political development

The new African initiative and the African Union : a preliminary assessment and documentation

Upphovsperson:	Melber, Henning
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2001
Ämnesord:	political development, African Union, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

During the year 2000 an initiative among the African states to transform the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU) gained momentum. It resulted in the ratification of the Constitutive Act and its adoption at the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka. Parallel to this process of reorganisation towards closer inter-state collaboration on the African continent in the spirit of Pan Africanism emerged the systematic effort to redefine developmental priorities and to claim a new common position of African states in the globalised world. The "African Renaissance" initiative of South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki resulted in a "Millenium Africa Recovery Programme", which was finally revised and presented as the "New Africa Initiative" (NAI). Adopted at the same OAU Summit in Lusaka in July 2001, the NAI serves as a blueprint for Africa's development strategy at the beginning of the 21st century. It was presented to the G8 summit in Genoa, where the leaders of the world's powerful countries decided on a follow up by appointing individual special advisers to explore support to the NAI and future collaboration on the basis of this document. This paper offers a preliminary assessment of the New Africa Initiative within the context of the transformation of the OAU into the AU. It identifies and summarises essential new aspects advocated, critically examines the degree of realism and points at the possible limitations. The analysis also considers first reactions to the initiatives and reflects on the perspectives.

Perspectives on Côte d'Ivoire : between political breakdown and post-conflict peace

Upphovsperson:	Obi, Cyril
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2007
Ämnesord:	Civil war, conflicts, political development, Economic conditions, Peaceful coexistence, Peace building, Post-conflict reconstruction, Citizenship, Côte d'Ivoire, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The three articles in this Discussion Paper explore different perspectives to the complex causes of the civil war that broke out in Côte d’Ivoire in September 2002. They are written against the background of the signing of yet another peace agreement between the Ivorian government and the former rebel New Forces (NF) in March 2007. This volume also provides a context where the prospects for post-conflict peace, national reconciliation and democracy in Côte d’Ivoire could be critically analysed.

The roots of the military-political crises in Côte d'Ivoire

Upphovsperson:	Akindès, Francis
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2004
Ämnesord:	Citizenship, Civil war, Coup d'état, Ethnicity, Front Populaire Ivorien, Houphouetism, political development, Rassemblement de Républicains, Côte d'Ivoire, Political science, Statsvetenskap

With the coup d’etat of 24 December 1999 and the politico-military conflict that started on 19 September 2002, Côte d’Ivoire broke with its tradition of political stability, which had served as a model in the West African sub-region. It is now facing an unprecedented crisis that is not only jeopardising the continuity of the state, but has also introduced a culture of violence into the society.This study has three objectives. The primary one is to understand the nature of this socio-political crisis, and what is at stake in it. Secondly, the study examines the issue of ivoirité. Finally, it explores the escalation of violence in this socio-political crisis and the catalogue of justifications for that violence.It is argued that the recurrence of military coups d’etat in Côte d’Ivoire signifies the delegitimisation of the modes of regulation built on the tontine system, and calls for a renewal of the political grammar and socio-political regulatory modalities around integrating principles that have yet to be devised. CONTENT Introduction CHAPTER 1. The Three Parameters of the Houphouët Boigny Compromise Deliberate and centralised openness policy to the outside world Philosophy of the “peanut roasters” Paternalistic management of social diversity CHAPTER 2. Houphouetism Shows Signs of Wear and Tear under Democratisation Confronting the issues: the political class and the criteria for political representation and legitimacy “Ivoirité” under Bédié, or the selective function of an ideology General Gueï’s variable-geometry Houphouetism The RDR, or Houphouetism the wrong way round The FPI, or the theoretical expression radical schism Immigration and its politicisation CHAPTER 3. The Problematic of “Ivoirité” and the Meaning of History in Côte d’Ivoire The social and political construction of “Ivoirité” Ideological justification Political justification Economic justification The constitution and ethno-nationalism Military coups d’état as therapy for “Ivoirité”? CHAPTER 4. The Course of History, or the Need for the Invention of Another Social Contract Alassane Dramane Ouattarra (ADO): symbol of the reality underlying the question of being a national An alternative to “slice” citizenship Bibliography

