The Nordic Africa Institute
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Land rights and citizenship in Africa
No full textThis Discussion Paper explores the interface between rights and identity in the struggles for land rights and citizenship in Africa. It provides a robust overview of developments in the literature on land rights and citizenship in Africa, poses relevant research questions and sketches the parameters of policy engagement by researchers. By laying emphasis on the priority of mapping the dynamics and impacts of the unfolding struggles, the author provides a critical intervention in ongoing debates on the subject. The paper is a rich source of material on the state of scholarship on land rights and citizenship in Africa and the future directions for research on the subject. Scholars, researchers and policy analysts are bound to benefit from its rich and critical insights
The Africa policies of Nordic countries and the erosion of the Nordic aid model : a comparative study
No full textThe aid policies of the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – once had so many distinctive characteristics in common they were sometimes referred to as the “Nordic model”. Now, however, this model has all but disappeared. This paper explores how this came about and examines the current development cooperation policies of the Nordic countries in Africa. In this respect, Nordic countries are now moving along divergent trajectories and becoming part of new donor constellations. This paper is based on a content analysis of official documents and face-to-face interviews with policy makers and key opinion shapers in the four countries. In addition to discussing the aim and role of current Nordic Africa policies and strategies, the paper provides an historical overview of Nordic cooperation with Africa and compares the Africa policy documents of the four Nordic countries. Finally, some suggestions regarding the scope for future Nordic cooperation are presented.Contents: Foreword / Fantu Cheru -- Acronyms and abbreviations -- Executive summary -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Nordic cooperation and the "Nordic Model" in Development cooperation -- 3. The aim of the policy/strategy documents and their overall design -- 4. Issue areas compared -- 5. Special features of the Africa policies of individual Nordic countries -- 6. Summary and conclusions</p
Critical Factors in the Horn of Africa's Raging Conflicts
No full textAt a time when much attention is focused on the Horn of Africa as one of Africa’s most war-ravaged regions and a continued source of security concern regionally and globally, this Discussion Paper provides deep insights into the complex dimensions of and linkages between the violent conflicts in the region. Delving into history and the core and contextual factors underpinning these wars in the postcolonial era, the author provides a conceptual framework for grappling with the complex inter- and intra-state conflicts by focusing on the institutional and structural causes of war. He goes on to make a compelling argument that conflict for institutional and democratic state transformation in the Horn of Africa is a fundamental step towards long-term peace and sustainable development
Gish Abay – the source of the Blue Nile
No full textThe river Nile is by many seen as the most important river in the world. The source of the Blue Nile is a spring called Gish Abay in Ethiopia. This is the source of Gilgal Abay (meaning the little Abay), which is the most voluminous of the some sixty rivers flowing into Lake Tana. Although the Nile Quest has attracted emperors and explorers alike since Antiquity, after the sources of the Nile were discovered the majority of studies have focused on hydrology and not on cultural and religious aspects of the river. Gish Abay has been seen as the outlet of the river Gihon flowing directly from Paradise linking this world with Heaven. The holiness of Abay and the source in particular have had and still have an important role in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Moreover, before the source was Christianised it had a central role in the indigenous religion where lavish ox sacrifices were conducted. Thus, in this article we highlight the ritual and religious role of Gish Abay in a historic perspective
The Challenge of Sub-Regional Security in West Africa : The case of the 2006 ECOWAS convention on small arms and light weapons
No full textThis Discussion Paper provides insights into the challenges posed by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in West Africa, paying particular attention to the ECOWAS convention on small arms and light weapons as a collective sub-regional response to a potent threat to peace, security and development. It connects global and regional discourses on illicit arms control and provides a balanced, empirical xamination of the performance of the convention. It is a useful contribution to debates on arms-proliferation control in Africa and provides well-informed recommendations of interest to scholars, peace activists, policy practitioners and strategists working on peace and security in Africa
Fertility impact of social transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa - What about pensions
