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The village woman in Ghana

Upphovsperson: Bukh, Jette
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Center for Development Research, Copenhagen
År: 1979
Ämnesord: Ghana, West Africa, Women, Rural women, Education of women, Women's participation, Land tenure, Rural economy, Ethnic groups, Case studies, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
The difficult position of women in Ghanian society lies both in structures that are manifested through the policy of the state, and in factors that are specific for this society, having their origin in this traditional structure. The relinquishment by the peasants of control over their immediate situation has led to the loss of traditional techniques and distortion of social relations. Money rather than labour claims has become the medium of social interchange. A case study conducted in a village in Ghana is used to illustrate the position of women in a patriarchial society subjected to pressures from various directions. Changes in the traditional agriculture caused by the introduction of cocoa resulted in greater pressure on land used for food production. Together with overcopping and the destruction of forests by charcoal-burners, there has been a general impoverishment of land resources and a reduction of the nutritional value of the crops grown. In 1972 the role of women as food producers began to be recognised and the role of female extension officers has become more important. The disadvantageous position of women in agriculture and in coping with the exigencies of social life is emphasised. The analysis shows how a new type of woman-headed household has emerged. In relation to the male-head the womanhead is always in an inferior situation since she has to cope with subsistence responsibilities at the same time as her access to resources is poorer.

Mano river basin area : formal and informal security providers in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone

Upphovspersoner: Jörgel, Magnus | Utas, Mats
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Urban Dynamics | Stockholm : Defence analysis, Swedish defence research agency (FOI)
År: 2007
Ämnesord: West Africa, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mano River, ECOWAS, African Union, Security sector reform, Informal sector, Regional security, Peacekeeping, Development strategy, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning

The African economy and its role in the world economy

Upphovspersoner: Bigsten, Arne | Durevall, Dick
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2008
Ämnesord: Economic performance, international economic relations, international trade, Capital movements, Globalization, Structural adjustment, Economic and social development, Policy making, Africa South of Sahara, Sweden, Business and economics, Ekonomi
In a broad survey this issue of Current African Issues presents a multifaceted picture of the current state of the African economy. After a period of falling per capita incomes that started in the 1970s, Africa finally saw a turnaround from about 1995. The last few years have seen average per capita incomes in Africa grow by above 3 per cent per year on average, partly due to the resource boom but also due to improved economic policies. Africa receives more aid per capita than any other major region in the world and there is a significantly positive effect of aid on growth. One of the most notable aspects of the current process of globalisation is the increase in trade between Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, particularly China and India. The authors conclude with a call for policy coherence among donors. The politically most problematic areas for policy change of those discussed in the paper are not aid policy but trade policy and the European Union CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). This is a challenge to EU policy makers, since the latter areas are probably the most important to change if we take our commitment to development seriously.

Africa's development in the 21st century : Reshaping the research agenda

Upphovsperson: Cheru, Fantu
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2008
Ämnesord: Economic and social development, Sustainable development, regional integration, Partnership, international economic relations, Globalization, Development strategy, Governance, Democratization, Development research, Africa, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
As Africa enters the 21st century, it faces mounting challenges as well as new opportunities. Unlike in the 1980s and the 1990s, however, the conditions for Africa's sustained growth and development are more favourable today than ever before. As a result of economic reforms the overall growth has been in excess of 4.5 percent annually since the mid 1990s. There is greater consensus among Africans now than at any previous time on what needs to be done to accelerate growth, reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. The positive response of Africa's international partners enhances the prospects for sustaining the progress. Africa is also benefiting from a commodity boom and increased investment in infrastructure and the extractive industry sector. But many questions remain unanswered. The most pressing question is how Africa can best benefit from the rise of the Asian giants, China and India.

Victimcy, girlfriending, soldiering, tactic agency in a young woman's social navigation of the Liberian war zone

Upphovsperson: Utas, Mats
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Urban Dynamics
År: 2005
Ämnesord:
This study aims to collapse the often gendered opposition of agency and victim-hood that typically characterizes the analysis of women's coping strategies in war zones. The term victimcy is proposed to describe the agency of self-staging as victim of war and explore how it is deployed as one tactic-amongst others-in one young Liberian woman's "social navigation" of war zones. Victimcy is thus revealed as a form of self-representation by which a certain form of tactic agency is effectively exercised under the trying, uncertain, and disempowering circumstances that confront actors in warscapes. However the story of Bintu also reveals the complexity of women's strategies, roles, and options as they confront conflicting challenges and opportunities in war zones. While in some circumstances women may take humanitarian aid, in others they may also take up arms. An ethnography of social tactics thus counters reductionist portrayals of women in war zones as merely the passive victims of conflict.

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