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The Elite as a Critical Factor in National Development : The case of Botswana

Upphovspersoner: Sebudubudu, David | Molutsi, Patrick
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Botswana, Ruling class, Elite, leadership, Governance, Political stability, democracy, Economic performance, Development planning, Economic and social development, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The Discussion Paper provides insightful explanations for Botswana’s emergence as one of Africa’s developmental success stories. It underscores the role of the ruling elite coalition in shaping the particular kind of politics, inclusive policies, consensus, partnerships and vision that have contributed to the emergence of Botswana as a democratic developmental state. This is an important paper that should be read by all those keen to understand how Botswana has managed to avoid the ‘natural resource curse’ and stand out as a model of democratic stability and sustained economic growth in Africa.

Africa's informal workers : Collective agency, alliances and transnational organizing in urban Africa

Medarbetare: Lindell, Ilda
Utgivare: London ; Uppsala : Zed Books ; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Africa South of Sahara, Urban areas, Economic conditions, Social change, Informal sector, Social movements, Trade unionism, Hidden economy, Livelihood, Survival strategies, case studies, Sociology, Sociologi
Part of the groundbreaking Africa Now series, Africa’s Informal Workers explores the deepening processes of informalization and casualization of work that are changing livelihood opportunities and conditions in Africa and beyond. In doing so, the book addresses the collectively organized responses to these changes, presenting them as an important dimension of the contemporary politics of informality in Africa. It goes beyond the usual focus on household ‘coping strategies’ and individual forms of agency, by addressing the growing number of collective organizations through which informal ‘workers’ make themselves visible and articulate their demands and interests. The emerging picture is that of a highly diverse landscape of organised actors, reflecting the great diversity of interests in the informal economy. This provides grounds for tensions but also opportunities for alliance. The book also explores the novel trend of transnational organizing by informal workers, gathering case studies from nine countries and cities across Sub-Saharan Africa, and from sectors ranging from urban informal vending and service delivery, to informal manufacturing, casual port work and cross-border trade. Africa’s Informal Workers is a vigorous and timely examination of the changes in African livelihoods caused by deep and ongoing economic, political and social  transformations.

Democratic Governance and Accountability in Africa : In Search of a Workable Framework

Upphovsperson: Olukoshi, Adebayo O.
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Africa, political development, Democratization, Political pluralism, political reform, democracy, Governance, Institutional framework, constitutions, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This Discussion Paper provides a thought-provoking and radical intervention into the ongoing debates on democratic governance and accountability in Africa. The author undertakes a critical overview of the discourse on democratisation in Africa and notes that democracy on the continent cannot be fully understood on the basis of the ways in which electoral pluralism has played out in the last 20 years. The paper critiques mainstream explanations and points out their shortcomings. It goes on to make a compelling case for an alternative framework based on historically informed dialectical analysis of everyday democracy and struggles for democracy in Africa. Noting that no two democracies are exactly the same, the paper advocates the need for democracy in Africa to be studied on its own terms, and in a way that facilitates taking the African experience into the global arena to produce a truly comparative theory of democratisation on a world scale. The paper is essential reading for all those interested in the history, present and future of democracy in Africa.

African Engagements : Africa Negotiating an Emerging Multipolar World

Medarbetare: Dietz, Dietz, Antonius Johannes | Havnevik, Kjell | Kaag, Mayke | Oestigaard, Terje
Utgivare: Leiden; Boston : Brill
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Foreign relations, Self-determination, international economic relations, Globalization, Economic conditions, Political conditions, Africa, Political science, Statsvetenskap
With the end of the Cold War, the world seemed to move from a bipolar to a unipolar system, with the neoliberal West globally imposing its laws. However, it has been acknowledged that other actors, such as China, India and Brazil, have become increasingly influential, helping to lead to a new multipolarity at the global level. The question of what this emerging multipolarity means for Africa is important. Will Africa become crushed in a mounting struggle over raw materials and political hegemony between superpowers and fall victim to a new scramble for Africa? Or does this new historic juncture offer African countries and groups greater room for negotiation and manoeuvring, eventually leading to stronger democracy and enhanced growth? The chapters in this volume offer food for thought on how Africa’s engagements with the world are currently being reshaped and revalued, and, importantly—on whose terms?

