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Africa

Africa-China-EU Cooperation in Africa : Prospects and Pitfalls

Upphovspersoner: Alden, Chris | Sidiropoulos, Elizabeth
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: international economic relations, Globalization, North south relations, Economic and social development, Africa, China, European Union, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Africa-China-EU cooperation is still in its formative stages. It has the express focus of contributing to peace, stability and sustainable development in Africa. The creation of a virtuous circle of growth and development, one which employs the tools of globalisation to Africa’s best advantage, has to be a fundamental aim of any trilateral cooperation. At the same time, the opening up of trilateral dialogue should allow all three partners to give consideration to areas in which conflicting views or interests arise. Indeed, the spectre of a two-way China-EU “donor cartel” emerging from the process continues to negatively influence perceptions of the initiative in some African circles. Thus, the challenge facing Africa, China and the EU is to envisage a mechanism or modality for managing trilateral cooperation in the era of globalisation that addresses the concerns of all participants while maintaining an overarching commitment to African development. This policy note examines the origins of the trilateral dialogue, makes proposals for building on this dialogue, and ends with possible models for this trilateral cooperation.

EPAs and the post-Lisbon Implementation Status

Upphovspersoner: Khumalo, Nkululeko | Mulleta, Fantu
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: international trade, International negotiations, Economic agreements, Trade agreements, Free trade areas, Partnership, Africa, European Union, ACP, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
The negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union (EU) were launched in 2000. The talks are carried out in terms of the Cotonou Agreement, which seeks to replace the non-reciprocal export preferences ACP countries have had with the European Community (EC) with reciprocal free trade arrangements. These negotiations have been carried out on a regional basis since January 2008 in order to align the parties’ trade regime with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Accordingly, a number of ACP countries initialled Interim Economic Partnership Agreement texts at the end of 2007. The IEPAs are a stopgap measure meant to prevent trade disruptions while negotiations on fully fledged EPAs continue. The second stage of negotiations, which will include services, investment, competition and government procurement, is expected to lead to the conclusion of fully fledged EPAs. This policy note seeks to provide a brief overview of the implementation status of the EPAs in selected African regions. The paper also looks at the impact of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreements (IEPAs) on the countries that initialled them and provides recommendations on how to ensure that the eventual full EPA agreements promote the interests of African countries.

Situating the EPA negotiations : Issues and unresolved debates in Africa-EU trade relations

Upphovsperson: Goodison, Paul
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: international trade, International negotiations, Economic agreements, Trade agreements, Common markets, Structural adjustment, Sustainable development, Poverty alleviation, Africa, European Union, Business and economics, Ekonomi
For a long time it has been necessary to move beyond sterile debates for or against Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The real issue is: what kind of EPAs will support African governments in their efforts to promote the structural transformation of their economies, so that they can move beyond the production of simple and unprocessed products to the production of a range of higher value products, for national, regional and international markets, and in the process help them tackle poverty and employment issues. This paper seeks to situate the ongoing EPA negotiations and debate around contentious issues in the context of the wider European Union (EU) trade policy and African aspirations for sustainable development and poverty reduction.

What’s culture got to do with it? : A report from a conference June 15-18, 2009 in Uppsala

Medarbetare: Palmberg, Mai
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Africa, Culture, Arts, literature, Poetry, music, Film, Conference reports, HUMANITIES and RELIGION, HUMANIORA och RELIGIONSVETENSKAP
What’s culture got to do with it? was the name of an international conference on June 15-18, 2009 in Uppsala, organisedby the 'Cultural Images in and of Africa' research programmeat the Nordic Africa Institute, and funded by the Riksbankens jubileumsfond and Statens kulturråd in Sweden. Scholars participated from 15 countries and 36 universities or research institutes, with 10 African countries represented. This report reproduces the keynote speeches of Karin Barber, Elleke Boehmer, Stefan Jonsson, and Signe Arnfred. The rapporteurs summarise the presentation and discussion of the 27 papers selected for the conference. The report also contain pictorial memories from the conference, and poetry by the three Nordic Africa Institute guest writers present.

Where the old meets the new : Transitional justice, peacebuilding and traditional reconciliation practices in Africa

Upphovsperson: Villa-Vicencio, Charles
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University
År: 2009
Ämnesord: Africa, political development, Dispute settlement, Peacekeeping, Political stability, Governance, Social justice, Human rights, Post-conflict reconstruction, Political science, Statsvetenskap

Writers, writing on conflict and wars in Africa

Medarbetare: Ndibe, Okey | Hove, Chenjerai
Utgivare: London : Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd. and Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: literature, Novels, Authors, Artists, Culture, conflicts, Civil war, politics, Criticism, Africa, Litteraturvetenskap
Many African countries are caught up in perennial or recurrent political conflicts that often culminate in devastating wars. These flaring conflicts and wars create harrowing economic hardships, dire refugee problems, and sustain a sense of despair in such countries. By their nature, these conflicts and wars affect writers in profound and sometimes paradoxical ways. On the one hand, literature—whether fiction, poetry, drama, or even memoirs—is animated by conflict. On the other hand, the sense of dislocation as well as the humanitarian crises unleashed by wars and other kinds of conflicts also constitute grave impediments to artistic exploration and literary expression.  Writers and artists are frequently in the frontline of resistance to the kinds of injustices and abuses that precipitate wars and conflicts. Consequently, they are often detained, exiled, and even killed either by agents of state terror or by one faction or another in the tussle for state control.  Writers, Writing Conflicts and Wars in Africa is a collection of testimonies by various writers and scholars who have experienced, or explored, the continent’s conflicts and woes, including how the disruptions shape artistic and literary production.  The book is divided into two broad categories: in one, several writers speak directly, and with rich anecdotal details about the impact wars and conflicts have had in the formation of their experience and work; in the second, a number of scholars articulate how particular writers have assimilated the horrors of wars and conflicts in their literary creations.  The result is an invaluable harvest of reflections and perspectives that open the window into an essential, but until now sadly unexplored, facet of the cultural and political experience of African writers.  The broad scope of this collection—covering Darfur, the Congolese crisis, Biafra, Zimbabwe, South Africa, among others—is complemented by a certain buoyancy of spirit that runs through most of the essays and anecdotes.

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