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Ethnic militias and the threat to democracy in post-transition Nigeria

Upphovsperson:	Agbu, Osita
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2004
Ämnesord:	Armed forces, ethnic conflicts, democratization interethnic relations, militarism, violence, Nigeria, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning

The democratic opening presented by Nigeria’s successful transition to civil rule (June 1998 to May 1999) unleashed a host of hitherto repressed or dormant political forces. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate between genuine demands by these forces on the state and outright criminality and mayhem. Post-transition Nigeria is experiencing the proliferation of ethnic militia movements purportedly representing, and seeking to protect, their ethnic interests in a country, which appears incapable of providing the basic welfare needs of its citizens. It is against the background of collective disenchantment with the Nigerian state, and the resurgence of ethnic identity politics that this research interrogates the growing challenge posed by ethnic militias to the Nigerian democracy project. The central thesis is that the over-centralization of power in Nigeria’s federal practice and the failure of post-transitional politics in genuinely addressing the “National Question, has resulted in the emergence of ethnic militias as a specific response to state incapacity. The short- and long-term threats posed by this development to Nigeria’s fragile democracy are real, and justify the call for a National Conference that will comprehensively address the demands of the ethnic nationalities.

Ghana - long term growth, atrophy and stunted recovery

Upphovspersoner:	Leith, J. Clark | Söderling, Ludvig
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2003
Ämnesord:	Ghana, Post-independence, political development, Economic policy, economic reform, Economic recession, Business and economics, Ekonomi

Ghana's independence in March 1957 was celebrated with great flourish. "Free at last!" Kwame Nkrumah, the country's leader, proclaimed. Yes, Ghana was free to follow an independent political course, and free to experiment with an independent economic direction. But the exercise of that freedom proved to be destructive. Gradually removing internal agents of restraint, and unconcerned about external constraints, Nkrumah pursued his grand vision of Ghana. But, that vision became a nightmare. More than a quarter century of increasingly chaotic political and economic turbulence followed.Eventually a major reform program was launched, but after fifteen years its success has been modest. While the downward spiral has been halted, and real growth resumed, real GDP per capita and total factor productivity have barely exceeded the levels achieved at independence. The long-run economic and political records are both lackluster, each limiting the potential of the other. The question is, why has Ghana not achieved sustained and rapid long-term growth? This study seeks to provide an answer.As we review the experience of the forty plus years of independence, five explanatory themes recur. The first theme is excess demand. Repeatedly, fiscal and monetary policies have been excessively expansionary, generating bouts of inflation, followed by painful adjustment. Ghanaian entrepreneurs have seldom been able to count on a stable macroeconomic environment for more than a few months into the future. Such a short-term horizon has been damaging. Currency overvaluation is the second theme. Initially the problem was a fixed nominal exchange rate, maintained in the face of domestic inflation. Exchange controls followed, while inflation accelerated. The real price of foreign exchange was depressed to a small fraction of its level at independence, and forced the economy to become virtually autarkic. Recovery of the real exchange rate under the reform program has occurred, but its instability remains a serious source of uncertainty for all - exporters, import competing producers, and foreign investors alike. Third, closely related to the foregoing, Ghana has frequently failed to realize the potential gains from pursuing and supporting its comparative advantage. Among the traditional exports, cocoa suffered from a variety of devices that suppressed the real producer price and depressed production to well belowits optimum. Minerals, until recently, endured state ownership, and neglect of infrastructure. The fourth theme is suppression of the financial sector. With the state heavily involved in running financial institutions, and repeated confiscation of assets both directly and via inflation, individuals are reluctant to hold financial assets. The financial sector, consequently, does not yet play its potential roles in bringing savers and investors together. The fifth theme concerns the role of the state. The state was stretched far beyond its abilities. The overextended reach of government and the administrative complexity of many programs pushed the state well beyond the limits of activities that it could handle efficiently and without corruption. This seriously compromised the effectiveness of nearly everything the state was involved in, ranging from education to health care to state-owned enterprises to administration of economic controls. The outcome was a near collapse of the state. Not only was the state ineffective in its economic activities, but it failed to consistently control predation by its agents. Real assets were confiscated, both by direct seizure and indirectly by economic policies. At various times agents of the state extorted huge rents from society and beat hapless victims. The lingering sense that such experiences might recur, leaves the economy achieving far less than its potential, in spite of significant economic and political reforms achieved over the past fifteen years. To appreciate why Ghana's modern history unfolded in this way, it is necessary to understand both the political and economic dimensions. We begin in Chapter 1 with an overview of the economic and political record of the various regimes that governed Ghana from independence through to the launch of the economic reform program in 1983. Those reforms and the consequences are the subject of Chapter 2. The major conclusions are presented in Chapter 3.

