The Nordic Africa Institute
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New City visions and the politics of redevelopment in Dar es Salaam
No full textIn the midst of widespread urban deprivation, African governments increasingly give priority to large-scale ultra-modern urban projects, intended to increase national income and propel their urban settlements onto the global stage of ‘world-class’ cities. However, such projects are often in tension with the realities of local residents
What does it mean to be human in the aftermath of historical trauma? : re-envisioning The Sunflower and why Hannah Arendt was wrong
No full textWhat does it mean to be human in the aftermath of mass trauma and violence? When victims and perpetrators of gross human rights violations live in the same country, and sometimes as neighbours, what strategies can help individuals and communities deal with trauma in a way that restores dignity to victims and enables perpetrators to be accountable for their crimes? This essay explores these questions. Examples that illustrate attempts to create sites for listening, for moral reflection and for initiating the difficult process of dialogue at community and individual levels after mass trauma and violence are discussed. It is argued that in the aftermath of historical trauma, restoring human bonds requires a new vocabulary of re-humanization. This new mode of being human calls for a “reparative humanism” that opens towards a horizon of an ethics of care for the sake of a transformed society
From top-down to flexible cooperation : rethinking regional support to Africa
No full textSweden and many other donor countries focus too strongly on supranational unions and intergovernmental regional organisations in their development support to Africa. More resources should instead go to flexible constellations and networks involving regional actors from both the public and the private sector, as well as civil society. This advice is given by Professor Fredrik Söderbaum and his associates Hanna Skansholm and Therese Brolin
The rise of Africa's middle class : myths, realities and critical engagements
No full text"Across Africa, a burgeoning middle class has become the poster child for the 'Africa rising' narrative. Ambitious, aspirational and increasingly affluent, this group is said to embody the values and hopes of the new Africa, with international bodies ranging from the United Nations Development Programme to the World Bank regarding them as important agents of both economic development and democratic change. This narrative, however, obscures the complex and often ambiguous role that this group actually plays in African societies. Bringing together economists, political scientists, anthropologists and development experts, and spanning a variety of case studies from across the continent, this collection provides a much-needed corrective to the received wisdom within development circles, and provides a fresh perspective on social transformations in contemporary Africa."CONTENTS: ‘Somewhere above Poor but below Rich’: Explorations into the Species of the African Middle Class(es) / Henning Melber -- 1. African Middle Classes: Lessons from Transnational Studies and a Research Agenda / Carola Lentz -- 2. Human Development and the Construction of Middle Classes in the Global South / Tim Stoffel -- 3. Africa’s Middle Class, Africa’s Entrepreneurs and the 'Missing Middle' / Oluyele Akinkugbe and Karl Wohlmuth -- 4. Deconstructing the Myth of the African Middle Class / Sirkku K. Hellsten -- 5. Kenya – An Unconscious Middle Class? Between Regional-Ethnic Political Mobilisation and Middle Class Lifestyles / Dieter Neubert -- 6. Middle Class Activism in Nigeria: From Nationalist Struggle to Social Media Campaign / Nkwachukwu Orji -- 7. Emerging Middle Class Political Subjectivities in Post-war Angola / Jon Schubert -- 8. The Middle Class of Mozambique and the Politics of the Blank Slate / Jason Sumich -- 9. South Africa’s Black Middle Class Professionals / Amuzweni L. Ngoma -- 10. The Middle Class of Dar es Salaam and Kiswahili Video-Films / Vicensia Shule -- Conclusion: How Much Class Have the African Middle Classes? / Henning Melber</p
Radicalisation and terrorist recruitment among Kenya’s youth
No full textWith little chance of getting any education or jobs, young slum dwellers in Kenya are easy prey for terrorist recruiters from al-Shabaab and ISIS. Politicians must therefore address the social development of poor neighbourhoods and specifically target the youth. Equally important in order to prevent further radicalisation, this policy note argues, is the fight against corruption
Sweden's bid for a UN Security Council seat and what Africa stands to gain
