Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1936998
Alexander Makulilo, M. Bakari
ABSTRACT Tanzania has, over the past two decades, made remarkable progress in terms of women’s representation in the parliament. In the women in parliament rankings, Tanzania comes 23rd in the world and the 8th in Africa with 36.6% Members of Parliament. This achievement is largely a result of struggles by the women’s movement in which a transformative feminist organization namely the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP-Mtandao) is clearly singled out to have played a leading role. This paper provides a critical assessment of the contribution of TGNP-Mtandao in promoting women’s representation and participation in decision-making processes in Tanzania. Specifically, it focuses to understand how TGNP’s leadership style contributed change in the rules of the game towards the achievement of gender equality and women’s political empowerment. In order to accomplish this endeavour, this work employed qualitative research so as to gain an in-depth understanding of gender issues in Tanzania’s context. Data were collected mainly through interviews with key stakeholders from parliamentarians and non-governmental organizations. Moreover, election reports, evaluation reports, gender reports, and legislations were reviewed to provide secondary data.
{"title":"Building a transformative feminist movement for women empowerment in Tanzania: the role of the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP-Mtandao)","authors":"Alexander Makulilo, M. Bakari","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1936998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1936998","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Tanzania has, over the past two decades, made remarkable progress in terms of women’s representation in the parliament. In the women in parliament rankings, Tanzania comes 23rd in the world and the 8th in Africa with 36.6% Members of Parliament. This achievement is largely a result of struggles by the women’s movement in which a transformative feminist organization namely the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP-Mtandao) is clearly singled out to have played a leading role. This paper provides a critical assessment of the contribution of TGNP-Mtandao in promoting women’s representation and participation in decision-making processes in Tanzania. Specifically, it focuses to understand how TGNP’s leadership style contributed change in the rules of the game towards the achievement of gender equality and women’s political empowerment. In order to accomplish this endeavour, this work employed qualitative research so as to gain an in-depth understanding of gender issues in Tanzania’s context. Data were collected mainly through interviews with key stakeholders from parliamentarians and non-governmental organizations. Moreover, election reports, evaluation reports, gender reports, and legislations were reviewed to provide secondary data.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":"21 1","pages":"155 - 174"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88062456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1943149
Christopher Appiah-Thompson
ABSTRACT This paper explores the contentions surrounding the legal reasoning in the judicial review of Ghana’s 2012 presidential election petition and its electoral and legal implications. Due to the political nature of the electoral petition, the judiciary is dragged into the ‘live wire’ of electoral politics, which brings their credibility and legitimacy into question. This study argues that the adversarial nature of judicial review makes it more likely for defeated political actors to impugn political bias in the administration of electoral justice, instead of adhering to the higher constitutional principles of popular sovereignty and natural justice. Based on content analyses of the different principles and interpretive methods underpinning the adjudication of the election petition, it distils some implications for the direction of judicial reforms and the emerging electoral jurisprudence. The paper demonstrates that the excessive executive powers in the appointment of procedures of judges’ revealed major cracks in the practice of judicial review. In sum, this study makes an important theoretical and empirical contribution to the current debates on the role of constitutional courts in the consolidation of democratic governance in African states.
