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Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet

Gender Violence and HIV/AIDS in Post-Conflict West Africa : Issues and responses

Upphovsperson: Ahonsi, Babatunde A.
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Post-conflict reconstruction, Violence against women, sexual abuse, Sexually transmitted diseases, Hiv, aids, Women’s health, Gender analysis, Liberia, Sierra Leone, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
This discussion paper examines the linkages between gender and gender inequality in the context of conflict, sexual violence and HIV transmission, and their impact on postconflict reconstruction in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It makes two critical contributions to a gendered perspective on post-conflict transitions in West Africa. First, it notes that contrary to conventional wisdom, post-war transitions to relative peace have made little difference to women’s exposure to chronic sexual violence, with potential implications for increased HIV transmission. Second, the study interrogates those assumptions linking war-related sexual violence to high HIV prevalence in post-conflict contexts, by showing that despite over a decade of armed conflict, Liberia and Sierra Leone had adult HIV prevalence rates that were among the lowest in West Africa. This paper goes beyond generally held notions of the sexual and gender dimensions of civil wars in Africa and points to a gap in, and key challenge for studies and policies on post-conflict reconstruction in Africa.

The politics of opposition in contemporary Africa

Medarbetare: Olukoshi, Adebayo O.
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1998
Ämnesord: Africa, Democratization, Political opposition, Political participation, Political power, State, Demobilization, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This book is mainly devoted to a discussion of the broad experiences of the opposition parties that have emerged as a part of the movement towards multi-party politics in Africa. The contributors to the book tackle an interesting mix of issues from a critique of opposition politics in the context of the economic decline in Africa to an assessment of the effors made by the opposition to establish an effective presence under extremely difficult circumstances. The book also draws attention to the many internal organisational/leadership problems that have contributed as much to the weakness of the opposition as the machinations of the ruling parties. Ethnicity, religion and regionalism are identified as crucial factors militating against the opposition. Case studies are drawn from Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

History making and present day politics : the meaning of collective memory in South Africa

Medarbetare: Stolten, Hans Erik J.
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2007
Ämnesord: history, political history, political development, Social change, Nation-building, Post-apartheid, historiography, South Africa, Political science, Statsvetenskap
In this collection, some of South Africa's most distinguished historians and social scientists present their views on the importance of history and heritage for the transformation of the South African society. Although popular use of history helped remove apartheid, the study of history lost status during the transition process. Some of the reasons for this, like the nature of the negotiated revolution, social demobilisation, and individualisation, are analysed in this book. The combination of scholarly work with an active role in changing society has been a central concern in South African history writing. This book warns against the danger of history being caught between reconciliation, commercialisation, and political correctness. Some of the articles critically examine the role of historians in ideological debates on gender, African agency, Afrikaner anti-communism, early South African socialism, and the role of the business world during late apartheid. Other contributions explore continuing controversies on the politics of public history in post-apartheid South Africa, describe the implementation of new policies for history education, or investigate the use of applied history in the land restitution process and in the TRC. The authors also examine a range of new government and private initiatives in the practical use of history, including the establishment of new historical entertainment parks and the conversion of museums and heritage sites. For readers interested in nation building processes and identity politics, this book provides valuable insight.

Globalization and restructuring of African commodity flows

Medarbetare: Fold, Niels | Nylandsted Larsen, Marianne
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2008
Ämnesord: Economic performance, international trade, Commodities, Commodity markets, Capital movements, Marginality, Globalization, Economic analysis, case studies, Africa, Business and economics, Ekonomi
African countries have been incorporated into present processes of economic globalization in a more nuanced way than is usually claimed. Obviously, structural changes and economic growth have not been on the scale seen in other developing country regions, Southeast Asia in particular. However, the increasing global interaction between functionally integrated foci of production and services has also affected Africa in ways that are changing the material foundations of economic and social life on the continent. These processes are not uniform throughout Africa, but affect local, national and regional actors and institutions in diverse and complex ways. In short, globalization in Africa is an uneven process, integrating or re-integrating some localities and communities in global flows of goods, finance and information, while marginalizing or excluding others. The aim of this book is to grasp the diversity of these globalization processes in a systematic way by adopting a common analytical framework, the Global Value Chain approach. Commodity-specific data in two or more countries are taken as a point of departure and the variations and similarities in linkages between local, national, regional and global chain segments are examined. The book is based on original quantitative and qualitative data, collected during fieldwork by the authors.

