Suchergebnisse

The increasing number of agreements between the EU and African states reveals a trend toward a 'One Europe, One Africa' policy. The EU has gained from the Lisbon Treaty new competencies for independent external action, and coordination on Africa policy has increased in the Council, mainly due to convergence between France, Germany and the United Kingdom. However, EU policy towards Africa still lacks coherence and direction and many EU Member States still privilege bilateral links with African countries. There is still an opportunity for the EU to increase its 'actorness' in Africa. First, the EU should take advantage of the economic crisis to create new institutional links between the EU and Africa. Second, the EU should focus on its visibility and act to strengthen private and civil society ties. Despite weaknesses, there are clear indications that the coherence of the EU's Africa policy is improving.

A history of three transnational political projects designed to overcome the inequities of imperialismAfter the dissolution of empires, was the nation-state the only way to unite people politically, culturally, and economically? In Post-Imperial Possibilities, historians Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper examine three large-scale, transcontinental projects aimed at bringing together peoples of different regions to mitigate imperial legacies of inequality. Eurasia, Eurafrica, and Afroasia-in theory if not in practice-offered alternative routes out of empire.The theory of Eurasianism was developed after the collapse of imperial Russia by exiled intellectuals alienated by both Western imperialism and communism. Eurafrica began as a design for collaborative European exploitation of Africa but was transformed in the 1940s and 1950s into a project to include France's African territories in plans for European integration. The Afroasian movement wanted to replace the vertical relationship of colonizer and colonized with a horizontal relationship among former colonial territories that could challenge both the communist and capitalist worlds.Both Eurafrica and Afroasia floundered, victims of old and new vested interests. But Eurasia revived in the 1990s, when Russian intellectuals turned the theory's attack on Western hegemony into a recipe for the restoration of Russian imperial power. While both the system of purportedly sovereign states and the concentrated might of large economic and political institutions continue to frustrate projects to overcome inequities in welfare and power, Burbank and Cooper's study of political imagination explores wide-ranging concepts of social affiliation and obligation that emerged after empire and the reasons for their unlike destinies

After the dissolution of empires, was the nation-state the only way to unite people politically, culturally, and economically? In Post-Imperial Possibilities, historians Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper examine three large-scale, transcontinental projects aimed at bringing together peoples of different regions to mitigate imperial legacies of inequality. Eurasia, Eurafrica, and Afroasia- in theory if not in practice - offered alternative routes out of empire. The theory of Eurasianism was developed after the collapse of imperial Russia by exiled intellectuals alienated by both Western imperialism and communism. Eurafrica began as a design for collaborative European exploitation of Africa but was transformed in the 1940s and 1950s into a project to include France's African territories in plans for European integration. The Afroasian movement wanted to replace the vertical relationship of colonizer and colonized with a horizontal relationship among former colonial territories that could challenge both the communist and capitalist worlds. Both Eurafrica and Afroasia floundered, victims of old and new vested interests. But Eurasia revived in the 1990s, when Russian intellectuals turned the theory's attack on Western hegemony into a recipe for the restoration of Russian imperial power. While both the system of purportedly sovereign states and the concentrated might of large economic and political institutions continue to frustrate projects to overcome inequities in welfare and power, Burbank and Cooper's study of political imagination explores wide-ranging concepts of social affiliation and obligation that emerged after empire and the reasons for their unlike destinies.

