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The roots of the military-political crises in Côte d'Ivoire
No full textWith the coup d’etat of 24 December 1999 and the politico-military conflict that started on 19 September 2002, Côte d’Ivoire broke with its tradition of political stability, which had served as a model in the West African sub-region. It is now facing an unprecedented crisis that is not only jeopardising the continuity of the state, but has also introduced a culture of violence into the society.This study has three objectives. The primary one is to understand the nature of this socio-political crisis, and what is at stake in it. Secondly, the study examines the issue of ivoirité. Finally, it explores the escalation of violence in this socio-political crisis and the catalogue of justifications for that violence.It is argued that the recurrence of military coups d’etat in Côte d’Ivoire signifies the delegitimisation of the modes of regulation built on the tontine system, and calls for a renewal of the political grammar and socio-political regulatory modalities around integrating principles that have yet to be devised. CONTENT Introduction CHAPTER 1. The Three Parameters of the Houphouët Boigny Compromise Deliberate and centralised openness policy to the outside world Philosophy of the “peanut roasters” Paternalistic management of social diversity CHAPTER 2. Houphouetism Shows Signs of Wear and Tear under Democratisation Confronting the issues: the political class and the criteria for political representation and legitimacy “Ivoirité” under Bédié, or the selective function of an ideology General Gueï’s variable-geometry Houphouetism The RDR, or Houphouetism the wrong way round The FPI, or the theoretical expression radical schism Immigration and its politicisation CHAPTER 3. The Problematic of “Ivoirité” and the Meaning of History in Côte d’Ivoire The social and political construction of “Ivoirité” Ideological justification Political justification Economic justification The constitution and ethno-nationalism Military coups d’état as therapy for “Ivoirité”? CHAPTER 4. The Course of History, or the Need for the Invention of Another Social Contract Alassane Dramane Ouattarra (ADO): symbol of the reality underlying the question of being a national An alternative to “slice” citizenship Bibliograph
Att studera Afrika : vägar till källorna
No full textAtt studera Afrika är en guide till Afrikastudier inom främst det samhällsvetenskapliga området. Både tryckta och Internet-baserade källor behandlas i denna nya, grundligt uppdaterade upplaga. Boken ger praktisk vägledning till handböcker, databaser, kartor, statistik och en rad andra hjälpmedel för litteratur- och fakta-sökning. Dessutom finns fylliga introduktioner till litteraturen inom några för Afrikastudier centrala ämnesområden: politik, ekonomi, historia, antropologi, geografi och utbildningsfrågor. I första hand riktar sig boken till studerande och forskare, men även lärare, journalister och bibliotekarier med flera har nytta av den. Bidragen är skrivna av bibliotekarier och forskare med lång erfarenhet av det moderna Afrika: Kristina Rylander (red.), Tore Linné Eriksen, Ingemar Gustafsson, Katarina Hjortsäter, Birgitte Jansen, Peter Kinlund, Christer Krokfors, António Lourenço, Åsa Lund Moberg och Knut G. Nustad. CONTENTS -- Litteratursökning -- Bibliografier -- Ämnesdatabaser -- Fakta/Sökning -- Landorientering -- Afrikainformation på Internet -- Källkritik -- Tidskrifter -- Nyhetsförmedling -- Tidskrifter inom politik och ekonomi -- Vetenskapliga tidskrifter -- Offentligt tryck -- Statistik -- Kartor -- Litteraturintroduktioner till följande ämnesområden: -- Historia -- Politik och ekonomi -- Geografi -- Kultur och samhällsförhållanden -- Skola och utbildning -- Bland annat presenteras litteratur om: -- Det koloniala arvet -- Befrielserörelserna -- Demokratisering -- Ekonomisk utveckling -- Globalisering -- Kvinnors situation -- Befolkningsfrågor -- Jord och försörjning -- Urbanisering -- Miljö -- Utvecklingssamarbet
