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1862. A Copper-Bottomed Crisis? The Impact of the Global Economic Meltdown on Zambia
- Author:
- Duncan Green
- Publication Date:
- 03-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- At the time of independence in 1964 Zambia was a middle-income country and appeared set to develop into a prosperous nation. However, the combination of a tumultuous world economy and fiscal mismanagement led to rapid economic decline, which continued unabated into the 1980s and 1990s. Average economic growth from 1990-1999 was the lowest in the region and unemployment and inflation soared, resulting in per capita incomes 50 per cent less in 1999 than they had been 25 years earlier.
- Topic:
- Economics, Post Colonialism, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa
1863. The Alien Tort Statute of 1789: Time for a Fresh Look
- Author:
- Gary Clyde Hufbauer
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- In 2007 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that US companies that had done business with apartheid South Africa could be found liable for monetary damages under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) of 1789 (Khulumani v. Barclay Nat. Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254 [2d Cir. 2007]). Liability arises, the Second Circuit declared, from their possible connections with human rights violations committed by South Africa during the apartheid era. Firms named in the suit include Bank of America, IBM, Coca-Cola, and General Motors. The governments of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland all opposed the lawsuit, as did the government of South Africa, which argued that the suit ran counter to its policy of reconciliation. The Bush administration also opposed the suit, but the Second Circuit rejected the argument that the cases could be dismissed for foreign policy reasons.
- Topic:
- Apartheid, Human Rights, International Law, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, United Kingdom, America, South Africa, and Germany
1864. Foreign Direct Investment in Blantyre, Malawi: Opportunities and Challenges
- Author:
- Sawa Nakagawa, Abhinav Bahl, Meron Demisse, Megumi Ishizuka, Francisco Miranda, and Kwi Young Sung
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- The Earth Institute at Columbia University launched the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), an urban counterpart to the Millennium Villages Project (MVP), to assist nine mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MCI provides research and policy analysis to the cities in order to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Increased FDI flows create employment opportunities by fostering local enterprise development and sustainable economic growth. In addition, MCI is helping the Millennium Cities to carry out needs assessments in a number of social sectors. The data from these assessments will enable MCI to generate integrated City Development Strategies to help each city meet the MDGs.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, and United Kingdom
1865. Assessing Infrastructure Constraints on Business Activity in Blantyre, Malawi
- Author:
- Zaki Raheem
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In Blantyre, Malawi , population and economic growth are placing great stress on the city's infrastructure systems. As Malawi's industrial capital, long-term improvements to Blantyre's infrastructure are necessary to generate employment, strengthen rural-urban market linkage s, and improve the regional and global competitiveness of the city's industries.
- Topic:
- Development, Infrastructure, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa
1866. Guinea-Bissau: Beyond Rule of the Gun
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The assassinations of the chief of defence staff, General Batista Tagme Na Wai, on 1 March 2009 and Presi- dent Joao Bernardo Nino Vieira early the next day have plunged Guinea-Bissau into deep uncertainty. National Assembly Speaker Raimundo Pereira was quickly sworn in as interim president pending the election the constitution requires. That the killings occurred only months after the acclaimed November parliamentary elections, however, indicates that, in current circumstances, the democratic process cannot cope with the rule of the gun, as well as the extent to which the military's use of force has overwhelmed state institutions. Without outside help to end military involvement in politics and impunity, it may be impossible to halt a slide into further violence. Elites need to stand up to the military, but they require support. The international community should work for an international or hybrid commission of inquiry into the killings. Security system reform needs to be improve d by better international coordination and creation of a national commission with enhanced autonomy.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, and Political Violence
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Guinea-Bissau
1867. Consultation on the Crisis in Darfur: New Strategies for a Just Peace Settlement
- Author:
- George Shepherd, Peter Van Arsdale, Negin Sobhani, Nicole Tanner, and Frederick AgyemanDuah
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Africa Policy Information Center
- Abstract:
