Political crisis

Imagining a peaceful society : a vision of children's literature in a post-conflict Zimbabwe

Upphovsperson:	Chitando, Anna
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2008
Ämnesord:	conflicts, Political crisis, peace, literature, Authors, children, Social change, Dispute settlement, Peaceful coexistence, Post-conflict reconstruction, Zimbabwe, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

Imagining a Peaceful Society: A Vision of Children's Literature in a Post-Conflict Zimbabwe addresses the marginalisation of children's literature from the discourse on conflict and peace building in Africa. By presenting a unique perspective to how writers of children's literature, and children themselves understand, grapple with, and envision peace in a post-conflict Zimbabwean society, this Discussion Paper calls attention to the immense, but largely untapped potential of literature as a critical resource for the promotion peace in Africa.

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.

Spontaneous or premeditated? : Post-Election Violence in Kenya

Upphovsperson:	Murunga, Godwin R.
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2011
Ämnesord:	Elections Violence, Political violence, Political crisis, Ethnicity, Democratization, Kenya, Political science, Statsvetenskap

This Discussion Paper examines the high levels of post-electoral violence that followed the 2007 Kenyan elections. While noting that the conflict was triggered by the incumbent party’s abuse of the electoral process with the complicity of certain state agencies, the author traces the background causes to the long pent-up grievances among the majority of Kenyan peoples, alienated from and oppressed by a fractious but predatory ruling elite. The paper provides insights into the roots and nature of Kenya’s post-election violence; its manifestations in various regions of the country; and the roles of the ruling Party of National Unity and the opposition Orange Democratic Movement, the police and the international community. Overall, it provides a highly informative and critical account of the unprecedented levels of post-electoral violence in Kenya, exploring its complex ramifications, and the prospects for justice, reconciliation and democratic governance.

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.

The Nigerian state, oil and the Niger Delta crisis

Upphovsperson:	Ukiwo, Ukoha
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | 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.

Somalia : a nation without a state

Medarbetare:	Booth, Charlotte | Norberg, Carin
Utgivare:	Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2008
Ämnesord:	Somalia, Nation-building, Civil war, conflicts, Democratization, Foreign intervention, Peacekeeping, Political crisis, political history, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning

Report from four public seminars on the conflict in Somalia, held during October and November 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden with Nuruddin Farah, Somali Novelist, Roland Marchal, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre d’Études et de Recherches Internationales, Paris, Asha Hagi, member of the Somalia Transitional Federal Parliament and civil society activist, Jens Odlander, Swedish Ambassador for the Somali Peace Process, Shane Quinn, Programme officer at the Life and Peace Institute, Sweden, and Sahra Bargadle and Hayan Ismail from the swedish-somali Diaspora. Marika Fahlén, Special Advisor for the Horn of Africa at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs acted as moderator for the panel discussion.The seminars were jointly organized by the Life and Peace Institute, The Nordic Africa Institute and ABF Stockholm.