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AbstractScholars and the international media often allude to a putative "African view" of Africa–China links, constructed from anecdotal evidence. Using random sample and university-based surveys, we elaborate the first empirically based study of what Africans think of their relationships with China. We reach three conclusions. First, African views are not nearly as negative as Western media make out, but are variegated and complex. Second, the survey results are at variance with the dominant Western media representation that only African ruling elites are positive about these links. Third, we find that the dominant variation in African perspectives is by country, compared with variations such as age, education and gender. The differences among countries in attitudes towards China are primarily a function of the extent to which national politicians have elected to raise the "Chinese problem" and, secondarily, the extent of Western media influence in African states.

Not long ago a MESA Bulletin reader objected to introducing coverage of the Internet, saying that there were few Middle East studies online. However, you do find Middle Easterners. With increasingly accessible technology, there are thousands of websites that are added to listservs and now supplemented by blogs from, by, and about Middle Easterners. The trend has been from witness to participant. Yet the subjective register of the Internet in Middle East and North Africa is often a new example of exceptionalism: less free than in the West, less extensive than in the Far East, slow to grow and stunted when it does, with limited access and high costs that confine it demographically and culturally, not to mention politically. That is also what most comparative measures tell, but those do not measure what is happening. Early interest a decade ago has subsequently faded—or phased—into something more interesting than another story of absences.

This essay points out that Turkey.s long.standing democratization steps and its long.running relations with the West can portray Turkey as an appropriate candidate to contribute to any democratization process or initiative in the region whether be it through a Western.originated project or otherwise. Having said that, Turkey.s own domestic shortcomings, like the Kurdish/PKK issue, the ambivilance toward the implementation of secularism in the country, its recently marked vicissitudes in its relations with the EU and the US, the unfavorable regional circumstances such as the worsening conditions in Iraq, and the deepening problems in the Palestinian.Israeli debacle, currently constrain Turkey.s potential to serve the Middle East region in the capacity of soft.security provider by means of creating inspration for democratization and socioeconomic developments.

Argues that US, European, & Asian energy dependency, coupled with the rise of China & India, are netting a loss of US power manifest in five ways: (1) There is international reluctance to join US coalitions that might interrupt energy supplies. (2) High oil revenues afford governments the ability to act undemocratically & in defiance of US interests. (3) Supply cannot meet increased demand given restricted access to new oil exploration. (4) A tight market undermines the fluidity & equity of a market for available oil supplies & exploration acreage. (5) Dependency renders economies vulnerable to price volatility rooted in supply & demand shocks. In this light, energy threats in Latin America & sub-Saharan Africa are examined. Particular attention is given to developments in Venezuela, Bolivia, & Nigeria. It is contended that US must cooperate with Europe & China to address these challenges, with its strategic energy policy focused on reducing the importance of oil as a global commodity. D. Edelman

The Balkans are no longer the Alliance's top operational priority. NATO is maintaining its capability in Kosovo prior to its disengagement, & is keeping its liaison organisation, which advises the local governments in carrying out their defence reforms in line with Euro-Atlantic standards. The creation of an office in Belgrade is the latest sign of this. Today, NATO's real priority is in Afghanistan, for a fairly simple reason: NATO is not absolutely sure of winning. In a sense, NATO's operational future is at stake. Will it demonstrate in Kandahar that it is a world security agency? Other theatres must not be neglected. Maritime surveillance of the Mediterranean is an old example, as is the mission in Iraq. Over the last twelve months NATO has set foot in Africa by supporting the AU in Sudan, & has deployed the NRF in Pakistan, although the event remains controversial. New geographical theatres, new missions; an operational transformation of NATO has taken place. Adapted from the source document.

The United States is a prime setting for African cultural renewal because it offers a dynamic set of human and technological variables that can link our present to the foundations of our classical African past. The most recent human variables to include in modern strategies for success are the masses of recent immigrants from Africa. In a historical perspective of renewal, it would seem that because Africans can now voluntarily migrate to the United States, they would consider this a unique opportunity for expanding collaborative African globalism. Unfortunately, there is discord between newly arrived African groups and the traditional African American groups. However, the technological variables of the modern era can help to bridge the cultural gap between African Americans, Africans, and the classical African past. There are also perspectives available in literature that function within a social science context and offer additional strategies for a post-Western renewal.

- ; This paper analyses the effect of the Congo war on state power in Rwanda and Uganda. Drawing on theories of European state formation, it asks whether the Congo war has led to a strengthening of the state in the two countries. It is argued that this has not been the case. Neither the Rwandan nor the Ugandan state has been strengthened as a result of the war. I argue that this must be explained by changes in the state system, which have altered the links between war and state formation. The «war makes states» connection presupposes a positive relationship between regime maintenance and state formation. In contemporary Africa, there is no link. On the one hand, state survival is guaranteed anyway, no matter how weak the state is. On the other hand, regime survival does not depend on mobilisation of resources through taxation, since resources are available from elsewhere (aid, crime, plunder, globalisation, warlord politics).

