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851. Change Management

Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Pocket change-mountains of it can shape or re-shape society, politics, and most certainly the economy. The rise and fall of governments, democracies, and tyrannies are all too often at the mercy of the ebb and flow of plain, hard cash. Currencies today are very much the defining feature of nations, individually and collectively. A flailing and fragmented Europe seeks to hang together-retain its global reach-on the strength of a single currency that has taken on a life or neardeath of its own, its very existence becoming an end in itself. Across Africa and Asia, the Americas north and south, continents and peoples are all too often held hostage by forces unleashed in the name of money. It is this kaleidoscope of silver, gold, and paper, often in the magnitude of tsunamis, that we set out to explore in the Summer issue of World Policy Journal.
Political Geography:
Africa, America, Europe, and Asia

852. The Future Role of U.S. Counterterrorism Operations in Africa

Author:
Michael A. Sheehan and Geoff D. Porter
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
IN HIS STATE OF THE UNION on January 28, 2014, President Barack Obama's speech focused on domestic issues, but singled out Africa, specifically mentioning Somalia and Mali, in reference to the evolution of the al-Qa`ida threat, the emergence of al-Qa`ida affiliates and the need for the United States to continue to work with partners to disrupt and disable these networks.
Political Geography:
Africa and United States

853. Towards a Global History of International Law? Editor's Note

Author:
Alexandra Kemmerer
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
As usual, international law comes in late. It was already in the golden years of new world orders and geopolitical shifts after the end of the Cold War that historiography began its global turn. Of course, there had been pioneers and path-breakers before, but it was only in the 1990s that an ambiance of globalization and trans-nationalization triggered new approaches on a larger scale. An actual experience of political, economic and cultural interconnectedness put historiographical emphasis on transfers, networks, connections and cooperation, on transformation and translation.Historical analysis was called to overcome not only the boundaries of the nation-state, but also the limitations of material and epistemic Eurocentrism in its various forms. During the past decade, there has been a growing interest in global histories in many parts of the world.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Africa and Europe

854. Fred HALLIDAY, The Middle East in International Relations: Power, Politics and Ideology

Author:
Mustafa Yetim
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
Oxford Üniversitesi ile Londra'daki Dogu ve Afrika Çalismalari Okulu'nda (The School for Oriental and African Studies) ögrenim gören ve doktorasini 1985-2008 arasi Profesör olarak görev yaptigi Londra Ekonomi Okulu'ndan (London School of Economy) alan Fred Halliday, önde gelen Uluslararasi Iliskiler uzmanlarindandir. Uzmanlik alani Ortadogu olan ve bölge ile ilgili pek çok kitap ve makalesi bulunan Halliday, 2008'de emekli olduktan sonra Barselona Uluslararasi Çalismalar Enstitüsü'nde arastirmaci profesör olarak görev yapmis ve 2010 yilinda 64 yasinda vefat etmistir.
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and London

855. STRUCTURAL POWER TOWARD WEAK STATES: FRANCE, NOT CHINA, MATTERS IN FRANCOPHONE AFRICA

Author:
Olivier Mbabia
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
The magnitude of assignment of the People's Republic of China in Africa has recently ignited a tide of 'speedy' literature ranking the latter as the main actor to the detriment of traditional ones. A close look at this issue, however, shows that this deduction seems all the less simplistic. By deliberately limiting the present analysis to the so-called Francophone Africa, where Chinese engagement is as considerable as elsewhere on the continent, it appears that this conclusion is shaky when submitted to a rigorous analysis. Can a causal relation be established between the progression of this presence and Beijing's actual influence? Can power or influence be subsumed to an ever-growing presence and an economic vitality? Are these parameters enough to unseat old colonial powers, especially France in its original and natural area of influence?
Political Geography:
Africa, China, and Canada

856. AFRICA AND THE EMERGING POWERS: THE SOUTH AND THE UNHOLY COOPERATION

Author:
Paulo Fagundes Visentini
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
One of the most remarkable phenomena of Contemporary International Relations is the fact that Africa became object of a new global race, like in the end of the 19th Century. In the beginning of the 21st Century, however, the most dynamic protagonists of such movement are the emerging powers, and not the European metropolises. Such process occurs in a frame of economic and social development in Africa, besides a diplomatic protagonism, which represented an unexpected feature for many. Africa, in marks of globalization and the end of the Cold War, experienced a second "lost decade", with bloody internationalized civil wars, epidemics (HIV/AIDS, cholera and the Ebola virus, among others) and economic marginalization.
Topic:
International Relations and Cold War
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, Europe, Canada, and India

857. THE ROLE OF COMMERCIALLY PROVIDED SECURITY IN AFRICA'S PATRIMONIAL SECURITY COMPLEX

Author:
Andreas Krieg and Christopher Kinsey
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
Applying Western liberal models of civil-security sector relations to the highly complex and factionalized security sector on the African continent is difficult. Unlike the security sector in Western liberal states whose control is widely monopolized by the institutions of the state and society, the security sector in Africa has never been structured around the concept of security as a public good provided by the state on behalf of or for the protection of a societal public sphere as a whole. On a continent where ethnic, tribal or religious groups have been assigned to artificial territorial entities by colonial powers, the Western notion of an integral nation state built around a public consciousness of togetherness has been widely alien to most of the African states and societies. Consequently, post-colonial states and its civilian leaderships have rarely created a security sector, which is inclusive, representative of domestic social, ethnic, religious or tribal fault lines and undisputed in regulating violence. Instead, African security sectors, whether public or private, have been built around patrimonial networks that by controlling the provision of security ensured that security is provided as an exclusive private good benefitting those elites embedded in such networks.
Political Geography:
Africa

858. TOWARDS REDEFINING THE NEWS AGENDA IN THE NIGERIAN MEDIA FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Author:
Osakue Stevenson Omoera
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
The media (radio, television, film, print, social networks, etc) are change agents in contemporary world. They can be/should be deployed to ensure the culture of peace as well as galvanise other agents of development in 21st century societies, especially in Africa, where peace and sustainable development appear to be eluding many countries, including Nigeria, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Somalia , to mention a few. Appraising the state of affairs in Nigeria, Igbuzor (2006) warns that several intelligence reports on Nigeria indicate that if the country is unable to create about 24 million jobs for its gr owing population, to provide effective platforms and infrastructures for fighting corruption, and to ensure equitable distribution of its abundant wealth, it could become a failed state.
Political Geography:
Africa, Canada, and Zimbabwe

