Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Africa Content Type Journal Article

1101. Amenazas a la estabilidad en la Nigeria actual

Author:
Leandro Martínez Peñas
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Athena Intelligence Journal
Institution:
Athena Intelligence
Abstract:
Nigeria is a country that develops a crucial role in African balance. This fact is due to its population, its oil and mining resources, and its importance for the regional sphere, especially on Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea. For this reason it must pay attention to the problems in which this State is involved, as secessionism and uprising, organized criminality, ecological damage, religious and ethnic tensions. Moreover it must be taken on account that democracy has been established in this region for a relatively short period of time. All these elements seriously threaten the stability of the most populated African nation.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

1102. Zimbabwe: Benchmarks to Recovery

Author:
James D. McGee
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
For years analysts have been predicting that Zimbabwe had reached rock bottom and that a turn-around was imminent. For years they have been wrong, and Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party have maintained political control while simultaneously destroying Zimbabwe's once thriving economy. The question now is whether the postelection violence and hyper-inflation of 2008 finally marked the turning point for Zimbabwe, and if the new unity government can begin to bring Zimbabwe out of its decade-long collapse.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Africa and Zimbabwe

1103. Farm Futures: Bringing Agriculture Back to U.S. Foreign Policy

Author:
Catherine Bertini and Dan Glickman
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Hunger remains one of world's gravest humanitarian problems, but the United States has failed to prioritize food aid and agricultural development. Washington must put agriculture at the center of development aid -- and make it a key part of a new U.S. foreign policy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, Washington, and Asia

1104. Darfur: Koruma Yükümlülüğü ve İnsancıl Müdahale Kavramları Çerçevesinde Bir İnceleme

Author:
Funda Keskin
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
There is no doubt that gross human rights violations in Darfur exceed the limits of the responsibility to protect of the international community. During the discussions about the situation in Darfur in the Security Council, especially China and Russia put forward the principle of state sovereignty as an argument against intervention. Whatever the result about this contention, it is not possible to take a decision at the Security Council authorizing the member states to intervene in Darfur due to veto right of the permanent members. The African Union as the regional organization would not able to intervene due to its limited capacity and the lack of political will. According to some commentators and states, states like the US or the European Union members who endorse the concept of the responsibility to protect must be able to intervene. Nevertheless, although they never accepted the objection based on the state sovereignty, these states do not have the required political will to intervene by force. This brings us to the result that the major criticism directed against the humanitarian intervention which is its application on a selective basis, persists for the concept of the responsibility to protect as well.
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, China, and Europe

1105. Africa's Capitalist Revolution

Author:
Ethan B. Kapstein
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
In one of the great ironies of history, Africa may well emerge from the current global recession as the only region in the world that remains committed to global capitalism. While the tired industrialized nations of the West are nationalizing their banks and engaging in various forms of protectionism, Africa remains open for business -- promoting trade, foreign direct investment, and domestic entrepreneurship. Analysts in the industrialized countries are concerned that foreign aid flows to Africa might drop because of the recession, but Africans themselves are much more worried about rising barriers to their exports and diminishing private investment from abroad, which could impede the continuation of the impressive economic progress the continent has made over the past decade. It is still a well-kept secret that the African continent has been in the midst of a profound economic transformation. Since 2004, economic growth has boomed at an average level of six percent annually, on par with Latin America. This rate will undoubtedly decline as a result of the global financial crisis, but the International Monetary Fund still projects growth of around 1.5 percent for this year and four percent for 2010 throughout Africa -- a relatively healthy figure by today's depressing standards. International trade now accounts for nearly 60 percent of Africa's GDP (far above the level for Latin America), and foreign direct investment in Africa has more than doubled since 1998, to over $15 billion per year. Overall, private-sector investment constitutes more than 20 percent of GDP. Furthermore, since 1990, the number of countries with stock markets in sub-Saharan Africa has tripled and the capitalization of those exchanges has risen from virtually nothing to $245 billion (that is, outside of South Africa, which has long had an active stock exchange). These "frontier" markets have, until recently, given investors huge returns compared to those found in other emerging economies.
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
Africa and Latin America

1106. Democracy in Muslim Contexts: What Africa Can Bring to the Discussion?

Author:
Leonardo A. Villalón
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
While the question of the relationship between Islam and democracy continues to attract significant attention from scholars and policymakers, African cases have been largely absent from these debates. This article argues that the experiences of sub-Saharan African Muslim societies may nevertheless have much to contribute to our understanding of democratic prospects in the Muslim world. Considering the experiences of three Francophone countries of Sahelian West Africa, it explores the ways in which the democratization experiments led by secular civil society activists in the early 1990s moved from the initial resistance of deeply religious Muslim majorities to an acceptance of democracy as the only legitimating bases of political systems. The article argues that this was possible due to the significant negotiation both within religious society and between religious groups and the secular elite on the actual content of democracy. These cases thus suggest a number of tentative but important lessons for our understanding of democratic possibilities in the Muslim world.
Political Geography:
Africa