{"title":"The politics of judicial review of elections in Ghana: Implications for judicial reforms and emerging electoral jurisprudence","authors":"Christopher Appiah-Thompson","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1943149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1943149","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper explores the contentions surrounding the legal reasoning in the judicial review of Ghana’s 2012 presidential election petition and its electoral and legal implications. Due to the political nature of the electoral petition, the judiciary is dragged into the ‘live wire’ of electoral politics, which brings their credibility and legitimacy into question. This study argues that the adversarial nature of judicial review makes it more likely for defeated political actors to impugn political bias in the administration of electoral justice, instead of adhering to the higher constitutional principles of popular sovereignty and natural justice. Based on content analyses of the different principles and interpretive methods underpinning the adjudication of the election petition, it distils some implications for the direction of judicial reforms and the emerging electoral jurisprudence. The paper demonstrates that the excessive executive powers in the appointment of procedures of judges’ revealed major cracks in the practice of judicial review. In sum, this study makes an important theoretical and empirical contribution to the current debates on the role of constitutional courts in the consolidation of democratic governance in African states.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":"56 1","pages":"251 - 269"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78904013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1937466
M. Zoppi
{"title":"Militarizing marriage: West African soldiers’ conjugal traditions in modern French empire","authors":"M. Zoppi","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1937466","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1937466","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"293 - 295"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89338691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1943265
H. Kayuni, Dan Banik, J. Chunga
ABSTRACT The landlocked geo-political situation has been a dominating theme that has influenced Malawi's foreign policy since independence in 1964. Mozambique shares a long border line with Malawi surrounding it from south-east to south-west and offers the closest port city for its trade and commerce. For purposes of trade, Malawi uses four so-called corridors, three of which pass through Mozambique. Malawi's quest to deal with its geo-political disadvantage of being landlocked often appears to collide with Mozambique's national interests. This article critically discusses a recent and highly controversial effort undertaken by Malawi to improve its geo-political position under the umbrella of the Shire-Zambezi Waterway project. The main goal of the project was to provide Malawi with access to the Indian ocean through Mozambique's port city of Chinde. The article draws on a range of methodological approaches including extensive literature review as well as over fifty interviews with key informants. It argues that despite the project's economic benefits, the ‘megaphone diplomacy’ strategy that the former Malawian president adopted in relation to Mozambique resulted in the failure of the project. In spite of the popularity of concepts such as ‘globalization’, ‘regional integration’ and ‘partnerships’, we demonstrate how the national interest continues to reign supreme in diplomacy. The article concludes that the waterway project may work out in the future on two possible grounds: when Malawi changes its diplomatic approach and when the national interests of both countries are harmonized.
{"title":"The perils of megaphone diplomacy on Malawi’s ambitious Shire- Zambezi Waterway project","authors":"H. Kayuni, Dan Banik, J. Chunga","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1943265","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1943265","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The landlocked geo-political situation has been a dominating theme that has influenced Malawi's foreign policy since independence in 1964. Mozambique shares a long border line with Malawi surrounding it from south-east to south-west and offers the closest port city for its trade and commerce. For purposes of trade, Malawi uses four so-called corridors, three of which pass through Mozambique. Malawi's quest to deal with its geo-political disadvantage of being landlocked often appears to collide with Mozambique's national interests. This article critically discusses a recent and highly controversial effort undertaken by Malawi to improve its geo-political position under the umbrella of the Shire-Zambezi Waterway project. The main goal of the project was to provide Malawi with access to the Indian ocean through Mozambique's port city of Chinde. The article draws on a range of methodological approaches including extensive literature review as well as over fifty interviews with key informants. It argues that despite the project's economic benefits, the ‘megaphone diplomacy’ strategy that the former Malawian president adopted in relation to Mozambique resulted in the failure of the project. In spite of the popularity of concepts such as ‘globalization’, ‘regional integration’ and ‘partnerships’, we demonstrate how the national interest continues to reign supreme in diplomacy. The article concludes that the waterway project may work out in the future on two possible grounds: when Malawi changes its diplomatic approach and when the national interests of both countries are harmonized.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":"29 1","pages":"270 - 289"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86216866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1936999
G. Nubong
ABSTRACT This paper argues that Africa needs to adopt a more pragmatic approach to its regional integration agenda in order to increase the prospects of the objectives of the Continental Free Trade Area. The paper examines the political economy realities of Africa’s integration and highlights certain contextual challenges that have created a gap between the continent’s regional integration stated intentions and objectives as contained in the Abuja Treaty forming the African Economic Community (AEC) and the attainment of the identified integration milestones within the identified timeframes. The disparity between identified objectives and implementation realities requires that Africa should evaluate its chosen approach to integration before embarking upon another project like the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) in order not to repeat the failures of the past. Such an evaluation should bring the continent to revisit its current disproportionate emphasis on market integration and pursuit of a trade liberalization agenda in favour of a developmental regionalism approach to integration. A developmental regionalism approach is one that seeks to promote mutually beneficial trade amongst African Union member states while placing an equal amount of emphasis on industrial development and the upgrading of regional value chains that are a prerequisite for transformative industrialization. For the CFTA to succeed, Africa would need to place much emphasis on cooperation on cross border infrastructure investment and development, while continuing its efforts aimed at the harmonisation of standards and related trade facilitation measures. This change of emphasis to adopt a developmental regionalism approach it is argued would yield greater developmental benefits and increase the success prospects of the CFTA.