859. Journal of Public and International Affairs 2014

Author:
Daphne McCurdy, Chikara Onda, Aaron Aitken, Lucia Adriana Baltazar Vazquez, John Paul Bumpus, John Speed Meyers, Pierina Ana Sanchez, Yolaine Frossard de Saugy, Melanie Harris, Steve Moilanen, Stephen Pritchard, Nicolas Collin dit de Montesson, and Naomi Crowther
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
From pressing foreign policy issues such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea and homicide rates in Honduras to contentious domestic policy debates such as the rights of Mexican immigrants in the United States and the construction of the Keystone pipeline, the topics in this year’s journal are wide-ranging in both functional and geographic focus. However, they all share a strong commitment to seeking solutions to the world’s most serious challenges through sound policy.
Topic:
Crime, Government, Oil, Poverty, Sovereignty, Bilateral Relations, Territorial Disputes, Foreign Aid, Immigration, Governance, Law, Cybersecurity, and Grand Strategy
Political Geography:
Africa, China, Iran, Canada, Philippines, Mexico, Honduras, United States of America, and South China Sea

860. Terrorism in West African History: A 21st Century Appraisal

Author:
Walter Garn Nikwi
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
This article focuses on the history of terrorism in West Africa in the first half of the 21st Century and attempts by regional and international bodies to combat it. It argues that although recently much attention has been paid to the sub region as a zone of terrorism, such terrorism has deeper historical roots and as such pre-dates the position taken by most contemporary scholars. West Africa has been a victim of terrorism over the years and to take on board only recent happenings is to do injustice to history. What has changed and continued? Who have been the key players? What attempts have been carried out by the respective organizations to stamp out terrorism?
Topic:
International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, Terrorism, Violent Extremism, and War on Terror
Political Geography:
Africa and West Africa

861. Congo: No Peace Without Women

Author:
Denis Mukwege
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
On September 2012, a Congolese doctor stood before the world's leaders at the United Nations General Assembly and denounced the mass rapes of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the impunity enjoyed by those responsible. Dr. Mukwege said he was ashamed of the international community's failure to stop these atrocities. A month later, he was attacked in his residence in Bakavu, DRC, and was forced into exile. Dr. Mukwege, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and in 2013, returned to the Congo earlier this year in January to resume his work at the Panzi Hospital. There, he treats victims of sexual violence in a country ripped apart by sixteen years of conflict. According to the UN, "Sexual violence in the Congo is the worst in the world." Around 500,000 women have been raped in the country since 1996. Dr. Mukwege shared his insights with the Journal about the Congolese crisis and the role of women in conflict.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Women, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa and Congo

862. Colonialism in Ngbo Clan: A Historical Review

Author:
Kelechi Johnmary Ani
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Institution:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Abstract:
The Ngbo clan, during the colonial era, was made up of Umu Ogudu Oshia, Okposhi Eshi, Okposhi Eheku, Ekwashi, Amoffia, Emezaka and Ezzangbo. The intrusion of the colonial masters into the clan was visited by massive resistance that led to deaths on both sides. The paper showed that the colonial administration engaged in massive exploitation of the people to the level that there was disagreement between the District Officer of Abakaliki Division and the Resident Officer, Ogoja Province; on what should make up the task collectors salaries. To make matters worse, there was palpable lack of confidence between the colonial councilors and the people they represented. Soon, the Ngbo Court ceased to function because of the masses antagonism to colonial exploitation. Hence, the court building was used as a United African Company (U. A. C). Kernel buying station. The work therefore calls on the larger Igbo society to rise against all forms of negative neo-imperialism on our collective cultural commonwealth.
Topic:
History, Neoimperialism, and Colonialism
Political Geography:
Africa

863. The Effect of Age on Conditional Fecundability in Nigeria

Author:
Magdalene Agdalene, Akikibofori Akikibofori, and Jacob Sunday
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Institution:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Abstract:
Delaying the start of childbearing raises the issue of fertility postponed versus fertility foregone. One of the limits of previous studies of “How late can you wait? Is it difficult to control sexual activity? Data on the frequency and timing of intercourse within a menstrual cycle are uncommon. We use such data from the Menstrual Cycle Fecundability Study for this study “Can we wait until the early 30s? We model the effect of age on conditional fecundability, i.e. the probability of conception given that the couple is not sterile, simultaneously controlling for the effect of primary sterility and the frequency and timing of Intercourse in each menstrual cycle. Can we wait until the early 30s for a birth? Our evidence is yes (provided you are not already sterile) as the increase in the mean waiting time to conception is very modest and of little practical importance.
Topic:
Health, Children, Women, Aging, and Fertility
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

864. Plausible Deniability: Proxy Wars in Africa

Author:
Jennifer L. De Maio
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
In the decades since independence, proxy wars have frequently threatened regional security in Africa. Many interstate and intrastate wars on the continent have become increasingly complicated by the involvement of opposing nation states using third parties as surrogates for fighting each other directly. As civil wars threaten to spill across borders and destabilize entire regions, the nature and extent of states using these wars as proxies for their own agendas needs to be studied more systematically. ​ During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union relied on proxy wars as a means of engaging the enemy indirectly and advancing their foreign policy agendas, while leaving minimal visible blood on their hands. These proxy wars between the superpowers played out across Africa, from the Horn to Angola to Mozambique. In the aftermath of the Cold War, the superpower competition for regional supremacy has been replaced by new proxy wars and trans-border alliances between African states and local armed groups. As Joseph argues, the recourse to proxy wars reflects the challenges faced by the African state and its inability to institutionalize democratic structures. But the problem is much deeper. Engaging in proxy wars is a critical strategy for state-building, and develops from calculations by state leaders to advance their policy agendas. Threatened regimes wishing to maintain their hold on power may allow and enable civil tensions to spill across borders and destabilize neighboring countries. This approach can be used as a means to consolidate power domestically and spread influence internationally. A civil war thereby becomes a proxy war between states, with the advantage that governments can distance themselves from atrocities committed by their proxies by either attributing blame to rebel factions or by just claiming that they are in fact not sponsoring any group. This essay proposes that governments have an incentive to allow civil wars to spread across borders in order to engage in proxy battles with neighboring states. Governments can utilize proxy wars to strengthen their hold on the domestic state apparatus and to gain regional superiority. This strategy can include using militarily weak countries as proxies in order to assert their regional dominance and broadcast domestic power. Proxy wars can then advance domestic and foreign policy agendas while allowing states to avoid engaging in costly and bloody direct combat. The use of proxy war as a tool of statecraft is thus calculated and controlled...
Topic:
Security, War, Proxy War, and Statecraft
Political Geography:
Africa, Soviet Union, and United States of America

