CODESRIA Books Publication System

Home and Exile

Barrack O. Muluka — Mon, 15 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The story of humankind is about the search for hospitable places to call home.Migration is historically a part of this story. People have left one place for the other, based on challenges in the place of origin, and perceived attractions in the desired destinations. In emergency migrations, the character of the African refugee camp at the end of the twentieth Century has gradually transformed into that of an intermediate stage in incomplete migrations. In this volume,Muluka places the case of South Sudanese refugees in Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp, over a three-decadeperiod.at the centre of an appreciation of the changing nature of African searches for new homes in the Global North, and how these searches are contributing to stagnated refugee situations on the continent.

"Dr Muluka has woven a revealing tapestry on migration in all its facets. With migration from South Sudan as the focus, he has in an incisive, analytical and masterful style handled a delicate subject with intellectual rigour and dexterity: 'Home and Exile' is enriching"

PLO Lumumba, The PLO LUMUMBA FOUNDATION and LUMUMBA AND LUMUMBA ADVOCATES

In Home and Exile, Muluka highlights the lengths people will go to in seeking a hospitable place to live,even if this takes them a long distance from the places they otherwise memorialise as home. Mulukarichly details people's experiences and future expectations of home in situations of protracted displacement, as well as their tensioin with migrationpolicy. His account of Kakuma offers a compelling insight into exile and the complexity of longing for home.

Kelly Staples, Author of Re-theorisingStatelessness: A background theory of membership in world politics

"Homeand Exile is an insightful and masterfully pragmatic intervention making it essential reading for anyone working on refugee issues. The book also shines a light on the dreams of those who abandon everything they know in search of a better future. Through the book, Dr. Muluka takes us through the ugly side of forced migration and highlights the need for a humane reform framework that includes the reasons that force so many to leave their loved ones and countries behind."

Evelyn Jepkemei (PhD), Educationist, Advisory Board Member,The East African Centre for Forced Migration & Displacement

Barrack 0. Muluka is a scholar in politics and international relations, with a bias for migration studies. He holds a PhD from the School of History, Politics and International Relations of the University of Leicester, UK. He also holds graduate and undergraduate qualifications from the University of Nairobi (Master of Arts in Armed Conflict and Peace Studies,Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communications and Bachelor of Arts (Hons] in Linguistics]. He has worked in publishing, as well as in public communications. He has written and published widely as a commentator in politics.

Beyond the Coloniality of Internationalism

Sabelo J Ndlovu-Gatsheni — Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Deploying a decolonial epistemic perspective to reflect on a terminally ill international system besieged by numerous crises, Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni makes a strong case for reworlding the world from the global South in general and global Africa in particular. Taking the Russia-Ukraine War as a crisis that portends a change of the present world order, he projects an emerging planetary pluriversal future. Challenging mainstream theories of internationalism, the book highlights anti-imperial struggles and decolonial praxes of reconstituting and remaking the world after neoliberal imperial internationalism.

“That the post-1945 global multilateral system is in crisis is no longer in dispute. What is at issue is the question of how best to transcend its many discontents and build a qualitatively new order. Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni argues vigorously, and with ample historical references, that what is called for is a root and branch dismantling of the moribund order and its replacement with a new one that draws from the rich decolonial, anti-imperialist, anti-patriarchal, and human-centred heritage that is rooted in the history of struggles in the global South. Students of contemporary world affairs will find much in this book that is at once enlightening and challenging. For practitioners, the book will reshape their thinking about the scope and options for change required for the birth of a new world order.” – Adebayo Olukoshi, Distinguished Professor, Wits School of Governance, South Africa

“Once upon a time global events were narrated by local narrators placed in their own North Atlantic perceptions. No longer. The Russian special operation in Ukraine that triggered Beyond the Coloniality of Internationalism is a case in point. It is narrated from also at once from the Global South and the Global East. The closing of North Atlantic hegemony is manifested in the closing of unilateral narratives and unipolar international relations. This book is a magnificent antidote to what Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, encapsulated in a mighty single sentence: the danger of a single story. Additionally, this refreshing narrative and analysis shows us that the power of the singles stories was and still is a story of modernity of internationalism. This book turns the pages around: Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni unveils the colonial stories of unipolar internationalism. By doing so, the book reminds us of another sign of the change of era: decolonial thinking and being in the world, rewording the world, is not an academic question, it is about life. Knowing to live rather than living to know.” Walter D. Mignolo, William Hane Wannamaker Distinguished Professor of Romance Studies, Duke University

“Professor Sabelo J Ndlovu-Gatsheni’s powerful book draws from the Ukraine war to provide an anti-colonial interpretation of international relations. He argues that the West’s attempt to maintain its domination is futile, and that the forces of decolonisation will prevail in the building of a genuine multilateral world order.” Professor Vijay Prashad, Director, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research

“In a world wracked again with war and despair, what does a decolonial ethos have to contribute? It puts forward a deliberate anti-imperial ethos. An ethos against conquest. And it crafts this ethos with a cosmopolitan intent. Finally, we are all one and united in vulnerability, but also the right to live in peace. Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni examines the thought of both Olaf Palme and Nelson Mandela and, in this new book, crafts a powerful message of deliverance and peace.”-Stephen Chan, Professor of World Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

“From the so-called Russia-Ukraine War, through the Middle East “theatre of wars” to the decolonize projects, Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni takes this complex scenario and repaints the canvas vividly from the right side, revisiting history, critiquing paradigms, and, most importantly, offering prospects for an alternative approach. This comprehensive analysis is a must-read for scholars of international relations, human rights, decolonial studies, peace studies, and just about anyone who needs a diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment plan for our world order.” –Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Professor of African and Gender Studies, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana

“In this book Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni undertakes a breath-taking task of synthesis, bringing together into conversation Marxism (especially in its Leninist incarnation), the Black Radical Tradition and decolonial perspectives into an analysis of the continuing “coloniality of international” power relations. He uses the current Russia-Ukraine war to cast a fresh glance at the entire project of colonialism and imperialism and its operation today in terms of the “Cold War” that continues long after its official end. At one level, an intervention in the area of international relations, the book is much more – and as the subtitle suggests, concerned quite centrally with the “reworlding of the word from the Global South.” This reworlding, Ndlovu-Gatsheni argues, can only be possible by mining repressed knowledges, exploring paths never taken and imagining possibilities considered unimaginable – a task that is in the first place epistemological and involves what he calls “rethinking and unthinking from the crevices, ashes and ruins left by dying Euro North American modernity and its colonialities.” His is an optimistic project whose optimism derives from the recognition that colonialism, imperialism and the Cold War are not merely economic and political structures that apparently exist independently of the players involved but are put in place through the massive apparatus of Euro-American knowledge, demolishing which is the key task of decolonial theory and practice.”—Aditya Nigam, Professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi, India

“This is a book that is as politically enticing as it is beautifully conceived and written with the force to inspire us never to look away from the horrors whilst providing the ink of hope and the power to collectively change said state of things. Ndlovu- Gatsheni’s book is a political toolbox, as much as it is a spiritual canvas, and a historical map for all of us who refuse to believe that no other world is possible. “Beyond coloniality of internationalism Reworlding the World from the Global South” synthesizes and harmonically deploys the major schools of thought and action involved in thinking the political crises of our times (ecological, political, racial, capitalist, patriarchal) and through the understanding and practice that the centre of coloniality of power is encrypted power it creates the conditions to de-think and rethink them anew.” Ricardo Sanin-Restrepo, author of Decolonizing Democracy

“Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni calls for a root and branch dismantling of the moribund order and its replacement with a new one that draws from the rich decolonial, anti-imperialist, anti-patriarchal, and human-centred heritage that is rooted in the history of struggles in the global South.”- Adebayo Olukoshi, Distinguished Professor, Wits School of Governance, South Africa

“This book is a magnificent antidote to what Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, encapsulated in a mighty single sentence: the danger of a single story. By doing so, the book reminds us of another sign of the change of era: decolonial thinking and being in the world, rewording the world, is not an academic question, it is about life. Knowing to live rather than living to know.” Walter D. Mignolo, William Wannamaker Distinguished Professor, Duke University

“Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni’s powerful book draws from the Ukraine war to provide an anti-colonial interpretation of international relations.” Vijay Prashad, Professor & Director, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research

“Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni crafts a powerful message of deliverance and peace.”-Stephen Chan, Professor of World Politics, SOAS, University of London

“Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni repaints the canvas vividly from the right side, revisiting history, critiquing paradigms, and, most importantly, offering prospects for an alternative approach.” –Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Professor of African & Gender Studies, University of Ghana

“Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni undertakes a breath-taking task of synthesis, bringing together into conversation Marxism, the Black Radical Tradition and decolonial perspectives into an analysis of the continuing coloniality of international power relations.” Aditya Nigam, Professor at the Centre for Developing Societies, Delhi

“Ndlovu- Gatsheni’s book is a political toolbox, as much as it is a spiritual canvas, and a historical map for all of us who refuse to believe that no other world is possible.” Ricardo Sanin-Restrepo, Professor of Legal and Political Theory, Universidad Javeriana

Diversity and the essence of Pan-African Arts

Bouchra Sidi-Hida; Fatima Zohra Ifl ahen, Mamadou Diouf — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Arts, artistic, and literary production in Africa are echoes of Africa’s cultural heritage in its diversities, essence, values, realities, and contradictions, being transmitted across generations. These resonances are translated in different ways from one period to another and from one culture to the other. They propagate the authentic image that Africa has of itself in its enthusiasms, its sufferings, its discomforts, its challenges, and its resilience to surpass itself, live the present, and imagine its future. The collection of chapters in this book was first presented as part of the CODESRIA Humanities Institute that took place on the sidelines of the bi-annual Pan-Africa Film and Television Festival, Fespaco, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 2019. The institute convened African researchers and artists to reflect on the possibilities and implications of (re)making the memory and history of the (Pan)African arts, as part of a process of problematizing attitudes toward the past and the future.

African Doctoral and Masters Academic Society

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This report is from a research work interested in the development of knowledge exchange between African Scholars in Africa and African Scholars and friends of Africa in the diaspora and; in addressing problems regarding postgraduate studies, research and the shortage of qualified academic staff. The long-term objective of Global Knowledge Exchange Network (GKEN) is, therefore, to coordinate and channel the resources, expertise and creativity of Africans in the Diaspora. The diaspora initiatives have long been recognised by the African Union which started with its official designation as the “Sixth Region” of the African Union, alongside North, South, East, West and Central Africa in 2003. Furthermore, considerations related to Diaspora engagement are woven throughout the African Union’s various programmes. GKEN’s ultimate aim is to create appropriate knowledge exchange and experience sharing model of African Doctoral and Masters Academic Society (ADMAS) that will have the capacity not only to help improve the quality of education but also create an impact that will drive better socio-economic competitiveness of Africa. We urge other academic networks to adapt this development model in sister African Nations.

The Sociology of the Igbo

Caroline Okumdi Muoghalu — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Forthcoming ...

This book is a well thought out articulation of the philosophies, behaviour patterns, belief systems and customs of the Igbo of South East Nigeria. It examines these using a subtle historical perspective that traced these issues from the prehistoric to modern times and conducts descriptions and discussions of the Igbo culture. Furthermore, some experiences encountered by Ndigbo which slightly changed the Igbo world view are discussed. The book represents the utilization of the sociological imagination to create the Igbo world. It promises to be a Bible to many people and will surely enjoy a wide readership and will attract the interest of students, Sociology and Anthropology teachers, and the general public young and old and even posterity. It can be called a book for all times.

Lessons from three Transformational Leaders in Ghana’s Higher Education

Samuel K. Bonsu, Kenneth Ofori Boateng, Raymond Babanawo — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Unlike universities around the world, many African universities do not routinely overhaul their structures and processes in connection with their changing environments. Challenges of education in general in sub-Saharan Africa include inadequate financial resources, together with unprecedented demand for access, the legacy of colonialism and socioeconomic crises. In an attempt to fill the lacuna, the concept of transformational leadership is adopted as an organising framework to explore how successful African higher education leaders initiate and monitor innovative processes to address the challenges in African tertiary education. There is the need to understand the isolated cases of successful leadership in African higher education in order to understand the practice of successful transformational leadership and related lessons to strengthen African universities. Focusing on Ghana, three leaders of tertiary institutions who have excelled in pulling their universities up from humble beginnings into global renown are interviewed. Running a university in times of national or regional crisis cannot be easy, but each of these leaders persevered and excelled in making great strides towards improving their institutions. Their stories afford us the opportunity to establish broad linkages and draw conclusions that can inform policy towards enhancing higher education in Africa.

Beyond Disciplines

Shadrack Wanjala Nasong’o, Eka Ikpe — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Forthcoming ...

To what extent can we go beyond disciplinary boundaries to produce knowledge on Africa that has emancipatory and transformational power? Beyond Disciplines: African Perspectives on Theory and Method, attempts to address this question. Among the critical issues covered by contributors to the book include the limitations of Eurocentric approaches on illuminating and explaining African social contexts; the value of critical African scholarship to our understanding of the continent’s political economy of development; the descriptive, explanatory, and predictive potency of interpretivist emancipatory approaches vis-à-vis positivist developmental ones; the significance of gender power analysis for understanding women’s experiences of violent extremism; application of social science research across research communities on the critical issue of environmentalism; as well as theorising the confluence of internal displacement, weaponisation and agency of women and violent extremism. The book, authored by scholars from multiple disciplinary backgrounds based at institutions across three continents, underscores the imperative value of transformational epistemologies for Africa and demonstrates that the generation of such epistemologies is contingent upon collaborative knowledge-production projects across epistemic communities.

Universidades Pùblicas em Angola, Moçambique e Cabo Verde

Teresa Cruz e Silva — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Legends

Olusola O. Isola — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The present work chronicles the contributions of selected individual strategic thinkers and how they have influenced and brought improvement to the education sector in Nigeria after a protracted neglect by government authorities in the country.

La diplomatie de la République de Guinée : passé, présent et avenir

Issaka K. SOUARÉ — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

La République de Guinée est devenue indépendante le 2 octobre 1958. En matière de politique étrangère, l’on constate des continuités à travers tous les régimes en ce qui concerne certains fondements. Mais si la première République (1958-1984) a mis l’accent sur les considérations d’ordre idéologique, les régimes successifs depuis 1984 se sont concentrés plutôt sur les aspects économiques. Cet ouvrage présente les contextes géopolitiques de la diplomatie guinéenne depuis l’indépendance et porte un regard critique sur les moyens humains et les infrastructures à l’aide desquels elle s’est déployée. Il analyse la nature et les facteurs explicatifs des relations bilatérales entre la Guinée et certains des pays avec lesquels elle a entretenu des relations particulières. Il s’intéresse aussi aux actions multilatérales du pays dans les cadres notamment de la CEDEAO, de l’OUA/UA et de l’ONU. Le dernier chapitre porte un regard prospectif sur l’avenir de la diplomatie guinéenne à l’ère du numérique. Il s’appuie sur un solide rappel des théories de relations internationales dans la première partie, et une riche littérature en français et en anglais, y compris des documents offi ciels sur les diff érents aspects du livre. Il a bénéfi cié de beaucoup d’entretiens avec de nombreux diplomates guinéens.

Les femmes dans les forces de défense et de sécurité au Sénégal / Une intégration mitigée

Selck Sy Camara, Ousmane Bay BA, El Hadji Mali — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Forthcoming ...

L’intégration des femmes dans les forces de défense et de sécurité est au cœur des processus de démocratisation des systèmes politiques africains. L’ image fortement masculine des forces de défense et de sécurité intervient dans la construction d’une identité professionnelle dont les plus grandes préoccupations consistent à formater un agent capable de devenir « homme », symbole de la virilité. Par conséquent, les filles nouvellement admises dans le secteur sont formées en tant qu’ agents devant faire abstraction de leur statut de femme. De ce point de vue, introduire l’analyse genre dans les études sur les forces de défense et de sécurité (FDS), c’est donc s’interroger sur les statuts et rôles des femmes et des hommes dans cet espace, tout en appréhendant l’impact des rapports sociaux dans l’exercice de leurs fonctions.

Cet ouvrage rend compte du vécu des femmes dans les différents sous secteurs de la force publique, à savoir l’armée, la gendarmerie et la police, au Sénégal. Dans l’optique d’appréhender leur vécu, il est important de s’interroger sur la perception des femmes en uniforme par rapport à leurs conditions de vie et d’existence. Comment sont-elles perçues par leurs homologues masculins et par la hiérarchie ?

West African Popular Music

John Collins — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Forthcoming ...

This textbook for African and other college students consists of four sections that deal firstly with the emergence of West African popular music from the 19th century and then its 20th century development in Anglophone and Francophone West Africa. So, it covers styles as diverse as maringa, ashiko, highlife, konkoma, juju-music, apala, fuji, Afro-Manding music, apollos, wassoulou, mbalax, ndagga, Sahelian desert blues, soklokpeu, ziglibithy, zouglou, coupe décale, makossa and bikutsi – to name a few. The final fourth section is on trends inspired since the 1960s by pop and soul music – and so includes Afrorock, Afrofunk, Afrobeat and other West African popular music forms that draw on disco, reggae, hiphop, rap, R&B and techno-music. The growth of a West African music industry is also discussed, as is the rise of local gospel dance-music since the 1970s, and ‘World Music’ since the1980s. The book examines West African popular music in its historical and social context and as such covers its relationship with traditional African resources, as well as the impact on it of the music and entertainment of the Black Americas. It also deals with the role of popular performance (both music and drama) in the independence struggle, in fashioning national and Pan-African identities and as a medium of social protest and political commentary. Other areas touched upon is the relation of West African popular music to urbanization, generational identity, changing gender roles and globalisation.

Justice during Transitions

Cori Wielenga; Chris Nshimbi — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Forthcoming ...

Transitional justice interventions, particularly in Africa, have failed. In this context, there is a growing interest in tradition-based community-led practices for resolving justice. Yet little is known or understood about these practices on their own terms, and what role they play in transitional justice on the continent. This volume challenges some of the underlying assumptions of current responses to mass violence on the continent, including the way these are embedded in state-centricism and an international justice system that lacks relevance in relation to the day-to-day realities of rural African communities. Through the case studies of Zimbabwe, Burundi and Mozambique the volume explores some of the limitations and possibilities with regard to justice during transitions.

Aspects of SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS in Botswana

Bonolo Ramadi Dinokopila, Jimcall Pfumorodze , Rowland Cole — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Forthcoming ...

This book offers the readers with a nuanced discussion on the promotion, protection, and fulfilment of aspects of economic, social, and cultural rights in Botswana. Borrowing from lessons from other jurisdictions, international and regional standards, contributors to this book highlight the extent to which the country’s policy, legal and constitutional framework has provided for the enjoyment of these rights. With specific cases studies on the right to education, the right to the environment, the right to water, the right to adequate housing and social security, the book discusses the country’s policy, legal and constitutional framework relating to these rights in Botswana. The book also discusses the justiciability of economic, social, and cultural rights in Botswana. To that end, the book offers an insight into the nature and extent of the enjoyment of these rights in a jurisdiction where they are neither constitutionally protected nor spelt out as directive principles of state policy.

Conducting Research and Mentoring Students in Africa

Chris Shisanya; Ishmael I. Munene, Joy A. Obando, Abdul Karim Bangura — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Forthcoming ...

This handbook presents a selection of qualitative, quantitative, emergent and comparative research methods, many of which are African-centered. Furthermore, it discusses epistemological paradigms in the social research, mentoring techniques, publishing strategies, Internet research techniques, and research integrity and ethics. The book is designed primarily to provide researchers with an understanding of some research approaches that are useful for researching Africa. By asking fundamental questions about how to rethink methods, this book is also a critical contribution for thinking through knowledge decolonisation. The suggestions made about the possibility of studying Africa systematically are therefore subject to close examination. What integrates the chapters in this book can seem somewhat ordinary. But many research and mentoring insights are so discernible, so essential, that they are arduous to master, and convey with originality and clarity. The inventiveness of this book therefore hinges upon the simplicity with which conventional but distinct facts about the approaches examined are assembled into a coherent and intellectually persuasive synthesis.

Between Two Worlds

Leila Kajee — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Increasingly, education systems must serve not only its countrys citizens, but immigrants and refugees from the world over who are entering host countries for a variety of reasons: to escape war-torn countries, to provide a better life for their families, to access better education, for employment and health care opportunities, and to engage in business. This book sets out to explore across various sites immigrant youth's early encounters with literacy and the implications of these encounters for their careers as readers and writers, i nd out of school. Given the vast gulf between children who flourish and those who do not, the book further sets out to investigate potential collaborations between and implications of formal classrooms and informal learning that has the potential to flourish in a range of outof-school settings. Through multiple case studies, the authors conduct interviews with immigrant parents, children, and their teachers, as well conduct observations in classrooms and homes. Further, the work aims to explore possibilities around how literacy research can help us rethink and re-contextualise literacy teaching and learning across a range of contexts, as well as their implications for curriculum and pedagogy.

Usages et pratiques des TIC dans les situations éducatives et de formation pour la résolution de problèmes complexes

Mar Mbodj — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Cet ouvrage est issu du programme HESP (Higher Education Support Programme / Programme d’appui à l’enseignement supérieur) du CODESRIA.

Sommaire

Liste des figures et tableaux.................................vii

Note sur l’auteur..................................ix

Introduction............................................ 1

Présentation générale du guide............................5
Intentions pédagogiques..................................... 7
L’approche par la résolution de problèmes complexes et authentiques ............ 9
Fondements théoriques du Knowledge Building (KB)..................15
Le Knowledge Building et la résolution de problèmes......................21
Les outils numériques et la résolution de problèmes......................23
Démarche méthodologique et principes............................25
Matériel didactique ............................... 27
Évaluation d’une démarche de KB pour la résolution de problèmes............... 31
Mise en œuvre pratique de l’intervention .............................. 35
Quelques fiches d’appui...............................43

Références .......................................53

Les matérialités contemporaines du religieux aux frontières du privé

Maud SAINT-LARY, Fabienne Samson, Mame Penda Ba — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Ce livre fait partie de la Série de Livres du CODESRIA. Il a été produit en collaboration avec l’IRD, l’EHESS, l’ANR et l’ASPAD.

Dans les sociétés ouest-africaines, l’espace public est fortement imprégné de religiosités. Il s’y édicte une kyrielle de conduites à tenir susceptibles d’in uencer les croyants. Comprendre ces dynamiques religieuses implique de saisir comment ces normes pénètrent la vie privée des individus, et comment les croyants – chrétiens et musulmans – se saisissent de ces normes, les mettent en scène ou les détournent dans leur quotidien. Fruit d’un travail collectif mené dans l’ANR « Priverel », en partenariat avec les universités de Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Abomey Calavi (Bénin) et Gaston Berger (Saint-Louis, Sénégal), cet ouvrage s’appuie sur la notion « d’espace privé religieux » pour analyser l’appropriation par les croyants des normes religieuses au Bénin, au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Sénégal. Ce livre suit un parti pris méthodologique en s’appuyant sur des objets et des matérialités éclairantes pour comprendre la religiosité dans sa dimension privée, voire intime. Se déclinent alors des manières de vivre le religieux dans les espaces domestiques et les lieux de cultes ; des logiques d’adhésion, d’enfermement ou de cumul. Les contributions permettent d’appréhender les marges de manoeuvre des individus dans leurs pratiques religieuses, en tenant compte des contraintes sociales familiales, de classe ou de groupe.

Coloniality of Power in Postcolonial Africa – Myths of Decolonization

Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Jason Morgan, Toyin Falola — Wed, 18 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The book interrogates the African postcolonial condition focusing on the liberation predicament and the long standing crisis of dependence (epistemological, cultural, economic, and political) created by colonialism and coloniality. A sophisticated deployment of historical, philosophical, and political knowledge in combination with the equi-primordial concepts of coloniality of power, coloniality of being, and coloniality of knowledge yields a comprehensive and truly refreshing understanding of African realities of subalternity. How global imperial designs and coloniality of power shaped the architecture of African social formations and disciplined the social forces towards a convoluted ‘postcolonial neocolonized’ paralysis dominated by myths of decolonization and illusions of freedom emerges poignantly in this important book. The book is distinguished by its decolonial entry that enables a critical examination of the grammar of decolonization that is often wrongly conflated with that of emancipation; bold engagement with the intractable question of what and who is an African; systematic explication of the role of coloniality in sustaining Euro-American hegemony; and unmasking of how, paradoxically, the ‘postcolonial’ is interlocked with the ‘neocolonial’. To buttress the theoretical arguments, detailed empirical case studies of South Africa, Zimbabwe, DRC and Namibia completes this timely contribution to African Studies.

African Futures and Childhood Studies in Africa

Tatek Adebe — Wed, 18 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The central idea of this book is that African children are future-makers. The book explores the connections between changing childhoods and versions of African futures to develop insights into how children are living embodiments of history and prospective agents of social change. Drawing on research in diverse cultural ecologies, the authors of ten chapters discuss findings linked to apprenticeship, learning, work, rights, schools, peace, education, aspirations, conflicts and refugee integration—and how these are encountered by children in everyday life. They describe studies in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The book moves beyond hegemonic notions on African children, affording them the capacity to aspire, widening their creative imaginations in ways that deepen our knowledge of past and present childhoods. While tracing the problems of childhood in the exigencies of society, children are conceptualised neither as victims nor heroes. Instead, they are social participants whose experiences, values, desires, practices and hopes create a fertile analytical ground from which we may theorise the future and temporality more fully.

Chasing Freedom

Suntosh R. Pillay, Zukiswa Mqolomba — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This book covers diverse histories of student movements in post-apartheid South Africa, taking note of the historical moment of the 1976 student uprisings and the evolution of student activism since that seminal event. Decolonization and reform of the higher education sector are important themes of the book. The volume aims to understand how student movements comprehend and articulate demands for the process of decolonization and Africanization of the curriculum, their transformative effect on the university and the role that a decolonized and African university should play in South African society’s pursuit of freedom. The book explores transformation of universities specifically with regard to race, gender, patriarchy, sexuality, and people living with disabilities in relation to student experiences. The book also deals with aspects related to institutional racism, funding, class, access, violence, and student services. It explores the nature of contemporary student mobilization as a quest for education as freedom in a democratic country, deconstructing the Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall movements that have reignited interest in the role of student activism in South African society. This book is timeless and timely: celebrating and critiquing student activism in transforming higher education, society and our times.

Public Humanities

Catarina Antunes, Cesaltina Abrau — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This book is part of the CODESRIA Grant ‘Doctoral schools, Re-building scholarly infrastructures and academic communities in the Social sciences and humanities in African Universities’, 2017 with the Social Sciences and Humanities LAB – Catholic University of Angola.

Essays originally written in Portuguese were translated into English by Catarina Antunes Gomes

“This is a major intellectual intervention since the neo-liberalisation of our universities which has had devastating effect on intellectual freedom, critical thought and creativity. It is my hope that the essays in this book will rekindle the debate on the University as a public space and reignite the struggle to reclaim education as the commons and not a commodity for sale.” Issa Shivji, Professor Emeritus, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

“The essays composing this book are an excellent illustration of how, through an exercise of interdisciplinarity, it is possible to combine theory and practice in the analysis of the context of knowledge production on the continent, addressing themes that are fundamental to African academics. The questions raised become more important in the context of an uncertain future generated by the threats from COVID-19, which force us to rethink our institutions and their role, but also to permanently find alternatives to produce scientific knowledge from within.” Professor Teresa Cruz e Silva, Centro de Estudos Africanos, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique

For those interested in the questioning of the humanities, this is a significant contribution for rethinking the university in the Global South and in the corporatized Western academy. It is a strong critique of neo-liberal policies and practices that, together with colonial legacies and authoritarian rule, plague African higher education. The other added value is the focus on so-called Lusophone Africa, one that is not easily found in English.

This collective work results from an exercise to re-enact freedom in the African University(-ies). It mobilizes the concept of Public Humanities in order to reflect upon the current emptying of emancipatory possibilities in African Higher Education that has been feeding itself from the prevalence of undemocratic rule in the shadow of neoliberal policies, transfiguring what liberation struggles set out to do into normative and disciplinary politics. But also decolonial and citizenship contemporary aspirations and the current and institutionalized attacks on critical thinking and pedagogy at the university as well as the need to qualify the relationship between the institutionalized site of the university and the production of emancipation and freedom. In the Public Humanities approach rehearsed here, humanity is not a soliloquy; it is a matter of ontological insurrections, solidarity and justice against zones of non-being.

Shrinking Civic Space and Women Human Rights Defenders in Africa

Awino Okech, Marianne Mesfin Asfaw — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This policy brief examines the closure of civic space for women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in Africa. Closing civic space is used to describe the growing phenomenon of governments, political elite and non-state actors using a range of legal and extra-judicial tactics to control dissent. These actions include but are not limited to arbitrary arrests, indefinite pre-trial detention, enforced disappearances and expanding the ability of the police to arrest people on terrorism charges.1 This policy brief begins by examining the key features of closing civic space to determine the major trends across the continent. The second section offers a close examination of the key features of how closing civic space affects WHRDs drawing on examples from Africa. Finally, we outline policy recommendations to address the safety of WHRDs in this environment.

L’engagement civique des femmes au sein des forces de sécurité au Cameroun

Estelle Kouokam Magne — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Cette note politique traite de l’engagement civique des femmes et des filles au sein des forces de sécurité. Elle insiste sur le fait que c’est un enjeu de citoyenneté politique et de paix durable.
L’engagement civique des femmes et des filles au sein des forces de sécurité est mise dans la perspective globale de l’égalité des sexes et de l’égale participation des hommes et des femmes dans l’espace civique, principes au cœur de la construction des démocraties modernes. En travaillant sur le prisme du genre et des féminismes, cette note soutient que l’engagement civique des femmes et des filles dans les forces de sécurité peut contribuer à la réduction des formes de violences structurelles basées sur le genre et, de ce fait, à la construction d’une paix positive et durable.

African Women and Girls in a Shrinking Civic Space

Bhekinkosi Moyo — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The civic space has always been shrunk historically for women and other marginalised groups. However, it became even more pronounced after the events of 9/11 in the United States of America, the rise of religious fundamentalism, extreme political intolerance and the growth of the internet among others. These gave rise to stringent legal and administrative measures that further curtailed freedoms of assembly, association and expression. Although women form part of civil society, they are affected differently from the broader civil society and from male human rights activists. Women and girls are affected by patriarchal and traditional values and norms. Women are not given equal access and opportunities in the economy. They are further violently treated, sexually harassed and delegitimised. Their reputations are questioned when they take part in civic spaces. Today, cyberspace offers alternative ways through which women challenge political and traditional systems. The need to invest in technology, innovative financing, and building women’s solidarity through women-only spaces ; recognising women’s work and strengthening their movements is more urgent now than ever before.

Shrinking Civic Space for Women and Girls in Africa

Awino Okech, Marianne Mesfin Asfaw — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This policy brief examines the closure of civic space for women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in Africa. Closing civic space is used to describe the growing phenomenon of governments, political elite and non-state actors using a range of legal and extra-judicial tactics to control dissent. These actions include but are not limited to arbitrary arrests, indefinite pre-trial detention, enforced disappearances and expanding the ability of the police to arrest people on terrorism charges. This policy brief begins by examining the key features of closing civic space to determine the major trends across the continent. The second section offers a close examination of the key features of how closing civic space affects WHRDs drawing on country specific examples. The final section outlines policy recommendations to address the safety of WHRDs in this environment.

Digital Technologies and Election Management in Africa’s Democratisation Process: More Technocratic than Democratic?

Okechukwu Obinna Ibeanu — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2021, ISBN: 978-2-38234-066-0

L’engagement civique des femmes au sein des forces de sécurité au Cameroun: Revue de littérature

Estelle Kouokam Magne — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2021, ISBN: 978-2-38234-061-5

Ce travail traite de l’engagement civique des femmes et des filles au sein des forces de sécurité qui est un enjeu de citoyenneté politique et de paix durable. L’engagement civique des femmes et des filles au sein des forces de sécurité est mise dans la perspective globale de l’égalité des sexes et de l’égale participation des hommes et des femmes dans l’espace civique, principes au cœur de la construction des démocraties modernes. En travaillant sur le prisme du genre et des féminismes, ce travail soutient que l’engagement civique des femmes et des filles dans les forces de sécurité peut contribuer à la réduction des formes de violences structurelles basées sur le genre et, de ce fait, à la construction d’une paix positive et durable.

Shrinking Civic Space and Women’s Human Rights: A Case Study of Egypt and Tanzania

Awino Okech, Marianne Mesfin Asfaw — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2021, ISBN: 978-2-38234-063-9

African Women and Girls in a Shrinking Civic Space

Bhekinkosi Moyo, Magdalene Madibela — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2021, ISBN: 978-2-38234-062-2

The civic space has always been shrunk historically for women and other marginalised groups. However, it became even more pronounced after the events of 9/11 in the United States of America, the rise of religious fundamentalism, extreme political intolerance and the growth of the internet among others. These gave rise to stringent legal and administrative measures that further curtailed freedoms of assembly, association and expression. Although women form part of civil society, they are affected differently from the broader civil society and from male human rights activists. Women and girls are affected by patriarchal and traditional values and norms. Women are not given equal access and opportunities in the economy. They are further violently treated, sexually harassed and delegitimised. Their reputations are questioned when they take part in civic spaces. Today, cyberspace offers alternative ways through which women challenge political and traditional systems. The need to invest in technology, innovative financing, and building women’s solidarity through women-only spaces; recognising women’s work and strengthening their movements is more urgent now than ever before.

Shrinking Civic Space for Women and Girls in Africa

Awino Okech, Marianne Mesfin Asfaw — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2021, ISBN: 978-2-38234-064-6

This work examines the closure of civic space for women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in Africa. Closing civic space is used to describe the growing phenomenon of governments, political elite and non-state actors using a range of legal and extra-judicial tactics to control dissent. These actions include but are not limited to arbitrary arrests, indefinite pre-trial detention, enforced disappearances and expanding the ability of the police to arrest people on terrorism charges. Though one can argue that in the twelve years since these publications the work of women human rights activists has received more recognition, the evolving political environment demands a closer look at the gendered impact of these shifts on women. The shrinking space for civil society differs from context to context, country to country and region to region. The size of civil society, mandates and missions of civil society, their capacity and capabilities, and the general environment under which they operate inform some of the differences in how the space shrinks.

Genre, migration et développement socioéconomique en Afrique

Marèma Touré Thiam — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Ce livre est issu du Symposium sur le genre du CODESRIA. Genre, migration et développement socioéconomique en Afrique : Reflet, résultante et résultat des circuits complexes d’une globalisation dichotomique. Cet ouvrage est le fruit d’un processus participatif, rassemblant plusieurs auteurs d’horizons différents, mais résolument convaincus de la pertinence de s’intéresser, hier comme aujourd’hui, à la problématique du genre et de la migration. Si migration reste une affaire d’hommes, la migration des femmes s’intensifie en Afrique au cours de la dernière décennie avec l’accélération de la mondialisation libérale. De multiples conventions ont été adoptées et des protocoles additionnels élaborés pour préciser les contours des migrations internationales mais en dépit de l’évolution du cadre juridique, les droits humains des migrants, plus particulièrement ceux des migrantes, ne sont toujours pas encore effectivement assurés. L’inventaire des situations de vulnérabilité des femmes migrantes et des formes de violations de leurs droits humains révèle un vaste éventail de causes et renvoient à plusieurs référentiels. La publication du présent ouvrage est un moment clé pour contribuer à l’évolution du cadre conceptuel « genre et migration ». Des tentatives de réponses y sont apportées en vue d’assurer l’effectivité des droits des migrantes et des migrants en Afrique notamment à partir de données scientifiques nécessaires pour informer des politiques publiques pertinentes et efficientes.

Social Policy in the African Context

Jimi O. Adesina — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The ‘counter-revolution’ in Development Economics in the 1980s fundamentally altered the way the state ‘thinks’, which is evident in the state’s retrenchment and reconstitution of the state’s relationship to its citizens. The combination of deflationary macroeconomic policies and a residual approach to social policy, broadly, and social provisioning, more specifically, fundamentally altered the post-colonial trajectory of public policy in Africa. Despite the neoliberal ascendance that nurtured the more residual direction of social policy, the contention for an alternative vision of social policy remained and advanced with vigour. The chapters in this volume were initially presented at the inaugural Social Policy in Africa Conference, held in November 2017 in Pretoria, South Africa. The essays document the shifting trajectories of social policy in Africa, the current state of play in the field, and the alternative vision of social policy framed by the idea of Transformative Social Policy. Specific contributions range from the deployment of social policy in framing the nation- building project, endogenous mutual support institutions, land and agrarian reform as a social policy instrument, the gender dynamics of social policy, and the mechanism enabling the spread of cash transfer schemes on the continent. A soft copy of the book is available for purchase through the CODESRIA Online Bookshop

Values, Risk Perceptions and Social Adaptation Mechanisms

Tue, 18 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This monograph, in which the literature is extended in some important ways, is the first of its kind where environmental values and risk perceptions can play significant roles for contributions of policy interventions. The environmental values system varies from individual to individual and between groups of individuals. In this regard, environmental policy measures could be improved if the widely held environmental values are acknowledged and admitted into the process of policy analysis and refection. The work captures attention to the predictive powers of specific elements of environmental values as a useful supplement to acknowledge risk perceptions (risks to environment and risks to human health) and awareness of environmental consequences. Furthermore; it is also useful to look at the variation of environmental values and indigenous adaptive mechanisms in its constituent elements in terms of gender and residence. Finally, future research should address how environmental protection measures trigger different reactions among different groups of population and the differential roles that rural and urban community seem to play when designing environmental policy interventions for the particular Ethiopian context.

Ecological Changes in the Zambezi River Basin

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This book provides an analysis of the ecological conditions and ecosystem goods and services of the Zambezi River Basin (ZRB), the fourth largest river in Africa. Various environmental and anthropogenic factors; inclusive of climate, environmental flows, hydrology, morphology, pollution and land use changes among others and their interactions are considered as drivers of the river ecosystems. The impacts of these drivers on aquatic biota, river ecological integrity, and the livelihoods of surrounding communities are analysed within the socio-economic-policy context. The book goes beyond the usual inventories and basic research by using the comparative research method (CRM) in a trans-disciplinary manner. This CRM analytical approach in this book seeks to interrogate the differences or similarities in socio-economic systems, livelihoods, ecological systems, ecosystem goods and services, their usage and management under the seemingly different cultural, socio-economic conditions expected across boarders that are within the ZRB. The multidisciplinary approach also connects the typical ecological research with social dimensions in a holistic manner. The book therefore, provides empirical and research based evidence to support strategic planning and policy development in the wake of ecological changes that nations and indeed regions such as the ZRB are grappling with while seeking to sustainably manage precious river systems.

White Ferocity

Rosa Amelia Plumelle-Uribe; Samir Amin, Louis Sala-Molins — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Author: Rosa Amelia Plumelle-Uribe CODESRIA, Dakar, 2020, ISBN : 978-2-86978-723-0. The slave trade, the conquest of the Americas and the invasion of Africa have deeply transformed the relations between Europeans and other groups. The jump from difference to superiority and racial hierarchy was so swift that it led to the moral collapse of Europe and North America. By shifting the devaluation of so-called ‘inferior’ beings from non-Whites to non-Aryans, Nazism committed the unforgivable crime of bringing into the heart of the European world a ferocity up to then reserved for other continents. In this book, White Ferocity: The Genocides of Non-Whites and Non-Aryans from 1492 to Date, Plumelle-Uribe investigates and demonstrates, with harrowing evidence and analyses, how Europeans justified the destruction of other peoples as unavoidable based on the officially declared belief of others being inferior.

Épidémiologie de l’économie et confinement de l’organisation COVID-19

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Alors que Jean-François Ponsot estime que « les économistes (sont) mis en quarantaine »1 du fait de la Covid-19, le Réseau Scientifique des Femmes Universitaires en Gestion et Economie (RéSFUGE) sort courageusement du confinement en produisant cet ouvrage collectif intitulé Epidémiologie de l’économie et confinement de l’organisation.Covid-19 et codirigé par les Professeures Mbenda Moungou Sabine et Ondoua Biwole Viviane mes jeunes collègues, que je félicite chaleureusement. Selon les mots de ces éditrices scientifiques, « le titre de l’ouvrage vise à attirer l’attention sur la figure socio-économique de la crise sanitaire et les incertitudes qu’elle fait peser sur le développement des projets productifs et l’efficacité globale »2.

Quality Assurance in Ghanaian Higher Education Institutions: Opportunities and Constraints

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This work examines quality assurance processes and practices in Higher Education Institutions in Ghana, using a mixed method approach, which combined surveys, reviews and expert interviews of past and present quality assurance directors. Ten universities were studied. The results demonstrate that quality assurance at higher institutions of learning in Ghana employ both internal and external quality assurance mechanisms. The external factors promoting quality assurance practices identified include accreditation, affiliation and institutional academic audits, while internal factors include strong leadership commitment for quality, strong vision and communication of the need for quality, the existence of a clear and well-communicated quality policy, reliable information management and documentation system, a structured Quality Management System, the willingness of people to accept the cultural changes that come with quality assurance practices, people seeing quality assurance as an improvement and not a policing activity, training in quality, affiliation, professional bodies’ standards and norms, institutional self-monitoring and evaluation. Constraining factors include: low capacity in quality management, centralisation of the NAB, quality mindedness of community members, information management, quality of academic staff and staff skills mix, absence of Quality Assurance Frameworks or Guidelines and absence of Labour market information, funding for Quality assurance, inadequate facilities, hiring practices, affiliation, work load, lack of teaching and learning training requirements for higher education institutions in Ghana.

Conducting Research and Mentoring Students in Africa: CODESRIA College of Mentors Handbook

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This handbook presents a selection of qualitative, quantitative, emergent and comparative research methods, many of which are African-centered. Furthermore; it discusses epistemological paradigms in the social research, mentoring techniques, publishing strategies, Internet research techniques, and research integrity and ethics. The book is designed primarily to provide researchers with an understanding of some research approaches that are useful for researching Africa. By asking fundamental questions about how to rethink methods, this book is also a critical contribution for thinking through knowledge decolonisation. The suggestions made about the possibility of studying Africa systematically are therefore subject to close examination. What integrates the chapters in this book can seem somewhat ordinary. But many research and mentoring insights are so discernible, so essential, that they are arduous to master, and convey with originality and clarity. The inventiveness of this book therefore hinges upon the simplicity with which conventional but distinct facts about the approaches examined are assembled into a coherent and intellectually persuasive synthesis.

African Academics in Germany Revitalising African Universities

George Mutalemwa — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

African Academics in Germany: Revitalising African Universities is a thought-provoking work. It challenges African scholars to re-examine their contribution to their motherland. It invites German universities and scholarship providers to assess the relevance of the education offered towards the transformation of African higher learning institutions. The book provides a method of engaging African academics and the diaspora in the revitalisation of higher education. The book introduces a university revitalisation theory which explains the role of internationalisation in socio-economic, cultural, technological and political development.

CODESRIA Policy Brief No. 4, October 2018 T

Plangshak Musa Suchi — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Summary
Many African countries recently witnessed an increase in both the number of private security firms and the number of personnel employed as private security officers. This development coincides with a moment in global history in which the entire world is ‘fractured’ due to multiple emerging and persisting threats to human security. In Africa, where most of the security threats are man-made, private security firms through the range of services they provide contribute to improving the security of lives and property on the continent. This policy brief critically analysed the role of private security firms in guaranteeing security in the face of new and persisting security challenges on the continent. It raised critical questions regarding the impacts and interactions of these firms with state security agencies and the extent to which they ameliorate or worsen social inequalities as well as concerning effective regulation of their activities in Africa. Policy recommendations are made to address the issues.