{"title":"Developmental regionalism and the success prospects of Africa’s continental free trade area (CFTA): lessons from Africa’s early integration experience","authors":"G. Nubong","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1936999","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1936999","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper argues that Africa needs to adopt a more pragmatic approach to its regional integration agenda in order to increase the prospects of the objectives of the Continental Free Trade Area. The paper examines the political economy realities of Africa’s integration and highlights certain contextual challenges that have created a gap between the continent’s regional integration stated intentions and objectives as contained in the Abuja Treaty forming the African Economic Community (AEC) and the attainment of the identified integration milestones within the identified timeframes. The disparity between identified objectives and implementation realities requires that Africa should evaluate its chosen approach to integration before embarking upon another project like the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) in order not to repeat the failures of the past. Such an evaluation should bring the continent to revisit its current disproportionate emphasis on market integration and pursuit of a trade liberalization agenda in favour of a developmental regionalism approach to integration. A developmental regionalism approach is one that seeks to promote mutually beneficial trade amongst African Union member states while placing an equal amount of emphasis on industrial development and the upgrading of regional value chains that are a prerequisite for transformative industrialization. For the CFTA to succeed, Africa would need to place much emphasis on cooperation on cross border infrastructure investment and development, while continuing its efforts aimed at the harmonisation of standards and related trade facilitation measures. This change of emphasis to adopt a developmental regionalism approach it is argued would yield greater developmental benefits and increase the success prospects of the CFTA.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":"58 1","pages":"123 - 138"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80501321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1943144
I. Nyadera, Billy Agwanda, M. O. Kisaka
ABSTRACT This article examines the place of non-economic drivers in China–Africa relations. While existing studies are hinged on economic relations between Beijing and the continent, this study focuses on non-economic aspects that underlie Africa’s relations with China. Taking the soft power approach, the paper illuminates on the salience of attractiveness in international politics and interrogates sources of China’s attractiveness in the continent and compares China’s actions with those of traditional actors for broader empirical coverage and methodological rigour. The authors argue that while economic drivers are an important basis for understanding China–Africa relations, several fundamental features beyond the economic relations supplement the growing relations between Beijing and Africa.
{"title":"China–Africa relations: do non-economic drivers matter?","authors":"I. Nyadera, Billy Agwanda, M. O. Kisaka","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1943144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1943144","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article examines the place of non-economic drivers in China–Africa relations. While existing studies are hinged on economic relations between Beijing and the continent, this study focuses on non-economic aspects that underlie Africa’s relations with China. Taking the soft power approach, the paper illuminates on the salience of attractiveness in international politics and interrogates sources of China’s attractiveness in the continent and compares China’s actions with those of traditional actors for broader empirical coverage and methodological rigour. The authors argue that while economic drivers are an important basis for understanding China–Africa relations, several fundamental features beyond the economic relations supplement the growing relations between Beijing and Africa.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":"9 1","pages":"175 - 198"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87352713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1941694
P. Onuh, C. C. Ike
ABSTRACT Electoral malpractices undermine the legitimacy of the electoral process, the general acceptability of electoral outcomes, and challenges the democratization process in Nigeria. This study examines the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the electoral process and its impact on the credibility of electoral outcomes in Nigeria, with emphasis on the 2019 general election. With evidence collected from documentary sources, we argue that the role of CSOs in the democratization process (before, during, and after elections) is important in advancing democracy in Nigeria. We found that the participation of CSOs in the electoral process of 2019, as significant as it was, was undermined by the paucity of fund, insecurity, administrative bottlenecks, and limited access for monitoring movement of sensitive election materials. We recommend, among other things, that the government set aside support funds for qualified/accredited Civil Society Organisations in the electoral process to aid them in undertaking their important role in the democratization process.
