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1691. Guinea: Reforming the Army

Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
After decades of bad governance and misuse, the armed forces are a potential source of instability which could still throw Guinea and the region into chaos. At the very least, if not reformed thoroughly, they will continue to pose a threat to democratic civilian rule. The recent establishment of a transitional government and the ongoing, although fragile, electoral process are a significant opportunity. Getting army reform wrong could have disastrous consequences for the country's political future. Getting it right entails numerous technical challenges, redefining the relationship of the armed forces with civilian power and addressing the critical issue of military financing, in order to create disciplined, effective and affordable armed forces. The suspension of the second round of the presidential elections, originally scheduled for 19 September, has heightened tension. Though the army has remained neutral, fears remain that if the election is not completed successfully and without excessive delay, it may seize the opportunity to intervene again. This would be a major setback to any prospect of medium-term reform, which requires respect for civilian rule and oversight. The army's well-deserved reputation for indiscipline and resistance to democratic civilian rule is a product of its troubled past. The country's first two presidents both manipulated the armed forces to their own political ends, allowing insubordination to develop, and bought off senior ranks with patronage opportunities. Mutinies over poor conditions, and waves of irregular recruitment characterised the last years of President Lansana Conté. The junta that took over on his death in December 2008 further exacerbated the situation in the military. Its leader, Dadis Camara, used the army against political opponents, fostered tension between the junta and the rest of the armed forces and recruited ethnic militia.
Topic:
Corruption
Political Geography:
Africa

1692. The Environment and Corporate Governance in Zimbabwe

Author:
Hany Besada and arolina Werner
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Formerly one of Africa's most promising economies, Zimbabwe has begun a process of economic reconstruction after decades of political turmoil and economic mismanagement. The advent of a national unity government in February 2009 launched a new but still tentative era of political stability. The government has a daunting political and economic agenda. Top priorities include restoring the rule of law, demonstrating fiscal responsibility, and putting in place macroeconomic and structural reforms to win the confidence of domestic and international investors.
Topic:
Economics and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Africa and Zimbabwe

1693. The Future of Peacekeeping in Africa and the Normative Role of the African Union

Author:
Charles Riziki Majinge
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
While it has been the responsibility of the United Nations to conduct peacekeeping operations on the continent, the trend is gradually changing. African Union and its regional organizations (RECs) are increasingly assuming responsibility of securing peace and stability on the continent. Many reasons militate in favour of this trend. Chiefly the unwillingness of the United Nations Security Council and of the developed countries to intervene timely and adequately to avert humanitarian catastrophes as happened in Rwanda, Southern Sudan and Angola. Furthermore, the desire of Africa to take steps to address its own problems without heavily relying on assistance from the international community whose availability is neither assured nor sufficient. This contribution argues that Africa can no longer expect the international community to shoulder the burden of peacekeeping in some of the most intractable conflicts on the continent without taking steps to participate actively in the process itself. While Africa has expressed its desire to address its own problems through the vision of “African solutions for African Problems”, African leaders must show greater willingness to fund and strengthen institutions they establish to carry out this vision. Lastly, the paper contends that the international community, especially the developed states, should take genuine and adequate measures to assist Africa realize its vision. A strong African Union capable of securing peace and stability on the continent is in the best interests not only of Africa but also of the international community as a whole.
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, Rwanda, and Angola

1694. Kampala June 2010 – A First Review of the ICC Review Conference

Author:
Hans-Peter Kaul
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
In the years and months before the ICC Review Conference, which took place in Kampala, Uganda from 31 May to 11 June 2010, there were, from the perspective of the International Criminal Court (ICC), quite a number of important if not crucial questions: What would be the course and what would be the outcome of the Review Conference? How would it affect the Review Conference that it would be held not only in Africa, but in an African situation country? Would there be only a narrow, maybe inappropriately narrow, examination of the institution of the Court? Or would there be a review of the entire ICC system as established by the Rome Statute? What about the stocktaking with regard to the four critical themes chosen for this Review Conference, namely cooperation, complementarity, impact on victims and affected communities, and the important question of the relationship between peace and justice? Which amendments to the Statute would be considered or adopted? Above all, would there be any progress or maybe even a breakthrough with regard to the very difficult, unresolved issues concerning the crime of aggression as referred to in Article 5(1)(d) of the Statute? It is against this background of questions, hopes and expectations that this contribution tries to briefly assess the Review Conference. The first part of this introductory comment (A) reflects the author's hopes and expectations prior to the Review Conference. It is based on a speech delivered by the author in May 2010.1 The second part of this comment (B), is a first analysis and review of the course and outcome of the Review Conference. The author hopes that this comparative approach may be an informative and interesting manner to provide in this Article a first summary of what was expected, what happened and what was actually achieved in Kampala. A.
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, and Kampala

