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International relations

China and India, "rising powers" and African development : challenges and opportunities

Upphovsperson: Roy, Sumit
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, African International Links | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2014
Ämnesord: Africa, China, India, Globalization, economic development, international trade, investment, international economic relations, International relations, development, Sustainable development, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Angola, Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, case studies, Political science, Statsvetenskap, economics, Nationalekonomi
In this report, the challenges and opportunities arising from the growing ties between two key “Rising Powers,” China and India, and Africa are more fully explored. This trend has given rise to speculative, exaggerated and ideological responses and a mixture of anxiety and hope. What is needed is an interdisciplinary political economy study to investigate the ways in which global, regional and national linkages in the relationship impact on the prospects of sustainable development in Africa. The necessity for this is underscored by the growing influence of the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in reshaping the world.In this frame, the focus is on the nature of the shift in China’s and India’s strategic vision of Africa in terms of politics, ideology and economic development. This shift impinges on trade and investment and, in turn, the scope for inducing structural economic change in the context of colonial and postcolonial tensions. Comparative observation of countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, particularly Ethiopia in the former, illustrates their capacity to cope with the new powers. This is a critical aspect of the continent’s complex interplay with states and institutions within and beyond its borders. Ultimately, African nations have to individually and collectively confront the challenges and opportunities stemming from their evolving relationships with these Rising Powers.

Zimbabwe's fast-track land reform

Upphovsperson: Matondi, Prosper B.
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Agrarian Change, Property and Resources | London, England : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Zed Books
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, Africa Now, Agriculture, development, International relations, politics, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
The Fast-Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe has emerged as a highly contested reform process both nationally and internationally. The image of it has all too often been that of the widespread displacement and subsequent replacement of various people, agricultural-related production systems, facets and processes. The reality, however, is altogether more complex. Providing new, in-depth and much-needed empirical research, and based on a broader geographical scope than any previous study carried out on the subject, Zimbabwe’s Fast-Track Land Reform examines how processes such as land acquisition, allocation, transitional production outcomes, social life, gender and tenure, have influenced and been influenced by the forces driving the programme. It also explores the ways in which the land-reform programme has created a new agrarian structure based on small- to medium-scale farmers. In attempting to resolve the problematic issues the reforms have raised, the authors argue that it is this new agrarian formation which provides the greatest scope for improving Zimbabwe’s agriculture and development. A landmark work on a subject of considerable controversy.

Understanding Fast Track Land Reforms in Zimbabwe

Upphovsperson: Matondi, Prosper B.
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Agrarian Change, Property and Resources | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Zed Books
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa Now, Africa, Agriculture, development, International relations, politics
The Fast-Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe has emerged as a highly contested reform process both nationally and internationally. The image of it has all too often been that of the widespread displacement and subsequent replacement of various people, agricultural-related production systems, facets and processes. The reality, however, is altogether more complex. Providing new, in-depth and much-needed empirical research, and based on a broader geographical scope than any previous study carried out on the subject, Zimbabwe’s Fast-Track Land Reform examines how processes such as land acquisition, allocation, transitional production outcomes, social life, gender and tenure, have influenced and been influenced by the forces driving the programme. It also explores the ways in which the land-reform programme has created a new agrarian structure based on small- to medium-scale farmers. In attempting to resolve the problematic issues the reforms have raised, the authors argue that it is this new agrarian formation which provides the greatest scope for improving Zimbabwe’s agriculture and development. A landmark work on a subject of considerable controversy.

Albert Luthuli and Dag Hammarskjöld - Leaders and Visionaries

Medarbetare: Sellström, Tor
Utgivare: Uppsala, Sweden : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation; The Luthuli Museum
År: 2012
Ämnesord: national liberation movements, Political leadership, anti-apartheid activists, Human rights, democracy, International relations, UN, Nobel prizes, South Africa, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Two symposia in Uppsala and Oslo during November 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Chief Albert Luthuli and Dag Hammarskjöld at the same ceremony for 1960 and (posthumously) 1961, respectively. The deliberations, which involved close family members of the late Chief Luthuli, commemorated and honoured two outstanding leaders of the 20th century. While they never met personally, they shared principle values and ethics rooted in a firm belief in the equality of people, humanrights, justice and peace at a time of decolonization and apartheid. This booklet compiles a summary of the various presentations in Uppsala and Oslo, which paid respect to the two role models in their relevance also for today. It is published during the year, in which the two Uppsala based institutions celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Self-Determination and Secessionism in Somaliland and South Sudan : Challenges to Postcolonial State-building