No full textThe potential link between child-related cash transfers and increased fertility is often raised asan issue of concern when debating their use. Old-age pension is a form of cash transfer wheretheory would suggest the opposite impact, i.e. pensions equal decreasing fertility. A handful ofSub-Saharan African countries have introduced non-contributory social pensions that cover thegreat majority of the older population. It makes them into a distinct group in relation to the rest ofthe region where public old-age security arrangements, if existing at all, are largely reserved forthe formal sector. This paper attempts to trace any impact these high-coverage pensionschemes may have had on fertility. Findings suggest that there has been such an impact, in therange of 0,5 to 1,5 children less per woman depending on model specification
Documenting Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa : Select papers from the Nordic Africa Documentation Project workshop 26–27 November 2009, Pretoria, South Africa
No full textThis publication brings together a number of the 'thinkpieces' prepared for a workshop convened by the Nordic Africa Institute in Pretoria, South Africa, on 26–27 November, 2009. The workshop marked the end of the Institute’s Documentation Project on Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa. Leading scholars, researchers and others, from both the Nordic countries and southern Africa, concerned with documenting those struggles, attended the workshop. The papers included here concern both the history of those struggles and the sources for that history.CONTENTS: PART 1. Aspects of the History of Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa -- Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa and the Emergence of a Global Civil Society / Håkan Thörn -- Southern African Liberation Struggles and the Nordic Countries: Ideas for Research / Harri Siiskonen -- International Solidarity and Struggle Archives: Finnish Support to the Liberation Struggle in Namibia and Mozambique / Pekka Peltola -- On the Limits to Liberation in Southern Africa / Henning Melber -- Zimbabwe’s Liberation Struggle Recycled: Remembering the Principles of the Struggle in Political Ways / Lene Bull Christiansen -- PART 2 Sources for the History of Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa -- Issues in Writing on Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa / Chris Saunders -- Liberation Archives in South Africa: An Overview/Brown Bavusile Maaba -- Liberation Struggle Material and Digital Technologies: Opportunities and Obstacles / William Minter -- Digital Innovation South Africa (DISA) and Digital Preservation / Pat Liebetrau -- Assessing Information in South Africa’s Department of Defence Archives/Gary Baines -- Rescuing Zimbabwe’s 'Other' Liberation Archives / Gerald Chikozho Mazarire -- Final Project Report / Proscovia Svärd</p
African feminist politics of knowledge : Tensions, challenges, possibilities
No full textAFRICAN FEMINIST POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE is a book that aims at exposing the dilemmas and conflicts that feminist researchers and practitioners living and working in the Global South have to deal with on a daily basis. The book attempts to disentangle some of the dilemmas, tensions, challenges and possibilities of feminist research and activism in the minefields of the cultures, practices and expectations of university bureaucracies, donor agencies and North-South collaboration. The authors, living and working in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Mozambique, are all researchers. They theorise from their experiences as persons based in Africa, highlighting the dilemmas and conflicts posed by identities as academics and researchers on the one hand, and dependence on donor funding on the other.Contents: -- Introduction: Feminist Politics of Knowledge/Signe Arnfred and Akosua Adomako Ampofo -- Chapter 1. One Who has Truth – She has Strength: The Feminist Activist Inside and Outside the Academy inGhana/Akosua Adomako Ampofo -- Chapter 2. Connections to Research: The Southern African Network of Higher Education Institutions Challenging Sexual Harassment /Sexual Violence/Jane Bennett -- Chapter 3. Reflections of a Feminist Scholar-Activist in Nigeria/Charmaine Pereira -- Chapter 4. Advocacy for Women’s Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights in Africa: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea/Adetoun Ilumoka -- Chapter. 5 Critical Feminism in Mozambique: Situated in the Context of our Experienceas Women,Academics and Activists/Isabel Maria Casimiro and Ximena Andrade -- Chapter 6. Disappearing Dodos? Reflections on Women and Academic Freedom Based on Experiences in Ghana and the United States/Nancy Lundgren and Mansah Prah -- Chapter 7 Doing Women’s Studies:Problems and Prospects for Researchers and Activists in Nigeria/Nkoli N Ezumah -- Chapter 7. Discursive Challenges for African Feminisms/Desiree Lewis -- Contributors -- Inde
Tidskrifter
No full textInnehåll: Inledning -- Nyhetsförmedling -- Utvecklings- och biståndsfrågor -- Politisk och ekonomisk utveckling -- Mänskliga rättigheter -- Akademiska tidskrifter -- Äldre tidningar och tidskrifter på mikrofilm, i digital- eller tryckt form</p