1107. China-Africa Relations in the 21st Century: Engagement, Compromise and Controversy

Author:
Keiran E. Uchehara
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
China's foreign policy agenda in Africa forms a part of its thrust to foster cooperation among the developing countries and demonstrate its status as an emerging superpower. The 2000 Beijing Declaration and the Program for China-Africa Cooperation in Economic and Social Development are the basis of the renewed relations. China has developed diverse and varied relations with Africa in all spheres of interaction. However, Africa's mineral and energy resources, required by China's bourgeoning industry, are the major attraction of its re-engagement with Africa in the 21st century. The accelerated growth of China's trade and investment in Africa has stirred controversy among academics and policy makers in terms of the nature of opportunities and challenges for the continent's development, and whether a neo-colonial pattern of relationship akin to the one with the West is likely to develop. The imbalance in trade and investment relations, partly due to economic asymmetries, and China's failure to condemn the repressive African governments and poorly managed economies point to a foreign economic policy which is self-serving and influenced by immediate short-term gains.
Political Geography:
Africa and China

1108. The African Growth and Opportunity Act and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:
James S. Guseh and Emmanuel O. Oritsejafor
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Since most sub-Saharan African countries gained independence from colonial rule in the 1960s and 1970s, achieving economic growth and development has been a central objective of governments in the region, as well as international donor organizations. The Organization of African Unity—now the African Union—was established (among other initiatives) to promote development at the economic, social, and cultural levels, and to foster the integration of African economies. In order to address specific regional concerns, organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States, East African Community, and Southern African Development Community, were also established. At the same time, several international organizations, including the United Nations, African Development Bank, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund, expressed their commitment to improving economic conditions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through billions of dollars worth of funding and various forms of policy consultation. In addition to the support from these international organizations, governments of many developed countries have also provided vast amounts of development assistance.
Topic:
United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa and East Africa

1109. The Foundations of Rights in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: A Historical and Philosophical Account

Author:
Thoko Kaime
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
This article examines the cultural-based critiques of the international human rights paradigm generally and children's rights in particular, with specific reference to Africa. In this regard, the paper attempts to identify gaps in the analyses of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Towards that end, the paper proceeds in three parts. In the first section, it situates the discussion within the general framework of children's rights at international law. In the next section, it turns to an examination of the culture-based critiques of the idea of universal rights. Finally, in the fourth and fifth sections, it analyses the documents and literature that focus on the rights and welfare of the child. In the concluding section, the author raises several important questions regarding the propriety of this special category of human rights in the African context.
Political Geography:
Africa

1110. Armed Conflicts in Africa and Western Complicity: A Disincentive for African Union's Cooperation with the ICC

Author:
Ifeonu Eberechi
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
Intrinsic in the concept of international justice for violations of international humanitarian law is the requirement of cooperation by states and, to a large extent, regional bodies with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Unlike domestic courts, the ICC is not endowed with law enforcement power nor could such power be imputed to it as part of its functions. It is against this background that the on-going crisis of corporation between the ICC and the African Union (AU) following the indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for international crime portends a far reaching implication for the administration of international criminal accountability. As part of a broader diagnosis of the reasons for the AU's opposition, this paper, while discussing armed conflicts in Africa, which provides the fillip for gross human rights violations in the region, exposes the contributions of the West. It concludes that an effective enforcement of international justice in the region must include an inquiry into the role of international actors and Western powers in promoting and exacerbating the situation.
Political Geography:
Africa

1111. L'Afrique et le système de justice pénale internationale

Author:
Pacifique Manirakiza
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
Africa has been ravaged by armed conflicts and/or oppressive regimes for decades. During those conflicts or oppressive regimes, heinous crimes such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed and made millions of victims. Among these, only a handful number saw some justice. This was possible essentially because the international community took a vigorous stance against the impunity of war criminals and genocidaires by creating international judicial mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), to deal with it. Also, some individual African States have prosecuted international crimes within their municipal courts as well as some western States based on the universal jurisdiction principle. This article analyses the African contribution to the building of the international criminal justice system. It also addresses the African objections against the ICC intervention in Africa and the use of the universal jurisdiction criticized as a form of imperialism and neo-colonialism disguised in a judicial form. It concludes by exploring the feasibility of an African Criminal Court.
Political Geography:
Africa

1112. The Human Rights System, Activist Forces, and International Institutions

Author:
Yemisi Dina
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
Professor Henry Steiner et al in the book International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals: Texts and Materials described the African System as the “newest, least developed or effective.....most distinctive and most controversial”. However the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights even though in its infancy has managed to be an effective international human rights instrument according to the findings of the study conducted by Professor Obiora Okafor in his book The African Human Rights System, Activist Forces And International Institutions. The book is a testamentary evidence of some of the achievements of this system through the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The African continent is faced with a number of regional obstacles but Okafor has contributed his well researched work to scholarship by documenting some of the critical issues in the area of international human rights which cannot be found anywhere else. The book can also serve as casebook on African.
Political Geography:
Africa

1113. China's diplomacy toward Africa: drivers and constraints

Author:
Linda Jakobson
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
The increasingly multi-faceted engagement of China in Africa is part of China's growing global reach. Chinese diplomats strive to promote an image of a peacefully rising power, whereas Chinese businessmen seek natural resources and export markets. As a result, those responsible for Chinese foreign policy strategic thinking struggle to accommodate the needs of this diverse group of actors in Africa, well aware that as a major power, Beijing is expected to address international crisis. In Washington and Brussels, China is criticized for its support of despotic African regimes and its aid programs 'with no strings attached'. In Sudan, in particular, China's credibility as a responsible nation is questioned. This article provides a concise overview of China's evolving diplomacy toward Africa, highlighting the Sino-Sudan relationship, with the aim of shedding light on the drivers and constraints on Beijing's motives and actions on the African continent. The article assesses some of the implications of Beijing's policy choices in Africa for its international relations.
Political Geography:
Africa, China, and Beijing

