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conflicts

Challenges to the nation-state in Africa

Medarbetare: Olukoshi, Adebayo O. | Laakso, Liisa
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Institute of Development Studies, Univ. of Helsinki ;
År: 1996
Ämnesord: conflicts, Ethnicity, Political development, Religion, State, Nation-building, Africa, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The challenges facing the nation-state in contemporary Africa are increasingly attracting the attention of scholars interested to understand how the decomposition and recomposition of popular political identities on the continent are affecting the post-colonial unitary project. The studies presented in this volume show that the challenges to the post-colonial nation-state project in Africa have mainly taken ethno-regionalist, religious and separatist forms. These challenges have been shaped by the long drawn-out economic crisis, zero-sum, market-led structural adjustment, and the legacy of decades of political authoritarianism and exclusion that dates from the colonial period. The contributors to this book present different suggestions to promote national unity and a supporting civic identity in Africa.

Understanding and addressing conflict-related sexual violence : Lessons learned from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Upphovspersoner: Eriksson Baaz, Maria | Stern, Maria
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Congo DR, conflicts, Violence against women, sexual abuse, Rape, victims, Offenders, Military personnel, Armed forces, gender relations, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) warscape has become infamous globally from the reports on the massive scale of sexual violence. While vast amounts of other forms of violence and abuse have also been committed, it is sexual violence that has attracted the lion’s share of attention, especially among “outside” observers. Countless reports, newspaper articles, news-clips, appeals and documentaries have been devoted to the issue. Numerous journalists, activists and representatives of diverse international organisations and governments have made pilgrimages to the DRC to meet and listen to survivors first-hand.

Causes and cures of oil-related Niger Delta conflicts

Upphovsperson: Ukiwo, Ukoha
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: Energy resources, petroleum resources, Transnational corporations, conflicts, Geopolitics, Macroeconomics, Nigeria, Niger Delta, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning
Nigeria’s political and economic fortunes and the country’s ability to play a stabilizing role in the African region partly depend on the resolution of the lingering Niger Delta conflict. The Niger Delta covers nine out of 36 states and 185 out of 774 local government areas of the Nigerian federation. It occupies a total land area of 75,000 square kilometers and is the world’s third largest wetlands. The 2006 Nigerian population census shows that 30 million out of the country’s 140 million people reside in the Niger Delta region. Nearly all of Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves are located in the region. Oil and gas have accounted for about 40 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since 1990. Between 2000 and 2004, oil and gas accounted for 75 per cent of total government revenues and 97 per cent of foreign exchange. Apart from being vital to Nigeria’s fiscal viability, the Niger Delta is important to global energy security.

Young women in African wars

Upphovspersoner: Coulter, Chris | Persson, Mariam | Utas, Mats
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2007
Ämnesord: War, conflicts, youth, Women’s participation, Women’s role, Social conditions, Government programmes, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Young women are combatants in contemporary African wars. They also participate in a whole array of different roles. However, by and large, they remain invisible to us. In fact, our “northern” hackneyed views on women’s innate non-participation in war prevent us from seeing specific needs for young women during and in the aftermath of wars. For instance, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes often fail to address appropriate needs for young women and in a variety of ways “prevent” them from partaking. Issues of stigma, safe demobilisation, individual concerns for post-war marriage, health and education, need to be addresed in both a more gendered way, but also with an apposite understanding of young women’s agency in both peace and war. In this Policy note it is argued that to improve policy and programming efforts it is necessary to broaden the understanding of young women’s roles and participation in armed conflict in Africa historically and today.

Comprendre et aborder les violences sexuelles liées aux conflits : Enseignements tirés de la République Démocratique du Congo

Upphovspersoner: Eriksson Baaz, Maria | Stern, Maria
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Congo DR, conflicts, Violence against women, sexual abuse, Rape, victims, Offenders, Military personnel, Armed forces, gender relations, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Le paysage de guerre de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) a acquis une exécrable réputation dans le monde entier à cause des rapports sur l’échelle massive des violences sexuelles. Bien qu’un nombre énorme d’autres formes de violences et d’abus aient également été commises à grande échelle, ce sont les violences sexuelles qui ont reçu la plupart de l’attention mondiale, en particulier parmi les observateurs «de l’extérieur». D’innombrables rapports, articles de journaux, coupures de presse, appels et documentaires ont été consacrés à cette question. Un grand nombre de journalistes, d’activistes et de représentants de diverses organisations et de gouvernements internationaux ont effectué des pèlerinages en RDC pour rencontrer et écouter les survivants de vive voix.

Dynamics of post-conflict reconstruction and peace building in West Africa : between change and stability

Upphovsperson: Ismail, Olawale
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2009
Ämnesord: conflicts, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, Post-conflict reconstruction, Peace agreements, Regional organizations, Economic Community of West African States ECOMOG, West Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning
This NAI Discussion Paper critically explores the concepts, norms and practices of reconstruction and peace building in post-conflict West Africa, drawing largely on the case of Liberia and Sierra Leone. It provides an up-to-date analysis and critique of the impact of the UN-led praxis and practice of peace building in the post-conflict states in the region. The material in this study covers the context of post-conflict reconstruction and peace building in West Africa; the evolution and analysis of the global peace building regime; the architecture of peace building in West Africa; the ‘un-making’ of peace building in Sierra Leone. It also interrogates the basic assumtions that underpin international peace building in Africa, noting that at best, it is designed to promote stability and security rather than a deeper and more sustainable popular and socially rooted peace.

The Complexity of Violence : A critical analysis of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Upphovspersoner: Eriksson Baaz, Maria | Stern, Maria
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Sida; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Congo DR, conflicts, Violence against women, Sexual abuse, Rape, victims, Offenders, Military personnel, Armed forces, gender relations, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This report, the first in Sida’s gender-based violence series, draws on an original case study, including extensive interviews with members of thearmed forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). By critically exploring and convincingly challenging existing stereotypes and narratives about sexual violence in conflict settings, the authors reveal the need for a nuanced understanding of SGBV, including its invisible victims. Their analysis transcends reductionist explanations that separate SGBV from other forms of violence that afflict war-torn societies, and haunt post-war contexts. They thus provide invaluable insights into the complex circumstances in which SGBV occurs.

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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