Nordiska Afrikainstitutet

Media, public discourse and political contestation in Zimbabwe

Upphovsperson:	Melber, Henning
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2004
Ämnesord:	Civil rights, Freedom of information, Journalism, Mass media, political development, Press, Zimbabwe, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The current situation in Zimbabwe under the ZANU-PF government shows increasing signs of abuse of power by those in political control. They also direct their desire to suppress criticism towards the media. Press organs in private ownership have been closed down and journalists have been physically harassed, arrested and expelled. Laws are abused to regulate and manipulate public opinion by a policy of banning. Worldwide condemnation of the growing restrictions upon the freedom of expression goes hand in hand with the protests inside the country against the growing tendencies of totalitarian rule. Current events are critically reflected upon and the background to these developments is summarised in this publication. It is based on some of the contributions to a recent conference on Zimbabwe organised by the Nordic Africa Institute and offers insights into the contested space of public opinion in Zimbabwe. The critical analyses of current developments are there-by complemented with particular reference to the media sector in the ongoing battle for hegemonic control over the public sphere.

Political and economic liberalisation in Zambia 1991-2001

Upphovsperson:	Rakner, Lise
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2003
Ämnesord:	economic development, economic reform, Donors, political development, Zambia, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

As 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.

Tales of the nation : feminist nationalism or patriotic history?

Upphovsperson:	Bull-Christiansen, Lene
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2004
Ämnesord:	Zimbabwe, feminism, nationalism, identity, literature, Yvonne Vera, history, Matabeleland, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

In light of the uses and misuses of history in Zimbabwean politics in recent years, this research report focuses on how versions of the country’s liberation war history have become a site of struggle over the definition of Zimbabwean national identity. As identity politics’often do, Zimbabwean nationalism draws on a wide field of cultural symbols of identity and political discourses of inclusion and exclusion. Therefore, the report takes a cross-disciplinary approach to the issue of national identity by mapping out the imaginary field of Zimbabwean nationalism. This approach opens up the possibility of cross-reading the political discourses of the President and the ruling party ZANU (PF) with opposing voices such as those in the works of the author Yvonne Vera. This cross-reading shows how Vera's novels and the political discourses participate in the struggle over Zimbabwean national identity by offering different versions of the nation’s history in the form of patriotic history, feminist nationalism, or narratives of difference. In this way the research report adds to our understanding of power and resistance in Zimbabwean politics of national identity.

Globalization and the Southern African economies

Upphovsperson:	Lundahl, Mats
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2004
Ämnesord:	Southern Africa, Globalization, international economy, trade, economics, economic development, economic reform, labour market, Business and economics, Ekonomi

The 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.

Multi-habitation : urban housing and everyday life in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe

Upphovsperson:	Schlyter, Ann
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2003
Ämnesord:	Urban housing, Home ownership, Living conditions, Zimbabwe, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

This is a study of everyday life and the quality of living in a poor neighbourhood of Chitungwiza, an independent Zimbabwean town about thirty kilometres south of Harare city centre. In the official view, this is a home-ownership neighbourhood. However, there are usually many families living in multi-habitation on each property, and lodgers outnumber owners. Within a restricted area people have to negotiate over, and adapt their use of space. Their ability to do so differs, depending on whether they are owners, tenants or lodgers, women or men, children, adults or elderly, and whether they are gainfully employed or not. The outcome of these negotiations and adaptations decisively affects their feeling of being at home in the house and the neighbourhood. The histories told by the people who are given voice in this report point to housing as highly significant in their coping with poverty, and to multi-habitation as affecting their agency as urban citizens.

Again at the crossroads : Rwanda and Burundi, 2000-2001

Upphovsperson:	Reyntjens, Filip
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2001
Ämnesord:	conflicts, Rwanda, Burundi, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

This report is the third overview by Filip Reyntjens on recent developments in Rwanda and Burundi. The first one "Talking or Fighting?" (published 1999) covered the period 1998-1999, the second one "Small States in an Unstable region"covered the period 1999-2000. In the new publication the political evolution of Rwanda and Burundi is investigated in a broader regional geopolitical context.