1114. Tithing at the Crude Altar

Author:
Michael T. Klare
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The National Interest
Abstract:
PRESIDENT BARACK Obama has often stated that one of his highest priorities is to vanquish the "tyranny of oil" by developing alternative sources of energy and substantially reducing America's reliance on imported petroleum. But we will not be energy independent for the next thirty to forty years, even with a strong push to increase energy efficiency and spur the development of petroleum alternatives. During this time, America will remain dependent on oil derived from authoritarian regimes, weak states and nations in the midst of civil war.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, Iraq, America, and Middle East

1115. What's So Special About Ghana?

Author:
Donald Teitelbaum
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
President Obama's July visit focused global attention on Ghana. His speech to the Ghanaian Parliament, however, was clearly a message to the African continent as a whole. He declared that “…this moment is just as promising for Ghana—and for Africa—as the moment when my father came of age and new nations were being born. This is a new moment of promise. Only this time, we have learned that it will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa's future. Instead, it will be you—the men and women in Ghana's Parliament, and the people you represent. Above all, it will be the young people—brimming with talent and energy and hope—who can claim the future that so many in my father's generation never found.” Explaining why Ghana was a particularly relevant place to discuss Africa's future, President Obama stated, “Here in Ghana, you show us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or the need for charity. The people of Ghana have worked hard to put democracy on a firmer footing, with peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. And with improved governance and an emerging civil society, Ghana's economy has shown impressive rates of growth.” More pointedly, President Obama recognized that “time and again, Ghanaians have chosen Constitutional rule over autocracy, and shown a democratic spirit that allows the energy of your people to break through.”
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

1116. Al-Qa`ida's Five Aspects of Power

Author:
Erich Marquardt
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
Seven and a half years after 9/11, the global community faces a resilient and dangerous al- Qa'ida. Despite immense efforts to understand al-Qa'ida, informed analysts disagree widely over its actual strength. Some consider the group a visceral and literal threat to Western civilization. Others proclaim the organization is irrelevant given the isolation of its senior leaders in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Finally, some point to al-Qa'ida's failure to prosecute meaningful attacks in the United States since 9/11, and the absence of successful large attacks in the West since the London bombings in 2005, as evidence of the organization's decline.
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, Iran, and London

1117. Africa and Anger: Algeria Remembers

Author:
James Jay Carafano
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
The publication of Martin Evans and John Phillips' Algeria: Anger of the Dispossessed could not be more timely or necessary. Recently, the Pentagon established the U.S. Africa Command—AFRICOM. Its creation was not due to plans by the military to invade any African nation. In fact, the motivation for creating the command was the opposite: to disprove the notion that the outside world needs to solve the problems of Africans for them. Establishing AFRICOM will make the United States a more knowledgeable and more effective partner in the region, and will not only preclude the need for armed intervention but will also support African solutions to Africa's issues.
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, and Algeria

1118. China and India Go to Africa: New Deals in the Developing World

Author:
Harry G. Broadman
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Economic activity between Africa and Asia, especially China and India, is booming like never before. If the problems and imbalances this sometimes creates are managed well, this expanding engagement could be an unprecedented opportunity for Africa's growth and for its integration into the global economy.
Political Geography:
Africa, China, India, and Asia

1119. Turkey's Foreign Policy Vision: An Assessment of 2007

Author:
Ahmet Davutoğlu
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Turkey's foreign policy needs a new orientation in the light of the new regional and global developments. As a major country in the midst of the Afro-Eurasia landmass, Turkey is a central country with multiple regional identities that cannot be reduced to one, unified category. In terms of its sphere of influence, Turkey is a Middle Eastern, Balkan, Caucasian, Central Asian, Caspian, Mediterranean, Gulf, and Black Sea country all at the same time. Turkey should appropriate a new position in its region by providing security and stability not only for itself but also for its neighbors and the region. Turkey's engagements from Africa to Central Asia and from EU to OIC are parts of new foreign policy vision. Domestically, Turkey needs to deepen and enrich its democracy, accommodate the differences within its society, and strengthen the coordination and balance among its institutions in 2008 and the years that follow. These initiatives will make Turkey a global actor as we approach 2023, the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic.
Political Geography:
Africa, Central Asia, and Turkey

1120. Germany, Afterwards

Author:
Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Human Rights and Human Welfare - Review Essays
Institution:
Josef Korbel Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver
Abstract:
Do human rights scholars need to learn more about the minutiae of the Nazi period, or the immediate post-war period? One wonders whether there is any benefit, other than one of historical interest, to learning about the way African-American soldiers and their children with white German women were treated under the American occupation of Germany. Similarly, one might wonder whether the study of continued German and American Catholic anti-Semitism after 1945 can be of any benefit, when the largest question concerning Jews in the 21st century is the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Moreover, in an age when mass rape in warfare is common, it may be mere prurience to read about mass rapes of German women by Russian soldiers. And since the fall of the Berlin Wall, do we need to know that East German Communists were often as corrupt as their Nazi predecessors?
Topic:
Civil Society and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa, America, Europe, Palestine, and Germany