News from the Nordic Africa Institute : No. 3, October 2004
No full textContents: To Our Readers / Lennart Wohlgemuth -- Commentaries: Perspectives on the crisis in Darfur / Øystein H. Rolandsen -- The US and EU – Undermining regional economic integration in Africa / Margaret C. Lee -- Challenges to regional integration: The case of SADC / Henning Melber -- Research: Poverty and prosperity in contemporary African Christianity / Päivi Hasu -- State recuperation, resource mobilisation and conflict / Lars Buur -- Governance, culture and resistance in Zimbabwe / Björn Lindgren -- Banda’s hegemony in Malawi: Politics in song and dance / Reuben M. Chirambo -- Researching young Africans: An emerging field among Nordic scholars / Catrine Christiansen -- Conference reports: Conferences and meetings -- Report from conference on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights -- Publishing: Recent publications</p
Women and the remaking of politics in Southern Africa : negotiating autonomy, incorporation and representation
No full textAfrican women have a long history of political involvement. Yet, the fervour with which they participated in anti-colonial struggles and supported national liberation were not acknowledged after independence leaving them to fight for representation and personal liberation on other fronts. This study looks at women’s struggles in Southern Africa where the last ten years have seen the most pervasive success stories on the African continent. Tracing the history of women’s involvement in anti-colonial struggles and against apartheid, the book analyses post-colonial outcomes and examines the strategies employed by women’s movements to gain a foothold in politics. In this book, the author presents in depth analyses and women’s narratives of their experiences in political parties, in the national machinery for the advancement of women and in the autonomous women’s movements.CONTENTS -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. African Women In/And Politics: Issues And Realities. -- Chapter 2. Women's Participation In Nationalist Movements and Liberation Struggles: Fighting Men's Wars -- Chapter 3. Asserting Women's Liberation Within National Liberation: The Case Of The South African Women's Movement -- Chapter 4. The Women's League Syndrome: "A Non-Decision-Making Machinery" -- Chapter 5. Ambitious but Marginalised: Women's Desks And Ministries -- Chapter 6. Women's Organisations And Movements: Sometimes Autonomy But Often No Unity -- Chapter 7. Struggling On All Fronts: Women Politicians -- Conclusio
The power of continuity : Ethiopia through the eyes of its children
No full textChildren play a vital role as a source of information on politics but have been neglected as political actors in research contexts. In this study, children are used as a window to an Ethiopian society where hierarchical relations persist, despite the numerous political and administrative transformations of the past century. With data gathered through participant observation the book examines how young, Addis Abeba school children learn to adapt to and reproduce relations of super- and/or subordination based on gender, age, strength and social position. The children’s experiences are viewed in the historical context of state-citizen relations where hierarchy and obsession with control have been and continue to be dominant. The discussion focuses on the power of continuity in the reproduction of cultural patterns and political behaviour, and on how change towards more egalitarian relations could come about. CONTENTS -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Theoretical Context -- Fieldwork Setting -- The World of School Children – Practicing Culture -- Growing Up Into Hierarchy – Learning Obedience, Respect and Control -- The Teaching–Learning Process -- Gender, a Distinguishing and Stratifying Principle -- The Importance of ‘Us’, Categories of Belonging -- State–People Relations in Ethiopia -- Continuity and Preconditions for Change -- Reference
Regulating mining in Africa : for whose benefit?
