African Affairs - current issue

US policy towards Africa: The Bush legacy and the Obama administration

van de Walle, N. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

This article discusses the Bush administration’s African policy legacy and its implications for the Obama administration. Many have argued that the events of 9/11 led the administration to view the African subcontinent differently, and that the US has altered its conception of national interests in the region. The tripling of American foreign aid to the region is noteworthy. AFRICOM’s creation also suggests a policy shift. The article is nonetheless sceptical that these changes represent a paradigmatic shift in policy towards Africa, rather than a partial and inconsistent adjustment made possible by a conjunction of quite specific circumstances. Indeed, these circumstances provided an opportunity to redefine US foreign policy towards the region, which the Bush administration largely failed to do. The article argues that the weight of the American diplomatic presence in the region has continued to decline, because of the worsening institutional fragmentation in the foreign policy apparatus, contradictions in policy, and the decline in the State Department’s institutional capacity. As the Obama administration defines US policy in the region, it must address most of the same conundrums as its predecessors, but with less leverage than past administrations and constrained by the fiscal effects of the worst recession in sixty years.

Representations of Ethnicity in the Search for Peace: Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo

Pottier, J. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

This article scrutinizes writings on ethnicity with reference to Hema and Lendu, the main protagonists in the Ituri conflict (1999–2007). First, it reviews representations during the conflict: Hema leaders portray Lendu as ‘wild and untameable’, ‘génocidaires’, and ‘incapable of governance’; Lendu leaders portray Hema as driven by an innate desire for political and economic control, a self-appointed elite whose legitimacy must be questioned. Next, the article turns to the origins of these (mis)representations by considering how Hema and Lendu have been viewed over the course of the twentieth century – by anthropologists, colonial administrators, missionaries, and explorers. This review challenges received wisdom about pre-colonial and early colonial interactions between Hema and Lendu, thus shedding light on a critical phase of history that remains insufficiently understood, and supporting the argument that a re-crafting of the dominant discourse on history is a challenge that is central to the current peace process.

Parties, Platforms, and Political Mobilization: The Zambian Presidential Election of 2008

Cheeseman, N., Hinfelaar, M. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

The death of President Levy Mwanawasa in August 2008 plunged Zambian politics into a state of flux. This article argues that the way the main parties responded to the challenge of the resulting presidential by-election has three lessons to teach the emerging literature on political parties. First, Rupiah Banda’s rise to power within the MMD demonstrates the extent to which intra-party machinations can leave a party saddled with an unpopular leader, and hence illustrates the great significance of succession struggles within dominant-party systems. Second, the main parties’ continual repositioning of their electoral platforms reveals that not all African elections take place in an ideological vacuum, and shows that the platforms parties adopt can only be fully understood in the context of the wider party system and the way in which parties interact over time. Finally, the ability of controversial opposition leader Michael Sata to mobilize a diverse support base – by employing a ‘populist’ message in urban areas at the same time as receiving the support of his ethno-regional community in rural areas – lays bare the complexity of party strategies and the limits of the ‘ethnic census’ model of party support. Taken together, these findings suggest that the tendency to divorce the study of elections from the study of how parties function and interact impoverishes our understanding of African politics.

The relativity of poverty and income: How reliable are African economic statistics?

Jerven, M. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

It has been argued that the fundamental cause of Africa’s current relative poverty is a lack of pro-growth institutions deriving either from the colonial system, the period of slavery, or from particular geographic or population characteristics. This article takes a fresh look at estimates of African country incomes. It subjects the available datasets to tests of accuracy, reliability, and volatility, and finds that there is very little to explain in terms of diversity of income between countries. With the exception of some resource-rich enclaves, a few island states, and South Africa, the income of one African economy is not meaningfully different from another. It is found that the majority of African countries should for all practical purposes be considered to have the same income level. The article therefore concludes that it is futile to use GDP estimates to prove a link between income today and existence of pro-growth institutions in the past, and recommends a searching reconsideration of the almost exclusive use of GDP as a measure of relative development.

'Peace and Security' as Counterterrorism? The Political Effects of Liberal Interventions in Kenya

Bachmann, J., Honke, J. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

This article analyses the merging of development and security in Western policies vis-à-vis ‘deficient’ states in the Global South, looking at the social life of anti-terror policies in Kenya. The attacks on 11 September 2001 renewed the interest in strong and stable states, leading many donors to focus on capacity building and security sector reform. In Kenya, the repressive use of these new powers by the Kibaki government has created significant resistance and the main external actors have taken the local opposition into account and have adapted their anti-terror agendas. They have complemented hard security assistance with soft interventions aimed at addressing local issues such as conflict prevention and development in communities perceived as being ‘at risk’ of harbouring terrorists. Representing a more general shift in security interventions in Africa, countering terrorism is now presented as part of a broader ‘peace and security’ agenda, but despite using new methods to engage with so-called crucial parts of the population, this repositioning is not a paradigm shift. Despite the different approaches and objectives, the various projects have ambiguous effects and donors have not abandoned the traditional rationality, which privileges homeland protection over civil rights in the recipient country.

Transforming the region: Supermarkets and the local food economy

Abrahams, C. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Supermarkets are often seen as marking the transition of food economies from traditional, informal, low-quality markets to more sophisticated, quality-based modes of food retailing. Focusing on Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, this article critically assesses the claim that supermarkets ‘revolutionize’ food economies in Africa. While supermarkets have been successful in expanding their investment reach in Zambia, the article shows that they are not the only players in the food economy, neither are they the most dominant. The article argues for a more critical engagement with supermarkets and their role in urban Africa by drawing attention to contextual changes in the local food economy and factors in the regional political economy that drive/resist the process. It argues that the ‘supermarket revolution myopia’ sidelines evidence of other potentially transformative processes by which the transition of food economies is made possible, and shows that ‘informal’ food markets, made up of complex networks of interaction, present a considerable challenge to the claims that supermarkets transform food economies in urban Africa. Transitions in the regulation, governance, and physical infrastructure of these markets suggest that they are progressively more resilient and competitive, despite the growth of supermarkets.

Liberia's Experiment With Transitional Justice

Steinberg, J. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Notes and News July 2009 - December 2009

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Performing Africa

Edmondson, L. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Africa: Altered states, ordinary miracles, by Richard Dowden

Lemanski, C. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

African Military History, edited by John Lamphear

Jackson, A. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2008: How child-friendly are African Governments? By the African Child Policy Forum

Ruiz-Casares, M. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Decentralisation in Africa: A pathway out of poverty and conflict? Edited by Gordon Crawford and Christof Hartmann

Manor, J. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Health Knowledge and Belief Systems in Africa, edited by Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton

Tuli, K. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

France and the New Imperialism: Security policy in sub-Saharan Africa, by Bruno Charbonneau

Ingram, A. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

The Role of France in the Rwandan Genocide, by Kroslak Daniela

Eide, T. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Arrested Development in Ethiopia: Essays on underdevelopment, democracy and self-determination, edited by Seyoum Hameso and Mohammed Hassen

Yusuf, S. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Southern Africa, by Jonathan Farley

Lemon, A. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Language, Identity, Modernity: The Arabic Study Circle of Durban, by Shamil Jeppie

Haron, M. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

Bibliography

Barringer, T. A. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST

A Select List of Articles on Africa Appearing in Non-Africanist Periodicals: July-September 2009

Barringer, T. A. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:38:09 PST