflow applied to an archaeological site for which, due to the sensitivity of the topic, no specific details can be publicly disclosed. The techniques used include UAV aerial surveys, image-based modelling, change detection, relief visualization and GIS mapping. Thanks to the analysis of the multitemporal datasets, it was possible to assess the extension and spatial progression of illegal excavation over a two-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peaceful environment of South African communities witnessed sudden civil unrest that led to the wanton destruction of public and private properties between 9-17 July 2021. The civil unrest which aggravated on daily basis within this period also culminated in massive looting in both KwaZulu-Natal Province and Gauteng Province. During the disturbances, the protestors looted and set ablaze many stores and warehouses. The turmoil was also extended to some schools, with some private and public schools looted and vandalized. Hence, this article aimed to explore the impact of this unrest on schools and to establish how teaching and learning had been affected in these South African institutions. Therefore, in this systematic review, we analysed the impact of political unrest on the education system in South Africa. A total of 139 schools were affected in Kwazulu-Natal, with six schools razed by fire, 30 damaged, and 95 schools looted. Thus, a total of 139 schools were affected. However, at the time of this article, the degree of damage in 8 other Schools was unknown. It was noted that, of the six schools set ablaze, four were only slightly damaged and two were fully destroyed. Furniture and other items such as food items the Schools Nutrition Program and offices were destroyed. Doors, windows, and others were also broken. This indicated that learners would be temporarily relocated from the burnt schools to locations where the government provided temporary classrooms for these schools. Conversely, rebuilding the damaged buildings and replacement of stolen school supplies will cost the Department of Basic Education millions of rands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]