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The article presents & analyses continuity & changes in France's politics in Africa during the past 15 years. Practical political decisions are discussed in relation to central French strategies towards Africa & to speeches by elite politicians. French Africa policy during Sarkozy's first two years as president is examined in greater detail. The article concludes that important changes in French policy towards Africa are taking place, but that Francafrique will continue as long as the key figures in this policy are still alive. Adapted from the source document.

West Africa has been an unstable region until the early 21st century, when the conflict levels reduced and democratic elections were held. The region is very resource rich and delivers up to 1/4 of United State's oil imports, making the region a good investment for Norwegian oil producing companies. Based on prior experience, Norway has built up a West African strategy that focuses on stability and development. L. Pitkaniemi

The article analyzes the wars & conflicts of the Horn of Africa from a regional point of view. Although it is argued that the many conflicts largely arise for reasons internal to the individual state -- in particular, due to tensions between groups & the state stemming from the way the state formation is constituted -- it is also pointed out that the dynamics of these conflicts can only be understood in a regional perspective. As armed opposition groups use neighboring countries as bases for their attacks on the regime, & as networks of alliances are built around the principle of "my enemy's enemy is my friend," the different conflicts are interwoven into a regional conflict pattern. As the states of the region are chronically conflict-ridden & failing to maintain monopoly of violence throughout their territories, they are challenged by liberation movements that assume many of the characteristics ordinarily understood as prerogatives of the state. 14 References. Adapted from the source document.

West Africa is one of the most instable regions in the world with ongoing conflicts and civil wars. At the same time the region's importance is growing globally due to its rich resources and strategically important location. Many states, including Norway, are currently rethinking their strategies in the region and how to deal with the problematic situations in the Mano River and Niger Delta areas. L. Pitkaniemi

'I have so much respect for the women of Africa'. The quotation is taken from a report in the Danish magazine Too dameme in 2011 here follows is the Danish singer Maria Montell, who are visiting the village Kanziko in Kenya, where a Danish water project just so set. The reader is invited to Montell fashion with Kenyans whose life terms shall put her own life back home in Denmark in perspective. The Africans touches Montell deeply and reinforces her that would help (Say 2011: 45). Adapted from the source document.

The article discusses the African state, using Michael Mann's theory of state formation as a starting point. Mann describes state formation as a process through which society is gradually "caged in" by the state, establishing the state as the highest political authority & the final arbiter of conflict within its territory. I argue that African states have been unable to "cage in" their societies. On the one hand, this means that politics does not only consist in struggles about control over the state or the content of state politics. Instead, the state's right to formulate laws & policies that are binding for society as a whole is challenged. On the other hand, since the state is unable to control its borders, interstate relations also take a different form. Conflicts that start as civil wars tend to spread across borders, without any of the affected states being able to prevent it. As a result, the distinction between the internal & the external becomes blurred. 28 References. Adapted from the source document.