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":null,"pages":null},"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":null,"pages":null},"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":null,"pages":null},"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 : 2021-07-01DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2021.1937002
P. Haokip
{"title":"African immigrant families in another France","authors":"P. Haokip","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2021.1937002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2021.1937002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78769885","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":null,"pages":null},"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":null,"pages":null},"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}
Pub Date : 2020-12-24DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2020.1842993
U. Obuka, E. Adibe, Onyedikachi Josiah Alozie, Morning-Glory Nwafor, Helen U. Agu, I. Chime, P. Umoh, Obinne Oguejiofor, N. Nwafor, Paul Abutu
ABSTRACT The extractive industry is essential to the economic development of Nigeria. Accordingly, section 6 of Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Act 2007provides for a stakeholders forum called National Stakeholders Working Group of which Civil Society Organizations are involved. But the participation of civil society organizations in this forum has not been effective. Using doctrinal approach, the paper analyses the roles of civil society organizations as stakeholder representative in Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative. It seeks to identify the obstacles hindering their effective participation. The paper finds that problems ranging from lack of cooperation among the civil society organizations, politicization of their appointments by the President into the forum and other issues act as hindrances to their effective participation in the National Stakeholders Working Group. It is suggested that section 6 of Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Act be amended to give civil society organization the freedom to appoint a representative into the forum while they are encouraged to develop a better synergy amongst them.
{"title":"Obstacles to effective participation of civil society organizations in Nigerian extractive industry transparency initiative","authors":"U. Obuka, E. Adibe, Onyedikachi Josiah Alozie, Morning-Glory Nwafor, Helen U. Agu, I. Chime, P. Umoh, Obinne Oguejiofor, N. Nwafor, Paul Abutu","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2020.1842993","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2020.1842993","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The extractive industry is essential to the economic development of Nigeria. Accordingly, section 6 of Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Act 2007provides for a stakeholders forum called National Stakeholders Working Group of which Civil Society Organizations are involved. But the participation of civil society organizations in this forum has not been effective. Using doctrinal approach, the paper analyses the roles of civil society organizations as stakeholder representative in Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative. It seeks to identify the obstacles hindering their effective participation. The paper finds that problems ranging from lack of cooperation among the civil society organizations, politicization of their appointments by the President into the forum and other issues act as hindrances to their effective participation in the National Stakeholders Working Group. It is suggested that section 6 of Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Act be amended to give civil society organization the freedom to appoint a representative into the forum while they are encouraged to develop a better synergy amongst them.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84080689","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 : 2020-11-23DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2020.1842994
Christian A. Williams
In this book Joanna Tague traces Africa’s decolonization from the perspective of Mozambicans displaced from Portuguese-ruled Mozambique and living in Tanzania during the 1960s and early 1970s. As s...
{"title":"Displaced Mozambicans in postcolonial Tanzania: refugee power, mobility, education and rural development","authors":"Christian A. Williams","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2020.1842994","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2020.1842994","url":null,"abstract":"In this book Joanna Tague traces Africa’s decolonization from the perspective of Mozambicans displaced from Portuguese-ruled Mozambique and living in Tanzania during the 1960s and early 1970s. As s...","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74824922","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 : 2020-11-10DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2020.1842995
Rajneesh Gupta
American strategist Alfred Thayer Mahanin his book The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890) argued that ‘the sea power provides the basis of national power’. His conception of naval policy wa...
{"title":"Maritime security in East and West Africa – a tale of two regions","authors":"Rajneesh Gupta","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2020.1842995","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2020.1842995","url":null,"abstract":"American strategist Alfred Thayer Mahanin his book The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890) argued that ‘the sea power provides the basis of national power’. His conception of naval policy wa...","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80877398","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 : 2020-11-04DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2020.1840900
Fanie Herman
ABSTRACT The word trust is oftentimes used by leaders in the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and as the literature points out mainly to foster conditions for cooperation and mutual understanding. Studies in International Relations (IR), reveal that trust is an important tool to manage social behaviour in multilateral organizations by way of past and current interactions, learning and sharing and encapsulating common interests. Group meetings in the forum is the main form of interaction and ultimately aim to advance the collective interest, however, interpersonal contacts between leaders and officials also contribute to a common set of objectives. Trust is also an attribute in the establishment of Sino-African strategic partnerships that have increased in recent years. The argument is that concepts of trust in IR can provide answers to the following research question. What are the characteristics of trust-building in the forum and does it facilitate and enhance cooperation and understanding? This question is addressed along three main themes. China’s role as initiator of trust building, the managing of relations between the members and a socio-psychological approach to create trust. An important finding is that interaction creates conditions for acquiring information about the interests of other members and the expected outcomes they want to achieve. In return, when members believe in the benefits of cooperation, they will behave in a trustworthy manner to build better relationships.
{"title":"Does trust facilitate cooperation in the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)? A socio-psychological approach","authors":"Fanie Herman","doi":"10.1080/09744053.2020.1840900","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2020.1840900","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The word trust is oftentimes used by leaders in the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and as the literature points out mainly to foster conditions for cooperation and mutual understanding. Studies in International Relations (IR), reveal that trust is an important tool to manage social behaviour in multilateral organizations by way of past and current interactions, learning and sharing and encapsulating common interests. Group meetings in the forum is the main form of interaction and ultimately aim to advance the collective interest, however, interpersonal contacts between leaders and officials also contribute to a common set of objectives. Trust is also an attribute in the establishment of Sino-African strategic partnerships that have increased in recent years. The argument is that concepts of trust in IR can provide answers to the following research question. What are the characteristics of trust-building in the forum and does it facilitate and enhance cooperation and understanding? This question is addressed along three main themes. China’s role as initiator of trust building, the managing of relations between the members and a socio-psychological approach to create trust. An important finding is that interaction creates conditions for acquiring information about the interests of other members and the expected outcomes they want to achieve. In return, when members believe in the benefits of cooperation, they will behave in a trustworthy manner to build better relationships.","PeriodicalId":41966,"journal":{"name":"Africa Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87263321","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}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：