1695. Exporting Security: International Engagement, Security Cooperation, and the Changing Face of the U.S. Military

Author:
Derek S. Reveron
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Georgetown University Press
Abstract:
when president bush announced in early 2007 that the United States would become more strategically engaged in Africa, it was through the creation of a new military command—U.S. Africa Command—and not through increasing the activities of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) or the State Department's Bureau of African Affairs. Yet this new “combatant” command is not focused on combat at all; it is optimized for promoting international military partnerships through security assistance. In fact, since the announcement was made, the word “combatant” has fallen away with an emphasis on the noncombat functions that this new unified command will fill.
Topic:
Security and War
Political Geography:
Africa and United States

1696. Challenges of the Drylands

Author:
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Belay Begashaw, and Upmanu Lall
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
A panel discussion moderated by Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs with East African Leaders, and Dr. Belay Begashaw from the Earth Institute's MDG Centre and Upmanu Lall, director of the Columbia Water Center, followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Economics, and Health
Political Geography:
Africa

1697. Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi

Author:
Meles Zenawi
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
"The Current Global Environment and its Impact in Africa" An address by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
Topic:
Environment and Globalization
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

1698. Cross-Strait Integration – A New Research Focus in the Taiwan Studies Field

Author:
Gunter Schubert
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Over the last couple of years, Taiwan studies has seen a remarkable institutionalization in Europe, most notably through the foundation of the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) in 2004, with its head- quarters at London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS); and the establishment of the European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan (ERCCT) in 2008, based at Tübingen's Eberhard Karls University. Whereas EATS has gradually gained momentum through its annual conferences, which assemble an increasing number of scholars from Europe and Taiwan, the ERCCT's initial efforts to promote graduate and postgraduate social science research on Taiwan and to offer a platform for European-Taiwanese academic cooperation and dialogue are most promising. This special issue of the Journal of Current Chinese Affairs (JCCA) has been produced to tie in with these recent developments in the field of Taiwan studies and aims to become institutionalized as well. The publishers and the ERCCT intend to jointly produce a Taiwan edition of the JCCA at regular intervals to further strengthen European and international Taiwan studies. This will give scholars of Taiwan worldwide a useful and respected channel for presenting the results of their research which does not exist elsewhere. With EATS, the ERCCT, regular Taiwan special issues of the Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, and a new book series on contemporary Taiwan published by Routledge and edited by SOAS-based scholar Dafydd Fell, Europe has indeed taken a leading position in developing the Taiwan studies field.
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Taiwan

1699. When Does Rigorous Impact Evaluation Make a Difference? The Case of the Millennium Villages

Author:
Michael Clemens and Gabriel Demombynes
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
When is the rigorous impact evaluation of development projects a luxury, and when a necessity? We study one high-profile case: the Millennium Villages Project (MVP), an experimental and intensive package intervention to spark sustained local economic development in rural Africa. We illustrate the benefits of rigorous impact evaluation in this setting by showing that estimates of the project's effects depend heavily on the evaluation method. Comparing trends at the MVP intervention sites in Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria to trends in the surrounding areas yields much more modest estimates of the project's effects than the before-versus-after comparisons published thus far by the MVP. Neither approach constitutes a rigorous impact evaluation of the MVP, which is impossible to perform due to weaknesses in the evaluation design of the project's initial phase. These weaknesses include the subjective choice of intervention sites, the subjective choice of comparison sites, the lack of baseline data on comparison sites, the small sample size, and the short time horizon. We describe how the next wave of the intervention could be designed to allow proper evaluation of the MVP's impact at little additional cost.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

1700. The Contested Role of Community Policing: 'New' non-state actors in the plural legal landscape of Mozambique

Author:
Helene Maria Kyed
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Since the turn of the millennium 'Community Policing' has become a significant and widespread element of everyday policing in poor rural and urban areas of Mozambique. This development is not unique to Mozambique, but reflected globally. Community policing (CP) has since the 1990s enjoyed widespread popularity as a philosophy and strategy of 'democratic policing' that seeks to substitute centralised, paramilitary-style state policing with active citizen inclusion in policing. In Mozambique, councils of community policing members have been formed since 2001, with the purpose of reducing crime as well as making the state police more transparent and accountable to the public.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Corruption, Crime, and Torture
Political Geography:
Africa and Mozambique