865. Purveyors of Terror: Counterterrorism in Africa's Failing States

Author:
Thomas Dempsey
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
Weak and failing states in Africa continue to offer challenging environments for counterterrorism campaigns in both a military and a civil law enforcement context. Weakly governed and ungoverned spaces in these states offer venues that violent extremist groups continue to exploit as platforms for terrorism. These groups – Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Al-Shabaab in Somalia are simply two of the more prominent examples – use these weakly governed and ungoverned spaces to recruit new followers, build capability and capacity, and launch new terrorist attacks while avoiding the scrutiny and attention of African security sectors and their international partners. A defining feature of these weakly governed and ungoverned spaces in Africa is the predominance of non-state security actors, including local militias, neighborhood watch organizations, traditional hunting societies, and traditional, customary, or religious justice processes that operate outside of the formal court system. Some of these non-state actors themselves represent violent extremist groups involved in acts of terror. Others play central roles in the mediation of disputes (administration of justice), delivery of police services, or as military surrogates in providing for local defense. I argued in Counterterrorism in African Failed States that collaboration between U.S. military forces and law enforcement agencies is essential to effective counterterrorism interventions in African failed states.[i] Subsequent counterterrorism operations in the region have confirmed that argument, and African senior police and militaryleaders increasingly emphasize the importance of collaboration between military and police forces.[ii] In addition to military forces and law enforcement services, counterterrorism in Africa must effectively address the need for effective partners in the justice sector – prosecutors (and defense counsels), courts, prisons and corrections – in implementing counterterrorism strategies. All three components of counterterrorism strategies must confront the reality that weakly governed and ungoverned spaces are ground zero for counterterrorism on the continent, and that non-state security actors are a defining feature of those spaces. To address the purveyors of terror – in most cases, non-state security actors like Al-Shabaab in Somalia or AQIM in the Sahel – counterterrorism strategies in ungoverned and weakly governed spaces in Africa must address all of the non-state security actors that proliferate in those areas.
Topic:
Security, Fragile/Failed State, Non State Actors, Counter-terrorism, Al Qaeda, and Al Shabaab
Political Geography:
Africa

866. Security regionalism and flaws of externally forged peace in Sudan: The IGAD peace process and its aftermath

Author:
Aleksi Ylönen
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
During 1983-2005 Sudan hosted one of Africa’s longest insurgencies. Throughout the conflict a number of competing peace initiatives coincided, but a process under the mediation authority of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) prevailed. However, although initiated in 1993, the IGAD process only accelerated after the September 2001 attacks on the United States (US) and was consequently finalised through the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in less than four years’ time. Although it was presented as IGAD’s success as a conflict resolution body, in reality the organisation’s role in the making of peace in Sudan was to a large extent conditioned by the involvement of a narrow selection of Western stakeholders. This article examines the IGAD peace process in Sudan, highlighting the dynamics and relative roles of the principal actors involved. It argues that although the negotiations were portrayed as inherently sub-regional, and adhering to the idea of ‘African solutions for African problems’, a closer analysis reveals that the peace process was dominated by external protagonists. This resulted in the interests of Western actors, particularly the US, playing a prominent role in the negotiated agreement, consequences of which are currently experienced both in Sudan and South Sudan.
Topic:
Security, Insurgency, Peace, Regionalism, and Post-Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

867. Formal and informal land tenure systems in Afar region, Ethiopia: Perceptions, attitudes and implications for land use disputes

Author:
Kelemework Tafere Reda
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
Land is a contentious resource in the pastoral areas of Ethiopia. Traditional pastoralism, which is both a mode of production and a cultural way of life, dictates communal ownership of grazing land on which individually owned livestock graze. Pastoral land in Afar has traditionally been administered by the local communities themselves. However, with a gradual incorporation of the pastoralists into the Ethiopian modern polity, there have been competitive interests over issues of land administration between local communities and the state which often led to conflict and instability. Government land administration policies often contravene the age-old pastoral customary institutions; and stakeholder relations have taken a bitter course following the expansion of commercial agriculture, land investments and development projects. Using data obtained through Qualitative Interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) this paper analyses land administration trajectories and dynamics in Afar region. It assesses how contradictions between statutory and customary tenure systems shape relations between multiple resource users including the state, investors, local communities, and neighbouring cultural groups. It also examines the impact of multi-stakeholder land disputes on land resource management, thereby identifying appropriate policy options for effective land administration practices in the pastoral areas.
Topic:
Territorial Disputes, Land Law, Pastoralism, Land Rights, and Tradition
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

868. The Nigerian State as an equilibrium of violence: An explanation of the Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria

Author:
Emmanuel Ikechi Onah
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
This paper argues that the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria is a religious crisis that is flowing directly from the country’s political system. It is the political system in Nigeria that has brought about the present realities of corruption, poverty, and underdevelopment throughout the country. Religion has only served, especially in northern Nigeria, to ignite these realities into a violent flame. Boko Haram is the latest in the long list of religiously inspired violence that has flared up in Nigeria on account of deficiencies in the political system. For as long as these systemic deficiencies exist, religious disturbances such as the Boko Haram violence will continue to be there. Such violence has served fundamentalist entrepreneurs or groups and other such champions to call attention to the plight of their people. However, such violence most often only provokes the government into counter-violence. The cycle of violence and counter-violence then enables the government to keep the people in check, even without addressing their demands, and, to dominate and exploit society without hindrance. What the state must do to sustainably tackle this systemic violence is to use a combination of poverty reduction strategies, anti-corruption drives, development efforts, law enforcement and military engagement (where necessary), and dialogue to try and bring about lasting peace, particularly in northern Nigeria, but also throughout the whole country.
Topic:
Religion, Insurgency, Conflict, Violence, and Boko Haram
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