CODESRIA Policy Brief No. 1, February 2018

Tatek Abebe — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Summary
This policy brief draws on aspects of participatory research and the ethical challenges that surround it. It explores knowledge co-creation and ethics in participatory research with children in Africa. The focus on participatory ethics is justified by the fact that it constituted some of the core features of the 2017 Child and Youth Institute. The policy brief discusses the practice of participatory research informed by the paradigm of Right to be Properly Researched (henceforth, RPR). It highlights the transformative potential of participatory ethics for undertaking collaborative, ethical research with children. In so doing, it argues for the importance of advocacy for/with/by children as well as the value of capacity building in order to promote research that respects children’s dignity and produces positive social change in Africa.

CODESRIA Policy Brief No. 3, August 2018

Isaac Olawale Albert — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Summary
Existing studies and discourses on anti-graft wars focus exclusively on the need and strategies to punish accused persons. This, however, does not answer the question of how best to handle this threat to sustainable human development in Africa. This policy brief addresses the question of how an anti-graft war becomes a framework to protect basic constitutional freedoms and liberties for both victims and alleged perpetrators of corruption? It does so by arguing that while anti-graft regimes in Africa must not be too lenient so as to help perpetrators of corruption escape justice, these should also not be too tough to jettison the rights of accused persons. Anti-graft wars should be based on the rule of law. This is an important issue because it constitutes an indispensable component of liberal democracy, and is critical to the promotion of sustainable development in Africa.

CODESRIA Policy Brief No. 5, November 2018

Prakash Kashwan — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Summary
This policy brief outlines a political-economic perspective for studying the impact of climate change in ways that inform pursuits of climate justice initiatives. It emphasises the plurality of interventions needed at the global, international, national, and sub-national levels to effectively address the social-discriminatory effects of climate change and societal responses intended to mitigate and adapt to climate change. While fully acknowledging the importance of sociocultural aspects, this policy brief is premised on the argument that the root causes of climate change and climate injustice have to do with the political and economic inequalities that protect the status quo while sabotaging transformative change.

CODESRIA Policy Brief No. 2, May 2018: Finance Capital and the NATO Intervention in Libya Opposition to the African Currency by Horace G. Campbell

Horace G. Campbell — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The ruling in the High Court of Britain in Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) vs. Goldman Sachs, the financial behemoth of Wall Street revealed how firms in the financialization of the energy industry mobilize resources of oil rich states with Sovereign Wealth Funds to sustain private equity, hedge funds and structured derivatives markets of the global capitalist economy. The imposed government of the UN Security Council with authority over the Libyan Central Bank has been unsuccessful following factions among the permanent members of the Security Council in this prolonged battle for the control of Libyan resources. The destruction of Libya highlights the need for a more robust African Union stand on external military interventions and common currency in Africa. The military management of the international system needs contention so that the intervention in Libya does not have the same repercussions for humanity as the Italian Invasion of Abyssinia in 1935.

De la dépendance vis-à-vis de l’Occident à l’expression du besoin de diaspora intellectuelle africaine

Abdoulaye Gueye ; Michael Okyerefo , Adamnesh Bogale, Paul Diédhiou — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2019, ISBN: 978-2-86978-832-9

L’Université africaine est historiquement le produit d’une relation de dépendance vis-à-vis de l’Occident. Secret de polichinelle ! Dans sa sphère francophone comme dans sa zone anglophone, les traces d’une telle relation restent encore visibles à travers le contenu des enseignements et les lieux de publication des savoirs produits sur l’Afrique. Après moult stratégies infructueuses de sortie de crise, l’investissement de la diaspora intellectuelle africaine au fonctionnement et à la gestion de l’Université a récemment été présenté comme la recette miracle, obtenant l’adhésion d’organisations philanthropiques, d’agences de coopération étrangères et des États africains. Cet ouvrage est le premier à offrir une évaluation du degré d’engagement de cette diaspora. Il s’appuie sur des enquêtes instructives menées avec des enseignants-chercheurs africains en poste en Éthiopie, au Ghana, au Nigéria et au Sénégal, d’une part, et des membres de la diaspora universitaire africaine établis en Amérique du Nord, d’autre part. À la lumière des résultats de ces enquêtes, ce livre se conclut par une question dérangeante : le besoin de diaspora intellectuelle africaine ne rétablit-il pas simplement la dépendance de l’Université africaine vis-à-vis de l’Occident dont les agents seraient cette fois-ci non pas des coopérants européens mais des expatriés africains ?

It is a Long Way to the Top: Increasing Women’s Leadership in Ugandan Public Universities

Tabitha Mulyampiti, Roberts Muriisa Kabeba, Catherine Kanabahita — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2018, ISBN: 978-2-86978-787-2

This study underscores the importance of including women in leadership positions in academia. Research on leadership development and managerial success in universities has continuously pointed to the absence of support frameworks to encourage women’s development. Despite numerous interventions to address this challenge, diffculties continue to persist. This work is therefore a timely contribution to the debates around gender and leadership in African universities with a particular focus on Makerere University, where ten female professors are profled. It demonstrates that despite interventions, the gender gap at universities continues to expand, thus requiring critical interventions which address techniques and strategies of inclusion/exclusion

Steering Epistemic Access in Higher Education in South Africa

Michael Cross — Sat, 12 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

2018, ISBN: 978-987-722-328-6

This book utilises a broadly critical cultural approach to explain access and retention. In recent years, the use of cultural approaches has made a significant contribution to how we understand societies and particularly social institutions undergoing transition. The impact of these approaches is evident in the social sciences and in interdis- ciplinary fields such as education, where different dimensions and perspectives within respective cultural approaches have been applied to a variety of topics.

Developing Sustainable Higher Education Leadership Models in Tanzania

J.F. Kessy, J.S. Kikula, B.E. Mmary, B. Kazimili, A.L. Kaswamila — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2018, ISBN: 978-2-86978-789-6

Higher Education Institutions in Tanzania are increasingly facing a decline in government subvention and reduced funding from other sources, including Faith-Based Organizations. This has led to a noticeable shift in emphasis within universities from academic excellence to income generation, with adverse effects on teaching, research and community outreach performance. This study critically engages with these issues by firstly highlighting the key challenges confronting Higher Education Institutions in Tanzania; secondly discuss university leadership models that could potentially guide universities to deal with the predicament of decreasing financing; and thirdly document relevant best practices. It is based on a longitudinal study of nine private and public universities in Tanzania

Strengthening Higher Education Leadership in Africa

John Gasu — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2018, ISBN: 978-2-86978-785-8

The liberal higher education landscape that has emerged in Africa is a product of a confuence of factors that defne the neoliberal agenda in the continent. The prior notions of state responsibility for funding higher education have largely disappeared. The hegemonic leverage that the World Bank came to wield in the scheme of higher education in Africa facilitated the minimalist approach to state funding in the continent. The state was thence expected to downscale funding to public institutions; as the imperative was for the latter to corporatise their operations. As the liberal landscape became inundated with commercial actors from within and without the country, the governance cultures in higher education shifted away from the collegial to managerialism. With the erosion of the old governance cultures, fears arose about the level of quality African universities would continue to exude as the drive for fund mobilisation through commercial teaching activities became pervasive. The fear has been about the potential loss of research output as an essential part of higher education, as commercialisation of teaching services becomes a signifcant source of mobilising funds. The debate is about whether African universities would become ‘teaching only’ institutions. The capacity and the ability of leadership in African universities to steer their institutions successfully and be visible in the global knowledge production industry is an issue of concern in this book. The context in which African universities now fnd themselves and the ability of their leadership to transcend the challenges so as to restore stakeholders’ confdence in service quality remain a nagging issue. The book places Ghana within the African framework by examining the ramifcations of the turn towards a managerial culture on the leadership capacities in six Ghanaian (public and private) universities. Measures taken by the various institutions to meet in-country and international competitions are also reckoned with.

Rethinking Higher Education Governance in Ghana

Paul Effah — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2018, ISBN: 978-2-86978-786-5

This book is an institutional history of leadership in higher education institutions in Ghana, recounted through a rich narrative of the life and career trajectory of one of Ghana’s pioneering university administrators. It offers insights into some of the complex set of challenges confronting the higher education system and institutions in Ghana at the turn of the century. The narrative starts off by tracing the development of higher education in Ghana through a history of Achimota College from the late 1920’s right up to the current period; before moving on to a discuss leadership quandaries at Universities in the midst of turbulence, demonstrating the ways in which governance and leadership failure invites government intervention and intrusion into university administration. It provides engages with the challenges involved in establishing the higher education institutions in Ghana such as University for Development Studies Tamale and the National Council for Tertiary Education. Overall, the book emphasises the importance of targeted government investment in leadership and management training. The autobiographical approach used in the book allows the author to ask pertinent theoretical and policy questions on how to rethink the higher education system in Ghana.

Leadership and Crises in Nigerian Universities. Can Women Make a Difference?

Caroline Okumdi Muoghalu — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2018, ISBN: 978-2-86978-759-9

Currently, globalization has made it necessary that universities operate optimally in order to compete effectively globally. In this regard, crises in Nigerian universities constitute a barrier to this goal and to sustainable development. The book-leadership and crises in Nigerian universities: Can women make a difference? is a phenomenal book which was inspired by incessant crises in Nigerian universities. The book discussed the crises in these universities in all its ramifcations. Importantly, in all these discussions, the book traced this problem to men’s autocratic leadership style and established that bringing women into university leadership can actually make a difference in minimizing or eradicating these crises. I describe this book as a book of the moment because as we speak, a lot of crises are going on in universities in Nigeria. As such, providing an alternative leadership model in universities becomes very imperative and this is what this book has achieved. I therefore have no doubt that policy makers, university administrators and other university stakeholders will fnd the book interesting, informative and a great resource in our national and continental march towards building effective and effcient university organization in a globalized world

Dani Nabudere’s Afrikology - A Quest for African Holism

Sanya Osha — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Dani Wadada Nabudere, the illustrious Ugandan scholar, produced a divers body of work on various aspects of African culture, politics, and philosophy. Toward the end of his life, he formulated a theoretical construct that he termed “Afrikology.” Unlike most other Afrocentrists, who have stopped with the task of proving the primacy of the Egyptian past and its numerous cultural and scientifc achievements, Nabudere strenuously attempts to connect that illustrious heritage with the African present. Tis, remarkably, is what makes his project worthy of careful attention. His corpus is multidisciplinary, although a major preoccupation with Africa is discernible in virtually all his works. His writings deal with critiques of imperialism, African political systems, processes of globalization and Africa’s location within them, and fnally the ideological and existential imperatives of Afrocentric discourse.CODESRIA Book Series Sanya Osha is a research fellow at the Institute for Economic Research in Innovation, at Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa. He was also a fellow of the Africa Studies Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands. He has published extensivily on philosophy. His last publications include African Postcolonial Modernity: Informal Subjectivities and the Democratic Consensus (2014) and Te Social Contract in Africa, (ed.) (2014).Dani Nabudere’s AfrikologyA Quest for African Holism ISBN: 978-2-86978-753-7Sanya OshaSanya Osha has written a deeply profound study of one of Africa’s most brilliant thinkers. Osha is a towering fgure among leading social scientists and intellectuals of this generation. I am truly excited about this book and believe that it will further clarify Nabudere’s outstanding contribution and remarkable achievement.

Gender and Fundamentalisms

Fatou Sow — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

When, why and how can religion and culture be both sources and places of expression for fundamentalisms especially when they are connected to politics? Those are central questions raised throughout this book. What is at stake here is religion when it underpins culture and becomes a political tool to access moral and social power and particularly political power. Cultural and religious messages and their interpretations often underlie decisions, laws and programs made by politics. They have direct efect on society, in general, and on women and gender relations in particular. The various forms of fundamentalism in some African countries, the contexts of their emergence and the ways they (re)shape identities and relationships between men and women are also analysed in this book. These fundamentalisms are sources of persistent concerns in social debates, in feminist and feminine organizations as well as in academia and politics. The manipulations of cultures and religions are progressively political and consequently cause social discriminations, or even physical, moral and symbolic violence undoubtedly unsustainable.

Peace, Security and Post-conflict Reconstruction in the Great Lakes Region of Africa

Mon, 06 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The Great Lakes region of Africa is characterized by protest politics, partial democratization, political illegitimacy and unstable economic growth. Many of the countries that are members of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) which are: Burundi, Angola, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia, have experienced political violence and bloodshed at one time or another. While a few states have been advancing electoral democracy, environmental protection and peaceful state building, the overall intensity of violence in the region has led to civil wars, invasion, genocide, dictatorships, political instability, and underdevelopment. E orts to establish sustainable peace, meaningful socio-economic development and participatory democracy have not been quite successful. Using various methodologies and paradigms, this book interrogates the complexity of the causes of these con icts; and examines their impact and implications for socio-economic development of the region. e non-consensual actions related to these con icts and imperatives of power struggles supported by the agents of ‘savage’ capitalism have paralysed e orts toward progress. e book therefore recommends new policy frameworks within regionalist lenses and neo- realist politics to bring about sustainable peace in the region.

Higher Education Leadership and Governance in the Development of the Creative and Cultural Industries in Kenya

Fri, 03 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The role of higher education in establishing structures and procedures in society and industry is clearly articulated in scholarly discussions. The narrative has recently taken a new momentum in Kenya with acknowledgement of the creative industry, a eld that involves many youth, as an area that impacts on the economy. In unravelling the link between higher education and industry, the authors focus on leadership and governance in higher education and its expected and perceived contribution to the shaping of the creative industry. Through analysis of ve cases, the authors interrogate the processes and structures that govern the teaching and practice of the creative subjects, noting how these affect the creative industry in Kenya.
This book approaches the creative disciplines from the perspectives of the students, lecturers and university administrators. The three voices provide a balanced view of what higher creative arts education in Kenya is. The multiple authorship of the book further provides a balanced account of the development of these disciplines in higher education, and their growth in industry. The key concepts here are the development of the creative industry and how higher education should contribute to the same.

L’enseignement supérieur au Cameroun depuis la réforme de 1993: Dynamiques et perspectives

Fri, 27 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Au moment où les États, particulièrement africains sont soumis à des injonctions toujours renouvelées des différents acteurs internationaux, au moment où différentes politiques publiques internationales sectorielles (éducation, environnement, santé, etc) et globales (développement, croissance économique) se succèdent au rythme des événements sociaux conjoncturels (faim, pauvreté, sida, réchauffement climatique) dans l’agenda international et dans le paysage des Etats africains, il nous a semblé opportun de marquer un temps d’arrêt et de questionner le chemin parcouru par une politique publique sectorielle au Cameroun : l’enseignement supérieur.

Réunissant une équipe pluridisciplinaire dans le cadre du programme de recherche « Groupe National de Travail » (GNT) du Codesria, cet ouvrage scrute les dynamiques de l’enseignement supérieur depuis le processus de réformes entamées en 1993. Engagées sur plusieurs axes tels que la raison d’être de l’enseignement supérieur, les dynamiques internes, les rapports avec l’environnement, les différentes contributions démontrent les interconnexions entre les différents aspects de l’enseignement supérieur entre eux ainsi qu’avec les autres espaces sociaux. Elles lèvent aussi le voile sur sa nature profonde du système et soulignent ses évolutions, ses impasses et ses contradictions.

La gouvernance universitaire : une expérience africaine

Abdou Salam Sall — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A la lumière d’une expérience propre, cet ouvrage présente différentes problématiques de gouvernance universitaire en Afrique avec un accent spécifique sur les dynamiques en cours. Il permet de mieux comprendre les mutations aux niveaux des structures de gouvernance des établissements d’enseignement supérieur avec le nouveau management public et les périmètres de responsabilités des dirigeants tant sur le plan du financement, de la formation, que des modes et canaux de délivrance des enseignements et de l’organisation de la recherche. Ce livre propose un outil à la mesure des défis de l’Afrique : la Fondation Africaine pour la Recherche, l’Innovation et la Mobilité (FARIM) fondée dans une certaine mesure sur les orientations du développement durable. Il propose aussi un canevas pour l’élaboration d’un plan stratégique. Pour une meilleure internalisation de l’enseignement supérieur, une attention particulière est portée sur les valeurs ainsi que leur promotion et convoque à la communication.

Cet ouvrage est recommandé à tous ceux qui désirent découvrir le trésor caché dans l’enseignement supérieur. C’est un bon outil pour tous, pour l’ensemble la communauté universitaire, notamment pour ceux qui veulent transformer l’Afrique dans ce contexte de l’économie du savoir, ceux qui dirigent ou veulent diriger les établissements d’enseignement supérieur car quand la résultante des forces en présence ne parvient pas à créer la dynamique, il est fait recours au leader pour indiquer le chemin et y mobiliser le plus grand nombre.

The National Council for Higher Education and the Growth of the University Sub-sector in Uganda, 2002–2012

A.B.K. Kasozi — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and the Growth of the University Sub-sector in Uganda, 2002-2012, narrates the experience of the Ugandan NCHE in the establishment, development and regulation of higher education institutions in Uganda from 2002 to 2012. In this period, student numbers in higher education institutions increased from about 65,000 to some 200,000 and university institutions from about ten to more than triple the number. The book discusses the role of a regulatory agency in the delivery of higher education, the relations of universities and colleges with such an agency, its impact on developing university capacities, and leadership in creating and refining higher education ideas. The experience of Uganda’s regulatory agency, the NCHE, in those ten years should help both the Ugandan and other African countries’ higher education stakeholders in sharing lessons learned from this one case study. The author sees the roles of regulatory agencies as vital in the initial stages of building a higher education sub-sector and in periods of system transitions such as the current journey from elite to mass systems but is of the view that the university remains the home of knowledge creation, dissemination, and its application in society.

The Status of Student Involvement in University Governance in Kenya: The Case of Public and Private Universities

Munyae M. Mulinge, Josephine N. Arasa, Violet Wawire — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This book examines the concept of the democratization of governance in universities in Kenya with particular emphasis on students involvement in governance processes and decision making. Data were collected from members of the student community utilizing a structured self-administered questionnaire and from purposively selected key informants and focus group discussants drawn from Kenyatta University (representing the public sector) and the United States International University (representing the private sector). The guiding argument for the study was that shared governance, one of the principles of good governance, is critical in enabling the universities to deliver their visions and the missions effectively. The results revealed that while in principle, Kenyan universities have embraced democratic governance in which all stakeholders, including students, have a role to play, in practice they continue to violate the core principles of good governance, particularly shared governance. Specifically, students, who are major stakeholders in university education, are largely excluded from significant structures of governance thereby limiting their influence and participation. Although their representation is mainly provided via student self-governance organs (unions, associations and/ or councils), their effectiveness is undermined considerably by the lack of trust and confidence of the student body and the unending manipulation by top university administrators and external political actors. Student active involvement in decision making is mainly confined to lower levels such as the school/ faculty and departmental/ programme. The authors call for a paradigm shift in the involvement of students in the governance of universities in ways that discourage the current culture of tokenism and political correctness that characterizes public and private universities in Kenya.

The Taming of Fate: Approaching Risk from a Social Action Perspective: Case Studies from Southern Mozambique

Elísio S. Macamo — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This book is about how extreme situations appearing to have a destructive potential can actually be used to produce meaningful individual and social lives. It is about the “taming of fate”. This notion means and accounts for the ability of individuals and communities to rebuild their lives against all odds. The book is based on case-studies that draw from theoretical insights derived from the sociology of disasters. It addresses some limitations of the sociology of risk, chief among which is the rejection of the relevance of the notion of risk to the study of technologically non-advanced societies. The book argues that this rejection has deprived the study of the human condition of an important analytical asset. The book claims that risk is a property of social action which can best be understood through the analytical scrutiny of its role in the historical constitution of social relations.

Managing and Transforming an African University

John Pancras Mukasa Ssebuwufu — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Makerere is one of the oldest and most enduring African educational institutions. Initially established in 1922 as a technical school by the Department of Education under the British Protectorate Government, and converted to a university in 1970, it has survived many odds and emerged as a true centre of academic excellence whose impact extends far beyond the borders of Uganda and Africa. Makererians are found all over the world, many with successful careers. The institution has provided Uganda, East Africa, Africa and the world with high quality professionals in such fields as Medicine, Engineering, the Arts and the Sciences. This book chronicles the experience of Makerere University’s eighth Vice Chancellor; a former student and one of the institution’s longest-serving members of staff. It provides a vivid account of his stewardship, over a period of three decades from 1973 to 2004, and highlights the challenges of managing an African university. The book is a rich historical document and a valuable educational material.

Reconnexion de l’Afrique à l’économie mondiale: Défis de la mondialisation

Fri, 10 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2016, 224p., ISBN : 978-2-86978-638-7

La mondialisation accentue les inégalités et pousse davantage à la marginali-sation des pays pauvres. Dans ce cadre, les pays africains, qui présentent un important potentiel de croissance en raison de leurs énormes besoins dans les différents domaines, comptent parmi les pays les plus sensibles aux perturbations du commerce mondial. Leur part dans les échanges commerciaux mondiaux s’effrite de plus en plus dans les dernières années. Ils ne captent qu’une faible partie du stock total entrant des IDE dans le monde.

Réussir une nouvelle intégration de l’Afrique à l’économie mondiale à l’ère néolibérale pousse à discuter les éléments de réussite et d’échec des politiques économiques entreprises jusqu’aujourd’hui dans les pays africains ; et à chercher comment remédier aux facteurs qui handicapent actuellement le développement de l’Afrique dans un contexte d’économie mondialisée.

Que signifie la mondialisation pour l’Afrique ? Quels changements implique-t-elle ?
Quels modèles de développement impose-t-elle, et dans quelles conditions ?
Un essai de compréhension est présenté dans le présent ouvrage.

Transition from Slavery in Zanzibar and Mauritius

Abdul Sheriff , Vijayalakshmi Teelock , Saada Omar Wahab , Satyendra Peerthum — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2016, 180p., ISBN : 978-2-86978-680-6

This book presents a comparative history of slavery and the transition from slavery to free labour in Zanzibar and Mauritius, within the context of a wider comparative study of the subject in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds. Both countries are islands, with roughly the same size of area and populations, a common colonial history, and both are multicultural societies. However, despite inhabiting and using the same oceanic space, there are differences in experiences and structures which deserve to be explored. In the nineteenth century, two types of slave systems developed on the islands – while Zanzibar represented a variant of an Indian Ocean slave system, Mauritius represented a variant of the Atlantic system – yet both flourished when the world was already under the hegemony of the global capitalist mode of production.

This comparison, therefore, has to be seen in the context of their specific historical conjunctures and the types of slave systems in the overall theoretical conception of modes of production within which they manifested themselves, a concept that has become unfashionable but which is still essential. The starting point of many such efforts to compare slave systems has naturally been the much-studied slavery in the Atlantic region which has been used to provide a paradigm with which to study any type of slavery anywhere in the world. However, while Mauritian slavery was 100 per cent colonial slavery, slavery in Zanzibar has been described as ‘Islamic slavery’. Both established plantation economies, although with different products, Zanzibar with cloves and Mauritius with sugar, and in both cases, the slaves faced a potential conflictual situation between former masters and slaves in the post-emancipation period.

Another interesting focus in this book is the largely unresearched subject of female slaves. In Zanzibar, the privileged role of the suria whose status was defined by Sharia law was explored; and in Mauritius, the manumission of female slaves was explored as they formed the majority among manumitted slaves. The book will certainly prove helpful to those involved in comparing the Atlantic slave system with that of the Indian Ocean for the better understanding of both.

Les sciences sociales au Sénégal : Mise à l’épreuve et nouvelles perspectives

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2016, 284 p., ISBN : 978-2-86978-709-4

La rencontre qui s’organise en ce livre de disciplines et thématiques diverses manifeste le mouvement, aujourd’hui, de la recherche académique en sciences sociales au Sénégal. Différentes ethnographies et sociologies, spécifiques à chaque situation examinée, sont présentées dans les textes ici réunis, qui inaugurent et affichent, tout à la fois, une conversation autant soucieuse de précision empirique qu’attentive aux problématiques théoriques, épistémologiques et méthodologiques. Ainsi, dans leur manière de restituer avec rigueur aussi bien la diversité des communautés et des acteurs que la complexité des situations et des thèmes examinés, les différents chapitres ont valeur d’exemplaires.

La cohérence de l’ouvrage tient aux procédures mises en oeuvre dans chaque contribution : la collecte la plus complète et la plus rigoureuse possible des ressources documentaires disponibles ; leur traitement en recourant aux théories et méthodes scientifiques, quantitatives et qualitatives les plus éprouvées et, finalement, une présentation claire et précise des résultats obtenus. Aucune ne s’enferme dans une réflexion exclusivement académique. Le souci de trouver des solutions pratiques aux problèmes examinés est fortement présent. Chaque texte est exemplaire en ce sens qu’il propose un exemple de ce que sont aujourd’hui les humanités et les sciences sociales sur notre continent lorsqu’elles sont attachées à penser les devenirs à l’oeuvre dans la modernité africaine, sénégalaise plus particulièrement. C’est à ce titre qu’ils se font écho dans leur manière de proposer, ensemble, un profil de cette modernité en mouvement.

Political Economy of Post-apartheid South Africa

Vusi Gumede — Sat, 18 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2015, 252 p., ISBN 978-2-86978-704-9

The book, made up of three parts, covers a wide spectrum of political economy issues on post-apartheid South Africa. Although the text is mainly descriptive, to explain various areas of the political economy of post-apartheid South Africa, the first and the last parts provide illuminating insights on the kind of society that is emerging during the twenty-one years of democracy in the country. The book discusses important aspects of the political history of apartheid South Africa and the evolution of post-apartheid society, including an important recap of the history of southern Africa before colonialism. The text is a comprehensive description of numerous political economy phenomena since South Africa gained its political independence and covers some important themes that have not been discussed in detail in other publications on post-apartheid South Africa. The book also updates earlier work of the author on policy and law making, land and agriculture, education and training as well as on poverty and inequality in post-apartheid South Africa thereby providing a wide-ranging overview of the socio-economic development approaches followed by the successive post-apartheid administrations. Interestingly, three chapters focus on various aspects of the post-apartheid South African economy: economic policies, economic empowerment and industrial development. Through the lens of the notion of democratic developmental state and taking apartheid colonialism as a point of departure, the book suggests that, so far, post-apartheid South Africa has mixed socio-economic progress. The author’s extensive experience in the South African government ensures that the book has policy relevance while it is also theoretically sound. The text is useful for anyone who wants to understand the totality of the policies and legislation as well as the political economy interventions pursued since 1994 by the South African Government.

The Ink of the Scholars: Reflections on Philosophy in Africa

Souleymane Bachir Diagne; Jonathan Adjemian — Mon, 23 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2016, 116 p., ISBN 978-2-86978-705-6

What are the issues discussed today by African philosophers? Four important topics are identified here as important objects of philosophical reflection on the African continent. One is the question of ontology in relation to African religions and aesthetics. Another is the question of time and, in particular, of prospective thinking and development. A third issue is the task of reconstructing the intellectual history of the continent through the examination of the question of orality but also by taking into account the often neglected tradition of written erudition in Islamic centres of learning. Timbuktu is certainly the most important and most famous of such intellectual centres. The fourth question concerns political philosophy: the concept of “African socialisms” is revisited and the march that led to the adoption of the “African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights” is examined. All these important issues are also fundamental to understanding the question of African languages and translation.

Issues in Ghana’s Electoral Politics

Sun, 24 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2016, 232 p., ISBN 978-2-86978-694-3

Ghana attained independence in 1957. From 1992, when a new constitution came into force and established a new – democratic – framework for governing the country, elections have been organized every four years to choose the governing elites. The essays in this volume are about those elections because elections give meaning to the role of citizens in democratic governance. The chapters depart from the study of formal structures by which the electorate choose their representatives. They evaluate the institutional forms that representation take in the Ghanaian context, and study elections outside the specific institutional forms that according to democratic theory are necessary for arriving at the nature of the relationships that are formed between the voters and their representatives and the nature and quality of their contribution to the democratic process.

Évolution des systèmes fonciers au Mali : Cas du bassin cotonnier de Mali sud (Zone Office du Niger et région CMDT de Koutiala)

Bakary Camara — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2015, 364 p., ISBN 978-2-86978-643-1

Cet ouvrage explore l’évolution des systèmes fonciers dans le bassin du fleuve Niger au Mali. Il analyse les fondements de la tenure foncière et les différentes perturbations culturelles que les systèmes fonciers de cette région a connu depuis le IXe siècle… Malgré la résistance des logiques paysannes, le processus d’individualisation de la propriété foncière amorcé depuis la colonisation continue et a commencé, ces vingt dernières années, à s’accélérer à cause des nouvelles politiques de développement de l’État. Ce phénomène est mis en évidence par la multiplication et la complexification des différents acteurs qui interviennent dans le foncier... Les grandes familles connues sous le nom de Kabila se disloquent suite à des contradictions liées au partage des revenus des cultures. Les conflits fonciers se transportent de plus en plus devant les tribunaux qui montrent le plus souvent leurs limites car les décisions de justice ne peuvent pas le plus souvent être appliquées sur le terrain. À côté des traditionnels agriculteurs et pasteurs, apparaissent des organisations non gouvernementales nationales et internationales, des associations, des collectivités territoriales et des grands et petits privés exploitants agricoles.

L’émergence de ces acteurs et la politique de réformes institutionnelles de l’État qui se résume à la décentralisation et au toilettage et création de textes juridiques, contribuent inexorablement à promouvoir la concertation et à renforcer la démocratie basée sur le libéralisme économique et l’individualisme. Situation qui favorise non seulement la déstructuration du foncier coutumier, mais aussi la reconnaissance partielle ou totale de certaines règles coutumières relatives au foncier.

Ainsi, l’ouvrage met en évidence, le changement progressif du statut de la terre et des rapports à la terre au Mali en général et dans le bassin du fleuve Niger en particulier. Il est suggéré que malgré ces transformations inévitables, les réformes institutionnelles doivent être mesurées. Elles doivent se faire d’une manière prudente, méthodique avec patience et détermination tout en prenant en compte certaines réalités pour atténuer son impact sur les populations rurales.

Le Gnokholo traditionnel

Sadio Camara — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2015, 260 p., ISBN : 978-2-86978-635-6.

Cette monographie porte sur le Gnokholo, une province du Sénégal précolonial
longtemps enclavée du fait de sa position orientale et habitée par des
Mandingues que le déclin de l’empire du Mali au XVe siècle a confinée dans
une situation de marginalité géographique sur les contreforts des montagnes
du Fouta Djalon. Cet ouvrage reconstitue la géographie, l’histoire, l’économie,
la culture et les structures sociales du royaume de Gnokholo précolonial.
Il vient combler un déficit dans la mesure où les études sociales ont négligé
ces populations considérées comme participant d’une culture minoritaire.

Ecrit dans un style simple et clair, ce livre s’inscrit dans la tradition des travaux
de l’Abbé Boilat. C’est une collecte de type anthropologique d’une somme de
connaissances révélant divers aspects du pays et des habitants du Gnokholo.

Les sciences humaines et sociales au Sénégal : une évaluation critique

Mame-Penda Ba, Jean Alain Goudiaby — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2016, 92 p., ISBN : 978-2-86978-695-0

Malgré les dynamiques d’innovation, d’engagement et de performance qui se créent ou se maintiennent au sein des universités publiques sénégalaises, l’univers des sciences humaines et sociales connait aujourd’hui des défaillances diverses et cumulatives. L’individualisation de la recherche, mais aussi la prise en charge moindre de certains questionnements renforcent la faible adaptation de l’enseignement aux besoins de la société. La recherche, tout comme l’enseignement, deviennent individualisés et cloisonnés. Par conséquent, on observe, au carrefour de l’enseignement et de la recherche, un triple enfermement géographique, épistémologique et thématique.

Cette recherche analyse les réalités complexes de l’université sénégalaise et propose qu’une vision soit donnée et que des moyens soient trouvés pour un développement harmonieux des sciences humaines et sociales (SHS), dans un contexte de réformes de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche au Sénégal.

L’essor de l’université sénégalaise passera nécessairement par une démarche globale intégrant la recherche et l’enseignement dans le continuum d’une approche collaborative et pluridisciplinaire.

Trails in Academic and Administrative Leadership in Kenya

Ratemo Waya Michieka — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, Dakar, 2016, 320p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-642-4

Scholars, especially those interested in understanding how leadership has inhibited academic freedom and hindered effectiveness of institutions of higher learning have for long been engaged by the very important manner in which governance and leadership of higher education institutions in Africa is constituted and managed. The fact that there has been a dearth of work based on the experiences of those who have served as university leaders has created a major gap. Questions remain on how leaders of higher education institutions are identified, how they are prepared, the personal predispositions that individuals bring to the exercise of such positions and their personal experiences regarding what energizes or inhibits the performance of their work. Until recently, presidents in most African countries served as chancellors of public universities, identification of those who served as university leaders was largely a political process. But much has changed, with most countries establishing oversight bodies and the overall governance of higher education institutions divorced from the day-to-day political processes. Trails in Academic and Administrative Leadership in Kenya provides a personal account of the experiences in higher education leadership from an individual whose tenure in leadership straddled the two eras. In this book, Prof. Michieka provides an account of how his early education prepared him for roles in academic and institutional leadership in Kenya. The author shares his experiences on the trails he had to navigate as an academic, a vice-chancellor and a chairperson of university council at a time when universities in Kenya were transiting from extreme government administrative control to a greater degree of operational autonomy. Readers will find in this work thought-provoking insights on how leaders of higher education institutions in Kenya have had to balance between demands of the political system and the need to safeguard academic traditions in the everyday management of the institutions.

Elections and Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

Osita Agbu; Ogaba Oche, Chinwe Nwanna, Sharkdam Wapmuk, Pamela Ogwuazor-Momah — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Elections and Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic is a book about Nigerian politics, governance and democracy. It at once encompasses Nigeria’s post-colonial character, its political economy, party formation since independence, the role of Electoral Commissions, as well as, indepth analyses of the 1999, 2003 and 2007 general elections that involved extensive fieldwork. It also presents aspects of the 2011 and 2015 general elections, while discussing the state of democratic consolidation, and lessons learned for achieving good governance in the country. It is indeed, a must read for students of politics, academics, politicians, statesmen and policy makers, and infact, stakeholders in the Nigerian democracy project. The book stands out as a well-researched and rich documentary material about elections in Nigeria, and the efforts so far made in growing democracy.

Environment, Agriculture and Cross-border Migrations

Sat, 09 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

This book brings together contributions on the challenges of the environment, agriculture and cross-border migrations in Africa; key areas that have become critical for the continent’s development. The central theme running through these contributions is that Africa’s development challenges can be attributed to its human and natural ecology. Contrasted with the Cold War epoch, current developments have ushered us into a world of long and uncertain transitions characterized by a search for new pathways including investment in large-scale agriculture by big finance, attempts to revitalize existing agriculture and reworking of social policy. A major twist relates to environmental questions, especially climate change and its global effects, leading to all forms of cross-border migrations and the emergence of new areas of strategic interest such as sub-regional developments as in the Gulf of Guinea. This book provides some intellectual clues on how to interpret these emerging predicaments and chart a way forward into a new era for Africa.

Inequality and Climate Change: Perspectives from the South

Mon, 14 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of the twenty-first century. Anthropogenic activities, such as fossil fuel consumption and other activities focused on enhancing economic growth, have been identified as the main drivers of changes in the environment that defy planetary boundaries. The transgression of planetary boundaries has profound implications for practically all biophysical and human systems and their impact could also be related to the exacerbation of existing problems such as land tenure insecurity, poverty and inequality, marginalization of poorer populations, climate induced migration, and resource wars or conflicts. From a global-South point of view, research on the multifaceted nature of climate change is thus necessary and appropriate, including the analysis of socioeconomic, political and cultural aspects. This book is an outcome of the Comparative Research Workshop on “Inequality and Climate Change: Perspectives from the South” of the South-South Collaborative Programme of CLACSO-CODESRIA-IDEAS. It gathers a diversity of case studies from the South with ample biophysical differences and particular social and cultural realities. As such, it is a fresh contribution offering a vantage point from which to examine some of the current perspectives on inequality and climate change.

The Global Financial and Economic Crisis in the South: Impact and Responses

Mon, 14 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This book is the outcome of a South-South conference jointly organized by the Asian Political and International Studies Association (APISA), the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) in Dakar, Senegal, May 2012. The conference was organised in response to the financial crisis of 2008 which started in the United States and Europe, with reverberating effects on a global scale.

Economic problems emanating from such crises usually leave major social and structural impacts on important sectors of the society internationally. They affect living standards and constrain the well-being of people, especially in poor countries. Persistent problems include high unemployment, increased debt and low growth in developed countries, as well as greater difficulties in accessing finance for investment in the developing world.

There is a need for countries in the South to examine the available options for appropriate national and regional responses to the different problems emanating from the economic crisis. This book attempts to provide ideas on some strategic responses to the disastrous impact of the crisis, while keeping in mind the global common interest of the South.

It is hoped that the book will contribute significantly towards the agenda to rethink development and the quest for alternative paradigms for a just, stable and equitable global political, economic and social system. A system in which Africa, Asia, and Latin America are emancipated from the shackles of hegemonic and anachronistic neoliberal dictates that have nothing more to offer than crises, vulnerabilities and dependency.

Gender, Politics and Land Use in Zimbabwe: 1980–2012

Thu, 09 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The agrarian reform dynamics in southern Africa have to be understood within the framework of colonial land policies and legislation that were designed essentially to expropriate land and natural resource property rights from the indigenous people in favour of the white settlers. Colonial land policies institutionalised racial inequity with regard to land although conditions are not homogeneous there broad themes that cut across the southern Africa region. Colonialism dispossessed and impoverished the people by taking away the most productive lands. Neoliberal globalization has undermined the people’s wellbeing through direct influences on agriculture and rural economies in conjunction with policies promoted by national governments and international agencies. Another shared feature is to be found in the high rates of unemployment, poor returns to smallscale agriculture, lack of access to social services such as health and education all of which serve to erode existing livelihood activities and perpetuate relative and absolute poverty in rural areas.

This comparative study on Zimbabwe’s agrarian reforms may provide countries such as South Africa and Namibia with valuable lessons, as they attempt their own land reforms. Conflicts between colonialists and the indigenous people in the then Rhodesia centred mainly on the land question. This inequitable distribution of land resulted in Africans waging liberation struggles in order to reclaim their land from the colonialists. In most post-colonial countries, calls have been made for land redistribution as a way of redressing colonial injustices in land tenure systems. The process of reclamation of land and redistributing it to the indigenous people is fraught with problems and has resulted in the present-day land crisis in many parts of Africa and other continents. These are some of the issues this book examines, attempts to understand and explain from a gender perspective. Gender relations are viewed in terms of land use and ownership in pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial Zimbabwe. These socially constructed roles have been found to be unequal in terms of power and decision making It is argued that lessening of social inequalities between men and women reduces poverty, raises farm efficiency and improves natural resource management. The book emphasises that once women are empowered, the quality of life of their households improves.

Mouvements sociaux des femmes au Sénégal

Ndèye Sokhna Guèye — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Ce livre est dédié à la mémoire de la regrettée Dr Ndèye Sokhna Guèye qui a dirigé les travaux de recherche de ce livre. Elle est décédée le 4 Juin 2014 quelque temps après en avoir assuré et terminé la compilation.

Le CODESRIA, ONUFEMMES et l’UNESCO, partenaires dans la recherche dont les résultats pour le Sénégal sont exposés dans ce livre, ont choisi de mener les études dans trois pays anglophone, lusophone et francophone, qui, par leurs aventures coloniales et leurs évolutions politiques et institutionnelles, sont plus ou moins les représentatifs de l’Afrique de l’Ouest.

Il a été constaté qu’en dépit de leur poids démographique, les femmes sont encore marginalisées dans les secteurs clefs de l’économie. Comparativement aux hommes, elles sont moins instruites, (souvent pour des raisons culturelles), moins rémunérées, plus nombreuses à travailler dans le secteur informel, avec un taux de précarité et de vulnérabilité plus important. Face à la mondialisation néolibérale, elles sont les plus grandes victimes des crises économiques, financières et politiques. Au plan sociopolitique, elles continuent à faire l’objet de violences multiples et multiformes et sont encore très peu à participer à la prise des décisions régissant leurs vies et leur société. Par ailleurs, la division sociale du travail dans les ménages conforte, plus que jamais, l’invisibilité des tâches liées à leur rôle de reproduction.

Culture et religion en Afrique au seuil du XXIe siècle : Conscience d’une renaissance ?

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Revendiquer sa culture, exiger son droit à la diversité culturelle ou proclamer son appartenance à un groupe de croyants et s’emparer du fanion de cette croyance pour perpétrer des actions dès lors qualifiées de «saintes», pour terroriser ses semblables en leur imposant sa vision des choses et sa loi, telles sont, à n’en pas douter, deux des caractéristiques les plus préoccupantes de l’entrée de nos sociétés dans ce vingt-et-unième siècle qui commence. C’est pourquoi les textes réunis ici ont été jugés aptes, à
ouvrir une réflexion sérieuse et méthodique sur la religion et la culture en Afrique au seuil du 21ème siècle.

Les contributions réunies dans ce volume s’ouvrent par une interrogation et, plutôt que de se fermer, elles se terminent par une ouverture sur des horizons de recherche. Il y a là de quoi ouvrir et alimenter les enquêtes que seuls ou en groupes structurés les spécialistes des sciences de l’homme sont invités à imaginer et conduire sur la religion et la culture de l’Afrique d’aujourd’hui.

Issiaka-P. Latoundji Lalèyê, docteur en philosophie et docteur d’Etat ès lettres et
sciences humaines, enseigne depuis 1970 la philosophie, l’épistémologie et la socio-anthropologie du développement. Ses recherches ont été consacrées à la connaissance de la mentalité. Il a co-édité avec Jean Delumeau (1993), avec Julien Ries (1989 et 2009), avec Mathieu Boisvert (2000) ainsi qu’avec H. Panhuys, T. Verhelst et H. Zaoual (1996). Il a publié plus d’une centaine d’articles et récemment 20 Questions sur la philosophie africaine (2e édition en 2010) et est l’auteur de : Protéger et promouvoir la diversité culturelle au Maghreb et en Afrique de l’Ouest francophone (2010) de l’ISESCO.

A Ciência ao Serviço do Desenvolvimento?

Tue, 02 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Cuidadosamente editado por Teresa Cruz e Silva e Isabel Casimiro este livro não poderia ser mais oportuno. As contribuições aqui recolhidas discutem as experiências dos cidadãos de Angola, Cabo Verde, Guiné-Bissau, Moçambique e São Tome e Príncipe, e sugerem algumas respostas aos desafios que confrontam estas sociedades. Cada um dos autores apresenta estudos que examinam diligentemente a conjuntura política, social e económica e sugerem que os avanços registados nas últimas décadas no que diz respeito aos direitos e empoderamento das mulheres, à governação democrática, à justiça e direitos humanos, ao acesso ao emprego, à educação e à saúde, são ainda muito modestos em relação ao longo percurso que os nossos países têm que fazer para conquistar o bem-estar dos cidadãos. Torna-se pois imperativo que movimentos sociais dinâmicos e bem informados promovam processos de transformação e de desenvolvimento mais eficazes e sustentáveis.

Teacher Education Systems in Africa in the Digital Era

Wed, 13 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Teacher education is vital for the realization of a nation’s development aspirations. The conception, incubation and delivery of any national development policy, as well as the reform and implementation of extant policies, are driven by the quality of teachers and their products within a functional educational system. Indeed, national and global models of development, including the millennium development goals revolve round the frames of quality education, beginning with teacher education. It is therefore important to have functional teacher education systems in Africa to help its citizens explore the networking of the world as a global village. This is achievable through a systematic mobilization of national resources and visible commitment to the development of a modernized cadre of scientific and technological manpower. This book, Teacher Education Systems in Africa in the Digital Era is a rich exposition of theories and praxes essential for the development of teacher education in Africa. The book has immense benefits for teachers, teacher trainers, funding agencies, other stakeholders and policy makers.