Transforming elections into opportunities for political choice

Medarbetare:	Ibrahim, Jibrin
Utgivare:	Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2007
Ämnesord:	political development, Political power, Democratization, political participation, elections, Civil rights, Conference papers, West Africa, Political science, Statsvetenskap

This monograph presents a well-informed overview and analysis of political transitions, democratic struggles and elections in West Africa. It explores the ways in which various authoritarian regimes across the sub-region have tried to subvert democracy and how the citizens of various countries have struggled against dictatorship and impunity, to achieve the return to democratic rule. Drawing on insights from the Ghanaian model of free and fair elections, Niger's difficult, but successful transtion to democracy, elections in post-conflict Sierra Leone and Liberia, and the struggles for democracy in Nigeria, Jibrin Ibrahim proposes concrete strategies that will empower the people of West Africa to make political choices which will advance and secure their individual and collective socio-economic and democratic rights.

Eritrea : a dream deferred

Upphovsperson:	Kibreab, Gaim
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | London : James Currey; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	Eritrea, Post-independence, national liberation movements, Nation-building, Economic conditions, political development, Civil war, Human rights violations, Social change, Political science, Statsvetenskap

Eritrean independence under the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (now the People's Front for Democracy and Justice) became an international cause celebre during the 1980s. Eritrea was the first African nation to gain independence in the post-colonial period and appeared to be opening a new and progressive path in African politics. But the promise of the revolution was soon betrayed by the outbreak of war with Ethiopia, the PFDJ's increasingly repressive domestic policies, its mismanagement of the country's economy, and its hostile relations with its neighbours.The PFDJ government dismantled existing formal and informal institutions, crippled the private sector, banned private newspapers, civil and political society organisations, expelled international NGOs and aid agencies when over two-thirds of the population were dependent on food aid, detained without trial journalists, thousands of dissidents, and former leaders of the liberation struggle, and turned national service from an instrument of nation building and national integration into an instrument of open-ended forced labour.In this well-researched first account of post-independence Eritrea, Gaim Kibreab gives a detailed and critical analysis of how things went woefully wrong and how the former 'liberators' turned into oppressors with no respect for the rule of law, human rights and religious freedom. CONTENT 1  Introduction 2  The Broken Promises, Demand for Change & Violation of Human Rights 3  Associational Life in Independent Eritrea 4  Towards an Explanation 5  The Demise of the Private Sector 6  PFDJ's Dominance of the Economy & the Consequences 7  Freedom of Association, Political Stability & Institutions 8  Shattered Promises: In Lieu of a Conclusion

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

Media, public discourse and political contestation in Zimbabwe

Upphovsperson:	Melber, Henning
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2004
Ämnesord:	Civil rights, Freedom of information, Journalism, Mass media, political development, Press, Zimbabwe, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The current situation in Zimbabwe under the ZANU-PF government shows increasing signs of abuse of power by those in political control. They also direct their desire to suppress criticism towards the media. Press organs in private ownership have been closed down and journalists have been physically harassed, arrested and expelled. Laws are abused to regulate and manipulate public opinion by a policy of banning. Worldwide condemnation of the growing restrictions upon the freedom of expression goes hand in hand with the protests inside the country against the growing tendencies of totalitarian rule. Current events are critically reflected upon and the background to these developments is summarised in this publication. It is based on some of the contributions to a recent conference on Zimbabwe organised by the Nordic Africa Institute and offers insights into the contested space of public opinion in Zimbabwe. The critical analyses of current developments are there-by complemented with particular reference to the media sector in the ongoing battle for hegemonic control over the public sphere.

