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161. Women’s Security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Author:
Immaculée Birhaheka
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
The fight for women’s rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) originated in the 1950s with the creation of young women’s social centers in local Catholic churches. In the early 1980s, challenges within the fight grew with the emergence of the NGO system, which brought non-state actors into activism for social change. This development popularized the idea that, because women constitute 52 percent of the population, abandoning them would be a mistake. However, the road to women’s social emancipation remains long and perilous.
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, History, Women, and Inequality
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

162. Coups D’état in the Covid-19 Era

Author:
John J. Chin
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
In the years preceding the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, many observers were cheerily optimistic about the decline of coups d’état in the twenty-first century. As late as early 2019, for example, Axios declared confidently that coups—or illegal seizures of power by military or government actors—“are becoming a thing of the past.”1 In early 2022, the same journalist and outlet reported that “coups are making a comeback.”2 Between those three years (January 2019–January 2022), 13 coup attempts occurred, 10 of which succeeded. By contrast, in the three years beforehand (January 2016–January 2019), there had only been five coup attempts, two of which were successful. In other words, the number of coup attempts more than doubled, and the number of successful coups quintupled, according to my updated Colpus dataset of coup types.3 What accounts for the apparent coup comeback? Is the pandemic itself to blame? In this article, I draw on my newly updated Colpus dataset of coup types, documenting all coups through February 2022, to survey the history of recent coups. I first show that after several decades in decline, coups started to make their comeback before the pandemic. I then survey the potential causes of “covid coups” and the factors for why recent coups have been overwhelmingly concentrated in Africa. I conclude by reflecting on the legacy of “covid coups.”
Topic:
Coup, COVID-19, and Instability
Political Geography:
Africa and Global Focus

163. Radical Islamism: Trajectories of Human Rights Violations and Abuses in Africa

Author:
Peter O.O. Ottuh and Felix O. Erhabor
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
In Africa, radical and extremist Muslims are striving to transform society through violent change, claiming that African rulers are dictatorial and anti-Islamic; as a result, many African countries are experiencing serious human rights violations and abuses. Therefore, this paper examined radical Islamism and its trajectories of human rights violations and abuses in Africa and proffered workable solutions to the dilemma. To achieve the above aim, the paper employed historical and evaluative methods. The historical method was used to critically review the scholarly literature on radical Islamism and its human rights violations and abuses antecedents in Africa. At the evaluative level, the paper critically discussed the impact of human rights violations and abuses on the African nations and their citizens. The paper revealed that radical Islamism in Africa is driven by bad political leadership, poverty, poor education, unemployment, and religious exclusivism among others. The paper concluded that good governance, economic enhancement, and religious inclusiveness are key tools in discouraging and curbing radical Islamists in African countries.
Topic:
International Law, Violent Extremism, Radicalization, and Human Rights Violations
Political Geography:
Africa

164. Terrorism and Abrahamic Religious Tradition: A Focus on Boko Haram Islamic Fundamentalism in the North-Eastern Nigeria

Author:
Theophilus Oyime Adejumo, John A. Adams, and Gabriel T. Abumbe
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
This study examines the normative hypothesis explaining the nexus between terrorism and Abrahamic religious tradition, particularly the Boko Haram Islamic fundamentalist sect in North-Eastern Nigeria. It is methodologically structured in quantitative and qualitative methods, where data and information are retrieved from primary and secondary sources. These were presented in a tabular form and analyzed descriptively within the context of the subject matter under investigation. The findings reveal that, beyond the classical arguments usually provided by the Abrahamic religious tradition school, the real reason behind global terrorism is for some overzealous religious bigots to establish a caliphate that will enable them to influence the international system. Based on these findings, the study concluded that the war against global terrorism would be a mirage unless national governments and international organizations fully address these fundamental issues.
Topic:
Religion, Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Boko Haram, and Religious Right
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