869. Pastoral conflict in Kenya: Transforming mimetic violence to mimetic blessings between Turkana and Pokot communities

Author:
Ryan Triche
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
Livestock raiding has been a source of conflict amongst and between pastoral societies in Africa for hundreds of years. However, more recently, these raids have become more violent and have triggered much more organised retaliations. Many times raids themselves are perceived as motivated by ethnic dimensions. The following paper looks at tensions and conflict between Turkana and Pokot communities in rural Kenya. The paper first traces the historical context of cattle rustling and livestock raiding between pastoral communities within Kenya. It then identifies contemporary factors driving exacerbated tensions: access to resources, profiteering, and weapons proliferation. The paper further explores the systemic nature of the conflict through analysing livestock raiding as a conflict spiral dictated by negative reciprocal actions. The spiral is ultimately maintained due to mimetic violence structures that are in place. It then offers prescriptions and potential solutions to the conflict, which are centred on transcending the relationship from mimetic violence to mimetic peace and reconciliation. Ultimately, by empowering local pastoral communities in the form of multi-ethnic coalitions, and promoting broad-based interest groups, cultural transcendence can reverse the conflict spiral into a relationship of mutual reciprocity and mimetic peace.
Topic:
Conflict, Violence, Pastoralism, Peace, and Land
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

870. Terrorism and governance crisis: The Boko Haram experience in Nigeria

Author:
Efehi Raymond Okoro
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
Terrorist acts by Boko Haram have attracted enormous scholarly attention in recent years. A majority of the studies have implicated Islam in the emergence and dynamics of the uprising. In contrast to this popular view, this article argues that, despite the strategic role played by Islamic religion in the uprising, terrorism and its security threats in northern Nigeria are more a product of a governance crisis including pervasive corruption, growing youth unemployment and poverty. It further argues that if good governance concurrently with development is not employed as a remedial strategy, the Nigerian State will further create a much more enabling environment for the growth of resistance from below. Thus, it concludes that good governance and credible leadership practices are antidotes to terrorism in Nigeria.
Topic:
Religion, Terrorism, Governance, Al Qaeda, Youth, Al Shabaab, and Boko Haram
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

871. Mozambique’s peace decades since the end of the conflict: Inclusive or managed democracy?

Author:
Madalitso Zililo Phiri and Antonio Macheve Jr
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
The article analyses Mozambique’s post-conflict democratisation and argues that Mozambique has become a ‘managed democracy’ in the new period. Mozambique is viewed by the donor community and multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as a success story of post-war reconstruction and used as a model to be emulated. The article traces the trajectory of democratisation under the auspices of a liberal peace theoretical framework which was agreed upon in the General Peace Agreement ending the conflict in 1992. Secondary quantitative data were made available from leading International Organisations such as the World Bank and the Mo Ibrahim Governance Index. The article found that, despite Mozambique’s commitments to build an inclusive democracy, corruption unmasks Mozambique’s success story. The authors conclude that democratic consolidation has been accompanied by extractive political and economic institutions leading to a disgruntled citizenry. The country’s peace agreement remains fragile, and faces the reality that political stability has not been accompanied by social justice, equity and deepening democratisation.
Topic:
Democratization, Democracy, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa and Mozambique

872. Nigeria united in grief; divided in response: Religious terrorism, Boko Haram, and the dynamics of state response

Author:
Daniel Agbiboa and Benjamin Maiangwa
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
This article critically examines the current developments regarding the religious terrorism of Boko Haram, an extremist Islamist group, which operates largely in the north-east states of Nigeria. Boko Haram’s avowed aim is to wrest control from the Nigerian government and to impose a strict form of Sharia law across a country of about 170 million people. Since 2009, when Boko Haram first launched its Islamic insurgency, over 5 000 Nigerians have lost their lives in bombings and shootings carried out by the group. In addition to a brief discussion of the emergence, demands, ideology and external links of Boko Haram, the article focuses analytic attention on how the Nigerian state has responded to the menacing threat of the group. This is followed by a critical engagement with the current debate in Nigeria regarding what can be said for and against negotiating with Boko Haram members, and for or against fighting them. In conclusion, the article offers some fresh and multifaceted recommendations on how to effectively address the Boko Haram impasse.
Topic:
Religion, Terrorism, State, and Boko Haram
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

873. Popular dispute resolution mechanisms in Ethiopia: Trends, opportunities, challenges and prospects

Author:
Gebreyesus Teklu Bahta
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
This article finds that high-ranking officials within the judiciary and executive, heads of some organisations, and certain researchers have acclaimed the harmonisation and application of the Popular Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (PDRMs) in Ethiopia’s justice system. To this effect, they have sponsored national and regional forums, conferences and workshops; established research institutions and centres as well as sponsored scholars who conduct research on this initiative. The positive attitude of these stakeholders towards PDRMs, the multiplicity and diversity of PDRMs, as well as the support of various institutions to such initiatives are considered to be good opportunities for the harmonisation and application of these practices in the country’s justice system. On the other hand, the absence of clear laws and policies related to the legitimacy of the informal justice systems, the level of administration to which they should be accountable, their interconnection with the formal courts and other state structures, the scope of application of their jurisdiction and their financial transactions are found to be serious challenges that demand immediate attention. Some of the hitherto existing research works are found to be scattered, poorly cross-referenced and out-of-the-reach of researchers and readers; while others are shallow in their investigative depth and limited in thematic and geographical coverage. In order to address these challenges and dilemmas, the article recommends the establishment of a new regulatory organ at macro level that has the capability and legitimacy to adapt and harmonise PDRMs in ways that can preserve the traditional African indigenous values and at the same time respect international human rights convention.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Religion, and Justice
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