Political and economic liberalisation in Zambia 1991-2001

Upphovsperson:	Rakner, Lise
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2003
Ämnesord:	economic development, economic reform, Donors, political development, Zambia, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

As one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in 1991 Zambia experienced  a peaceful transition to multi-party rule. The new government, Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), also committed itself to implementing an economic reform programme. The international donor community in turn generously rewarded the new government’s commitment to both political and economic change. Despite the optimistic forecasts in 1991, both the political and economic liberalisation processes in Zambia are today characterised by their partial implementation. Zambia has joined the vast majority of African reforming governments and entered into a 'transitional grey zone' in terms of democratic reforms, and remains stuck in a 'partial reform syndrome' characterised by a permanent economic crisis. What can explain the Zambian development trajectory? Why were some elements of the economic reforms implemented soon after the 1991 elections while other vital reform processes were postponed? To what extent did the processes of political and economic reform reinforce or hinder one another? This book analyses the implementation of political and economic liberalisation in Zambia during the first two election periods (1991-2001). Focussing on the negotiations between government and the key domestic interest groups, as well as the dialogues between the MMD government and the international donor community, the book argues that despite a disastrous socio-economic record, the processes of political and economic liberalisation proceeded concomitantly without seriously affecting or undermining each other. Contrary to expectations linked both to the political and economic reform processes, executive dominance increased in Zambia in the 1990s. Stressing continuity rather than change, the analysis of Zambia's reform processes suggests that the practices of patronage politics associated with authoritarian regimes are compatible with processes of political and economic liberalisation.

Guerrilla government : political changes in the southern Sudan during the 1990s

Upphovsperson:	Rolandsen, Øystein H.
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2005
Ämnesord:	Sudan, southern Sudan, sudan people´s liberation, movement, army, government, Civil war, conventions, political development, political reform, Political science, Statsvetenskap

Although it suffered a serious setback when, in 1991, three senior commanders tried to wrestle control from its leader, John Garang, the SPLM/A has remained the main rebel organisation in the southern Sudan since the start of the second civil war in 1983. At a national level the SPLM/As influence over political development in the south has been matched only by the government in Khartoum and its armed forces, and at a local level only by chiefs, who derive their power from the old system of indirect rule, established by the British during the colonial period. An understanding of the changes and processes within the SPLM/A is, therefore, essential to an analysis of the Sudans contemporary history and current events, which includes continuing peace negotiations, and the planning of post-war southern Sudan. This volume analyses the main events leading up to the SPLM/As current position of supremacy and follows the process of internal reform that has brought about a nascent state structure amidst a devastating civil war and continuous humanitarian crisis.The book consists of three chronologically ordered, integrated parts, where the first part discusses the effect of the split in 1991 and the movements political and administrative structures prior to its National Convention in 1994. The activities of southern rebels, traditional structures and humanitarian agencies are described, and the study shows how the interaction between these institutions constituted a unique political system.The 1994 Convention is discussed in the second part. The Convention was, and to some extent still is, regarded by most members of the SPLM/A as one of the Movement’s greatest achievements. Here the processes leading up to the National Convention is recaptured; preparations and the event itself are discussed thoroughly.Finally, the book analyses the significance of the Convention and its reforms in the light of later attempts at implementation when, in the last part of the 1990s, political paralysis set in as the Movement experienced unprecedented military success. The discussion is brought to a conclusion with a brief summary of events during the period 2000–2004 and presents some thoughts on the future government of the south Sudan. Guerrilla Government is of interest to academics, humanitarian workers and diplomats concerned with the Sudan’s contemporary history, civil wars and humanitarian operations in a war-zone. The book contributes towards documenting the experience of the southern Sudanese and the pretext for the current peace process, and provides ample case material for students of insurgencies and internal conflicts. Explaining the political and military background to today’s complex situation in the South, Guerrilla Government should be studied by everyone who wishes to contribute to the rebuilding of a war-torn Sudan.

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