165. Brazilian Foreign Policy from Lisbon to Bandung

Author:
Marcelo Alves de Paula Lima
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Contexto Internacional
Institution:
Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:
Drawing from constructivist scholarship, this article dwells on the relations between Brazil and the Afro-Asian world based on the writings of diplomat Adolpho Justo Bezerra de Menezes, who advocated a larger commitment of the Brazilian foreign policy to the Global South. The author acted both as a norm entrepreneur who problematized Brazilian belonging to the West and a practical-intuitive historian who used the past to show that the ties uniting Brazil to Asia and Africa were tighter than those uniting it to Europe.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, History, Global South, Constructivism, and Adolpho Justo Bezerra de Menezes
Political Geography:
Africa, Asia, Brazil, South America, and Portugal

166. Coercion and Violence in German Labor Conscription in Cameroon, 1880s-1914

Author:
Henry Kam Kah and Emmanuel E. Kengo
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
Cameroon is officially bilingual with English and French used in public administration and in busines. It is multi-ethnic and multi-lingual consisting of over 250 ethnic polities that mek it aptly described as "a babble of tongues". Its location straddles the Central and West African sub-regions. The ecological zones of the country include the Sahel, Savanna and forest. through this, the coungry has been nicknamed "Africa in miniature" (Fanso 2017, 9). The country has a triple colonial heritage. It was first annexed in July 1884 by Germany. After the german defeat in World War I, the country, like other German colonies, was seized from Germany and eventually partitioned into two unequal halves by Britain and France after a botchd condominium. The economic foundation of the territory during the colonial period was laid by the Germans. Labour played a cutting-edge role in the German economic enterprise in Cameroon. The conscription and treatment of labour in the country and other German colonies was barbaric and dehumanising to say the least. This paper discusses this poor labour treatment and the ramifications on the population and in the redefinition of German labour policy in the territory.
Topic:
History, Labor Issues, Economy, Colonialism, Exploitation, and Conscription
Political Geography:
Africa and Cameroon

167. Through Armed Struggle: Colonial Occupation, National Liberation War and Independence in Mozambique

Author:
José Alejandro Sebastian Barrios Díaz
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
Using primary sources from University of Coimbra’s Documentation Center “25 de Abril”, the objective of this paper is to understand the context of Mozambique’s national liberation war, which took place between 1964 and 1975, and to characterize FRELIMO’s role in this conflict from a historical perspective. The paper is divided in three parts, aside from the introduction and concluding remarks. First, the article narrates, in broad strokes, the colonial occupation of the Mozambican territory between the end of the 19th and the 20th century, to then approach the national liberation struggle. The third part describes FRELIMO’s work, its formation and its role in the struggle for independence.
Topic:
Colonialism, Independence, and Armed Resistance
Political Geography:
Africa, Mozambique, and Portugal

168. Latent Politics in South Africa: The Fall of Apartheid and the Personality Factor

Author:
Vadim Kurillo and Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to study the phenomenon of latent politics in South Africa’s struggle against apartheid in the period from the second half of the 1970s to the early 1990s. Its methodological basis includes the theory of latent politics and Hegel’s philosophical substantiation of the role of the individual in the historical process. The paradigm that is developed in the article considers real politics as an organic unity of additional parts – hidden (latent) and overt (transparent). The potential theoretical or empirical significance of the work is as follows: at the theoretical level – a more detailed development of the concept of ‘latent policy’ and its use; and at the empirical level – an applied research of specific archival material, recorded oral history testimonies, political speeches and documents that confirm the correctness of the proposed paradigm which focuses on latent politics. We also argue that latent policy is not only the activity of intelligence and special services, but also includes many other unobserved or concealed actions and phenomena in society.
Topic:
Apartheid, Politics, History, Political Science, Resistance, and Latent Politics
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