1121. Migration and Cultural Interaction across the Centuries: German History in a European Perspective

Author:
Dirk Hoerder
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
German Politics and Society
Institution:
German Politics and Society Journal
Abstract:
Once upon a time, German studies seemed to be an easy field to define. Like fairytales, the resulting stories were addressed to a faithful audience—but here, an audience of adults, true believers in the nation and nation state. Today, by contrast, we understand that defining area studies is, in fact, a highly complex task involving overlapping regions and social spaces, and analyses of borderlands, interpenetrations, and métissage, as well as of processual structures and structured processes. Even geographies have become “processual.” The origins of area studies are often traced to the U.S., the hegemon in the Atlantic world's academe, and the emergence of American studies in the 1930s. Nevertheless, something like area studies also emerged in Europe in the late nineteenth century, juxtaposing 1) a country and its colonies; and 2) a country and its neighbors. The former were inferior societies, the latter competitors in world markets and, repeatedly, enemies in war. Area studies—after a preceding period of knowledge acquisition as reflected in early mapmaking— became colonial studies, competitor state studies, enemy state studies—in each case transnational, transterritorial, and transcultural. Unable to deal with the concept of “trans,” i.e., with fuzzy borders and shifting categories and geographies, scholars in each bordered country set their own society, their Self, as the “yardstick.” The Other, the delimited opposite, was meant as a background foil before which their respective own nation was to appear as the most advanced and to which—knowledge and interest are inextricably linked—the profits from worldwide trade and the spoils from colonial acquisitions were naturally due (Folien- or Spiegeltheorie). Since then, motivations for country studies have become more complex but they basically are framed still by bordered territories, “national culture,” national consciousness or identity, nation-state policies, and international relations. Once the ideology of “nation” is abandoned, the blindfold removed so to say, it appears that German-language people may be studied in America or Russia—or Africans, Poles, and Turks in the German-language societies (plural!).
Topic:
Sovereignty
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, America, Europe, Turkey, and Germany

1122. Tragedy, Surrogation and the Significance of African- American Culture in Postunification Germany: An Interpretation of Schultze Gets the Blues

Author:
Robert Pirro
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
German Politics and Society
Institution:
German Politics and Society Journal
Abstract:
In the aftermath of unification, the loss of job security and other forms of social support under East Germany's comprehensive (if increasingly inefficient and corrupt) system of welfare state paternalism, coupled with a newfound dependence on West German financial largesse, not only disoriented former East Germans, but also led to pressures on them to repress their past experiences of solidarity and distinctiveness. Schultze Gets the Blues, the critically acclaimed box office hit from director Michael Schorr, relates the story of a retired mineworker and accordionist for a town band in the economic backwaters of eastern Germany who undergoes a lifechanging conversion to the Cajun folk music of Zydeco. Drawing from Joseph Roach's notion of surrogation and Cornel West's articulation of an African-American tragic sensibility, this article casts Schultze in the role of a postunification mediating figure reconciling East German solidarity and localism with West German individualism and multiculturalism.
Political Geography:
Africa, America, and Germany

1123. The Crime of Genocide in Internatioanal Law and Underlying Social Structures of the Crime: Rwanda Case

Author:
Ebru Çoban
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
Genocide is a crime which is defined under internatioanal law in the twentieth century and could not come about without the ideological, bureaucratic power of a modern state with is sanctions and modern discources on identities and modern classifications. With a non-modern Picture but with modern techniques of governing Rwanda was a place that genocidal killings occured and is a place of a breaking case for modern theories. Rwanda has modern state characteristics in terms of monopoly of use of violence, giving orders and providing obidience of its people, surveillance, classification and registration of its people, and keeping discourses. Morever, Rwandan culture that gives great importance to obidence and Rwandan geography that is so suitable to surveillance become additional factors. In that sense, Rwandan government could influence to daily life of the people even to the smallest details of anyone. All factors provided a suitable bas efor the crime of genocide.
Topic:
Genocide, Government, and International Law
Political Geography:
Africa and Rwanda

1124. The Internationalization of Oil Violence in the Niger Delta of Nigeria

Author:
Victor Ojakorotu
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
This paper unpacks the crisis in the Niger Delta of Nigeria with reference to its external dimensions by which is meant the involvement of international non-governmental organisations in the politics of local environmental governance. It takes as its point of departure the events (in the 1990s) that underpinned the international community's engagement with an issue that could have been regarded as Nigeria's domestic affair and follows with an assessment of the impact of internationalisation of the crisis on the major actors in the region. It is noted that the crisis in the Niger Delta has been predicated for over four decades on a number of complex issues in Nigeria's geo-political landscape. The emergence of organized pressure groups (in the early 1990s) and their protestations against human rights abuses and environmental problems in the region added a 'new' dimension to the crisis. In tackling its thematic concern, this paper interrogates the involvement of the international civil society in the Niger Delta and concludes with an appraisal of the extent to which the internationalisation of the crisis engendered both attitudinal and policy shifts on the part of the main actors.
Topic:
Political Violence, Civil Society, and Oil
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

1125. International Election Observers in Africa: The Case of Ethiopia

Author:
Wondwosen Teshome B.
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
The question of inviting international election observers to monitor an election is one of the most controversial issues in Africa. Most of the time, the presence of international election monitors in emerging democracies is important to measure whether or not an election is conducted in a free and fair manner. But, sometimes it is regarded as the violation of a nation's sovereignty.
Topic:
Democratization and International Organization
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