Zimbabwe - the political economy of decline

Upphovspersoner:	Dansereau, Suzanne | Zamponi, Mario | Melber, Henning
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2005
Ämnesord:	Zimbabwe, political development, Economic and social development, economic aspects, social aspects, cultural aspects., SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

The two articles are revised versions of papers presented at the end of May 2004 to a Zimbabwe Conference at the Nordic Africa Institute, which was co-organised by the project "Liberation and Democracy in Southern Africa" (LiDeSA). They highlight current socio-economic aspects of Zimbabwean society. By doing so, they raise relevant issues, yet ones that have tended to be neglected given the almost exclusive concentration on political events. While this is understandable, the articles fill the gap in our knowledge and add insights into important sectors of society. These include information on the Zimbabwean economy and the present constraints of the decline, which together help us to understand the structural legacy that any future government will have to deal with. What is more, the elections in Zimbabwe in 2005 provide an ideal moment to discuss such matters. This Discussion Paper will thereby make a substantive contribution to the analysis of the overall picture in Zimbabwe. CONTENT Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Zimbabwe's Development Impasse. Suzanne Dansereau From Social Justice, to Neo-liberalism, to Authoritarian Nationalism - Where is the Zimbabwean State going? Mario Zamponi

Africa in the new millenium

Upphovspersoner:	Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges | Suttner, Raymond
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2001
Ämnesord:	political reform, Globalisation, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

The contributions to this Discussion Paper were prepared for a workshop on "Africa in the new millennium" held in Stockholm in May 2001. The idea of the workshop was not to counter "negative" perceptions of Africa with "positive" ones. Nor was it to arrive at finalised ideas or prescriptions for governments or the continent as a whole. The aim was to raise important questions, which may help contextualise and deal with the problems facing the continent. It was an attempt to go below the surface of immediate crises and open up a debate around Africa and its international relations. It is hoped that publication of these papers will encourage further debate, and contribute towards realising the goal of African recovery.

Cross-border trade and the parallel currency market - trade and finance in the context of structural adjustment : a case study from Kano, Nigeria

Upphovspersoner:	Hashim, Yahaya | Meagher, Kate
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	1999
Ämnesord:	Nigeria, West Africa, International Trade, Trade liberalization, Currencies, Exchange Rate, French Franc area, Structural Adjustment, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

A "new regionalism" is gathering pace in West Africa, underpinned by the growing activities of informal cross-border traders. The authors of this study challenge the assumptions of the World Bank that the expansion in informal cross-border trade is a vindication of the market liberalising thrust of structural adjustment, and that adjustment policies have, in an organic manner, improved the effectiveness of an "independent" bourgeoisie that is emerging out of this trade as an agent of regional integration. Instead, they make the case for the adoption of what they call a "development approach" for tapping the benefits of the informal currency markets, as an alternative to the "market coercion" of structural adjustment.

Repressive state and resurgent media under Nigeris's military dictatorship, 1988-98

Upphovsperson:	Olukotun, Ayo
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2004
Ämnesord:	Nigeria, media, Press, military government, censorship, political opposition, Democratization

This study documents a crucial dimension of the resistance of Nigerian civil society to a repressive and monumentally corrupt military state in the late 1980s and 1990s in Nigeria. Employing a neo-Gramscian theoretical framework, the study relates how a section of the media defied censorship laws, outright bans, incarceration and the assassination of opposition figures, to prosecute the struggle for democracy. It captures the tensions and contradictions between a pliant section of the media, which sought to legitimise the state and a critical section of the same media, which in alliance with radical civil society, invented rebellious outlets to carry on the struggle against dictatorship.The study seeks to make fresh departures by documenting not only the role of the national media in the throes of democratic struggle, but that of the international media whose role was influential in the years studied.Finally the report offers empirical proof of the mechanisms by which a vibrant civil society can curb the ravages of a predatory state in an African country.