169. Boko Haram Insurgency and Forced Displacement in North-East Nigeria: An Assessment of State Management Strategies

Author:
Luqman Saka and Ousman M. Bojang
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
This study explores the nature and dimension of forced displacement that emanate from the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria and the nature of state management of the displacement crisis. The study adopts the qualitative research approach in the gathering and analysis of its data. Data for the study was sourced from key national policy documents on displacement in the North-East, media interviews on displacement and its management by state institutions/agencies, news articles, reports, editorials, commentaries and academic publications. Relying on these data sources, the study seeks to highlight the nature of state management of the displacement crisis arising from the Boko Haram campaigns of terror in North-East Nigeria, the successes that have been recorded and the challenges confronting state institutions, and communities impacted by the conflict as it relates to the management of the displacement crisis.
Topic:
Insurgency, Crisis Management, Boko Haram, and Forced Displacement
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

170. Why Military Coups Are Back in Africa

Author:
Enoch Ndem Okon
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
The celebration of seeming democratic density on the continent is understood against the background of the recent historical past where almost all the states in Africa were under the grip of either a military ruler, or an authoritarian one party despot. At the dawn of the new millennium, military coups and totalitarianism were releasing their grip on the continent as multi-party elections and electoral turnover gained momentum. Indeed, many regional organizations within the continent subscribed to the elimination of military coup and other means of grabbing political power, except the ballot boxes, as well as the full embrace of democratic norms and practices; therefore, there are clauses in regional governance and protocol affirming the primacy of democracy over any other form of government as signed by regional blocs on the continent.
Topic:
Government, Democracy, Coup, and Military
Political Geography:
Africa

171. Learning From Each Other: The Belt and Road Initiative and the Infrastructure Policy in Africa

Author:
Mamoudou Gazibo
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
My hypotheses here are that in many respects, especially regarding infrastructure, the BRI and Africa's continental initiatives on infrastructure are the product of a co-constructed learning process between Africa and China throughout their interactions since the early 2000s. Furthermore, as a projection of China's initiatives in Africa on a global scale, the BRI is consistent with Africa's continental development policies and even probably inspired by them given the anteriority of the latter. In contrast to what most authors think (Gaye 2006; Taylor 2006), this argument stresses Africa's agency, which changes China as much as China changes Africa (Kuo 2018; Ayers 2013). To defend this argument, the paper examines the congruence between the BRI and Africa's infrastructure policies by cross-tracing the ideational pro- cess in the two contexts. This is carried out by looking for cross-references in Africa's main documents (namely the NEPAD, the FOCAC, and the Agenda 2063), on the one hand, and the BRI, on the other. The paper then illustrates this by briefly examining some of the BRI and AU bilateral projects.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa and China

172. China-Africa in the Context of BRI-B3W

Author:
Li Anshan
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
In 1992, Professor Lester Thurow, a famous American economist of MIT, published a book entitled Head to Head: The coming economic bat- tle among Japan, Europe, and America, to analyze the coming competition between economic powers in the 21st century (Thurow 1992). It seems that the author was quite confident in economic giants Japan, Europe and the US in the future and believed that the rich club accepted only one country – Japan in the 20th century –, and it would not be surprising if no country would enter the club in the 21st century. Once published, the book aroused great reper- cussions in Japan, Europe and the US and became one of the non-literary bestsellers. No matter how brilliant Lester Thurow's academic achievements are, his prediction was not fulfilled this time. He never thought that Europe and the US would experience a financial crisis in the new century and China would become the second world economy in 2010. Nor did he expect that Gallup's survey report on Rating World Leaders (2018) found that people in 134 countries and regions around the world recognized China's leadership by 34%, higher than 31% for the US. This is the second time since 2008 that China's global recognition of leadership has surpassed that of the US, setting a record for China in 10 years (Ray 2019).
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, Leadership, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Political Geography:
Africa and China

173. Neoextractivism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola: Between Neoliberal Globalization, Regional Trends and Local Particularities