No full textThe Swedish government should involve the African diaspora in Sweden to secure the support of African countries in the UN. It also needs to clarify in what ways Sweden's feminist foreign policy is compatible with African values of respect and dignity for womanhood. These are a couple of recommendations provided in this policy note on how Sweden should act to improve relations with African countries and succeed in its ambitions to achieve the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030
Regional economic communities and peacebuilding in Africa : the experiences of ECOWAS and IGAD
No full textAfrican states have responded to the challenges of the post-Cold War international system mostly by collectively promoting subregional and continental-wide initiatives in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Admittedly, the existence of many violent conflicts in Africa, as well as their ‘domino’ effects at thesub-regional level, contributed significantly to the growing desire for collective security systems and conflict management mechanisms. The broadening of the role and functions of African regional organisations to include responsibility for peacebuilding and conflict management generally adds credence to the efficacy of regional integration. Many issues, however, present themselves in the engagement of RECs with the peacebuilding process in Africa. Although primarily set up to promote economic integration, Africa’s RECs have increasingly taken up a prominent role in conflict resolution and peace support operations, as evident in the recent peace processes in Burundi, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Mali, Congo DRC, Sudan, and South Sudan, among others. In spite of the challenges they face, RECs are capable of playing important roles with regard to peace mediation, peacekeeping and peacebuilding
Eritrea’s refugee crisis and the role of the international community
No full textFive thousand refugees leave Eritrea each month according to UNHCR, making it one of the world’s fastest-emptying countries. In this policy note, Redie Bereketeab, researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, analyses the role and responsibility of the international community in the Eritrean migration crisis
Growing mistrust – a threat to democracy in Ghana : opportunities and challenges in the upcoming general elections
No full textIn comparison with other African countries, faith in democracy is strong in Ghana. But the legal tussles that followed the last general election in 2012, and the disqualification of some candidates on trifling grounds in the lead-up to this year’s presidential elections, has spurred public mistrust. This policy note issues a warning about hate speech, violent demonstrations and macho-men militias
Aid and authoritarianism in Africa : development without democracy
No full textIn 2013 almost half of Africa’s top aid recipients were ruled by authoritarian regimes. While the West may claim to promote democracy and human rights, in practice major bilateral and international donors, such as USAID, DFID,the World Bank and the European Commission, have seen their aid policies become ever more entangled with the survival of their authoritarian protégés. Local citizens thus find themselves at the receiving end of a compromisebetween aid agencies and government elites, in which development policies are shaped in the interests of maintaining the status quo. Aid and Authoritarianism in Africa sheds light on the political intricacies and moral dilemmas raised by the relationship between foreign aid and autocratic rule in Africa. Through contributions by leading experts exploring the revival of authoritarian development politics in Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Cameroon, Mozambique and Angola, the book exposes shifting donor interests and rhetoric as well as the impact of foreign aid on military assistance, rural development, electoral processes and domestic politics. In the process, it raises an urgent and too often neglected question: to what extent are foreign aid programmes actually perpetuating authoritarian rule?CONTENTS: Introduction: Aid and authoritarianism in sub-Saharan Africa after 1990 / Tobias Hagmann and Filip Reyntjens -- 1. Discourses of democracy, practices of autocracy : shifting meanings of democracy in the aid–authoritarianism nexus / Rita Abrahamsen -- 2. Aid to Rwanda: unstoppable rock, immovable post / Zoë Marriage -- 3. Authoritarianism and the securitization of development in Uganda / David M. Anderson and Jonathan Fisher -- 4. Ethiopia and international aid: development between high modernism and exceptional measures / Emanuele Fantini and Luca Puddu -- 5. Donors and the making of ‘credible’ elections in Cameroon / Marie-Emmanuelle Pommerolle -- 6. Foreign aid and political settlements: contrasting the Mozambican and Angolan cases / Helena Pérez Niño and Philippe Le Billon -- Conclusion: Democracy fatigue and the ghost of modernization theory / Nicolas van de Walle</p