Suchergebnisse

TO BE A POLITICAL LEADER IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD IS TO FOLLOW AN EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS AND INSECURE OCCUPATION. IN ADDITION, IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA THE ELEMENT OF PERSONAL DANGER EXISTS IN A PARTICULARLY ACUTE FORM. WITHOUT CLAIMING ANY GREAT STATISTICAL PRECISION, THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS A BROAD COMPARATIVE ACCOUNT OF THE DANGERS ATTACHED TO POSITIONS OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN POST-INDEPENDENCE BLACK AFRICA.

In the aftermath of the turmoil that shook North Africa in late 2010 and early 2011, commentators and analysts have sought explanations to the factors that triggered the uprisings and to understand why a region, seemingly characterized by relative stability for decades, would suddenly erupt in convulsions. Had an underlying dynamism in the region overwhelmed what were ostensibly stable authoritarian regimes? What were the connections to events and dynamics beyond the region, such as countries in the Middle East, international commodity markets, and environmental factors, amongst others? Why had allies abetted authoritarianism for so long, and what were the implications for such alliances? North African Politics: Change and continuity brings together experts to explore these questions, providing in-depth analyses of important developments in the region, which build upon and complement the 2008 companion volume, North Africa: Politics, Region and the Limits of Transformation. This 21-chapter volume is a key contribution that responds to the need in the Anglo-American sphere for sustained, critical studies on North Africa and examines political, economic, security, social and military aspects of the region. Focused studies on individual countries allow detailed discussion of regional factors. The book also examines extrinsic, trans-regional dynamics, such as North Africa's influential interdependencies with the Levant and the Gulf, Europe, Sahelian and sub-Saharan Africa, and North America. Its innovative approach provides new perspectives on North Africa, extending its research scope to include Egypt and exploring China's evolving role in the region.--

To be a political leader in many parts of the world is to follow an extremely hazardous and insecure occupation. In addition, in sub-Saharan Africa, but elsewhere as well, the element of personal danger exists in a particularly acute form. Althought the extent to which this is true varies considerably not only from place to place but also over time, the evidence of the past 30 years clearly suggests that there are remarkably few states in which an individual could contemplate embarking on a career in politics free from the dauger of incurring severe personal penalties at some stage.

Preface and introduction / Yahia H. Zoubir and Gregory White -- A political economy perspective on North African transitions / Gonzalo Escribano -- Maghrebi youth in the wake of the Arab Spring : general observations and evidence from Tunisia and Algeria / Mark Tessler and Jennifer Miller-Gonzalez -- Civil-military relations in Algeria and Egypt : a comparative analysis / Miloud Chennoufi -- Security sector reforms in North Africa / Eduard Soler i Lecha -- Berbers in an Arab Spring : the politics of amazigh identity and the North African uprisings / Michael J. Willis -- Civil insurrections in North Africa : history and prospects / Stephen Zunes -- Social media and mobilization in the Arab Spring and beyond / Lina Khatib -- Western Sahara : change under the radar / Alice Wilson -- Algeria : reforms without change? / Ahmed Aghrout and Yahia Zoubir -- The making and unmaking of the 2012 constitution in Egypt / Ibrahim Awad -- Libya : from 'reform' to revolution / Alison Pargeter -- Political change in Mauritania : desperately seeking its 'Arab Spring' / Abdoulaye Diagana -- Morocco : keeping revolution at bay with an enhanced status quo / Azzedine Layachi -- From democratic consensus to a struggle for power : the fragility of transition in Tunisia / Emma C. Murphy -- The evolving foreign policies of North African states (2011-2014) : new trends in constraints, political processes and behavior / Miguel Hernando de Larramendi and Irene Fernandez Molina -- The United States and North Africa / Yahia H. Zoubir and Stephen Zunes -- Barcelona, twenty years on / George Joffe -- China in North Africa : a strategic partnership / Imen Belhadj and Degang Sun, with the collaboration of Yahia Zoubir -- The role of the GCC in North Africa in light of the Arab Spring / Elena Maestri -- North Africa's energy challenges / Hakim Darbouche and John Hamilton.

Can a book be both inspiring and disappointing? The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa might just fall into this rare category. Alex de Waal's book is theoretically original and empirically rich, but it is also reductionist and, in the case of Ethiopia, biased. The book makes sense of the Horn of Africa's complex contemporary politics through the prism of three elements. Firstly, de Waal proposes an innovative theory centred on the idea of the 'political marketplace'. This theory grasps the causal interactions between violence, political finance and big man politics in East Africa and elsewhere. The 'political marketplace' framework is arguably the book's most important contribution and it speaks to political scientists and policy analysts. Secondly, as the title suggests, the book sets out to explain the Horn of Africa's 'real politics'.

ABSTRACT
Many African politics courses rely heavily on readings authored by North American and European scholars. Scholarly and primary sources written or created by Africans are often underrepresented, and a similar problem persists across regionally focused politics courses. Yet a diversity of sources and perspectives are essential to providing students with a well-rounded understanding of African politics. This article offers a brief argument for the pedagogical benefits of increasing the number of African-authored materials in African politics courses and provides a list of suggested resources for instructors eager to diversify their own courses.

The article discusses the possible transformation of the geopolitical situation in the Francophone countries of Tropical Africa in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, based on the information published in the French media. And also, the analytical report, sent by experts of the Paris Center for Analysis, Forecasting and Strategy (CAPS), to the President and the French Foreign Ministry was used. The article contains a list of the main epidemiological, social, humanitarian, and political threats that will destabilize the situation on the Black Continent, as well asmade a prediction attempt of the dynamics of international relations in the post-coronavirus period. The aim of this study is to find out how the balance of forces of traditional and relatively new actors in international relations has been changed in the countries of Tropical Africa in the period of present observation. Particular attention is paid to the initiatives of the Champs Elysees, designed to preserve the traditional political, economic, and military dominance of the Fifth Republic in African countries, the territories of which were part of the French colonial empire. Emanuel Macron's proposals regarding forgiveness of external debts and economic assistance to African countries are analyzed. It is concluded that the initiatives of the President of France cannot be implemented in political practice and are aimed only at countering the growth of anti-French mood in the Sahel. A political analysis of the situation comes to the conclusion that, as a result of the economic and political upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is very likely that the interests of France will be supplanted from Tropical Africa by China and, in part, by Russia.

Using comparative cases from Guinea, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, this study explains why some refugee-hosting communities launch large-scale attacks on civilian refugees whereas others refrain from such attacks even when encouraged to do so by state officials. Ato Kwamena Onoma argues that such outbreaks only happen when states instigate them because of links between a few refugees and opposition groups. Locals embrace these attacks when refugees are settled in areas that privilege residence over indigeneity in the distribution of rights, ensuring that they live autonomously of local elites. The resulting opacity of their lives leads locals to buy into their demonization by the state. Locals do not buy into state denunciation of refugees in areas that privilege indigeneity over residence in the distribution of rights because refugees in such areas are subjugated to locals who come to know them very well. Onoma reorients the study of refugees back to a focus on the disempowered civilian refugees that constitute the majority of refugees even in cases of severe refugee militarization