1126. Keeping the Peace in Africa: Why "African" Solutions Are Not Enough

Author:
Paul D. Williams
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Since the early 1990s, a variety of African and Western governments alike have often suggested that finding "African solutions to African problems" represents the best approach to keeping the peace in Africa. Not only does the empirical evidence from post-Cold War Africa suggest that there are some fundamental problems with this approach, it also rests upon some problematic normative commitments. Specifically in relation to the problem of armed conflict, the "African solutions" logic would have at least three negative consequences: it would undermine the UN; it would provide a convenient excuse for powerful Western states that wished to avoid sending their own soldiers to peace operations in Africa; and it would help African autocrats fend off international, especially Western, criticism of their policies. After providing an overview of the constituent elements of the "African solutions" approach, this article sets out in general terms the central problems with it before turning to a specific illustration of how these problems affected the international responses to the ongoing war in Darfur, Sudan. Instead of searching for "African solutions", policymakers should focus on developing effective solutions for the complex challenges raised by the issue of armed conflict in Africa. To this end, Western states in general and the P-3 in particular should give greater support to conflict management activities undertaken by the United Nations, develop clearer guidelines for how these should relate to regional initiatives, and facilitate the efforts of civic associations to build the foundations for stable peace in the continent's war zones.
Topic:
Cold War and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa and Darfur

1127. Global (Re)vision: Musical Imagination in African America

Author:
Ingrid Monson
Publication Date:
08-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
African American music has always been global, for it would never have come into being without that international trade in human beings known as the Atlantic slave trade. As historians of the slave trade have noted, Americans of African descent came from a variety of ethnic groups primarily from Central and West Africa. Many stopped first in the Caribbean before being transported for sale in various American cities of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In the United States, unlike in the Caribbean, large groups of enslaved Africans from the same cultural group often did not reside together, which resulted in a synthesizing of diverse African cultural practices and values. People taken from what was then known as Senegambia (present day Senegal and Guinea) predominated numerically in the 17th century, but by the end of the North American slave trade approximately 40% of Africans in America came from central Africa (present day Cameroon, Gabon, both Congos, Central African Republic, Angola), 30% from the Gold Coast and Bight of Benin (present day Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin), 15% from Senegambia, and 15% from elsewhere on the continent. As Robert Farris Thompson's book Flash of the Spirit noted long ago, many traces of Yoruba, Kongo, and Mande cultural expression, religion, and visual arts can be found in North America.
Political Geography:
Africa, America, North America, and Nigeria

1128. Response to Monson - 1

Author:
Miriam Larson
Publication Date:
08-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
I am very pleased to have been invited to be part of this Roundtable and it has been a special pleasure to respond to the insights Professor Monson has offered about music and globalization. As a student of music and of critical race studies, I have encountered very little work that brings together these two fields so fluently. In particular, Professor Monson's critical analysis of Malian and African-American music suggests that music participants, including musicians, listeners, businesspeople, and so on, have the potential to change the inequalities that exist in our musical cultures. In my critical race studies courses, the application of critical theory to everyday practice is known as “praxis.” In other words, a frequent discussion question is how to apply critical analysis to everyday life in order to address the inequalities that exist in our world. Unlike many areas in academia, music departments are actively involved in teaching both analytical and technical aspects of musical performance. However, while the proximity of analysis and practice have the potential to form a critical praxis, music students are rarely challenged with reading material that integrates social critique with musical analysis as provocatively as Professor Monson does, and even less frequently are they encouraged to apply this analysis to their playing and performing.
Political Geography:
Africa and America

1129. Counter-Terrorism and the National Security of African States:Points of Convergence and Departure

Author:
Andrew Atta-Asamoah
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Security Sector Management
Institution:
Centre for Security Sector Management
Abstract:
Africa's recognition of the threat of terrorism to the continent has culminated in the galvanisation of national, regional and international efforts towards counter-terrorism. By addressing the safety of citizens, protection of territorial integrity and preservation of the primacy of states, these efforts converge with the classical demands of the national security of African states. However, certain practical fallouts from the implementation of these measures - such as human rights abuses - diverge from the overarching purpose of national security of states and undermine national cohesion and democratic principles. This article juxtaposes post-9/11 counter-terrorism efforts in Africa and the national security of African states arguing that more effective implementation strategies supporting counter-terrorism initiatives in Africa will not only help rid the continent of terrorist activities and associated threats but also help combat other criminal aspects of African society and security threats. However, if the drivers of Africa's counter-terrorism agenda do not steer initiatives clear of parochial politics and religion, the security of African states will be undermined by counter-terrorism.
Topic:
Security and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Africa

1130. Water and Gender: The Unexpected Connection That Really Matters

Author:
Vivienne Bennett, Sonia Davila-Poblete, and Maria Nieves Rico
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
Since the mid-1990s, worldwide focus on water scarcity has exploded. Attention has moved beyond the technical dimensions of water provision to the political and social contexts in which water management occurs. In many places, especially where water is scarce, control over water confers power. The political analysis of water is then an analysis of power relations. As social scientists have entered the water world, and more and more case studies are carried out in Latin America, Africa and Asia, another facet of the politics of water that has been brought to light is gender differentiation in water usage and water management. In our 2005 book, Opposing Currents: The Politics of Water and Gender in Latin America, we provided a framework for understanding the connection between water and gender and a review of the development of global water policy and gender policy since the early 1990s, using case studies from six Latin American countries to highlight the role of women in water management. We found that substantial change is still needed to overcome pernicious gender bias and imbalances that distort water management and lead to ineffective planning in the water sector.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
Africa, Asia, and Latin America

