African Affairs - current issue

AIDS and the Scientific Governance of Medicine in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Nattrass, N. — 2008-04-01

AIDS policy in post-apartheid South Africa has been shaped by persistent antipathy towards antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). This hostility was framed initially by President Mbeki's questioning of AIDS science and subsequently by direct resistance to implementing prevention and treatment programmes using ARVs. Once that battle was lost in the courts and in the political arena, the Health Minister, Tshabalala-Msimang, continued to portray ARVs as ‘poison’ and to support alternative untested therapies. Demographic modelling suggests that if the national government had used ARVs for prevention and treatment at the same rate as the Western Cape (which defied national policy on ARVs), then about 171,000 HIV infections and 343,000 deaths could have been prevented between 1999 and 2007. Two key scientific bodies, the Medicines Control Council (MCC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) fall under the ambit of the national Department of Health. Although notionally independent, both have experienced political interference as a consequence of their scientific approach towards AIDS. AIDS policy improved after the Deputy President was given responsibility for coordinating AIDS policy in 2006. However, the undermining of the scientific governance of medicine is a legacy that still needs to be addressed.

Emerging Patterns in Liberia's Post-Conflict Politics: Observations from the 2005 Elections

Sawyer, A. — 2008-04-01

The 2005 elections were the first Liberian elections in over a century in which the political environment was controlled neither by the settler oligarchy nor, latterly, by the dictators Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor. Observers feared that the post-conflict environment was not conducive to holding elections and that a serious programme of reconciliation and constitutional reform should have preceded them. Nevertheless, elections were conducted with some degree of success, providing an opportunity to identify some emerging patterns in post-conflict Liberian politics. This article assesses some of the new or hitherto dormant institutions and processes that are likely to play a significant role in shaping Liberia's political order in the twenty-first century.

'This is the Time to Get in Front': Changing Roles and Opportunities for Women in Liberia

Fuest, V. — 2008-04-01

Most research on women in war focuses on female losses. This article demonstrates that wars may also bring gains. The scope of political and economic roles that Liberian women perform today appears to be larger than before the war. Both individually and collectively, certain women have gainfully used openings the war provided them. The article discusses the historicity of Liberian gender roles, examining the social subgroups of politicians, businesswomen, women's organizations, employees, and school girls. Changes have also been fostered by the international peace-building and development business. Although the realization of female ambitions seems to be constrained by various institutional and economic factors, Liberia may harbour a unique potential for sustainable shifts in gender roles.

Fluid Loyalties in a Regional Crisis: Chadian 'Ex-Liberators' in the Central African Republic

Debos, M. — 2008-04-01

This article examines a neglected pattern of the regional crisis in Darfur, Chad, and the Central African Republic: the cross-border activities of combatants with fluid loyalties. The trajectories of Chadian ‘ex-liberators’ in CAR, which have been little documented, are used to illustrate the regional movements of armed men. The article explains how unemployed Chadian soldiers were recruited to fight with François Bozizé in CAR and why many of them joined other armed groups after Bozizé's takeover. The reconversions of armed combatants, who may easily shift allegiance and cross borders to carry on with their ‘politico-military careers’, is thus a structural characteristic of the current conflict, which has major implications both at the local and transnational levels. The article concludes that freelance military entrepreneurs’ trajectories are crucial in understanding the unfolding of this regional crisis.

The Business of Peace: Raiding and Peace Work along the Kenya-Uganda Border (Part II)

Eaton, D. — 2008-04-01

Peace work is big business along the Kenya–Uganda border. Each year, new groups are created thanks to the generosity of major donors while others disappear due to corruption and mismanagement. This cycle has continued for decades and, despite an absence of tangible results, millions of dollars continue to flow into the bank accounts of peace groups in the North Rift. As the first part of this article suggests, the focus on the so-called ‘root causes’ of violence may well be responsible for the dismal performance of the peace industry. However, the behaviour of peace NGOs in the field has been appalling. Peace meetings are often only held so NGOs can display an engagement with the conflict, despite the dangers created by such events. Other groups are dominated by politicians who use money earmarked for peace work to fund their political ambitions. Better monitoring is the obvious solution, but local groups have been able to avoid this by exaggerating the security risks of visiting the region. Others argue that offloading peace work responsibilities to CBOs might lead to better results, but in the highly ethnicized North Rift smaller groups are rarely able to transcend their local roots. This article concludes that the peace industry is deeply flawed, and requires a complete overhaul in order to have a beneficial impact on the region.

South Africa: Jacob Zuma and the Difficulties of Consolidating South Africa's Democracy

Gumede, W. M. — 2008-04-01

Post-Colonial Anxieties: (Re)Presenting African Intellectuals

Nesbitt, F. N. — 2008-04-01

The United States in Africa: Bush policy and beyond, by Raymond W. Copson

Myers, G. — 2008-04-01

China and Africa: Engagement and compromise, by Ian Taylor

Chan, S. — 2008-04-01

Ending Africa's Wars: Progressing to peace, edited by Oliver Furley and Roy May

Evans, M. — 2008-04-01

Crisis and Creativity: Exploring the wealth of the African neighbourhood, edited by Piet Konings and Dick Foeken

O'Connor, A. — 2008-04-01

Comrades, Clients and Cousins: Colonialism, socialism and democratization in Sao Tome and Principe, by Gerhard Seibert

Macqueen, N. — 2008-04-01

Islam and Colonialism: Intellectual responses of Muslims of northern Nigeria to British colonial rule, by Muhammad S. Umar

Nast, H. J. — 2008-04-01

African Women and Politics: Knowledge, gender, and power in male-dominated Cameroon, by Emmanuel Konde

Fokwang, J. — 2008-04-01

Moving the Maasai: A colonial misadventure, by Lotte Hughes

Hodgson, D. L. — 2008-04-01

The Unsettled Land: State-making and the politics of land in Zimbabwe 1893-2003, by Jocelyn Alexander

Rutherford, B. — 2008-04-01

African Gifts of the Spirit: Pentecostalism and the rise of a Zimbabwean transnational religious movement, by David Maxwell

Anderson, A. — 2008-04-01

Freedom's Distant Shores: American protestants and post-colonial alliances with Africa, edited by R. Drew Smith

Kilps, J. — 2008-04-01

A Commonwealth of Knowledge: Science, sensibility, and white South Africa 1820-2000, by Saul Dubow

Gilfoyle, D. — 2008-04-01

Bibliography: October-December 2007

Barringer, T A — 2008-04-01

A Select List of Articles on Africa Appearing in Non-Africanist Periodicals: October to December 2007

Barringer, T A — 2008-04-01