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Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet

Soil erosion and reservoir sedimentation in Lesotho

Upphovsperson: Chakela, Qalabane K.
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1981
Ämnesord: Tanzania, East Africa, Soil erosion, Sedimentation, Environment, Ecology, Population, Land use, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Soil erosion and water deficiency are some of the most serious problems in many developing countries including Lesotho. In Lesotho the problem of soil erosion by water and to a less degree by wind has become so serious that large parts of the country are rapidly loosing productivity due to loss of soil fertility by sheet erosion on cultivated lands; loss of arable and range lands through gully erosion and overgrazing; loss of water supply sources through gullies and runoff following erosion, lowering of groundwater levels through gullies and pipes, and sedimentation in rivers and reservoirs. In these studies the rates, types and extent of the different erosions processes are investigated in eleven small watersheds within the lowlands and foothills regions of Lesotho.

Persuasive prevention : Towards a Principle for Implementing Article 4(h) and R2P by the African Union

Upphovsperson: Kuwali, Dan
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: African Union, United Nations, African organizations, Regional cooperation, International relations, Foreign intervention, Dispute settlement, Peacekeeping, Defence policy, Crime prevention, Human rights, Regional security, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
While the legality of intervention without Security Council authorisation is still debatablein international law, over-reliance on military intervention increases the risk of too much focus on reactive rather than proactive strategies. If the thresholds for Article 4(h) intervention – like those of the responsibility to protect – are serious international crimes subject to universal jurisdiction, it follows that measures to ensure the observance of the law in prospect, rather than intervention and penalisation of violations in retrospect,are important in preventing violations. Therefore, in order to in a timely manner and effectively implement Article 4(h) and R2P, the missing link is borderless ‘persuasive prevention’ which aims at enforcing fundamental human rights obligations to prevent mass atrocity crimes stipulated in Article 4(h). To this end, as a minimum, the AU should discharge its responsibility to prevent human rights violations through the ‘force of law’. Where atrocities are likely to take place, the African Standby Force (ASF) should be deployedin a timely way, not to defeat a State, but to pursue perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes. To achieve this, the ASF should have the ‘capability to protect’ to ensure the ‘obligationto prosecute or extradite’. Although the AU has taken an interventionist stance, what is needed most is early action to prevent mass atrocity crimes. The AU may need to establish a body to monitor the implementation of obligations whose breach may lead to the heinous crimes in Article 4(h). In addition, the AU needs a legally binding instrument to ensure accountability and end impunity for crimes in Article 4(h). The idea is to influencethe calculus of potential authors of atrocities and ensure compliance with human rights and humanitarian law obligations.

Studying Africa : A guide to the sources

Medarbetare: Kristina Rylander,
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2005
Ämnesord: Africa, Reference materials, Bibliographies, Literature surveys, Internet sources, SOCIAL SCIENCES, history, Geography, anthropology, education, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Studying Africa is an introduction to the basic handbooks and standard works on contemporary Africa. The first part of the book is a guide to searching for literature and facts within the field of the social sciences. It deals with bibliographies, databases, reference works, yearbooks, journals, Internet resources, statistics, maps and official publications. Active links to the websites mentioned in the text can be found at the end of each chapter. In the sections entitled “African information on the Internet” and “Statistics”, additional links are given within the text itself. The second part of the book consists of introductions to the literature within the subject areas of history, politics, economics, geography, anthropology and education.

Dealing with uncertainty in contemporary African lives

Medarbetare: Haram, Liv | Yamba, C. Bawa
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: Uncertainty, Traditional culture, anthropology, cultural change, Social change, modernization, gender relations, Sexually transmitted diseases, Economic implications, Daily life, Conference papers, Social anthropology, Socialantropologi
The articles in ‘Dealing with Uncertainty in Contemporary African Lives’ are based largely on work in Tanzania which has been spared much of the turmoil that elsewhere has uprooted populations and destroyed communities. Nevertheless they illuminate phenomena common throughout sub-Saharan Africa as modernity in its many guises undercuts old certainties, outmodes established knowledge of how to order life and deal with crises, introduces new hazards, and frustrates ambition and expectations. But as the editors, Haram and Yamba, point out, uncertainty and insecurity have a positive side, providing the basis for ‘curiosity and exploration’. The case studies demonstrate both the increasing uncertainty and insecurity of life in contemporary Africa and the ways that people respond, including warding off and reaching out. Scapegoats are sought. Witch beliefs become elaborated as explanations of failures and malaise while witchfinding becomes a lucrative profession. Pentecostal or other fundamentalist churches burgeon as they assure people that life has meaning and better times are before them if only they believe. Suicide and insanity are other possible responses. All in all, a thought-provoking volume. Elizabeth Colson, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