Les perspectives de l’Afrique au XXIe siècle

Wed, 06 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2015, 128p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-605-9

Edited by Joseph Gahama

Au travers des études de cas, ce livre analyse quelques perspectives de l’Afrique au XXIe siècle. Il ne se contente pas seulement de revenir une fois de plus sur les défis auxquels fait encore face ce continent comme les problèmes de pauvreté, de santé et particulièrement du VIH- SIDA, de conflits et de violences, de mauvaise gouvernance et de marginalisation par rapport au reste du monde. Il montre que l’Afrique dispose de nombreux atouts qui lui permettent d’entrer avec optimisme dans le nouveau millénaire.

Les contributions présentées dans cet ouvrage montrent des indicateurs qui laissent présager un avenir meilleur : elles insistent notamment sur la nécessité de réinventer le futur de l’Afrique et proposent la promotion d’un vaste projet intégré de société africain dans lequel les populations sont invitées à se prendre en charge elles-mêmes pour arriver à leur développement et épanouissement.

Joseph Gahama est titulaire d’un doctorat en Histoire des sociétés africaines et d’une Habilitation à diriger des recherches (HDR) obtenus à l’Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, respectivement en 1980 et en 1996. Actuellement, il est le Doyen de la Faculté des Sciences sociales à Kigali Institute of Education au Rwanda. Il a été professeur visiteur dans de nombreuses universités africaines et européennes. Il a été consultant pour le PNUD, l’UNESCO, l’UA et diverses ONG. Il a participé, avec présentation de communications, à plus d’une centaine de conférences et séminaires internationaux. Il est l’auteur de plusieurs livres, articles et chapitres dans des ouvrages collectifs sur l’histoire sociopolitique de l’Afrique des Grands Lacs, notamment le Burundi et le Rwanda. Il est, enfin, membre de nombreuses associations scientifiques et culturelles, nationales et internationales.

Regional Economic Communities: Exploring the Process of Socio-economic Integration in Africa

Thu, 30 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2015, 148p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-632-5

This book examines how existence of overlapping regional-based institutions has presented a daunting challenge to the workings of various RECs on the African continent. Majority of the African countries are members of overlapping and, sometimes, contradictory RECs. For instance, in East Africa, while Kenya and Uganda are both members of EAC and COMESA, Tanzania, which is also a member of the EAC, left COMESA in 2001 to join SADC.
In West Africa, while all former French colonies, such as Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin Republic belong to the ECOWAS, they simultaneously keep membership of the UEMOA, though unrecognized by the African Union (AU). Such multiple and confusing memberships create unnecessary duplication and
dims the light on what ought to be priority. Various chapters in this book have therefore sought to identify and proffer solutions to related challenges confronting the workings of the RECs in different sub-regions of the African continent. The discourses range from security to the stock exchange, identity integration, development framework, labour movement and cross-border relations. The pattern adopted in the project engages devolution of related discussions from the general to the specific; that is, from the continental level to subregional case studies.

Des pierres dans les mortiers et non du maïs ! Mutations dans les villages aurifères du sud-est du Sénégal

Bakary Doucouré — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2015, 188p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-611-0

Des pierres dans les mortiers et non du maïs ! est un ouvrage qui décrit et analyse les mutations entrainées par l’orpaillage dans les villages du sud-est du Sénégal, en l’occurrence ceux de la Région de Kédougou. Il traduit le passage d’une économie agricole dans certains villages du Niokolo à une économie minière. S’appuyant sur une démarche socio-anthropologique, l’auteur est parvenu à se faufiler avec beaucoup de réussite dans la vie aussi bien palpitante et risquée que sinueuse des orpailleurs et des villages aurifères.

Cette immersion réussie ainsi que les enquêtes de terrain lui ont permis d’accéder à une quantité importante d’informations et de données sur le caractère artisanal de l’exploitation aurifère dans les villages, sur les nombreux problèmes qu’entrainent les perceptions et les représentations de l’or et de l’orpaillage chez les communautés locales et allochtones.

Ce livre montre aussi les similitudes entre les villages aurifères en partant des observations effectuées à Bantako et dans d’autres villages aurifères. Sa force se trouve dans le fait qu’il permet une connaissance approfondie de l’orpailleur et de l’organisation de son activité, mais aussi une connaissance poussée des conséquences de l’orpaillage sur le plan social, économique, environnemental et politique.

Environnement, changement climatique et sécurité alimentaire en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre : Compréhension des enjeux et pistes pour l’avenir

Fri, 20 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2015, 164p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-606-6

Ce livre est une compilation d’articles issus de la XIIIe Assemblée générale du CODESRIA, 2011.

Le continent africain est marqué par une étroite dépendance de ses économies vis à-vis des évolutions climatiques, mais pas seulement, puisque s’y ajoutent d’autres faiblesses, celles des institutions peu performantes, notamment dans les secteurs agro-climatique, foncier et minier. Les pays africains se trouvent ainsi hautement vulnérables au réchauffement dont ils sont les moins responsables et sont parties prenantes dans toutes les conventions internationales en matière d’environnement et de changement climatique sans toutefois bénéficier, comme attendu, des transferts de technologies adaptées et de financements conséquents. Pour l’instant, les réponses nationales pour une meilleure gestion des ressources naturelles, l’adaptation et l’atténuation ont des résultats mitigés. Néanmoins, de plus en plus d’initiatives des acteurs étatiques, interétatiques et non étatiques font que la prise de conscience s’accroît chez les Africains.

Ce volume contient des contributions portant sur les questions environnementales et climatiques traitées à l’aune de critères sociologiques, économiques, politiques, juridiques et éthiques. Chacun des intellectuels, à sa manière, a montré que pour inquiétants qu’ils soient, les enjeux environnementaux et climatiques opèrent comme une opportunité encore faiblement exploitée par les acteurs de la pensée afro optimiste. Nul doute que le lecteur se rendra compte que ce livre témoigne de la façon dont des intellectuels africains du XXIe siècle portent le souci de l’environnement et du changement climatique et comment ils explorent des pistes de réflexion critique pour un sursaut adapté et des réponses durables pour une Afrique moins émettrice de désespoir et plus résiliente.

The Crises of Postcoloniality in Africa

Wed, 04 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2015, 248p:, ISBN: 978-2-86978-602-8

The Crises of Postcoloniality in Africa is an assemblage of transdisciplinary essays that offer a spirited reflection on the debate and phenomenon of postcoloniality in Africa, including the changing patterns and ramifications of problems, challenges and opportunities associated with it. A key conceptual rhythm that runs through the various chapters of the book is that, far from being demised, postcoloniality is still firmly embedded in Africa, manifesting itself in both blatant and insidious forms. Among the important themes covered in the book include the concepts of postcolonialism, postcoloniality, and neocolonialism; Africa’s precolonial formations and the impact of colonialism; the enduring patterns of colonial legacies in Africa; the persistent contradictions between African indigenous institutions and western versions of modernity; the unravelling of the postcolonial state and issues of armed conflict, conflict intervention and peacebuilding; postcolonial imperialism in Africa and the US-led global war on terror, the historical and postcolonial contexts of gender relations in Africa, as well as pan-Africanism and regionalist approaches to redressing the crises of postcoloniality.

‘In this book, the colonial trope of Africa is subjected to critical analyses from the points of view of postcoloniality. The result is a varied, complex, and interesting exposition of the contemporary challenges and dilemmas of Africa from the many standpoints of postcolonial theory. It makes a useful contribution to our understanding of modern African politics.’

Abdul Raufu Mustapha, Department of International Development, University of Oxford

Historiographie africaine : Afrique de l’Ouest - Afrique Centrale

Thierno Moctar Bah — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2015, 296p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-599-1

Le contenu du manuel est avant tout la synthèse de lectures d’ouvrages variés, de revues spécialisées et de thèses qui permettent un regard à la fois panoramique et précis sur la production historienne et la pratique du métier d’historien. Ce manuel est aussi une mise en cause inspirée d’un point de vue personnel, et se veut un témoignage de la génération d’historiens africains formés, dans les années 1960, au sein des nouvelles institutions universitaires créées en Afrique.

Enfin, ce manuel veut être autre chose qu’un bilan ; il est un questionnement sur la manière dont l’histoire se fait et il permettra aux étudiants de comprendre le processus de production du savoir historique, en Afrique et sur l’Afrique, les conditions et modalités de cette production, les thématiques et éventuellement les controverses.

Political and Social Thought in Africa

Helmi Sharawy, Samir Amin — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2014, 256 p., ISBN : 978-2-86978-586-1

The essays collected together in this book reflect the author’s varied experiences in the realms of politics and social struggle; he notes that they cannot be separated from his other experiences in his country, Egypt, over the years. These experiences extend from popular culture or folklore, through the wider political world of African liberation politics, to the Committee for the Defence of National Culture.

This book is like a long trip through African culture from the 1950s to the beginning of the 21st century. These essays will most likely provoke a lot of memories, sweet and bitter; with maybe the bitter ones as the more lasting. The author notes that it appears as if the only relationship that seems to have mattered, for a long time, for the Egyptians with the rest of Africa was the river Nile, which joins the country to ten other countries, while a vast desert stands in-between. Such separation ignores the ancient relations between Pharaonic Egypt and the rest of Africa, and the role of Egypt in supporting many liberation movements on the continent.

The author has set himself some tough questions in this book: Is it legitimate today to use race to sub-divide the African continent? Can this, moreover, be simply done as if race is ahistorical or an idealistic concept of identities? Or are we going to talk about Arabism in Egypt, Libya or Maghreb as if it were an identity gained with the advent of the Arabs, implying that these were ‘lands with no people’ – a sort of ‘No Man’s Land’? Or was this a fragile space that could not confront the invading empire? Or will Arabism equate with Bantuism or negroism sometimes, and Hausa and Swahili cultures at other times? These are the types of issues that Helmi Sharawy examines in this very important book.

Experiences that inform this book began with the author’s first encounter in March 1956, with some African youths who were in Cairo for higher studies or as representatives of liberation movements with whom he worked as an intermediary with the Egyptian national state, which work left on him an everlasting impression.

Post-Referendum Sudan: National and Regional Questions

Wed, 18 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2014, 232 p., ISBN : 978-2-86978-588-5

The fate of Sudan, by then the largest country in Africa, was clearly decided when results of the referendum vote were announced in February 2011. Policy makers, scholars and the international community began to grapple with critical issues that might arise after the independence of South Sudan and how different stakeholders were likely to react during the period of uncertainty.
Political developments in Sudan were long-term outcomes of post-cold war revolutions in the world system after the Soviet Union collapsed. A domino effect of such events swept across Eastern Europe with some manifestations in the Horn of Africa. The fall of Mengistu Haile Mariam, marked the beginning of the redrawing of the map of Africa and posed a challenge to the long held principle of preservation of colonial borders that had been enshrined in the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity. The precedent set by the independence of Eritrea seemed to encourage southern Sudan to press forward for independence through a two pronged approach of armed struggle and diplomacy led by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement.

This book attempts to understand national, regional and continental dimensions of the unresolved issues that could result in the escalation of conflict in the Sudan. It examines internal dynamics of the Sudan after secession of the south and how these dynamics might affect neighbouring countries in the geopolitical regions: the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes Region and Central Africa. A section of the book is dedicated to dynamics within South Sudan as a new state. Post-conflict South Sudan as country was marked by extreme poverty, lack of infrastructure and prevalence of inter-communal armed violence. This book proposes possible policies to prevent the country from descending into a state of economic and social chaos.
The book provides the argument that equitable and rational transformative socio-economic programmes and policies could greatly reduce potentials for conflict. This book calls on policy makers to pursue policies that could lead to concrete projects planned to alleviate poverty and provision of basic social services such as education, health, and safe water. The book comes to the conclusion that political stability will depend on collective actions of stakeholders to ensure that peace prevails both in the north and the south to guarantee human security in the region.

Gender and Citizenship in the Global Age

Laroussi Amri, Ramola Ramtohul — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2014, 348 p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-589-2

This book is a product of the CODESRIA Gender Symposium. Ce livre est une compilation des articles issus du Symposium sur le genre du CODESRIA

One of the major issues this book examines is what the African experience and identity have contributed to the debate on citizenship in the era of globalisation.This volume presents case studies of different African contexts, illustrating the gendered aspects of citizenship as experienced by African men and women. Citizenship carries manifold gendered aspects and given the distinct gender roles and responsibilities, globalisation affects citizenship in different ways. It further examines new forms of citizenship emerging from the current era dominated by a neoliberal focus. This book is not exclusive in terms of theorisation but its focus on African contexts, with an in-depth analysis taking into consideration local culture and practices and their implications for citizenship, provides a good foundation for further scholarly work on gender and citizenship in Africa.

Trade and Industrial Development in Africa : Rethinking Strategy and Policy

Theresa Moyo — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2014, 404p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-538-0

The book is a product of the Guy Mhone conference on ‘Rethinking Trade and Development in Africa’.

This book revisits the perennial challenge that scholars, economists, and politicians have been grappling with since the 1960s. Development, in this book, has been defined in a context that projects it as a multidimensional and complex process which seeks to enhance the human, social, economic and cultural welfare of the people. This book calls for a rethinking of trade and industry for Africa’s development. It uses data drawn from national development plans and strategies, and trade and industry issues have been prioritized at the continental level, in key policy documents. On the whole Africa’s industry and trade performance have been poor in spite of national, regional, and continental plans. The contributors to this volume propose some alternative strategies and policies which are necessary for trade and industry to grow and to contribute to the wellbeing of Africa’s people. It calls for a developmental trade and industry policy which, fundamentally, must be people-centred. African states should invest time, energy and resources to develop policies which will take into consideration African realities.The different contributors are aware that Africa has experienced strong economic growth in the recent past but this growth has largely been due to a strong demand for Africa’s primary commodity exports. It has also been a result of increases in productivity and domestic investment and remittances from Africans living in the Diaspora. It is important to note that despite this unprecedented growth performance, the impact of trade and industry on development has been limited. The book arguesthat a structural transformation of Africa’s economies is inevitable if Africa is to achieve the shift from the dominant paradigm of production and export of primary goods. The various contributors to this book agree that there is need to rethink policy and strategy in order to achieve industrial development in Africa. There is no unique solution or answer that can fit all situations as African countries are not the same. While Africa can draw lessons from other regions which have successfully industrialized, this book argues that policies and strategies will have to be adapted to country-specific situations and circumstances.

Children and Youth in Africa: Annotated Bibliography 2001–2011

Mwenda Ntarangwi — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2014, 204 p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-587-8

This annotated bibliography provides a summary of scholarly work on children and youth in Africa published between 2001 and 2011. It draws from journal articles, monographs, and book chapters. This rich resource for scholars presents publications with a wide range of approaches to child and youth studies. Some scholars question certain views of children especially when it comes to their own agency and full participation in socioeconomic production at the household level. The idea that children are vulnerable social subjects is the predominant view that shaped much of the research reported on in this volume. Western restrictions, on specific age limits, that govern children’s participation in work or labour, whether paid or not, and the subsequent rights that go along with them are often not easily translatable to many African contexts. This creates a kind of separation between African and Western scholars in their study and understanding of children. The overwhelming focus of research published on HIV/AIDS and orphans, violence and child-soldiers, children’s rights, and street children, demonstrates the continued interest regarding children as vulnerable and in need of adult protection. Focusing on the vulnerability of children in Africa appears to be a result of the construction of childhood in terms of modern (mostly) Western perceptions which are based on chronological age mainly. This book is very important for all scholars working on children and the youth in Africa.

Silence Would Be Treason: Last Writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa

Ken Saro-Wiwa — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

A unique collection of the last writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa that reveals the indomitable mind and spirit of the legendary campaigner for justice in the last months before his execution. The letters and poems collected here are the last writings of a man on trial for his life. They were smuggled out of military detention in food baskets. Nigerian author and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, facing
execution by the military regime on trumped-up charges, corresponded extensively with Irish nun and solidarity worker Majella McCarron during the last 18 months of his life. Clear and direct, these letters and poems are the last expression of a voice the regime was determined to silence: a voice for indigenous rights, environmental survival and democracy, many of those battles were won despite his death and whose voice comes alive today again in these extraordinary letters. Saro-Wiwa was a leading figure in the world of Nigerian and African letters, as novelist, playwright, non-fiction writer, author of children’s books and television writer. He was also a major figure in Nigerian politics, when his support for the autonomy of his own, indigenous Ogoni people led to his removal from office. Following this Saro-Wiwa threw himself into business to provide the financial basis for the movement which from 1990
took the shape of MOSOP, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People. MOSOP raised not only the issue of indigenous autonomy but also that of environmental survival in the face of massive oil and gas extraction in the Niger Delta and the associated oil leaks, gas flaring and other environmental crises threatening traditional livelihoods in the area. This was a direct challenge to those who benefited from the situation: the oil and gas multinationals and the Nigerian military government.

Claim No Easy Victories: The Legacy of Amílcar Cabral

Firoze Manji; Bill Fletcher Jr — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Amilcar Cabral, revolutionary, poet, liberation philosopher, and leader of the independence movement of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde. Cabral’s influence stretched well beyond the shores of West Africa. He had a profound influence on the pan-Africanist movement and the black liberation movement in the US. In this unique collection of essays contemporary thinkers from across Africa and
internationally commemorate the anniversary of Cabral’s assassination. They reflect on the legacy of this extraordinary individual and his relevance to contemporary struggles for selfdetermination and emancipation. His well-known phrase “Claim no easy victories” resonates today no less than it did during his lifetime. The volume comprises sections on Cabral’s legacy; reflections on the relevance of his ideas; Cabral and the emancipation of women; Cabral and the pan-Africanists; culture and education; and Cabral’s contribution to African American struggles. A selected bibliography provides an overview of Cabral’s writings and of writings about Cabral.

Teaching and Learning in Context : Why Pedagogical Reforms Fail in Sub-Saharan Africa

Richard Tabulawa — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Since the 1990s, sub-Saharan Africa has experienced unprecedented attempts at reforming teacher and student classroom practices, with a learner-centred pedagogy regarded as an effective antidote to the prevalence of teacher-centred didactic classroom practices. Attempts at reform have been going on all over the continent. In fact, learner-centred pedagogy has been described as one of the most pervasive educational ideas in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. Research has revealed that the major attempts have largely failed mainly because teachers have not been able to adopt instructional innovations to technical problems. This failure is also related to lack of resources, and poor teacher training programmes which lead to poor teacher quality, among others.

This book attempts to explain why pedagogical change has not occurred in spite of the much energy and resources that have been committed to such reforms.The book also takes us inside what the author calls ‘the socio-cultural world of African classrooms’ to help us understand the reasons teachers dominate classroom life and rely disproportionately on didactic methods of teaching. Its conceptual analyses capture the best of both the sociology and the anthropology of education in contexts of poverty, as well as the politics of education.The book concludes that a socio-cultural approach should be the basis for developing culturally responsive indigenous pedagogies, though these may or may not turn out to be in any way akin to constructivist learner-centred pedagogies.

Coloniality of Power in Postcolonial Africa: Myths of Decolonization

Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni — Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This lively book interrogates the African postcolonial condition with a focus on the thematics of liberation predicament and the long standing crisis of dependence (epistemological, cultural, economic, and political) created by colonialism and coloniality. A sophisticated deployment of historical, philosophical, and political knowledge in combination with the equi-primordial concepts of coloniality of power, coloniality of being, and coloniality of knowledgeyields a comprehensive and truly refreshing understanding of African realities of subalternity. How global imperial designs and coloniality of power shaped the architecture of African social formations and disciplined the social forces towards a convoluted ‘postcolonial neocolonized’ paralysis dominated by myths of decolonization and illusions of freedom emerges poignantly in this important book. What distinguishes this book is its decolonial entry that enables a critical examination of the grammar of decolonization that is often wrongly conflated with that of emancipation;bold engagement with the intractable question of what and who is an African; systematic explication of the role of coloniality in sustaining Euro-American hegemony; and unmasking of how the ‘postcolonial’ is interlocked with the ‘neocolonial’ paradoxically. It is within this context that the postcolonial African state emerges as a leviathan, and the ‘postcolonial’ reality becomes a terrain of contradictions mediated by the logic of violence. No doubt,Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni’s handling of complex concepts and difficult questions of the day is remarkable, particularly the decoding and mixing of complex theoretical interventions from Africa and Latin America to enlighten the present, without losing historical perspicacity. To buttress the theoretical arguments, detailed empirical case studies of South Africa, Zimbabwe, DRC and Namibia completes this timely contribution to African Studies.

Les réformes du secteur public en République démocratique du Congo: Rétrospectives et perspectives

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Ce livre est une compilation de communications prononcées à l’occasion de la conférence Guy Mhone du CODESRIA. Les articles ont été rédigés au moment
où certaines réformes actuelles du secteur public en RDC n’étaient pas encore en vigueur.

La plupart des Etats africains nés de la décolonisation ont adopté le système socialiste comme alternative au modèle libéral et impérialiste occidental pour des raisons idéologiques que le régime socialiste était le seul qui incarnait la lutte pour la libération et le développement.

Le modèle de l’Etat mis en place à cet effet ressemblait fort à l’Etat-providence qui, à travers son instrument, l’administration publique, était le moteur du développement. Il assurait donc les services sociaux de base : santé, éducation, transport, communication. De cette façon, l’interventionnisme de l’Etat avait entraîné la socialisation de masses populaires et l’étatisation de la société.

La plupart des Etats africains postcoloniaux étant des Etats sans Nation, l’effort des dirigeants après l’indépendance a consisté à forger une nation et une conscience nationale. Les Partis uniques furent à ce titre le socle sur lequel devait se bâtir la construction nationale. Au lieu d’être le vecteur du développement national, les Partis uniques ont plutôt contribué à l’érection des souverains tout-puissants dont l’aura tirait son origine de la personnalisation du pouvoir.

Les élites africaines, elles, au lieu de croître les ressources trouvées dans la caisse de l’Etat, ont procédé à la prédation et ont développé des réseaux de clientélisme, de népotisme, de tribalisme dans le fonctionnement de l’Etat.

L’éventail des contributions contenues ici pose en toile de fond la problématique du secteur public, de sa conception et de son rôle en matière de développement en Afrique, la nécessité de reformer l’Administration publique africaine ayant toujours été le leitmotiv des dirigeants politiques et chercheurs en sciences sociales. Cet impératif trouve son explication du fait que les sociétés traditionnelles africaines n’ont pas connu l’Administration du moins dans le sens wébérien du terme et que l’Administration africaine actuelle est un produit de la colonisation.

Land and Agrarian Reform in Zimbabwe : Beyond White-Settler Capitalism

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The Fast Track Land Reform Programme implemented during the 2000s in Zimbabwe represents the only instance of radical redistributive land reforms since the end of the Cold War. It reversed the racially-skewed agrarian structure and discriminatory land tenures inherited from colonial rule. The land reform also radicalised the state towards a nationalist, introverted accumulation strategy, against a broad array of unilateral Western sanctions. Indeed, Zimbabwe’s land reform, in its social and political dynamics, must be compared to the leading land reforms of the twentieth century, which include those of Mexico, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Cuba and Mozambique.

The fact that the Zimbabwe case has not been recognised as vanguard nationalism has much to do with the ‘intellectual structural adjustment’ which has accompanied neoliberalism and a hostile media campaign. This has entailed dubious theories of ‘neopatrimonialism’, which reduce African politics and the state to endemic ‘corruption’, ‘patronage’, and ‘tribalism’ while overstating the virtues of neoliberal good governance. Under this racist repertoire, it has been impossible to see class politics, mass mobilisation and resistance, let alone believe that something progressive can occur in Africa.

This book comes to a conclusion that the Zimbabwe land reform represents a new form of resistance with distinct and innovative characteristics when compared to other cases of radicalisation, reform and resistance. The process of reform and resistance has entailed the deliberate creation of a tri-modal agrarian structure to accommodate and balance the interests of various domestic classes, the progressive restructuring of labour relations and agrarian markets, the continuing pressures for radical reforms (through the indigenisation of mining and other sectors), and the rise of extensive, albeit relatively weak, producer cooperative structures.

The book also highlights some of the resonances between the Zimbabwean land struggles and those on the continent, as well as in the South in general, arguing that there are some convergences and divergences worthy of intellectual attention. The book thus calls for greater endogenous empirical research which overcomes the pre-occupation with failed interpretations of the nature of the state and agency in Africa.

Women and Power: Education, Religion and Identity

Olutoyin Mejiuni — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Education is an important tool for the development of human potential. Organizations and individuals interested in development consider knowledge, skills and attitudes, obtained through formal, non-formal and incidental learning, as invaluable assets. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect on fundamental elements that shape the process through which education is attained: How do people learn, and what are the conditions that facilitate effective learning? Answers to these questions demonstrate that no education can be politically neutral, because there is no value-free education.

The traditional or indigenous education systems in Nigeria, which covered (and still cover) physical training, development of character, respect for elders and peers, development of intellectual skills, specific vocational trainings, developing a sense of belonging and participation in community affairs, and understanding, appreciating and promoting the cultural heritage of the community were, and are, not value-free. In other words, the goals and purpose of education, the content, the entire process and the procedures chosen for evaluation in education are all value-laden.

This book attempts to show that the teaching-learning process in higher education, and religion, taught and learned through non-formal and informal education (or the hidden curriculum), and other socialization processes within and outside the formal school system, all interface to determine the persons that women become. This education enhances or limits women’s capabilities, whether in the civic-political sphere or in their attempts to resist violence. Hence, education and religion have ways of empowering or disempowering women.

Values and Development in Southern Africa

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Development has been on Africa’s agenda for a long time but progress has been both varied and limited, partly due to the diverse levelsof the discussionsonthe challenges and the interventions for tackling them. Africa’s greatest challenge is the uneven development within and between its countries, and the pressing issues ofextreme poverty in southern Africa, and the continent as a whole.

Poverty causes its victims to suffer social exclusion and political repression. In addition, societies that experience poverty are also mostlyunder continuous threat of ecological disasters and diseases. All poor people are therefore plagued by loss of freedom and dignity, and are often unable to participate effectively in the political, economic, legal and social processes of their countries.

This book focuses on the social and cultural dimensions of development dynamics and, in particular, the role of values in shaping development. Values are at the core of the hopes and aspirations of individuals, communities and societies. The booktherefore explainsthe values that motivate and inform African communities and societies, with a view to facilitating a dialogue about sustainable development in Africa among academics, intellectuals, policy and decisionmakers, and the communities. It also investigatesthe social and cultural dynamics of development in Africa, as a better alternative to earlier studies that blame African culture for poverty and exclude the people of Africa in their definition of developments in the continent.

Thesignificance of this book lies in its provision of a theoretical argument,from empirical perspective, on the role of values in the development ofAfrica; an argument that is capable of facilitating a dialogue about African development, which obviously proves more useful than either the imposition of a technical process or the announcement of a normative framework.

Pratiques d’esclavage et d’asservissement des femmes en Afrique: Les cas du Sénégal et de la République Démocratique du Congo

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

La question de l’esclavage et de l’asservissement a été le plus souvent étudiée sous l’angle de la dynamique atlantique. Cette analyse prenait surtout en compte les différences liées à la race, à l’ethnicité, à l’âge, à la classe ou la religion. Toutefois, le rôle et la place des femmes ainsi que les hiérarchies de genre, compris dans le sens de rapports sociaux de sexe, étaient très peu abordés. Les travaux présentés dans cet ouvrage, poursuivent la réflexion de plus en plus engagée, sur l’esclavage et l’asservissement des femmes, surtout contemporains, pour en saisir la complexité et exprimer la pluralité des expériences et des contextes, notamment à travers des exemples tirés du Sénégal et de la République Démocratique du Congo.

Les différentes contributions dans ce volume proposent une nouvelle production de connaissances sur la question de l’asservissement des femmes, en démontrant les logiques sociales et les systèmes de représentation qui le sous-tendent. Il en ressort une image plus complexe des interactions historiques, socio-économiques, politiques, culturelles et religieuses complexes à l’origine de la persistance de l’esclavage et de l’asservissement dans certains pays africains.

Culture et développement en Algérie et dans les pays arabes

Fatima-Zohra Oufriha — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Ce livre est l’œuvre d’une femme agrégée d’économie, formée aux Humanités françaises et arabes y compris dans leur dimension traditionnelle. Elle a été envoyée en France par ses parents pour étudier l’histoire ou les lettres. Mais elle a choisi d’apprendre les sciences économiques au moment où elles n’étaient presque pas ou pas du tout connues dans sa ville natale et où, aucune femme et pas d’homme non plus, à sa connaissance, ne s’y était essayé.

Cette somme de réflexions regroupe une série de communications écrites à différentes périodes de 1986 à 2008. Le fil conducteur est constitué essentiellement par la critique culturaliste, puis de façon plus récente, celle de nature environnementale des politiques de développement menées en Algérie et de façon plus large dans le Monde arabe. Au delà de cette position critique, elles essaient de cerner les rapports qu’entretient l’économie avec la culture, entendue au sens anthropologique du terme.

Cette préoccupation des problèmes culturels dans toutes leurs dimensions, y compris le fait religieux, n’a cessé de hanter l’auteur tout au long de cette double décennie et donc de façon précoce par rapport aux politiques de développement, et de l’économie de façon plus générale. Elle traduit une anxiété et une interrogation fondamentale par rapport aux discours, aux pratiques développés depuis la décennie 1970, tant par les décideurs que par tous les autres acteurs sociaux, en particulier les décideurs et les travailleurs.

Public Sector Reforms in Africa: Nigerian Perspectives

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The public sector in Africa has come under severe criticism over the past few decades, particularly since the mid-1980s when many countries in sub-Sahara Africa were forced to adopt structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) to address fundamental economic problems confronting them. The public services of these countries were variously accused of inefficiency, ineptitude and even of constituting a clog in the wheel of development. This is the background against which these countries were forced to embark on reforms of the public sector. The impression created then was that once these reforms were in place, all would be well.

The six chapters in this book represent a critique of the Public Sector Reforms in Nigeria that were initiated by the Olusegun Obasanjo regime in the late 1990s. The book examines the various components of the reforms that were implemented at the behest of the Bretton Woods institutions and exposes their inadequacies. They also question the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings on which the reform programmes were based.

The conclusion of this book is that the reforms had only further deepened poverty levels among the vast majority of Nigerians. Essentially, through the privatisation and commercialisation of public enterprises, and the mass lay-offs of thousands of public servants, Nigerians have been denied of some of their citizenship rights. It is the contention of the contributors, therefore, that there is a need to put in place public policy and institutions that would champion alternative development strategies which put people, and not markets, at the centre of development.

This book is a very useful companion for students and scholars of development, administration and management, as well as policy makers, trade unionists, political activists and those involved in development work.

Contemporary African Cultural Productions

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

All over Africa, an explosion in cultural productions of various genres is in evidence. Whether in relation to music, song and dance, drama, poetry, film, documentaries, photography, cartoons, fine arts, novels and short stories, essays, and (auto)biography; the continent is experiencing a robust outpouring of creative power that is as remarkable for its originality as its all-round diversity.

Beginning from the late 1970s and early 1980s, the African continent has experienced the longest and deepest economic crises than at any other time since the period after the Second World War. Interestingly however, while practically every indicator of economic development was declining in nominal and/ or real terms for most aspects of the continent, cultural productions were on the increase. Out of adversity, the creative genius of the African produced cultural forms that at once spoke to crises and sought to transcend them.

The current climate of cultural pluralism that has been produced in no small part by globalization has not been accompanied by an adequate pluralism of ideas on what culture is, and/or should be; nor informed by an equal claim to the production of the cultural – packaged or not. Globalization has seen to movement and mixture, contact and linkage, interaction and exchange where cultural flows of capital, people, commodities, images and ideologies have meant that the globe has become a space, with new asymmetries, for an increasing intertwinement of the lives of people and, consequently, of a greater blurring of normative definitions as well as a place for re-definition, imagined and real.

As this book – Contemporary African Cultural Productions – has done, researching into African culture and cultural productions that derive from it allows us, among other things, to enquire into definitions, explore historical dimensions, and interrogate the political dimensions to presentation and representation. The book therefore offers us an intervention that goes beyond the normative literary and cultural studies’ main foci of race, difference and identity; notions which, while important in themselves might, without the necessary historicizing and interrogating, result in a discourse that rather re-inscribes the very patterns that necessitate writing against.

This book is an invaluable compendium to scholars, researchers, teachers, students and others who specialize on different aspects of African culture and cultural productions, as well as cultural centers and general readers.

Samir Amin : Intellectuel organique au service de l’émancipation du Sud

Demba Moussa Dembélé — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Ce livre sur le professeur Samir Amin retrace à partir de notes biographiques ses origines familiales, son itinéraire intellectuel, ses combats politiques ainsi que ses expériences dans l’élaboration de politiques économiques en Egypte, au Mali et dans plusieurs autres pays. Sa découverte précoce au Lycée du marxisme et du matérialisme historique, comme outil d’analyse scientifique de l’histoire des sociétés humaines, forme la base fondamentale qui a structuré sa pensée, orienté son œuvre et influencé son action sa vie durant. Ce livre souligne également l’apport inestimable du Professeur Samir Amin à la lutte contre le capitalisme grâce à son combat inlassable pour déconstruire les concepts destinés à masquer la vraie nature du capitalisme historique, à savoir la poursuite effrénée de l’accumulation par la dépossession des pays et peuples dominés. A travers une série d’entretiens avec le Professeur Samir Amin, défilent un panorama saisissant de toutes les grandes idées qui ont été au cœur de son combat intellectuel et politique au cours du demi-siècle écoulé.

L’auteur donne aussi une sélection de textes, dont certains inédits, mais également une bibliographie aussi exhaustive que possible avec tous les écrits publiés en français à ce jour par le Professeur Samir Amin. Cette œuvre prodigieuse et variée est destinée à une audience très large : étudiants, chercheurs, enseignants, leaders politiques et simples citoyens soucieux d’apprendre davantage sur le phénomène de la mondialisation et son impact sur les pays dits « sous-développés ».

Réponses radicales aux crises agraires et rurales africaines: Agriculture paysanne, démocratisation des sociétés rurales et souveraineté alimentaire

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

La crise agraire africaine présente plusieurs dimensions interdépendantes : crise de la productivité, des régimes fonciers, de l’écosystème, et crise rurale. La manifestation la plus pernicieuse se trouve dans l’exode des jeunes ruraux provoqué davantage par la paupérisation que par les perspectives d’une vie meilleure en ville ou à l’étranger.

Dans les approches néolibérales qui inspirent ou justifient les pseudo-solutions mises en œuvre depuis plus de trois décennies, la croissance mondiale du produit agricole doit être l’objectif prioritaire des politiques agricoles dans tous les pays. Les exploitations agricoles du quart monde, du monde occidental et des pays dits émergents doivent être mises en concurrence dans le cadre de la soumission aux oligopoles mondialisés et financiarisés de l’agrobusiness qui exigent partout la privatisation des droits d’accès au sol agricole. Or la crise s’aggrave depuis que les acteurs puissants du système ont imposé aux sociétés africaines les accords de l’OMC et bilatéraux qui les obligent à renoncer à la recherche de la souveraineté alimentaire nationale ou sous-régionale et à inscrire les exploitations paysannes dans les chaînes de valeurs visant à en évincer le plus grand nombre et à transformer les autres en salariés occasionnels sous-payés.

L’option de développement durable et solidaire permet aux auteurs de ce livre de soumettre au débat des analyses qui proposent des transformations sociales fondées sur trois principes : une démocratisation des sociétés rurales qui intègre l’égalité des sexes et la participation effective des producteurs agricoles au débat sur les dimensions agroalimentaires et agroécologiques des choix économiques et sociaux ; la construction de systèmes agroalimentaires souverains dans un monde polycentrique ; et le refus de considérer la privatisation des droits d’accès aux sols agricoles et leur transformation en marchandise banale comme des conditions fondamentales de la solution à la crise agraire. Dans cette option, le marché régulé et la planification ne sont plus que des moyens de réaliser les objectifs.

Politique africaine contemporaine : Le cas de la République démocratique du Congo

Ernest Wamba dia Wamba — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

L’essence de la politique, c’est la prescription d’une possibilité en rupture avec ce qu’il y a et pas nécessairement le maintien par tous les moyens de ce qu’il y a. L’exercice ou l’épreuve de cette prescription et les énoncés qu’elle commande, sous l’autorité de l’événement évanoui (marche réprimée contre la faim, par exemple), passe par des réunions, des discussions, des déclarations, des interventions et des organisations, en vue de prises de décisions. La politique est organisée par des dispositifs organisés organisant cette politique.
Cependant, en Afrique, à la place de la pensée politique, on ne rencontre que des manipulations, des intrigues et des discours, essentiellement de la propagande, sinon des descriptions d’institutions, d’« élites », etc. Toute la question de la politique se réduit, de ce fait, à la conquête du pouvoir d’Etat. Ainsi, dans nos pays d’Afrique où l’on conçoit la politique comme une profession et la seule voie pour avoir les meilleurs moyens de vie, elle devient négative, puisqu’elle est incarnée par toutes sortes de gens corrompus et est marquée par des luttes parfois sans merci.
Mais, une nouvelle figure de la politique est en voie d’émerger. Sa question centrale est : Comment changer le monde sans saisir le pouvoir d’Etat ? Comment construire une puissance politique, à partir de la capacité politique des gens, capable de dissoudre les rapports oppressifs de pouvoir ? Comment transformer l’Etat sans une prise de pouvoir d’Etat ?

Non-Europhone Intellectuals

Ousmane Oumar Kane — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The history of Arabic writing spans a period of eight hundred years in sub-Saharan Africa. Hundreds of thousands of manuscripts in Arabic or Ajami (African languages written with the Arabic script) are preserved in public libraries and private collections in sub-Saharan Africa. This ‘Islamic Library’ includes historical, devotional, pedagogical, polemical and political writings, most of which have not yet been adequately studied.

This book, Non-Europhone Intellectuals, studies the research carried out on the Islamic library and shows that Muslim intellectuals, in West Africa in particular, have produced huge literature in Arabic and Ajami. It is impossible to reconstitute this library completely. As the texts have existed for centuries and are mostly in the form of unpublished manuscripts, only some of them have been transmitted to us while others have perished because of poor conservation. Efforts toward collecting them continues and the documents collected thus far attest to an intense intellectual life and important debates on society that have been completely ignored by the overwhelming majority of Europhone intellectuals.

During European colonial rule and after the independence of African nations, Islamic education experienced some neglect, but the Islamic scholarly tradition did not decline. On the contrary, it has prospered with the proliferation of modern Islamic schools and the rise of dozens of Islamic institutions of higher learning. In recent years, the field of Islamic studies in West Africa has continued to attract the attention of erudite scholars, notably in anthropology and history, who are investing in learning the languages and working on this Islamic archive. As more analytical works are done on this archive, there will be continued modification in terms of the debate on knowledge production in West Africa.

Démocratisation et intégration sociopolitique des minorités ethniques au Cameroun : Entre dogmatisme du principe majoritaire et centralité des partis politiques

Ibrahim Mouiche — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

L’impératif démocratique, avec ses défis, s’est superposé à celui, ancien mais toujours d’actualité, du développement. Si cet idéal a un sens, c’est celui de convertir les pays africains en un espace public bâti sur le débat pluraliste, sur les institutions qui garantissent le succès de ce débat dans le jeu serein des pouvoirs et des contre-pouvoirs. C’est aussi celui de les doter d’une démocratie fondée sur la force de la rationalité qui cherche les solutions les plus fertiles aux problèmes des populations, et sur l’éthique d’une responsabilité collective dans la quête de la justice sociale et du bonheur du plus grand nombre. C’est enfin une nécessité pour des minorités ethniques, des catégories sociales, y compris des femmes et des enfants, des groupes défavorisés, etc. qui n’ont pas toujours la liberté et les moyens de se protéger contre l’arbitraire et de se faire entendre afin de peser sur les décisions qui affectent leur existence. Aussi, dans le champ africain, est-il tenu comme de meilleur ton de s’intéresser à l’univers des dominés, du « bas », à la résistance ou, selon des préoccupations volontaristes, aux thèmes du développement, de la démocratisation. Cette question est d’autant plus pertinente que depuis les années 1990, la recherche sur les politiques de l’ethnicité, de l’appartenance et de la citoyenneté en Afrique s’est élargie à la problématique de l’autochtonie.

Cette étude porte sur l’intégration sociopolitique des minorités ethniques dans ce nouveau contexte de démocratisation au Cameroun. L’interrogation principale est de savoir si le multipartisme et la démocratisation ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives à ces groupes dominés, ou si, dans le cas contraire, ce changement politique minerait plutôt leur position : ouverture en termes de leur participation à la vie politique, d’amélioration de leurs conditions de vie et, dans la perspective des mouvements sociaux, en termes d’organisation et de création d’associations de défense de leurs intérêts. Affaiblissement en termes de perte des acquis sociopolitiques de la période du parti unique.

Idéologie politique et conflit en Côte d’Ivoire : une analyse du discours politique sur l’identité nationale

Yéo O. Emma — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Longtemps vue comme un pays stable, la Côte d’Ivoire a connu de septembre 2002 à mai 2011 une grave crise politico-militaire qui a entraîné la partition de son territoire. La question identitaire, soulevée par l’une des parties au conflit lors des accords de Marcoussis et entérinée par les accords postérieurs, a eu pour
solution l’initiative d’un processus d’identification.

Toutefois, ce processus d’identification est source de nombreuses violences. La presse dans son ensemble a fait état de plusieurs morts et blessés dans plusieurs villes du pays. Au-delà d’une opposition de forme sur ces audiences foraines, il semble se jouer entre les protagonistes du conflit une opposition de fond sur la définition de l’identité nationale en Côte d’Ivoire. Il s’agit de dire qui est Ivoirien et qui ne l’est pas.

Pour les uns, la définition de l’identité nationale doit s’en tenir aux dispositions telles que définies dans le Code de la nationalité. Les autres, quant à eux, sont favorables à une définition plus « ouverte » de la nationalité. Cette recherche s’intéresse ainsi à cette question récurrente dans l’espace politique ivoirien
depuis son ouverture démocratique en 1990.

Medias et démocratie au Burkina Faso

Serge Théophile Balima, Augustin Loada, Nestorine Sangare/Compaoré — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Les processus démocratiques enclenchés au début des années 1990 ont consacré le pluralisme médiatique qui se confirme de jour en jour en Afrique. Ces mutations ont entraîné la libéralisation des médias dans la plupart des pays et conduit à l’émergence de nouveaux pôles d’expression dans l’espace public. Le nombre de citoyens ayant accès à l’information s’est considérablement accru avec la multiplication des titres de presse et des stations de radios rendue possible par l’émergence d’un secteur privé dans ce domaine.

Dans cette recherche, il s’agit de voir comment les lecteurs citoyens utilisent les journaux comme des tribunes d’interpellation démocratique, courroies de transmission de leurs opinions et jugements sur le fonctionnement des pouvoirs publics établis. En d’autres termes, les journaux sont-ils des espaces de totale liberté pour les citoyens ? Quels types de courrier des lecteurs sont publiés dans le but de contribuer au processus décisionnel démocratique ? Qui produit les communiqués et points de vue émanant de la société des lecteurs ? S’agit-il de groupes éphémères non constitués juridiquement, de personnes physiques, d’organisations de toutes sortes, de personnalités morales ? Quels types de messages sont proposés dans leurs écrits ? La problématique vise à cerner les préoccupations suivantes à travers l’analyse des contenus de trois quotidiens burkinabè : un organe public, Sidwaya et deux privés, L’Observateur Paalga et Le Pays.

Médiatisation des idéologies politiques dans la crise ivoirienne : le rôle des espaces de discussion de rue à Abidjan

Oumar N’Tchabétien Silué — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Depuis 2002, les espaces de discussion de rue se présentent comme des lieux importants dans le champ politique ivoirien. Leurs interventions précèdent ou font un écho retentissant aux actions des partis politiques. Du reste, quand ces espaces ne sont pas accusés d’être à l’origine des troubles qui traversent la Côte d’Ivoire, ils sont perçus comme des instruments politiques mobilisés pour exacerber les antagonismes. Ainsi, ces espaces de discussion de rue se développent-ils de plus en plus comme des instruments de diffusion des idéologies politiques construites par les partis et mouvements politiques en opposition dans le conflit armé.