Author:
David Mouzo Williams
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
This article aims to investigate the formation of extractive enclaves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and its possible projections in the rest of Africa, mainly through comparison with another case, that of the Republic of Angola. For this, the African continental insertion within the neoliberal globalization in the period 1970-2000 will be taken into account, particularly the imposition of the Structural Adjustment Programs, by inter- national financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Understanding that this is part of the same capitalist restruc- turing, the contributions of extractivism in Latin America will be used as part of the same global South.
Topic:
Globalization, Neoliberalism, Global South, and Extractivism
Political Geography:
Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola

174. Corruption, Underdevelopment and the Masses in Africa

Author:
Ibrahim Bangura, Temitope Oriola, and Henry Mbawa
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
The central argument of this paper is that ignoring the role of the masses makes for an incomplete understanding of the vignettes of corruption and the crisis of development in Africa. The paper argues that corrupt practices by elites and the actions, beliefs, expectations and demands of the masses on the elites are mutually reinforcing, co-referential and ultimately co-constitute the processual pro- duction of corruption and consequent underdevelopment in Africa. This is further reinforced in what we have couched as "the irony of the African masses" in the fight against corruption and underdevelopment in Africa. The irony is too compelling to ignore. The African masses demand their share of the national cake through appendages of, or association with political elites who loot the state — one of the major causes of poverty and underdevelop- ment in Africa.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Poverty, Elites, and Underdevelopment
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

175. The Civil-Military Relationship: From Theory to Practice in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)

Author:
Guilherme de Araujo Grigoli
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
After nearly 20 years of civil war, in 2001, a peace agreement began to be negotiated between the central government of Sudan and the southern region. On January 9, 2005, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was ratified ending the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005) (Oliveira and Silva 2011) and stipulating a referendum to determine the status of the Southern Sudan region. According to the UN, 98.83% of South Sudanese voters were in favor of independence in January 2011 (Salman 2011; UNMISS 2022). On July 8, 2011, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted the resolution 1996 (UNSC 2011), creating the UNMISS. The objective was to consolidate peace and security and help create the necessary conditions for the development of the Republic of South Sudan, a country that was born with the worst social indicators in the world (Oliveira and Silva 2011). The mission aimed to help South Sudan to develop and build its democratic institutions to support the political-administrative structure of a new country.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Civil-Military Relations
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

176. Spring 2022 edition of Contemporary Eurasia

Author:
Vahram Ter-Matevosyan
Publication Date:
01-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Contemporary Eurasia
Institution:
Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
Abstract:
CONTENTS LILIT HARUTYUNYAN SYRIAN REFUGEES IN LEBANON: “NEW COMMUNITY” IN LEBANON’S CONFESSIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEM ............................................................... 5 GRIGOR VARDANYAN RESHUFFLINGS WITHIN SYRIAN SECURITY SYSTEM IN 2019: DETERMING POLITICAL MOTIVES AND OBJECTIVES ...............................20 VERONIKA TOROSYAN UNPACKING THE CONCEPT OF NATIONALISM WITHIN RUSSIAN EURASIANISM ...................................................................................................... 27 GOR HOVHANNISYAN TURKEY’S EXPANSION IN EASTERN AFRICA: THE CASE OF SOMALIA. ............................................................................................................. .44 WORKSHOP ARMENIA-TURKEY: LESSONS AND REALITIES………………………………………………………………………..58 CONFERENCE GULF ARAB COUNTRIES AND THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES: CURRENT TRENDS AND ISSUES………………………………………………………………………….…61
Topic:
Security, Bilateral Relations, Refugees, Domestic Politics, Syrian War, and Armenians
Political Geography:
Africa, Turkey, Caucasus, Middle East, Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, and Gulf Nations

