486 research outputs found
Major flaws in conflict prevention policies towards Africa : the conceptual deficits of international actors’ approaches and how to overcome them
No full textCurrent thinking on African conflicts suffers from misinterpretations oversimplification, lack of focus, lack of conceptual clarity, state-centrism and lack of vision). The paper analyses a variety of the dominant explanations of major international actors and donors, showing how these frequently do not distinguish with sufficient clarity between the ‘root causes’ of a conflict, its aggravating factors and its triggers. Specifically, a correct assessment of conflict prolonging (or sustaining) factors is of vital importance in Africa’s lingering confrontations. Broader approaches (e.g. “structural stability”) offer a better analytical framework than familiar one-dimensional explanations. Moreover, for explaining and dealing with violent conflicts a shift of attention from the nation-state towards the local and sub-regional level is needed.Aktuelle Analysen afrikanischer Gewaltkonflikte sind häufig voller Fehlinterpretationen (Mangel an Differenzierung, Genauigkeit und konzeptioneller Klarheit, Staatszentriertheit, fehlende mittelfristige Zielvorstellungen). Breitere Ansätze (z. B. das Modell der Strukturellen Stabilität) könnten die Grundlage für bessere Analyseraster und Politiken sein als eindimensionale Erklärungen. häufig differenzieren Erklärungsansätze nicht mit ausreichender Klarheit zwischen Ursachen, verschärfenden und auslösenden Faktoren. Insbesondere die richtige Einordnung konfliktverlängernder Faktoren ist in den jahrzehntelangen gewaltsamen Auseinandersetzungen in Afrika von zentraler Bedeutung. Das Diskussionspapier stellt die große Variationsbreite dominanter Erklärungsmuster der wichtigsten internationalen Geber und Akteure gegenüber und fordert einen Perspektivenwechsel zum Einbezug der lokalen und der subregionalen Ebene für die Erklärung und Bearbeitung gewaltsamer Konflikte
Political discourse in football coverage : the cases of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana
Full text linkFootball coverage in newspapers is both an arena for and a mirror of political discourse within a society. The paper argues that discourses within football coverage referring to political issues reflect dominant – and, possibly, contesting – “truths”, which themselves are linked to power relations and political struggles within a given society. The comparison of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, two neighbouring countries in very different conditions (particularly with regard to their historical trajectories and the degree of societal consensus), and more particularly, the comparison of dominant discourses on the topics of patriotism, peace and good governance related to the World Cup qualification of both national teams supports the hypothesis of a strong context-relatedness of a politically loaded “football language”. For instance, whereas in Ghana patriotism is, when football comes in, quickly merged with pan-africanism, the Ivorian team renewed the heated political debate about “Ivorianess” by putting forward a notion of inclusive patriotism.Die Fußball-Berichterstattung in Zeitungen stellt eine Arena, aber auch einen Spiegel der politischen Diskurse innerhalb von Gesellschaften dar. Der vorliegende Text argumentiert, dass Sportberichte dominante, aber auch Gegen-“Wahrheiten” reflektieren, die in Verbindung zu Herrschaftsbeziehungen und politischen Auseinandersetzungen in einer bestimmten Gesellschaft stehen. Der Vergleich von Côte d’Ivoire und Ghana, Nachbarstaaten in sehr unterschiedlichem aktuellen Kontext (im Hinblick auf den Verlauf der jüngeren Geschichte und in der Ausprägung von gesellschaftlichem Konsens), und im besonderen der Vergleich von prägenden Diskursen zu den Themen Patriotismus, Frieden und Good Governance in der Berichterstattung über Qualifikation zur sowie Leistung bei der Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2006 durch beide Nationalmannschaften stützt die Hypothese einer starken Kontextgebundenheit der politisch aufgeladenen „Fußballsprache“. Während in Ghana beispielsweise Patriotismus schnell mit „Panafrikanismus“ gepaart wird, sobald von Fußball die Rede ist, hat das ivorische Team die politisch hitzig geführte Debatte über die „Ivoirité“ weiterentwickelt, indem eine inklusivere Form des Patriotismus breite Unterstützung findet
Institutionelle Reformen zur Friedenskonsolidierung