Les modalités de fonctionnement diffèrent d’un espace à un autre. Les « agoras » et les « parlements » accueillent de nombreuses personnes qui suivent les discours d’orateurs dont la voix est souvent portée par un matériel de sonorisation (mégaphones, hauts parleurs et microphones). Les « grins », plus discrets et moins importants sont constitués par des rassemblements dont le nombre n’excède pas 30 personnes.

Le présent rapport tente de rendre compte de l’investissement politique de ces espaces de discussion de rue dans le conflit politique en Côte d’Ivoire.

Tutorat et conflits fonciers ruraux dans l’ouest ivoirien : le cas de Fengolo dans la sous-préfecture de Duekoué

Gaouli Bi Anicet Patrice — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

En Côte d’Ivoire, le terme tutorat, « sorte » d’institution traditionnelle rurale, gouverne les relations sociales naissant de l’accueil d’un étranger (ou d’un groupe d’étrangers) et de sa famille dans une communauté villageoise locale. Il a permis l’intégration de nombre d’allochtones et d’étrangers dans les différentes communautés d’accueil et a renforcé l’équilibre et la paix sociale dans les régions
forestières de l’ouest ivoirien. Mais depuis 1990, la Côte d’Ivoire a commencé à enregistrer des conflits qui ont des répercussions sur son développement social, économique et politique avec l’instauration du multipartisme et les querelles nées de la succession du Président Houphouët.

La revendication des droits de propriété sur la terre dans les différentes régions est de plus en plus évoquée en raison de la tribalisation des discours politiques et du vote de la loi n°98-750 du 23 Décembre 1998. Ce qui a mis à mal les relations sociales réciproques de bon voisinage entre autochtones et allochtones et/ou étrangers et partant le tutorat. Ainsi, se trouvent-ils confrontés à une dégradation qui entraîne de plus en plus des situations violentes entre communautés de planteurs autochtones et migrants, entre villages, entre différents membres d’une même famille autour de la terre.

Dans cette recherche, le problème du fonctionnement du tutorat dans la localité de Fengolo est posé pour voir comment il a pu se transformer en un conflit foncier. Cette étude analyse aussi pourquoi les relations sociales réciproques d’entraide se sont transformées en un conflit foncier entre le tuteur autochtone et son protégé.

The Mobile City of Accra: Urban Families, Housing and Residential Practices

Elizabeth Aryafio-Schandorf, Paul W.K.Yankson, Monique Bertrand — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This book is a product of collaborative research between the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD, France), the University of Ghana, Legon and CODESRIA. It examines various economic, social and environmental challenges of urbanization that critically affect the capital of Ghana, which has experienced high demographic growth and territorial expansion. This work analyses the Greater Accra city dwellers’ residential practices, and focuses on two main factors influencing land and rental markets. On the one hand, it interrogates the constraints and dynamics of urban families, their needs and gender characteristics in terms of accommodation. On the other hand, it explores the opportunities and interests in investment on the part of land owners and real estate developers.
At these two levels of describing the social and spatial discriminations, the book attempts to explain the difficult choices that this fragmented city faces. It emphasizes the role of mobility in structuring the metropolitan area, and the negative impact of lack of mobility which results in some households and communities suffering more than others. The book throws light on diagnostics and prospects in the matter of urban planning.

The Feasibility of the Democratic Developmental State in the South

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The book examines the prospects of a democratic developmental state in Latin American, African and Asian countries, collectively referred to in this work
as the global South. Practically, the state refers to the political leadership.
Within this context, it interrogates the politics of the state and the unresolved critical issues it has engendered in the state-development discourse such as the need to re-conceptualize the developmental state, democratization, elections, inclusion, indigenous entrepreneurial and business class, political parties and cooperation among the countries of the South. It looks into the need to re-centre the sought state in the development process of the Southern countries after over two and a half decades of embracing neo-liberal policies and economic reforms that, rather than transform, sank the adjusted economies into deeper political, social and economic crises. It contends that the capacity of the state to overcome the market and democratic deficits resides with its democratic credentials. Finally, it suggests strategies that could lead to the rise of a democratic developmental state in the South.

Como Fazer Ciências Sociais e Humanas em África : Questões Epistemológicas, Metodológicas, Teóricas e Políticas. (Textos do Colóquio em Homenagem a Aquino de Bragança)

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

As crises de pensamento decorrentes das grandes mudanças verificadas no mundo durante a última metade do século XX e início deste século levaram as Ciências Sociais e Humanidades a acelerar a sua reconceptualização num esforço tendente a clarificar e redefinir o seu papel na sociedade.
Hoje, mais do que nunca, se debate sobre a finalidade das Ciências Sociais. Questionamonos sobre o seu contributo para a formulação e resolução dos problemas contemporâneos, incluindo de que forma elas podem ajudar a uma maior eficácia na tomada de decisões políticas e administrativas. Questionamo-nos, inclusivamente, sobre o futuro das próprias Ciências Sociais e Humanidades, futuro esse que depende em grande medida da pertinência das visões
do mundo que nos proporcionam. A procura de respostas para estes questionamentos não pode estar dissociada da discussão em torno da problemática referente à produção e apropriação do conhecimento. A cultura científica é actualmente encarada como uma dimensão fundamental das sociedades contemporâneas, na medida em que interfere com todos os domínios da vida social. Ela representa o vector decisivo da modernização e do desenvolvimento.

Como fazer ciências sociais e humanas em África: questões epistemológicas, metodológicas, teóricas e políticas (Textos do Colóquio em Homenagem a Aquino de Bragança) tem o formato de ‘actas’ de um colóquio onde o pretexto da evocação de uma personalidade marcante e do seu legado criou espaço para um cruzamento de ideias sobre o caminho percorrido e o futuro das Ciências Sociais e Humanas no continente africano. Com comunicações centradas nas experiências de países africanos, com destaque para os falantes da Língua Portuguesa, o cosmopolitismo que marcou a vida de Bragança levou os autores desta compilação de textos a trazerem para debate problemas de relações internacionais que envolvem, para além de África, a Europa e a
América. As ideias e contribuições que compõem esta obra mostram-nos também a importância do casamento entre as Ciências Sociais e as Humanidades. O cruzamento de ideias espelhado nesta obra reflecte ao mesmo tempo as rupturas e continuidades que marcam pelo menos três gerações de académicos africanos das universidades nacionais após as independências. Em alguns casos é possível ler pontos convergentes, mas também contraditórios ou nem sempre concordantes, entre os diversos autores. As suas opiniões abrem, entretanto, novos caminhos para a pesquisa. Afinal de contas, é desta luta de contrários e da procura de convergências que se constroem ideias e projectos, é este o caminho do pensamento científico.

Capital Cities in Africa: Power and powerlessness

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Capital cities today remain central to both nations and states. They host centres of political power, not only national, but in some cases regional and global as weil, thus offering major avenues to success, wealth and privilege. For these reasons capitals simultaneously become centres of ’counter-power’, locations of high-stakes struggles between the government and the opposition.

This volume focuses on capital cities in nine sub-Saharan African countries, and traces how the power vested in them has evolved through different colonial backgrounds, radically different kinds of regimes after independence, waves of popular protest, explosive population growth and in most cases stunted economic development. Starting at the point of national political emancipation, each case study explores the complicated processes of nation-state building through its manifestation in the ’urban geology’ of the city - its architecture, iconography, layout and political use of urban space. Although the evolution of each of these cities is different, they share a critical demographic feature an extraordinarily rapid process of urbanisation that is more politically than economically driven. Overwhelmed by the inevitable challenges resulting from this urban sprawl, the governments seated in most of these capital cities are in effect both powerful- wielding power over their populace - and powerless, lacking power to implement their plans and to provide for their inhabitants.

Negotiating the Livelihoods of Children and Youth in Africa’s Urban Spaces

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This book deals with problems facing children and youth in African cities today. African populations have high growth rates and, consequently, relatively high proportions of young people. Population growth in rural areas has stretched resources leading to urban migration and a rapid growth of cities. Economies have not grown apace with the population; and in some countries, economies have even shrunk. The result is a severe lack of resources in cities to meet the needs of the growing populations, shown in high unemployment, inadequate housing, poor services, and often extreme poverty. All the essays in this book draw attention to such urban environments, in which children and youth have to live and survive.

The title of this book speaks of negotiating livelihoods. The concept of ‘livelihood’ has been adopted to incorporate the social and physical environment together with people’s responses to it. It considers not only material, but also human and social resources, including local knowledge and understanding. It, thus, considers the material means for living in a broader context of social and cultural interpretation. It, therefore, does not deal only with material and economic existence, but also with leisure activities, entertainments and other social forms of life developed by young people in response to the dictates of the environment.

The book contains country-specific case studies of the problems faced by youths in many African cities, how they develop means to solve them, and the various creative ways through which they improve their status, both economically and socially, in the different urban spaces. It recognizes the potentials of young people in taking control of their lives within the constraints imposed upon them by the society.

This book is a valuable contribution to the field of child and youth development, and a useful tool for parents, teachers, academics, researchers as well as government and non-government development agencies.

Entretien avec Amady Aly Dieng : Lecture critique d’un demi-siècle de paradoxes

Abderrahmane Ngaïdé — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Ce livre d’entretiens ne retrace pas seulement l’itinéraire personnel d’un homme, mais interroge un temps. Chaque trajectoire « biographique » peut paraître singulière, mais elle ne prend son sens et son vrai relief que quand elle est remise dans son contexte. D’ailleurs, dans ce livre, il ne s’agit point d’une biographie à la française se rapprochant de la fiction romanesque, encore moins d’une biographie à l’anglo-saxonne quirecherche l’exhaustivité jusqu’au détail près des faits. Il ne s’agit pas non plus d’unentreprise qui a pour objectif une simple volonté de faire témoigner une figure. Elle va au-delà et essaie de sortir de l’entreprise holiste pour contribuer à rendre à la partie sa place dans le tout.

Malgré ses 79 ans, Amady Aly Dieng déroute par sa jeunesse et sa fraîcheur d’esprit. Il est souvent taquin lorsqu’il n’est pas moqueur avec un langage anecdotique, plein de sarcasmes et d’humour ! Il fait sourire et détend l’atmosphère s’il n’énerve pas. Les débats engagés, voire vigoureux, qu’il entretient avec les jeunes en témoignent amplement. Il a toujours « ce petit mot qui incite à la réflexion ».

En effet, en nouant une conversation avec lui, on est plongé dans un monde dont l’effervescence intellectuelle n’a d’égale que la profondeur des changements que la période annonçait. Il fut un acteur intellectuel à des moments où le doute politique dominait, la soif de connaître empruntait des chemins aussi multiples que les défis qui attendaient le continent et la volonté de prouver l’historicité des sociétés africaines conduisait encore aux hypothèses les plus osées. C’est cette période qu’il raconte avec un brin d’émotion, mais aussi avec cette verve provocatrice qui lui sied.

À travers ces entretiens, se déroule donc l’histoire d’un demi-siècle plein de bouleversements, d’espoirs mais aussi d’incertitudes fondées sur les interrogations que posent le présent et l’avenir du continent africain.

ECOWAS and the Dynamics of Conflict and Peace-building

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

ECOWAS and the Dynamics of Conflict and Peace-building testifies to the fact that we cannot talk of West African affairs, more so of conflict and peace-building, without talking about ECOWAS. For over two decades now, West Africa has remained one of Africa’s most conflict-ridden regions. It has been a theatre of some of the most atrocious brutalities in the modern world. It has, nonetheless, witnessed one of the most ambitious internal efforts towards finding regional solutions to conflicts through ECOWAS.

The lead role of ECOMOG – the ECOWAS peacekeeping force – in search of peaceful solutions to civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and Cote d’Ivoire has yielded a mix of successes and failures. In this book, the authors take a candid look at the role that ECOWAS has played and show how the sub-regional organisation has stabilised and created new conditions conducive to nation building in a number of cases. Conversely, the book shows that ECOWAS has aggravated, if not created, new tensions in yet other cases. The comparative advantage that ECOWAS has derived from these experiences is reflected in the various mechanisms, protocols and conventions that are now in place to ensure a more comprehensive conflict prevention framework.

This book provides a nuanced analysis of the above issues and other dynamics of conflicts in the region. It also interrogates the roles played by ECOWAS and various other actors in the context of the complex interplay between natural resource governance, corruption, demography and the youth bulge, gender and the conflicting interests of national, regional and international players.

Readings in Methodology: African Perspectives

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

One of the weaknesses of research in Africa is the little consideration that is given to questions of epistemology and methodology. What we see is the trivialization of research protocols which, consequently, are reduced to fantasy prescriptions that detach social studies from universal debates over the validity of science rather than an interrogation of research procedures induced by the complexity of social dynamics. As a result, social sciences have become an imitative discourse and a recital of exotic anecdotes without perspectives. Knowledge production therefore loses any heuristic bearing. It is on the basis of this reality that attempts to correct this tendency have been made in this book by discussing the methodological foundation of social science knowledge.

This volume is a collection of papers presented during methodological workshops organized by CODESRIA. Its objective is to revitalize theory and methodology in field work in Africa while contributing to the creation of a critical space hinged upon the mastery of epistemological bases which are indispensable to any scientific imagination.

Far from being a collection of technical certainties and certified methods, this book interrogates the uncertain itinerary of the process of social logics discovery. In that sense, it is a decisive step towards a critical systemization of ongoing theories and practices within the African scientific community. The reader can, therefore, identify the philosophical, historical, sociological and anthropological foundations of object construction, field data exploitation and research results delivery. This book explains the importance of the philosophical and social modalities of scientific practice, the influence of local historical contexts, the different usages of new investigative tools, including the audiovisual tools. Finally, the book, backed by classical theories, serves as an invitation toward considering scientific commitment to African field research from a reflective perspective.

Global Exchanges and Gender Perspectives in Africa

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The global perspectives adopted in this volume by the authors, from different academic disciplines and social experiences, ought not to be locked in sterile
linearity which within process of globalisation would fail to perceive, the irreversible opening up of the worlds of the south. There is the need within the framework of the analyses presented here, to quite cogently define the sense of the notion of the market. The market here does not refer to saving or the localised exchange of goods, a perspective which is imposed by normative perceptions.
In fact, a strictly materialistic reading of exchange would be included, since every social practice and interaction implies a communitarian transaction; meanwhile the exchange system under study here broadens to root out the obligation of the maximisation of mercantile profit from the cycle of exchange.
Trade here would have a meaning closer to those of old, one of human interaction, in a way that one could also refer to “bon commerce” between humans.
In one way, trade places itself at the heart of social exchanges, included the power of money, and is carried along by a multitude of social interactions. The
reader is called upon to take into account the major mercantile formations of the social trade system, the market society, without forgetting the diversity of
exchange routes as well as the varying modalities of social construction, at the margins and within market logics – those of implicit value in trade between
humans – which the texts herein also seek to review.

The age-old project of restructuring the domestic economy, the market society as it has developed in the West, – whence it has set out to conquer the whole
wide world – places at the very centre of the current capitalist expansion the challenge of imperatively reshaping gender identity, inter alia, in market relations.

Mémoires d’un étudiant africain. Volume II : De l’Université de Paris à mon retour au Sénégal (1960-1967)

Amady Aly Dieng — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Avec les indépendances formelles des anciennes colonies françaises d’Afrique noire, s’ouvre l’ère de la lutte contre le néocolonialisme. Les étudiants africains, mobilisés autour de cette lutte, étaient désormais devenus des étrangers qu’on pouvait facilement expulser de la France. Le gouvernement français d’alors n’hésitait pas à procéder à des expulsions massives pour réprimer leurs organisations syndicales ou politiques.

La liquidation des deux grandes fédérations d’AOF et d’AEF et la suppression des commissions fédérales des bourses – consécutives à la mise en application de la Loi-cadre Gaston Defferre de 1956 destinée à balkaniser l’Afrique noire sous domination française vont considérablement affaiblir la Fédération des étudiants d’Afrique noire en France (FEANF) au profit de ses sections territoriales. Les gouvernements africains, par le biais de leurs ambassades et de leurs commissions territoriales de bourses, vont eux-mêmes prendre en charge leurs étudiants et se donner à leur tour les moyens de réprimer les organisations d’étudiants hostiles à leur politique de collaboration avec les autorités françaises. Parmi les divers procédés utilisés, il y avait la suppression des bourses et des subventions aux hôtels et résidences habités par les ressortissants de leurs territoires (La Maison de la Côte d’Ivoire, du Gabon, de la Haute Volta, du Congo, d’AOF), la création d’associations progouvernementales telles que celle des étudiants de l’Union progressiste sénégalaise (UPS), le Mouvement des étudiants de l’organisation commune africaine et malgache (MEOCAM), l’Union nationale des étudiants de la Côte d’Ivoire (UNECI).

La Fédération des étudiants d’Afrique noire en France entre alors dans une phase de déclin, le ver est dans le fruit de l’Unité avec l’application de la Loi-Cadre.

Mémoires d’un étudiant africain. Volume I : De l’école régionale de Diourbel à l’Université de Paris (1945-1960)

Amady Aly Dieng — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Ces mémoires d’un étudiant africain sont essentiellement destinés aux jeunes Africains qui veulent continuer le combat en faveur d’une indépendance et d’un développement véritables. Il ne s’agit pas d’égrener un chapelet de souvenirs d’anciens combattants, mais de transmettre par écrit aux jeunes Africains les expériences politiques, syndicales et sociales de l’ancienne génération.

L’auteur, né durant les années consécutives à la Grande Crise de 1929, a pu obtenir son Certificat d’études primaires élémentaires (CEPE) en 1945. Comme tous les élèves de sa génération, il a connu les affres de la Seconde guerre mondiale et les pénuries qui en ont résulté.

La période allant de 1945 à 1960 est une période exaltante de lutte en faveur de l’indépendance et de l’unité des pays africains. La défaite de l’armée française à Dien Bien Phu en Indochine a considérablement contribué à affaiblir le système colonial français. Elle sera suivie par le déclenchement de l’insurrection de 1954 en Algérie, l’indépendance du Maroc, de la Tunisie, du Ghana et l’accession de beaucoup d’autres pays africains subissant la domination française à la souveraineté internationale. L’année 1960 qualifiée d’année africaine va clore le chapitre de la lutte contre le colonialisme classique, et ouvrir une ère nouvelle caractérisée par le combat contre le néocolonialisme.

Presse audiovisuelle et construction démocratique au Bénin : de la nécessité de deux niveaux de lecture des mutations en cours

Jean Euloge Gbaguidi, Clémentine Lokonon, Maxime Ahotondji, Léa Yemadjro — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

La libéralisation de l’espace médiatique, consécutive à la Conférence nationale des Forces Vives de la Nation, a favorisé la prolifération des canaux de communication et des supports de l’information. Mais cela n’a pas toujours été suivi d’une production de contenus susceptibles d’animer et d’enrichir le débat social pour une société en mutation comme celle du Bénin.

Depuis cette date, l’objectif stratégique des autorités est de faire du Bénin, un pays émergent, prospère, démocratique et bien gouverné. Selon cette vision,
chaque acteur devrait pouvoir choisir des stratégies et les décliner en actions à mener. C’est ainsi que, dans cet ouvrage, les auteurs se demandent quelles
tâches et quelles missions les médias se sont assignées. Ils posent les interrogations suivantes : Quel rôle les médias peuvent-ils jouer pour la consolidation de la démocratie ? Quelle est actuellement leur contribution réelle à la consolidation de la démocratie ? Si les médias profitent du développement démocratique pour s’épanouir, contribuent-ils en retour au développement de la démocratie elle-même ? Pourquoi et comment les médias adhèrent-ils ou pas aux principes et valeurs de la démocratie ? Comment promeuvent-ils les principes et valeurs de la démocratie ? Avec quels résultats ?

Autant d’interrogations auxquelles ces chercheurs tentent d’apporter des réponses dans l’intérêt de l’approfondissement de la démocratie en Afrique en général, et au Bénin en particulier.

Migrations et tensions sociales dans le sud du Mali

Bakary F. Traoré, Bréma E. Dicko, Moro Sidibé, Bakary Camara — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Suite au phénomène de l’appauvrissement des populations, la rareté des terres cultivables et la manipulation des élites politiques et intellectuelles, la crise
ivoirienne a éclaté le 19 septembre 2002. Malgré le ralentissement du flux migratoire par la crise économique des années 1980 et 1990, le nombre de maliens en Côte d’Ivoire au début des hostilités est évalué à près de 2 000 000. Une partie de ces migrants revenaient souvent au Mali pour y investir ou pour rendre visite à des parents restés au village. Suite à la conjoncture économique depuis les années 1980 et à l’exacerbation des hostilités contre la communauté dioula, la communauté malienne en Côte d’Ivoire n’était plus la bienvenue. Après l’éclatement du conflit ivoirien, les ressortissants maliens ont été victimes de xénophobie, d’arrestations arbitraires, d’exécutions sommaires et de spoliation de leurs biens à Abidjan, Daloa, Bouaké et d’autres localités de la Côte d’Ivoire, provoquant ainsi le déplacement de milliers de rapatriés vers le Mali. Cette situation constitue une nouvelle forme de « migration » ou de mobilité au Mali. Par ailleurs, depuis bien avant le conflit ivoirien, les conflits libérien et sierra-léonais avaient provoqué un important mouvement migratoire de réfugiés vers le Mali qui a contribué à la prolifération des armes légères et créé une situation d’insécurité dans ce pays.

La présente étude ne s’intéresse pas spécialement au conflit ivoirien, elle étudie plutôt ses conséquences socioéconomiques sur le Mali. Elle analyse uniquement le rapatriement en masse des immigrés maliens de Côte d’Ivoire suite au conflit ivoirien et la problématique de leur réinsertion dans le tissu économique malien.

Cette publication est un rapport de recherche produit pour le Consortium for Development Partnerships (CDP) conjointement coordonné par la Northwestern University (USA) et le Conseil pour le développement de la recherche en sciences sociales en Afrique (CODESRIA), pendant sa première phase (2004-2008). La deuxième phase (2009-2012) est coordonnée par le CODESRIA et le Centre d’Études africaines de Leiden (Pays-Bas). Le Secrétariat et la gestion du programme CDP sont actuellement assurés par le CODESRIA.

Appropriation des instruments de la fiscalité : élaboration du budget de la commune rurale de Kalabancoro

Moussa Djiré, Amadou Keita, Rokia Traoré Dembélé — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Avec la gestion de proximité, les ressources ont été transférées aux communes. Ceci leur permet de prendre en charge leur fonctionnement et d’assurer l’investissement. Seulement, les ressources dont une commune peut disposer peuvent paraître insuffisantes si les besoins ne sont pas hiérarchisés dans l’optique de lui apporter une solution appropriée. C’est ainsi que les collectivités territoriales ont la possibilité d’établir des priorités dans la résolution des problèmes. Les ressources sont destinées à alimenter le budget de chaque commune (emprunts, subventions de l’Etat, impôts et taxes) pour subvenir aux besoins de fonctionnement et au développement. Donc, la gestion de ces ressources doit naturellement se faire dans la logique des principes de la décentralisation et de ceux de la comptabilité publique à travers les différentes structures en charge de la question.

La décentralisation postulant la responsabilisation des communes, celles-ci doivent mettre l’accent sur la mobilisation des ressources fiscales pour ne pas continuer à dépendre des ressources venant d’autres acteurs comme l’Etat et les partenaires techniques et financiers. C’est donc la question de la gouvernance de la décentralisation qui est interpellée et qui requiert l’implication de toutes les composantes de la commune pour une mobilisation effective des ressources et de leur utilisation judicieuse. Tout ceci se pose en termes de défis que doivent relever les collectivités territoriales, notamment les communes. La présente étude se propose d’analyser ce processus à travers l’exemple de la commune rurale de Kalabancoro.

Pratique d’accompagnement et performance : très petites et petites entreprises camerounaises en phase de démarrage

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sous la direction d’Emmanuel Kamdem

CODESRIA, 2011, 124 p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-326-3

Cet ouvrage présente les résultats d’une enquête menée auprès des promoteurs de 250 très petites et petites entreprises camerounaises par le Groupe National de Travail (GNT) Cameroun du Conseil pour le Développement de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales en Afrique (CODESRIA). Les résultats de cette enquête révèlent quelques tendances dominantes (fort potentiel humain des promoteur camerounais, niveau de scolarisation élevé, forte expérience dans le secteurd’activité, rôle déterminant de l’engagement personnel des promoteurs ainsi que des structures informelles dans le processus d’accompagnement des trèspetites et petites entreprises, importance considérable du capital social (famille, amis, tontines, réseaux de proximité) dans l’activité de ces promoteurs.
Cette réalité camerounaise confirme la particularité de la très petite et petite entreprise africaine dont l’insertion dans des réseaux sociaux de proximité constitue une stratégie forte de contournement des difficultés institutionnelles,sociopolitiques et économiques caractéristiques de l’environnement des
affaires au Cameroun et en Afrique. Les résultats de cette étude sont révélateurs d’un modèle camerounais émergent d’accompagnement entrepreneurial à
forte prégnance du capital humain et du capital social. Par ailleurs, ils sont une source d’interpellation des principaux acteurs du marché de l’accompagnement entrepreneurial quant à l’efficacité des pratiques d’accompagnement des promoteurs et des porteurs de projets d’entreprises.

Politics, Religion and Power in the Great Lakes Region

Murindwa-Rutanga — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Politics, Religion and Power in the Great Lakes Region covers the political, religious and power relations in the contemporary Great Lakes states: Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Kenya and the Sudan. The work is important because of the nexus between these countries’ shared present and past - their political, socio-economic, cultural and historical aspirations. In terms of regional cooperation, they are the countries, save for the DRC and the Sudan, which form the current East African Community (EAC).

The book reflects on the complex dynamics and strategies of the ensuing power struggle, bringing forth a unique set of fascinating revelations of patterns of primitive capital accumulation, resistance, human rights violations and the political compromises between traditional enemies when confronted by a common (foreign) enemy. A critical analysis of the political distortion the region suffered brings to light the relevance of these divisive tools to the current trends in the African countries, drawing inferences from the African Great Lakes Region (GLR).

The study highlights how the confl icts were fi nally resolved to avert a serious war, thus bringing about new reforms. This history is instructive to the contemporary reader because of the frequent skirmishes caused by ethnic and religious differences, political and territorial conflicts as well as resource and leadership disputes in the GLR.

La vérité aux puissants : Une sélection de cartes postales panafricaines

Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

La mort prematuree du Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, le jour de la commemoration de la Liberation de l’Afrique 2009, a frappe de stupeur le monde panafricain. Cette selection de cartes postales panafricaines qu’il a ecrites entre 2003 et 2009 montre quel brillant orfevre des mots il fut, son engagement sans faille envers le panafricanisme, et sa determination a dire la verite au pouvoir. Il fut un analyste clairvoyant des developpements dans le monde global et panafricain, et avait une foi ardente dans le potentiel de l’Afrique et des africains; il a ecrit ses cartes postales pendant plus d’une decennie. Ce livre demontre la capacite de Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem a exprimer des idees complexes d’une facon engageante. La philosophie panafricaine sur des themes varies mais transversaux presentee dans le livre offre un legs de sa pensee politique, sociale et culturelle. On y trouve son respect fondamental des capacites, du potentiel et de la contribution des femmes a la transformation de l’Afrique; des verites penetrantes aux politiciens africains et sur leur conduite, et des reflexions sur les progres accomplis par les institutions en vue de l’Union africaine. Il reflechit sur la culture et met en exergue les points communs des peuples africains. Sont egalement representees ses denonciations des institutions financieres internationales, du G8 et des ONG en Afrique, accompagnees d’une analyse incisive des manifestations de l’imperialisme et de son impact sur la vie des africains, et sa passion pour l’elimination de la pauvrete en Afrique. Sa personnalite rejaillit de la page - on entendrait presque sa voix passionnee disant : ’Ne vous tourmentez pas! Organisez!

"Taju disait la vérité à ceux qui ont le pouvoir. Il interpellait de façon hardie ceux qui n’ont pas le courage de leur conviction."

Les défis de La Centrafrique : Gouvernance et stabilisation du système économique : Recherche de canevas pour amorcer la croissance

Roger Yélé , Paul Doko , Abel Mazido — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

L’analyse diagnostique des dotations naturelles de la République centrafricaine montre qu’il y a de fortes potentialités nationales et d’écosystèmes diversifiés. Très mal gérée au fil du temps, l’économie s’est dégradée de façon drastique : le bien-être de la population est devenu de plus en plus critique et a atteint le phénomène de ce qu’on peut appeler « misère aiguë ».

Tout en abordant le problème de gouvernance et de stabilisation du système économique, l’ouvrage s’est appesanti sur l’analyse de l’évolution structurelle et contextuelle de l’économie centrafricaine, c’est-à-dire une constatation longitudinale des actions et des activités réalisées depuis la colonisation jusqu’à 2003. L’appréhension de quel instrument faut-il affecter à tel objectif économique afin de pouvoir l’atteindre, passe d’abord par la question que si l’objectif visé est atteint, est-on capable de stabiliser ce système ?

D’une part, l’objet de cet ouvrage est que celui-ci peut servir de canevas pour éclairer la décision de l’homme politique, il peut lui donner un fondement rationnel de choix de politique économique. Son rôle est d’indiquer aux décideurs ou autres acteurs les affectations possibles des instruments de politique économique pour atteindre les objectifs visés, ou, les usages possibles des ressources rares, le coût de telle ou telle décision, le sacrifice que présente tel ou tel choix. D’autre part, la finalité de celui-ci se porte également sur ce que l’économiste peut apporter comme balise à un décideur pour éviter la navigation à vue : quelles sont les règles que celui-ci peut apporter pour améliorer le bien-être d’une communauté donnée.

Philosophy and African Development : Theory and Practice

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Philosophy and African Development:Theory and Practice appraises development in a holistic manner. It goes beyond the usual measurement in terms of economic achievement and widens the scope to include the impact that history of ideas, political theory, sociology, social and political philosophy, and political economy have had on development in Africa. It is a departure from the traditional treatment of development by economists who point towards the so-called time-tested assertions and recommendations for ‘sustainable development’, but which are yet bring about significant change in the economies of the so-called ‘developing’ societies. It is on account of the failures of the economic development theory, with its tepid prescriptions for ‘sustainable development’ and ‘poverty reduction’ that theories of development have now been expanded from mere economic analysis to include considerations of history, sociology, political economy and anthropology, as could be discovered in this book.

Most of the contributions in this book have been prepared by philosophers across Africa and the United States who implicitly practise their discipline as one whose most effective modern function would be to appraise the human experience in all its dimensions from the standpoints of modern social and natural sciences, all disciplinary offspring of philosophy itself. With chapters ranging from issues of modernity and religious interpretations, the human right to development, the idea of ‘African time’, the primacy of mental decolonisation, and the type of education we are offering in Africa today and as a tool for development, to development planning, science, technology and globalisation, as well as issues of post-coloniality among others, the tenor of the contributions is not only proportional, but also engaged in the meta-analysis of the theories on which the concept of development is founded and practised.

This book is strongly recommended as a useful text in the hands of scholars, researchers and students of development studies. It approaches the important
issue of African development from the broad perspective of the social sciences in general, and buttresses this with the keen analytical approach of its contributors.

Philosophy and African Development: Theory and Practice

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Philosophy and African Development:Theory and Practice appraises development in a holistic manner. It goes beyond the usual measurement in terms of economic achievement and widens the scope to include the impact that history of ideas, political theory, sociology, social and political philosophy, and political economy have had on development in Africa. It is a departure from the traditional treatment of development by economists who point towards the so-called time-tested assertions and recommendations for ‘sustainable development’, but which are yet bring about significant change in the economies of the so-called ‘developing’ societies. It is on account of the failures of the economic development theory, with its tepid prescriptions for ‘sustainable development’ and ‘poverty reduction’ that theories of development have now been expanded from mere economic analysis to include considerations of history, sociology, political economy and anthropology, as could be discovered in this book.

This book is strongly recommended as a useful text in the hands of scholars, researchers and students of development studies. It approaches the important issue of African development from the broad perspective of the social sciences in general, and buttresses this with the keen analytical approach of its contributors.

Framework and Tools for Environmental Management in Africa

Godwell Nhamo, Ekpe Inyang — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The 21st century qualifies as one in which humanity raised environmental decay, especially climate change, as a key global concern requiring urgent political attention. The book Framework and Tools for Environmental Management in Africa is written from this perspective. It provides researchers from different disciplines including environmental sciences, engineering, commerce, planning, education, agriculture and law, as well as NGOs, government officials, policy makers and researchers, with a platform to engage with concerns relating to sustainable environmental management in this epoch. Topics covered include global landmarks for environmental governance, environmental management on African agenda, sustainability reporting, environmental impact assessment and public participation as well as environmental education. These remain viable in the African set-up where major development projects in mining and agriculture require greater scrutiny. With a collection of both revision and critical reflection questions, carefully constructed by authors with significant experiences from institutions of higher learning across Africa, readers will find this publication a valuable addition to their shelves.

Genre et dynamiques socio-économiques et politiques en Afrique

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Tout en renouvelant les paradigmes et discours sur le genre, cet ouvrage propose des analyses pertinentes qui rendent compte des trajectoires plurielles, des représentations et des expériences des femmes dans les sociétés africaines.

Les contributions ont considéré le caractère complexe du concept genre en Afrique en relation avec les processus sociaux, économiques et politiques. Les réflexions ont porté sur les fondements de la répartition des rôles dans les institutions sociales de « base » : famille, couple, école, éducation, santé, religion, culture, loi et État, fondements qui définissent des prescriptions statutaires consacrant l’inégalité des sexes. Différentes conceptions du féminisme, de l’activisme et de l’approche sur le genre ont été exposées à travers les expériences tirées du Mali, du Sénégal et du Maroc. Les femmes dans l’économie de marché ont fait l’objet d’études empiriques qui rendent compte des stratégies développées par celles-ci face aux défis de la globalisation. De nouvelles dynamiques sociopolitiques ont été analysées dans le contexte de démocratisation et de nouvelles citoyennetés

Local power Struggles, Conflicts and Conflicts Resolution. The causes, Dynamics and Policy Implications of Land-related Conflicts in the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions of Ghana

Joseph R. A. Ayee, Alex K. D. Frempong, Richard Asante, Kwame Boafo-Arthur — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Ghana appears an oasis of peace in a sub-region which over the last one and half decades has been better known for violent civil conflict than democracy and development. Behind this smokescreen of stability, however, there have been various forms of local conflicts some of which have turned violent. Indeed some of these violent local conflicts preceded independence and have waxed and waned with the politics of the time. But perhaps the intriguing thing is that none has assumed national dimension thus far. Land is an asset and a resource with economic, political, social and cultural ramifications. An important problem of land tenure systems is endemic conflict, which has involved chiefs, family heads, government, individuals and groups in various permutations. The endemic nature of most of these conflicts suggests they are embedded in local power structures and social group membership.
Land conflicts entail many political, economic and social costs, including the costs of policing conflicts, loss of life, livelihoods and property, displacement and social and economic insecurity.
Among several initiatives taken to address the conflicts and their underlying causes are an alternative dispute resolution system and the Land Administration Project of 2003, which to date is the most comprehensive programme. This initiative has not been able to solve the problem of land management and its associated conflicts. As a contribution to the continuing debate over land tenure and its associated conflicts in Ghana, this study analyses the causes of some of the conflicts in selected towns in the Greater Accra and the eastern regions. It examines the role of the actors, the dynamics of land tenure, the conflict resolution mechanisms especially the role played by traditional institutions and makes policy recommendations.

Youths Militias, Self Determination and Resource Control Struggles in the Niger-delta Region of Nigeria

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Niger-delta region, Nigeria’s oil belt has been the site of a generalised ethnic and regional struggle for self-determination since 1998, the location of often-violent confrontations between local ethnic communities and agents of the Nigerian state and oil companies involved in the extraction of oil in area. What began as community agitation has undoubtedly undergone several transformations. The first profound transformation was the flowering of civil society, which mobilised a popular civil struggle. In the second, the agitation was extended from that against multinational oil companies to include the Nigerian state. The third transformation involved the elevation of the agitation from purely developmental issues to include political demands such as federal restructuring, resource control and the resolution of the national question through a conference of ethnic nationalities. The current and fourth stage of the transformation has seen the involvement of the youths, youth militancy and youth militias. The negative impact of violence associated with youth-led self-determination struggles in the delta raises the need for an in-depth examination of the youth, militias and self-determination nexus in the Niger-delta. In other words, there is a need to understand the history, changing contexts and local and social processes and dynamics of the conflicts in the delta to guide policy-making.

The main objectives of this study were to examine the main parties to the conflict, their perceptions, values, attitudes and interests. The study also goes into understanding the youth movements and militias; results, ramifications and implications of the conflict; and government interventions and policies, their effectiveness or otherwise and efforts at peacemaking.

This publication is a research report to the Consortium for Development Partnerships (CDP) jointly coordinated by the Northwestern University , Evanston, USA and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal, during the first phase (2004-2008). The second phase (2009-2012) is under the coordination of CODESRIA and the African Studies Center, Leiden, The Netherlands). The CDP Secretariat is currently hosted by CODESRIA.

L’appropriation de la gouvernance budgétaire au niveau des communes rurales du Burkina Faso

Augustin Loada, Samuel Guitenga — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Ce rapport de recherche sur la décentralisation au niveau des communes rurales au Burkina Faso s’est donné comme objectif d’analyser le processus de démocratisation du système de gestion des affaires municipales et de faire des propositions et recommandations dans l’effort de l’appropriation et de la pratique générale des principes de bonnes gouvernance. Dans cet optique, la recherche s’est intéressée aux différents défis ayant trait à l’approche participative des communautés, au renforcement des capacités avec l’implication des organisations de la société civile, à l’institutionnalisation de l’imputabilité, à la restructuration effective de la subordination hiérarchique des divisions administratives, à l’applicabilité des plans de budget et de développement local, et bien d’autres principes qui interviennent nécessairement dans le processus d’une décentralisation basée sur la bonne gouvernance et la transparence budgétaire, gages du développement local au Burkina Faso.

Repenser les économies africaines pour le développement

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Aujourd’hui, après le constat de l’impasse dans laquelle se retrouvent les économies africaines, de nombreuses idées innovantes émergent et sont exprimées par les contributeurs du présent ouvrage pour édifier de nouvelles stratégies de développement. Celles-ci s’appuient sur l’expérience réussie des pays d’Asie et d’Amérique Latine, sur une nécessaire réforme de l’État et un engagement plus poussé de celui-ci dans l’impulsion du développement. Les intellectuels africains sont interpellés afin qu’ils assument leurs responsabilités en produisant des connaissances novatrices susceptibles d’être appropriées par les décideurs du public et du privé et par la société civile.La question de l’industrialisation et de la diversification des économies africaines est de nouveau soulevée face à une spécialisation étriquée ayant accru leur vulnérabilité aux chocs et ayant marginalisé d’avantage le continent dans le commerce mondial. Une attention particulière mérite d’être accordée à ces milliers de micro-entrepreneurs qui constituent la dynamique des économies africaines. La stratégie d’intégration est de plus en plus considérée comme un élément incontournable pour le développement d’un continent constitué de pays de petite taille et en proie à une grande instabilité politique. La question du financement du développement revient à l’ordre du jour et de nouvelles idées sont émises pour mieux canaliser les ressources provenant des migrants ainsi que les recettes publiques, et bâtir un système monétaire et financier plus viable.

Global History: A View from the South

Samir Amin — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Responding to the need to take a fresh look at world history, hitherto dominated by Eurocentric ideologues and historians in their attempt to justify the nature and character of modern capitalism, Samir Amin looks in this book at the ancient world system and how it has influenced the development of the modern world. He also analyses the origin and nature of modern globalisation and the challenges it presents in achieving socialism.

Amin examines the role played by Central Asia in determining the course of world history as well as the different roads taken by Europe and China. The book looks closely at a theme that has been primordial to his contribution to political and economic thought: the question of unequal development.

This is a refreshing and creative work that is necessary reading for anyone wanting to understand the real process of history.

Financial Crisis ? Systemic Crisis ?

Samir Amin — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The financial collapse of September 2008 was the unavoidable result of the long systemic crisis that had been gangrening the generalised oligopoly capitalism since the 1970s. To curb that crisis, mechanisms were set in place to preserve the monopoly of capital through policies that ensure concentration of capital and the direct and exclusive domination of a small group of oligopolies. Financialisation, which was the consequence of this centralisation as the only guarantee to capture the imperialist rent was, however, the Achille’s heel of the system. The policies pursued by the collective imperialist triad (USA, Europe, Japan), which aim exclusively at restoring the system to what it was before 2008, are bound to fail. As a result, the North-South conflict moves to the forefront. By taking independent initiatives, the countries of the South can take this opportunity to move ahead towards the construction of the only effective and viable alternative for their liberation from the domination of imperialist monopolies.

Espaces, culture matérielle et identités en Sénégambie

Ibrahima Thiaw ; Maurice Ndeye , Moustapha Sall, Mandiomé Thiam — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Ce livre vise à réexaminer la production historique, ethnographique et anthropologique dans divers espaces de la Sénégambie à la lueur des sources archéologiques et de la culture matérielle. Tout comme la langue, la culture matérielle et les formes intangibles de l’identité sont aussi de puissants vecteurs de transmission, d’affirmation et du maintien de l’identité. En Sénégambie, l’archéologie a jusqu’ici joué un rôle très négligeable dans ce domaine. Elle a longtemps été cantonnée à l’étude de périodes dites « préhistorique » et « protohistorique » qui, en dehors des cercles académiques, ne sont généralement pas connues par les populations locales et les griots ou autres communicateurs traditionnels. Tout comme l’écriture, l’oralité reflète et privilégie les ambitions de ceux qui la maîtrisent. On estime que l’archéologie peut favoriser une connaissance plus inclusive car la production, la consommation, le rejet et le recyclage de la culture matérielle qui en est la source essentielle concernent toutes les couches d’une société quelle qu’elle soit. Cet ouvrage est donc conçu dans une perspective de démocratisation du savoir en ce sens qu’il prend en compte la vie sociale et les identités des individus ordinaires, généralement invisibles dans les sources écrites ou orales.

Gouvernance et gouvernabilité

Ali El Kenz — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

La notion « d’espace public », inspirée de l’oeuvre du philosophe allemand J. Habermas, a été choisie comme thème central de l’Assemblée générale du CODESRIA en décembre 2008 à Yaoundé. Quel rapport avec l’Afrique ? De prime abord aucun ! Mais à la réflexion, il nous est apparu qu’elle pouvait, s’adossant aux multiples remaniements qu’elle a connus, permettre aux chercheurs africains de s’en servir en la réadaptant aux réalités de la vie politique de notre continent. C’est ce qui a été fait pour rendre possible, d’une part, l’universalisation de cette approche en la « désencastrant » du costume étroit de l’expérience occidentale dans laquelle s’était enfermée l’analyse de J. Habermas, et d’autre part, la « libération » des expériences africaines des stéréotypes de nombreux anthropologues et politistes spécialistes de l’Afrique. Ce texte Gouvernance et gouvernabilité a tenté cette double opération de rupture, mais aussi de rapprochement.

Public and Private Domains and the Social Role of Universities in Africa

Teresa Cruz e Silva — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The backstage around which the scientific discussion of the 12th CODESRIA General Assembly is organized: Governing the African Public Sphere, makes a strong case for revisiting the theoretical approaches on the concept of ‘public sphere’ in Africa, within a global context of social, economic and political changes with impacts on the current conjuncture of the continent, since the last decades of the 20th century. In this process, the reshaping of the capitalist order has brought about profound alterations with ramifications on the public sphere and the traditional role of the state, providing by this way a justification for the academic debates around issues such as the public and the private, the narrowing of the public sphere and the role of the state. The neoliberal domination and the prioritization of the private ruled by the market have deeply affected the educational models, and produced significant alterations on the social role of higher education institutions in Africa. Despite the enormous adversities facing higher education institutions, as knowledge producers, these institutions play a pivotal role in addressing innovative approaches to African development. In this way, the universities maintain themselves as privileged sites, not only for debate, but also for struggles over power and access to resources. This Claude Ake Lecture discusses the social role of African higher education institutions in the challenges of the new public sphere. The text also focus on the role CODESRIA should play to stimulate and/or reinforce a pedagogical project rooted in the indissociability of teaching and research, based on excellence.