874. Accounting for violence in Eastern Congo: Young people’s narratives of war and peace in North and South Kivu

Author:
Denis Bentrovato
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
In the last two decades, wars and mass violence have marked much of the life of ordinary people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In its eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, an entire generation has grown up knowing little else than conflict and deprivation. This article intends to give a voice to young Congolese in this troubled region in the heart of Africa. The article is based on the results of a survey that was conducted at the end of 2009 among nearly one thousand students. It examines the way young people in the Kivu make sense of the prevalence of violence in their home-provinces and the solutions they envision for a peaceful future. In its analysis, the article exposes a predominant role of ‘the Rwandese’ in Congolese narratives of war and peace. Influenced by fresh memories of war, various respondents exhibited Manichean views and deep-seated feelings of resentment towards those who were deemed responsible for the Congo’s recent suffering. This article argues that, unless such understandings and sentiments are acknowledged and addressed, the risk of further escalation of conflict will continue to loom on the horizon. Educational and cultural programmes targeting the youth and their views of ‘the other’ are here proposed as a promising peacebuilding measure that should complement existing efforts to promote stability in the region.
Topic:
Education, War, Culture, Youth, Violence, Peace, and Narrative
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

875. Ethiopian customary dispute resolution mechanisms: Forms of restorative justice?

Author:
Endalew Lijalem Enyew
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
The customary dispute resolution mechanisms of Ethiopia are playing an important role in resolving crimes of any kind and maintaining peace and stability in the community though they are not recognised by law and not properly organised. The customary dispute resolution mechanisms are run by elders; involve reconciliation of the conflicting parties and their respective families using different customary rituals where needed; emphasise the restitution of victims and reintegration of offenders; and aim at restoring the previous peaceful relationship within the community as well as maintaining their future peaceful relationships by avoiding the culturally accepted practices of revenge. However, despite the fact that Ethiopia’s indigenous knowledge base of customary justice practice has the enormous advantage of implementing the ideals of restorative justice, restorative justice has not yet taken root in the criminal justice system of Ethiopia. This article examines the legal, de jure, and factual, de facto, jurisdictions of Ethiopian customary dispute resolution mechanisms in resolving criminal matters, and explores whether they are compatible with the core values and principles of restorative justice. Based on the analysis of the relevant legislations, literature in restorative justice and customary dispute resolution mechanisms, and interviews, it is found that Ethiopian customary dispute resolution mechanisms are compatible with the values and principles of restorative justice. Hence, it is argued that the customary mechanisms of Ethiopia can be used as a basis to develop restorative justice programmes if they are properly institutionalised and sufficient legal recognition is provided for their functioning.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Community, and Restorative Justice
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

876. Relevance of the law of international organisations in resolving international disputes: A review of the AU/ICC impasse

Author:
Mba Chidi Nmaju
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
The paper examines the legal nature of the dispute between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the African Union (AU), and observes that the core issue revolves around the arrest warrant issued by the Court for Al-Bashir. Therefore, it locates this to be within a legal rather than political impasse. The paper argues that the general rules of the law of international organisations may provide the key to resolving the impasse. And that accordingly, the general principles of the regime of international law point to the interpretation of the provisions of the constitutions of the two international organisations to identify the extent to which they were empowered to make the decisions that resulted in the dispute. The provisions of the Rome Statute on immunity are identified as providing the key to the resolution. Therefore the interpretation of the Statute on the immunity of certain state officials is important. The paper argues that accordingly the ICC should change its approach to the arrest of certain officials in order to prevent facilitating the violation of the customary principles of diplomatic immunity in international law – which should have also been codified in treaties. Such an interpretation of the Rome Statute would indicate that states should exercise caution in arresting a sitting Head of State such as Sudanese President Al-Bashir until such a time that he leaves office or that Sudan waives his immunity.
Topic:
International Law, International Organization, International Criminal Court (ICC), African Union, and Omar al-Bashir
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

877. International justice should prosecute beyond the bounds of Africa

Author:
Max du Plessis
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The ICC has a blind spot which is crippling its credibility
Topic:
Security and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa, Palestine, and Syria

878. Africa's Third Liberation: The New Search for Prosperity and Jobs

Author:
Marian L. Tupy
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The new millennium has been good to Africa. Its economy grew at an average annual rate of 4.9 percent between 2000 and 2008. Then came the financial crisis and growth dipped to 2 percent. Since 2009, the International Monetary Fund estimates growth has averaged 5.4 percent. Between 2001 and 2010, six out of the ten fastest growing economies were in Africa. This trend, the Fund predicts, will continue.
Topic:
International Monetary Fund
Political Geography:
Africa

879. Leading on the Cheap? French Security Policy in Austerity

Author:
Bruno Tertrais
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Washington Quarterly
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
Who would have predicted in early 2011-just before the Libya operation was decided-that cash-strapped, inwardly-focused, soul-searching France would embark over the next two years on a flurry of military operations and bold strategic moves? These included a de facto regime change in Libya, ousting former President Gbagbo in Ivory Coast, recapturing Northern Mali and destroying a jihadist sanctuary, and supporting the Free Syrian Army, not to mention other minor operations such as reinforcing its presence in the Central African Republic. Even in France, many of those who supported continuing a strong interventionist policy were surprised. How can one explain this phenomenon? Can France really afford to remain a global power at a time when the Hollande administration is imposing some of the heaviest cuts ever in budgetary expenses?
Political Geography:
Africa, Libya, and Syria

880. Africa's Turn

Author:
Macky Sall
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Since it gained independence from France in 1960, the West African country of Senegal has been a bastion of stability and democracy on a continent that has seen relatively little of either. During the presidency of Abdoulaye Wade (2000–2012), however, the Senegalese exception seemed under threat. The elderly Wade grew increasingly authoritarian and corrupt, and he managed to run for a third term even though the constitution prohibited him from doing so. But in March 2012, Senegalese voters dealt Wade a decisive defeat, electing the reformist candidate Macky Sall instead. Trained in France as a geological engineer, Sall had served in a number of government posts under Wade, including prime minister, before publicly breaking with him in 2007. In opposition, Sall created a new political party; served a second term as mayor of his hometown, Fatick; and organized an anti-Wade coalition. Sall spoke with Foreign Affairs senior editor Stuart Reid in Dakar in June, days before U.S. President Barack Obama's arrival in Senegal for a state visit.
Topic:
Governance
Political Geography:
Africa and Europe