Full text linkAm 19. September 2012 veröffentlichte die Bundesregierung im Zusammenhang mit einer Strategie der Krisenprävention ressortübergreifende Leitlinien für eine kohärente Politik gegenüber fragilen Staaten. Darin gibt sie das Ziel aus, Staatlichkeit durch "institutionalisierte und rechtlich abgesicherte Mechanismen der gleichberechtigten politischen Teilhabe" zu fördern. Wissenschaftler, Diplomaten und Entwicklungspolitiker gehen zumeist davon aus, dass institutionelle Reformen zur Friedenskonsolidierung in Nachkriegsgesellschaften beitragen können. Es bleibt jedoch unklar, unter welchen Bedingungen solche Reformen Erfolg haben. Eine Analyse institutioneller Reformen in 18 Nachkriegsstaaten in den Bereichen territoriale Staatsstruktur, Wahl- und Parteiensysteme, Regierungssysteme, Sicherheitssektor und Justiz in den Jahren von 2000 bis 2005 deutet auf folgende Ergebnisse hin: Nationale und internationale Akteure müssen bei den Reformen die Wechselwirkungen der Institutionen untereinander und das gesamte "Konzert" der Institutionen berücksichtigen. Viel zu selten wird beachtet, dass Reformen in unterschiedlichen Politikbereichen sich gegenseitig widersprechen können oder zusammen eine Wirkung entfalten, die immer die gleichen "Reformverlierer" hervorbringt - das kann einen notwendigen Elitenkonsens untergraben. Reformüberlastung aufgrund vieler gleichzeitig reformierter Institutionen kann die Friedenskonsolidierung gefährden. Für den Erfolg institutioneller Reformen ist über die reine Festlegung in Friedensabkommen und/oder Verfassungen hinaus ihre effektive Umsetzung notwendig
Major Flaws in Conflict Prevention Policies towards Africa. The Conceptual Deficits of International Actors’ Approaches and How to Overcome Them
Full text linkCurrent thinking on African conflicts suffers from misinterpretations (oversimplification, lack of focus, lack of conceptual clarity, state-centrism and lack of vision). The paper analyses a variety of the dominant explanations of major international actors and donors, showing how these frequently do not distinguish with sufficient clarity between the ‘root causes’ of a conflict, its aggravating factors and its triggers. Specifically, a correct assessment of conflict prolonging (or sustaining) factors is of vital importance in Africa’s lingering confrontations. Broader approaches (e.g. “structural stability”) offer a better analytical framework than familiar one-dimensional explanations. Moreover, for explaining and dealing with violent conflicts a shift of attention from the nation-state towards the local and sub-regional level is needed.Sub-Saharan Africa, Conflict Prevention, Conflict Factors, Root causes, Conflict Prolonging Factors, Escalation Patterns, Peace Order, Structural Stability
Not Always in the People’s Interest: Power-sharing Arrangements in African Peace Agreements
Full text linkPeace agreements form a crucial element of strategies to bring security from outside: they involve third-party mediators during the negotiation stage and often peacekeeping troops to guarantee the agreement at an implementation stage. Peace roundtables usually involve top politicians and military leaders, who negotiate, sign, and/or benefit from the agreement. What is usually and conspicuously absent from peace negotiations is broad-based participation by those who should benefit in the first place: citizens. More specifically, the local level of security provision and insecurity production is rarely taken into account. This paper reviews parts of the academic debate on power sharing and war termination, touching on some key findings by the main researchers working on the topic. The ambivalent African experience with Arend Lijphart’s four main ingredients of consociational democracy (grand coalition, minority veto, proportional representation, group autonomy) is summarized. Recent major African peace agreements (1999-2007) are analyzed, and their power-sharing content detailed. Most agreements contain some—though varying— power-sharing devices. Most striking is the variation regarding the important question of who is sharing power with whom. Obviously, only those present at the negotiation table can really count on being included in major ways. Finally, three country cases are analyzed over a longer time period: Côte d’Ivoire (2002-2007), Liberia (1994-2003), and Central African Republic (1996-2007). The conclusion focuses on the factors of failure of peace agreements that place a heavy emphasis on power sharing.Power sharing, peace agreements, consociational democracy, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia
Major Flaws in Conflict Prevention Policies towards Africa. The Conceptual Deficits of International Actors’ Approaches and How to Overcome Them