Social welfare in Muslim societies in Africa

Upphovsperson: Weiss, Holger
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2002
Ämnesord: economics, Educations, Islamic Countries, Religion, Social welfare, Sufism, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
In recent decades there has been an increasing attempt by Muslim intellectuals to reflect on the provision of social welfare in Muslim societies in Africa. One reason for this is the few, if not non-existent, possibilities of the states to provide for the basic needs of their subjects, a situation that has become painfully evident in most African states not only the Muslim ones. However, public as well as private provision of social welfare is not a new phenomenon in the Muslim world. Whereas government and public involvement in the provision of social welfare has been haphazard, despite various attempts at direct state involvement especially in the post-colonial world, private and what might be labelled semi-official activities, such as the establishment of pious foundations and the activities of the Sufi orders, have a solid foundation in local Muslim societies in Africa. This book attempts to emphasise the variety of both agents and ways to provide social welfare in Muslim societies in Africa. In addition, social welfare, as such, is both reflected upon and debated by Muslim intellectuals. The aim of this book has therefore been to capture both the theoretical as well as the actual dimension of social welfare.

Reconsidering informality : perspectives from urban Africa

Upphovspersoner: Hansen, Karen Tranberg | Vaa, Mariken
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2004
Ämnesord: Informal sector, Hidden economy, Employment, Land use, Livelihood, Urban areas, Urban planning, Urban housing, Congo-Brazzaville, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Social anthropology, Socialantropologi
This book brings together two bodies of research on urban Africa that have tended to be separate: Studies of urban land use and housing, and studies of work and livelihoods. Africa’s future will be to an increasing extent urban. Nevertheless, the inherited legal, institutional and financial arrangements for managing urban development are inadequate. The recent decades of neo-liberal political and economic reforms have increased social inequality across urban space. Access to employment, shelter and services is precarious for most urban residents. Extra-legal housing and unregistered economic activities proliferate. Basic urban services are increasingly provided informally. The result is the phenomenal growth of the informal city and extra-legal activities. How do urban residents see these activities? What do they accomplish through them? How can these “informal” cities be governed? The case studies are drawn from a diverse set of cities on the African continent. A central theme is how practices that from an official standpoint are illegal or extra-legal do not only work but are considered legitimate by the actors concerned. Another is how the informal city is not exclusively the domain of the poor, but also provides shelter and livelihoods for better-off segments of the urban population.  

South African female peacekeepers on mission in Africa : Progress, challenges and policy options for increased participation

Upphovsperson: Schoeman, Maxi
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: South Africa, South Africa National Defence Force, Peace corps, Peacekeeping, women's participation, Women's rights, gender equality, Women's role, women's status, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning
South Africa’s contribution of troops to peace missions is the 13th largest in the world, and the country has the largest women’s contingent deployed in Peace Support Operations (PSOs). Although, South Africa is one of only a handful of countries incorporating women in combat positions and PSOs, on average the picture of female participation remains less rosy.On the policy level, South Africa has committed itself to gender mainstreaming in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000). The UN Resolution on Women, Peace and Security calls for, among other things, full inclusion of women in all aspects of peace-related activities, including peacekeeping. On 31 October2010, the world will mark the 10th anniversary of Resolution 1325, just as in 2009 South Africa celebrated ten years of participation in international peacekeeping operations. This is a pertinent time to take stock of South Africa’s progress in improving the gender balance in its military, specifically in its contribution to PSOs, and the opportunities and obstacles that exist in this process.This Policy Note is based on information collected from questionnaires, interviews and reports, along with insights gleaned from discussion groups at the 2007 SANDF Women’s Day Conference to identify the progress of, and challenges to the SANDF in improving the gender balance in its peacekeeping activities. These initial research findings form part of a larger project on South African involvement in peacekeeping, focusing in particular on the status, position and role of women decision-makers and peacekeepers. Problems encountered by women peacekeepers and the challenges faced by the SANDF are not unique and the recommendations may therefore be of relevance beyond South Africa, particularly to those African countries across the continent attempting to attract more women into, and mainstream gender in the military and PSOs.

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