881. Hunger, Food Security, and the African Land Grab

Author:
Richard Schiffman
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
If you were organizing dinner parties for the world, you would need to put out 219,000 more place settings every night than you had the night before. That is how fast the Earth's population is growing. But global agricultural production is currently f ailing to keep pace. A June 2012 report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sees trouble looming ahead, warning that "land and water resources are now much more stressed than in the past and are becoming scarcer."
Political Geography:
Africa

882. Prosecuting International Crimes in Africa: Rationale, Prospects and Challenges

Author:
Ademola Abass
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The January 2013 Summit of Assembly of the African Union Heads of State, to which its July 2012 predecessor had deferred the matter concerning the conferment on the African Court of international criminal jurisdiction, did not adopt the enabling Protocol. Instead, it requested that the AU Commission 'conduct a more thorough reflection … on the issue of popular uprising … on the appropriate mechanism capable of deciding the legitimacy of such an uprising … and [to] submit a report on the financial and structural implication of [expanding] the jurisdiction of the African Court … to try international crimes'. Whether the AU will ever adopt the draft protocol is uncertain and of less relevance, at the moment, to a discussion of some previously unappreciated rationales behind conferring on an African regional court international criminal jurisdiction and of certain constraints that will prevent the Court from effectively prosecuting international crimes in Africa, even if the protocol ever enters into force.
Political Geography:
Africa

883. Regions and Regionalism

Author:
Fredrik Soderbaum
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
Over the last two decades there has been a veritable explosion of research and policy discussion on regional integration and regionalism all over the world. Some of the most influential thinkers in the field emphasize that regions and regionalism are now central to global politics. For instance, Peter Katzenstein rejects the “purportedly stubborn persistence of the nation-state or the inevitable march of globalization,” arguing that we are approaching a “world of regions.” Similarly, Amitav Acharya examines the “emerging regional architecture of world politics,” whereas Barry Buzan and Ole Weaver speak about a “global order of strong regions.” “Regions are now everywhere across the globe and are increasingly fundamental to the functioning of all aspects of world affairs from trade to conflict management, and can even be said to now constitute world order,” Rick Fawn writes. While there is a strong tendency in both policy and academia to acknowledge the importance of regions and regionalism, the approach of different academic specializations varies considerably, and regionalism/regional integration means different things to different people in different contexts. Such diversity could be productive. However, the prevailing diversity is a sign of both weakness and fragmentation. We are witnessing a general lack of dialogue among academic disciplines and regional specializations (European integration, Latin American, Asian, and African regionalism) as well as theoretical traditions (rationalism, institutionalism, constructivism, critical and postmodern approaches). There is also thematic fragmentation in the sense that various forms of regionalism, such as economic, security, and environmental regionalism, are only rarely related to one another. Such fragmentation undermines further generation of cumulative knowledge as well as theoretical innovation. It also leads to unproductive contestations, among both academics and policy makers, about the meaning of regionalism, its causes and effects, how it should be studied, what to compare and how, and not least, what are the costs and benefits of regionalism and regional integration
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America

884. Mali: This is Only the Beginning

Author:
Baz Lecocq
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
Finally, the situation in Mali was rotten enough for international intervention. First because the mujahideen of Ansar Dine, the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA), along with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), only had to exercise a little pressure at the front in Konna, to let the last remnants of the Malian Army fall apart.1 Second because the Malian Interim President, Dioncounda Traoré, installed after the coup d'état against President Amadou Toumani Touré of 22 March 2012, faced yet another coup d'état from this same decrepit army, set heavily against foreign intervention as it might upset its power within Mali, which led him to formally ask France for military support, believing he had nothing to lose.2 Undoubtedly, the French Ministry of Defense and French Military HQ État-Major des Armées had a plan ready despite President Hollande's public assurances that France would not pursue a neocolonial intervention in a sovereign state. France has historically intervened militarily in West Africa whenever the situation allowed.3 In the past decade, Mali had become more and more part of the U.S. sphere of influence in Africa as U.S. armed forces trained Malian troops in counter terrorism operations. This was without much success, as is now clear, but France must have looked with disquiet upon their loss of influence. Then there are the uranium mines at Imouraren in neighboring Niger, only a few hundred kilometers from the mujahideen controlled zone in Mali. A further degradation of the security situation in Mali would certainly pose a threat to these French strategic interests
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, France, West Africa, and Mali

885. The Technologist's Dilemma: Ethical Challenges of Using Crowdsourcing Technology in Conflict and Disaster-Affected Regions

Author:
Charles Martin-Shields
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
The growth of mobile phone technology and Internet access globally has affected peoples' lives in various ways. For the field of governance and conflict management, this has meant unprecedented levels of information sharing from within conflict and crisis zones. As Internet access has expanded across Africa, entities like Kenya's Ushahidi—which build digital maps to publicly display real-time SMS text messages and social media feeds geographically—have been changing the way that citizens share their experiences of violence as they are happening. Probably the most important of these technologies—mobile phones— have expanded exponentially across the developing world; many countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific have mobile phone market saturation rates of over 100 percent. The international development community has been actively developing tools and methods for using mobile phones for outreach and project monitoring for years; the governance and conflict management fields are beginning to find effective ways to use mobile phones and SMS text messaging. While there has been excitement about the way these technologies can improve the work of conflict resolution and governance professionals, less popular attention has been paid to the unique risks and ethical challenges associated with using these tools in highly unstable political and social environments such as conflict zones. In these types of situations, crowdsourcing raises ethical issues of privacy, transparency of purpose and data protection. However, having secure technical data collection and storage procedures are not sufficient because most security failures are due to human error. To ethically run a crowdsourcing program in a conflict or disaster-affected environment, organizations need to ensure that their staffs and the “crowd” participating in the project have been trained to use the technologies and assess the unique risks of the digital information environment. This article will review the literature on digital information regulation, explore how the crisis response and crowdsourcing fields have evolved their data protection procedures and review the current state of practice for humanitarian crowdsourcing ethics and data security
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

886. Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya: A Comparative Analysis of Causes and Determinants

Author:
Ufiem Maurice Ogbonnaya
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
The Arab Spring, a pro-democracy uprising which has been sweeping through North Africa and the entire Arab world since 2010, has been described as a cataclysmic revolutionary wave that has seen the over-throw of numerous political regimes in its wake. This has had great impacts on the political developments and democratic governance in the Arab world in particular and the world in general. Though the political, environmental and socio-economic factors and variables that resulted in and sustained the revolutions in the affected states appear similar in nature, they vary from one country to the other. Using the MO Ibrahim Foundation Index, Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index among others on selected indicators, this paper draws a comparative analysis of the key factors and variables that gave rise to the Arab Spring. The paper focuses particularly on the North African countries of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Findings show that the inability of governments in these affected states to respond adequately to the growing demands of political inclusion, good governance, job creation and policies of inclusive growth played fundamental roles in awakening the people's consciousness, resulting in the revolutions. This paper recommends the institutionalization of participatory and multiparty democracy and the implementation of people-oriented policies such as job creation and the introduction of poverty reduction programmes among others, as a means of sustaining the success of the revolutions.
Political Geography:
Africa, Libya, Arabia, and Egypt

887. The Effect of New Turkish Foreign Policy on International Trade

Author:
Abdulkadir Civan, Savas Genc, Davut Taser, and Sinem Atakul
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Turkish foreign policy has changed substantially within the last decade. Even though its relationship with the West still has significance, relations with neighboring countries and other countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia have improved. This new foreign policy incorporates Turkey's political and economic aspirations. Its aim is to utilize the country's economic strength in order to reach political goals while simultaneously using political tools to obtain economic benefits. This study analyzes the effects of the recent change in foreign policy on Turkey's international trade. Specifically, we investigate the influence of Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan's foreign visits on international trade by using a standard trade gravity model. Statistical analyses imply that Erdoğan's visits help increase Turkish international trade.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and Asia

888. The Malian Crisis and its Actors

Author:
Dario Cristiani and Riccardo Fabiani
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The structural problems characterising Mali interlocked with the dynamics of crisis triggered by the war in Libya in 2011, causing the collapse of one of the few African democracies. The Tuareg rebellion of 2012, the coup d'état and the Islamist takeover of Northern Mali were the three key phases of this crisis, which pushed France - the former colonial patron - to intervene military. After analysing the major local actors involved in the crisis, the article critically analyses the engagement of the EU in the crisis.
Topic:
Islam
Political Geography:
Africa, France, and Mali

889. Third Worldism and Ahmadinejad's Foreign Policy

Author:
Fariborz Arghavani Pirsalami
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
Abstract:
This article aims at examining the reasons for the focus of the Iran's foreign policy under the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on third world countries, especially Africa and Latin America. With the coming to power of the Ahmadinejad government, Iranian foreign policy orientation underwent a great shift from détente and cooperation with the West to expanding relations with third world countries. In examining the reason for this change, this article argues that a certain kind of perception of constructive doctrine and a reaction to Khatami's foreign policy, failure in converging and a coalition – building with the peripheral environment, and some common views between Iran and Africa and Latin American countries regarding the nature of international order provided grounds for Iranian foreign policy to focus on the third world in this period. For this study the article explores national, regional and international issues. Relying upon a theoretical view based on the level of analysis in foreign policy, the author while studying the main reasons for paying attention to the third world in Iranian foreign policy, explores the grounds and reasons for the realization of this approach in Ahmadinejad's era.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Africa, America, Iran, and Latin America

890. Towards a Taxonomy of Militaries in Contemporary Africa

Author:
Jeffrey Herbst, Alan Doss, and Greg Mills
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
PRISM
Institution:
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:
The African development and governance picture is today highly differentiated with some countries developing successful democracies while riding a wave of growth, others facing outright institutional failure, and a great number in-between. Critical to understanding the different paths that countries have taken, and the likely even greater divergences in the future, is the relationship between civilians and soldiers. Starting soon after independence in the early 1960s, the seizure of power by soldiers was emblematic of the problems African states faced in promoting good governance. Now, at a time when most soldiers are back in their barracks, economic growth has accelerated and democratization has progressed. However, the picture varies greatly from country-to-country. In this paper, we develop a taxonomy of African militaries to understand why some countries have better civil-military relations than others, what is the likely path in the future, and the potential role, if any, for outsiders. African militaries are characterised, just as African states themselves, by different capacities and civil-military records.
Topic:
Security, Cold War, Political Economy, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, and Sierra Leone

891. BRAZILIAN PERSPECTIVES ON THE CONVERGENCE OF SISBIN AND ZOPACAS

Author:
Sérgio Gonçalves de Amorim
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
This communication aims to address Brazilian perspectives on the convergence between Brazilian Intelligence System (SISBIN, in Portuguese), a Brazilian State institutional arrangement in the national defense sector established in 1999, and the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (ZOPACAS, in Portuguese), a multilateral negotiation mechanism approved by the United Nations (UN), in 1986, following the initiative of Brazilian diplomacy. This paper, therefore, aims at analyzing the convergence of a country's internal and external security and defense policies in a given regional context.
Political Geography:
Africa, Brazil, South America, and Portugal

892. SOUTH ATLANTIC, SOUTHERN AFRICA AND SOUTH AMERICA: COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Author:
Analúcia Danilevicz Pereira
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
The South Atlantic is responsible for linking South America to Africa, but it is, first, also a strategic space for political, technical and commercial exchanges between both continents. Historically considered a commercial region involving Europe, Latin America and Africa, the Atlantic Ocean resumes its geo-economic and geopolitical importance due to its great natural resources, as well as to the turnaround of geopolitics towards South. Though it has huge importance since the colonial era, it is since the 1970s' Oil Crisis that this ocean had its prominence re-dimensioned, boosting the debate on limited maritime borders, but mainly on the exploration of its natural resources. Moreover, the incapacity of the two current interoceanic waterways – Suez and Panama – in responding demands and receiving more important ships increased the pressures on the area. Besides the oil reserves and the ecosystems located in the Atlantic, there is a diversity of other resources that might benefit the economic development of the countries lying on both margins.
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, South America, and Latin America