O Público, o Privado e o Papel Social das Universidades em África

Teresa Cruz e Silva — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

O pano de fundo do tema que preside as discussões científicas da 12ª. Assembleia Geral do CODESRIA, Governando a Esfera Pública em África, leva-nos a revisitar as abordagens teóricas ao conceito de “esfera pública” em África no contexto das mudanças sociais, económicas e políticas mundiais que marcaram a conjuntura do continente nas últimas décadas do Sec. XX e no decorrer do século XXI. Neste processo, a alteraçáo da ordem capitalista provocou mudanças profundas que afectaram a esfera pública e o papel tradicional do Estado, tendo instaurado os debates académicos em torno do público e do privado, o estreitamento da esfera pública e sobre o papel do Estado. O domínio neoliberal e a priorização da esfera privada regida pelo mercado têm impactos profundos sobre os modelos de educação, produzindo alterações no papel social das instituições de ensino superior no continente africano. Apesar das enormes adversidades a que as instituições africanas de ensino superior têm que fazer face, como produtoras de conhecimento, elas continuam a desempenhar um papel vital e inovador no desenvolvimento do continente. As universidades mantêm-se assim como lugares privilegiados para o debate mas também como pólos de luta e para o acesso ao poder e aos recursos. Este texto traz para debate o papel social das instituições de ensino superior em África perante os desafios da nova esfera pública e o papel que o CODESRIA pode vir a desempenhar para estimular e/ou reforçar um projecto pedagógico fundado na indissociabilidade do ensino e da pesquisa, e assente na excelência.

Telling the Truth about Capitalist Democraties

Atilio Alberto Boron — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

After decades of dictatorship involving enormous spilling of blood, the social struggles of the popular masses brought Latin America back – or in some cases for the first time – to the first and most elementary level of democratic development. But even this very modest achievement has been constantly besieged by opposing forces that are not ready to relinquish their privileged access to power and wealth. Yet, the traditional model of ‘liberal democracy’ faces an inevitable demise. Its shortcomings have acquired colossal proportions, and its discontents are legion, in the advanced capitalist nations as well as in the periphery. Contrary to what is asserted by many observers, the crisis of the democratisation project in Latin America goes well beyond the imperfections of the ‘political system’ and has its roots in the insoluble contradiction, magnified in the periphery, between a mode of production that (by condemning the wagelabour to find somebody ready to buy its labour power in order to ensure its mere subsistence) is essentially despotic and undemocratic; and a model of organisation and functioning of the political whose basic assumption is the intrinsic equality of all citizens. The struggle for democracy in Latin America, that is to say, the conquest of equality, justice, liberty and citizen participation, is inseparable from a resolute struggle against global capital’s despotism. More democracy necessarily implies less capitalism.

Islam and Open Society. Fidelity and Movement in the Philosophy of Muhammad Iqbal

Souleymane Bachir Diagne — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In the atmosphere of suspicion and anger that characterizes our time, it is a joy to hear the voice of Iqbal, both passionate and serene. It is the voice of a soul that is deeply anchored in the Quranic Revelation, and precisely for that reason, open to all the other voices, seeking in them the path of his own fidelity. It is the voice of a man who has left behind all identitarian rigidity, who has ’broken all the idols of tribe and caste’ o address himself to all human beings. But an unhappy accident has meant that this voice was buried, both in the general forgetting of Islamic modernism and in the very country that he named before its existence, Pakistan, whose multiple rigidities – political, religious, military – constitute a continual refutation of the very essence of his thought. But we all need to hear him again, citizens of the West, Muslims, and those from his native India, where a form of Hindu chauvinism rages in our times, in a way that exceeds his worst fears. Souleymane Bachir Diagne has done all of us an immense favor in making this voice heard once again, clear and convincing.

The Popular Arts and Culture in the Texture of the Public Sphere in Africa

Tsitsi Dangarembga — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

This lecture plots the African experience in a projectory that rejects binarism and seeks to construct a unitary socio-psychological map of that experience, thereby positing what has been seen to be fragmented in past theorising as a functional whole. It refers to liberal theories of the public space and posits these with emerging continental thought to construct the notion of the ‘African not I’ as a psychological entity that functions in the mainstream to discount African experience. The lecture concludes by suggesting ways in which popular culture may be used in residual public spheres to bolster positive subjective consciousness.

La réglementation de la filière du charbon de bois à l’épreuve de la décentralisation : entre discours, lois et pratiques

El Hadji Dialigué Ba — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Depuis l’indépendance, le Sénégal s’est lancé dans un mouvement de décentralisation qui a abouti, en 1996, à la régionalisation. La loi ne définit pas la décentralisation, encore moins la régionalisation. Dans le préambule du code des collectivités locales, néanmoins, il est précisé que les nouveaux textes cherchent à promouvoir « des autorités décentralisées et proches des citoyens, libres de leurs décisions, des représentants de l’État sur le terrain dotés de pouvoirs déconcentrés, un contrôle de légalité adapté et rapproché ». Ainsi les régions, à l’image des communes et communautés rurales, sont-elles érigées en collectivités locales, dirigées par des conseillers élus. De plus, dix domaines de compétence – dont la gestion des ressources naturelles et l’environnement – sont transférés aux régions, communes et communautés rurales (RDS 1996b).

The Concept of First Lady and Politics in Nigeria

Kunle Ajayi — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Women in Nigeria remain victims of gender discrimination, especially in politics. This monograph examines the possibility of utilizing the First Lady’s institution to achieve gender mainstreaming and consequently terminate the sustained feminine marginality in Nigerian politics. The study finds that the First Lady’s office is self-serving as successive First Ladies since the Babangida military era are merely utilizing their positions to mobilize and rally support for their husbands in power. And, depressingly too, the First Ladies used their esteemed positions to exploit the Nigerian rural women, whose poor political and economic lives, ordinarily, they were supposed to use their vantage position to transform for the better. Ultimately, therefore, the First Lady institution in Nigeria is just a conduit pipe for satisfying the material psychology of the First Ladies and bolstering the women’s political support for their ruling husbands.

A Study of Ghana’s Electoral Comission

Emmanuel Debrah , E. Kojo Pumpuni Asante , Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

This report on the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana is part of a broader project on Modelling Success: Governance and Institution-building in West Africa, being implemented by the Consortium for Development Partnerships (CDP) , a community of institutions dedicated to collaborative policy-oriented research and capacity-building in North America, Europe and West Africa. The first phase of the project was jointly coordinated by the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Programme of African Studies (PAS), Northwestern University , Evanston, USA (2004-2008). The second phase (2008-2012), which is ongoing, is under the coordination of CODESRIA and the African Studies Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. The project focuses on the identification of concrete strategies to advance institutional performance in Africa. Studies sponsored under the project undertake in-depth analysis of institutions which are key to ensuring that governments and public officials act in the public interest.

Since the beginning of the post-1990 democratic reforms, studies that assessed governance institutions in Africa, and Ghana in particular, revealed poor performance due to weak systems and lack of credibility. In addition, the discourse on governance revealed a multiplicity of non-performing and under-performing institutions. This situation led to a deficit in knowledge about the true abilities of such national and regional institutions. A typical example is the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana, as it was not given any staid attention in the study of governance institutions in the country. Ironically however, the EC which evolved as part of the transfer of the superstructure of British colonial rule, with limited responsibility and jurisdiction, has grown over the years to enjoy the confidence and cooperation of the Ghanaian elite. Its high level of competence, efficiency and the ability to withstand negative influences and manipulations, have won it wide acknowledgement as an independent body with the capacity to hold free, fair and credible elections.

This report demonstrates that there are governance institutions in Africa that perform creditably well. It is therefore a very important report that all individuals and institutions committed to good governance, transparency, accountability, and credible elections and electoral processes in Africa will find very useful.

A study of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria

Jibrin Ibrahim , Dauda Garuba — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

This report on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is part of a broader project on Modelling Success: Governance and Institutionbuilding in West Africa being implemented by the Consortium for Development
Partnerships (CDP), a community of institutions dedicated to collaborative policy-oriented research and capacity-building in North America, Europe and West Africa. The Consortium is jointly coordinated by the Council
for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Programme of African Studies (PAS), Northwestern University, USA. The project focuses on the identification of concrete strategies to advance
institutional performance in Africa through an in-depth analysis of institutions which are key in ensuring that governments and public officials act in the public interest. Generally speaking, the project highlights good practices, lessons of value, and successes in the functioning of these institutions with an emphasis on making the linkage between good practice and models of success in democratic governance. The report is structured into eleven sections, with the first four sections dealing with preliminary issues of Preamble, Introduction: Background and
Statement of Problem, Research Objectives, and Methodology. These are followed by Context: Development of Political System and Its Influence on Performance of Electoral Authority, Institutional Autonomy and Design,Organisational Structure, Capacity and Adaptability, Leadership and Inclusiveness, Electoral Process: Design and Implementation, Public Trust and Social Capital, and Challenges of Reform and Policy Recommendation.

Gender, Sport and Development in Africa

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

To many young people, the term sport has an exhilarating ring; to many older persons, it signifies recreation and leisure. From colonial times, it has been viewed as a means of social control. Increasingly, it is being touted by governments and donor agencies as a self-evident tool of Africa’s development. How accurate are these individual, romantic and moral notions of sport? In this volume, eleven African scholars offer insightful analyses of the complex ideological and structural dimensions of modern sport as a cultural institution. Drawing on various theories and cross-cultural data, the contributors to this volume highlight the various ways in which sport norms, policies, practices and representations pervasively interface with gender and other socially constructed categories of difference. They argue that sport is not only a site of competition and physical recreation, but also a crossroad where features of modern society such as hegemony, identities, democracy, technology, development and master statuses intertwine and bifurcate. As they point out in many ways, sport production, reproduction, distribution and consumption are relational, spatial and contextual and, therefore, do not pay off for men, women and other social groups equally. The authors draw attention to the structure and scope of efforts needed to transform the exclusionary and gendered nature of sport processes to make them adequate to the task of engendering Africa’s development. Gender, Sport and Development in Africa is an immensely important contribution to current debates on the broader impacts of sport on society. It is an essential reading for students, policy-makers and others interested in perspectives that interrogate the grand narratives of sport as a neutral instrument of development in African countries.

Africa: Reaffirming our Commitment

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The CODESRIA Policy Dialogue Series has been designed as a means of addressing the main challenges facing the African continent. Africa: Reaffirming our Commitment is designed to examine the economic foundations of our states and the question of the dignity of Africans as human beings. We are operating under a ferocious globalisation where the rules of engagement are based on economic and military supremacy, fields in which Africa still lags behind. The objective of this book is not to lament or finger-point those who caused Africa’s ills, but rather to think of means and propose strategies that can be used to free ourselves from poverty and oppression, and most importantly, identify the main drivers that could accelerate Africa’s development. This publication proffers ways by which our economy and our governments can be put at the service of all Africans. It proposes ways towards the establishment of pacific, harmonious, just and equitable societies in an Africa where local and pan-African citizenship will be a reality. It also advocates the establishment of collective identities and inclusive societies informed by a redefined vision of our future generated through a new education and mode of socialisation through schools and other national institutions.

From ‘Foreign Natives’ to ‘Native Foreigners’ Explaining Xenophobia in Post-apartheid South Africa, Citizenship and Nationalism, Identity and Politics

Michael Neocosmos — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2010, 172 p. ISBN 2-86978-307-2

The events of May 2008 in which 62 people were killed simply for being ‘foreign’ and thousands were turned overnight into refugees shook the South African nation. This book is the first to attempt a comprehensive and rigorous explanation for those horrific events. It argues that xenophobia should be understood as a political discourse and practice. As such its historical development as well as the conditions of its existence must be elucidated in terms of the practices and prescriptions which structure the field of politics. In South Africa, the history of xenophobia is intimately connected to the manner in which citizenship has been conceived and fought over during the past fifty years at least. Migrant labour was de-nationalized by the apartheid state, while African nationalism saw the same migrant labour as the foundation of that oppressive system. Only those wo could show a family connection with the colonial and apartheid formation of South Africa could claim citizenship at liberation. Others were excluded and seen as unjustified claimants to national resources. Xenophobia’s conditions of existence, the book argues, are to be found in the politics of post-apartheid nationalism where state prescriptions founded on indigeneity have been allowed to dominate uncontested in conditions of an overwhelmingly passive conception of citizenship. The de-politicization of an urban population, which had been able to assert its agency during the 1980s through a discourse of human rights in particular, contributed to this passivity. Such state liberal politics have remained largely unchallenged. As in other cases of post-colonial transition in Africa, the hegemony of xenophobic discourse, the book contends, is to be sought in the specific character of the state consensus.

Children and Youth in the labour Process in Africa

Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2009, 227 p., ISBN 2-86978-251-8

It is increasingly clear that children and the youth today play a significant role in the labour process in Africa. But, to what extent is this role benign? And when and why does this role become exploitative rather than beneficial? This book on children and the youth in Africa sets out to address these questions.

The book observes that in Africa today, children are under pressure to work, often engaged in the worst forms of child labour and therefore not living out their role as children. It argues that the social and economic environment of the African child is markedly different from what obtains elsewhere, and goes further to challenge all factors that have combined in stripping children of their childhood and turning them into instruments and commodities in the labour process. It also explains the sources, dynamics, magnitude and likely consequences of the exploitation of children and the youth in contemporary Africa.

The book is obviously an invaluable contribution to the discourse on children, while the case studies are aimed at creating more awareness about the development problems of children and the youth in Africa, with a view to evolving more effective national and global responses.

Reforming the Malawian Public Sector: Retrospectives and Prospectives

Fri, 07 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Reforming the Malawian Public Sector argues that the new public management model that Malawi, like most African countries, adopted under the influence of donor organizations has not led to the development that it was intended to deliver.
The book examines decentralization, performance contracting, and public–private partnerships as key aspects of the reforms and comes to the conclusion that at best, it can be argued that the failures have been due to poor implementation and this could be attributed to the fact that the process was led by donors who lacked the necessary institutional infrastructure. The book uses the 2005/6 fertilizer subsidy programme, which the government embarked on despite donor resistance that it went against market models, but which turned out to be overwhelmingly successful to demonstrate the state’s developmental ability and potential.

This volume is essential reading for academics, students, and practitioners seeking a deeper understanding of public administration, management, policy, development and governance in Africa and the rest of the developing world.
It is quite fitting that this book, Reforming the Malawian Public Sector, is dedicated to the memory Guy Mhone, a Malawian, who was among Africa’s leading scholars in public administration and governance. His works focused mainly on public sector reforms and development.

Saviors and Survivors

Mahmood Mamdani — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2010, 380 p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-317-1

In Saviors and Survivors, Mahmood Mamdani explains how the conflict in Darfur began as a civil war (1987-89) between nomadic and peasant tribes over fertile land in the south, triggered by a severe drought that had expanded the Sahara Desert by more than sixty miles in forty years; how British colonial officials had artificially tribalized Darfur, dividing its population into “native” and “settler” tribes and creating homelands for the former at the expense of the latter; how the war intensified in the 1990s when the Sudanese government tried unsuccessfully to address the problem by creating homelands for tribes without any. The involvement of opposition parties gave rise in 2003 to two rebel movements, leading to a brutal insurgency and a horrific counterinsurgency – but not to genocide, as the West has declared.

Mamdani also explains how the Cold War exacerbated the twenty-year civil war in neighboring Chad, creating a confrontation between Libya’s Muammar al-Qaddafi (with Soviet support) and the Reagan administration (allied with France and Israel) that spilled over into Darfur and militarized the fighting. By 2003, the war involved national, regional and global forces, including the powerful Western lobby, who now saw it as part of the War on Terror and called for a military invasion dressed up as “humanitarian intervention.”

“Mamdani traces the path to the Darfur tragedy through its historical and colonial roots to the current situation, where drought and desertification have led to conflict over land among local tribes, rebellion, and finally to the brutal involvement of the forces of the state and to the efforts of the United Nations and others to help the victims and stop the violence. His radical reevaluation of the Darfur problem is a major contribution to understanding and, it is to be hoped, to ending a shocking human disaster.”

—Sir Brian Urquhart, Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

“There are three reasons why this book’s perspective on the Sudan-Darfur conflict may be of considerable value to readers interested in African politics and international relations. First, Saviors and Survivors is unique in that it presents an African-centered perspective on the Sudan-Darfur crisis in the context of the study of international relations, geopolitics and the War on Terror. Second, it draws attention to African regional, epistemological and ideological perspectives on the crisis. Third, it tackles the bogeyman of African politics—the national-ethnic question in the context of cultural pluralism… Hidden in the middle of Saviors and Survivors’ controversial thesis critiquing international interventionism is Mamdani’s scholarly genius. The book scrutinizes, critically analyzes, deconstructs and reconstructs the deep historical transformations that constitute the underbelly of the continent’s post-colonial citizenship structures.”

—African Affairs (London)

Statism, Youth and Civic Imagination : A Critical Study of the National Youth Service Corps Programme in Nigeria

Ebenezer Obadare — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores the service–citizenship nexus in Nigeria, using the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme as an empirical backdrop. It attempts to understand the relationship between civic service and citizenship on the one hand, and it examines the question as to whether youth service promotes a sense of citizenship and patriotism on the other. In the relevant studies on service and sociology, the assumption that service is antecedent to, and impacts positively on citizenship, is taken for granted. However, conclusions from this study call for an urgent rethinking of this wisdom. Using data from open-ended interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions, the study traces the ways in which political dynamics in Nigeria have affected the implementation of the NYSC programme. The study articulates allegiance to national ideals as an essential foundation for creating and nurturing citizenship. Although it upholds the potential of national service as a tool for national integration, this research cautions against unalloyed faith in its presumed agency, arguing that we should not ignore the limitations imposed by the prevailing socio-political ecology

South Africa in Africa: Annoted bibliography 1994-2008

Abou Moussa Ndongo , Darlene Miller , Priscilla Wamucii , Diana Sanchez — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

This compilation originated from the South Africa in Africa’ research project initiated by the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). The work advances the organisations’ agendas of promoting policy relevant and social scientific work that seeks to contribute to Africa’s development. Specifically, the collection explores the reciprocal political and economic impact of South Africa in Africa. South Africa’s role is contextualized within the global experience of regional powers , and the roles of South African government, business, social movements and civil society are interrogated. The selected literature attempts to contribute to existing knowledge by providing a document that is both empirically grounded and historical. Drawing from various disciplines including political science, anthropology, sociology, economics and geography, this annotated bibliography provides multiple theoretical approaches that are useful for scholars and practitioners interested in South Africa’s evolving identity and its contemporary relations with the continent.

African Researchers and Decision-Makers : Building Synergy for Development

Abdoulaye Ndiaye — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

For the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and its partners, the link between research and policy is of paramount importance in their goal to improve social, economic and environmental conditions in developing countries. The nature of the collaboration between researchers and decision-makers, however, is complex, multifaceted and often difficult to implement. Moreover, research is very often designed and carried out without regard for its potential users or beneficiaries.

How should research agendas be developed? What is the role of the private sector in developing research? Which actors are involved in knowledge production and utilization?
How can the dialogue between researchers and decision-makers be improved?

This short and accessible book records the reflections, opinions and recommendations which emerged from six national workshops organised between 2004 and 2007 in West and Central Africa on the synergy between researchers and decision-makers.

The African Union and New Strategies for Development in Africa

Saïd Adejumobi, Adebayo Olukoshi — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2009, 318 p. ISBN:996672663-2

The early twenty-first century witnessed remarkable attempts by Africa’s political leadership to promote regional integration as a means of fast-tracking economic progress, facilitating peace and security, consolidating democratic gains, and promoting the general welfare of the African people. The transition of the Organization of Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU), as well as the foisting of a new economic blueprint for the continent-the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)- combined with the growing role of the regional economic communities (RECs) in harmonizing and creating subregional norms and standards in the political and economic arena suggests a new trend towards regionalism in Africa.

However, the current regional trend in Africa has received very little scholarly attention especially in a systematic and comprehensive way. This is due partly to the fact that the processes are currently unfolding and there is still uncertainty in the outcomes. Poor documentation and the dearth of primary materials (especially from the regional institutions) also contribute to the lack of scholarly work in this area. This study assembles the voices of some of the most seasoned African and Africanist scholars who have constantly, in one way or another, interacted with the integration process in Africa and kept abreast of the developments therein. The essence of this book is to analyze those processes-teasing out the issues, problems, challenges, and major policy recommendations, with tentative conclusions on Africa’s regional development trajectory. The book, therefore, fills major knowledge and policy gaps in Africa’s regional development agenda.

The book constitutes a major reference material and compendium for a wide range of readers-students and scholars of African affairs, policy makers, and all those interested in the past, present and future of Africa’s development process.

Les pouvoirs locaux au Niger, Tome 1 : A la veille de la décentralisation

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

La mise en place des communes, étape cruciale des politiques de décentralisation en Afrique, ne se fait pas sur une terre vierge : ces nouvelles institutions prennent place dans des espaces sociaux et politiques complexes. C’est pourquoi on trouvera ici une analyse détaillée du fonctionnement des arènes politiques locales au Niger, avant les premières élections municipales de 2004. Une réflexion analytique et théorique, toujours enracinée dans le terrain, traverse et sous-tend cet ouvrage. Elle porte sur les modes de gouvernance locale, la construction de l’Etat, la culture politique locale, les interactions entre institutions, groupes stratégiques et acteurs, la dialectique entre dynamiques locales et facteurs externes, les normes pratiques, le factionnalisme, les formes de légitimité, de revendication et de contestation, les registres de notabilité, la constitution d’un espace public local. en place des communes, étape cruciale des politiques de décentralisation en Afrique, ne se fait pas sur une terre vierge : ces nouvelles institutions prennent place dans des espaces sociaux et politiques complexes. C’est pourquoi on trouvera ici une analyse détaillée du fonctionnement des arènes politiques locales au Niger, avant les premières élections municipales de 2004. Une réflexion analytique et théorique, toujours enracinée dans le terrain, traverse et sous-tend cet ouvrage. Elle porte sur les modes de gouvernance locale, la construction de l’Etat, la culture politique locale, les interactions entre institutions, groupes stratégiques et acteurs, la dialectique entre dynamiques locales et facteurs externes, les normes pratiques, le factionnalisme, les formes de légitimité, de revendication et de contestation, les registres de notabilité, la constitution d’un espace public local.

Child Research in Africa

Maylene Shung King, Rose September, Frederick Moses Okatcha, Carlos Cardoso — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2009; 97 pages; ISBN 978-2-86978-262-4

The concerns for African children should not be confined to the disadvantaged position of Africa, but rather extended to search into the virtues of their cultural heritage, historical background and values of the African civilisation as the basis for reflecting on the rights and welfare of the child. In other words, the perspectives on the African child are shaped by a multiplicity of factors that include both the worldview of the researchers, donor priorities and pressures, as well as what will ‘sell’ better in peer review journals. This implies a real concern with what is going on in terms of research on child issues in Africa, in order to avoid generalisations and particularising the African children in ways that portray them in an unfavourable light.

Departing from this theoretical and philosophical background, scholars from 13 countries in Africa converged in Dakar to discuss issues related to child research in Africa. This monograph is about this extremely important exercise undertaken by Childwatch International and CODESRIA in collaboration with the Child and Youth Research and Training Programme at the University of the Western Cape, the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town and Kenyatta University.

It comprises three papers that were presented at that occasion as well as the discussion that follows. Recognising the challenges that face researchers and their institutions, and the existing gap between policy makers and researchers, the monograph is an excellent evaluation of the child research potential in Africa. It examines the feasibility of the child research on the continent by exploring ways through which researchers and institutions across Africa can strengthen the quantity and the quality of child research in Africa. An assessment of the available research resources, in particular the technical skills of African researchers, and available financial resources is also part of the analyses.

Child Research in Africa

Maylene Shung King, Rose September, Frederick Moses Okatcha, Carlos Cardoso — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The concerns for African children should not be confined to the disadvantaged position of Africa, but rather extended to search into the virtues of their cultural
heritage, historical background and values of the African civilisation as the basis for reflecting on the rights and welfare of the child. In other words, the perspectives on the African child are shaped by a multiplicity of factors that include both the worldview of the researchers, donor priorities and pressures, as well as what will ‘sell’ better in peer review journals. This implies a real concern with what is going on in terms of research on child issues in Africa, in order to avoid generalisations and particularising the African children in ways that portray them in an unfavourable light.

Vers une Nouvelle Masculinité au Maroc

Abdessamad Dialmy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2009, 112 p. ISBN 2-86978-254-9

Ne bénéficiant pas d’un niveau scolaire élevé, l’homme « ordinaire » n’a pas les capacités théoriques et intellectuelles lui permettant de concevoir le principe de l’égalité des sexes comme un principe rationnel et raisonnable, comme un futur inévitable. À la différence de l’intellectuel qui, non seulement conçoit ce principe, mais milite pour lui dans certains cas, le Marocain ordinaire considère la domination masculine comme une donnée bio-naturelle et religieuse sacrée. C’est chez cet homme que l’on risque le plus de trouver une identité masculine figée qui résiste aux valeurs égalitaires de la santé reproductive et sexuelle.

Interroger l’homme ordinaire possédé par le paradigme de la masculinité et ses pouvoirs, c’est commencer à semer le doute en lui, c’est lui faire prendre conscience de la nécessité d’évoluer vers une identité nouvelle, de tendre vers une masculinité nouvelle. D’où les questions suivantes : dans quelle mesure l’homme marocain ordinaire est-il actuellement arrivé à redéfinir la masculinité, à la remettre en question comme pouvoir et privilèges? Jusqu’où y voit-il une donnée culturelle susceptible de changement ? Jusqu’où y renonce-t-il pour se définir comme homme nouveau ? Telles sont les questions majeures de ce travail. A travers ces questions, l’enjeu est de mesurer le degré de féminisme chez l’homme marocain.

Rural Livelihoods in Zimbabwe: Impact of Remittances from South Africa

France Maphosa — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The volume of remittances to developing countries has been growing significantly, particularly over the last twenty years. The total value of remittances flowing through official channels worldwide more than doubled between 1988 and 1999. Most of these remittances are channeled through unofficial means by undocumented migrants. While there is growing realization of its importance as a source of livelihood and development finance, there has not been much focus on remittances from undocumented migrants. Within the context of deteriorating economic conditions in Zimbabwe, this study shows the impact of remittances from undocumented migrants on household livelihoods in rural Zimbabwe. While based on a case study of a small community in Zimbabwe, the study provides material that underscores the significance of remittances from undocumented migrants for household livelihoods and development. The study is a useful addition to the literature on migration, remittances and development, and highly relevant to policy making.

Urban Integration in Africa

Philippe Bocquier, Alfred T. A. Otieno, Anne A. Khasakhala, Samuel Owuor — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CODERIA, 2009, 207 p., ISBN : 078-2-86978-229-7

Nairobi is the main door to the East African market and a safe haven for most international firms and organizations, yet it nurtures so much poverty. Part of the explanation is embedded in the social history of today’s citizens of Nairobi. This book is based on the collection of almost 1600 biographies of men and women aged 25-54.

A team composed of researchers from the University of Nairobi and the French Institute for Research in Africa analysed how the Nairobi city-dwellers entered the labour market, had access to independent residence and form their families since the 1960s, and the factors that influence timing of these main paths to adulthood. The results show that men’s entry into adulthood is conditioned on employment, whereas women did not emancipate from their role of mother and spouse. Socio-cultural origins and migration status play a minor role in urban integration while education and gender are crucial. The formal economy declined since the 1980s, not as much to the benefit of informal enterprises as to the expense of the protection of employees. At the same time, youth unemployment increased while women’s labour force participation decreased.

The resulting poverty makes it harder for couples to form and sustain a family. This book is an important resource to sociologist, demographers, economists, urban planners and historians who want to know more about urban way of life in Africa.

Post-war Regimes and State Reconstruction in Liberia and Sierra L

Amadu Sesay, Charles Ukeje, Osman Gbla, Olawale Ismail — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The shocks of the unexpected outbreak of violent internal armed conflicts in post Cold War West Africa continue to linger in policy and academic circles. While considerable attention is devoted to explaining the civil wars, there is little understanding of the delicate and unpredictable processes of reconstruction. Post-war reconstruction programmes in Africa have become, by and large, externally driven processes; and while externalization may not be negative per se, it is important to interrogate how such intervention recognizes and interacts with local dynamics, and how it manipulates and conditions the outcomes of post-conflict reconstruction agenda. Investigating the interface between power elite, the nature of post-war regimes and the pattern which post-war reconstruction takes is important both for theory and practice.

This original study, by some of West Africa’s leading scholars, interrogates post-war reconstruction processes in the twin West African countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, focusing on the effects of regime types on the nature, scope, success or failure of their post-war reconstruction efforts.

Political scientists, diplomats, the international community, donor and humanitarian agencies, advocacy groups, the United Nations and its agencies, would find it an important resource in dealing with countries emerging from protracted violence and civil war.

Youth, HIV/AIDS and Social Transformation in Africa

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The five research reports that constitute this monograph are a fruit of the collaboration between the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) of the USA, two institutions with a longstanding interest in the study of youth and social transformations in Africa. Under the collaboration, 12 young African researchers were able to benefit from fellowships, workshops and the expertise of resource persons, to pursue research on Youth, HIV/AIDS and Social Transformation. While still very much work in progress, the studies by Donald Antony Mwiturubani, Ayalew Gebre, Paulo Margarida, Mate Rekopantswe and Antione Socpa contribute significant empirical insights from five different countries (Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Cameroon) to ongoing debates on how youth and social processes in Africa shape, and are shaped, by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Development as Modernity, Modernity as Development

Lwazi Siyabonga Lushaba — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

This book analyses the impact of the Western idea of ‘modernity’ on development and underdevelopment in Africa. It traces the genealogy of the Western idea of modernity from European Enlightenment concepts of the universal nature of human history and development, and shows how this idea was used to justify the Western exploitation and oppression of Africa. It argues that contemporary development, theory and practice is a continuation of the Enlightenment project and that Africa can only achieve real development by rejecting Western modernity and inventing its own forms of modernity.

Federal Presence in Nigeria

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA,2009, 116 p., ISBN : 978-2-86978-259-4

Minorities of the oil-producing states are seriously disturbed by the inequity that is apparent from the existing principles of revenue allocation in Nigeria. In taking issues with them and other southern advocates of new revenue allocation criteria, the dominant north’s organic intellectuals have always relied on the obvious concentration of economic and commercial activities in southern Nigeria to refute the argument that the north is the greater beneficiary of Nigeria’s wealth. Scholarly contribution to the ethno-regional debate on the equity of resource allocation has been anchored to the same popular platform, namely, the criteria for inter-governmental revenue allocation. It is as if they absolutely embody the revelation about equity or inequity of resource allocation in Nigeria where the federal government has retained between 48.5 per cent and 56 per cent of the federation account, let alone revenues unpaid into this account. This study marks a departure from the orthodox focus on Nigeria’s ethnic problems, including the contentious demand of the southern minorities for an increase in the weight assigned the principle of derivation, by examining federal expenditures to determine the distribution of federal presence, and thus winners and losers, bearing in mind that the entire country is federal government’s coverage.

Youth and Higher Education in Africa

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2009, 139 p., ISBN : 978-2-86978-239-6

Student activism in Africa, at least since the early 1990s, has been preoccupied with popular struggles for democracy in both their respective countries and institutions of higher learning. The changing socio-economic and political conditions in many African countries, characterized by the decline in economic growth and the introduction of multi-party politics, among several other factors, have had different impact on students and student political organizations in African universities. This book recounts the responses of students to these changes in their attempt to negotiate better living and studying conditions. The four case studies contained in the book – Cameroon, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eritrea – clearly reveal the very important aspects of the situation in which African students find themselves in many countries, and underscores the need to understand the character and development of higher education on the continent. Ministries of Higher Education, Vice Chancellors, Deans of Students, Student Unions and parents will find this book very useful in terms of understanding the tensions that often arise at institutions of higher learning and why solutions seem to be elusive. This book is a frank account of what happens in typical African universities. It calls for urgent attention without which the quality of education suffers. This is a valuable handbook for all those who are concerned with university education: government officials, university authorities and students themselves. Once problems have been highlighted, as they have been done in this book, sustainable solutions would be easy to find.

Côte d’Ivoire

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2011, 256 p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-328-7

La grave crise sociopolitique qu’a connue la Côte d’Ivoire en septembre 2002 a déchaîné des passions politiques. Immigration, étranger, ethnonationalisme,
nationalisme, patriotisme, guerre civile, jeunesse à risque. Voilà le corpus du vocabulaire à partir duquel est restitué ce qui arrive à la Côte d’Ivoire. Les efforts d’explication de la « crise » que traverse ce pays présenté dans un passé récent comme étant « relativement paisible » se déclinent surtout sur le registre de la surprise, rendant une fois encore compte du contrôle presque absolu des médias sur l’événementiel, avec finalement le risque de ne penser l’événement qu’à partir des canevas médiatiquement corrects.

Cette capacité des professionnels de l’événementiel à fixer les mots dans lesquels l’histoire sociale doit être pensée complique la tache des sciences sociales et
humaines en même temps qu’elle nous apparaît stimulante. La compréhension des situations complexes étant désormais confinée dans une confusion entre le simple et le simplifié, l’enjeu pour les sciences sociales et humaines est de reprendre les places qui sont les leurs en tentant de restituer les réalités sociales et politiques dans leur complexité. Les contributions qui composent cet ouvrage tentent justement de dépouiller les mots simples de leur excessive simplification pour aider à la compréhension des maux sociaux et politiques, voire du sens de l’histoire. Cet ouvrage se veut avant tout un regard de l’intérieur. Le défi, ici, est avec le recul nécessaire, de déconnecter le réel de l’idée de surprise qui empêche une plongée dans l’analyse en profondeur de réalités qui ne sont que les résultats d’un processus historique sur une durée relativement longue. Au coeur de ce processus se trouve le paradoxe d’une réinvention de soi dans la violence mais au nom de la démocratie. La crise postélectorale de 2010 et l’intensité de la violence qui la ponctue démontrent encore une fois tout l’intérêt de la thèse du paradoxe démocratie-violence et du présent exercice de son objectivation.

African Studies in Geography from Below

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2009,207 p. 349 p. ISBN: 13 : 978-2-86978-121-4

Parce qu’elles s’écartent du paradoxe simpliste des cartes et frontières africaines, les Études africaine de géographie par le bas offrent une heureuse alternative à l’interprétation du développement africain. Elles prouvent que nous avons besoin d’une forme de recherche viable sur le plan empirique, afin de mieux expliquer les dynamiques au sein des sociétés africaines. Cet ouvrage remet en question les connaissances acquises, relatives à l’échec de l’État et du développement en Afrique, en formulant une perspective africaine liée à ces concepts. La doctrine des relations dites internationales (en fait, interétatiques), les idéologies du terroir, les logiques d’autochtonie et leur corollaire, l’épuration ethnique, reposent à différentes échelles sur une même pseudo-évidence : à chaque société devrait correspondre un territoire clos et exclusif, délimité en surface par des frontières fixes et linéaires. Cette conception, longtemps et massivement étrangère aux sociétés africaines, génère aujourd’hui plus de contradictions qu’elle ne peut en résoudre. Les auteurs de ce livre ont pris le parti de distinguer la construction du territoire « par le haut », comme une mise en oeuvre d’un projet politique délibéré, et sa formation « par le bas », comme un processus historique plus diffus, déterminé par le jeu des antagonismes et des compromis entre forces sociales. Plutôt qu’une opposition tranchée entre « haut » et « bas », ils mettent à jour les relations d’interdépendance et de détermination réciproque qui fondent un système duel où la construction légale, celle des autorités coloniales puis postcoloniales, se heurte à la quantité de dynamiques spatiales subalternes, négligeant la légitimité qu’elles seules pourraient lui procurer. Lecture essentielle pour quiconque s’intéresse aux rapports entre savoir et pouvoir, ce livre ouvre des perspectives stimulantes sur l’unité africaine et ses enjeux, tant épistémologiques que politiques. S’appuyant sur un vaste éventail de matériaux empiriques – de la Casamance à la Corne de l’Afrique, de l’expansion du kiswahili aux migrations de travail dans l’espace CEDEAO ou aux dynamiques associatives en milieu urbain – il renouvelle en profondeur nos approches de la sécurité humaine, de la citoyenneté, des frontières et de la mobilité.

The Meanings of Timbuktu

Souleymane Bachir Diagne — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA/HSRC, 2008, 416 p., ISBN 13 978-07969-2204-5

Salt comes from the north, gold from the south, but the word of God and the treasures of wisdom are only to be found in Timbuktu." – 15th-century Malian proverb

In a joint project between South Africa and Mali, a library to preserve more than 200 000 Arabic and West African manuscripts dating from the 13th to the 19th centuries is currently under construction. It is the first official cultural project of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), the socio-economic development plan of the African Union, and when the library is built, the cultural role of Timbuktu will be revived, as it becomes the safehaven for the treasured manuscripts. The manuscripts prove that Africa had a rich legacy of written history, long before western colonisers set foot on the continent.

This volume, authored by leading international scholars, begins to sketch the ’meaning’ of Timbuktu within the context of the intellectual history of West Africa, in particular, and of the African continent, in general. The book covers four broad areas: Part I provides an introduction to the region; outlines what archaeology can tell us of its history, examines the paper and various calligraphic styles used in the manuscripts; and explains how ancient institutions of scholarship functioned. Part II begins to analyse what the manuscripts can tell us of African history. Part III offers insight into the lives and works of just a few of the many scholars who achieved renown in the region and beyond. Part IV provides a glimpse into Timbuktu’s libraries and private collections. Part V looks at the written legacy of the eastern half of Africa, which like that of the western region, is often ignored.

A fascinating read for anyone who wishes to gain an understanding of the aura of mystique and legend that surrounds Timbuktu. The Meanings of Timbuktu strives to contextualize and clarify the importance of efforts to preserve Timbuktu’s manuscripts for Mali, for Africa and for the intellectual world.

Frontières de la citoyenneté et violence politique en Côte d’Ivoire

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 217 p. ; ISBN : 2-86978-217-9 ; ISBN 13 : 9782869782174

Ce volume est à la recherche d’une explication aux événements survenus depuis 1999 en Côte-d’Ivoire, qu’il est convenu d’appeler la « crise ivoirienne ». Il semble que l’interprétation évènementielle des faits apportait des explications insatisfaisantes à cette fracture profonde et que la bonne perspective conduisait obligatoirement à revisiter les catégories théoriques essentialistes que s’obstinent à nous imposer un regard faussé, alourdi par des préjugés ethnocentriques. Une prise de distance avec l’événementiel passe par un questionnement approfondi sur les causes de l’effondrement annoncé du modèle dit ivoirien ; le sens historique des choses est appelé pour examiner l’enchaînement et l’interaction des faits dont il faut, à chaque fois, statuer sur le poids historique dans la direction tragique de la dynamique sociale.

En cherchant les origines sociales de l’irruption de cette déchirure sociale et politique, les auteurs du volume partent tous d’une question centrale : de quelle manière le poids de la formation de la société ivoirienne moderne intervient-il sur les modalités des actions individuelles et des regroupements collectifs actuels ?

Armée et politique au Niger

Kimba Idrissa — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ISBN: 2-86978-216-0; ISBN 13: 9782869782167; 288 pages, 2008

Elaboré par une équipe pluridisciplinaire, cet ouvrage propose une analyse sur la longue durée des rapports de l’armée avec la politique dans une perspective historique et sociologique (l’apparition des chefs de guerre au XIXes, le passage d’une armée coloniale à une armée nationale, la politisation de l’armée et l’émergence des « militaires politiciens », la sociologie de l’armée…).

Il tente de répondre à une question-clé : Pourquoi l’armée est-elle si fortement présente en politique au Niger ?

Privatisation and Private Higher Education in Kenya

Daniel Wesonga, Fatuma Chege, Ibrahim Ogachi Oanda — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, ISBN: 2-86978-218-7; ISBN 13: 9782869782181; 108 pages, 2008

Over the last decade or so, the privatization of public universities and the growth in the number of accredited private universities has picked up steadily in Kenya. The growth in the private university sector has been more in the number of institutions than in the volume of students; while in the public universities, privatization has resulted in increase of the number of private students, whose enrolments in some institutions and programs surpass the number of students on government sponsorship.

This book delves into the implications and tensions that this development has occasioned in Kenya, as regards the responsiveness of private higher education to issues of broadening access, equity considerations and the traditional research function of universities.

Challenges of Education Financing and Planning in Africa

Adebayo Olukoshi, Mohamed Chérif Diarra — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ISBN: 2-86978-205-5; ISBN 13: 9782869782051; 147 pages, 2008

This volume highlights the proceedings of the two policy dialogue conferences held by the CODESRIA Working Group on Finance and Education (WGFE) in 2004.

Part I of the book discusses the endemic crisis that has besethigher education in Africa since the outset of the post-colonial period. It highlights the critical state of higher educationsystems in Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal by scrutinizing the causes, manisfestations and consequences of the crisis to posit useful recommendations and possible solutions.

Part II is a comprehensive review of the challenges facing the financing and planning of all levels and types of education — from kindergarten to graduate school — in selected Africancountries. The papers reveal the sources and mechanisms of funding education in Africa, drawing attention to the experiences of communities confronted with new funding sources. A new trend, which consists of designing decade-longeducational development plans, has emerged and is rapidily expanding in numerous African countries. This experience is examined and shared by the authors.

Les tendances de la gouvernance en Afrique de l’Ouest en 2006

Adebayo Olukoshi — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 32p. ISBN: 2-86978-212-8 ; ISBN 13: 9782869782129

La production du présent rapport de synthèse sur les tendances de la gouvernance en Afrique de l’Ouest en 2006 a mis à contribution les rapports de suivi trimestriels préparés par des chercheurs basés dans différents pays de la sous-région. Il est le produit direct d’un effort de collaboration initié au cours du dernier trimestre de 2005 entre le Conseil pour le développement de la recherche en sociale en Afrique (CODESRIA) et l’Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).

Pour les besoins du travail de suivi engagé et de ce rapport de synthèse, une définition large de l’Afrique de l’Ouest englobant touts les Etats membres de la Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO), plus le Cameroun, la Mauritanie et le Tchad, a été adoptée.

Libéralisation et développement économiques en Afrique

Jomo Kwame Sundaram — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Conférence Cheikh Anta Diop, Assemblée générale du CODESRIA tenue à Maputo, Décembre 2005. Dakar: CODESRIA, 2008. - 32 p. (Série des Monographies du CODESRIA), ISBN: 978-2-86978-235-8

Dans son discours délivré à la clôture de la 11ème Assemblée Générale du CODESRIA, à Maputo en 2005, Jomo Kwame Sundaram remarque que plus de trois décennies de stagnation économique, de privation et d’une pauvreté agrandissante ont gravement affecté le tissu économique, social et politique de l’Afrique. Par conséquent, des efforts proactifs sont d’une urgente nécessité pour la création de capacités durables pour le développement. Sundaram défend
que l’opinion générale sur le développement de l’Afrique et la pauvreté est souvent erroné et dangereux. Même le FMI a reconnu que la libéralisation financière internationale n’a fait qu’exacerber la volatilité. Encore pire, des preuves tangibles ont été fournies sur le fait que certaines recommandations avancées sur la politique économique et les conditionnalités imposées aux gouvernements africains ont reflété le manque de désintérêt et la préjudice de la part de ceux qui sont supposés aider l’Afrique. C’est en tenant compte du fait que la croissance économique et le développement ne réduisent pas nécessairement la pauvreté et les inégalités que Sundaram appelle à un ‘espace politique’ élargi afin que les gouvernements africains puissent choisir ou mettre sur pied leur propre stratégies de développement, mais aussi développer et mettre en oeuvre
des politiques de développement qui sont plus appropriées.

