The Nordic Africa Institute
Not a member yet
1081 research outputs found
Sort by
Repressive state and resurgent media under Nigeris's military dictatorship, 1988-98
No full textThis study documents a crucial dimension of the resistance of Nigerian civil society to a repressive and monumentally corrupt military state in the late 1980s and 1990s in Nigeria. Employing a neo-Gramscian theoretical framework, the study relates how a section of the media defied censorship laws, outright bans, incarceration and the assassination of opposition figures, to prosecute the struggle for democracy. It captures the tensions and contradictions between a pliant section of the media, which sought to legitimise the state and a critical section of the same media, which in alliance with radical civil society, invented rebellious outlets to carry on the struggle against dictatorship.The study seeks to make fresh departures by documenting not only the role of the national media in the throes of democratic struggle, but that of the international media whose role was influential in the years studied.Finally the report offers empirical proof of the mechanisms by which a vibrant civil society can curb the ravages of a predatory state in an African country.CONTENTS -- CHAPTER 1: Hegemonic Contest - Repressive State Versus Resurgent Media -- I. Introduction -- II. The Context - Antecedants -- III. Hegemony -- Theory IV. Hegemony and the Media - Applying the Theory -- CHAPTER 2: The Economic and Technological Tapestry - The Global Backdrop -- I. Nigerian Media - Economics, Technology and Ownership. The Context -- II. Harsh Economics and Survival Strategies -- III. Conclusion - Economics, Technology and Hegemony -- CHAPTER 3: Repression and Resistance 1989-93 -- I. Introduction -- II. Toughening Cadences and the Context of Repression -- III. Calendar of Repressive Activities -- IV. Coverage of the Annulment Controversy Crisis -- V. Conclusion -- CHAPTER 4: Censorship and Intolerance - The Media in the Abacha Years -- I. Introduction -- II. Harsh Cadences, Persecution and Resistance -- III. A Calendar of Repression -- IV. Editorial Postures - The June 1994 Crisis -- V. Conclusion -- CHAPTER 5: Driven Underground - The Guerrilla Media Phenomenon -- I. Introduction -- II. Profile and Perceptions -- III. Editorial Postures - The Election Annulment Controversy -- IV. The Self-Succession Controversy - Antecedents -- V. Linkages to Civil Society and Production Strategy -- VI. Conclusion - Retrospect and Prospect -- CHAPTER 6: Protest Vernacular - Neo-Traditional Media Versus the Military State. I. Introduction -- II. Historical and Sociological Woof -- III. Media Versus Military State -- IV. Conclusion - Orature and the Discourse Map -- CHAPTER 7: The Global Context - The International Media and the Crisis of Democratisation -- I. Introduction - The Issues -- II. Carrot and Stick Approach to Global Media -- III. Editorial Postures -- IV. The Media and Globalisation -- Concluding Remarks - Democratisation and Resurgent Medi
Fault-lines in South African democracy : continuing crises of inequality and injustice
No full textThe transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa has raised questions, on the one hand, about the tension between the imperatives of justice and equality and, on the other, reconciliation. Transforming the decades' old apartheid system under conditions of a political compromise has turned out to be a formidable challenge. This paper is about the complexity of the transformation processgoing on in South Africa. Although too early for a real assessmentof the experiment, the tensions, dilemmas, contradictions, paradoxes and some of the changes have already begun to manifest themselves. In this Discussion Paper, the author gives the full measure of the tensions, dilemmas, and paradoxes involved in the transformation of South Africa. Apartheid was more than formal discrimination along racial lines: it was a system of exploitation and oppression in which race, class, gender and other markers of social identity all overlapped. The paper shows how political deals affect the administration of justice, and how they impinge upon the nature of democracy, often by frustrating efforts to realise social goals in the post-authoritarian phase. It also raises the fundamental question of the broader necessities for the long-term survival of democracy in South Africa, which, the paper argues, must include: - addressing the enormous disparities between wealth and poverty and black and white left in the wake of apartheid and - creating a legitimate polity that respects the rule of law.CONTENTS -- The Survival of Apartheid -- Race and Inequality -- The Rhetoric of Reconciliation -- Courts or Commissions -- The Politics of Proportionality -- Evidence, Truth and Justice -- Conclusion: Delivery, Reparations and EqualityConclusion: Delivery, Reparations and Equalit
News from the Nordic Africa Institute : No. 3 October 2003
