American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Without pressure from outside nations, upcoming elections in Zimbabwe are almost certain to hasten the country's slide into dictatorship under longtime leader Robert Mugabe. Pressure must be brought to bear on Zimbabwe's Southern African neighbors to enforce the agreed election protocols or they, and not just Zimbabwe, should face the withdrawal of aid, trade deals, and other U.S. largesse.
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Whether our current war is “on terrorism” or “against violent extremism,” it is unquestionably global. While centered in the greater Middle East, the fighting occurs from North America to Southeast Asia. One of the key theaters in this struggle is Africa—not just the Arab lands of North Africa, but much of the rest of the continent. No U.S. strategy for this war that fails to reckon with Africa's role can be truly successful. The Bush administration and its allies are coming to realize this but have yet to address the full implications of the problem.
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East, Arabia, North Africa, North America, and Southeast Asia
Increased competition and opposition participation in elections observed by The Carter Center in Liberia and Ethiopia marked progress for democracy in Africa in recent months. Ethiopia's May 2005 elections for national parliament, which gave citizens ademocratic choice for the first time, were sharply contested by opposition groups. In the Oct. 11 Liberian presidential and legislative elections, the country's first truly competitive elections in 25 years, 22 candidates vied for the presidency.
Topic:
International Relations, Democratization, Human Rights, and Political Economy
Imagine a nation almost half the size of the United States where large portions of the population are sick—not with just one disease but several at once. Such is the daily reality for those living in Nigeria, a nation with one of the highest burdens of disease in Africa.
Topic:
Government, Human Rights, Human Welfare, and Peace Studies
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
This report is a product of a three-day workshop on Security Sector Governance in Africa, held in Cotonou, the Republic of Benin, in April 2005. The Workshop, titled Building Effective and Accountable Security Institutions in Africa: A Dialogue on Governance, was organised by the African Security Sector Network (ASSN) in collaboration with the Group on the Democratic, Economic and Social Development of Africa (GERDDES – Africa) and the African Security Dialogue Research (ASDR), and facilitated by the Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR).
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Development
This article attempts to explain the relationship between foreign policy and foreign aid. The question of how Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme is related to Japan's foreign policy will be explored. The findings suggest that foreign aid has been used to promote Japan's national interests and national security since the 1950's. Although Japan has used ODA in order to prevent humanitarian violation and promote democracy, especially since the 1990's, the humanitarian aspect of ODA has remained secondary to concerns about national interests. Japanese aid programs to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) nations, Africa, China and the Kurile Islands will be analyzed in support of our argument that ODA is, at root, a realist approach.
The majority of Rwanda's population considers itself Hutu (more than 80 per cent), whereas a smaller group is referred to as Tutsi (about 15 percent). The Twa are the smallest minority. In 1994, after four years of civil war, Rwanda descended into genocide. The Tutsi minority was the main target, but Hutu and Twa who were not willing to participate in the killings were also murdered. In fewer than three months, more than 500,000 people were brutally slaughtered.
Topic:
International Relations, Arms Control and Proliferation, and War
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
Many leaders in Africa argue that East Asia's success in economic growth and development is due to special prowess in "picking winners." That is, the state is assume to have adequately identified future growth areas and effectively channeled investments into specific firms or industries. We argue, however, that this assessment is not accurate. Even where states have attempted to follow this path, they have frequently made a hash of it. The wrong sectors or firms have been identified. Public monies have been squandered or siphoned off for private enrichment. Instead, the successful East Asian states have focused their attention on consistently creating competitive market environments. They have invested in the hard and soft infrastructure (like road, ports and education) necessary for success in an increasingly globalized economy. It is these types of policies that currently hold out the greatest prospects for growth in Africa.
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
This paper provides an overview of Africa's economic performance. Although the continent appeared headed for economic success in the early days of independence, based particularly on natural resource endowments, Africa's economic growth has stagnated while the rest of the world has experienced continuous, often spectacular, growth. The countries in Africa that have had the worst performance are those that contain the majority of the population. These states, in particular, suffer most from a crisis of governance and lack the policy and legal frameworks to grow quickly. The states in Africa can be divided into six categories and each grouping faces a different set of challenges from globalization: 1) high performers ready to globalize; 2) countries on an upward trajectory; 3) large, poorly performing countries; 4) poorly performing countries; 5) countries in collapse; and 6) oil producing countries. Only the states in the first two groupings are currently able to participate in the globalized economy.
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Liberia presents one of the most challenging contexts for post conflict reconstruction since the end of the Cold War, featuring a protracted civil war and the concomitant destruction of the state, society and economy. This Occasional Paper examines post conflict reconstruction in Liberia, with particular focus on the security sector. The paper argues that opportunities for security sector reform (SSR) are conditioned by the mutually reinforcing relationship between the state of security on the one hand, and the security of the state on the other. The prospects for stability and peacebuilding are enhanced by the extent to which SSR is predicated on the state of security broadly defined, as opposed to the narrower focus on the security of the state.