|
Showing 1 - 17 of
17 matches in All Departments
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|