Contentious politics, local governance and the self : a Tanzanian case study

Upphovsperson:	Kelsall, Tim
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2004
Ämnesord:	Civil Society, democracy, politics, Social government, Arumeru district, Tanzania, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The Governance Agenda is the framework that currently organises the West’s relations with Africa. The present work is an attempt to see Governance through the lens of a contemporary, local history. The report analyses three periods of contentious politics at local level in Tanzania and two multi-party elections. It provides a window on mismanagement in local government, it examines the intervention by national and local elites in district conflicts, and it points to the difficulties ordinary people face in holding their leaders to account. The argument of the report is that current approaches to the study of Governance overlook an essential ingredient for its potential success: namely, the sociological conditions in which forms of collective action conducive to improved political accountability become possible at a grassroots level. The analysis aims to show that economic diversification and multiple livelihoods have given rise to a reticular social structure in which individuals find it difficult to combine to hold their leaders to account. People have fragmented identities formed in networks of social relations, which impedes the emergence of strong collective identities appropriate to effective social movements.

Liberia - the eye of the storm : a review of the literature on internally displaced, refugees and returnees

Upphovsperson:	Nilsson, Desirée
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Sida
År:	2003
Ämnesord:	conflicts, Refugees, Living conditions, Humanitarian assistance, Liberia, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

One of the most prominent, and from a humanitarian and human rights perspective most troubling aspects of internal conflicts during recent years is the plight of the internally displaced persons, and refugees. Forced to leave their homes in search of refuge, internally displaced persons often find themselves with little protection, with unclear rights, and without safe livelihoods. While their most important support generally comes from the communities receiving them, which often have very few resources, international humanitarian organisations have not been able to agree on clear mandates with regard to who should have the overall responsibility for assisting them. Although the international community is better organised to care for those who have crossed borders and become refugees, it is still struggling to finetune and coordinate available aid instruments and to mobilize sufficient resources in order to facilitate their post-conflict return, resettlement and reintegration. As this literature review of internally displaced persons, refugees and returnees shows in relation to Liberia, there are ongoing conflicts where we lack sufficient understanding of migration patterns and the socio-economic conditions of the displaced, an understanding which is a prerequisite for designing appropriate preventive and mitigating action. This review also highlights the severe lack of protection of civilians in Liberia, children in particular, which leads to forced recruitments to local armed groups as well as exposure to sexual violence.

The inconvenient indigenous : remote area development in Botswana, donor assistance, and the first people of the Kalahari

Upphovsperson:	Saugestad, Sidsel
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2001
Ämnesord:	anthropology, indigenous people, Social anthropology, Socialantropologi

The book deals with the relationship between the government of Botswana and its indigenous minority, known as Bushmen, San, Basarwa, or more recently N/oakwe, and tries to understand why the San people remain a marginalised minority in a country that since Independence in 1966 has committed itself to a democratic and non-racial agenda. The use of the concept 'indigenous' is controversial in Botswana and in the rest of Africa, and the book asks thought-provoking questions about the responsibility of the state, the role of the international community and the need for representative organisations. While there have been dozens of books published on the ethnography of the San, this is the first book that places them in the comparative context of indigenous peoples' struggle for recognition. An in-depth documentation and analysis is given of a series of events in 1992 and 1993 that were crucial in establishing San indigenous organisations and identities, and the emergent San organisations are followed from the communities in Kalahari to international meetings in Geneva.

African families in a global context

Upphovsperson:	Therborn, Göran
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2006
Ämnesord:	Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, demographic change, family, family structure, gender roles, social problems, Sociology, Sociologi

The family is one of the most important institutions of African societies. Where is it going today? How is it affected by global processes, cultural and political as well as economic? How does it compare with family developments in other parts of the world? These are questions, which this report addresses. It deals with – the African family in a comparative global context, focusing on patriarchy, sexuality and marriage, and fertility;– biological and social reproduction in Ghana under conditions of globalization and structural adjustment;– Nigerian marriage relations under the impact of current conditions;– family changes in the North (Britain) viewed from and compared with a family perspective from the South (South Africa).

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