Reflections on the Challenge of Reconstructing Post-Conflict States in West Africa : Insights From Claude Ake’s Political Writings

Upphovsperson: Arowosegbe, Jeremiah O.
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: political development, Democratization, Post-conflict reconstruction, State Nation-building, Peacebuilding, Political theory, Nigeria, Niger Delta, Sierra Leone, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This Discussion Paper is based on a theoretical exploration of state reconstruction and the prospects for peacebuilding in post-conflict West African countries based on critical reflections on the political thought of Claude Ake, one of Nigeria’s foremost political thinkers. Its point of departure is the refutation of the view that the state project in Africa is ‘hopeless’ or at a dead-end. It therefore revisits the debate on the viability of the state project in the continent, particularly as it relates to those West African states emerging from or affected by violent conflict. While acknowledging the shortcomings of the state-formation project in some post conflict West African countries, the author argues that the state remains a key institutional and social actor that needs to be understood more in terms of its historical moorings, political economy and marginal position in the international order. Drawing on Ake’s postulations about the limited autonomy of the state in Africa and its links to political violence and conflict, the author critiques both the hegemonic discourses on the nature of the state in Africa and those relating to post-conflict peacebuilding in the continent. The analysis of the latter focuses on the epistemological groundings of mainstream peacebuilding discourses, and posits that there is no guarantee that such imported models ensure sustainable peace in West Africa. Thus, the paper makes a compelling case for reinventing the state in West Africa based on autochthonous democratic transformation in favour of ordinary people. In this regard, it argues for an endogenous transformation of the state in Africa in ways that can strongly root it in the people as a fundamental step towards sustainable and locally owned participatory peacebuilding. It thereby opens up a new perspective on state reconstruction as a step towards ending violent conflict in the sub-region.

Oil and Insurgency in the Niger Delta : Managing the Complex Politics of Petroviolence

Medarbetare: Obi, Cyril I. | Rustad, Siri Aas
Utgivare: London, Uppsala : Zed Books, Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Energy resources, Petroleum industry, international trade, Transnational corporations, Geopolitics, Responsibility, Governance, Corruption, Political crisis, ethnic conflicts, Dispute settlement, Human rights violations, Political violence, Protest movements, Conflict management, Political conditions, Nigeria, Niger Delta, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The recent escalation in the violent conflict in the Niger Delta has brought the region to the forefront of international energy and security concerns. This book analyses the causes, dynamics and politics underpinning oil-related violence in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It focuses on the drivers of the conflict, as well as the ways the crises spawned by the political economy of oil and contradictions within Nigeria's ethnic politics have contributed to the morphing of initially poorly coordinated, largely non-violent protests into a pan-Delta insurgency. Approaching the issue from a number of perspectives, the book offers the most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis available of the varied dimensions of the conflict. Combining empirically-based and analytic chapters, it attempts to explain the causes of the escalation in violence, the various actors, levels and dynamics involved, and the policy challenges faced with regard to conflict management/resolution and the options for peace. It also examines the role of oil as a commodity of global strategic significance, addressing the relationship between oil, energy security and development in the Niger Delta.

Why Humanitarian Aid in Darfur is not a Practice of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’

Upphovsperson: Okeke, Jide
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Sudan, Darfur, conflicts, Civil war, Humanitarian assistance, Emergency relief, Foreign intervention, Government policy, international law, Foreign aid, Aid evaluation, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The Discussion Paper provides a compelling critique of the ‘new humanitarianism, ’particularly the ways in which leading donor states seek to incorporate humanitarian assistance and protection into the toolbox of political intervention in other countries. Drawing upon the history of humanitarianism and its origins in an ethos of neutrality, impartiality and non-violence, the author shows how since the end of the Cold War, and increasingly since 9/11, the ‘new’ form of internationational humanitarianism has become deeply politicised and has taken on human rights, strategic-security, liberal and developmental agendas as defined by donor states. The paper frames the critique of linking R2P to humanitarian protection values in the context of the new humanitarianism and the pursuit of the foreign policies of hegemonic states. It therefore provides a critical perspective on the politics of humanitarian aid in Darfur, and opens up a new basis for an alternative discourse on international humanitarian intervention and its connection with the politics of global powers in African conflict arenas. This paper is an important resource for scholars, civil society activists and policy practitioners with a keen interest in international humanitarian aid, international humanitarian law, conflict, peace and security in Africa.

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