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Africa

FOCAC Twelve Years Later : Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward

Upphovspersoner: Li, Anshan | Liu, Haifang | Pan, Huaqiong | Zeng, Aiping | He, Wenping
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, China, International cooperation, South south relations, Foreign policy, Institutional framework, Evaluation, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Twelve years have passed since the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), an event that marked an important milestone in China-Africa relations. The forum is a platform to promote mutually beneficial South-South cooperation between China and Africa, based on mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of African countries. In its ten year existence, FOCAC has achieved in deepening China-Africa relationsin the economic field. Trade, investment, infrastructure and capacity building have been comprehensively promoted. But as FOCAC prepares to enter the second decade, a number of steps must be taken by Chinese and African partners to improve the current institutional arrangement by expanding space for private sector and civil society participation in decision-making and by increasing the frequency of follow-up processes to ensure effective implementation of agreed upon targets.

Beyond ”Gender and Stir” : Reflections on gender and SSR in the aftermath of African conflicts

Medarbetare: Eriksson Baaz, Maria | Utas, Mats
Utgivare: Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, conflicts, Police, Armed forces, Defence policy, gender roles, Peacekeeping, Women’s participation, Security sector reform, Post-conflict reconstruction, case studies, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
As a policy field largely characterised by handbooks and manuals, gender and Security Sector Reform (SSR) has been insufficiently studied and analysed. Analytical discussion of what gendering SSRmeans is quite rare, as is the study of the already gendered nature of the security institutions that are the subject of intervention. This policy dialogue unpacks aspects of the discourses and practices regarding gender and SSR. It highlights limitations and problems both in the conceptualisation of gender and its incorporation into practical SSR work. The publication also demonstrates how researchers and policymakers often have divergent views of what gendering SSR means. Finally, it calls for closer and more constructive dialogue between researchers and practitioners, a dialogue which acknowledges the conditions and constraints in these two spheres of work.

Supporting African peace operations

Medarbetare: Gelot, Linnéa | Gelot, Ludwig | de Coning, Cedric
Utgivare: Uppsala
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, Civil war, conflicts, Peace corps, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, International cooperation, International security, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
The Nordic Africa Institute, the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs hosted a seminar in Uppsala, Sweden, on 15 and 16 December 2011, that brought together AU, EU and UN officials closely involved in peace operations in Africa. The seminar’s purpose was to allow participants to compare their experiences of the different support models that have been used to date in Sudan and Somalia. International support for African peace operations provides opportunities but also poses challenges. This report examines four of these challenges in some detail: the AU Commission’s limited capacity to plan and manage peace operations; insufficient political engagement by African member states with AU peace operations; the short-termism and self-interest of some of the AU’s partners; and the need for UN Security Council permanent members to value and ensure a shared AU-UN strategic vision. The report also includes policy recommendations for resolving these challenges.

From Global Land Grabbing for Biofuels to Acquisitions of African Water for Commercial Agriculture

Upphovsperson: Olanya, David Ross
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Agrarian Change, Property and Resources | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, Land acquisition, Biomass energy, Fuel Water resources, Agricultural production, Commercial farming, Foreign investment, Property rights, Livelihood, Environmental aspects, Government policy
Expansion of biofuel investment in Africa has been supported by indebted poor governments because of perceived potential benefits such as sustainable energy development, support to poor farmers, development of rural economies and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the intensity of the biofuels political economy in poor countries worsens inequality for the vulnerable poor. This is evidenced by large-scale land acquisitions in Africa for biofuel and crop production primarily for foreign consumption – food, animal feeds and energy crops. The search for land in African countrieshas been triggered by growing concerns over food and energy security in developed countries following the global food crisis of 2008. Moreover, these recent developments in large-scale land acquisitions in Africa are not a new phenomenon, but represent the renewal of old practices incommercial agriculture, which is either conducted through purchases or long-term leases. In addition to biofuel expansion, this study notes that current large-scale land acquisitions in sub-Saharan Africa have been further driven by demands to access water resources for other commercial agricultural crops. The land purchases or leases automatically guarantee access to African water. This demand for water is a response to climate change: most industrialists believe that acquiring land near a main water reservoir will guarantee future agricultural potential. Few analyses have been done on the land-water access nexus. This article considers recent developments in large-scaleland acquisitions in Africa in terms of water security for commercial agriculture to safeguard the production of agricultural crops with a large water footprint. Using political economy analysis, this article examines national policy on these acquisitions, the rights accorded to foreign investors and how land acquisitions undermine indigenous rights to the common resources that have been the mainsource of livelihood in sub-Saharan Africa.

