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Unconstitutional changes of government in Africa. What Implications for Democratic Consolidation?

Upphovsperson: Omotola, J. Shola
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Africa, Constitutional reform, Political crisis, Coups d’etat, Political power, Democratization, Governance, militarism, case studies, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This Discussion Paper is based on a conceptual and analytical reading of cases of unconstitutional change of government in Africa. It provides a deep and up-to-date exploration of the prospects for democratic consolidation on the continent against the backdrop of an upsurge in unconstitutional changes of government. Rather than focus only on the internal threats to democracy in Africa, the author also analyses the role of neighbouring states, regional organisations and hegemonic forces within the international community in advancing or limiting democracy. In this regard, this work sheds light on why the pursuit of the liberal democratic project in Africa has so far appeared to alienate ordinary people, while providing space for dominant elites to tamper with democratic institutions and processes, which then work against popular participation and democratic development. This paper is essential reading for scholars, policy practitioners, analysts and all those with an interest in the prospects for democracy in Africa.

Gender and Security in Africa : An Overview

Upphovsperson: Hendricks, Cheryl
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Africa, conflicts, Women’s role, gender relations, Post-conflict reconstruction, Peacebuilding, Women’s participation, Security sector reform, feminism, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
This Discussion Paper explores the debates, theoretical perspectives and current trends in gender, conflict and post-conflict reconstruction, and security sector reform (SSR) in Africa. It provides a broad overview of and critical insights into the gender-conflict-security nexus, capturing the trends in the discourses, identifying the gaps in the literature and prioritising issues and areas for future research. This Discussion Paper is essential reading for all those with a deep interest in gender, peace, development and security in Africa, particularly gender scholars, students, activists and practitioners.

The Challenge of Sub-Regional Security in West Africa : The case of the 2006 ECOWAS convention on small arms and light weapons

Upphovsperson: Darkwa, Linda
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala
År: 2011
Ämnesord: West Africa, Weapons, Small arms, Armament, Disarmament, Arms transfers, Cross-border trade, Informal sector, Organized crime, Regional security, Regional cooperation, Post-conflict reconstruction, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This Discussion Paper provides insights into the challenges posed by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in West Africa, paying particular attention to the ECOWAS convention on small arms and light weapons as a collective sub-regional response to a potent threat to peace, security and development. It connects global and regional discourses on illicit arms control and provides a balanced, empirical xamination of the performance of the convention. It is a useful contribution to debates on arms-proliferation control in Africa and provides well-informed recommendations of interest to scholars, peace activists, policy practitioners and strategists working on peace and security in Africa.

Ethnicity and Democratisation in Africa : Challenges for Politics and Development

Upphovsperson: Agbu, Osita A.
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Ethnicity, ethnic conflicts, Interethnic relations, Democratization, politics, Nation-building, Citizenship, Africa, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This Discussion Paper explores the challenges that ethnicity poses for democratisation and development in Africa. It provides an overview of the literature on ethnicity and democratisation and an analysis of the trends on the continent since the end of the Cold War. In this regard, it critically examines perspectives on the impact of ethnicity on democracy and analyses the ethnicity-citizenship nexus in the context of the national democratic question in Africa. This provides the basis for the analysis of emerging challenges facing Africa and the way forward. The paper provides additional insights into the ongoing debates about democracy and the nation-state question in Africa and is of interest to scholars, practitioners and the general reader.

Sexuality and Gender Politics in Mozambique : Rethinking Gender in Africa

Upphovsperson: Arnfred, Signe
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; James Currey
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Gender politics, Mozambique, gender and sexuality, Social anthropology, Socialantropologi
The book is about gender politics in Mozambique over three decades from 1975 to 2005. The book is also about different ways of understanding gender and sexuality. Gender policies from Portuguese colonialism through Frelimo socialism to later neo-liberal economic regimes share certain basic assumptions about men, women and gender relations. But to what extent do such assumptions fit the ways in which rural Mozambican men and women see themselves? The author argues that gender relations should be investigated, not assumed, and that policies not matching people’s lives are unlikely to succeed. The empirical data on which the author draws are from a unique body of material collected in 1982-1984 by the Mozambican National Women's Organization, and from more recent fieldwork. Her research demonstrates short-comings in Western feminist conceptualizations, and shows how insights from African feminist thinking may enhance understandings of gender, both in and beyond Africa.

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