Full text linkCurrent thinking on African conflicts suffers from misinterpretations (oversimplification, lack of focus, lack of conceptual clarity, state- centrism and lack of vision). The paper analyses a variety of the dominant explanations of major international actors and donors, showing how these frequently do not distinguish with sufficient clarity between the ‘root causes’ of a conflict, its aggravating factors and its triggers. Specifically, a correct assessment of conflict prolonging (or sustaining) factors is of vital importance in Africa’s lingering confrontations. Broader approaches (e.g. “structural stability”) offer a better analytical framework than familiar one-dimensional explanations. Moreover, for explaining and dealing with violent conflicts a shift of attention from the nation-state towards the local and sub-regional level is needed.Saharan Africa, Conflict Prevention, Conflict Factors, Root causes, Conflict Prolonging Factors, Escalation Patterns, Peace Order, Structural Stability
Die Vielfalt von Gewaltkonflikten Analysen aus regionalwissenschaftlicher Perspektive
No full textDer Band geht auf die Arbeit einer Forschungsgruppe am genannten Institut in Hamburg zurueck, die sich mit dem Thema 'Krisenpraevention und Peace-building' beschaeftigt. Sie hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, die Kenntnisse der Regionalwissenschaften ueber Regionen der so genannten 'Dritten Welt' zu buendeln. Den Anfang macht dieser Band, in dem Aufsaetze ueber den Nahen Osten, Afrika, Lateinamerika und die Volksrepublik China einen Ueberblick ueber die Forschungsergebnisse der Regionalwissenschaft geben sollen. Die Herausgeber betonen, dass ihnen insbesondere die Zusammenarbeit von Regionalwissenschaftlern und Praktikern in der Politik am Herzen liegt. Die Kenntnisse der Entscheidungstraeger ueber die Konfliktregionen in der Welt muessen ihrer Meinung nach ebenso verbessert werden wie die Faehigkeit der Regionalwissenschaftler, ihre Forschungsergebnisse so aufzubereiten, dass sie an den wichtigen politischen Stellen wahrgenommen werden. Inhaltsuebersicht: Sabine Kurtenbach / Andreas Mehler: Der Beitrag der Regionalwissenschaften zu Krisenpraevention und Peace-building (7-17); Andreas Mehler: Mehr Wissen, bessere Interpretation, schluessigere Strategie. Afrikawissenschaftliche Beitraege zur Krisenpraevention (23-56); Sabine Kurtenbach / Astrid Nissen: Der Beitrag der Lateinamerikaforschung zur Analyse gewaltsamer Konflikte (57-86); Sigrid Faath / Hanspeter Mattes: Gewaltsame Konflikte in Nordafrika/Nahost: analytische Defizite, schwierige Frueherkennung und limitierte Interventionsmoeglichkeiten (87-129); Heike Holbig: Konfliktpotenziale und Loesungsstrategien in der VR China (131-152); Sabine Kurtenbach / Andreas Mehler: Regionalwissenschaft und gewaltsame Konflikte (153-159). (ZPol, NOMOS)SIGLEAvailable from UB Duisburg(464)-50PFA1613 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman
Votes, money and violence : political parties and elections in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textFollowing the (re-)introduction of multiparty systems in Africa in the early 1990s, third and fourth elections in Africa's new democracies and hybrid regimes are now being seen. Although there is a large and growing literature on democracy and elections in Africa, parties and party systems have hitherto not been the focus of research, which may be surprising given their central role in a liberal democracy. The early works from the 1960s and 1970s provide neither a sound conceptual nor empirical basis. Research on political parties and party systems in Africa is still in its infancy. Various contributions in this volume address the theoretical and conceptual challenges provided by the African parties and party systems with their particular features of weak organisation, informal relationships dominated by 'big men' and clientelism within a neopatrimonial setting. Others raise the crucial question of representation in relation to ethnicity, civil society and gender, or look into the empirical relationship between party systems and democracy. Further chapters ask questions about the appropriate electoral system for the multiethnic context in Africa and deal with the problem of electoral system reform. Finally, there are chapters which focus on the neglected area of electoral violence, and the moral role of money and vote buying is scrutinized through a case study. An important conclusion is that party research in Africa needs more conceptual clarity as well as empirical research particularly on party organisation, voting behaviour, and the role of ethnicity.Most of the contributions to this volume are based on early versions of the papers presented at the Thematic Conference of the Africa–Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies (AEGIS) ‘How People Elect Their leaders. Parties, Party Systems and Elections in Africa South of the Sahara’ 22–23 May 2003, Hamburg.CONTENTS: Introduction: Research on Electoral Systems, Parties and Party Systems in Africa / Gero Erdmann, Matthias Basedau and Andreas Mehler -- Political Parties, Elections and Patronage: Random Thoughts on Neo-Patrimonialism and African Democratization / E. Gyimah-Boadi -- Party Research: western European Bias and the ‘African labyrinth’ / Gero Erdmann -- Political Parties in Africa: Different, Functional and Dynamic? Reflections on Gero Erdmann’s ‘Party Research: western European Bias and the “African labyrinth’” / Peter Burnell -- Political Parties in Africa and the Representation of Social Groups / Vicky Randall -- Do Party Systems Matter for Democracy? A Comparative Study of 28 Sub-Saharan Countries / Matthias Basedau -- Paths of Electoral Reform in Africa / Christof Hartmann -- Electoral Systems, Party Systems and Ethnicity in Africa / Matthijs Bogaards -- Political Parties and Violence in Africa: Systematic Reflections against Empirical Background / Andreas Mehler -- Insights into Electoral Violence in Africa / Liisa Laakso -- Banknotes and Symbolic Capital: Ghana’s Elections Under the Fourth Republic / Paul Nugent -- Conclusion: The Research Agenda Ahead / Gero Erdmann, Matthias Basedau and Andreas Mehler</p
Votes, money and violence : political parties and elections in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textFollowing the (re-)introduction of multiparty systems in Africa in the early 1990s, third and fourth elections in Africa's new democracies and hybrid regimes are now being seen. Although there is a large and growing literature on democracy and elections in Africa, parties and party systems have hitherto not been the focus of research, which may be surprising given their central role in a liberal democracy. The early works from the 1960s and 1970s provide neither a sound conceptual nor empirical basis. Research on political parties and party systems in Africa is still in its infancy. Various contributions in this volume address the theoretical and conceptual challenges provided by the African parties and party systems with their particular features of weak organisation, informal relationships dominated by 'big men' and clientelism within a neopatrimonial setting. Others raise the crucial question of representation in relation to ethnicity, civil society and gender, or look into the empirical relationship between party systems and democracy. Further chapters ask questions about the appropriate electoral system for the multiethnic context in Africa and deal with the problem of electoral system reform. Finally, there are chapters which focus on the neglected area of electoral violence, and the moral role of money and vote buying is scrutinized through a case study. An important conclusion is that party research in Africa needs more conceptual clarity as well as empirical research particularly on party organisation, voting behaviour, and the role of ethnicity.Most of the contributions to this volume are based on early versions of the papers presented at the Thematic Conference of the Africa–Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies (AEGIS) ‘How People Elect Their leaders. Parties, Party Systems and Elections in Africa South of the Sahara’ 22–23 May 2003, Hamburg.CONTENTS: Introduction: Research on Electoral Systems, Parties and Party Systems in Africa / Gero Erdmann, Matthias Basedau and Andreas Mehler -- Political Parties, Elections and Patronage: Random Thoughts on Neo-Patrimonialism and African Democratization / E. Gyimah-Boadi -- Party Research: western European Bias and the ‘African labyrinth’ / Gero Erdmann -- Political Parties in Africa: Different, Functional and Dynamic? Reflections on Gero Erdmann’s ‘Party Research: western European Bias and the “African labyrinth’” / Peter Burnell -- Political Parties in Africa and the Representation of Social Groups / Vicky Randall -- Do Party Systems Matter for Democracy? A Comparative Study of 28 Sub-Saharan Countries / Matthias Basedau -- Paths of Electoral Reform in Africa / Christof Hartmann -- Electoral Systems, Party Systems and Ethnicity in Africa / Matthijs Bogaards -- Political Parties and Violence in Africa: Systematic Reflections against Empirical Background / Andreas Mehler -- Insights into Electoral Violence in Africa / Liisa Laakso -- Banknotes and Symbolic Capital: Ghana’s Elections Under the Fourth Republic / Paul Nugent -- Conclusion: The Research Agenda Ahead / Gero Erdmann, Matthias Basedau and Andreas Mehler</p
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