Masculinities in Contemporary Africa

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Edited by Egodi Uchendu

CODESRIA, 2008, 288 p., ISBN: 2-86978- 227-3

Although gender and non-gender scholars have studied men, such an academic exercise requires a critical and focused study of masculine subjects in particular social contexts, which is what this book attempts to do.

This empirically rich collection of essays, the seventh of the CODESRIA Gender Series, deals with critical examinations of various shades and ramifications of Africa’s masculinities and what these portend for the peoples of Africa and for gender relations in the continent. So much has changed in terms of notions and expressions of masculinities in Africa since ancient times, but many aspects of contemporary masculinities were fashioned during and since the colonial period. The papers in this volume were initially discussed at the 2005 month-long CODESRIA Gender Institute in Dakar.

The contributors are gender scholars drawn from various disciplines in the wide fields of the humanities and the social sciences with research interests in the critical study of men and masculinities in Africa.

Facteurs de transition de la micro-entreprise à l’entreprise capitaliste moderne en République démocratique du Congo

Emmanuel-Gustave Kintambu Mafukuest — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 144 p., ISBN 9782869782259

Pour faire face à l’inefficacité du modèle étatique de développement des années 1960-1970, les initiatives privées et l’entreprenariat ont été encouragés comme un moyen de sortir les économies africaines au suddu Sahara de leur marasme chronique. Dans le cas de la République démocratique du Congo, ce changement d’orientation économique a entrainé l’émergence de micro et petites entreprises qui -compte tenu de leur manque de structuration, de leur évolution en marge du cadre légal, de leurs insuffisances intrinsèques à pourvoir des emplois durables et deleur faible impact socio-économique- ont montré leur limite quant à leur capacité de fournir un gage de développement durable. Avec une approche méthodologique basée sur la micro-économie, la statistique et l’économétrie, ce livre scrute l’environnement économique, mais aussi légal et financier dans lequel évoluent les PME congolaises. Ce livre tente aussi de répondre aux questions liées aux facteurs decroissance, aux conditions et mécanismes qui doivent constituer le soubassement du développement des PME dans le contexte de la RDC. Un développement qui facilitera la transition vers l’ère de l’entreprise capitaliste moderne.

Santé, société et politique en Afrique

Cheikh Ibrahima Niang — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 49 p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-222-8

La situation sanitaire en Afrique est des plus alarmantes avec des pathologies multiples, e particulier le VIH/SIDA, qui freinent le développement humain et socio-économique du continent. L’état décrépite des systèmes de santé de l’Afrique se trouve être compliqué à plusieurs égards par des programmes macroéconomiques inadaptées qui exacerbent l’exode des ressources humaines.

Il existe aussi une crise dans les théories, les modèles et la construction des réponses à la situation qui, au demeurant, sont influencés par les concepts et
principes hégémoniques de l’occident datant de la colonisation. Ceux ci ignorent les aspects culturels, sociaux et politiques de la maladie dans les sociétés et communautés locales. Une re-conceptualisation de la question.

Cheikh Ibrahima Niang est enseignant chercheur à l’Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Sénégal. Il est spécialisé en Anthropologie Sociale et en Sciences de l’Environnement. Il a réalisé plusieurs travaux sur les aspects sociaux du VIH/SIDA et des problèmes de santé publique au Sénégal, en Côte d’Ivoire, au Rwanda, au Burkina Faso, en Gambie et en Guinée. Il a effectué plusieurs publications sur la sexualité, les impacts sociaux et politiques du VIH et les approches culturelles en matière de prévention des épidémies. Il a servi comme conseiller technique dans plusieurs organes des Nations Unies (ONUSIDA, OMS, Banque mondiale, PNUD, BIT, etc.). Il coordonne actuellement le Réseau SAHARA (Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance) pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest.

Love and Desire: Concepts, Narratives and Practives of Sex Amongst Youths in Maputo City

Sandra Manuel — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, ISBN: 2-86978-191-1; ISBN 13: 978-2-86978-191-7; 75 pages, 2008

This monograph analyses the perceptions and practices of sexuality among young people in post-colonial and post-socialist Maputo city. Using a combination of various methods, it compares sexuality in two different generation and describes two diverse kinds of relationships: the occasional and steady.

Occasional relationships tend to show a new pattern of condom use that corroborates the discourse advocated in the prevention of HIV/AIDS; and the steady where sex is proposition of commitment on the part of young men, and where, there are major possibilities of HIV/AIDS infection. In both kinds of relationships, sex, described by informants in terms of a model of heterosexual penetration, is perceived as a factor that permits transition from childhood to adulthood, by passing parental and other senior kin control.

Africa and the Challenges of Citizenry and Inclusion: The Legacy of Mário de Andrade

Carlos Lopes — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, ISBN: 978-2-86978-234-1; 39 pages, 2008

The Cheikh Anta Diop Lecture (CODESRIA General Assembly, Maputo, December 2005)

At the 11th General Assembly of CODESRIA, held in Maputo in December 2005, Carlos Lopes presented the Cheikh Anta Diop Lecture on “Africa and the Challenges of Citizenry and Inclusion”, through the legacy of Mario de Andrade of Angola.

He discusses the life and times of Mário Andrade; African nationalism and its revolutionary proposals; and the triumphs and vicissitudes of Negritude and Pan-Africanism. He analyses the consequences for a country’s citizenry, inclusion and respect for identities, and concludes with implications for African intellectuals. Like Mário Andrade, who abhorred the rites associated with power and despaired at exclusionary notions of citizenship, Lopes is critical of narrow nationalism that jeopardises pan-Africanism, and calls on African intellectuals to denounce these practices in the interest of universal identity rights, based on the principle that development brings with it greater opportunities and freedom of choice.

History, Democracy, Values: New Lines of Reflection

Adame Ba Konaré — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 24 p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-233-4

At the 11th General Assembly of CODESRIA, which was held in Maputo in December 2005, Adame Ba Konaré presented the Leopold Sedar Senghor Lecture, casting her historian eye on democracy and its values. Konaré calls for the enshrinement of democracy in Africa, where citizens are free to participate responsibly in decision-making on matters of common interest, and in ways that simply do not mimic externally induced notions or reflect unquestioningly the will of Heads of State.

According to her, for citizens to exercise the fullness of their democracy in humility and mutual respect, they must have the freedom of association and mobilisation in the interest of all, and in tune with African values that have stood the test of time.

Challenges to Identifying and Managing Intangible Cultural Heritage in Mauritius, Zanzibar and Seychelles

Rosabelle Boswell — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, ISBN: 2-86978-215-2; ISBN 13: 978-2-86978-215-0; 93 pages, 2008

This book is a preliminary discussion of factors challenging the management of intangible cultural heritage in the African communities of Zanzibar, Mauritius and Seychelles. These islands are part of an overlapping cultural and economic zone influenced by a long history of slavery and colonial rule, a situation that has produced inequalities and underdevelopment. In all of them, heritage management is seriously underfinanced and under-resourced.

African descendant heritage is given little attention and this continues to erode identity and sense of belonging to the nation.

In Zanzibar, tensions between majority and minority political parties affect heritage initiatives on the island.

In Mauritius, the need to diversify the economy and tourism sector is encouraging the commercialisation of heritage and the homogenisation of Creole identity.

In Seychelles, the legacy of socialist rule affects the
conceptualisation and management of heritage, thereby discouraging a thorough exploration of the island’s wide range of
intangible heritages.

Through this book the author expresses the urgent need to commit more funding and greater attention to
heritage management in Africa.

Reforming the African Public Sector

Joseph Ayee — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 175 p., ISBN: 2-86978-214-4; ISBN 13: 9782869782143

This Book is an in-depth and wide-ranging review of the available literature on African public sector reforms. It attempts to contextualize the reform of the public sector and understand its processes, dynamics and intricacies. The main observations and conclusions are illustrated with examples from differing country experiences. It adopts a structural/institutional approach which underpins most of the reform efforts on the continent.

An effort is made to examine the state and state capacity building in Africa, especially when there can be no state without an efficient public sector. In addition, the book addresses a number of theories such as the new institutional economics, public choice and new public management, which have in one way or another influenced most of the initiatives implemented under public sector reform in Africa.

Civil Society and the Search for Development Alternatives in Cameroon

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, ISBN: 978-286978-220-4 ; 227 pages, 2008

Recent developments have witnessed the emergence of civil society as a major development actor whose potentials and capacity, especially in Africa, are often taken for granted and treated as limitless.

A critical assessment of some of their structures (NGOs, religious organisations, trade unions, home-based associations, women’s mobilisation structures, local community organisations, and the youth) and the legal and political context of the operation of civil society in Cameroon shows a popular effervescence that is visible in social development initiatives; Although this would complement the state and free enterprise, it is however often frustrated by the state’s suspicion in a context of rising social awareness and protest that is assimilated with political opposition or attempts at manipulation along partisans lines.

This book is a call to reform the framework and civil society to assess its components and roles in shaping the future of Africa.

Industrie musicale au Sénégal

Saliou Ndour — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ISBN: 978-2-86978-234-1; 200 pages, 2008

Des logiques d’actions plurielles et différentes dimensions sous-tendent la construction du fait musical au Sénégal, produite par plusieurs pôles d’acteurs interagissant entre des structures contraignantes et une relative autonomie.

Dans une industrie musicale marquée par de profondes mutations socioculturelles et socioéconomiques, « informel de la musique » et processus de « formalisation » cohabitent de manière problématique. L’industrie musicale, en expansion, est dès lors appelée à s’organiser selon un cadre véritablement
formel.

La question des droits d’auteur à travers les règles de rémunération et leur application est alors instamment posée. Parallèlement, la politique culturelle de l’Etat, ainsi que les liens, selon diverses modalités, entre champ musical et politique, sont passés en revue. Cet essai tente de poser un certain nombre de questions et se présente en définitive comme une invite à la réflexion et à l’action.

Academic Freedom and the Social Responsibilities of Academics in Tanzania

Chachage Seithy Chachage — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ISBN: 978-2-86978-243-3 pb; 100 pages, 2008

In February 2005, the University of Dar es Salaam Staff Association (UDASA), in cooperation with CODESRIA, organised a workshop to bring together the staff associations of some public and private universities in Tanzania, in order to renew their commitment to the basic principles of the Dar es Salaam Declaration and its sister document - the Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility.

The workshop was also aimed at re-invigorating the social commitment of African intellectuals. The papers included in this volume reflect the depth and potentials of the debates that took place during the workshop.

The volume is published in honour of Chachage Seithy L. Chachage, who was an active part of the workshop but unfortunately passed away in 2006.

Governing Health Systems in Africa

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ISBN: 2-86978-182-2; ISBN 13: 9782869781825 ; 288 pages, 2008

Drawing on various disciplinary perspectives, this book re-focuses the debate on what makes a good health system, with a view to clarifying the uses of social science research in thinking about health care issues in Africa.

The explosion of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the persistence of malaria as a major killer, and the resurgence of diseases like tuberculosis which were previously under control, have brought about changes in the health system, with implications for its governance, especially in view of the diminished capacity of the public health facilities to cope with a complex range of expanded needs. Government responsibilities and objectives in the health sector have been redefined, with private sector entities (both for profit and not-for profit) playing an increasingly visible role in health care provisions.

The reasons for collaborative patterns vary, but chronic under-funding of publicly financed health services is often an important factor. Processes of decentralisation and health sector reforms have had mixed effects on health care system performance; while private health insurance markets and private clinics are pointers to a growing stratification of the health market, in line with the intensified income and social differentiation that has occurred over the last two decades. These developments call for health sector reforms.

Histoire, démocratie, valeurs

Adame Ba Konaré — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 24 p, ISBN: 978-2-86978-237-2

Jetant son coup d’oeil d’historienne sur la démocratie et ses valeurs, Adame Ba Konaré a fait le discours Leopold Sedar Senghor lors de la 11ème Assemblée Générale du CODESRIA à Maputo en Décembre 2005. Konaré a appelé à l’enracinement de la démocratie dans une Afrique où les citoyens sont libres de participer à part entière au processus de prise de décisions qui répondent à l’intérêt général ; ceci d’une manière qui ne constituerait pas une simple imitation de notions inoculées de l’extérieur ou qui refléterait sans questionnement le désir des Chefs d’Etat. Selon Konaré, pour que les citoyens puissent jouir pleinement de la démocratie dans l’humilité et le respect mutuel, il leur faudra le droit à la liberté d’association et de mobilisation dans l’intérêt de tous et en parfaite harmonie avec les valeurs africaines qui ont su résister au temps.

L’Algérie face à la mondialisation

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 330 p., ISBN : 2-86978-184-9 ISBN 13 : 9782-86978-184-9

L’Algérie face à la mondialisation est une contribution d’intellectuels (chercheurs, syndicalistes, membres de mouvements associatifs) à l’analyse de la crise que traverse l’Algérie depuis la décennie 1980-1990. Ils l’ont vécue sur place intellectuellement et physiquement.

La crise est restituée dans la conjoncture nouvelle créée par la mondialisation. Elle se manifeste d’abord par l’exercice d’un véritable droit d’ingérence puis, avec la fin de la violence, de la recherche d’une insertion nouvelle dans un monde dominé par une super-puissance et l’économie néo-libérale.

Les contributions évaluent dans des domaines stratégiques les politiques publiques, leurs résultats et les sorties de crise possibles. Trois de ces contributions se situent au niveau global et mettent en évidence d’une part le tournant que représente la crise par rapport à la conjoncture et aux orientations politiques de l’Algérie avant 1988 (Mohamed Moulfi), et d’autre part les stratégies des acteurs qui disqualifient les politiques de réforme qui nourrissent la corruption
et la bazardisation de l’économie (Rachid Tlemçani).

Les politiques sectorielles sont abordées dans cinq contributions : l’éducation (Ahmed Djebbar), le système bancaire et financier (Fatima Zohra Oufriha), l’environnement et le développement durable (Azzouz Kerdoun), le développement rural (Omar Benbekhti), et les enjeux de la loi sur les hydrocarbures (Farid Benyoucef). Les auteurs évaluent les implications des contraintes extérieures (le marché mondial pétrolier ou agricole, les nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication et le marché financier).

Les contributions consacrées aux mouvements sociaux (Ahmed Chouicha), aux femmes (Souad Bendjaballah et Fatima Zohra Saï) et aux intellectuels (Tayeb Chenntouf) s’attachent à cerner les potentiels possibles d’une transformation sociale. Last but not least, la dernière contribution est un bilan provisoire (Tayeb Chenntouf). Elle envisage les possibilités de sortie de crise: la formation d’un nouveau bloc historique avec ses deux composantes essentielles que sont la formulation d’un projet pour l’avenir et les acteurs sociaux susceptibles de le concrétiser. Aujourd’hui, l’Algérie semble, une fois de plus, à la croisée des chemins.

Docteur d’Etat en histoire, diplômé de l’Institut d’études politiques de Paris, Tayeb Chenntouf est professeur d’histoire moderne et contemporaine à l’Université d’Oran (Algérie), vice-président de l’Association des historiens africains, professeur associé à l’Université de Nice (1984-1986), maître de recherche au CNRS à Paris (1986), membre du Conseil supérieur de l’éducation
(1995-1998) et du Comité exécutif du CODESRIA (1995-1998). Il est, par ailleurs, l’auteur d’un manuel d’enseignement de l’histoire Le monde contemporain, et de plusieurs ouvrages : L’Algérie politique (1830-1954), Le Maghreb au présent, Etudes d’histoire algérienne (18e-19e siècles) publiés par l’Office des publications universitaires à Alger. Il rédige actuellement un
ouvrage sur le Maghreb contemporain.

African Land Questions, the State and Agrarian Transition: Contradictions of Neo-liberal Land Reforms

Sam Moyo — Mon, 26 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ISBN: 2-86978-202-0; ISBN 13: 978286978202-0; 159 pages, 2008

This book is a critical reflection on the land question in Africa, research on which tends to be tangential, conceptually loose and generally inadequate. It argues that the most pressing research concern must be to understand the precise nature of the African land question, its land reforms and their effects on development.

The book goes further to questions the capacity of emerging neo-liberal economic and political regimes in Africa to deliver land reforms which address growing inequality and poverty. Finally, it invites scholars and policy makers to creatively draw on the specific historical trajectories and contemporary expression of the land and agrarian questions in Africa, to enrich both theory and practice on land in the continent.

Gender, Science and Technolog

Sun, 25 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA Gender Series Volume 6, 2008, 177 p., ISBN: 2-86978-221-1

Science and technology is widely advocated as the indisputable foundation for political and economic power in the modern world. However, it still remains marked by various layers and dimensions of gender inequality that work to the disadvantage of girls and women. Despite the fact that a lot of awareness has been created and that gender issues are now more readily acknowledged by various development initiatives in Africa, participation in science and technology remains a hurdle as far as girls and women are concerned.

A common theme that runs through the book is how feminine identities, ideologies of domesticity and gender stereotypes, and the inadequacy or lack of clear policies facilitate the invisibility of women in science and technology. This notwithstanding, women have never ceased devising clever and ingenious ways to enable them to master nature, from the margins.

Enseignement supérieur en Afrique francophone :

Sun, 25 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2009, 129 pages, ISBN: 978-2-86978-241-9

Comme pour l’Afrique en générale, l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique francophone a connu une forte expansion en terme d’effectifs des étudiants et du nombre de structures depuis son avènement.

La rupture des grands équilibres macroéconomiques des années 1980 a engendré la crise et la fin du développement de ce secteur éducatif. Cette crise multiforme qui concerne à la fois la pertinence, la qualité, la gestion et le financement de l’enseignement supérieur a engendré

Reflexões sobre o Espaça Urbano

Alexandre Hilario Monteiro Baia — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 55 p. ISBN 2-86978-247-1

O estudo expõe a produção do espaço urbano em Moçambique a partir de práticas urbanas da cidade de Nampula: uma cidade que apresenta exemplos críticos da interação urbanidade-ruralidade. A proposta teórica analisa o urbano, enquanto processo, não apenas como junção de objetos e signos (de urbanidade ou ruralidade) que permeiam a vida na cidade; mas, também, como realidade social e cultural conseqüente da interação urbanidade-ruralidade: realidade inacabada e por isso transitória.
A especificidade do urbano em Moçambique revela criticamente as irracionalidades e contradições de processos de dominação econômica e política e não de disseminação de um urbanismo como modo de vida em sociedades da África meridional. Assim, o espaço urbano produzido revela as desigualdades temporais da vida econômica e social na cidade – onde todos fazem parte de uma coletividade estatística designada população urbana, mas, poucos são os que desfrutam da urbanidade – daí a relevância da noção de (re)produção das relações sociais no estudo da cidade.

Dimensões da Pobreza e da Vulnerabilidade em Cabo Verde

Claudio Furtado — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 110 p. ISBN 2-86978-245-7

“Dimensões da pobreza e da vulnerabilidade em Cabo Verde: Uma abordagem sistémica e interdisciplinar” resulta de um trabalho de investigação realizado por um grupo de pesquisadores cabo-verdiano no âmbito da iniciativa do CODESRIA para os países africanos lusófonos.

Constituiu o leitmotiv da investigação a compreensão do fenómeno da pobreza e da vulnerabilidade no contexto cabo-verdiano, buscando ultrapassar as abordagens até então hegemónicas e que colocam o acento tónico essencialmente no rendimento. Na verdade, a abordagem retida por este estudo não exclui e nem subestima a importância do rendimento na determinação da pobreza e da vulnerabilidade. Contudo, pretendeu-se avançar um pouco mais, trazendo novas determinantes do fenómeno, cortando com uma visão uni- causal na explicação da pobreza.

Uma das questões que se colocou, ao menos para reflexão, se prende com o facto de se, na verdade, o rendimento é efectivamente uma determinante da pobreza, quando é a situação da pobreza que pode condicionar o acesso a rendimentos e a demais bens e serviços, incluindo os bens simbólicos. Assim, a investigação procura situar a abordagem numa perspectiva sistémica e integrada, busca captar as múltiplas dimensões da pobreza e da vulnerabilidade, tanto em termos de suas determinantes quanto de sua manifestação e de tradução discursiva.

Os Bijagós:

Fernando Leonardo M. Cardoso — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 56 p. ISBN 2-86978-246-4

Esta resenha constitui a apresentação dos resultado de um longo período de trabalho de recolha, de vivência e de observações directas no intuito de fazer conhecer, ainda que de forma breve e genérica, o modo de estruturação do poder politico em três ilhas do arquipélago dos Bijagós-Bubaque, Uno e Orango Grande.

Um trabalho que resultou de um contacto directo com as populações, com a realidade das ilhas e, ainda, de uma concertação constante entre os seus autores. Orientadas para o cidadão comum e estudantes dos liceus, estas recolhas contêm elementos úteis aos especialistas e investigadores em ciências sociais.

O facto de nem todas as questões aqui afloradas terem sido exploradas com a devida profundidade torna-o um trabalho interessante porquanto servirá de base para futuros discussões em círculos académicos. Os trabalhos de terreno requereram um olhar atento sobre aspectos não directamente relacionados com a estrutura e o funcionamento do poder mas, que de uma forma ou de outra, condicionam e se fazem reflectir no exercício do poder e da autoridade. São aspectos ligados às linhagens e à iniciação entre outros.

Mais do que um estudo sobre a organização social e político dos Bijagós, o presente trabalho retrata ainda o relacionamento entre os órgãos do poder dito tradicional e as estruturas do poder local do Estado

Para lá da Manipulação dos Espíritos. Crenças e Práticas de cura entre os Handa no Sul de Angola

Rosa Melo — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 100 p. ISBN 2-86978-244-0

Nos diversos estudos das ciências sociais e humanas, tem sido mencionado que a causa dos males e das doenças, em África, é, em geral, atribuída a seres com poderes extraordinários. No caso dos Handa (grupo sobre o qual versa este trabalho), processos como a nutrição raramente são indicados como um móbil assaz relevante no desencadeamento das doenças. Isto, não obstante as associações que se estabelecem entre a ingestão de alimentos, o crescimento do indivíduo e o fortalecimento do corpo.

A crença na existência de humanos com poderes transordinários, bem como em seres sobrenaturais com implicações na saúde dos indivíduos influencia as práticas quotidianas dos grupos sociais em causa, bem como as relações que estabelecem uns com os outros e com o poder. O parentesco, as linhagens, o género, entre outros, perfilam entre os elementos que, por um lado, influem na eficácia de tais poderes e que, por outro lado, servem de esteio para o combate contra perversidades no quotidiano das famílias. Exemplos dessa prática quotidiana são, aqui, reproduzidos, assim como são caracterizados os agentes possuidores de poderes transordinários (na perspectiva do grupo) com particular realce às suas categorizações, o que promove algumas altercações no quadro das discussões teóricas sobre as crenças na “bruxaria”.

No livro, a análise dos hábitos alimentares dos Handa, além de elucidar sobre as suas crenças e atitudes face aos constrangimentos sociais, por um lado, expõe o que constituem as representações e o comportamento dos mesmos relativamente à etnofarmacologia, à etnobotânica, enfim, aos recursos fitogenéticos comummente usados para o sustento do corpo e para o bem-estar social. Por outro lado, fornece elementos para a percepção dos factores condicionantes do estado físico e nutricional de algumas famílias e para a discussão do seu estado sanitário.

Le Post-modernisme et le nouvel esprit du capitalisme sur une philosophie globale d’Empire

Nkolo Foé — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 214 p. ISBN 2-86978-243-3

L’idée de ce livre est née d’une controverse avec une certaine jeunesse africaine fascinée par la civilisation du virtuel. L’auteur a voulu ici faire douter cette génération en mettant en évidence les desseins secrets du postmodernisme qu’il décrit comme une idéologie de la mondialisation ou du libre jeu des marchés. Le livre montre que l’ère postmoderne continue et accomplit l’époque structurale, et qu’à ce titre, il constitue une philosophie des contraintes. Tous affichent leurs desseins totalitaires, tout en feignant de critiquer l’idée de totalité. Détruisant le mythe universaliste qui accompagne la postmodernité, le livre se prononce en faveur d’un universalisme démocratique, fondé sur la réhabilitation de la valeur d’usage. Il se conclut par une réflexion générale sur le problème de la faillite de la modernité, que ce livre situe au niveau de la contradiction entre la modernité économique et la modernité sociale; le refus de cette dernière expliquant les nostalgies anti et pré-modernes d’une doctrine conservatrice au service de la polarisation du monde.

The Economic and Social Impact of Privitization of State-owned Enterprises in Africa

Mike I. Obadan — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 80 p. , ISBN : 978-2-86978-228-0

The case for privatization, whether defined in a broad or narrow sense, has been forcefully made by its advocates against the backdrop of the much advertised poor performances of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and theoretical arguments relating to the efficiency of private firms over public enterprises. Consequently, privatization and commercialization have been key components of the structural adjustment programmes foisted by the Bretton Woods institutions on Third World countries. Yet, the empirical findings on privatization, especially outside Africa where they exist, do not portray the strategy to be a panacea that works in all circumstancesn in all branches of economic activity.

In spite of this, since the late 1980s, privatization has been stepped up in almost all African countries. And after about two decades of vigorous implementation of privatization programmes in Africa, there is a compelling need for a comprehensive and systematic analysis of various privatization issues, particularly the economic and social impact. This book thus establishes a clear case for a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the impact of privatization in Africa. Specifically, the book provides a state-of-the art review of privatization issues and research questions as a prelude to an in-depth study of the economic and social impact of privatization.

Economic Liberalisation and Development in Africa

Jomo Kwame Sundaram — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 27 p., ISBN: 978-2-86978-232-7

In this endnote address delivered at the 11th General Assembly of CODESRIA, held in Maputo in 2005, Jomo Kwame Sundaram notes that over three decades of economic stagnation, contraction and increased poverty have taken a huge toll on Africa’s economic, social and political fabric; and pro-active efforts are urgently required in order to build new capacities and capabilities for development. He argues that much of the ostensible conventional wisdom regarding African development and poverty is often both erroneous and harmful.

Even the IMF hasacknowledged that international financial liberalization has exacerbated volatility. Worse still, there is strong evidence that some of the economic policy advice given to, and conditionalities imposed on governments in Africa have reflected vested interests and prejudice. In view of these, and the fact that economic growth and development do not necessarily reduce poverty and inequalities, Sundaram calls for greater ‘policy space’ for African governments to choose or design their own development strategies, as well as develop and implement more appropriate development policies.

Developing a Sustainable Economy in Cameroon

Aloysius Ajab Amin — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ISBN: 2-86978-209-8 (ISBN 13: 9782869782099), 440 pages, February 2008

This book contains a well thought out and meticulous work that engenders a plan for pushing Cameroon towards a sustainable economy.…This work will be of interest to those interested in better understanding development process in Cameroon characterized by a paradox that the authors formulated as ’with so much to be done needing many resources, yet much resources remain idle, unemployed and underemployed’. I congratulate the team and heartedly recommend this book to decision makers, policy analysts, students interested in Africa’s development process and that of Cameroon in particular.

Dr Abdoulaye Niang, author of Towards a Viable and Credible Development in Africa and Team Leader, Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The book is written to enhance and direct policy formulation and implementation; the chapters are properly rooted in theoretical/conceptual foundation and empirical analysis. They cut across the real, financial and social sectors of the Cameroon economy. …The chapters not only analyze policies but also proffer solutions to the various economic and social problems of the economy. The book will serve as a research reference for both academics and students in various disciplines of the social sciences.

Professor Sheriffdeen Tella
Dean Faculty of Social Science and Management,
Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria

Within a solid theoretical framework, the authors critically analyze the different challenges that a country like Cameroon faces in its development effort. They bring out the crucially important role of the government in contributing to create a broad-based development pattern particularly in creating the necessary infrastructure, raising the productivity level of the economy, providing and delivering the appropriate social services. Underscoring the role of institutions in production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in Cameroon’s economy, the book offers concrete solutions in terms of infrastructure, human and institutional development.…Such treatment of development issues is exceptional given the scientific and intellectual rigor that had gone into it. Indeed, this is an excellent book for students, academics, policy makers, development practitioners, private sector operators, representatives of civil society organizations, and even the general reader…

Professor John C. Anyanwu, Chief Research Economist,
African Development Bank (ADB), Tunisia

Developing a Sustainable Economy in Cameroon is a major analytical undertaking in the neoclassical tradition. Using rigorous analytical tools and assuming good management and optimal use of the country’s abundant natural and human resources, Professor Amin and his colleagues set out to show the optimal path which Cameroon ought to have followed to attain sustainable development. I highly recommend the book for all interested in economic development.

Dr Joseph Ntangsi, Representative,
KFW German Development Bank, Cameroon

Les défis du développement local au Sénégal

Rosnert Ludovic Alissoutin — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 192 p., ISBN : 2-86978-210-1 (ISBN 13 : 9782869782105)

Le présent ouvrage se veut une analyse sans complaisance de la politique de décentralisation en milieu rural au Sénégal, mettant en exergue son incapacité à promouvoir le développement local qui est pourtant sa principale raison d’être dans un contexte de pauvreté. Pour identifier les raisons des lacunes, l’auteur va au-delà des textes et explore la compatibilité du comportement sociologique des acteurs et du contexte culturel avec la poursuite des objectifs de développement local. Mais il existe bien des solutions à la léthargie des acteurs concernés et à la faible envergure des initiatives entreprises. Elles devraient être recherchées dans la mobilisation méthodique et citoyenne autour des terroirs respectifs, quoique ouvertes sur la modernisations plus ambitieuses, plus adaptées aux réalités et parfaitement ancrées dans la culture du résultat.

Rethinking Security in Nigeria

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2008, 172 p., ISBN : 2-86978-211-X (ISBN 13 : 9782869782112)

Rethinking Security in Nigeria adopts an alternate conceptual and methodological framework for rethinking national security in Nigeria by using the humanities’ multidisciplinary perspective against the backdrop of the hitherto restrictive analysis of the nature of national security. By expounding the largely unexplored cosmological, conceptual, ethical and aesthetic dimensions as key contributors to national survival and social integration, the volume argues systematically for a basic redefinition of the meanings of security, the value of life, government action and social re-engineering in order to create a new system of social order and integration. The authors attempt to extend the boundaries of previous theorizing on security by identifying alternate ethical and aesthetic approaches to national reconciliation and human development in present-day Nigeria, which faces major security challenges requiring the clarification of the basis for developing a just and harmonious society.

The study is a contribution to the quest for defining the vital socio-cultural norms and doctrinal imperatives needed for responsible cooperative human action. It examines the roles of dominant works of philosophy, literature, plays and performances in the creation of a philosophical basis for political stability and social reconciliation in the society. It extends the boundaries of previous aesthetic studies and redefines the roles of ethics and aesthetics as crucial contributors to security, human development and world civilisation.

Editors

Dapo Adelugba, a former Chair and Professor in the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, is a leading authority on Theatre Practice and Development especially Theatre History, Theory and Criticism of the Arts and Approaches to the Theatre Arts in Nigeria. He is currently a visiting professor at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

Kenya: The Struggle for Democracy

Godwin R. Murunga, Shadrack W. Nasong’o — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar/London, CODESRIA/Zed Books, 2007. , 368 p., ISBN-13: 978-1842778579

‘Riveting, compelling, engaging and inspiring. Not only is Kenya: The Struggle for Democracy a book of first-rate scholarship, it is an informative and readable treatise on the everyday expressions of Kenyan citizens’ intense passions for openness, justice and responsible governance. Murunga, Nasong’o and their fellow contributors lay bear the plethora of shenanigans which the Kenyan state, its lenders and its clients have used over time to ensure the monopolization of power by the few’

Lisa Aubrey, Ohio University.

‘A very refreshing, rigorous, informative, and multidisciplinary analysis of Kenya’s transition to democratic governance. Kenya: The Struggle for Democracy not only identifies the reasons behind Kenya’s failure to institutionalize democracy, but also proffers possible solutions’.

John Mukum Mbaku, Willard L. Eccles Professor of Economics and John S. Hinckley Fellow, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah.

‘A moving and comprehensive analysis of institutions and actors that have shaped Kenya’s future … For Africanists, this is a compulsory reading which requires a response’.

Winnie Mitullah, University of Nairobi.

African Literature as Political Philosophy

M.S.C. Okolo — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2007. - vii-164 p. (Africa in the New Millennium Series), ISBN: 978-1-84277-895-1

Intégration régionale, démocratie et panafricanisme

Alexis B.A. Adandé — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2007. - viii-160 p. (Série des livres du CODESRIA), ISBN: 2-86978-179-2

The Study of Africa. Volume 2

Paul Tiyambe Zeleza — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2007, 496 p., ISBN 9782869781986

This is the second of a two-volume work taking stock of the study of Africa in the twenty-first century: its status, research agenda and approaches, and place. It is divided into two parts, the first entitled Globalisation Studies and African Studies, and the second, African Studies in Regional Contexts.

Part two considers: African and area studies in France, the US, the UK, Australia, Germany and Sweden; anti-colonialism and Russian/soviet African studies; African studies in the Caribbean in historical perspective; the teaching of African history and the history of Africa in Brazil; African studies in India; African studies and historiography in China in the twenty-first century; and African studies and contemporary scholarship in Japan.

The other contributors include: Anshan Li, Professor at the Institute of Afro-Asian Studies, Peking University; Alan Cobley, Professor of South African and Comparative History at the University of West Indies; Aparajita Biswas, Professor at the Centre for African Studies, University of Mumbai; Bogumil Jewiewicki, Canada research chair in comparative history, Université Laval in Quebec; John McCracken; Monica Lima from the Cap/Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; James Mittelman; Peter Probst; Ann Schlyter; Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a prominent Malaysian economist, currently with the UN; and Mashao Yoshida, Professor Emeritus and former Director, the Research Institute of International Studies, Chuba University, Japan.

Scholars in the Marketplace. The Dilemmas of Neo-Liberal Reform at Makerere University, 1989-2005

Mahmood Mamdani — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Edited by

CODESRIA, 2007, 316 p., ISBN 9782869782013

Scholars in the Marketplace is a case study of market-based reforms at Uganda’s Makerere University. With the World Bank heralding neoliberal reform at Makerere as the model for the transformation of higher education in Africa, it has implications for the whole continent. At the global level, the Makerere case exemplifies the fate of public universities in a market-oriented and capital friendly era. The Makerere reform began in the 1990s and was based on the premise that higher education is more of a private than a public good.

Instead of pitting the public against the private, and the state against the market, this book shifts the terms of the debate toward a third alternative than explores different relations between the two. The book distinguishes between privatisation and commercialisation, two processes that drove the Makerere reform. It argues that whereas privatisation (the entry of privately sponsored students) is compatible with a public university where priorities are publicly set, commercialisation (financial and administrative autonomy for each faculty to design a market-responsive curriculum) inevitably leads to a market determination of priorities in a public university. The book warns against commercialisation of public universities as the subversion of public institutions for private purposes.

Les identités régionales et la dialectique Sud-Sud en question

NADIR MAROUF — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2007, 192 p., ISBN 9782869781955

Cet ouvrage s’attache à l’importance du panafricanisme dans une perspective de reconquête, pouvant jouer un grand rôle dans l’intégration économique du continent. L’aspiration à un regroupement dynamique et sociétal est une nécessité fondamentale, car les africains ont besoin, pour vivre ensemble, de s’accorder sur un même sens par rapport à leurs histoires et leurs projets.

Les contributions analysent les identités régionales résultant d’un syncrétisme observé entre la culture traditionnelle, la religion islamique et la modernité. L’exemple des relations interrégionales est la preuve tangible de la difficile négociation des contraintes axiologiques internationales imposées. Le nouveau partenariat entre le nord et le sud doit désormais être l’œuvre de chacun, en tant qu’acteur social ou étatique capable de communiquer et de soumettre ses multiples raisons à la discussion. Ce faisant, la dialectique sud-sud trouvera sa place : la régionalisation passera alors par une solidarité entre les peuples et la réinvention des grandes valeurs démocratiques.

La rationalité, une ou plurielle ?

Paulin J. Hountondji — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

La raison n’est le monopole d’aucun groupe humain, ni d’aucune culture. Elle est un attribut universel de l’humanité. Force est de reconnaître cependant qu’elle s’exprime de différentes façons d’une culture à l’autre, voire d’un individu à l’autre et d’une époque à l’autre au sein d’une même culture. Doit-on pour autant admettre que ces formes d’expression sont irréductiblement plurielles, ou faut-il reconnaître au contraire la possibilité d’une rencontre et, au besoin, d’une confrontation réglée qui garantirait, par-delà cette apparente diversité, l’unité de la raison humaine ? Le présent ouvrage fait suite à un débat sur cette question, au cours d’un colloque co-organisé par l’Unesco et le Centre africain des hautes études de Porto-Novo sur « La rencontre des rationalités » tenu à Porto-Novo, au Bénin, en septembre 2002, à l’occasion de la 26ème assemblée générale du Conseil international de la philosophie et des sciences humaines (CIPSH). Ont participé à ce débat plusieurs célébrités dont Richard Rorty des États-Unis, Meinrad Hebga du Cameroun, Harris Memel-Fotê de Côte d’Ivoire, et plus de soixante-dix philosophes, historiens, anthropologues, critiques littéraires, psychanalystes provenant de plusieurs pays.

Hegel et l’Afrique noire : Hegel était-il raciste ?

Amady Aly Dieng — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Depuis 1978, la position de Hegel à l’égard de l’Afrique noire est très discutée. Le philosophe de Berlin a été traité de raciste. C’est l’opinion qui domine chez la plupart des chercheurs européens et africains. Mais une telle affirmation mérite d’être révisée à la suite de la thèse d’Etat soutenue en 1990 à l’Université de Paris I par un philosophe africain, Pierre Franklin Tavarès. La lecture attentive de cette thèse devrait amener beaucoup de chercheurs à nuancer leur pensée sur l’attitude de Hegel sur l’Afrique noire. « La question Hegel » en Afrique ou ce que Guy Planty-Bonjour appelle « les question africaines de l’hégélianisme » n’est pas seulement d’ordre théorique, mais également pratique. Des historiens, des hommes de lettres, des hommes politiques, des sociologues et quelquefois, même des philosophes africains se sont dépêchés de traiter Hegel de raciste à la suite de leur seule lecture des Leçons de la philosophie de l’histoire qui est une oeuvre posthume publiée sur la base des notes de ses étudiants. Par ailleurs beaucoup de ses auteurs ont ignoré l’ouvrage de Carl Ritter : L’Afrique (1500 pages) sur lequel s’est appuyé Hegel qui, introuvable à la Bibliothèque Nationale de France, n’est disponible qu’à l’Institut de géographie de Paris. Seul Pierre Franklin Tavarès a pu exploiter ce livre que Hegel a consulté pour avoir des informations sur l’Afrique à Berlin. C’est pourquoi il parle de la deuxième attitude de Hegel à l’égard de l’Afrique motivée par la lecture de ce grand géographe allemand qui s’appuie sur le système de Schelling : le Tout. Beaucoup d’autres chercheurs ont apporté des informations sur l’attitude de Hegel à l’égard de la Révolution de Haïti qu’il a soutenue dans des textes allemands qui ne sont pas encore traduits en français. C’est pourquoi, l’auteur de ce livre essaie de tenir compte des progrès effectués dans les recherches portant sur Hegel, d’élargir le débat sur « Les questions africaines du hégélianisme » et d’ouvrir quelques pistes de recherche qui peuvent intéresser au premier chef les chercheurs africains.

Ghana : One decade of the Liberal State

Mohamed Saluh — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0000

« This is a ground-breaking, nuanced and comprehensive book that grapples with how developing countries in general and Ghana in particular have endured and responded to a decade of neo-liberal ascendancy. Based on astute research, experiences and analysis, the book offers penetrating commentaries on recent socio-economic and political developments in Ghana. A « must-read » collection of excellent and stimulating ideas. » Mohamed Salih, Professor of Politics of Development, University of Leiden and the Institute of Social Studies, The Netherlands « This, the first book-length assessment of the latest experiment in liberal democracy in Ghana, is a timely study. It shows in an admirable way both the progress and the still existing shortcomings in the institutionalization of liberal democracy and will undoubtedly attract a wide readership in academic and policy-making circles. » Ghana has witnessed a « revolution through the ballot box » since its return to constitutional rule in 1993. Yet this period of sustained democratic government in an era of globalization and liberal triumphalism has brought with it new demands. How has Ghana faced up to the problems of institution-building, state-market relations and democratic leadership? Can it deal with the challenges posed by security, human rights and foreign policy in the twenty-first century? This unique collection interrogates all these issues and assesses the future of the democratic experiment in one of sub-Saharan Africa’s rare « islands of peace ». In doing so, it provides an invaluable guide to Ghana’s political past, present and future.

The Study of Africa. Volume I : Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Encounters

Professor Lennart, Ato Quayson, Bethwell A. Ogot, Megan Vaughan — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 00:00:00 +0000

This is a timely publication that presents admirably critical assessments of the role and relevance of ‘African Studies its content, its march from Eurocentrism to be solidly based in contemporary Africa and its place within the globalization agenda in its wider political and socio-economic contexts. It provides scholars,
policymakers and practitioners with useful insights into the continuing challenges and opportunities for African studies, be it disciplinary or interdisciplinary ; be it in Africa or anywhere else.”

“It is not even an ordinary encyclopaedia for the study of the continent. Rather, it establishes entirely new parameters for Africanist scholarship. Without a doubt, it is an offering to celebrate among Africans, Africanists, and anyone interested in answering the question : What is Africa’s place in the world today ?”

“This important publication provides the most comprehensive and critical analyses of Africa studies in the world today. Globally, the book reveals a fundamental, though depressing, fact that the terms of global intellectual exchange are unequal. There is therefore the need to construct an African ‘library’, a body of knowledge that can fully encompass, engage and examine African phenomena. And it is the responsibility of African scholars, both in the continent and the Diaspora, to spearhead this struggle for intellectual decolonization and deconstruction.”

“These two volumes will be indispensable reading to anyone with interest in African Studies and the production of knowledge on Africa. Paul Tiyambe Zeleza has assembled an impressive international group of contributors who address a range of important topics including the disciplines and interdisciplinarity in African Studies, the histories and politics of African Studies in different national contexts outside and within the continent, and the role of the African Diaspora in the globalization of knowledge on Africa. They are are framed and contextualised by masterly introductions by the editor which in themselves will become required reading in our field.”

Décentralisation sans représentation

Ahmadou M. Kanté — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2006. - 48 p. (Série des Monographies du CODESRIA), ISBN : 2-86978-189-X

Governance Trends in West Africa, 2006 : a Synthesis Report

Adebayo Olukoshi — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000

D’un point de vue historique, la région de l’Afrique de l’Ouest se distingue comme l’une des régions les plus dynamiques du continent africain. Elle est le résultat d’un long processus souvent contradictoire et toujours contesté de formation, de dissolution et de recomposition d’un État. Ce processus ayant été accompagné, à différentes étapes, de larges mouvements des populations, la sous-région a dû résoudre un certain nombre de préoccupations tenaces et centrales liées à la gouvernance. À des degrés divers, celles-ci ont contribué à forger et à caractériser les systèmes d’État contemporains ainsi que les cultures politiques qui les sous-ten- dent. Elles vont des règles de base pour la constitution des communautés politiques aux modes d’administration des territoires politiquement constitués, en passant par les processus d’intégration des nouvelles populations et d’obtention de leur adhésion. Ces préoccupations se sont étendues aux systèmes d’équilibre des pouvoirs dans l’exercice du pouvoir politique, à l’articulation des droits et obligations des citoyens ainsi qu’à la définition et l’opérationnalisation des règles de succession politique. À bien des égards, la sous-région, depuis le début de l’histoire des formations politiques de l’Afrique de l’Ouest à nos jours, a été régulièrement confrontée à ces questions cruciales, simplement articulées sur le temps, dans des contextes locaux ou mondiaux (qualitativement) différents. Les chercheurs ont, depuis de nombreuses années, cherché à trouver les cadres interprétatifs appropriés pour comprendre la dynamique de la gouvernance en Afrique de l’Ouest – et ailleurs dans le monde en développement. Force est de constater que ces efforts sont, dans la plupart des cas, des tentatives de voir l’Afrique de l’Ouest à travers le regard des autres et non d’analyser les processus complexes qui s’y déroulent comme des résultats contradictoires du contexte et de l’histoire qui doivent être compris en tant que tels et dans ces circonstances spécifiques. Même si le rapport, objet de cette publication n’est pas de critiquer les principaux concepts et théories de la gouvernance, il faut d’ores et déjà avouer qu’il remet indirectement en question les approches qui, pour faire comprendre la gouvernance en Afrique de l’Ouest, procèdent exclusivement ou en premier lieu, en établissant des analogies avec les expériences historiques vécues par d’autres – en particulier, l’Europe et les États-Unis – ou en modélisant ces expériences pour en faire des normes internationales dont on voudrait se servir pour valider ou invalider toute autre expérience de gouvernance.