No full textContents: To Our Readers / Lennart Wohlgemuth -- Commentaries: Migrations, Public Policies for ‘Foreigners’ and Citizenship in West Africa / Francis Akindès -- Sierra Leone: Post-Conflict Transition or Business as Usual? / Arthur Abraham -- South Africa: Reintegration into Civilian Life of Ex-Combatants / Guy Lamb -- The Challenge of Nordic Media: Bringing Africa Home / Anne Hege Simonsen -- Media: Nordic Media and Africa -- Hunger and Politics: What international media did not report / Sarah Chiumbu -- Interview: Interview with Juhani Koponen -- Research: Guest Researchers -- African institution: Panos West Africa -- Publishing: Recent Publications -- Conference reports: Conferences and Meetings -- Publications Received</p
News from the Nordic Africa Institute : No. 1, January 2003
No full textContents: To Our Readers / Lennart Wohlgemuth -- Commentaries: Sharia in Nigeria: Some issues arising / Adetoun Ilumoka -- Children of the storm / Bawa Yamba -- Morocco today: Dynamics of political change / Abouhani Abdelghani -- Research: State-building in post-liberation Eritrea: Prospects, Potentialities and Challenges / Redie Bereketeab -- Religious history and gender relations in Northern Tanzania / Päivi Hasu -- AIDS orphans and their relatives: patterns of care / Catrine Christiansen -- Review: Literature on truth and reconciliation in South Africa / Henning Melber -- Institutions: AEGIS: Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies -- Publishing: Recent publications -- Conference reports: Conferences and meetings -- Scholarships: Awarded scholarships -- Poem: 'The Search' by Kwesi Brew</p
Structural stability in an African context
No full textStructural Stability is a particular focus for reconceptualising developmental strategy and development aid and has provoked unfore-seen responses in the course of a recent, mainly German debate. This debate began late in 2000 when a number of prominent German scholars in African Studies initiated a policy dialogue through a widely circulated and publicly discussed "Afrika Memorandum" centred on the notion of structural stability. Its arguments are relevant not only to a German audience but offer stimulating and thought-provoking inputs into the debate in the wider European context on bilateral and multilateral relations with Africa. This Discussion Paper presents the revised contributions to a Consulta- tive Workshop on Structural Stability in an African Context that took place at the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala on 31 March and 1 April 2003.CONTENTS -- Economic Aspects of the African CrisisLow-Level Equilibria, Traps and Structural Instability/Robert Kappel -- Comments on Robert Kappel/Anders Danielson -- "Structural Stability"-A Leitmotiv for African Policies? Background and Ambition/Andreas Mehler -- The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NePAD) -- A Step Towards Structural Stability?/Henning Melbe
Development from below : a Namibian case study
No full textThis Discussion Paper offers a revised lecture by Reinhart Kössler, which was originally presented to a Research Forum organised by The Nordic Africa Institute jointly with the Seminar for Development Studies of Uppsala University. It deals with aspects of rebuilding societies from below firstly in a general development studies discourse on a more theoretical level, considering aspects of the current debate on globalisation. This is followed by a concrete case study from southern Namibia. It illustrates local responses by the Witbooi-Nama in Gibeon to (re-)define identity within the context of a (nation-)state in a post-apartheid society. The paper is commented upon by two discussants (Per Strand and Henning Melber). The contributions reflect on the issue of social reconstruction in the context of (southern) Africa with reference to a particular marginalised group. They deal, among other things, with the question of social power and the "invention of tradition" in local efforts to gain from, or seek integration into, the nation building process.CONTENTS -- Rebuilding Societies from Below: Reflections on Heroes Day, Gibeon/Namibia/R. Kössler -- The Local and the Global. A Comment/P. Strand -- Nama or Namibian? A Comment/Henning Melbe
Political and economic liberalisation in Zambia 1991-2001
No full textAs one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in 1991 Zambia experienced a peaceful transition to multi-party rule. The new government, Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), also committed itself to implementing an economic reform programme. The international donor community in turn generously rewarded the new government’s commitment to both political and economic change. Despite the optimistic forecasts in 1991, both the political and economic liberalisation processes in Zambia are today characterised by their partial implementation. Zambia has joined the vast majority of African reforming governments and entered into a 'transitional grey zone' in terms of democratic reforms, and remains stuck in a 'partial reform syndrome' characterised by a permanent economic crisis. What can explain the Zambian development trajectory? Why were some elements of the economic reforms implemented soon after the 1991 elections while other vital reform processes were postponed? To what extent did the processes of political and economic reform reinforce or hinder one another? This book analyses the implementation of political and economic liberalisation in Zambia during the first two election periods (1991-2001). Focussing on the negotiations between government and the key domestic interest groups, as