177. Engaging with Africa Strategically

Author:
J. Peter Pham
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Ambassadors Review
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Like many of my contemporaries, both in the U.S. Foreign Service and in the wider international affairs community, who have worked on issues related to Africa since the end of the Cold War, I have seen Washington’s attentiveness to the states and peoples of the continent wax and wane over the years. For example, the probable nadir was in 1995, when the United States Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa published that year actually declared that America had “very little traditional strategic interest in Africa,” and the hitherto apogee was in 2014, when the first-ever U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit brought leaders from 50 of Africa’s 54 countries, including 37 heads of state, to our nation’s capital. While emphases and resources shifted from time to time and certainly between U.S. Presidents, there has largely been continuity of policy across Democratic and Republican Administrations, even including the last one. Notwithstanding unfortunate remarks attributed to President Donald Trump, I would argue that the Trump Administration’s Africa strategy achieved some significant advances in America’s approach to the continent, which the Biden Administration can harness to achieve some of its top priorities, including geopolitical competition and its ambitious climate-change agenda.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Climate Change, International Cooperation, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:
Africa, North America, and United States of America

178. Rethinking Stability in Africa

Author:
Michelle D. Gavin
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Ambassadors Review
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
In practice, shaking off unhelpful ideas about stability does not necessarily mean abrupt policy reversals; nor does it solve thorny dilemmas in which immediate security interests dictate one course, while commitment to sustainable and accountable governing regimes dictates another. But rethinking stability should inform diplomatic strategies that pay more careful attention to the tensions between the governed and the governing and the degree to which governing institutions are responding to or resisting popular demands. The United States should take care to conceive of, implement and publicly frame our partnerships on the continent as relationships with societies, not with specific leaders. Finally, if every challenge to a given leader or party is understood as a harbinger of chaos, alarms should be going off in Washington. Evidence of growing state fragility is not a reason to double down on supporting an individual or system of governance that engendered that weakness. When a head of state or government is deemed indispensable, policy has lost its way. Policymakers need to reckon with the truths that change is not synonymous with instability, and that the apparent safety of working with known quantities is often a costly illusion.
Topic:
Globalization, International Cooperation, Hegemony, and Strategic Stability
Political Geography:
Africa, North America, and United States of America

179. Seizing a Historic Opportunity: the U.S.-DRC Privileged Partnership for Peace and Prosperity

Author:
Michael A. Hammer
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Ambassadors Review
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
The Congolese people have endured a tragic history, first at the hands of a colonial power and, since gaining independence, from its own homegrown rulers. A country with ample supplies of strategic minerals and natural resources has become dependent on considerable international humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping support to avoid a further calamity. Yet out of an imperfect electoral transition in 2019, the Democratic Republic of the Congo can break with the past and achieve substantial progress. Despite Congo’s unpredictability and legendary challenges, one constant has been clear throughout my time in Kinshasa: there is presently an opportunity for real change. One can envision how sustained good governance that channels resources toward development could rapidly transform this struggling nation. If President Tshisekedi can embody the vision he has ambitiously laid out, it is possible to achieve a rapid transformation of this struggling nation. But DRC cannot do it alone. Since the U.S. is a committed, reliable and long-term partner of the Congolese people and their government, it is incumbent on us to step up and make a difference. Still, given the enormity of the task at hand, U.S. interagency efforts in support of the DRC must be sustained over time even if there are setbacks and if progress is painfully slow. This is an investment well worth making!
Topic:
Security, Economics, International Cooperation, Military Strategy, Transition, and Prosperity
Political Geography:
Africa, North America, United States of America, and Democratic Republic of Congo

180. Women's Rights and Democratic Transitions: A Comparative Study of Pakistan, Chile, and South Africa

Author:
Abida Bano
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Review of Human Rights
Institution:
Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:
Democratization provides women an opportunity to represent their interests/issues effectively. Institutional change of democratic transition proves women's movement's best chance to push for gender-sensitive policy outcomes. This case study critically examines three selected democratic transitions' workings and assesses the cross-cases variation in women's gendered outcomes (South Africa, Chile, and Pakistan). The research questions state as "how and why did women's movements perform differently in achieving gendered policy outcomes in the democratic transitions?” Engaging comparative framework and the qualitative approach, the study shows that the socio-political context, historical legacies, and party alliances have played vital role in varying gendered outcomes.
Topic:
Democratization, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Social Movement, Women, and Collective Action
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Africa, South Asia, South Africa, South America, and Chile