Series: Africa, missing voices series; 2 ; What does it mean to be African-Canadian? The African Diaspora in Canada addresses the conceptual difficulties and political contestations surrounding the term "African-Canadian." In the midst of this fraught terrain, it focuses on first-generation, black continental Africans who have immigrated in the past four decades. In highlighting their experiences, this book addresses the empirical, conceptual, and methodological gaps that homogenize all black people and their experiences. Rooted in the specific experiences of continental Africans in Canada, this book examines the social constructions of African-Canadians, their experiences within the political and education systems, and with the labour market. It explores the forms of cooperation and tension that characterize African-Canadian communities, and how multiple transnational spaces are negotiated and occupied. The book also explores the circumstances of children, as they try to define their identities vis-à-vis their parents and the larger Canadian society. ; Yes

This paper describes the development of opposition groups in Eritrea in recent years. In January 2002, the EPLF Democratic Party was formed as a result of a purge the previous year by President Isaias Afeworki who arrested eleven of his closet advisors & closed all independent newspapers. Since then the party has changed its name to the Eritrean Democratic Party. Although the opposition remains fragmented, meetings have been held in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, & the US. In January 2005 a meeting was held in Khartoum. It was decided at this meeting to form a united opposition grouping called the Eritrean Democratic Alliance. A second meeting was held in February 2005 in which a nine-strong leadership group was elected. A central issue for the opposition party is relations with the government in Ethiopia. In December 2004, however, members of the Eritrean National Alliance met with the Ethiopian prime minister. The paper concludes with a list of the Eritrean opposition groups. References. R. Prince

Metadata only record ; Since the early 1990s community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has become a mantra of sustainable development, which has been broadly embraced by national leaders and policy-makers in Africa, as well as aid bureaucrats and technical specialists in donor countries. Its dissemination to local communities, however, has turned out to be a rather controversial process. On the basis of two case studies this article assesses the extent to which the new approach has been adopted in Mozambique, and the conditions on which it has been accepted by local communities. The results indicate that the CBNRM model cannot be considered independently of the local political context, even though this aspect has been largely neglected. Devolution of full authority to local institutions is also a crucial issue. Restrictions on the use of natural resources are acceptable to the local population, but only if they are compatible with local livelihood strategies.

This chapter reviews the anthropology of male and female circumcision over the past century. After surveying classic sociocultural and psychodynamic interpretations of male circumcision, I shift to the biblical and Jewish rite, focusing on gender symbolism and counter-hegemonic practice within European-Christian society. The chapter then reviews the relationship between male circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa and reduced rates of HIV. Next, I address female circumcision, focusing again on symbolism but especially on highly impassioned debates over cultural relativism and human rights, medical complications, criticism and imperialism, and female agency versus brute patriarchy. What are the moral, political, and scientific obligations of anthropology to a cultural practice that is increasingly vilified in Western popular culture and jurisprudence? Should anthropology advocate eradication, contextualize Western opposition, or critique one's own bodily practices? Finally, I critically analyze the growing movement to ban the medical and ritual circumcision of infant boys in the West.

The article addresses friendship relations among male artisanal gold miners in West Africa, exemplified by case studies from Northern Benin. I will argue that friendship is an important element in understanding the fluid social configurations in the mining region. In the new social environment, immigrants develop new ties among themselves & to the local societies. I will explore the general logic of friendship bonds in that area & discuss their integrative strength as well as their limits. In the context of gold mining, strategies of economic as well as social risk minimization incline many migrants to create friendship bonds. Parity in income sharing is more likely to be established among friends than among kinsmen. Friendship is specifically relevant to integrate people of very different regional, ethnic, & social backgrounds. Despite the many divergent interests between different economic actors, locals & immigrants, there are multiple bonds that give rise to different levels of social integration. 35 References. Adapted from the source document.

Books reviewed in this article: Leonore Loeb Abler and Uwe P. Gielen(EDS.), Migration: Immigration and Emigration in International Perspective Samuel Agyei‐Mensah and John B. Casterline(EDS.), Reproduction and Social Context in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Collection of Micro‐Demographic Studies Francesco C. Billari And Alexia Prskawetz(EDS.), Agent‐Based Computational Demography: Using Simulation to Improve Our Understanding of Demographic Behaviour Siew‐Ean Khoo And Peter McDonald(EDS.), The Transformation of Australia's Population: 1970‐2030 James P. Lynch and Rita J. Simon, Immigration the World Over: Statutes, Policies, and Practices C. Ford Runge, Benjamin Senauer, Philip G. Pardey, And Mark W. Rosegrant, Ending Hunger in Our Lifetime: Food Security and Globalization Sheldon J. Segal, Under the Banyan Tree: A Population Scientist's Odyssey Lynn M. Thomas, Politics of the Womb: Women, Reproduction, and the State in Kenya United Nations Economic Commission For Europe, Dynamics of Fertility and Partnership in Europe: Insights and Lessons from Comparative Research