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Government policy

The Oil Industry in Uganda; A Blessing in Disguise or an all Too Familiar Curse? : The 2012 Claude Ake Memorial Lecture

Upphovsperson: Mbabazi, Pamela K.
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet |
År: 2013
Ämnesord: Uganda, Petroleum industry, natural resources, Economic growth, Government policy, Development strategy
As Uganda comes closer to full scale commercial production of its recently discovered oil resources, the state has much work to protect its economy from possible negative effects. Although much of the literature regarding oil globally, as well as in Uganda, paints a rather pessimistic picture, Dr. Pamela Mbabazi provides a set of alternatives, looking at oil as an opportunity rather than a curse. While oil is still in its infancy, many in Uganda have already predicted how it will play out over the next 50 years. While some are quick to point out the flaws and potential problem areas, Dr. Mbabazi suggests a more balanced approach, recognizing both the issue areas as well as the opportunities presented. Uganda has just celebrated its 50th anniversary as an independent nation. What is certain is that over the next five decades, oil will play a significant role in Uganda´s development. Thus, she argues that by heeding the suggestions made in this contribution, the government and key decision makers can help set Uganda on the right path to becoming Africa’s first oil success story. Dr. Pamela Mbabazi held the Claude Ake Memorial Chair in 2012-2013, working with the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University and the Nordic Africa Institute. She is Associate Professor of Development Studies, Mbarara University of Science & Technology, Uganda.

Market-based and Rights-based Approaches to the Informal Economy : A comparative analysis of the policy implications

Upphovsperson: Vainio, Antti
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Urban Dynamics | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Informal sector, Hidden economy, Government policy, Development research, Research methods, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
This Policy Dialogue compares two very different conceptions of the informal economy that are prominent internationally: a market-based approach and a rights-based approach. It reflects upon the policy implications of adopting one perspective or the other, and argues that the terms ‘entrepreneur’ and ‘worker’ are often ideologically charged rather than a reflection of the structural positions of the ‘informals’. The paper is critical of a market-based perspective and of the related notion of informal entrepreneurs, as these may lead to policy recommendations that undermine the already fragile livelihoods of many people. The ideas presented in this paper are part of a work in progress and are intended to promote further debate about sustainable policy-making aimed at enhancing the economic and social standing of vulnerable people in the informal economy.

From Global Land Grabbing for Biofuels to Acquisitions of African Water for Commercial Agriculture

Upphovsperson: Olanya, David Ross
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Agrarian Change, Property and Resources | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, Land acquisition, Biomass energy, Fuel Water resources, Agricultural production, Commercial farming, Foreign investment, Property rights, Livelihood, Environmental aspects, Government policy
Expansion of biofuel investment in Africa has been supported by indebted poor governments because of perceived potential benefits such as sustainable energy development, support to poor farmers, development of rural economies and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the intensity of the biofuels political economy in poor countries worsens inequality for the vulnerable poor. This is evidenced by large-scale land acquisitions in Africa for biofuel and crop production primarily for foreign consumption – food, animal feeds and energy crops. The search for land in African countrieshas been triggered by growing concerns over food and energy security in developed countries following the global food crisis of 2008. Moreover, these recent developments in large-scale land acquisitions in Africa are not a new phenomenon, but represent the renewal of old practices incommercial agriculture, which is either conducted through purchases or long-term leases. In addition to biofuel expansion, this study notes that current large-scale land acquisitions in sub-Saharan Africa have been further driven by demands to access water resources for other commercial agricultural crops. The land purchases or leases automatically guarantee access to African water. This demand for water is a response to climate change: most industrialists believe that acquiring land near a main water reservoir will guarantee future agricultural potential. Few analyses have been done on the land-water access nexus. This article considers recent developments in large-scaleland acquisitions in Africa in terms of water security for commercial agriculture to safeguard the production of agricultural crops with a large water footprint. Using political economy analysis, this article examines national policy on these acquisitions, the rights accorded to foreign investors and how land acquisitions undermine indigenous rights to the common resources that have been the mainsource of livelihood in sub-Saharan Africa.

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.

Short-cut to decay : the case of the Sudan

Upphovspersoner: Harir, Sharif | Tvedt, Terje
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1994
Ämnesord: Civil war, conflicts, Economic conditions, Ethnicity, Government policy, political development, State, Sudan, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
The Sudan can demonstrate that while there is no short-cut to progress there is one to decay and misery. After eleven years of peace, the second civil war has now lasted for more than ten years. Regional, ethnic and religious conflicts are intensifying all over the country. The economy is in shambles while a small élite is enriching itself.

Why Humanitarian Aid in Darfur is not a Practice of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’

Upphovsperson: Okeke, Jide
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Sudan, Darfur, conflicts, Civil war, Humanitarian assistance, Emergency relief, Foreign intervention, Government policy, international law, Foreign aid, Aid evaluation, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The Discussion Paper provides a compelling critique of the ‘new humanitarianism, ’particularly the ways in which leading donor states seek to incorporate humanitarian assistance and protection into the toolbox of political intervention in other countries. Drawing upon the history of humanitarianism and its origins in an ethos of neutrality, impartiality and non-violence, the author shows how since the end of the Cold War, and increasingly since 9/11, the ‘new’ form of internationational humanitarianism has become deeply politicised and has taken on human rights, strategic-security, liberal and developmental agendas as defined by donor states. The paper frames the critique of linking R2P to humanitarian protection values in the context of the new humanitarianism and the pursuit of the foreign policies of hegemonic states. It therefore provides a critical perspective on the politics of humanitarian aid in Darfur, and opens up a new basis for an alternative discourse on international humanitarian intervention and its connection with the politics of global powers in African conflict arenas. This paper is an important resource for scholars, civil society activists and policy practitioners with a keen interest in international humanitarian aid, international humanitarian law, conflict, peace and security in Africa.

Re-thinking Africa : A Contribution to the Swedish Government White Paper on Africa

Upphovspersoner: Arnfred, Signe | Utas, Mats | Cheru, Fantu | Hammar, Amanda | Havnevik, Kjell | Kamete, Amin Y. | Lindell, Ilda | Myhre, Knut Christian | Ngangjoh Hodu, Yenkong | Obi, Cyril I. | Oinas, Elina | Palmberg, Mai | Thorsen, Dorte
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2007
Ämnesord: Foreign relations, Development aid, International cooperation, Government policy, Sweden, Africa South of Sahara, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Edited by Signe Arnfred and Mats Utas.

AU, NEPAD and the APRM : democratisation efforts explored

Upphovspersoner: Fombad, Charles Manga | Kebonang, Zein | Melber, Henning
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2006
Ämnesord: Institutional framework, African organizations, African Union, NEPAD, Democratization, Governance, Government policy, Development strategy, Legal aspects, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) represent an unprecedented collective political effort by African governments at the beginning of the 21st century to address issues of democracy and good governance on a continental scale within an emerging framework of institutions and instruments designed to assist in this effort. The visible commitments to jointly tackle political and socioeconomic challenges in order to overcome the structural legacies that hamper national and social development are reflected in the adoption of a variety of programmatic blueprints and a series of newly created or recently strengthened institutions. The most visible of these since the integration of NEPAD into the AU is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a process- aimed at addressing some of the challenges on the basis of a voluntary assessment of African government policies. The contributions to this publication trace these recent developments from a policy perspective and explore the scope and limitations of current democratisation efforts. Going beyond the rhetoric surrounding the emergence of the new initiatives, the authors provide an interim and realistic prognosis of the prospects for these new dynamics to achieve the declared goals of sustainable and meaningful change.