SINCE 1975, EUROPE'S VIEWS ON THE RICH-POOR STATE ISSUE HAVE BEEN REFLECTED IN THE NEGOTIATIONS OVER THE CONTENT OF THE LOME CONVENTIONS. AS EUROPE GOES THROUGH A TRANSFORMATION TOWARDS INCREASING ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL INTEGRATION, IT NEEDS TO REEXAMINE LOME AND THE ROAD TO A MUCH NEEDED AND DESIRABLE CHANGE IN RELATIONS WITH THE AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC (ACP) COUNTRIES. THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE FOUR LOME CONVENTIONS (NAMED FOR THE CAPITAL OF TOGO, WHERE THE FIRST CONVENTION WAS SIGNED) AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT OVER TIME. IT CONCENTRATES ON THE NEW POSSIBILITIES AND POTENTIAL OBSTACLES CREATED BY THE EMERGING EUROPE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE INCREASING IMPOVERISHMENT AND MARGINALIZATION OF MANY POOR COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD--ESPECIALLY ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT. IT CONCLUDES THAT LOME IV (THE AGREEMENT COVERING THE YEARS 1990-2000) SHOULD BE SEEN AS A HOLDING OPERATION FOR BOTH THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE ACP COUNTRIES. FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WHILE LOME IV PROVISIONS FAIL TO REDRESS ASYMMETRIES, THEY CAN SUSTAIN LINKAGES AND OBLIGATIONS THAT CAN FURTHER CURTAIL THE MARGINALIZATION OF THE ACP STATES. IN THE LONG-TERM, LOME IV SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO WITHER SLOWLY AS NEW LINKS AND NEWLY STRUCTURED RELATIONSHIPS EVOLVE TO ADDRESS THE REALISTIC INTERDEPENDENCY PROBLEMS OF THE RICH AND POOR STATES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.

The last day of June 1995 saw the completion of the review of the Lomé Convention, a comprehensive trade and aid relationship between the European Union and 70 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. Given that the Lomé regime is one of the most long lived and comprehensive arrangements in North‐South relations it might have been expected that there would have been a considerable reaction by those interested in development issues. In fact, the general reaction has been muted. This is because there is a certain lack of enthusiasm for Lomé, not least on the part of powerful forces in the EU. It has been suggested that the Convention is in decline due to waning EU commitment to development in the ACP states. In this article we shall examine whether or not the Lomé relationship is actually being allowed to die on the vine by the EU. First, we shall examine developments over the history of the relationship in order to discern trends that have emerged over the longer term. We shall then turn to the recent history of the Convention since 1990. Finally, we will analyse the terms agreed at the recent Mid‐Term Review in order to assess what the future seems to hold for the Lomé regime.

Der vorliegende Text gibt eine differenzierte Analyse des Lome-Prozesses von seinen Anfängen 1975 bis zu den jüngsten Lome-Verhandlungen. Die leitende Fragestellung zielt auf eine Einschätzung der Zukunftsperspektive der Lome-Verträge. Vor dem Hintergrund des wachsenden Interesses der EU an wirtschaftlichen Beziehungen zu Osteuropa ist ein abnehmendes Interesse der EU an den AKP-Staaten zu verzeichnen. Dennoch hält der Autor ein völliges Auslaufen des Lome-Prozesses für wenig wahrscheinlich. (DÜI-Spl)

In order to think theoretically about our global age it is important to understand how the global has been conceived historically. 'Eurafrica' was an intellectual endeavor and political project that from the 1920s saw Europe's future survival - its continued role in history - as completely bound up with Europe's successful merger with Africa. In its time the concept of Eurafrica was tremendously influential in the process of European integration. Today the project is largely forgotten, yet the idea continues to influence EU policy towards its African 'partner'. The book will recover a critic

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. In order to think theoretically about our global age it is important to understand how the global has been conceived historically. 'Eurafrica' was an intellectual endeavor and political project that from the 1920s saw Europe's future survival - its continued role in history - as completely bound up with Europe's successful merger with Africa. In its time the concept of Eurafrica was tremendously influential in the process of European integration. Today the project is largely forgotten, yet the idea continues to influence EU policy towards its African 'partner'. The book will recover a critical conception of the nexus between Europe and Africa - a relationship of significance across the humanities and social sciences. In assessing this historical concept the authors shed light on the process of European integration, African decolonization and the current conflictual relationship between Europe and Africa.