No full textOne of the main hypotheses underlying much of the discussion about extractive industries, and a central recommendation in the Report of the World Bank Group's Extractive Industries Review, is that the quality of a country's governance is a key determinant of the development outcomes of extractive industry activities. While the quality of national governance is undoubtedly a key ingredient, this comparative study of mining code reform in Africa seeks to demonstrate that no amount of local governance is sufficient if it is not accompanied by legal and fiscal frameworks designed to meet development objectives, and implemented in the context of good international policies and rules. Based on five case studies (Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Madagascar, and Tanzania), the volume suggests that the reform measures introduced largely on the recommendation of multilateral financial institutions over the last twenty years have entailed a redefinition of the role of the state so profound that it is without historical precedent. The comparative study of three generations of African mining codes concludes that past reforms have the potential to drive down standards in areas of critical importance to social and economic development, as well as to protecting the environment in the countries concerned.The question that arises from this study is whether a country which deregulates and liberalises in order to be fully competitive in the context of evolving norms and incentives, and which respects its obligations under WTO rules, can, indeed, ensure the enforcement of environmental norms, pursue development objectives that build backward and forward linkages to resource extraction (such as value added processing of minerals), and introduce "trade balancing," involving, if necessary, export/import restrictions to increase local content and stimulate local productive activities. At best, the answer to this question appears to be uncertain, leading to the further question: Regulating mining - for whose benefit?CONTENT -- Introduction -- I. Liberalisation of the Mining Sector in Africa in the 1980s -- A Developmental Perspective -- II. The Creation of a New Regulatory Framework for Mining in Africa in the 1990s -- The World Bank's Diagnostic and Recommendations -- III. Mining Codes and Environmental Regulations Several African Examples -- A. The first generation of reformed mining codes. Thomas Akabzaa -- Mining Legislation and Net Returns from Mining in Ghana -- B. The second generation of reformed mining codes. Bonnie Campbell -- Guinea: Deregulation and Its Consequences for Environmental protection -- C. The third generation of african mining codes. Pascale Hatcher -- Mali: Rewritting the Mining Code or Redefining the Role of the State? Bruno Sarrasin -- Madagascar: A Mining Industry Caught Between Environment and Development. Paula Butler -- Tanzania: Liberalisation of Investment and the Mining Sector -- Analysis of the Content and Certain Implications of the Tanzania 1998 Mining Act -- Conclusion -- Bibliograph
Globalization and the Southern African economies
No full textThe present volume has its origin in a conference on globalization and Africa held in Cape Town at the end of 2001. It focuses on the place of Southern Africa in the globalized economy. The different chapters identify the overall economic trends in the African continent and the responses - required and actual - to the impact of an increasingly interdependent world economy. An introductory chapter deals with the phenomenon of globalization in broad terms. Chapter 2 focuses on the marginal role of Africa in the global economy and some of the main reasons for this sad state of affairs. Chapter 3 attempts to answer the question whether globalization is good for Africa and analyzes the relationship between globalization and economic reform, using Zimbabwe as an example. Chapter 4 reports on a survey of popular attitudes towards globalization in a number of African countries. Chapter 5 provides an evaluation of economic integration efforts in Southern Africa. Finally, Chapter 6 uses the case of South Africa to discuss how globalization affects the workplace. The Southern African nations are struggling to find their own ways of participating in global development. The present volume provides an insight into how this process has unfolded in the past and into the problems and challenges of the future.CONTENTS -- Introduction: Africa in Global Context. Mats Lundahl -- The African Debacle: The Place of Africa in the Global Economy. Mats Lundahl and Natalie Pienaar -- Globalisation and Structural Adjustment in Africa. Arne Bigsten and Dick Durevall -- Support for Economic Reform? Popular Attitudes in Southern Africa. Michael Bratton and Robert Mattes -- Economic Integration Efforts in Southern Africa. Mats Lundahl and Lennart Petersson. -- Connecting and Disconnecting: The Impact of Globalisation on Work in South and Southern Africa. Edward Webste
African voices, African visions
