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This Discussion Paper is based on a conceptual and analytical reading of cases of unconstitutional change of government in Africa. It provides a deep and up-to-date exploration of the prospects for democratic consolidation on the continent against the backdrop of an upsurge in unconstitutional changes of government. Rather than focus only on the internal threats to democracy in Africa, the author also analyses the role of neighbouring states, regional organisations and hegemonic forces within the international community in advancing or limiting democracy. In this regard, this work sheds light on why the pursuit of the liberal democratic project in Africa has so far appeared to alienate ordinary people, while providing space for dominant elites to tamper with democratic institutions and processes, which then work against popular participation and democratic development. This paper is essential reading for scholars, policy practitioners, analysts and all those with an interest in the prospects for democracy in Africa.

The contest for the 'soul' of oil and its revenues in Nigeria have thrown up several actors representing diverse interests, most notably the stale, oil multinationals and oil-hearing communities. This paper is primarily concerned with what it called the new contentious site of oil and environmental polities in the Niger Delta. The contention revolves mainly around the interpretations ascribed to the current but unprecedented wave of violence in the region by the contending forces in oil and environmental politics. In the reading of militias' activities, there is a simultaneous convergence and divergence between the state and the oil majors. Both refuse to attribute rising violence to liberation struggles, as claimed by the militants. They, however, differ over the best tactical approach to the problem. The oil majors seem to prefer a more violent approach to taming the monster, which violence in the Niger Delta has become. This is in sharp contradiction to the states' preference for a relatively less violent approach. This 'new' disposition of the state makes it all the more interesting, given the fact that the Nigerian state is notoriously reputed for its excesses in the Niger Delta over dissent. Overall, rising violence in the Niger Delta represents the continuation of the resource struggle by another means. Notable criminal tendencies became inevitable due to the insensitivity of the government and in order to sustain the struggle. Adapted from the source document.