Suchergebnisse

Am Beispiel von Feldstudien im Haussagebiet Nordnigerias und Nigers analysiert der Autor den unterschiedlichen Einfluss und die unterschiedliche Wirkungsmacht des Islam und des Islamismus. Eingeleitet durch eine geschichtliche Rückbetrachtung des Islams im Haussagebiet bis weit in die vorkoloniale Zeit arbeitet er kulturelle Differenzierungen und deren jeweilige sozio-politische Implikationen heraus. Er diskutiert die Frage von Islam und Islamismus auch im Hinblick auf die Frage der afrikanischen Identität bzw. die "De-Afrikanisierung" afrikanischer Gesellschaften. Einen Betrachtungsaspekt bildet zudem die Reaktion der Haussagesellschaften Nordnigerias und Nigers auf den islamistischen Terrorismus im Kontext des 11. September 2001 in den USA. (DÜI-Kör)

Focuses on the Martinican votes for the French presidential elections of 2002, and compares it with earlier elections, especially the one of 1981. Author surveys in this light the societal and political transformations that occurred in and regarding Martinique between 1981 and 2002. He discusses French policy in this period, and explains that while both left-leaning and right-leaning parties wanted to keep the island's "département" status intact, Socialist governments since 1981 were more supportive of decentralization, and the cultural specificity and identity of Martinique, but later also right-leaning governments, indicative of mainstreaming of overseas French multicultural politics. Then, he discusses Martinican politics, and the importance therein of Martinique's status as département with its associated French welfare state benefits. Most Martinicans favor this status because of these benefits over independence, but political parties reflect different views on this integration within France, ranging from pro-independence, to autonomy. Author further discusses the differences of Martinican votes with general French trends in the 2002 presidential elections.

This article examines the minoritarian status of a nonethnic group identity: Israeli Francophonie. Nonethnic minority status is particularly interesting for it represents a nonascriptive and voluntary category of group identity. In the case of Israel, Francophonie has evolved from its mainly North African (and hence socially disparaged) associations in the 1950s and 1960s to becoming an immigrant Ashkenazi and "frenchified Sephardic" phenomenon today. Francophone intellectuals promote Israeli Francophonie as an adjunct to Zionism, for it represents a cultural alternative to the Americanization of Israeli society. Common French language also diffuses the cleavages (religious versus secular versus nationalistic) which otherwise challenge the unity of the Jewish state. Associational, educational, cultural and religious institutions reflect the diffuse, dispersed and discrete nature of Israeli Francophonie; while there are categories of Francophonie, there is no francophone community per se. The future of Francophonie in Israel is a function of media technology, pluralistic self-redefinition, and political relations with France. Regarding the latter, the originally religiously-based Palestinian Francophonie based on the Latin Patriarchate is being supplemented by diplomatic efforts to extend French cultural influence among Arabs both in Israel and in the occupied territories.

As a Jewish political scientist who has lived, taught, and conducted research in Muslim areas of sub-Saharan Africa (particularly Niger and Northern Nigeria), I was more than intrigued with that aspect of the debate between Ali Mazrui and Hailu Habtu-two African Africanists, at least one of whom is of Islamic origin-concerning "Jewish cultural influences on Black Africa" ("The Semitic Impact on Black Africa: Arab and Jewish Cultural Influences"; "The Fallacy of the 'Triple Heritage' Thesis: A Critique," Issue, vol. XIII, 1985). As a reflection on the revolution in Africana studies that has occurred over the past few decades, it is refreshing to note that Westerners (including Jews) may now find themselves to be the objects of intellectual discourse and historical analysis by African scholars-and not, as has traditionally been the case, the other way around.

Since the end of the Cold War, the monopoly of legitimate organized force of many African states has been eroded by a mix of rebel groups, violent extremist organizations, and self-defence militias created in response to the rise in organized violence on the continent. African Border Disorders explores the complex relationships that bind states, transnational rebels and extremist organizations, and borders on the African continent. Combining cutting edge network science with geographical analysis, the first part of the book highlights how the fluid alliances and conflicts between rebels, violent extremist organizations and states shape in large measure regional patterns of violence in Africa. The second part of the book examines the spread of Islamist violence around Lake Chad through the lens of the violent Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, which has evolved from a nationally-oriented militia group, to an internationally networked organization. The third part of the book explores how violent extremist organizations conceptualize state boundaries and territory and, reciprocally, how do the civil society and the state respond to the rise of transnational organizations. The book will be essential reading for all students and specialists of African politics and security studies, particularly those specializing on fragile states, sovereignty, new wars, and borders as well as governments and international organizations involved in conflict prevention and early intervention in the region.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- Notes on contributors -- Acknowledgments -- List of abbreviations -- Introduction: states, borders and political violence in Africa -- PART I Social networks and spatial patterns -- 1 Spatializing the social networks of the First Congo War -- 2 Exploring the spatial and social networks of transnational rebellions in Africa -- 3 Networks and spatial patterns of extremist organizations in North and West Africa -- 4 Spatial and temporal diffusion of political violence in North and West Africa -- PART II Transnational extremism and policy responses -- 5 Nigeria's Boko Haram: local, national and transnational dynamics -- 6 External incentives and the African subregional response to Boko Haram -- PART III States, civil society and transnational extremism -- 7 Terror, territory and statehood from Al Qaeda to the Islamic State -- 8 Public perceptions of violent extremism in Mali -- 9 Jihads and borders: social networks and spatial patterns in Africa, present, past and future -- Index