Inequality and Identity : Causes of War?

Upphovsperson: Holmqvist, Göran
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration |
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, Civil war, conflicts, Social inequality, cultural identity, Intergroup relations, Social control, Theory, comparative analysis, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
In this paper, four theories on the causes of civil war are reviewed. One theory, associated with Paul Collier, emphasises feasibility over factors related to grievance. A second theory, espoused by Frances Stewart, focuses on the role of horizontal inequalities. The third theory, identified with William Zartman, highlights the different roles “need, creed and greed” factors play in various phases of a conflict. And the fourth theory, associated with the World Bank /World Development Report 2011, points out “commitment” problems leading to institutional failures as a crucial factor. Each of the theories leads to quite different policy conclusions. Their strengths and weaknesses, and their claimed empirical support, are discussed.In addition, some of the mechanisms underpinning the theories are highlighted on the basis of empirical data. In particular, the central role of horizontal inequalities between social groups is discussed.

Lawyers in the Third World : comparative and developmental perspectives

Medarbetare: Dias, Clarence J. | Luckham, R. | Lynch, D. O. | Paul, J. C. N.
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1981
Ämnesord: Africa, Developing countries, Lawyers, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
The underlying reason for this book is a concern about the social impact of legal professions on "development" and "underdevelopment" and on the capacity of the mass of people in the countries studied (who are poor by any standards) to use law to better their social condition. Part of the book is a collection of empirical and historical studies of lawyers in various Third World countries. These studies offer data and insights of value to legal and other scholars of the countries and regions examined; material for historians of colonial societies; contributions to theories of professionalism and the sociology of occupational groups, evidence to support theories which link characteristics of legal professions with characteristics of the political economy within which they exist. An overview essay discusses different paradigms which have influenced thinking about development and the significance of lawyers in it, and different approaches which may affect the study and evaluation of legal professions. The country studies come next. The concluding chapters set out some generalizations about social factors which have influenced the history and character of Third World professions and the social impact of professions, notably on the rural poor. Generally, the case studies suggest that legal professions contribute to the kind of highly skewed distribution of wealth and power now characteristic of many Third World polities. A final chapter explores the implications of these findings for alternative approaches to development.

The Social Infrastructures of City Life in Contemporary Africa

Upphovsperson: Simone, AbdouMaliq
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Urban Dynamics | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Towns, Urbanization, Urban environment, Physical infrastructure, Governance, Urban development, Social change, Africa, Sociology, Sociologi
The growth of cities is one of the most significant aspects of the contemporary transformation of African societies. Cities in Africa are the sites of major political, economic and social innovation, and thus play a critical role in national politics, domestic economic growth and social development. They are also key platforms for interaction with the wider world and mediate between global and national contexts. Cities are variously positioned in global flows of resources, goods and ideas, and are shaped by varied historical trajectories and local cultures. The result is a great diversity of urban societies across the continent. Cities in Africa are not only growing rapidly but are also undergoing deep political, economic and social transformation. They are changing in ways that defy usual notions of urbanism. In their dazzling complexity, they challenge most theories of the urban. African cities represent major challenges as well as opportunities. Both need to be understood and addressed if a sustainable urban future is to be achieved on the continent. The Urban Cluster of the Nordic Africa Institute, through its research, seeks to contribute to an understanding of processes of urban change in Africa. This discussion paper by Professor AbdouMaliq Simone, commissioned by the Urban Cluster, is a valuable contribution to shaping the research agenda on urban Africa.

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