Suchergebnisse

The article examines the factors that led, since the late 1980s, to Africa's marginalisation in US foreign policy agenda: the end of the Cold War, the continent's economic decline and the failure of military intervention in Somalia. Although in the short run, Washington will continue to be rather indifferent to Africa, three domestic factors may change United States' perceptions of the continent. In the long run, the politisation of the Afro-American community, the increasing influence of non-governmental organisations and an emerging debate on non-military aspects of security, may upgrade Africa in the superpower's external priorities agenda. (SAJIA/DÜI)

View that although Islamic fundamentalism may be a threat to stability in the multi-religious societies of Eritrea and Ethiopia, it can offer a viable alternative to secular state institutions in Djibouti, where Islam is dominant, and in the totally disintegrated society of Somalia; Horn of Africa.

AbstractThe impact of EU (European Union) Structural Funds (from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, etc.) channelled to Greece and other countries over the last 35 years has been thoroughly evaluated by EU‐commissioned impact reports and relevant academic studies. However, several political consequences of development transfers have been largely neglected. Concepts, methods and conclusions reached by studies of North–South development aid can help greatly to understand the medium‐ and long‐term political impact of EU funds. This article is based on interviews with EU and Greek politicians, officials, beneficiaries and various stakeholders. The conclusion is a less positive – but familiar in other parts of the world – story.

Parliaments in Africa have traditionally been sidelined with regard to security and peace issues. This article compares the Pan-African Parliament, the parliamentary organ of the African Union, with the Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace, better known as the Amani Forum, which started as an informal regional network and later developed more formal structures. The analysis focuses on the role of these two institutions in conflict prevention. While the Amani Forum provides an excellent example of the potential contribution of parliamentary forums to promoting and restoring peace, the Pan-African Parliament has been unable to operate as an effective parliamentary organ in conflict resolution and prevention. The article examines several factors that can explain the contrasting performances of the two institutions: their formal and informal structures; different membership and organizational structures; the density and quality of intra-institutional ties; as well as differences in geographical and thematic focus.