well as the dialogues between the MMD government and the international donor community, the book argues that despite a disastrous socio-economic record, the processes of political and economic liberalisation proceeded concomitantly without seriously affecting or undermining each other. Contrary to expectations linked both to the political and economic reform processes, executive dominance increased in Zambia in the 1990s. Stressing continuity rather than change, the analysis of Zambia's reform processes suggests that the practices of patronage politics associated with authoritarian regimes are compatible with processes of political and economic liberalisation.CONTENTS -- REFORM FOR POLITICAL SURVIVAL: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC LIBERALISATION IN ZAMBIA 1991–2001 -- POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC LIBERALISATION IN THEORY AND IN AFRICA -- POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN ZAMBIA 1964–1991 -- ECONOMIC REFORMS 1991–2001: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND DOMESTIC INTEREST GROUPS -- POLITICAL LIBERALISATION 1991–2001: THE DECLINE OF INTEREST GROUP INFLUENCE -- AID FOR REFORM: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT AND THE INTERNATIONAL DONOR COMMUNITY -- POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC LIBERALISATION IN ZAMBIA 1991–200
Nile Basin cooperation : a review of the literature
No full textTwo interrelated developments can be identified in the Nile basin, during the last decade: an emphasis on potential conflict over the Nile waters on the one hand, and an evolving process of basin-wide cooperation on the other. The history of the Nile basin is dominated by tensions and conflicts. Relationships between major Nile basin countries are usually described in terms of mutual distrust and confrontation. The Nile basin, moreover, has frequently been referred to by many observers and analysts as an example where conflict over water resources as a result of water scarcity will lead to armed confrontation. Recent years, on the other hand, have witnessed a growing cooperation among the basin countries. The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is a case in point. All the ten countries that share the Nile waters agreed, for the first time, to cooperate on development of the Nile basin. This is a significant step, although a number of serious problems and challenges remain. Many donors have made formal pledges to support the initiative. This paper reviews literature on the Nile basin cooperation and issues related to this process, focusing on more recent publications. The literature on utilization and management of the Nile waters related to basin-wide cooperation efforts has been growing fast during the last decade. At least seven books have been published on the subject between the years 2000 to 2002, while the number of papers presented at conferences and articles in various journals and on the Internet is enormous. This review discusses and covers a wide range of issues, which include: debate on water scarcity and its potential consequences in general, and its implications for the Nile basin countries in particular; legal aspects of utilization of the Nile waters focusing on the UN Watercourse Convention of 1997; conflicts and major attempts at cooperation; divergent views and interests of the basin countries; and challenges and prospects of the recent basin-wide cooperation.1: Introduction. 2 : Water scarcity: cause of conflict or opportunity for cooperation. 3 : Legal aspects of utilization of the Nile waters and the Nile basin cooperation. 4 : Conflict and cooperation along the Nile River. 5 : The NBI: the new evolving cooperation. 6 : Ten riparians, one Nile: divergent interests of the Nile basin. 6 : Challenges and prospects</p
Re-examining liberation in Namibia : political culture since independence
No full textFrom 1960, SWAPO of Namibia led the organised and later armed struggle for independence. In late 1989, the liberation movement was finally elected to power under United Nations supervision as the legitimate government. When the Republic of Namibia was proclaimed on 21 March 1990, the long and bitter struggle for sovereignty came to an end. This volume takes stock of emerging trends in the country's political culture since independence. The contributions, mainly by authors from Namibia and Southern Africa who supported the anti-colonial movements, critically explore the achievements and shortcomings that have been part of liberation in Namibia.CONTENTS -- Limits to Liberation: An Introduction to Namibia's Postcolonial Political Culture/H. Melber -- Voices in the Liberation Struggle: Discourse and Ideology in the SWAPO Exile Media/W. Hueva -- Between Liberation Struggle and Constitutionalism: Namibia and Zimbabwe/S.H. Bukurura -- The Struggle for Indigenous People's Rights/C. Daniels -- Truth, Reconciliation, Amnesia: The "ex-Detainees'" Fight for Justice/J.S. Saul/C.Leys -- Liberation and Democracy: A Critical Reading of Sam Nujoma's 'Autobiography'/C. Saunders -- Public Memory, Reconciliation and the Aftermath of War: A Preliminary Framework with Special Reference to Namibia/R. Kössler -- State, Politics and Culture: The Case of Music/M. Manns -- Liberation and Tolerance/A. du Pisan