{"title":"Civil Society Organizations and electoral credibility in Nigeria","authors":"P. Onuh, C. C. Ike","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1941694","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1941694","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Electoral malpractices undermine the legitimacy of the electoral process, the general acceptability of electoral outcomes, and challenges the democratization process in Nigeria. This study examines the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the electoral process and its impact on the credibility of electoral outcomes in Nigeria, with emphasis on the 2019 general election. With evidence collected from documentary sources, we argue that the role of CSOs in the democratization process (before, during, and after elections) is important in advancing democracy in Nigeria. We found that the participation of CSOs in the electoral process of 2019, as significant as it was, was undermined by the paucity of fund, insecurity, administrative bottlenecks, and limited access for monitoring movement of sensitive election materials. We recommend, among other things, that the government set aside support funds for qualified/accredited Civil Society Organisations in the electoral process to aid them in undertaking their important role in the democratization process.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":"89 2 1","pages":"233 - 250"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74530859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-28DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1943148
Clemence Rusenga, S. Ncube
ABSTRACT This study explores implications of the failure to accommodate formal land restitution in the Zimbabwean Fast-Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), resulting in neglect of local communities’ autochthonous connections to land especially where their interests clash with those of political elites. It makes the point that this opened land reform to abuse by political elites and marginalized competing local community interests in prime land and valuable agricultural properties. In the absence of a formal policy for restitution, elites mobilized political and state power to enforce their commercial interests over those of neighbouring communities. Drawing from international experiences, the study argues that a formal policy of land restitution would enable local communities, including ethnic minorities, to legally reclaim lost ancestral land and limit elite capture of valuable agricultural properties.
{"title":"The fast-track land reform programme in Zimbabwe: implications for land restitution","authors":"Clemence Rusenga, S. Ncube","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1943148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1943148","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study explores implications of the failure to accommodate formal land restitution in the Zimbabwean Fast-Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), resulting in neglect of local communities’ autochthonous connections to land especially where their interests clash with those of political elites. It makes the point that this opened land reform to abuse by political elites and marginalized competing local community interests in prime land and valuable agricultural properties. In the absence of a formal policy for restitution, elites mobilized political and state power to enforce their commercial interests over those of neighbouring communities. Drawing from international experiences, the study argues that a formal policy of land restitution would enable local communities, including ethnic minorities, to legally reclaim lost ancestral land and limit elite capture of valuable agricultural properties.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":"13 1","pages":"217 - 232"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78582773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-25DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1943145
Innocent Batsani-Ncube
ABSTRACT In December 2017, South Africa’s ruling party, the ANC, announced that they will adopt expropriation of land without compensation and free higher education for 90% of students. These policy positions had been associated with the radical left-wing EFF party. This article asks whether the EFF influenced the ANC policy shifts and if they did, how? Leveraging Williams (2006)’s theory of peripheral party impact and the process tracing method, the study finds evidence of EFF direct causal contribution on ANC policy shift on land reform and strong grounds for inferring indirect influence of the EFF on ANC policy shift on higher education funding. Data sources included policy documents, manifestos, speeches by ANC and EFF political leaders and parliamentary motions. The study contributes to the literature on peripheral party impact and understanding populism in Africa.
{"title":"Governing from the opposition?’: tracing the impact of EFF’s ‘niche populist politics’ on ANC policy shifts","authors":"Innocent Batsani-Ncube","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1943145","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1943145","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In December 2017, South Africa’s ruling party, the ANC, announced that they will adopt expropriation of land without compensation and free higher education for 90% of students. These policy positions had been associated with the radical left-wing EFF party. This article asks whether the EFF influenced the ANC policy shifts and if they did, how? Leveraging Williams (2006)’s theory of peripheral party impact and the process tracing method, the study finds evidence of EFF direct causal contribution on ANC policy shift on land reform and strong grounds for inferring indirect influence of the EFF on ANC policy shift on higher education funding. Data sources included policy documents, manifestos, speeches by ANC and EFF political leaders and parliamentary motions. The study contributes to the literature on peripheral party impact and understanding populism in Africa.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":"32 1","pages":"199 - 216"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81981890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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