Across Africa the narrative of "Africa rising" has taken root in a burgeoning middle class. Ambitious and increasingly affluent, this group symbolizes the values and hopes of the new Africa, and they are regarded as important agents of both economic development and democratic change. This narrative, however, obscures the complex and often ambiguous role that this group actually plays in African societies.

The Rise Of Africa's Middle Class brings together a diverse range of economists, political scientists, and development experts to provide a much needed corrective, overturning the received wisdom within development circles and providing a fresh new perspective on social transformations in contemporary Africa. Featuring a wide array of case studies from across sub-Saharan Africa and covering highly topical issues, including black middle-class support for the ANC in South Africa and anti-government activism in Nigeria, this collection of essays is a timely, on-the-ground look at the realities behind the idea of Africa rising.

As UN Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjoeld shaped many of the fundamental principles and practices of international organisations, such as preventive diplomacy, the ethics of international civil service, impartiality and neutrality. He was also at the heart of the constitutional foundations and principles of the UN. This tribute and critical review of Hammarskjoeld's values and legacy examines his approach towards international civil service, agency and value-based leadership, investigates his vision of internationalism and explores his achievements and failures as Secretary-General. It draws on specific conflict situations and strategies such as Suez and the Congo for lessons that can benefit contemporary conflict resolution and modern concepts such as human security and R2P. It also reflects on ways in which actors such as international courts, tribunals and the EU can benefit from Hammarskjoeld's principles and experiences in the fields of peace and security and international justice.

The African Union (AU) and The New Partnership for Africa 's Development (NEPAD) reflect a hitherto unprecedented collective political effort by African governments to address issues of democracy and good governance on a continental scale. The visible commitments are reflected in the adoption of a variety of programmatic blueprints and a series of newly created or recently strengthened institutions. Most visibly since the integration of NEPAD into the AU, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has started a process to address some of the obstacles on the basis of a voluntary assessment of African government policies.The contributions to this publication trace the recent developments from a policy perspective and explore the scope and limit of the current democratization efforts. They present an interim prognosis on the extent to which the visible new dynamics actually give realistic hope for achieving sustainable changes in terms of the declared goals. This publication is useful for political scientists, policymakers, and other professionals dealing with Africa in development assistance.

This volume is based on contributions to a seminar that was organized in honor of the Nordic Africa Institute's retiring Director Lennart Wohlgemuth in December 2005. African scholars presented their views on "The Role of Africa in 'African Studies'," with Nordic scholars and policymakers responding. The deliberations offer a spectrum of relevant approaches on both academic as well as policy oriented research and advisory work in and on Africa.The contributions bridge the gap between academics and practitioners who share a common commitment to African affairs and seek to support and promote these in the international context.Contributors include: Olu Ajakaiye and William Lyakurwa, the African Economic Research Consortium; Adebayo Olukoshi, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa; Goran Hyden, University of Florida; Arne Tostensen, Chr. Michelsen Institute in Bergen.

In 1953 Dag Hammarskjoeld became the second Secretary-General of the United Nations--the highest international civil servant. Before his mission was cut short by a 1961 plane crash in then Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), he used his office to act on the basis of anti-hegemonic values, including solidarity and recognition of otherness. The dubious circumstances of Hammarskjoeld's death have received much attention, including a new official investigation; but have perhaps overshadowed his diplomatic legacy--one that has often been hotly contested. Henning Melber explores the years of African decolonisation during which Hammarskjoeld was in office, investigating the scope and limits of his influence within the context of global governance. He paints a picture of a man with strong guiding principles, but limited room for manoeuver, colliding with the essential interests of the big powers as the 'wind of change' blew over the African continent. His book is a critical contribution to the study of international politics and the role of the UN in the Cold War. It is also a tribute to the achievements of a cosmopolitan Swede.

This Discussion Paper highlights in complementary ways the problems and challenges for governance issues under centralized state agencies, which base their authority and legitimacy on a dominant party and its influence. The case study on Namibia argues for a need for parliamentary and administrative reform to improve the efficiency of lawmakers. The Botswana chapter explores the decision on the location of the country's second university as an act without consultation of the local population. The Zimbabwe paper advocates an approach in favor of using the African Peer Review Mechanism as an instrument to assist in a change towards better governance.All the authors have intimate knowledge of the matters discussed through their own involvement with the respective cases and/or their individual positioning within these societies. This publication is among the final results of the project "Liberation and Democracy in Southern Africa," which was undertaken at the Institute between 2001 and 2006.