893. SOUTH ATLANTIC: THE RELATIONS BETWEEN BRAZIL AND AFRICA IN THE FIELD OF SECURITY AND DEFENSE

Author:
Sérgio Luiz Cruz Aguilar
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
While the South Atlantic conditioned the preparation and employment of naval forces in the context of defense of the Americas during the Cold War, today this area is presented to the country's foreign policy as a strategic priority and as a hub for Brazil's international insertion. Consequently, within the framework of the so-called South-South cooperation, which conformed in the 1970s and gained momentum in the post-Cold War, Brazil has been signing a series of agreements with African countries, especially those located on the western coast of the continent. In addition to the economic, political and technological areas, cooperation is also taking place in the field of security and defense.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
Africa, America, Brazil, and South Atlantic

894. Security Cooperation in SADC: SADC on the Way to Security Community?

Author:
Linda Piknerová
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
This text aims to analyze security cooperation in the Southern African Development Community. The article is based on two theoretical approaches, the first one is a concept of security community, the second one is a human security. Both theories have become widely accepted in the early 1990s because of their ability to cover wider international changes. The Southern African Development Community is seen as a regional integration plan which aspires to become a security community in Karl Deutsch's sense. Beside the both mentioned theories, the text deals with the history of security cooperation in the south of Africa and its changes. The main discussed question is wheher the SADC could be understood as a newly emerging security community.
Topic:
Security, NATO, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Africa, Iran, Middle East, Asia, France, and Arabia

895. Decaf empowerment? Post-Washington Consensus development policy, fair trade and Kenya's coffee industry

Author:
Zoë Pflaeger
Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Relations and Development
Institution:
Central and East European International Studies Association
Abstract:
There has been much debate surrounding the shift in development policy towards the Post-Washington Consensus and its associated Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. This article seeks to engage critically with and further this literature by considering the concept of empowerment and its role within this consensus through an examination of development policy aimed at farmer empowerment in Kenya. This is investigated with a focus upon coffee producers in the context of Kenya's coffee reforms and the restructuring of the global coffee industry. While acknowledging the limitations of the dominant approach, exacerbated in the African context due to a problematic interpretation of the African state, it is argued that analyses of empowerment should also consider the opportunities for its re-politicisation. Drawing upon Gramscian thought, this article suggests that fair trade initiatives have the potential to offer an alternative approach to farmer empowerment more capable of challenging the concentration of power among roasters and buyers that has taken place within the coffee industry.
Topic:
Development
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, and Washington

896. The Somali Question

Author:
Mwaura Samora
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
NAIROBI—Throngs of traders haggle and jostle for goods along busy streets, constantly interrupted by the hooting of matatus, local public transport vehicles, and the shouting of pushcart drivers, known as mkokotenis. This neighborhood is no place for the squeamish. The matatus and the mkokotenis make their way through deep, water-filled potholes, splashing thick, dark liquid onto crowded sidewalks. Like the badly damaged roads, the sewage system in Nairobi's Eastleigh district was built by British colonists in the 1920s to service a few hundred working-class Africans and Indians, but now it must bear the waste of over 100,000 residents. Today raw sewage oozes out of thousands of household pipes that have ruptured after decades of neglect. The dark green sludge mixes with runoff in the streets to form a foul porridge of human excrement.
Political Geography:
Africa, India, Somalia, and Nairobi

897. Fools' Gold

Author:
Jonathan Ewing
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
KINSHASA, Congo—Joachim Andersson owned and operated a string of failed businesses before he founded Mineral Invest and began mining for gold in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. During the 1980s, Andersson worked as a pastry chef at an all-night café in a Stockholm suburb. It was the kind of place frequented by taxi drivers and prostitutes. Stolen goods were fenced in the café, and Andersson learned about precious metals. During the 1990s, he began dealing in minerals from Africa, and he was sentenced to five years in prison for tax evasion relating to importing gold.
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

898. Rethinking Ivory: Why Trade in Tusks Won't Go Away

Author:
John Frederick Walker
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
TSAVO WEST, Kenya—Two years ago, in what was billed as a defiant message to elephant poachers, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki arrived by helicopter at a dusty airstrip in Tsavo West National Park to set fire to five tons of seized contraband ivory.
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

899. The Big Question: How should borders be drawn?

Author:
Bonnie Glaser, Tsuneo Akaha, Aarthi Rao, Ruairi Nolan, Peter Taylor, Howard Eissenstat, Eun- Ju Kim, Anssi Paasi, Henk van Houtum, and Richard Schofield
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Boundaries define nations. Across Europe and Asia, through Africa and Latin America, old frontiers are being challenged. The primacy of the state is under increased scrutiny as the telecommunications revolution erases once impermeable divides. We have asked our panel of global experts how borders should be drawn on land, on sea, and in the blogosphere.
Topic:
Demographics, Science and Technology, International Affairs, Communications, and Border Control
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America

900. Kimberley's Illicit Process

Author:
Khadija Sharife and John Grobler
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
ANTWERP—Somewhere between Africa's diamond mines and the dazzling diamond bazaars of Dubai and Antwerp, a Belgian company called Omega Diamonds has constructed a financial triangular trade, where at least $3.5 billion worth of diamond profits simply vanished between 2001 and 2008. And, if Belgian investigators are to be believed, there was little anyone could do about it. Not only did Dubai authorities deliberately turn a blind eye to questionable corporate practices of tax evasion and systematic under-invoicing—"tax optimization" being the preferred term—but the Dubai Multi-Commodities Center (DMCC) leadership appears to have actively blocked investigation by other governments. Instead of being busted and black-balled from the industry, Omega Diamonds, owned by two of the largest industry players, was handed a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Political Geography:
Africa