Décentralisation, pluralisme institutionnel et démocratie locale : étude de cas de la gestion du massif forestier Missirah/Kothiary, région de Tambacounda, Sénégal

Papa Faye — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000

La décentralisation de la gestion des ressources forestières a conduit à un foisonnement d’institutions locales dû à l’intervention dite « participative « d’un projet forestier au Sénégal. Aux institutions traditionnelles se sont ajoutées les institutions déconcentrées et les services techniques de l’État, les collectivités locales et les institutions mises en place par les projets forestiers, notamment le Programme de gestion durable et participative des énergies traditionnelle et de substitution (PROGEDE). Cette étude a cherché à comprendre l’effet de ce pluralisme institutionnel – ce foisonnement de nouvelles institutions – sur la décentralisation et sur la démocratisation de la gestion forestière décentralisée. La décentralisation a connu des avancées significatives depuis la promulgation des textes de loi sur les transferts de compétences vers les collectivités locales (RDS 1996).Cependant, le pluralisme institutionnel ne semble pas vrai- ment être favorable à la démocratisation au niveau local, car la confrontation des diverses institutions locales issues de logiques et de systèmes sociopolitiques divers (décentralisation, déconcentration, coutumes et traditions, intervention des projets ou des Organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) s’est soldée par l’émergence de nouvelles formes de hiérarchies socio-politico-administratives au niveau local. L’intervention du PROGEDE dans le cadre de la gestion décentralisée des forêts communautaires a permis, tant soit peu, l’intégration de certaines populations autochtones (directement ou par la contractualisation) à l’activité de production du charbon de bois et a contribué à ouvrir leur accès aux recettes relevant de l’exploitation commerciale de ce produit forestier. Cependant, le Comité intervillageois de gestion et de développement (CIVGD) est apparu comme une institution communautaire autonome disposant de son propre territoire : la Zone aménagée (ZA). Son autonomie face aux organes de la communauté rurale est grandissante, même si l’esprit de la décentralisation voudrait que toutes les institutions qui interviennent dans l’« espace public » local soient subordonnées aux collectivités locales. Le pluralisme institutionnel s’est également traduit par la récupération des pouvoirs de gestion transférés aux institutions du PROGEDE par les institutions coutumières, singulièrement les chefs de village au détriment de l’institution décentralisée, le conseil rural. Cependant, on peut se demander si l’État sénégalais n’est pas favorable à la création de ces situations de renforcement d’autres institutions locales au détriment de la collectivité locale. En effet, certains responsables des institutions déconcentrées (agents forestiers et sous-préfets) exercent des pressions sur les élus locaux pour faire triompher les politiques nationales de gestion forestière sur les demandes et les besoins locaux. C’est le cas dans l’exploitation du charbon de bois où l’approvisionnement des centres urbains sert de justification pour la subordination, par certaines autorités déconcentrées, des priorités et des besoins locaux à la politique de l’État sénégalais. Cette étude, menée dans plusieurs localités, cherche à définir dans quelle mesure l’État et ses services déconcentrés ne devraient pas améliorer la démarche qu’ils ont adoptée vis-à-vis des collectivités locales pour mieux concilier les options du « local » et celles du « national », et propose des recommandations dans ce sens.

From ’Foreign Natives’ to ’Native Foreigners’

Michael Neocosmos — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000

CODESRIA, 2006. - vii-150 p. (CODESRIA Monograph Series), ISBN : 2-86978-200-4

Le quota est mort, vive le quota ! Ou les vicissitudes de la réglementation de l’exploitation du charbon de bois au Sénégal

El Hadji Dialigué Ba — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar: CODESRIA, 2006. - 31 p. (Série de Monographies du CODESRIA), ISBN: 2-86978-187-3

Intellectuals and African Development

Björn BVeckman, Gbemisola Adeoti — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar: CODESRIA, 2006. - 178 p. (Africa in the New Millennium),ISBN: 2-86978-196-2

Africa and Development Challenges in the New Millennium: The NEPAD Debate

Jimi. O. Adesina, Yao Graham, Adebayo Olukoshi — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000

In 2001 NEPAD – the New Partnership for Africa’s Development – was launched by South African President Thabo Mbeke and Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal. Its founding assumption was that African governments had to take much more responsibility for their economic, political and social policy if real development were to be achieved. AFRICA & DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM is the first major attempt by African scholars and policy makers to evaluate the meaning of NEPAD in concrete terms. The authors raise key questions about NEPAD’s ability to integrate Africa with the global economy, to overcome the challenge of poverty, and to bring about regional development. The book also addresses what NEPAD means for agriculture, industrialisation, trade and the « digital divide ». This is an important contribution to our understanding of NEPAD, why it has already run into extensive criticism, and the prospects for a new, more positive chapter in Africa’s development.

Academic Freedom Conference: “Problems and Challenges in Arab and African Countries”

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

There is no doubt that academic freedom is a complex concept that cannot be analyzed from one perspective or within a unified context. Although there is almost a consensus among academicians and social scientists about the definition of this concept as being the freedom to undertake teaching and research in a free and unrestricted
manner and the ability to publish research findings without fear of political and social consequences, the interpretation of this concept has been different in various social and political contexts. This is largely dependent on or linked to the general freedoms prevailing in national political systems. In democratic systems of government, academic freedom is usually guaranteed even if the state is totally financing the academic system.
However, in non-democratic systems, this freedom is frequently restricted and often infringed upon, particularly if messages conveyed by academicians and researchers are not in line or in conformity with the political philosophy or orientations of the ruling governments. In this case, the source of funding does not really count or have an impact
on the level of restrictions or infringements imposed since private and public institutions are equal.
Academic institutions, in a good number of Arab and African countries, have been struggling during their post independence eras to gain academic freedom and institutional autonomy which they consider important not only for playing their role as a watchdog for society but also for nations to construct knowledge societies in which knowledge generation, dissemination, and application are the decisive factors involved. In any context where academic freedom is restricted or limited, the ability of academicians and researchers to produce and use knowledge for the welfare of society is impeded. From the presentations delivered at the conference, it was clear that the political systems in certain Arab and African contexts, in spite of some relaxed polices in a number of countries, are not yet conducive to full fledged academic freedom. Even inemerging democratic systems, academic freedom still suffers from various types of restrictions and infringements by the state.

Youth and the Generational Dimensions to Struggles for Resource Control in the Niger Delta

Cyril Obi — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2006, 48 p., ISBn 2-86978-180-1

West Africa’s Trouble Spots and the Imperative for Peace-Building

Osita Agbu — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2006, 116 p., ISBN 9782869781931

This monograph highlights the necessity for taking preventive measures in the form of peace-building as a sustainable and long-term solution to conflicts in West Africa, with a special focus on the Mano River Union countries. Apart from the Mano River Union countries, efforts at resolving other conflicts in say, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, have suffered from a lack of attention on the post-conflict imperatives of building peace in order to ensure that sustainable peace is achieved. Given the often intractable and inter-related nature of conflicts in this region, it argues for the need to revisit the existing mechanisms of conflict resolution in the sub-region with a view to canvassing a stronger case for stakeholders towards adopting the peace-building strategy as a more practical and sustainable way of avoiding wars in the sub-region. Peace-building in consonance with its infrastructure is a more sustainable approach to ensuring regional peace and stability and, therefore, ensuring development for the peoples of West Africa.

African Linguistics and the Development of African Communities

Emmanuel N. Chia — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2006, 272 p., ISBN 9782869781603

This diverse and comprehensive collection of essays embraces the main discourses in the field of African languages and linguistics. Overall, it argues for the absolute necessity of developing African languages as a condition of socio-economic development. The work further advocates the involvement of all sectors of society in language development efforts, language identification, and the imperative of validating African languages as equal to the colonial languages.

This edited collection of papers in both English and French offers a continent-wide approach to matters linguistic, focusing in particular on countries such as: Chad, Nigeria, Gabon and Cameron. It highlights the historic role African languages must play in the realisation of NEPAD to jumpstart social and economic development on the continent. The authors provide in-depth analysis of subjects such as: the development of African languages and their role in African renaissance; the difficulties and controversies around African mother tongue education; and endangered minority languages threatened with extinction.

Law and Justice in a Multicultural Society: The Case of Mozambique

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Edited by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Maria Paula Meneses Dakar, CODESRIA, 2006, 268 p., ISBN 9782869781917. This book presents the main results of a research project on the systems of justice in Mozambique, undertaken under the auspices of the country’s Supreme Court, in academic partnership with the Center for African Studies at Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique and the Centre for Social Studies at the School of Economics, Coimbra University, Portugal. It is dedicated to the memory of the internationally renowned Mozambican economist and Professor of Development Studies, José Guilherme Negrão. Although he died prematurely, Negrão collaborated in this project, and authored the final chapter dealing with the vexed question of land. Until the onset of Portuguese colonisation towards the end of the nineteenth century, the peoples of Mozambique did not live under a single political entity. Rather, they existed as independent entities with various forms of political and social organisation. The twentieth century saw a consolidation of colonial rule, and important changes in the organisation of power. After independence, new Eurocentric political-legal cultures were added to the existing mix of legal orders. The distinctions between the colonial law and indigenous customary law became increasingly blurred, such that Mozambique now constitutes a heterogeneous state composed of a mosaic of legal hybrids, incorporating local/indigenous customary practices and religious law, as well as state civil law. Departing from a broad understanding of law in Mozambique, this work analyses the complex network of judicial systems by interrogating the roles of the entities intervening in the system in colonial and postcolonial contexts. The main objective is to promote an empirically sound and dynamic understanding of the relationships between the multiple judicial entities present in the country within the context of cultural transformation in Africa. Overall, the book is intended as a contribution to current debates on the formation of the state in Mozambique from the nineteenth century. The authors further considers the alternative mechanisms of conflict resolution taking place in the complexity of different legal rationalities: the remains of the Portuguese legal codes, socialist policies, customary law, religious systems and Western constitutionalism.

Sciences sociales et l’avenir de l’Afrique

Knowledge Rajohane Matshedisho, Claude Abe — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2006, 172 p., ISBN 9782869781719

La jeune génération africaine est souvent taxée de muette, et de n’être pas assez impliquée dans la lutte pour la recherche de réponses et de moyens pour donner un sens à l’Afrique. Et si ce silence des jeunes était plutôt dû à l’indifférence des aînés face aux appels de la jeunesse ? Que peut-on faire pour que cette nouvelle génération soit plus engagée dans la recherche de solutions aux défis posés par la production de connaissances et le développement ? Conscient de la nécessité de promouvoir et de renforcer un échange d’idées et d’expériences entre les jeunes Africains, mais également entre ces derniers et leurs aînés, le CODESRIA lance la série Interventions avec cette collection des meilleures dissertations rédigées par de jeunes universitaires ayant participé à un concours organisé en 2003, dans le cadre de la commémoration de son 30e anniversaire. Nous espérons vivement que cette initiative permettra de promouvoir une culture de débat ouvert et de connaissances critiques. Nous espérons également qu’elle encouragera la participation des jeunes universitaires africains à la construction de l’avenir académique du continent africain.

Higher Education in Africa. Crises, Reforms and Transformation

N’Dri T. Assié-Lumumba — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2006, 204 p., ISBN 9782869781863

This book provides theoretical tools for analysing contemporary African higher education systems and institutions. It also examines policy challenges and the prospects for social progress. It points to critical areas of investigation for the CODESRIA Multinational Working Group (MWG) research network on higher education. Conceived as a background text for this network, the book traces the historical roots and the global factors of the African higher education crises and the search for transformation to address issues of legitimacy and relevance. It analyses the origins, nature, and mission of African higher education, the problems associated with cultural colonization and the dependency trap, the local/global nexus in the crises with a special attention to the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs), and the various waves of reforms and innovations. Furthermore, the book presents a synopsis of studies that were conducted on the crises, highlighting both their findings and recommendations.

The new challenges within the global and local objective conditions of globalisation, the debt burden, the disruptive impact of violence and armed conflicts, and human resource loss due to HIV/AIDS and brain drain are also discussed. Finally, the book examines the potential for higher education as a public good to promote structural change by productively using African assets including indigenous knowledge within a philosophy of fusion, and Africans in the Diaspora. It argues for the need to vigorously engender African higher education, and creatively appropriate new opportunities such as the selective use of information and communication technologies and decolonized partnerships in the global context.

Human Rights, Regionalism and the Dilemmas of Democracy in Africa

Lennart Wohlgemuth , Ebrima Sall — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Il s'agit d'une contribution majeure aux efforts en cours de sensibilisation au fonctionnement du mécanisme africain des droits de l'homme. Avec la récente élection de 11 juges à la Cour africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples, l'accessibilité au système africain des droits de l'homme est encore plus essentielle pour assurer le respect et la reconnaissance des droits de l'homme pour l'Afrique et ses peuples. La question des droits de l'homme en Afrique concerne autant la dignité des Africains que les responsabilités et les engagements des autres envers l'Afrique. A cet égard, la lutte pour les droits de l'homme en Afrique et la création de la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples sont d'une importance capitale pour concrétiser cette double aspiration. Il examine les réalisations de la Commission africaine et suggère des moyens de renforcer et de rendre la commission plus efficace pour faire avancer ses buts et objectifs. Le volume pointe les nouveaux changements institutionnels sur la scène africaine avec l'Union africaine et ses nombreux nouveaux organes et l'importance pour la Commission de s'y attaquer dans l'intérêt de la pertinence et de l'espoir de la dignité humaine en Afrique.

Wohlgemuth et Sall ont élaboré une publication opportune qui présente des évaluations admirablement critiques du rôle et de la pertinence de la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples, vieille de vingt ans, de sa structure, de ses mécanismes, de ses ressources et de son autonomie institutionnelle, tout en situant le discours général sur les droits de l'homme et la démocratie en Afrique dans ses contextes politiques et socio-économiques plus larges. Ces discussions fourniront aux universitaires, aux décideurs et aux praticiens des informations utiles sur les défis et les opportunités continues pour la promotion et la protection des droits de l'homme en Afrique.

Insiders & Outsiders: Citizenship & Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa

Francis B. Nyamnjoh — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Nyamnjoh’s new book about the heightened xenophobia that both exploits and excludes is an incisive commentary on a globalizing world that reaches down into the grassroots of so many societies with consequences for ordinary people’s lives that have received all too little attention. He meticulously documents the fate of immigrants and the new politics of insiders and outsiders in these Southern African societies, at the same time delivering a telling commentary on the global rhetoric of open societies in an era of increasing closures and exclusions. This work is an original and perceptive study of issues that resonate in countries across Africa and the globe. As globalization becomes a palpable reality in the bodies of people in transit, citizenship, sociality and belonging are subjected to stresses to which few societies have devised a civil response beyond yet more controls. The latter in turn are subverted and nullified, so that, as in Botswana and South Africa, a world is developing where conflict and flux underlie a superficial global progress.

Education and Financing in Africa: The Kenyan Case Study

Aloys B. Ayako, Titus M. Katembu, Juliana W. Nzomo, John K.M. Monyoncho — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

The Kenya study, part of a series of case studies by the Education and Finance Working Group, explores ways of reinforcing the capacity and competence of the Ministry of Education in Kenya in building a framework for collaboration, information exchange and the optimal use of financial resources. The series analyses the best practices used in managing and allocating resources, and evaluating the education sector. The study further highlights challenges in determining who should finance what in the cost-sharing scheme, how to counter the imbalance in allocations between personnel and non personnel salaries, poor management of resources and lack of accountability, and effectively handle centralised budgeting and management systems and the weaknesses in the harmonisation of policy, planning and budgeting. The study is rich in detail and offers original directions for a comparison with other African experiences.

Education Finance in Egypt

Diaa El Din Zahir, Kamal Hosney Bayoumy, A. El Shukhebi, M. Abdel Kader — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

The Egypt study by the Education and Finance Working Group of CODESRIA provides a three-part well documented in-depth analysis of the financing of all levels of education of Egypt. Part I of the study highlights the economic, social, and political context of education, presents a historical perspective on the various educational policies formulated and implemented under the different regimes that ruled Egypt from the beginning of the 19th century till the liberalization and privatization era of the early 1970s, provides an in-depth account of education finance, budgetary procedures at the local educational directorates, underscores issues plaguing the financing of education, and suggests solutions for the improvement of educational finance in Egypt. Part II presents a monograph that analyzes teachers’ wages and suggests alternatives to alleviate their negative impact. Part III is a reporting on the operations related to the construction and the management of school buildings with a special emphasis on their costs.

African Anthropologies

Mwenda Ntarangwi , Mustafa Babiker, David Mills — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2006, 176 p., ISBN 2-86978-168-7

This landmark volume on the history, application and teaching of anthropology in post-colonial Africa shows how the continent’s anthropologists are redefining the historical legacy of European and American disciplinary hegemony, and developing distinctively African contributions to anthropological theory and practice. While illustrating the diverse national traditions of anthropological practice that have developed in sub-Saharan Africa since decolonisation, the contributors exemplify the diversity of professional work carried out by the discipline’s practitioners, united by their use of anthropological perspectives to make a difference. Their commitment to this disciplinary identity demonstrates the place that exists for a critical anthropology that is reflective about both its potentials and limitations.

‘This book uses the “expansive moment” of African anthropology under late colonialism to re-explore the relationship between government and the discipline, pulling together three strands to the arguments: the historical identification of what specific anthropological endeavours actually did under colonial conditions; the complex relationship between anthropology and nationalism in Africa; and the exploration of what “practice” entails within national contexts in the present.’ - Jane Guyer, Johns Hopkins University.

‘This is a fresh and important new overview of the place of anthropological research and practice in Africa, past and present.’ - Wendy James, Oxford University

"This is a timely and extremely valuable contribution to the ongoing debate about the crisis of identity in anthropology, offering fresh and unique insights into the fundamental challenges facing African anthropology. The volume focuses on the theoretical, epistemological, and practical problems resulting from Africa’s encounter with Euro-colonialism and addresses the difficulties, limitations, achievements, and potential of African anthropology — the ’mother’ of Africa Studies — from the perspective of ’insiders’." - Maxwell Owusu, University of Michigan

"Here is a book teachers of African anthropology have been hoping for - an intervention that lays to rest the notion of anthropology as colonial science. Released from the "Africanist" confines, anthropology assumes its rightful place in the reflexive and engaged production of knowledge on and for Africa." Harri Englund, University of Cambridge

Let the People Speak: Tanzania Down the Road to Neo Liberalism

Issa G. Shivji — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000

"This is an extraordinary record of one country’s descent into ’neo-liberalism’, which roughly translated means socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor. Issa Shivji’s shrewd eye concentrates on Tanzania, but his stories could be from almost anywhere in Africa, if not the world." - John Pilger, This book of 90 critical and thought-provoking essays, selected from over 150 written between 1990 and 2005 in three different newspapers, captures the richness of Shivji’s contributions as a public intellectual. It deals with the period when Tanzania under external pressures from donors and financial institutions was forced down the road of neo-liberalism. The local compradorial elites whose economic appetites had been suppressed under Nyerere’s radical nationalism now openly flexed muscles to get a place under the capitalist sun as nationalism, radical or otherwise, was abandoned, and neo-liberalism uncritically embraced. The essays are on varied subjects ranging from the politics of multi-party, the strains and stresses of the Union with Zanzibar, the deep-seated extra-constitutional behaviour of the ruling elite to the hopes, fears and resistance of the working people. In these essays, contemporary Tanzanian history is recorded in sweeping journalistic strokes without burying the commitment of a critical public intellectual in turgid scholarship. As a warning on the slippery slope that neo-liberalism constitutes, Let the People Speak will echo in many an African country. Hence the salience and relevance of Shivji’s renewed call for the resurrection of a radical, people driven Pan-Africanism.

Le financement de l’éducation au Burundi

Jacques Niyongabo — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Cette étude du Burundi réalisée par le Groupe de Travail Finance et Education fait un survol du système éducatif tout en analysant le contexte social, politique et économique du pays.

Elle met en exergue la formulation et la mise en œuvre de la politique éducative passée et actuelle avant d’aborder les mécanismes de financement de l’éducation. Elle fait un examen approfondi de l’élaboration, de l’exécution et du contrôle du budget ainsi que l’intégration de la planification, de la programmation et de la budgétisation à un niveau opérationnel.

Elle aborde l’allocation et la gestion optimale des ressources de façon directe et fait l’étiologie et l’analyse de la problématique du financement de l’éducation.

Elle propose une série de suggestions pour la recherche de solutions et de recommandations en vue de l’amélioration de la gestion financière du système éducatif, présente une analyse détaillée de la problématique de développement des collèges communaux, et retrace l’historique de l’implantation d’un nouvel établissement scolaire.

The Crisis of the State and Regionalism in West Africa: Identity, Citizenship and Conflict

W. Alade Fawole , Charles Ukeje — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0000

A new generation of West African social scientists takes on a new generation of postcolonial problems and possibilities – transitional justice, regional integration and collective security, refugee flows, and the complex interplay of local identities, state institutions and global forces. Theoretically informed and publicly engaged scholarship!’ ‘This volume on a deeply troubled yet blessed part of Africa weaves together a complex interface of history, democracy, identity, conflict and reconciliation in the West African sub-region. Refreshingly illuminating in theoretical and empirical depth, the book addresses cutting edge precepts, processes and prospects provoked by citizenship, identity politics and conflict in the often unpredictable search for democracy that works. An indispensable addition to the libraries of those concerned about the future of the state in contemporary West Africa’. West Africa, with its large number of mini-states, has suffered more political misfortunes than any other sub-region of Africa. No doubt, the glaring artificiality of the post-colonial state, coupled with the failure of the local ruling elites to rise above the limitations of their provenance, is to blame for the myriad crises. The sub-region has been plagued by one-party authoritarianism, violent coups and military dictatorship, leading to the progressive alienation of the people from the state, and thus raising the critical issues of identity and citizenship which are at the base of political crisis and conflict. Many decades after independence, the sub-region continues to grapple with the problems of intra-state conflict, political instability, state failure and outright collapse, thus calling into question the viability and survivability of the Westphalian state model in Africa. Collectively, West African states are still in search of democratic nationhood. The book critically interrogates the internal dimensions of the identity and citizenship conflicts at the root of state crisis and the steps so far taken to tackle them. Scholars and students of contemporary African politics and development as well as policy makers should find much of relevance in this well researched volume.

The Social Sciences and Africa’s Future

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Published December 2005; 154 pages; ISBN 2-86978-170-9. Interventions Series

Africa’s younger generation is often perceived as muted and distant to the struggle for answers and meaning on the continent. Could the perceived silence of the younger generation be explained in part by the deafness of age to the kicks of youth? What can be done to make the younger generation more committed and relevant in the quest for solutions to the challenges of knowledge production and development?

Aware of the need to promote and reinforce the interchange of ideas and experiences among Africa’s youth and between them and the older generations, CODESRIA is pleased to launch its Interventions series with this collection of winning essays by young scholars who participated at an essay competition organised in 2003 to mark the Council’s 30th anniversary. It is hoped that this initiative achieves the purpose of promoting a culture of open debate and of critical scholarship, and of encouraging participation amongst Africa’s youth in the shaping of the academic and public future of Africa.

ISBN 2-86978-170-9 Africa: US$10.00, 5000CFA; Elsewhere: £10.00 /$15.00

Kwasi Wiredu and beyong: the Text, Writing and Thought in Africa

Sanya Osha — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Kwasi Wiredu is one of Africa’s foremost philosophers. His recent work on conceptual decolonisation has broadened the scope of philosophical discourse in Africa. Wiredu has developed the multidisciplinary dimension of the subject, linking up with related discursive practices in history, political science and literature. He has advocated a re-examination of current formulations, in order to subvert unsavoury aspects of tribal cultures, as well as the deconstruction of western epistemologies, found to be unnecessary in African philosophical practices. Kwasi Wiredu and Beyond monograph addresses some of the implications and limitations of Wiredu’s projects, arguing that Wiredu has not yet been able to grapple with the full consequences of his conceptual decolonisation. Osha suggests that due to the hybridity of postcoloniality, projects seeking to retrieve the precolonial heritage are likely to fall short, and identifies language as a major problem, not addressed by Wiredu’s thesis. To support his arguments, Osha draws on postcolonial theory as advanced by scholars such as Edward Said, Biodun Jeyifo and Abiola Irele.

General Assembly Distinguished Lectures. Kampala, 2002

Samir Amin, Mahmood Mamdani — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

This volume brings together four lectures given by distinguished scholars at the 2002 Codesria General Assembly, all offering African perspectives on globalisation, terrorism and development.

The Claude Aké lecture delivered by Mahmood Mamdani offers an African perspective on 9/11, arguing that the roots of the terrorism so widely promulgated are in America (the ‘democratic empire’) and the Cold War. Mamdani underlines the aspect of terrorism he terms ‘culture talk’ – the language of contemporary globalisation. Samir Amin provides a critical overview and exploration of the alternatives to neoliberal globalisation, imperialism and militarism. Fatou Sow stresses the need to rethink development from positions that have regard for gender, and casts doubt on the slow pace of the integration of women into various spheres, despite women having acquired the ‘right to have rights’. The fourth lecture, also delivered by Fatou Sow, is a critical tribute to Léopold Sedar Senghor, the Senegalese ‘Poet-President’, commenting in particular on his attitudes to African languages and négritude, and includes the texts of his most beautiful poems dedicated to African women.

Conférences spéciales de la 10e Assemblée générale du CODESRIA, Kampala, 2002

Samir Amin, Mahmood Mamdani — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Ce volume sur les perspectives africaines sur la mondialisation, le terrorisme et le développementréunit trois conférences de grande qualité délivrées par des universitaires de renommée. Ces conférences ont constitué un des moments forts de la 10e Assemblée générale du CODESRIA qui s’est tenue en 2002, à Kampala, Ouganda. Les conférences, qui sont parties intégrantes de l’Assemblée générale triennale du CODESRIA, sont présentées par d’éminents universitaires, dont le travail a largement contribué à façonner le paysage intellectuel africain. La Conférence Claude Ake, traditionnellement réservée au président sortant du Comité exécutif, a été livrée par Mahmood Mamdani. L’auteur a, entre autres, développé une perspective africaine du 11 septembre, en faisant remarquer que les racines du terrorisme sont à rechercher en Amérique, et dans l’épisode de la guerre froide. Il a également souligné le rôle du « culture talk » dans l’émergence du terrorisme. Ce même thème est également celui de la Conférence Cheikh Anta Diop délivrée par Samir Amin. Celui-ci nous en donne un aperçu critique, ainsi qu’une exploration des diverses alternatives à la mondialisation néolibérale et au militarisme. La Conférence Léopold Sédar Senghor a été honorée par la présence de Fatou Sow, qui a souligné le besoin de redéfinition du développement africain selon une perspective qui tient compte du genre. Elle a également regretté la lenteur de la procédure d’intégration des femmes dans les différentes sphères d’activités, malgré le fait que les femmes ont acquis le droit de cité ; « les femmes ont le droit d’avoir des droits », dit-elle.

Urban Africa

Abdulmaliq Simone, Abdelghani Abouhani — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2005, 320 p., ISBN: 2-86978-142-3

This volume illustrates the complex and constantly social and human dynamics of African city making and human survival today. It explores how African urban dwellers have had to find the not only effective ways of pursuing their livelihoods and other aspirations within cities but also ways of managing their interactions with often more powerful economic and political interests that seek to impose particular uses of urban space.

Amidst very different socio-cultural contexts in Dakar, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Kisangani, Jos, Zaria, Cairo, and Marrakech, the research in this volume focuses on the diverse ways Africans negotiate novel spatial practices, political-economic processes, and social relations that entangle place, identity and power in urban sites. While historically familiar patterns linking country side and city remain, these are constantly being reworked as African agency gives life to highly diverse urban formations which are further fashioned through the geographically uneven dynamics of globalisation that articulate with locally specific histories, cultural practices, and political contingencies.

The result is an emphasis in Africa on city making through fluid and rapidly changing institutional structures, informal agreements, and finding innovative ways to interweave various sectors and actors. Urban change, as a consequence, is not a process easily managed.

East Africa: In search of national and regional renewal

Felicia Arudo Yieke — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

“This is an exciting book, which brilliantly brings out disturbing social questions such as nationalism, ethnicity, the role of intellectuals, language, the military, regional security and the nature of political transitions in the East African region. The authors of the various papers present dynamic and convincing arguments on politics of identity, language and the quest for Africa’s renewal.”

Professor Eric Masinde Aseka, Kenyatta University, Kenya

“The papers in this volume confront some of the major problems facing the peoples of East Africa, as indeed of the African continent as a whole. Focusing in particular on the dilemmas of ethnic and national identities and their relationship to social and political conflict, these essays constitute a major contribution to debates on supra-national co-operation and socio-economic and political renewal in Africa.”

Professor Colin Herbert Creighton, University of Hull, UK

East Africa: In Search of National and Regional Renewal presents a stimulating mix of historical and contemporary experiences at the heart of African nationalism and pan-African aspirations. It offers rich, critical and insightful scholarly readings of East African discourses, practices and historiographies. While exploring the different dimensions of the challenges of renewal confronting the countries in the region, the authors take full cognisance of the changed contexts, conditions and forces shaping Africa today. The result is a lucid and highly accessible collection of empirically grounded contributions by reputed scholars on issues such as: African nationalism; intellectuals and Africa quest for renewal; ethnicity and citizenship; movementocracy and democracy; transient mobile ‘nations’ and nationhood; and the language question. The book provides remarkable readings of the problems confronting the East African region, and alternative approaches to meeting the challenges of nationalism, regionalism and promotion of pan-African ideals.

Intellectuels, nationalisme et idéal panafricain : perspective historique

Thierno Bah — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Le nationalisme, en tant qu’idéologie et pratique, a imprégné la conscience collective africaine et nourri les luttes pour l’indépendance. L’optimisme qu’avaient légué le mouvement de décolonisation et diverses théories du développement s’est vite effondré. À l’heure où l’«État-nation» est en crise et après plus de quatre décennies de souveraineté factice le défi consiste à opérer, à partir d’une conscience historique retrouvée, le renouveau de l’idéal panafricaniste. Il s’agit de concilier les aspirations profondes à l’intégration régionale à l’exigence d’un ensemble continental unifié. Dans cette perspective et devant les attentes de la société, les intellectuels africains sont sollicités pour démêler l’écheveau et fournir un fil conducteur. En cela leur responsabilité sociale est engagée. Tels sont les problèmes soulevés dans cet ouvrage dont les auteurs, historiens pour la plupart, par leur analyse et leurs réflexions, donnent un éclairage sur des questions importantes, ayant trait au passé, au présent et au devenir de l’Afrique. En se référant à des acteurs politico-intellectuels de grande envergue, et à leurs œuvres, ils conviennent tous que le panafricanisme, en tant que projet politique, doit être réactivé, afin de promouvoir un développement économique viable et favoriser la renaissance africaine.

Gender, Literature and Religion in Africa

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Studies in literature and religion are particularly vulnerable to accusations of subjectivity and bias, because by their very nature they deal with subjectivities and people’s perceptions of their own identity. In the past, on the basis of a patriarchal worldview, literature and religion were seen as value-free and neutral, and a gendered perspective was not taken into account. Today, an increasing amount of research is revealing the gendered fault-lines in works of fiction and in religious beliefs.

This volume showcases the diversity and depth of research that is currently taking place on the African continent in this field. The specifically African gendered experience is brought to the fore, through the critical discussion of proverbs, oral histories, resistance, and male dominance. Gender, Literature and Religion in Africa highlights continuing gender bias, often at the level of the sub-culture.

Universités et Libertés Académiques en République Démocratique du Congo

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2005, 220 p., ISBN: 2-86978-173-3

Ce livre contient les communications présentées aux Journées des Droits et Libertés académiques organisée à Kinshasa en Juillet 2004 par le CODESRIA. Les six auteurs, tous enseignants-chercheurs du Supérieur, sont congolais et traitent, tour à tour, la redéfinition des libertés académiques en RDC, des libertés académiques et de la responsabilité sociale des universitaires congolais, de la politisation et de l’ethnisation des libertés académiques, enfin de l’insalubrité et de l’extinction du corps professoral à l’Université de Kinshasa.

La lecture de ce livre permet de comprendre tout ce qui s’est passé dans le grand Etat d’Afrique centrale en ce qui concerne l’enseignement supérieur depuis les origines jusqu’à nos jours. Le rôle de la politisation de l’Université par le régime de Mobutu est particulièrement bien décrit avec les conséquences négatives qui en sont résultées. Les différentes questions étudiées par les témoins eux-mêmes sont d’un immense intérêt. Le livre dépasse de loin les seules libertés académiques au sens restreint pour traiter de la sociologie politique congolaise.

Liberal Democracy and Its Critics in Africa: Political Dysfunction and the Struggle for Social Progress

Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

The institutional forms and process of democracy are spreading in Africa as dictatorial regimes have been forced to give way. But democratic form and democratic substance are two different things. Western derived institutional forms are neither necessarily the most appropriate nor the most practical in the current African context, and rooting democratic norms in African political cultures raises socio-cultural questions. This book draws on the experiences of particular African elections and countries to explore the continuing impact of police state apparatuses; the factors influencing voters’ attitudes and behaviour; the impact of incumbency on electoral competition; women’s participation; and the lack of choice in party programmes. The fundamental issue is whether democratic processes as currently practised in Africa are really making any difference.

Sur le carreau

Carlos Serra — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2005, 86 p., ISBN 2-86978-167-9

« Carlos Serra s’est toujours intéressé l’analyse scientifique de la vie des Mozambicains et aussi aux événements politiques qui ont marqué les périodes les plus récentes de l’histoire du Mozambique. Avec des études des cas qui couvrent les trois plus grandes villes du Mozambique (Nampula, Beira et Maputo), Carlos Serra essaie de comprendre et d’interpréter le comportement social d’un groupe qui lutte pour garantir sa survie quotidienne. L’analyse faite par l’auteur met le doigt dans la blessure des différentes composantes de la société, qui représentent les formes les plus profondes de l’exclusion sociale, marquées par l’humiliation extrême et la perte de la dignité humaine, principalement quand il aborde les questions concernant les hôpitaux psychiatriques, les dépôts des ordures et les mendiants. En même temps, l’auteur cherche à montrer comment quelques acteurs sociaux fournissent à travers les forces occultes une réponse à ces problèmes afin de soulager en quelque sorte la douleur de l’exclusion. »

Teresa Cruz e Silva, Centre d’études africaines, Université Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo

Cette fascinante étude sociologue montre que c’est dans les villes que de plus en plus surgissent et se consolident, dans toutes les régions interstitielles, des figures et des associations sans normes d’exclus de la société civile du bien-être, tels les mendiants, les voyageurs des chapas, les enfants de la rue, les récupérateurs des poubelles et des décharges publiques, les vendeurs ambulants, les démobilisés, les handicapés physiques, les malades mentaux, les prostituées, les vendeurs de drogue, les trafiquants de devises, divers types de gangs, etc., tous constituant à la fois un univers diversifié de « déviants », un pluri-modèle normalisé de contre-société et un centre kaléidoscopique de métissage culturel avec leurs formes composites de langage et de représentation sociale. Tous se trouvent, comme dans un tourbillon, entre un cadre social en décomposition rapide (avec leurs visages colonial, révolutionnaire, rural et traditionnel) et un cadre qui se construit (le néolibéral). Ils sont, à ce propos, dans une profonde anomie, dans un milieu d’exclusion.

African Intellectuals

Thandika Mkandawire — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2005, 256 p., ISBN: 2-86978-145-8

In this thought-provoking overview of the history, fate and possible future roles of African intellectuals both within Africa and in the African Diaspora nearly half a century on from Independence, some of the continent’s most eminent thinkers discuss the issues at stake. Their starting point is the uniquely difficult circumstances confronting intellectuals: regimes intolerant of independent debate, economies in sharp decline, societies wracked by violent conflict, and official languages different from people’s mother tongues. Africa has experienced, compared with Asia or Latin America, much higher rates of emigration of its intelligentsia to North America and Europe, as well as frequent displacement from home countries to other parts of the continent.

African Intellectuals constitutes a valuable, because so rare, exploration of the complex interface between African intellectuals and society, state and politics in the context of fundamental new departures like the restoration of multi-party politics, new economic horizons like NEPAD, and a renewed awareness of the need for Pan African cooperation.

Le financement dans les systèmes éducatifs d’Afrique subsaharienne

Jean-Bernard Rasera, Jean-Pierre Jarousse, Coffi Rémy Noumon — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA/ADEA, 2005, 200 p., ISBN 2-86978-156-3

La question du financement de l’éducation en Afrique est habituellement abordée sous l’angle du montant et de l’allocation des ressources. Très peu d’attention est portée à la manière concrète dont se réalise le financement tout au long du Projet éducatif, défini comme l’ensemble des procédures qui vont de l’élaboration de la politique éducative à l’exécution des dépenses, en passant par la planification, la programmation et la budgétisation. Cet ouvrage met en évidence l’importance de cette réalisation : les défauts du Projet éducatif, au regard du financement, sont de nature à rendre vaines les prescriptions traditionnelles de politique éducative ; il fait l’étiologie de ces défauts et en propose des remèdes. En tenant compte des difficultés spécifiques de la gestion des systèmes éducatifs, il étudie ensuite la forme que doit prendre celle-ci afin de prévenir de nouveaux dysfonctionnements ; il propose une approche de la gestion par les résultats plutôt que par les moyens. Il met enfin en doute la pertinence des solutions structurelles au problème du financement que sont la privatisation, la décentralisation et les enclaves d’efficacité.

ADEA ISBN : 92-9178-041-3
CODESRIA ISBN : 2-86978-156-3

Potential Impacts of the New Global Financial Architecture on Poor Countries

Charles Soludo , Musunuru Rao — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

This study assesses the potential impacts of a New Global Financial Architecture (NGFA) on poor countries and poor people. Put forth largely by the group of most industrialized countries and the Bretton Woods Institutions, NGFA is rooted in the neo-Walrasian, market fundamentalist view of the world, with the obvious consequence of increasing the vulnerabilities of small and poorer developing countries to frequent financial crises. The study argues that the claim of this model that global growth and equity would be ’best’ served by deeper financial integration through open capital accounts is founded on shaky theoretical and empirical grounds. The model of premature and complete liberalization of the capital account in the context of endemic poverty, under developed and weak markets and institutions, and little or no formal social safety nets, is shown to exacerbate the vulnerability of small open (especially low-income) economies to disruptive and costly crises without any tangible benefits. Over time, this exposure could be growth retarding, as the devastating effects of shocks can be permanent especially on the poor. It threatens to confine deepening poverty and destitution in certain geographic boundaries and prosperity in others, leading to an ever widening gap between rich and poor countries and peoples.

Makers and Breakers: Children & Youth in Postcolonial Africa

Alcinda Honwana , Filip De Boeck — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Edited by Alcinda Honwana & Filip De Boeck

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2005, 256 p., ISBN 2-86978-156-9

The studies in this book present many different views onto the lives of the young around the continent. They contribute to a theoretical, ethnographic and historical understanding of issues concerning children, youth, agency, locality, globalization and identity from the past to the postcolony and beyond. As such they strive to achieve a better insight into what lives in the hearts and minds of African youngsters.

Negotiating Modernity

Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2005, 256 p., ISBN: 2-86978-147-4 Africa in the New Millennium Series

Africa has been through a particularly ambivalent experience of modernity. Previous research has tended to emphasize its alien nature in Africa and how it has been resisted. This book seeks to show how this tension and the impulse to modernity have contributed to changing African society over the past one hundred years. The contributors look at how Africans negotiated the terms of modernity during the colonial period and are dealing with it in the post-colonial period. They argue that the African experience of modernity is unique and relevant for wider social theory, offering valuable analytical insights. The cases presented cover labour, land rights, religious conversion, internal migration, emigration and the African diaspora.

From National Liberation to Democratic Renaissance in Southern Africa

Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

“This collection provides a set of original essays that collectively enrich and move our understanding of Southern African societies in exciting new directions. The volume brings together an interdisciplinary team of younger and older scholars whose contributions deconstruct the dominant discourses in Southern African studies by vigorously reexamining the complex processes of national liberation and the challenges of post-liberation identity politics, democratization, and social transformation. It captures, compellingly, the historical forces and contemporary dynamics that unite, divide, and differentiate this fascinating and multifaceted region.”

“This collection of essays is one of the most important contributions to the ongoing debate on some key aspects of the recent history and politics of Southern Africa. Unlike many texts which reduce the discussion of Southern Africa to that of South Africa, this volume examines the process of democratization and state transformation from a broad regional perspective. Stakeholders at the grassroots level, particularly in civil society, are given a voice which highlights their contributions to the ever-changing political landscape of the region. The editors have done a masterful job in weaving together essays that critically examine democratization in the Southern Africa region with an eye to the lessons learned, and their application to the rest of the continent. This is a valuable addition to the literature on democracy in Africa.”

The collection of papers captured in this volume offer fresh, important and critical insights into our understanding of contemporary Southern Africa in transition. Anybody who wishes to understand the region is advised to read this book

From National Liberation to Democratic Renaissance in Southern Africa broadly engages the region’s political and cultural economies and, in particular, the ways in which the legacies and the nature of the liberation movement imprint on post-liberation patterns of change and on continuing challenges. The authors draw on current discourses and theoretical interventions to revisit national liberation struggles and to address issues of identity, post-liberation state-building and democratisation. Case studies from Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe reflect concerns pertinent to the whole region, i.e., social transformation, reconciliation, democratic governance, the politics of race, ethnicity, gender and nationalism. Collectively, the chapters provide the reader with insights into current debates and practices in the region.

The Potentiality of ‘Developmental States’ in Africa

Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2005, 188 p., ISBN: 2-86978-164-4

The Potentiality of ‘Developmental States’ in Africa investigates the potential role of the state in Africa in promoting development in this era of globalisation. Using Botswana and Uganda as case studies, the volume argues that it is not the amount of state involvement in the economy that matters, but the quality. This set of original studies compares and contrasts issues that distinguish the two countries’ development record and style of activity of the state in promoting development.

Written by a collection of researchers drawn mainly from Botswana and Uganda, this book argues that there are some elements of the developmental state model which can be seen in both countries. These elements have arguably contributed to some of the relative successes in the two states. Contextualising the case studies within the history and political economy of the respective countries, the book is a valuable addition to the on-going debate on the role, nature and character of states in Africa. A must read for development studies students, researchers, politicians and development practitioners.