No full textDoes Africa have a future? What are the visions, hopes, ambitions and fears of young Africans for the future of the world, the continent, their nation, and their communities? How do they envisage this world and their roles within it? These issues have not previously been explored collectively by Africans because of the enormous challenges and the preoccupation with the present. But Africa must not allow the enormity of the problems to blind it to its past and future. Africa must chart its own vision of a desirable future and therefore young Africans, born just before or after independence, were challenged to reflect on the future of the continent. Many responded to the challenge, which has resulted in this volume containing a number of the contributions. In this book, the voices of a new generation of Africa are heard exploring the future from personal and diverse perspectives. The authors have enumerated the ills of Africa, analyzed the problems and explored the opportunities. Remarkably, despite the daunting nature of the challenges, they were all hopeful about the future. They provided their visions of the future, suggested numerous ideas on how to build a new Africa, and implored Africans to take responsibility for the transformation of the continent. Given the current emphasis on African renaissance and union, the ideas presented here could become the basis for a truly shared vision for the continent.CONTENTS -- Africa: Problems, Challenges and the Basis for Hope. Geoff E. Kiangi -- Three Accounts of Change. Comfort Lamptey -- The African Development Challenge: Living the Experience. Barbara Mbire-Barungi -- A Vision for the Future of Zambia and Africa. Lawrence Mukuka -- Tomorrow is the Product of Our Actions Today. Chika Nwobi -- The Future of Africa Lies in Home-grown Solutions. Levi M. Obijiofor -- Africa in the 21st Century: A Case for Innovative Use of Technology. Bolanle A. Olaniran -- The Future of Africa: A Crime and Justice Perspective. Paul Omojo Omaji -- Africa in the 21st Century: Prospects for Political Development. Hamdy Abdel Rahman -- Visions of the Future of Africa: A South African Perspective. André Wessels -- The Way Forward. Olugbenga Adesida and Arunma Ote
Ethnic militias and the threat to democracy in post-transition Nigeria
No full textThe democratic opening presented by Nigeria\u92s successful transition to civil rule (June 1998 to May 1999) unleashed a host of hitherto repressed or dormant political forces. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate between genuine demands by these forces on the state and outright criminality and mayhem. Post-transition Nigeria is experiencing the proliferation of ethnic militia movements purportedly representing, and seeking to protect, their ethnic interests in a country, which appears incapable of providing the basic welfare needs of its citizens. It is against the background of collective disenchantment with the Nigerian state, and the resurgence of ethnic identity politics that this research interrogates the growing challenge posed by ethnic militias to the Nigerian democracy project. The central thesis is that the over-centralization of power in Nigeria\u92s federal practice and the failure of post-transitional politics in genuinely addressing the \u93National Question, has resulted in the emergence of ethnic militias as a specific response to state incapacity. The short- and long-term threats posed by this development to Nigeria\u92s fragile democracy are real, and justify the call for a National Conference that will comprehensively address the demands of the ethnic nationalities.CONTENTS -- Introduction -- Colonial Rule, Indigenous Societies and the State -- Democratisation, Ethno-Nationalism and Conflicts - A Review -- Democratisation and Violence -- Nigeria's Ethnic Militias - Origin and Objectives -- O'odua Peoples Congress (OPC) Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) -- The Bakassi Boys -- Militant Ethnicity in the Middle-Belt -- Arewa Peoples Congress (APC) -- The Niger Delta Militias -- State Response to Militant Ethnicity -- Conflicts, Democracy and the Survival of the State -- Federal Practice and the National Question -- Concluding RemarksReferencesAppendix 1. The Aba DeclarationAppendix 2. APC Mission StatementAppendix 3. The Kaima Declaratio
From Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
No full textThis paper examines the political and social situation in the DRC since May 1997, together with the prospects for a successful political and social transition. Consistent with the deepest aspirations of the Congolese population, such a transition will succeed if it involves an irreversible development towards multiparty democracy and the full utilisation of the country’s immense resources for economic and social development. In other words, a successful transition is one in which basic freedoms and liberties will be guaranteed through democratic governance and the rule of law, with tangible improvements in living conditions.2nd, revised ed. -- CONTENTS -- THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT -- The Legacy of Authoritarianism -- The Impact of the National Conference -- The Informalisation of the Economy -- FROM MOTUTU SESE SEKO TO LAURENT-DÉSIRÉ KABILA -- The Seven-Month War to Overthrow the Mobutu Regime -- A New Dictator for the Congo -- The War for Congo’s Natural Resources -- THE NEED FOR A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION -- Managing the Political Transition -- Economic and Social Reconstruction Implications for the Great Lakes Region</p