1131. Postcolonialism and Postcoloniality: A Premortem Prognosis

Author:
Narasingha P. Sil
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
Postcolonialism as theory, contrasted with postcoloniality as reality, was born sometime during the earlier period of the Cold War that had developed Sphinx-like following the World War II announcing the death of Europe and the rise of two extra-European superpowers. Naturally, the end of the War also began a decade-long process of decolonization, marking the end of European political domination over most of Asia and Africa. The collapse of the continent that owned almost one half of the globe generated a profoundly unsettling soulsearching and re-examination of the values and norms of metropolitan civilization informed by the Enlightenment masculist and quasi-racist rationality, although a critique of Western bourgeois views and values dates back to the works of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and later Rudolf Pannwitz (1881-1969), author of The Crisis of European Culture (1917), and Oswald Spengler (1880-1936), author of The Decline of the West (1918).
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Asia

1132. Transboundary Water Cooperation in Africa: The Case of the Nile Basin Initiative

Author:
Wondwosen Teshome B.
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
At present, more than 55 percent of the World's population lives in internationally shared river basins. Shared waters could be either a source of conflict or a source of cooperation and prosperity. Today, the growing need for water resources for development has brought intense political and economic tensions among the countries that share rivers that flow across two or more countries. The aim of this paper is to identify the economic, social and political benefits of the transboundary cooperation by using the Nile Bain Initiative (NBI) as a case study. It also attempts to identify the obstacles that hinder transboundary cooperation in the Nile Basin. The paper argues that the riparian states in the Nile Basin should work for “benefit-sharing” rather than “water-sharing” and this should be the basis for their transboundary cooperation. It also claims that implementing the concept of benefit-sharing would help in solving problems that are caused by divergent interests among the riparian states in the Nile basin and the up stream-down stream problems frequently manifested in the area. The paper concludes by suggesting the main points that have to be considered in transboundary cooperation.
Topic:
Economics and Water
Political Geography:
Africa

1133. Democratic Reform and Injustice in Latin America: The Citizenship Gap Between Law and Society

Author:
Alison Brysk
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Latin America is a paradoxical world leader. In the twentieth century, Latin America led the struggle for democracy—and now, Latin America leads in unjust societies that cannot fulfill the promise of universal human rights despite elections and theoretical rule of law. The “citizenship gap” between developed formal entitlements and distorted life conditions, including massive personal insecurity, is greater than in any other region. While Latin America receives the highest scores on electoral democracy and political participation in the developing world, the region has the worst record on effective rule of law, crime, and corruption except for grossly impoverished Africa and South Asia. Latin America's experience demonstrates how the rule of law can be systematically undermined by private and transnational displacement of power, as well as incomplete democratization of state institutions. The persistence of injustice demonstrates the interdependence of democratic processes in the public sphere and democratization of social relations.
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, Developing World, and Reform
Political Geography:
Africa, South Asia, and Latin America

1134. How to Exercise Europe's Power

Author:
Jan Zielonka
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
In order to make it more effective as an actor on the international scene, the European Union is being urged to reverse its foreign policy priorities. EU enlargement policy has fallen out of grace and many want to see Europe acquire a "normal" foreign policy with a global rather than merely regional reach, significant military means and centralised governance. Management of various conflicts in Africa and Asia is also in vogue. Such a policy shift will define the nature of Europe's actorness. It is argued that, with all its defects, the EU performs quite well as a civilian regional power and efforts to transform it into a traditional military power with a global reach could make things worse rather than better.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Asia

1135. Commerce and prudence: revising China's evolving Africa policy

Author:
Jonathan Holslag
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This paper evaluates the extent to which China adapted its Africa policy to external criticism and expectations. It is found that policy modifications mainly occurred when long-term interests were at risk, with regard to issues of limited importance and non-binding initiatives. The article departs from the vast literature on adaptation and tests this concept on several aspects of China's engagement in Africa. This approach not only allows us to revise the PRC's changing Africa policy but also permits to contribute to the debate whether China is a status quo or revisionist power. In this regard, it turns out that China's ostensible compliance with the demands of other actors is designed to give leeway to its revisionist aspirations.
Political Geography:
Africa and China

1136. Editorial

Author:
Charles Chernor Jalloh
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
The Africa Law Institute is pleased to present this second issue of Volume 2 of the African Journal of Legal Studies (“AJLS”). This issue contains four articles that capture in their origins and breadth the aim of the AJLS, which is to serve as a leading forum for the interdisciplinary engagement of issues of human rights, governance and the rule of law in Africa.
Topic:
Governance
Political Geography:
Africa

1137. Protecting Human Rights Amidst Poverty and Inequality: The South African Post-Apartheid Experience on the Right of Access to Housing