Technologies de l’information pour le développement en Afrique

Florence Ebam Etta , Sheila Parvyn Wamahiu — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA-IDRC, 2005, 220 p., ISBN 2-86978-116-4

Le Volume 2: L’expérience des télécentres communautaires examine l’organisation, le fonctionnement et le rôle des télécentres communautaires. Il décrit l’expérience des télécentres dans de nombreuses collectivités, généralement situées en milieu rural, et analyse les structures et les mécanismes de gestion mis en place pour les appuyer. L’ouvrage dresse un profil de l’utilisation des télécentres et traite des possibilités et des défis inhérents à la mise en place et à la gestion de télécentres communautaires dans un milieu caractérisé par une infrastructure d’information médiocre et un manque de main-d’œuvre qualifiée. Il sera utile aux chercheurs, aux responsables de l’élaboration des politiques et aux décideurs, ainsi qu’aux intervenants et aux professionnels du développement ayant des intérêts particuliers ou des programmes en place dans le domaine des TIC au service du développement, particulièrement ceux qui mettent l’accent sur l’accès universel et les centres de service universel ou d’accès public. Il constituera également un précieux outil de référence pour les universitaires, les étudiants et les enseignants.

Central Africa: Crises, Reform and Reconstruction

E.S.D. Fomin , John W. Forje , Iroanya Richardo — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

This book contains insightful and well-articulated analyses of key factors and issues for nation building in Cameroon and the Central African sub region in terms of the socio-economico-political variables for the enterprise of natural development’. Professor Beban Sammy Chumbow, Rector University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon. ‘This comprehensive work covers a wide range of issues affecting the Central African sub-region and argues that though most of the problems affecting African states are traceable to colonial and the Cold-War eras, authoritarian leaderships, despotism, consolidated through ethnic hegemony, politics of exclusion, corruption and unhealthy romance with forces of neo-colonialism are equally to be blamed. ... This is no doubt a timely publication and a must read for any one interested in the politics of Africa’. This timely book addresses development problems and prospects in Central Africa. Drawing from individual case studies, global debates and experiences, the contributors provide a rich repertoire of reflections and insights on economic integration and activities, and on the internal and external politics of the different states in the subregion. Strikingly, all the studies point to the fact that Central African states, although possessing tremendous natural and human resources and peopled by communities thirsty for development, have for a long time remained under the spell and chaos of bad governments and bad economic policies and practices. A consequence has been endemic poverty and misery for all but an elite few. Informed both by their empirical findings and experiences as social actors, the authors of this important volume highlight not only the failure of democracy to take root in the subregion, but also how corruption, lack of transparency and accountability in governance and business have detrimentally become fashionable, making the prospects of reform an ever more extravagant dream.

‘Lusofonia’ em África: História, Democracia e Integração Africana

Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

This innovative work is the first CODESRIA has published in Portuguese, and the first scholarly work the institution has published on the politics, economics and societies of the Portuguese-speaking African countries, authored by social scientists from those countries. In its engagement with the Portuguese-speaking social science communities in Africa, the publication represents an important milestone for CODESRIA, and a symbolic moment in the development of Lusophone studies on the continent. The collection of essays grew out of CODESRIA’s ‘Lusophonia’ initiative, launched at an international symposium in May 2005 which brought together over 60 academics, mostly from the Lusophone African countries, as well as from African studies institutions in Portugal and Brazil, to reflect on the history, democracy and integration of the Portuguese speaking countries. The objectives of the Lusophonia initiative are to give a voice to social scientists from Portuguese speaking countries; centre debates on the priorities identified by the local academic communities; establish an integrated body of researchers based in the Portuguese speaking countries and integrate these into CODESRIA’s wider research programmes to the benefit of the wider research communities; and to strengthen capacity in the social sciences and comparative studies in the Lusophone environment in Africa.

When Reality Contradicts Rhetoric: World Bank Lending Practices in Developing Countries in Historical, Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives

Jean-Germain Gros, Olga Prokopovych — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

‘Gros and Propokovych provide a brilliant and balanced critique of the World Bank – “world’s largest multilateral development lending agency”, in relation to poverty reduction in developing countries. Coming at a time when, thanks to the hegemonic forces of globalisation and the increasing domestication of market-based economic reforms, sharp criticisms of the Bank’s pernicious lending practices in the developing world have become muted, this monograph is an important reminder of the continued existence of the problem of poverty, and how World Bank lending has worsened the economic crises in developing countries.

Adopting a triple-pronged historical, theoretical and empirical approach, the authors explore the Bank’s moorings in neo-liberal market ideology and western hegemony. They show how its dismal record has contradicted its rhetoric on poverty reduction – its lending has neither gone to the poorest countries, nor reached the poorest people in the developing countries.

Confirming what is well known; they add a new dimension showing that the World Bank’s lending behaviour is moderated by its organisational/bureaucratic politics, the external environment and the personality of its Presidents, and is largely an agent for the domination of poor countries by rich countries. The Bank is hardly democratic or transparent, even as it attempts to hide the highly asymmetrical power relations between itself and the borrower-countries in the developing world behind pro-poor rhetoric.

This monograph goes beneath the rhetoric to explode the pro-poor myth of the World Bank’s lending practices in developing countries. It brings to the fore one of the most critical challenges confronting the developing world – poverty – and suggests how the Bank must be radically transformed in a rapidly globalising world to deal with the problem. Its uniqueness lies both in its depth and clarity, and in its optimism that the World Bank, warts and all, can be revolutionized in the 21st century!’

‘This study of World Bank lending policies as they relate to economic development in Third World countries is innovative, comprehensive and, more importantly, entirely convincing. The weight of the compelling empirical evidence the authors provided is guided by a theoretical critique that provides one of the most cogent analysis of World Bank lending to date. In short, the inherent failure of World Bank lending policies in the underdeveloped world, including a critical examination of the neo-liberalist ideology guiding the Bank’s policies, is explained in one of the most exhaustive and insightful studies in the broader field of political economy’.
Dr. Michael Williams, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra

Making Ends Meet at the Margins?

Rekopantswe Mate — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2005, 44 p., ISBN 2-86978-152-0

In this fascinating study Rekopantswe shows how neoliberalism has brought far-reaching social change in Zimbabwe, a situation made worse by other factors such as HIV and AIDS which have created unprecedented desperation, poverty and helplessness. A consequence of this is that people are more aware of identity and deploy it to define access to resources and to elbow out those that they perceive to be different from them. However, as the study demonstrates, in their day-to-day interactions, people do not seem able to make connections between what is happening locally and the international situation, and as a result blame their neighbours for their misfortunes. This perpetuates social tension and increases the potential for conflict. This is indeed refreshing, insightful, empirically grounded and gender conscious analysis of the situation of those at the margins of plenty.

Technologies de l’information et de la communication pour le développement en Afrique : Volume 3 : La mise en réseau d’institutions d’apprentissage – SchoolNet

Tina James — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Depuis 1997, le programme Acacia du CRDI stimule l’utilisation et l’appropriation des technologies de l’information et de la communication par les communautés d’Afrique sub-saharienne afin de leur permettre de trouver des voies alternatives vers le développement socio-économique. Apres huit années d’activités, Acacia tire les premières leçons de ce travail en publiant, en trois volumes, le fruit de ses recherches sur les technologies de l’information et de la communication pour le développement en Afrique. Le troisième volume porte sur les procédés utilisés et les institutions mises en place pour promouvoir l’utilisation des ordinateurs et la connectivité dans les écoles afin d’améliorer l’utilisation et l’intégration des TIC dans l’enseignement et l’apprentissage. On y explore divers paramètres de projets et paramètres administratifs et culturels ainsi qu’une large gamme de solutions techniques. Les résultats, observations et conclusions qu’on y trouve seront utiles aux responsables de l’élaboration des politiques et aux décideurs du domaine de l’éducation et des TIC. L’ouvrage sera utile aux enseignants, aux chercheurs ainsi qu’aux intervenants et aux professionnels du développement ayant des intérêts particuliers ou des programmes en place dans le domaine des TIC au service du développement. Il constituera par ailleurs un précieux outil pour les professionnels des technologies de l’information qui veulent servir le marché de l’éducation.

Men and Women Between the Public and Private Spheres

Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

La Série sur le Genre du CODESRIA exprime la nécessité de contester les masculinités qui fondent les mécanismes de répression contre les femmes. La série a pour but de maintenir et entretenir la recherche en sciences sociales par une recherche et des débats perspicaces qui mettent à défi le savoir conventionnel, les structures et les idéologies qui sont étroitement informées par la centralité masculine. La variété des thèmes et la qualité de l’analyse des débats et de la recherche contemporains en Afrique sur les questions de genre attestent du chemin parcouru avec succès depuis que les féministes africains ont commencé à lutter pour se faire entendre. La série s’efforce de servir de vitrine à ce qui se fait de mieux en matière de recherche sur le genre et d’offrir une tribune à l’émergence de nouveaux talents. Hommes et femmes entre sphères publique et privée. Les rapports sociaux de genre connaissent depuis quelques années des mutations significatives en Afrique et dans le monde. En effet, la vague de démocratisation qui souffle sur le continent depuis le début des années quatre-vingts et les transitions politiques qui en découlent engendrent une participation croissante des femmes dans la sphère publique. Sur le plan économique, les femmes déploient de nombreuses stratégies afin de s’assurer une certaine autonomie financière et, partant, une capacité à s’affirmer au sein du ménage qui relèverait du domaine privé. Mais en même temps, les rapports sociaux de genre dans les sphères publiques et privée restent encore marquées par la discrimination, l’inégalité, et la violence dont la majorité des victimes seraient des femmes. Cet ouvrage, Hommes et femmes entre sphères publique et privée, traite, entre autres, des stratégies et modalités de participation des femmes dans la sphère publique. Il replace les relations de genre dans un contexte historique, économique et politique et démontre l’intérêt croissant que les jeunes chercheurs africains portent aux questions de genre.

Démocratie et Développement en Afrique de l’Ouest : Mythe et réalité

Elizabeth Annan-Yao — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

« Prenant à revers le regard réducteur qui fait de l’Afrique en bloc en crises ou en perdition, l’ouvrage s’engage résolument dans l’analyse de la diversité des expériences africaines de construction de l’État et de la nation, de mise en œuvre de projets de développement dans un contexte marque par les luttes pour l’élargissement des espaces publics. Les auteurs ont judicieusement combine approches thématiques et entrées par les auteurs, dans une perspective résolument comparatiste. Nul doute que ces regards croisés sur les expériences de démocratisation et de développement portées par les mouvements sociaux en Afrique de l’Ouest, au cours de dernières décennies, balisent de nouveaux horizons à la connaissance de l’Afrique contemporaine. »
Ibrahima Thioub, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Sénégal

Cet ouvrage qui vient appuyer les travaux sur la démocratisation en Afrique constitue une véritable mine d’or pour les populations estudiantines, les chercheurs et même les hommes et femmes politiques qui voudraient bien se questionner sur les raisons des dysfonctionnements des systèmes politiques africains.

À travers les différentes contributions, les onze (11) auteurs appartenant à diverses disciplines des sciences sociales et provenant des pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest ont réussi tous à établir une relation entre la démocratie et le développement. Cependant, devant la multiplication des crises politiques et la faillite du développement, ces auteurs se rendent compte que malgré le vent de démocratie qui a soufflé sur le continent africain depuis environ quinze ans, celle-ci n’a pas pu être institutionnalisée ou être ancrée dans les mœurs politiques des États africains. Au vu de ce constat, une question fondamentale se pose : est-ce qu’il peut y avoir de développement humain sans démocratie ou bien est-ce que la démocratie conduit-elle nécessairement au développement humain? La réponse laisse apparaître que le développement humain durable en Afrique s’avère impossible sans la démocratie. Les auteurs parviennent donc à un consensus sur le fait que la démocratie bien pratiquée peut propulser le développement humain durable.

Cette publication se propose, en définitive, d’alimenter la réflexion sur la démocratie et le développement en Afrique. Des perspectives de recherche sont encore ouvertes aux intéressés car le débat est loin d’être clos.

Afrique centrale : crises économiques et mécanismes de survies

Fri, 22 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0000

« Voici un ouvrage qui interpelle. Il permet de mieux appréhender les secousses de l’Afrique centrale. Il établit un diagnostic et apporte une contribution décisive à la recherche de solutions appropriées au développement humain, social et économique de l’Afrique. Mais les travaux vont plus loin et annoncent une indispensable et riche réflexion sur la marche, la construction de la communauté régionale et internationale, et le devenir de l’humanité ».

« La conférence sous-régionale tenue à Douala en octobre 2003 et célébrant le 30e anniversaire du CODESRIA aura tenu toutes ses promesses. Ceci s’apprécie d’ailleurs tant du point de vue du nombre, de la diversité et de la pertinence des contributions scientifiques comme en témoigne ce volume ».

« Ce livre est attendu. La conscience publique régionale se focalise de plus en plus sur la nécessité de penser sérieusement cette région et de maîtriser ses problèmes et ses crises de façon plus coordonnée, rigoureuse et responsable. Ce livre nous donne les contours essentiels pour partir de pied ferme dans cette longue entreprise. Les acteurs tant régionaux qu’internationaux trouveront, en ce livre, un instrument conceptuel indispensable ».

Cet ouvrage collectif est centré sur les crises économiques ou sociales, les limites des modes de régulation et les mécanismes de restructuration de l’économie en Afrique centrale. Il vise à faire le point sur la situation passée, actuelle et ouvre des perspectives futures sur les difficultés rencontrées par les pays de la sous-région et l’intégration en Afrique centrale.

Ce livre donc a scruté les crises prolongées qui ont secoué la sous-région aux fins de cerner leurs origines et leurs dimensions en identifiant les divers projets de reformes en cours et les sens de la reconstruction qui s’y dévoile. L’Afrique centrale se reconstruit grâce a des Etats « bâtisseurs, décentralisés et réducteurs d’incertitudes » capables de relever les défis majeurs que sont la compétitivité économique, manifeste au triple plan national, sous-régionale et international, et l’intégration.

Information and Communication Technologies for Development in Africa. Networking Institutions of Learning – SchoolNet

Tina James — Wed, 06 Oct 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Household Economies in West Africa

Abdou Salam FALL, Omar Saip Sy — Tue, 05 Oct 2004 00:00:00 +0000

L’Afrique de l’Ouest a été durement frappée par la crise économique ces dernières décennies et la précarité des conditions naturelles n’a pas été pour arranger les choses. Chômage, et pauvreté qui s’étendent désormais jusque dans les centres urbains, accès difficile aux services sociaux… malaise social. Les plans d’ajustement structurels (PAS) imposés par les institutions de Breton Woods ont fini de montrer leurs limites déstructurantes. Le social a été le parent pauvre des PAS. L’État s’est désengagé, le « développement » est sans finalité humaine et le social se meurt à l’autel de l’économisme. La dévaluation du Franc Cfa en janvier 1994 apporte le coup de semonce. La relance devient une illusion dans un contexte de mondialisation qui consacre l’hégémonie du néolibéralisme et l’Afrique de l’Ouest n’en finit pas d’être confrontée à des convulsions qui remettent en cause les équilibres les plus solides, y compris ceux des ménages éprouvés, cellules de base de la société, qui voient leurs revenus chuter, leurs équilibres internes rompus, leurs capacités s’amenuiser et leurs perspectives plus critiques. Contrairement aux prévisions classiques, la crise a plutôt élargi les ménages de manière générale à quelques exceptions près. Les anciens réseaux de solidarité sont réactivés, les mariages, du côté des hommes comme des femmes, sont retardés, la famille se gonfle. On se débrouille et on émigre. La migration devient une stratégie, affectant les zones rurales comme les centres urbains : dans la plupart des pays, les migrants constituent les piliers de la survie des ménages par les transferts qu’ils opèrent au profit de leurs familles et communautés restées dans leur pays d’origine. De Dakar à Ouagadougou, de Ndjaména à Bamako, de Lagos à Accra, de Freetown à Banjul, les ménages diversifient leurs activités économiques / petit commerce, petits métiers de réparation et de récupération, main d’oeuvre agricole dans les zones péri-urbaines, « exil » vers l’Europe et l’Amérique du Nord, mais aussi vers les zones Ouest africaines « favorisées »…. Et partout, l’informel constitue pour la plupart des familles la principale source de revenus, le secteur dit formel affichant l’incapacité à satisfaire la demande sociale. Pendant ce temps, la BM et le FMI lâchent du lest en reconnaissant l’échec des PAS et du Consensus de Washington. Ces institutions favorisent une remise de la dette via les Documents Stratégiques de Réduction de la Pauvreté (DRSP) qui inaugurent une nouvelle ère de prise de décision démocratique tout en ne remettant pas en cause l’orientation néolibérale des États qui les portent. Presque au même moment, le Nouveau Partenariat pour le Développement de l’Afrique (NEPAD) suscite un consensus auprès des États africains à la 3 faveur de l’ambition d’investissements structurants massifs au niveau régional voire continental. Il ne rompt pas non plus ses amarres avec le néolibéralisme car nombre d’acteurs de la société civile entrevoient une sud américanisation au travers de l’appel forcené aux capitaux privés étrangers. La crise « informalise » tout : de l’alimentation aux relations personnelles en passant par l’habit, l’éducation et l’acquisition des biens d’équipement. C’est assurément l’élément structurant majeur de l’économie domestique africaine. La promotion d’un autre projet de développement axé sur une finalité humaine est devenue une exigence fondamentale. Ce sont par conséquent des dispositifs dans l’équilibre global de la société qu’il convient de réhabiliter par un processus de développement de l’intérieur.

African Gender Scholarship: Concepts, Methodologies and Paradigms

Signe Arnfred — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

A distinctive contribution of African feminist and gender scholarship has been a conscious effort to draw from, and simultaneously rethink, concepts, paradigms and methodologies that are often taken for granted both in conventional and in mainstream feminist scholarship. This with a view to enriching them with perspectives sensitive to the encounters, cultures, economic and socio-political predicaments that have shaped and been shaped by gender relations in Africa.

Volume I brings together essays by some of the leading names on gender studies in Africa, as a major contribution to these concerns. Situating themselves variously in relation to claims and counter claims on the universalisms and particularisms in African feminism and gender studies, the authors de-bate the relative (de)-merits of Eurocentrism, African epistemologies and cultures, colonial legacies, postcolonial realities, and other current dilemmas and challenges in understanding and articulating African feminism and gender research. Practiced and budding scholars should find this a fascinating read.

The CODESRIA Gender Series acknowledges the need to challenge the masculinities underpinning the structures of repression that target women. The series aims to keep alive and nourish African social science research with insightful research and debates that challenge conventional wisdom, structures and ideologies that are narrowly informed by caricatures of gender realities. It strives to showcase the best in African gender research and provide a platform for the emergence of new talents to flower.

Les racines de la crise militaro-politique en Côte d’Ivoire

Francis Akindès — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2004, 58 p., ISBN: 2-86978-135-0

Avec le coup d’Etat du 24 décembre 1999 et le conflit politico-militaire qui a débuté le 19 septembre 2002, la Côte d’Ivoire rompt avec une tradition de stabilité politique qui fit d’elle un modèle dans la sous-région ouest-africaine. Elle traverse une crise sociopolitique sans précédent qui, non seulement, compromet la continuité de l’Etat, mais libère une charge de violence dans le corps social.

L’objectif de cette étude est, avant tout, de comprendre le sens et les enjeux de cette crise sociopolitique. L’intelligence de cette crise oriente l’analyse dans trois axes. D’abord, le sens du désordre social et politique, consécutif à la longue période de stabilité politique. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que ce désordre politique s’inscrit dans la remise en cause du compromis houphouétiste qui est un modèle d’intégration par l’économique. Ce modèle, précocement trop mondialiste, dont nous essayons ici de décliner les composantes, est entré en crise depuis le début des années 90, dans la foulée du processus de démocratisation. Ensuite, le sens de l’ivoirité. Nous l’analysons comme étant une expression particulière de réinvention de l’être collectif ivoirien, en réaction aux effets de plus de trois décennies d’ouverture qui neutralisèrent à l’excès l’expression des identités particularistes. Finalement, le compromis houphouétiste, à travers son adhésion au libre-échangisme et à l’économie de marché, a provoqué des contractions et des contradictions internes qui contraignent le système sociopolitique aussi bien à la retribalisation du débat politique qu’à la redéfinition de nouvelles règles d’accès aux ressources de plus en plus rares. Et enfin, le sens de l’escalade de la violence et de ses répertoires de justification dans cette crise sociopolitique. En tant que signe de délégitimation des modèles de régulation bâtis sur le mode tontinier, la récurrence des coups d’Etat militaire en Côte d’Ivoire appelle au renouvellement de la grammaire politique et des modalités de régulation sociopolitique autour de principes intégrateurs qu’il reste à inventer.

Comment peut-on être opposant au Cameroun?

Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2003, 350 p., ISBN: 2-86978-127-X

Cette étude sur l’opposition au Cameroun est d’actualité dans un continent où la dictature a pu développer de multiples façons de co-opter, de neutraliser et de contrecarrer les formes d’opposition politiques afin d’institutionnaliser son désintéressement et son impunité devant les attentes du peuple. Bien que les partis d’opposition au Cameroun aient manifestement échoué à construire l’unité et la solidarité nécessaire pour affronter la rhétorique stérile du parti RDPC au pouvoir, les gouvernements post-coloniaux n’ont pas démontrés une réelle volonté de construire un terrain de jeu équilibré, même lorsqu’ils continuent comme le président Paul Biya de se féliciter d’avoir apporté « la démocratie avancée ».

Au moment où les africains sont de plus en plus désillusionner par des promesses d’une seconde libération, où presque tout le monde semble être victime de la « politique du ventre », ce livre qui traite des difficultés auxquelles le multipartisme et la démocratie au Cameroun font face (l’endroit même où le concept de « politique du ventre » a été pour la première fois prononcé) est une contribution opportune sur les leçons à tirer a façon de redonner espoir à tout africain.

Les trajectoires d’un État-frontière : Espaces, évolution politique et transformations sociales en Mauritanie

Zekeria Ould Ahmed Salem — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Le défi scientifique que cherche à relever cet ouvrage est de rendre compte des mutations contemporaines de cet authentique État-frontière qu’est la Mauritanie et de proposer un regard novateur sur sa trajectoire historique, sociale, politique et géostratégique. L’approche privilégiée par les auteurs permet de souligner l’interface historiquement établi entre conjoncture nationale et environnement international, entre facteurs locaux et facteurs régionaux, voire globaux. C’est en effet dans cette perspective que cette « qualité » d’État-frontière peut-être saisie dans ses multiples dimensions et sous un éclairage qui va au delà des clichés qui lui sont facilement accolés par les conjonctures journalistiques diverses. Particulièrement sous-étudiée par les sciences sociales, la Mauritanie est par conséquent trop souvent victime d’interprétations peu rigoureuses de sa complexité sociale. Afin de rompre avec les analyses faiblement élaborées et peu nuancées de cet espace social complexe, ce livre rassemble des contributions d’auteurs mauritaniens qui, pour la première fois, sont engagés dans une collaboration poussée avec des spécialistes étrangers autour d’un projet original.

African Universities in the Twenty-first Century. Volume II: Knowledge and Society

Paul Tiyambe Zeleza , Adebayo Olukoshi — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

As the twenty-first century unfolds, African universities and indeed universities everywhere, are undergoing unprecedented change and confronting multiple challenges brought about by the vast and complex processes of globalisation and technological change. Powerful internal and external forces – political, pecuniary and paradigmatic – are reconfiguring all aspects of university life constituted around the triple mission of teaching, research and service.

The need for redefining the role and defending the importance of universities has never been greater. How are African universities trying to balance the demands of autonomy and accountability, expansion and excellence, equity and efficiency, diversification and differentiation, internationalisation and indigenisation in the face of liberalization and privatisation, and as they address the new challenges of knowledge production and dissemination, of Africanising global scholarship and globalising African scholarship? What innovative approaches can they adopt to facilitate the sustainable development of African economies, societies, and polities?

The two volumes in series address these issues. They articulate new values and missions for African universities, and define effective strategies to meet the challenges. Written by some of Africa’s leading educators, Volume I examines the implications of the neoliberal reforms and the new information technologies on African higher education, while Volume II interrogates the changing social dynamics of knowledge production, university organization, and public service and engagement.

Good Muslim, Bad Muslim : America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror

Mahmood Mamdani — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

In a brilliant study of the rise of contemporary political Islam, distinguished political scientist Mahmood Mamdani brings his expertise to bear on a question many Americans have been asking since 9/11: how did this happen?Mahmood Mamdani’s conclusions are as incontrovertible as they are highly provocative. He dispels the idea of “good” (secular, westernized) Muslims, and “bad” (primitive, fanatical) Muslims, underlining the fact that Islam is not a politically based religion. Focusing on the reasons Islam has become politicized, Mamdani shows how the American government’s indirect, post–Vietnam-era sponsorship of terrorist leaders in Indochina and Africa began as a way of dealing with the perceived threat of spreading Soviet influence in these regions. He reminds us how President Reagan openly supported the contras in Nicaragua—calling them the “moral equivalents” of the Founding Fathers—and eagerly embraced the mujahideen of Afghanistan. He explains how America’s rigidly supportive policies toward Israel have fuelled the problems in the Middle East. Finally, he makes clear how the West’s distorted political analysis of Islam and its activities continue to dangerously skew its response to them. Here is a book that will profoundly change our understanding of both Islam and America’s position in the world today.

Globalization and Social Policy in Africa

Tade Akin Aina , Chachage S.L. Chachage , Elizabeth Annan-Yao — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Globalization and Social Policy in Africa examines the different areas of significant contact between globalization and the lives of ordinary people in Africa. Through contributions that rely mainly on empirical and historical studies, the 17 authors from all parts of Africa and across a variety of social science disciplines attempt to provide answers as to how Africans understand, confront and relate to the forces of globalization. The authors also address how contemporary and historical dynamics have shaped the way globalization has interacted with and defined the often neglected area of social policy. The studies engage and question current dominant orthodoxies on the importance of social policy for development and social transformation, showing in particular how dominant economic thinking, particularly those emanating from important multilateral institutions, has contributed to undermining the importance of social policy to relevant economic development and social change. With the increasing shift towards a greater understanding of how conventional economic orthodoxies have undermined the development process in Africa in recent decades, this book is a welcome addition to the debate that provides the much needed evidence that is absent in many other contributions.

Madagascar: Ethnies et ethnicité

Solofo Randrianja — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

En suivant une démarche multidisciplinaire, ce livre, le premier du genre en ce qui concerne Madagascar, rassemble d’importantes réflexions issues de travaux de recherche approfondie sur l’ethnie et l’ethnicité étudiées dans leurs dimensions historique, linguistique, anthropologique et religieux. Les auteurs s’efforcent de dépasser la condamnation convenue et souvent stérile de l’instrumentalisation des identités collectives anciennes par les politiques. La grande majorité des Malgaches naissent, vivent et meurent dans des groupes ethniques qui n’ont pas à leurs yeux qu’une fonction négative. Au vu de cette importance historique et sociale, privilégier la perspective politiste sur ce champ de réflexion serait inapproprié. Plutôt que d’asséner des conclusions définitives, cet ouvrage a pour ambition d’ouvrir le débats sur les identités collectives considérées dans leur expression quotidienne. À ce titre, il constitue une lecture préalable indispensable à l’examen de la construction de l’État-nation malgache.

African Universities in the Twenty-first Century. Volume I: Liberalisation and Internationalisation

Paul Tiyambe Zeleza , Adebayo Olukoshi — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Basotho and the Mines: a Social History of Labour Migrancy in Lesotho and South Africa, c1890-1940

Eddy Maloka — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Basotho and the Mines is the first major study of migrant labour in Lesotho, dedicated to the period 1890 to 1940. It examines the position of Basotho migrant workers in South Africa, Lesotho’s dependency on migrant labour, and the social and cultural consequences of sending so many men away to work. These issues are placed within the framework of the history of colonialism in Lesotho and South Africa and its impact on the current geopolitics of the two interconnected nations. The study is unique in that it provides an in-depth historical analysis of migrant labour, combining aspects of political economy, and cultural and social history. It is exhaustive in its coverage and use of primary historical sources on labour migrancy in colonial Lesotho.

Central questions addressed include balancing structure and agency, examining issues such as how Basotho migrants coped with death and mourning in the mining compounds, the social history of commercial beer-brewing and commercial sex in Lesotho, and the relationship of all these factors to the system of chieftainship, missionaries, and the British colonial demonstration. The volume compels greater thinking about the dynamics of agency, and the complex ways that Basotho men and women coped with the impact of labour migrancy on their country.

Participation paysanne & développement rural au Sénégal

Mamadou Niang — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Le présent ouvrage est réalisé par une équipe universitaire pluridisciplinaire. Le thème « Participation paysanne et développement rural » présente un grand intérêt pour le Sénégal et l’Afrique puisqu’il s’inscrit dans les différentes politiques publiques menées par les États africains.

Les contributeurs, des chercheurs spécialisés dans les questions du monde rural, ont traité des questions dont : la forge rurale et les technologies adaptées, l’exode et l’immigration des populations rurales, la politique foncière, les enjeux de la décentralisation, les mouvements associatifs. Les exposés thématiques s’appuient sur une méthodologie apte à discerner pour chaque étude de cas l’approche historique, l’analyse structurelle et les perspectives qui se dégagent. L’étude foncière démontre l’ineffectivité de la réforme qui se heurte à des contraintes socioculturelles entravant la libération du monde paysan. L’étude foncière aboutit à des questionnements sur une éventuelle réforme agraire, une libéralisation de la terre avec une possibilité d’accès à la propriété privée. L’ensemble des réflexions développées dans cet ouvrage constituent d’excellentes contributions aux stratégies aptes à trouver des solutions pour le développement participatif du monde rural sénégalais.

Gender Activism and Studies in Africa

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Contributors

Signe Arnfred
Babere Kerata Chacha
Amanda Gouws
Josephine Ahikire
Ayodele Ogundipe
Charmaine Pereira
Mansah Prah
Charles Ukeje
Felicia Arudo Yieke

CODESRIA Gender Series Volume 3. Dakar, CODESRIA, 2004, 184 p., ISBN: 2-86978-140-7

This book celebrates the successes in African struggles for gender equality and draws attention to the challenges facing the edification of gender studies, women’s rights and entitlements. It brings together contributions by seasoned gender specialists who draw empirical evidence from several African countries – Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa – to critically discuss various experiences in setting up gender and women’s studies programmes, feminist and gender activism, gender identities, social protest, gender and culture in indigenous films, continuities and discontinuities in conceptions of gender, same-sex relationships, customary law, and gendered discourse patterns. Readers will find great merit in the focus on challenges, achievements and future perspectives in the crystallisation of gender activism and studies in Africa.

Gender, Economies and Entitlements in Africa

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 00:00:00 +0000

This theoretically sophisticated and empirically grounded book draws extensively on feminist methodologies to discuss gender, economies and entitlements in Africa. It deals critically with a broad range of themes that highlight the structural insensitivities, stereotypes, injustices and inequalities that women are often victims of, despite their significant contributions to household and national economies throughout Africa. Among the issues covered are: gender relations in the family, formal education and health; gender and accessibility to resources; women’s experiences of citizenship; sex identities and sex work; and globalisation, trade and gender. The book captures how, despite phenomenal structural constraints, women as economic agents have refused to celebrate victimhood. The CODESRIA Gender Series acknowledges the need to challenge the masculinities underpinning the structures of repression that target women. The series aims to keep alive and nourish African social science research with insightful research and debates that challenge conventional wisdom, structures and ideologies that are narrowly informed by caricatures of gender realities. It strives to showcase the best in African gender research and provide a platform for the emergence of new talents to flower.

Sexe, genre et société. Engendrer les sciences sociales africaines

Ayesha Mei-Tje IMAM, Fatou Sow, Amina Mama — Thu, 22 Jul 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, Karthala & CODESRIA, 2004, 461 p., ISBN : 2-84586-111-7

Cet ouvrage représente la traduction du livre intitulé Engendering African Social Sciences (1997), issu des travaux d’un atelier organisé par le CODESRIA en 1991. Son ambition est de jeter les bases d’une analyse pertinente des rapports sociaux entre les sexes. Il propose une critique et des orientations neuves dans les sciences sociales en Afrique. Il fournit en particulier des orientations méthodologiques pour intégrer la perspective relative au genre. Les contributions réunies dans ce volume ont été rédigées selon des approches disciplinaires différentes, mais leur point commun réside dans une volonté affirmée d’opérer une véritable rupture épistémologique dans les sciences sociales africaines. Une telle entreprise est énorme mais les contributeurs ont réussi à relever ce défi. En effet, par leur complémentarité et la richesse des regards croisés de spécialistes de nationalités et de générations différentes, ce livre offre une nouvelle lecture et des catégories originales d’expression de la relation complexe entre genre, sexe et société. Mais ce livre poursuit aussi un combat d’une autre nature, en vue de promouvoir l’égalité entre les sexes et un meilleur accès des femmes au pouvoir et aux ressources. L’approche ainsi retenue est novatrice. Il constituera un outil précieux pour tous ceux qui s’intéressent au processus de production des connaissances en Afrique.

Intellectuels non europhones

ousmane kane — Wed, 27 Aug 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, document de travail n°1, 2003, 71 p.

L’auteur fait le point sur l’état d’avancement de la recherche sur la bibliothèque islamique afin de mettre en évidence l’existence en Afrique sub-saharienne d’un nombre substantiel d’intellectuels ayant écrit en langue arabe ou en langues africaines avec des caractères arabes. La bibliothèque islamique africaine est constituée de témoignages d’auteurs arabes sur l’Afrique remontant à la période médiévale, d’ouvrages classiques sur le savoir islamique écrits par des auteurs arabes mais en circulation en Afrique, et enfin de textes produits par des auteurs africains. Une partie importante de cette bibliothèque islamique est constituée de manuscrits sur la collecte desquels l’auteur consacre une partie importante de ce travail. Il aborde également les réseaux de formation d’intellectuels dans la tradition africaine, ainsi que le système de symboles par lesquels ces intellectuels ont critiqué l’ordre politique et social africain et cherché avec succès pendant la période précoloniale, à mobiliser des soutiens dans la société plus large en vue de transformer cet ordre.

Annotated Bibliography on Childhood with Emphasis on Africa

Emilie Henderson, Patti — Wed, 20 Aug 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Dakar, CODESRIA, 2003, 80 p., ISBN 9782869781191

There are few works emanating from Africa, which may be construed as child studies, and even fewer reference works on this subject. There can be little dispute however, that issues such as child labour, child soldiers, and the disaffection of youth in Africa must be considered from context-specific and local perspectives, as well as from ’universal’ or standardised positions. Hence the value of this text, a concise annotated bibliography, which is constructed from literature on children and childhood, from or about Africa, published between 1995 and 2000. The bibliography presents the major works from the anthropological, sociological and psychological literatures pertaining to child studies, extracts from the political sciences and economics, and key theoretical texts from other parts of the world.

Littératures africaines francophones des années 1980 et 1990

Lydie Moudileno — Tue, 19 Aug 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Cet ouvrage propose un état des lieux de la production littéraire francophone en Afrique à la fin du vingtième siècle. En moins d’un siècle, le champ des littératures africaines – et c’est bien le pluriel qu’il faut utiliser – s’est considérablement transformé. Il se caractérise aujourd’hui par une vitalité et d’une diversité remarquables. Outre les continuités thématiques évidentes, ces mutations entraînent inévitablement de nouvelles problématiques, qui à leur tour demandent de mobiliser de nouveaux outils critiques et méthodologiques. Que signifie, par exemple, en l’an 2000, être un «écrivain africain ?» Quels rapports à l’Histoire, au temps, au corps se jouent-ils dans la fiction contemporaine ? Comment les auteurs «travaillent-ils» la langue française, la soumettant parfois à des renversements inédits ? Quelles Afriques, quels discours sur l’Afrique surgissent de ces textes ?

Autour de telles questions, cet ouvrage est conçu pour donner aux chercheurs en littératures et en sciences humaines le désir et les moyens d’aborder les nouveaux textes dont s’est enrichie la littérature mondiale ces vingt dernières années.

African Real Economies

Georges Kobou — Tue, 19 Aug 2003 00:00:00 +0000

This book, rich in empirical studies of Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and the Indian Ocean region, challenges economic models narrowly informed by statistical indicators, dichotomies and dualisms, which have tended to caricature and misrepresent the real economies of Africa. It highlights the urgency of developing new perspectives on African economies that privilege their lack of orthodoxy as a unit of analysis on its own right.

Coalition, dispersion: un moment démocratique en Afrique de l’ouest «francophone» 1988-1996

Michel Ben Arrous — Tue, 19 Aug 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Les années 1988 à 1996 ont constitue, par l’ampleur des forces sociales mobilisées autour de la démocratie, un moment politique comparable au moment anti-colonial des années 1945-1960. Après trois décennies de monopole des partis-États sur la construction nationale et sur le développement économique et social, s’est opéré un vaste mouvement de re-participation a la conduite des affaires publiques. De vastes coalitions de mouvements sociaux se sont formées, fédérées, puis dispersées. Leur dispersion n’a pas rendu, désormais, l’enjeu démocratique moins brûlant. La difficulté est aujourd’hui de dépasser une démocratie «cube Maggi», servie à toutes les sauces et a tous les discours, pour en refaire un objet concret et mobilisateur.

L’enjeu démocratique s’entend bien au-delà des figures de style gouvernemental. Il embrasse les conditions mêmes de reproduction des sociétés ouest-africaines. En proposant une réflexion conjointe sur les mots (les notions, concepts, grilles, et schémas d’analyse savante mais aussi les mots de tous les jours) et les lieux de démocratie (ses terrains ou sites d’observations, les lieux dont parlent les acteurs et ceux d’où ils parlent), cet essai invite à réinscrire l’histoire politique de la dernière décennie dans la longue durée des luttes d’émancipation.

Democratic Transition in Anglophone West Africa

Jibrin Ibrahim — Tue, 19 Aug 2003 00:00:00 +0000

This study analyses democratic transition in the five countries in Anglophone West Africa. Rather than falling into the “normal” trap of a juxtaposition of parallel studies, it uses a methodologically rigorous comparative approach to identify regional trends and specificities. The study shows that democracy is in the region’s agenda precisely because it has been denied to the people for too long. There is a determined struggle for human rights because the inhabitants have been repeatedly stripped of their rights and dignity over time. The study identifies a number of transversal issues that cut across the region, namely: the rise of a militarised security state; a significant increase in public corruption and the primitive accumulation of capital; an intense battle for deepening democracy between civil society and the state; the appropriation of gender politics by the state through the office of “First Ladies”; and the growing disengagement between elections and political choice. The study also discusses both an acceptable regional model – the Ghanaian one, and an unacceptable model – the Liberian example.

Technologies de l’information pour le développement en Afrique : Volume 1. Potentialités et défis pour le développement communautaire

Ramata Molo Thioune — Sat, 19 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Depuis 1997, le programme Acacia du CRDI stimule l’utilisation et l’appropriation des technologies de l’information et de la communication par les communautés d’Afrique sub-saharienne afin de leur permettre de trouver des voies alternatives vers le développement socio-économique. Après huit années d’activités, Acacia tire les premières leçons de ce travail en publiant, en trois volumes, le fruit de ses recherches sur les technologies de l’information et de la communication pour le développement en Afrique. Le premier titre de cette collection repose sur une série d’études analysant plusieurs expériences concrètes d’adoption et d’utilisation communautaires des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) dans des contextes géographiques, technologiques, socioéconomiques, culturels et institutionnels fort divers. Il explore la question de la participation et des réactions communautaires, ainsi que les changements provoqués par l’introduction des TIC au sein de diverses communautés d’Afrique. Cette analyse méticuleuse met ensuite en évidence les opportunités et les défis émergeant au cours de ces processus d’application des TIC, afin de proposer des éléments de réponse aux préoccupations d’institutions ou de décideurs désireux de programmer et de développer des « projets TIC » dans des milieux défavorisés. Ce premier volume se veut ainsi une source d’apprentissage, tant pour la communauté des chercheurs que pour les décideurs et les organismes de développement intéressés par cette problématique.

Les relations internationales africaines : entre Etats en crise et flux transnationaux

Luc Sindjoun — Sat, 05 Oct 2002 00:00:00 +0000

La dimension holiste des concepts de « système » et de « structure » ne permet pas de procéder à une analyse relationnelle entre la « totalité » et les « parties » comme s’il s’agissait des « réalités » indépendantes les unes des autres. Alors que la tradition réaliste privilégie les propriétés structurelles, le modèle de la configuration permet de rendre compte des relations internationales africaines en prenant au sérieux l’action des joueurs et les interactions qui les unissent; alors que les concepts de « système » et de « structure » invitent à la macrosociologie, le modèle de la configuration implique un va-et-vient incessant entre la microsociologie et la macrosociologie. C’est une épistémologie du juste milieu ou du métissage. Il n’y a pas de relations internationales africaines possibles sans « système », ni « structure »; toutefois, sur le plan méthodologique, il faut se garder de privilégier uniquement le macro comme niveau d’observation, comme domaine de pertinence.

L’Algérie: des principes de novembre à l’ajustement structurel

Abdelkader Djeflat — Sat, 05 Oct 2002 00:00:00 +0000

Repenser Bretton Woods : réponses africaines

Hakim Ben Hammouda, Moustapha Kassé — Sat, 05 Oct 2002 00:00:00 +0000

L’expérience de modernisation de l’Afrique a été largement appuyée dans la période postcoloniale par les institutions de Bretton Woods. Ces expériences vont connaître un échec dès le début des années 80 avec la crise de la dette et la baisse vertigineuse des cours des matières premières exportées par les pays africains. Les institutions de Bretton Woods vont jouer un rôle actif dans la mise en place des programmes d’ajustement structurel qui auront pour objectif de réduire les déficits internes et externes et de relancer la croissance en Afrique. Plus de deux décennies après leur application, le bilan des réformes initiées par les institutions de Bretton Woods sur le continent est décevant. En même temps, la crise asiatique et les turbulences financières internationales ont ouvert un débat sur la refonte du système financier international. Ce débat a suscité une pluralité de contributions provenant d’universitaires, d’experts, d’ONG ou de gouvernements, en vue de définir une nouvelle gouvernance internationale plus efficace et plus ouverte aux préoccupations des pays en voie de développement. L’Afrique est restée absente et marginalisée dans ce débat. Cet ouvrage constitue un apport africain à la discussion sur la gouvernance mondiale, basé sur les contributions d’économistes africains présentées lors d’une rencontre international organisé par le Codesria pour réfléchir à l’avenir des institutions de Bretton Woods à partir de l’Afrique.

Analyse économique

Adama Diaw — Sat, 05 Oct 2002 00:00:00 +0000

Science politique réflexive et savoirs sur les pratiques politiques en Afrique noire

Luc Sindjoun — Sat, 05 Oct 2002 00:00:00 +0000

Peasants Organisations and the Democratisation Process in Africa

Mahmood Ben Romdahne, Sam Moyo — Sat, 05 Oct 2002 00:00:00 +0000

What are the issues shaping contemporary African peasant movements? Are they fundamentally democratic or anti-democratic? Are they defensive and local in their organization and aspirations or should they be seen as taking a leading role in a wider process of economic, social, and political transformation? Are they in the state’s pocket or can they pose a threat to state power? And how do they fit in with other organs of African civil society, with overseas donor groups, and with imposed programs of structural adjustment?

In this collection of important new research findings from all corners of Africa these questions and others are addressed while adding another dimension to the democratization debate: what of the real grassroots, the majority of Africa that is rural? Are modern rural peasant movements relevant to the debate at all or do they still only engage in what has been called “the politics of everyday politics,” with the “weapons of the weak?”

Enfant en situation de conflit arme et de violence urbaine. Bibliographie annotée et signalétique

Tshikala k. Biaya — Tue, 20 Aug 2002 00:00:00 +0000

The African state is unveiling itself as a violence-machine, not only in times of war, but also in times of peace...and is forcing children to occupy the spaces from which it has itself withdrawn.’Almost without exception, all the wars on the African continent of the last fifty years have implicated children as either victims or agents. More recently, war and urban conflicts, and the agency of children in these conflicts have fused; and violence has remained the constant phenomenon, being understood as the generic alternative to democratic processes. Moreover, child involvement in urban violence has been swept along on the curent of globalisation; the situations in Somalia, Congo Kinshasa, Congo brazaville and Johannesburg bearing resemblance to those of Bogota and Manila.

Surveiller et enquêter sur l’usage excessif de la force