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Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation

War in Mali : Background study and annotated bibliography. July 2012 - March 2013

Upphovsperson: Lindberg, Emy
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation |
År: 2013
Ämnesord:
Not long ago, Mali was considered a beacon of stability and a model of democratic evolution in West Africa. The country then experienced a military coup in the capital in March 2012, followed by the usual post-coup volatility and uncertainty. In the immediate aftermath of the coup, armed insurgents swiftly took over half the country. It did not take long to dismantle a country that on the paper appeared to be functioning, stable and democratic. French troops intervened in the conflict in the north. Yet even if this intervention put a stop to the outright threat of the insurgents taking over the south and significantly shifted the balance of forces in the north, it did not end the conflict. The insurgents have dispersed into remote areas in the sub-region, changing their tactics to terrorist-like activities. Different forms of political negotiation and reconciliation are certainly needed in the region. With the current global clash between radical Islam and the Western “War on Terror”, northern Mali will probably continue to be contested terrain for a long time. In the meantime, a transition to democratic rule is planned for the country, with elections scheduled for July this year. In all likelihood, this will prove to be only an illusory end to an intense power tussle over state control in Bamako.

The production of sexual mutilation among Muslim women in Cairo

Upphovsperson: Malmström, Maria Frederika
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Taylor & Francis Online
År: 2013
Ämnesord: body, gender, embodiment, agency, female circumcision, Human rights, sexuality, desire
Female circumcision has become a global political minefield, with ‘Western’ interventions affecting Egyptian politics and social development, not least in the area of democracy and human rights. As younger generation of women in Egypt informed by international human rights discourse begins to question norms still upheld by the previous generation, new dilemmas and tensions emerge. In this article, I discuss the risk that international interventions designed to modify local practices may fail when the local moral worlds in which such practices are embedded are inadequately understood. Rather than increasing women's agency, such interventions may reduce it and instead produce a sense of sexual mutilation among women.

Electoral Violence in Africa

Upphovspersoner: Adolfo, Eldridge Vigil | Söderberg Kovacs, Mimmi | Nyström, Daniel | Utas, Mats
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Political science, Statsvetenskap
In the time period 2012–2013, over 20 national elections and two constitutional referendums are scheduled in Africa. In several of these elections, violence is anticipated to play a prominent role. There is great urgency to support the establishment of effective and legitimate electoral institutions and electoral frameworks; institute reforms aimed at lowering the stakes of elections; encourage the devolution of powers; improve the socio-economic standing of the populace; and devise strategies to prevent and manage electoral violence.

Urban youth and post-conflict Africa : On policy priorities

Upphovsperson: Utas, Mats
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Youth in urban areas of post-war African countries lead lives that are not very different from non-post-war societies. In fact it is often hard to separate battle-hardened ex-combatants from street-hardened urban youth in general. In this context, youth is a social category of people living in volatile and dire life conditions rather than a group defined by age. It is people who are no longer children, but who have yet to become social adults, people who have been marginalized into what they see as a chronic state of youthhood. It is the number of social youth, not the number of an age-categorized “youth bulge”, that poses a danger for stability in many African countries. This way of defining youth demands special efforts and raises special concerns when international donor communities create and implement youth-specific projects in post-conflict areas. Related to that, this policy note reflects on number of issues that will help improve the results of such projects through knowing and using existing social structures, including gender relations, the problems of social elites and the advantages of utilizing already existing systems of labor training.

Legitimacy, Peace Operations and Regional-Global Security : The African Union - United Nations Partnership in Darfur

Upphovsperson: Gelot, Linnéa
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | London
År: 2012
Ämnesord:
At the turn of the century the regional-global security partnership became a key element of peace and security policy-making. This book investigates the impact of the joint effort made by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to keep the peace and protect civilians in Darfur.

Angola's Sustainable Growth and Regional Role beyond the Elections

Upphovsperson: Adolfo, Eldridge Vigil
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Angola, Governance, elections, Economic conditions, Political conditions, Social conditions, Foreign policy, Regional economy, Sustainable development, Regional security, Peaceful coexistence, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Angola’s economic boom averaging about 17 per cent per annum, is centred on its extractive oil industry and has made Angola one of the fastest growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa and the world. With national peace providing stability and a strong military to negotiate regional threats, Angola is expected to consolidate its position as a regional power commensurate with its economic and military might. However, Angola faces challenges in the political, social, economic, governance, security and foreign policy arenas. It will also have to contend with election-related violence. While a bright medium-term future is in prospect for Angola, the country will have to negotiate and overcome these challenges to sustain its long-term peaceful development.

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