Upphovsperson: Bereketeab, Redie
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Somaliland, South Sudan, Independence, Self-determination, Secession, Nation-building, Political developmetn, International relations, comparative analysis
This paper analyses the notion of self-determination and secession by adopting acomparative perspective on two case studies, namely Somaliland and South Sudan. Somaliland declared its independence in 1991 following the collapse of the Somali state. Since then, Somaliland has been making relentless efforts to secure recognition from the international community. South Sudan successfully negotiated the right to exerciseself-determination, a right that was formalised in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). The people of South Sudan held a referendum and voted overwhelmingly for secession, with formal independence being achieved on 9 July 2011. International law may better qualify Somaliland for statehood than South Sudan for three reasons: (i) it was created by colonialism, (ii) it has already been recognised, albeit only for a few days, as an independent state in 1960, and (iii) it has proven to be stable, functional and relatively democratic. Yet Somaliland has failed to achieve international recognition. This paper interrogates this discrepancy. It concludes that the existence of a partner ready to accept the right of self-determination, and geostrategic concerns about security as well a seconomic and political interests, determine international recognition.

The security-development nexus : expressions of sovereignty and securitization in Southern Africa

Medarbetare: Buur, Lars | Jensen, Steffen | Stepputat, Finn
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; HSRC Press
År: 2007
Ämnesord: violence, Crime, Economic and social development, politics, Government policy, State, International relations, Peaceful coexistence, Citizenship, Human security, Regional security, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The link between security and development has been rediscovered after 9/11 by a broad range of scholars. Focusing on Southern Africa, the Security-Development Nexus shows that the much debated linkage is by no means a recent invention. Rather, the security/development linkage has been an important element of the state policies of colonial as well as post-colonial regimes during the Cold War, and it seems to be prospering in new configurations under the present wave of democratic transitions. Contributors focus on a variety of contexts from South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia, to Zimbabwe and Democratic Congo; they explore the nexus and our understanding of security and development through the prism of peace-keeping interventions, community policing, human rights, gender, land contests, squatters, nation and state-building, social movements, DDR programmes and the different trajectories democratization has taken in different parts of the region.

African conflicts and Informal Power : Big Men and Networks

Medarbetare: Utas, Mats
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Zed Books
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, conflicts, Foreign intervention, Dispute settlement, International politics, International relations, Post-conflict reconstruction, State, Local government, Political power, Informal sector, case studies, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Through a variety of indepth case studies – from DRC to Somalia to Liberia amongst others – this book shows how important informal political and economic networks are in many of the continent’s  conflict areas.

Critical Factors in the Horn of Africa's Raging Conflicts

Upphovsperson: Mengisteab, Kidane
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation |
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Horn of Africa, Regional conflicts, Historical analysis, Social implications, Economic implications, International relations, Conflict management, Peace research, Political science, Statsvetenskap
At a time when much attention is focused on the Horn of Africa as one of Africa’s most war-ravaged regions and a continued source of security concern regionally and globally, this Discussion Paper provides deep insights into the complex dimensions of and linkages between the violent conflicts in the region. Delving into history and the core and contextual factors underpinning these wars in the postcolonial era, the author provides a conceptual framework for grappling with the complex inter- and intra-state conflicts by focusing on the institutional and structural causes of war. He goes on to make a compelling argument that conflict for institutional and democratic state transformation in the Horn of Africa is a fundamental step towards long-term peace and sustainable development.

Beyond Drops Water: Four Imperatives to Cooperation in the Nile Basin : Claude Ake Memorial Lecture 2010

Upphovsperson: Yacob, Arsano
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Nile river, Water resources, Regional cooperation, International relations, Environmental security, Peaceful coexistence, Video recordings, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The Nile basin is one of the oldest places on earth to which renowned civilizations, polities, kingdoms and empires are attributed. The Nile is the world’s longest river whose basin covers some 3.3 million sq. km and shared by ten countries. Whether in the upstream or downstream the countries and communities are permanently bound together, and their millions owe to it the present livelihood and future prosperity. On the contrary, the Nile Basin lacks a cooperative mechanism and perennially stuck in the lingering tension over apportionment of the waters. It is about time now for the Nile basin countries to work towards a viable cooperation beyond drops of water. A mutually acceptable cooperative engagement among the riparian nations is condition-sine-qua-non for enhancing development in each country and achieving the much desired peace and mutual security in the basin. The 2010 Claude Ake Memorial Lecture will, therefore, focus on the economic, environmental, security and institutional imperatives for cooperation and peace building in the Nile Basin. Dr. Yacob Arsano is Associate Professor of Political Science & International Relations at Addis Ababa University.

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