Author:
John C. Mubangizi
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
A significant gain of the new political and constitutional dispensation ushered in South Africa in 1994 was a commitment to the protection of human rights. However, protecting human rights in a country where the gap between the rich and the poor is among the largest in the world was always going to be a daunting challenge. The challenge is even more daunting with the protection of socio-economic rights such as the right of access to adequate housing. This article explores the challenges that South Africa faces in protecting human rights in the face of persistent poverty of over half of the country\'s population, vast economic disparities and gross inequality. Focusing on the right of access to adequate housing, the author explores some prospects arising from the roles played by the constitution; domestic courts; other state institutions as well as non-state actors. The article concludes that although the challenges are real, the prospects are promising. However, a lot must be done if the democratic miracle that has characterized South African society over the last fifteen years is to be maintained.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
Africa

1138. Constitutional and Succession Crisis in West Africa: The Case of Togo

Author:
Adewale Banjo
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
The politics of succession in post-independence West Africa has left much to be desired and, by extension, has affected the quality of democracy and human security in the sub-region. This article briefly assesses succession politics in Togo, a small West African nation of approximately 5 million people, following the death of President Gnassingbe Eyadema, one of Africa\'s longest serving dictators. The author describes the military takeover and subsequent election that legitimized the illegal take over of power by Eyadema\'s son despite sustained domestic opposition from politicians and civil society, as well as sub-regional, regional and international condemnation of a Constitutional "coup d\'etat" in Togo. The article concludes that the succession crisis in Togo is far from over, given the continuing manipulation of what the author calls the geo-ethnic divide in that country.
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
Africa

1139. List of Books Available for Review

Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
The African Journal of Legal Studies is pleased to present the following books relating to human rights in Africa received from two major publishers:. Antje du Bois-Pedain, Transitional Amnesty in South Africa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) 418 pages, hardback. . Obiora Chinedu Okafor, The African Human Rights System, Activist Forces and International Institutions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) 350 pages, hardback . John Hagan and Wenona Rymond-Richmond, Darfur and the Crime of Genocide (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008) 296 pages, paperback.. Frans Viljoen, International Human Rights Law in Africa (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007) 673 pages, hardback.
Topic:
Human Rights and International Law
Political Geography:
Africa

1140. Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America's Soul

Author:
Juan Carlos Hidalgo
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
For most of this decade, Latin America has been neglected by the developed world. At least that is a recurring grievance from leaders and specialists in the region. The attention of rich countries has switched to terrorism in the Middle East and poverty in Africa, while pressing needs and conflicts remain unattended in Latin America.
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and Latin America

1141. The African Union in Darfur: An African Solution to a Global Problem?

Author:
Adam Keith
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Since 2003, Sudan’s central government has used proxy forces to slaughter thousands of civilians belonging to ethnic groups associated with the uprising taking place in the Darfur region. Serious outside pressure would likely be required to change the regime’s “preferences for repression,” as Sudan’s central government has concluded that, if unchecked, the uprising would threaten the regime’s survival. The African Union (AU) has been admirably engaged in the Darfur crisis but has ultimately proven ineffectual, hindered by poor resources and weak political will. At the same time, the Sudanese government’s intransigence and the diplomatic protection it has received from China have blunted the more ambitious steps taken by the United Nations Security Council. Ending the human rights violations that have plagued Darfur will require greater pressure from China on its partners in Khartoum, and this article concludes that advocacy from activist groups and the African Union itself could produce such an outcome.
Topic:
Genocide, Human Rights, Advocacy, African Union, and Proxy Groups
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and Darfur

1142. Choosing Strategic African Partners: How Heavy are the Anchors?

Author:
Alex Vines
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
A televised post-election crisis in Kenya demands a government response, but where are the west's partners in Africa and what are the strategic interests? And as several more states prepare to vote, which are the ones to watch?
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

1143. Rethinking the "Third World": Talking with Lakhdar Brahimi

Author:
Forrest D. Colburn
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi has a distinguished history in the politics of what has long been known as the "Third World," most of which were once beleaguered colonies of Europe. After the Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955--the first coming together of the non-aligned movement--Lakhdar was sent to Indonesia by the National Liberation Front of Algeria to open its first office in Asia.
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Indonesia, Asia, and Algeria

1144. "The Globalizers: The IMF, the World Bank, and Their Borrowers"

Author:
Joseph P. Joyce
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Woods is an insightful and thoughtful authority on the Bretton Woods institutions. In this book she examines their activities and focuses on their engagements with Mexico, Russia, and the sub-Saharan African nations.
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, and Mexico

1145. Freeing All God's Children

Author:
Clifford Bob
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Human Rights and Human Welfare - Review Essays
Institution:
Josef Korbel Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver
Abstract:
Each year since 1999 the U.S. State Department has issued a lengthy report on violations of religious freedoms around the world. In recent years, Human Rights Watch and other major rights organizations have made religious persecution one of their major foci. And the world media now pays significant attention to violations of worship rights. As a result, countries such as Sudan, China, North Korea, Uzbekistan, and others have faced international pressure for their repression of various faiths, especially Christianity.
Topic:
Non-Governmental Organization and Religion
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, China, Sudan, North Korea, and Uzbekistan

