Suchergebnisse

African independence launched into international politics a group of the world's poorest, weakest, and most artificial states. How have such states managed to survive? To what extent is their survival now threatened? Christopher Clapham shows how an initially supportive international environment has - as a result partly of political and economic mismanagement within African states themselves, partly of global developments over which they had no control - become increasingly threatening to African rulers and the states over which they preside. The author also reveals how international conventions designed to uphold state sovereignty have often been appropriated and subverted by rulers to enhance their domestic control, and how African states have been undermined by guerrilla insurgencies and the use of international relations to serve essentially private ends. He shows how awkward, how ambiguous, how unsatisfactory, and often how tragic, has been the encounter between Africa and Western conceptions of statehood

Very similar in some ways, but strikingly different in others, Sierra Leone and Liberia have an obvious appeal for comparative analysis. They share the legacy of foundation by immigrants of African descent and the juxtaposition of these with indigenous peoples, but within the contrasting institutional frameworks of settler independence and British colonialism. They have similar social and economic structures but sharply dissimilar political records: Liberia has long been regarded as the classic case of stability at the price of oligarchy, whereas Sierra Leone, after a period as West Africa's most successful two-party democracy, suffered a succession of military coups and by 1973 was effectively a single-party state. This study seeks to analyse and account for both similarities and differences, looking at the two countries' experience in the 1960s and early 1970s, not only in central politics but also at the local level and in economic policy

In dem Beitrag eines britischen Wissenschaftlers wird das Problemfeld von Staatlichkeit, Staatszerfall und Rekonstruktion des Staates am Beispiel von Sierra Leone und vor dem Hintergrund des Wechselspiels zwischen globalen und lokalen Zusammenhängen analysiert. Er untersucht die Ursachen der Katastrophe, skizziert die Katastrophe selbst und beleuchtet die internen und externen Ansätze der Suche nach einem Ausweg. Wie kann es gelingen, die "Macht der destruktiven Kräfte" zu brechen? (DÜI-Kör)

Während der letzten 4-5 Jahre zeichnet sich in Subsahara-Afrika ein bemerkenswerter, friedlich umgesetzter Trend zu Pluralismus und Mehrparteiendemokratie ab. Die Frage ist, wie stabil diese Demokratien bei einer oft ethnisch sehr heterogenen Bevölkerung sind. Der Autor arbeitet die Faktoren heraus, die für eine demokratische Entwicklung positiv sind (ethnisch übergreifende Gesellschaftsstrukturen, Entstehen einer neuen Führungselite, wirtschaftliche Zwänge, kleine und Inselstaaten) und analysiert, inwieweit diese für die schwarzafrikanischen Staaten derzeit zutreffen. Ergebnis: Bei einer Gruppe von neun Staaten sind die Aussichten für fortdauernde Demokratie sehr gut; weitere 16 erfüllen die notwendigen Kriterien aber nur zum Teil. In ebenfalls 16 Staaten sind demgegenüber die Aussichten auf dauerhafte Demokratie nur gering und bei noch verbliebenen sieben Staaten schließlich überhaupt nicht gegeben. (DÜI-Hlb)

Although the causes of insurgency in Africa are largely domestic, it has important implications for international politics. Most insurgent movements, and not only liberation insurgencies directed against white minority rule, have been able to gain at least tacit support from neighbouring states. The nature of the relationship between the movement and the state from whose territory it operates, along with the organisational strength of the movement itself, are the most important determinants of its external relations. The key external resources which insurgents require are arms, food, money, publicity, and diplomatic recognition. These may be obtained in a variety of ways, but relationships with non-governmental organisations are often particularly significant. (SAJIA/DÜI)

Marxism-Leninism in Ethiopia had an indigenous appeal which explains its adoption both by the central regime after the 1974 revolution, and by its main opponents. For the military government, it combined ruthless centralization with radical social change. For regional opposition groups, it was a doctrine of insurgent warfare. Both the central government and the EPLF (Eritrean People's Liberation Front) saw it as an aid to multi-ethnic nationbuilding. At the centre, it failed both economically (especially in agriculture) and politically. The insurgents, who seized power in 1991, abandoned it in their search for Western support. Some elements nonetheless remain, especially in Eritrea. (Documentatieblad/ASC Leiden)