Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Africa

711. Uncle Sam, Matchmaker

Author:
Ben East
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
American Diplomacy
Institution:
American Diplomacy
Abstract:
I pictured myself in a Peace Corps-issue hammock on an island somewhere, or crossing high glaciers in the glaring Himalayan sun. Then the recruiter called and offered Malawi. Pointless to remind her what I’d written where the application asked my preference: ‘Anywhere but Africa.’ Before that call, a recruiter—maybe the same recruiter—offered another would-be Volunteer a choice. Would she prefer Nepal, or Malawi? A logical thinker with a Math degree and an Indian heritage, she chose Malawi. ‘I can travel to Nepal on my own any time. When will I travel to Africa outside the Peace Corps?’ So when the recruiter called me, fate was already decided.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Memoir, and Peace Corps
Political Geography:
Africa and Malawi

712. Angola – an ambassador’s daily diary

Author:
Antonio Pinto da France
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
American Diplomacy
Institution:
American Diplomacy
Abstract:
Angola – O dia-a-dia de um embaixador Angola – an ambassador’s daily diary by Ambassador Antonio Pinto da France Edicao de Livros e Revistas, Lisbon 2004 (Translation by Ed Marks). I was the third Portuguese ambassador to Angola and therefore still able to bear witness to some aspects of the early days of independence. I was destined to live a period of Angolan history that will not reoccur. It seemed to me, therefore, that as in Guinea-Bissau, I had an obligation to bear testimony to this unique period.
Topic:
Diplomacy and Memoir
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Portugal, and Angola

713. Closing the financing gap for African energy infrastructure: Trends, challenges, and opportunities

Author:
Amadou Sy and Amy Copley
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Lack of energy access presents a formidable, but not insurmountable, challenge to African development. Energy poverty afflicts nearly 620 million people in Africa, limiting economic opportunities and creating health risks through the use of low-cost, alternative energy sources, such as wood fuel (IEA 2014). Without access to secure, reliable sources of electricity, households, businesses, schools, and hospitals cannot operate effectively, reducing quality of life and restricting human capital. As acknowledged in the global sustainable development agenda, addressing these energy needs is fundamental to achieving economic and human development objectives. African governments and their partners in the private sector and international development community have taken this to heart as can be seen by the growing policy attention and resources they are allocating to the continent’s energy sector.
Topic:
International Political Economy, Global Markets, and International Development
Political Geography:
Africa

714. Ethnic Politics and Ebola Response in West Africa

Author:
Souleymane Soumahoro
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
In this paper, I examine the effects of power sharing on vulnerability to adverse shocks in a multiethnic setting. Combining a unique dataset on the allocation of ministerial posts across ethnicities with the spatial distribution of Ebola, I provide evidence that ethnic representation mitigated the transmission of Ebola in Guinea and Sierra Leone. The findings suggest that one percentage point increase in proportional cabinet shares reduced Ebola transmission by five percent, as reflected in the total number of confirmed cases. I also provide suggestive evidence that this relationship goes beyond a simple correlation and operates through public resource capture and trust in political institutions.
Topic:
World Health Organization and Health Care Policy
Political Geography:
Africa

715. Japan's Security Policy in Africa: The Dawn of a Strategic Approach?

Author:
Celine Pajon
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
Abstract:
In recent years, Japan's security contribution in Africa rose with the unprecedented participation of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in an international counter-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden, the subsequent build-up of its first overseas military base in Djibouti, and the SDF's longest participation in United Nations Peace-Keeping Operations (UNPKO), in South Sudan (2012-May 2017). This increased security contribution has been driven by a need to react to various events, such as the rising Chinese presence in Africa and the increase in terrorist attacks and piracy. It is also a means of reassuring a risk-averse business sector and encouraging it to step up its investment in Africa. Finally, it is about demonstrating Japan's identity as a "proactive contributor to peace", and responsible shareholder in international security. While media attention is drawn to the Japanese SDF presence on the ground and at sea, the bulk of Japan's security contribution to Africa remains low-key, mostly in the form of financial contributions and capacity-building assistance, and is very often channeled through or in partnership with multilateral institutions or a third country, such as France. This said, Africa is now being associated more tightly with Japan's strategic core interests. Terrorist attacks on the continent are posing a direct risk to Japanese nationals. Threats to the security of vital maritime shipping routes transiting from the Middle East to the Indian Ocean are also directly undermining Tokyo's interests. The inclusion of Africa in the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy" demonstrates Japan's willingness to adopt a more strategic approach to Africa.
Topic:
International Relations and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Africa and Japan

716. Why Africa Matters to US National Security

Author:
Grant Harris
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
African nations have rarely been perceived as essential partners in the pursuit of US national security and economic interests, but a re-assessment of Africa’s strategic importance is past due. Transnational threats emanating from the continent continue to evolve, and trade and investment relationships have deepened. A better and broader understanding of the threats and opportunities posed by the countries of Africa is urgently needed, both to strengthen United States-Africa bilateral relations and to create a coherent regional policy.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Africa

717. Europe Must Play a Part in Filling the Power Vacuum in the Sahel

Author:
Rasmus Alenius Boserup and Luis Martinez
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Experiencing the consequences of an unstable Sahel, the EU and its member states will sooner or later be forced to fill the security and stability void left behind by the weakness of the states in the Sahel and the lack of willingness of North and East Africa’s regional powers to become involved.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, International Affairs, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Africa

718. Criminality in Africa’s Fishing Industry: A Threat to Human Security

Author:
André Standing
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Conflicts of interest within Africa’s fisheries sector enable unsustainable exploitation by foreign fishing firms and undercut the political will needed to build more robust surveillance and prosecutorial capacity.
Topic:
International Political Economy, International Security, and Food Security
Political Geography:
Africa

719. Assessing and Redefining Policies towards Africa in a New Global Scenario: Intersecting Perspectives between Brazil and Morocco

Author:
CEBRI
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
Abstract:
In July, representatives from the public and private sectors, think tanks, and academia, discussed, over a day, themes common to Brazil and Africa, explored ways to bring the two regions together, and inaugurated, in practice, a new phase of inter-Atlantic interaction.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Africa

720. Africa Needs more Roads To Progress, Not Less

Author:
Hans Lucht
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
With no credible state in Libya, the EU is focused on putting the brakes on transit migration in the Sahelian countries. But closing the important Niger–Libya corridor through increased militarisation is detrimental to progress in this impoverished region.
Topic:
International Affairs and International Development
Political Geography:
Africa