This Discussion Paper is another outcome of the Liberation and Democracy in Southern Africa project, which was coordinated at the Institute between 2001 and 2006. The papers are revised versions of presentations made at the Comparative Sociology Session of the Research Committee at the XVI World Congress of Sociology held at the end of July 2006 in Durban. They explore different aspects of the role of opposition parties in several East and Southern African countries, which differ according to the socio-political determinants.

From 1960, SWAPO of Nami-bia led the organised and later armed struggle for indepen-dence. In late 1989, the libera-tion movement was finally elected to power under United Nations supervision as the legitimate government. When the Republic of Namibia was proclaimed on 21 March 1990, the long and bitter struggle for sovereignty came to an end. This volume takes stock of emerging trends in the country's political culture since independence. The contributions, mainly by authors from Namibia and Southern Africa who supported the anti-colonial movements, critically explore the achieve-ments and shortcomings that have been part of liberation in Namibia. Henning Melber was Director of the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) in Windhoek between 1992 and 2000 and has been Research Director at The Nordic Africa Institute since then. He coordinates the research project on 'Liberation and Democracy in Southern Africa', of which this volume is part.

Are there ways and means of measuring democracy and "good governance"? The con-tributions to this Discussion Paper present attempts to do this by means of surveys on democratic attitudes in Mozambique and Namibia respectively, as well as by exploring the degree of commitment to and violation of human rights in a comparative perspective in Namibia and South Africa. They illustrate attitudes by offering empirical evidence of the preferences and views of local people, as well as by examining the track record of a human rights culture. In doing so, by going beyond a level of theoretical analysis, they offer concrete evidence of attitudes prevalent among both individuals and state agencies in societies of Southern Africa.

This open access book presents contributions to decolonize development studies. It seeks to promote and sustain new forms of solidarity and conviviality that work towards achieving social justice.Recognising global poverty and inequalities as historic injustices, the book addresses how these can be challenged through teaching, research, and engagement in policy and practice, and the sorts of political barriers these might encounter. From a variety of perspectives and contexts, these chapters examine how decoloniality and solidarity can be developed, offering in-depth historical, theoretical, epistemological, and empirical analyses.

This open access book presents contributions to decolonize development studies. It seeks to promote and sustain new forms of solidarity and conviviality that work towards achieving social justice.Recognising global poverty and inequalities as historic injustices, the book addresses how these can be challenged through teaching, research, and engagement in policy and practice, and the sorts of political barriers these might encounter. From a variety of perspectives and contexts, these chapters examine how decoloniality and solidarity can be developed, offering in-depth historical, theoretical, epistemological, and empirical analyses.

As UN Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjoeld shaped many of the fundamental principles and practices of international organisations, such as preventive diplomacy, the ethics of international civil service, impartiality and neutrality. He was also at the heart of the constitutional foundations and principles of the UN. This tribute and critical review of Hammarskjoeld's values and legacy examines his approach towards international civil service, agency and value-based leadership, investigates his vision of internationalism and explores his achievements and failures as Secretary-General. It draws on specific conflict situations and strategies such as Suez and the Congo for lessons that can benefit contemporary conflict resolution and modern concepts such as human security and R2P. It also reflects on ways in which actors such as international courts, tribunals and the EU can benefit from Hammarskjoeld's principles and experiences in the fields of peace and security and international justice.

Across Africa, a burgeoning middle class has become the poster child for the 'Africa rising' narrative. Ambitious, aspirational and increasingly affluent, this group is said to embody the values and hopes of the new Africa, with international bodies ranging from the United Nations Development Programme to the World Bank regarding them as important agents of both economic development and democratic change. This narrative, however, obscures the complex and often ambiguous role that this group actually plays in African societies. Bringing together economists, political scientists, anthropologists and development experts, and spanning a variety of case studies from across the continent, this collection provides a much-needed corrective to the received wisdom within development circles, and provides a fresh perspective on social transformations in contemporary Africa.

Since independence in 1990, Namibia has witnessed only one generation with no memory of colonialism - the 'born frees', who voted in the 2009 elections. The anti-colonial liberation movement, SWAPO, dominates the political scene, effectively making Namibia a de facto one-party state dominated by the first 'struggle generation'. While those in power declare their support for a free, fair, and just society, the limits to liberation are such that emancipation from foreign rule has only been partially achieved. Despite its natural resources Namibia is among the world's most unequal societies and indicators of wellbeing have not markedly improved for many among the former colonised majority, despite a constitution enshrining human rights, social equality, and individual liberty. This book analyses the transformation of Namibian society since independence. Melber explores the achievements and failures and contrasts the narrative of a post-colonial patriotic history with the socio-economic and political realities of the nation-building project. He also investigates whether, notwithstanding the relative stability prevailing to date, the negotiation of controlled change during Namibia's decolonisation could have achieved more than simply a change of those in control.