Suchergebnisse

AbstractOver the last 10 years, scholars have started to focus on African states' bureaucracies by investigating public servants' relationships with the state, their professional ethos, how they appropriate reforms, and the way they interact with citizens. With inheritance disputes as a focal point, this article highlights the users' perspective—which is often overlooked—and asks how litigants in Cotonou (Benin) see the state, appropriate legal reforms, and use the courts. It shows that citizens, despite a general sense that the court system is corrupt and ineffective, continue to use it because state institutions convey a form of authority that allows them either to legitimize or challenge family decisions in inheritance matters.

Am Beispiel der Hauptstadt wird das System der Finanzverwaltung in einem Zentralstaat, insbesondere die Kompetenzen und Verfahrensweisen auf lokaler Ebene, geschildert. Den Gründen für die mit anderen städtischen Kommunen verglichen bessere Bilanz wird nachgegangen. Der Beitrag ist nach Einschätzung des Verfassers durch die Ereignisse seit Februar 1990 zum Teil überholt. Dennoch hält er auch unter veränderten Verhältnissen viele der angeführten positiven Faktoren in Cotonou für beachtenswert, wenn in Benin ein besseres, dezentralisiertes Regierungssystem geschaffen werden soll. (APAF-Glz)

ABSTRACTTraders in Cotonou (Bénin), a prominent hub in the Euro–West African second-hand car trade, traditionally sold cars imported from Europe. Since the 2000s however, more and more cars are being imported from the US. Anthropological study of one group of entrepreneurs active in this new business, traders from Niger, reveals an African entrepreneurship at work that follows a distinct social pattern: traders are groomed in close kinship ties in West Africa and then develop new social ties with overseas migrants. Their trade thus becomes embedded in more globalised networks, yet at the same time it loosens and that works against profitable business. Close analysis of their careers reveals a cultural pattern that compels entrepreneurs to become traders, economic opportunity notwithstanding. Whether this is representative of Africa's changing place in the global economic order remains to be seen; however, this article suggests how culture in entrepreneurship may be key to understanding that.

This masters thesis discusses the recently concluded treaty between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on the one hand and the European Union (EU) on the other. This Agreement having signed in Cotonou, Benin, is known as the Cotonou Agreement. The Cotonou Agreement is the latest in a series of conventions between the two parties that have their genesis in the late 1950s. The primary goal of this work was to find out to what extent, if at all, the newly signed Agreement is likely to contribute to the economic renaissance of the ACP countries. In so doing it traces development of the ACP-EU conventions right from their very beginning. The performance of the relationship to date is examined with a view to determining whether the lessons learnt therefrom have been incorporated in the new Agreement. There is a detailed analysis of the trade and aid provisions of the Cotonou Agreement. Apart from the economic provisions, other major provisions and developments of the ACP-EU Conventions are discussed with a view to providing a wholesome picture.

Unter veränderten weltpolitischen und weltwirtschaftlichen Konstellationen stellt sich die Frage, ob Entwicklungszusammenarbeit in ihrer jetzigen Form noch zeitgemäß ist. Sind ihre Ziele, Strukturen und Instrumente noch angemessen? Wie muss sie auf neue globale Herausforderungen reagieren, wie kann und sollte sie umgestaltet werden? Was hat sich bewährt, was muss verändert werden, was lässt sich von anderen Akteuren der internationalen Zusammenarbeit lernen? Mögliche Antworten auf konzeptionelle und strategische Fragen nach der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit der Zukunft werden in dem Band aus den Perspektiven von Wissenschaft und Praxis erörtert.