Endangered democracy? : The struggle over secularism and its implications for politics and democracy in Nigeria

Upphovspersoner: Tar, Usman A. | Shettima, Abba Gana
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: politics, Religion, Secularism, State, Political power, democracy, Islam, Christianity, Cultural pluralism, Religious groups, Political conflicts, Nigeria, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This Discussion Paper critically examines the pivotal role religion plays in Nigerian politics, particularly as it relates to the ways Islamic and Christian identities have been manipulated by competing political elites in their struggle for power. It provides a concise but well-informed history of the evolution of the religious factor in politics and its adverse implications for Nigeria’s democracy. Its point of departure is a critique of the notion of a secular Nigerian state (as prescribed by the constitution), which shows how governments and politicians have taken advantage of constitutional loop holes and used state resources to foster the politicisation of religion, with serious consequences for society at large. Some of the adverse consequences identified include religious conflict, political instability, insecurity and the undermining of the country’s democracy and development. The study carefully peels away the outward display of religious piety by political elites and leaders to reveal some of the underlying personal and narrow calculations. Over time, these calculations have eroded the social elements binding relations in a multi ethnic, multi-religious setting such as Nigeria, and there have been periodic explosions of sectarian and communal violence in various parts of the country. The authors show how the politicisation and ethnicisation of religious differences have further fuelled conflict between competing groups and geopolitical interests in Nigeria and raised serious questions for Nigeria’s democracy, development and the nation-state project. While noting that religion cannot be completely de-linked from politics, the study proffers some suggestions to begin to address and reverse the adverse effects of the intrusion of religion into democratic politics in Nigeria, Africa’s largest country and leading oil producer.

Domination or dialogue? : experiences and prospects for African development cooperation

Medarbetare: Havnevik, Kjell | Van Arkadie, Brian
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1996
Ämnesord: Africa, Democratization, Development aid, Economic policy, Economic reform, International policy, Aid policy, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Beskrivning In a bid to contribute to a deeper understanding in the Nordic countries of the dynamics of development cooperation in Africa, the Nordic Africa Institute convened a conference in Uppsala, Sweden, in October 1995. This publication presents the papers and the discussions of the seminar, discussing the origins, achievements and problems as well as the prospects for sustainable development cooperation in Africa.

Rebels and robbers : violence in post-colonial Angola

Upphovsperson: Malaquias, Assis
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2007
Ämnesord: violence, Social structure, Obstacles to development, Political aspects, Political power, Civil war, peace, Nation Building, national security, Post-conflict reconstruction, Angola, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Rebels and Robbers is about the political economy of violence in post-colonial Angola. This book provides the first comprehensive attempt at analyzing how the military and non-military dynamics of more than four decades of conflict created the structural violence that stubbornly defines Angolan society even in the absence of war. The book clearly demonstrates that the end of the civil war has not ushered in positive peace. The focus on structural violence enables the author to explore the continuities since colonial times, especially in the ways race, class, ethnicity, and power have been used by governing elites as mechanisms to oppress the powerless. Thus, although corruption as structural violence manifesting itself so ubiquitously in Angola today may have been taken to new levels after independence, its origin is unmistakably colonial. Similarly, the zero-sum character of political interactions that defined colonial Angola is yet to be fully exorcized. But there are also important discontinuities. The unabashed propensity to capture public resources for personal aggrandizement is purely post-colonial. So is the tendency toward personal, unaccountable rule. Given its rich endowments, the end of the civil war provides Angola with an opportunity to finally realize its developmental potential. This will depend on whether the wealth resulting from the exploration of natural resources is directed toward creating the conditions for the citizens' realization of their aspirations for the good life thus ensuring sustainable peace.

Transitions in Namibia : which changes for whom?

Medarbetare: Melber, Henning
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2007
Ämnesord: Social change, Economic change, cultural change, political development, Liberation, Decentralization, gender relations, International reltions, Economic and social development, Post-independence, Namibia, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This volume completes the research project on "Liberation and Democracy in Southern Africa" (LiDeSA). It mainly addresses socioeconomic and gender-related issues in contemporary Namibia. Most of the contributors are either Namibian, based in Namibia or have undertaken extensive research in the country. Their interest as scholars and/or civil society activists is guided by a loyalty characterised not by rhetoric but by empathy with the people. They advocate notions of human rights, social equality and related values and norms instead of being driven by an ideologically determined party-political affiliation. Their investigative and analytical endeavours depict a society in transition, a society that is far from being liberated. Not surprisingly, this compilation explores the limits to liberation more than its advances.

Navigating youth, generating adulthood : social becoming in an African context

Medarbetare: Christiansen, Catrine | Utas, Mats | Vigh, Henrik E.
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2006
Ämnesord: youth, adolescents, children, Social environment, Living conditions, human relations, Social and cultural anthropology, case studies, Africa, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
This book focuses on the lives and experiences of young people in Africa. On agents who, willingly or unwillingly, see themselves as belonging to the socio-generational category of youth and the ways in which they seek to shape and unfold their lives in a positive manner. Rather than seeing youth as either a social or cultural entity in itself, or as a predefined life-stage, the book argues for an exploration of how youth position themselves and are positioned within generational categories. In studying young people, social scientists must conceptualise youth as both social being and social becoming; a position in movement. It is from the duality of being positioned and seeking one's own socio-generational position that this book engages in the debate on contemporary African youth.

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