Music as instrument of diversity and unity : notes on a Namibian landscape

Upphovsperson:	Mans, Minette
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2003
Ämnesord:	Namibia, music, cultural identity, Nation-building, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

This report explores the interface between recent socio-political changes in Namibia, and the way they are reflected in emergent musical practices and identities within the country. The potential tension between unity and diversity is investigated within musical landscapes in traditional and contemporary frames. Sadly, diversity is often seen to be the precursor of divisiveness rather than a product of human creativity and ingenuity. Based on a decade of field research undertaken mainly in the north and central areas of Namibia since 1993, this report poses questions about fundamental purposes of music-making, and the conscious response of people to the contemporary Namibian socio-political situation. It provides a broad overview of music emanating from different cultural practices in Namibia, and relates this to the State's political strategies for ensuring unity and nation-building through policy-making, education and broadcast media. The changes that occur in musical practices are seen as strategic cultural choices and ongoing identity-formation.

Mining in Africa: regulation and development

Medarbetare:	Campbell, Bonnie
Utgivare:	London : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet & Pluto Press
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	Mining, Mineral resources, Economic and social development, Poverty alleviation, Macroeconomics, Regulations, Environmental protection, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Madagascar, Congo DR, Business and economics, Ekonomi

The continent of Africa is rich in minerals needed by Western economies. Yet the mining industry contributes very little to African development. Investigating the impact of the 2003 Extractive Industries Review on a number of African countries, the contributors find that a key dimension of the problem lies in the regulatory frameworks imposed on African countries by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. They aim to convince academics, governments, and industry that regulation needs to be reformed to create a mining industry favourable to social and economic development and environmental protection. The book takes a multidisciplinary approach and provides an historical perspective of each country, making it ideal for students of development studies. CONTENT Acknowledgements Introduction - Bonnie Campbell Chapter 1. Mining in Ghana: Implications for National Economic Development and Poverty Reduction – Thomas Akabzaa Chapter 2. Guinea and Bauxite-Aluminum: The Challenges of Development and Poverty Reduction – Bonnie Campbell Chapter 3. Mining, Poverty Reduction, the Protection of the Environment and the Role of the World Bank Group in Mali – Gisèle Belem Chapter 4. Mining and Protection of the Environment in Madagascar – Bruno Sarrasin Chapter 5. Governance, Human Rights and Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – Marie Mazalto Chapter 6. Conclusion: What Development Model? What Government Agenda? – Bonnie Campbell Index

Same and other : negotiating African identity in cultural production

Upphovspersoner:	Palmberg, Mai | Eriksson Baaz, Maria
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Cultural Images and Expressions | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2001
Ämnesord:	development, Culture, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

The idea of African Otherness has occupied a central role in discourses on cultural production in Africa, whether film, literature, music or the arts. These claims, articulated both by 'Western' and 'African' critics and consumers, means that particular criteria and standards are adopted in relation to cultural production in Africa. The claim to African Otherness is gaining new strength in the wake of globalisation, but it is also increasingly challenged by a number of contemporary artists. This book deals with the question of relevance and meaning of the signifier in various fields of contemporary cultural production in Africa: literature, film, sculpture, music, popular drama.

Global restructuring and land rights in Ghana : forest food chains, timber and rural livelihoods

Upphovsperson:	Amanor, Kojo Sebastian
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainsitutet
År:	1999
Ämnesord:	Ghana, West Africa, Land tenure, Food production, Forestry, Structural adjustment, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

The report highlights the long history of commodification of land and labour in Ghana, linked to speculative activites and more recently to the activities of international capital, agribusiness, international agricultural centres and agencies of the state. It makes the case for a new land, agrarian and natural resource regime that prioritises domestic economic needs to provide security of livelihood to the generality of the people.

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