African realism? Henderson, Errol A
2015., 2015, 2015-03-19
eBook
African Realism explains Africa’s international conflicts of the post-colonial era through international relations theory. It looks at the relationship between Africa’s domestic and international ...conflicts, as well as the impact of factors such as domestic legitimacy, trade, and regional economic institutions on African wars. Further, it examines the relevance of traditional realist assumptions (e.g. balance of power, the security dilemma) to African international wars and how these factors are modified by the exigencies of Africa’s domestic institutions, such as neopatrimonialism and inverted legitimacy. This study also addresses the inconsistencies and inaccuracies of international relations theory as it engages African international relations, and especially, its military history
During the second half of the twentieth century, African states shifted away from state-led development strategies, and are now moving towards a strategy of regional economic integration. In this ...book, Landry Signé explores the key drivers of African policy and economic transformation, proposing a preeminent explanation of policy innovations in Africa through the examination of postcolonial strategies for economic development. Scholars and practitioners in fields as varied as development studies, political science and public policy, economics, sociology and African studies will benefit from Signé's unprecedented comparative analysis, including detailed cases from the often understudied Francophone Africa. First studying why, how and when institutional or policy change occurs in Africa, Signé explores the role of international, regional and national actors in making African economic development strategies from 1960 to date, highlighting the economic transformations of the twenty-first century.
This volume explores the issues and debates surrounding the ongoing processes of democratization in sub-Saharan Africa, illuminating the central dynamics characterizing Africa's democratic ...experiments, and considering the connections between democratization and economic, social, and cultural developments on the continent.
Reflecting the diverse and rich nature of this field of study, the Handbook of Democratization in Africa features more than thirty contributions structured into six thematic sections:
The politics and paths of regime development
Institutional dynamics
Political mobilization and voting dynamics
The politics of identity
Social forces from below
The consequences of democracy.
Chapters offer overviews of the key scholarship on particular topics, including central insights from the latest research, and provide suggestions for those interested in further inquiry. The material includes attention to broad cross-continental patterns, for example with respect to public opinion, political violence, or the role of different institutions and actors. It also includes rich case material, drawing on and highlighting the experiences of a diverse collection of countries.
Encouraging a comprehensive view of key concerns and enhancing understanding of particular issues, the Handbook of Democratization in Africa represents a critical resource for experts and students of African politics, democratization, and African studies.
This book explores, at a time when several powers have become serious players on the continent, aspects of African agency, past and present, by African writers on foreign policy, representative of ...geography, language and state size.
In the past, African foreign policy has largely been considered within the context of reactions to the international or global "external factor". This ground-breaking book, however, looks at how foreign policy has been crafted and used in response not just to external, but also, mainly, domestic imperatives or (theoretical) signifiers. As such, it narrates individual and changing foreign policy orientations over time-and as far back as independence-with mainly African-based scholars who present their own constructs of what is a useful theoretical narrative regarding foreign policy on the continent-how theory is adapted to local circumstance or substituted for continentally based ontologies. The book therefore contends that the African experience carries valuable import for expanding general understandings of foreign policy in general.
This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of Foreign Policy Analysis, Foreign Policy Studies, African International Relations/Politics/Studies, Diplomacy and more broadly to International Relations.
What happens to marginalized groups from Africa when they ally with the indigenous peoples' movement? Who claims to be indigenous and why? Dorothy L. Hodgson explores how indigenous identity, both in ...concept and in practice, plays out in the context of economic liberalization, transnational capitalism, state restructuring, and political democratization. Hodgson brings her long experience with Maasai to her understanding of the shifting contours of their contemporary struggles for recognition, representation, rights, and resources. Being Maasai, Becoming Indigenous is a deep and sensitive reflection on the possibilities and limits of transnational advocacy and the dilemmas of political action, civil society, and change in Maasai communities.
The Quiet Revolution and two major language bills have transformed Quebec society. Ottawa's response to Quebec's constitutional demands has been slow and erratic. Today Ottawa's bilingualism policies ...are under heavy criticism. To complicate matters, the English-speaking provinces are seeking more autonomy; and the centralizing economics of John Maynard Keynes -- our modern 'father of Confederation' -- are being challenged. Can our constitution cope with these stresses? Should it be amended, rewritten -- or perhaps simply ignored? Edward McWhinney offers the first thorough analysis of nearly two decades of constitutional development. His book examines Quebec's demands since 1960 for social, economic, linguistic, and political self-determination, and the implications of these demands for our federal system. It also looks at the new pressures on such federal institutions as the Senate and the Supreme Court coming from the constitutional proposals of the English-speaking premiers. The responses of successive federal governments, up to the Constitutional Amendment Bill of 1978, are studied. Since the election in 1976 of a Quebec government officially committed to separatism, the province has begun, without constitutional challenge, to transfer power to new social and economic elite. Edward McWhinney scrutinizes the mechanisms of Quebec's transformation and, in his general survey of constitutional evolution, suggests new possibilities for a truly 'cooperative federalism' and 'renewed' Confederation.
Several outstanding books have been written about the road to September 11. The Search for Al Qaeda has a different mission. While it does review how al Qaeda was created and developed, it focuses ...more closely on what has happened to the terrorist network since that awful day. According to Riedel, al Qaeda's ultimate goals are to drive America from the Muslim world (the ummah); to destroy Israel; and to create a jihadist caliphate along the lines of the Ottoman Empire at its height. The book reveals al Qaeda's multi-pronged strategy for accomplishing those goals; draw America into the type of "bleeding wars" that drove the Soviets from Afghanistan, build a safe haven for al Qaeda in Pakistan; develop other "franchises" in the Islamic world that can overthrow pro-American regimes; and conduct more Western attacks along the lines of 9-11 or the transit bombings in Madrid and London. Bruce Riedel is an expert on the Middle East and South Asia, with 30 years of policymaking experience in regional diplomacy and counterterrorism. He draws on this experience and firsthand knowledge in profiling the four most important figures in the al Qaeda movement: Osama bin Laden, its creator and charismatic leader: ideologue Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian co-leader of al Qaeda and its principal spokesman; Abu Musaib al Zarqawi, the tenacious leader of al Qaeda in Iraq until his death in 2006; and Mullah Omar, Taliban host to al Qaeda. These profiles provide the base from which Riedel delivers a much clearer understanding of al Qaeda and what must be done to counter it.
A discussion of political and religious crisis in Africa, this book covers such topics as democratic transition, good governance, civil society and the African renaissance. Elias K. Bongmba proposes ...humanistic interventions centred on the recovery of interpersonal relations and seeks to understand the ongoing struggles in Africa.
It has been said before that Africa is one of the richest continents in the world but the poorest and colonialism was blamed for Africa's problems before the continent was liberated. Although some ...leaders still blame colonialism for the poverty that is ravaging the continent today, it cannot be denied that poor governance, corruption, greed among many other ills are causing Africa's current problems. The essays in this collection The Gods Sleep Through It All discusses Africa's leadership problems and how most countries still rely on former colonisers for help despite boasting of untold natural wealth. The essays discuss the corruption of political parties and politics in Africa and question why African countries readily open their arms to countries like China but close borders to people from other African countries.