- Africa Today Associates, Inc. (ATA) is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization registered in the United States of America. The organization was created in 1967 to publish the journal Africa Today and to address significant human rights issues involving the African continent. The journal had been launched in 1954 by Professor George Shepherd, the first Director of the American Committee on Africa (ACOA), to educate the public on Africa's struggle against colonialism. When ACOA could no longer publish the journal, ATA was moved to the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies (recently renamed the Josef Korbel School of International Studies). Since 2000, the journal has been owned and published by the University of Indiana Press.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, and Ethnic Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Washington, and Sudan
1868. Côte d'Ivoire : les impératifs de sortie de crise
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Le 4 mars 2007, les deux principaux protagonistes de la crise ivoirienne signaient l'accord politique de Ouagadougou (APO). Ce compromis a, dans un pre-mier temps, apporté un environnement de paix en Côte d'Ivoire. La ligne de démarcation entre les deux pro-tagonistes a été démantelée. Un nouveau gouvernement a été formé et les bases ont été jetées pour apporter une réponse aux deux questions-clés du conflit : l'identité et la citoyenneté ivoiriennes et la légitimité du pouvoir. Mais, plus de deux ans après son adoption, l'APO va mal. Une sortie de crise sera possible uniquement si les engagements pris dans la capitale burkinabé sont enfin suivis d'effets. Sortir la Côte d'Ivoire de sa décen-nie de crise ne nécessitera pas seulement l'organisation d'élections crédibles mais impliquera également des progrès significatifs dans le processus de désarmement ainsi qu'une véritable réunification de l'administration. Ceci demandera la remobilisation de la facilitation burkinabé et une pression accrue des partenaires inter-nationaux sur les acteurs du conflit.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Democratization, Peace Studies, and Post Colonialism
- Political Geography:
- Africa
1869. Darfur: Koruma Yükümlülüğü ve İnsancıl Müdahale Kavramları Çerçevesinde Bir İnceleme
- Author:
- Funda Keskin
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- There is no doubt that gross human rights violations in Darfur exceed the limits of the responsibility to protect of the international community. During the discussions about the situation in Darfur in the Security Council, especially China and Russia put forward the principle of state sovereignty as an argument against intervention. Whatever the result about this contention, it is not possible to take a decision at the Security Council authorizing the member states to intervene in Darfur due to veto right of the permanent members. The African Union as the regional organization would not able to intervene due to its limited capacity and the lack of political will. According to some commentators and states, states like the US or the European Union members who endorse the concept of the responsibility to protect must be able to intervene. Nevertheless, although they never accepted the objection based on the state sovereignty, these states do not have the required political will to intervene by force. This brings us to the result that the major criticism directed against the humanitarian intervention which is its application on a selective basis, persists for the concept of the responsibility to protect as well.
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Russia, China, and Europe
1870. Africa's Capitalist Revolution
- Author:
- Ethan B. Kapstein
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- In one of the great ironies of history, Africa may well emerge from the current global recession as the only region in the world that remains committed to global capitalism. While the tired industrialized nations of the West are nationalizing their banks and engaging in various forms of protectionism, Africa remains open for business -- promoting trade, foreign direct investment, and domestic entrepreneurship. Analysts in the industrialized countries are concerned that foreign aid flows to Africa might drop because of the recession, but Africans themselves are much more worried about rising barriers to their exports and diminishing private investment from abroad, which could impede the continuation of the impressive economic progress the continent has made over the past decade. It is still a well-kept secret that the African continent has been in the midst of a profound economic transformation. Since 2004, economic growth has boomed at an average level of six percent annually, on par with Latin America. This rate will undoubtedly decline as a result of the global financial crisis, but the International Monetary Fund still projects growth of around 1.5 percent for this year and four percent for 2010 throughout Africa -- a relatively healthy figure by today's depressing standards. International trade now accounts for nearly 60 percent of Africa's GDP (far above the level for Latin America), and foreign direct investment in Africa has more than doubled since 1998, to over $15 billion per year. Overall, private-sector investment constitutes more than 20 percent of GDP. Furthermore, since 1990, the number of countries with stock markets in sub-Saharan Africa has tripled and the capitalization of those exchanges has risen from virtually nothing to $245 billion (that is, outside of South Africa, which has long had an active stock exchange). These "frontier" markets have, until recently, given investors huge returns compared to those found in other emerging economies.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Latin America