1146. Making Sense of a Senseless War

Author:
J. Peter Pham
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Human Rights and Human Welfare - Review Essays
Institution:
Josef Korbel Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver
Abstract:
In a report on the United Nations-supervised disarmament process in Sierra Leone, veteran Washington Post correspondent Douglas Farah described the pathos of the ragged Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters: many were barely into their teens, straggling into a processing center in the diamond-rich eastern district of Kono with little more than ill-fitting rags draped over their emaciated bodies (Farah 2001). There was little evidence that these broken youths had, just a short while earlier, been part of one of the most brutal and effective insurgencies in the world, one whose strategy was predicated on terror in its most primordial expression. Farah's piece was headlined, “They Fought for Nothing, and That's What They Got,” a succinct description of a conflict that struck many as senseless, despite its heavy toll in lives and property.
Topic:
United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa, Washington, and Sierra Leone

1147. Economic Freedom, Corruption, and Growth

Author:
Mushfiq us Swaleheen and Dean Stansel
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
This article adds to the empirical literature on the relationship between corruption and economic growth by incorporating the impact of economic freedom. We utilize an econometric model with two improvements on the previous literature: (1) our model accounts for the fact that economic growth, corruption, and investment are jointly determined, and (2) we include economic freedom explicitly as an explanatory variable. Using a panel of 60 countries, we find that for countries with low economic freedom (where individuals have limited economic choices), corruption reduces economic growth. However, in countries with high economic freedom, corruption is found to increase economic growth. Our results contradict the generally accepted view that corruption lowers the rate of growth. We use Osterfeld's (1992) distinction between expansive and restrictive corruption to explain our results. According to Osterfeld, corruption expands output if more bribes help the economy move toward greater free exchange. Thus, in economies where economic freedom is high, if bribing makes public officials less diligent in enforcing restrictions on firms' activities, output will increase. However, corruption will restrict output when bribes reduce competition and increase market rigidities. This outcome is more likely in countries where economic freedom is low due to widespread state ownership of assets (e.g., in China), monopolies and high tariff barriers granted to businesses owned by ruling elites and their cronies (e.g., the Philippines under Marcos and Indonesia under Suharto), and state-run marketing boards that are often the sole purchasers of agricultural products (e.g., in several African countries). An increase in corruption in these low economic freedom countries means even less competition and free exchange and leads to a fall in output. The policy implication of our finding is straightforward: The surest way to mitigate corruption and its adverse effects is to increase economic freedom.
Political Geography:
Africa

1148. The “Social Market Economy” and its Impact on German European Policy in the Adenauer Era, 1949-1963

Author:
Guido Thiemeyer
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
German Politics and Society
Institution:
German Politics and Society Journal
Abstract:
This article focuses on the economic aspects of German European policy in the 1950s and raises the question whether the economic system of the Federal Republic of Germany, “Soziale Marktwirtschaft” had any impact on the European policy of the West German state. It argues that Social Market Economy as defined by Ludwig Erhard influenced German European policy in certain aspects, but there was a latent contradiction between the political approach of Konrad Adenauer and this economic concept. Moreover, this article shows that West German European policy was not always as supportive for European unity as it is often considered.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Economics
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Germany

1149. Hors-themes: The political analysis of a rebellion. A “governance through violence” in Northern Ivory Coast

Author:
Michel Galy
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
A la suite de travaux sur la « guerre nomade » ouest africaine, on s'interroge ici sur la sociologie politique d'un mouvement rebelle, entre ethnicité et internationalisation. Quels écarts entre les pratiques de violence discontinue envers les civils et les discours anti-discriminations, entre épuration ethnique larvée et positions révolutionnaires ? L'étude des strates successives du mouvement rebelle, des clans et groupes qui le composent aboutit à un « diagramme de pouvoirs » qui va des communautés locales aux alliances avec les pays voisins et aux soutiens occidentaux. Mais un approfondissement de la genèse du mouvement montre en fait certains caractères « post-modernes » de telles rebellions, où la sympathie plus ou moins manipulée de médias étrangers aboutit, via un sigle au début largement artificiel (MPCI), à une véritable co-création d'un mouvement politico-militaire, dont militaires, politiques et humanitaires occidentaux se sont emparés sans recul critique - notamment en refusant de connaître l'« idéologie mandingue », symétrique de « l'ivoirité » et justifiant par avance une violence conquérante. C'est aussi l'occasion, en termes foucaldiens, de jauger la « gouvernance par la violence » de la zone rebelle, mais aussi sa gouvernementalité : en termes d'informalisation des trafics en tous genres, de résistance des communautés villageoises, de persistance des factions militaires sous-tendues par les clivages de l'ethnicité ; enfin d'analyser les dilemmes politiques du mouvement rebelle, entre création d'un proto-Etat peu viable (ou son rattachement au Burkina), et ralliement - moyennant compensations -au processus de réintégration nationale, de désarmement et de participation au processus électoral.
Topic:
Governance
Political Geography:
Africa and Côte d'Ivoire

1150. Informalising Readmission Agreements in the EU Neighbourhood

Author:
Jean-Pierre Cassarino
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
A number of factors explain why some EU member states, particularly France Italy and Spain are gradually opting for informal patterns of cooperation on readmission issues with Mediterranean and African countries. This adaptive inclination is more of a necessity than an option. It reflects the more urgent need of some EU member states to find flexible solutions for cooperation on readmission rather than to conclude bilateral readmission agreements. The agenda remains unchanged, but there has been a shift in priority actions with regard to these countries. The operability of cooperation on readmission has been prioritised over formalisation.
Political Geography:
Africa, Canada, Shanghai, France, Spain, and Italy