Pub Date : 2023-07-01DOI: 10.1177/09750878231176260
D. N. Mlambo, M. A. Mubecua, Victor H. Mlambo
The article examines Africa’s struggle with corruption in a post-colonial era with specific reference to South Africa. The article conceptualises the Afrocentric appraisal approach to reflect on the corruption challenges in post-colonial Africa. The article demonstrates that even though most African countries have adopted democratic systems of governance, nothing has changed, as the post-colonial leader has used the same tactics used by colonialism to maintain control, force, tyranny and oppression. Even though liberation movements in Africa were seen as heroes in the struggle for freedom, they, in turn, have become a burden to Africa’s development through increased corruption, breakdown in governance, political instability and the failure to consolidate a shared vision for Africa’s development. This observation has also been observed in South Africa. Narrowing this to South Africa, corruption has been a widespread phenomenon, predominantly post the democratic era. Over the years and until recently, the African National Congress-led government has been severely hindered by immense allegations of corruption among those top of the hierarchy. In the eyes of most academics, researchers and analysts, this has further hindered the need for inclusive development in a country faced with high numbers of escalating unemployment, inequality, poverty and crime. Driven by institutional theory, this article critically delves into corruption from an Afrocentric viewpoint, albeit focusing on South Africa’s post-democratic era.
这篇文章考察了非洲在后殖民时代与腐败的斗争,并特别提到了南非。本文将非洲中心评价方法概念化,以反思后殖民时期非洲的腐败挑战。这篇文章表明,尽管大多数非洲国家都采用了民主的治理制度,但没有任何改变,因为后殖民领导人使用了与殖民主义相同的策略来维持控制、武力、暴政和压迫。尽管非洲的解放运动被视为争取自由斗争中的英雄,但由于腐败加剧、治理崩溃、政治不稳定和未能巩固非洲发展的共同愿景,它们反过来又成为非洲发展的负担。南非也观察到这种情况。缩小到南非,腐败已经成为一种普遍现象,主要是在后民主时代。多年来,直到最近,非洲人国民大会(African National congress)领导的政府一直受到高层腐败指控的严重阻碍。在大多数学者、研究人员和分析人士看来,这进一步阻碍了一个面临大量不断升级的失业、不平等、贫困和犯罪的国家实现包容性发展的需要。在制度理论的推动下,本文从非洲中心的角度对腐败进行了批判性的深入研究,尽管关注的是南非的后民主时代。
{"title":"Post-colonial Independence and Africa’s Corruption Conundrum: A Succinct South African Critique Post-democratisation","authors":"D. N. Mlambo, M. A. Mubecua, Victor H. Mlambo","doi":"10.1177/09750878231176260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878231176260","url":null,"abstract":"The article examines Africa’s struggle with corruption in a post-colonial era with specific reference to South Africa. The article conceptualises the Afrocentric appraisal approach to reflect on the corruption challenges in post-colonial Africa. The article demonstrates that even though most African countries have adopted democratic systems of governance, nothing has changed, as the post-colonial leader has used the same tactics used by colonialism to maintain control, force, tyranny and oppression. Even though liberation movements in Africa were seen as heroes in the struggle for freedom, they, in turn, have become a burden to Africa’s development through increased corruption, breakdown in governance, political instability and the failure to consolidate a shared vision for Africa’s development. This observation has also been observed in South Africa. Narrowing this to South Africa, corruption has been a widespread phenomenon, predominantly post the democratic era. Over the years and until recently, the African National Congress-led government has been severely hindered by immense allegations of corruption among those top of the hierarchy. In the eyes of most academics, researchers and analysts, this has further hindered the need for inclusive development in a country faced with high numbers of escalating unemployment, inequality, poverty and crime. Driven by institutional theory, this article critically delves into corruption from an Afrocentric viewpoint, albeit focusing on South Africa’s post-democratic era.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"184 - 202"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45835417","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}
{"title":"Book review: Samwiri Lwanga Lunyiigo, Uganda an Indian Colony 1897–1972","authors":"Aarshi Dua","doi":"10.1177/09750878231173796","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878231173796","url":null,"abstract":"Samwiri Lwanga Lunyiigo, Uganda an Indian Colony 1897–1972, The African Studies Bookstore, 2021, pp. 224, ₹1547.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"236 - 239"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44430487","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 : 2023-07-01DOI: 10.1177/09750878231178210
C. Onah, A. Aloysius, B. Amujiri
All that mankind seeks from the dawn of civilisation to this epoch is sustainable development (SD). Due to a lack of SD, Second World War broke out and devastated Europe and retrogressed her to the status of underdevelopment. To recue Europe from the ruins, the U.S. introduced Marshall Plan (MP)—a programme of actions and projects with huge financial aid aimed at reviving and restoring Europe from the aftermaths of the war. Through MP, Europe ‘miraculously’ recovered and developed again within a brief period, and since then, Europe has been sustaining the development till date. The article argued that MP did not restore Europe because of the huge amount committed to it as many scholars claim. Rather, because of the already-built political economy of quality human resource/capital, politico-administrative capabilities and patriotism already in existence. Unlike the third world countries that have received their own versions of MP in foreign aids, programmes, loans, projects, and so on, without commiserate development.
{"title":"Marshall Plan and International Development Strategy: Perspectives from African Underdevelopment","authors":"C. Onah, A. Aloysius, B. Amujiri","doi":"10.1177/09750878231178210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878231178210","url":null,"abstract":"All that mankind seeks from the dawn of civilisation to this epoch is sustainable development (SD). Due to a lack of SD, Second World War broke out and devastated Europe and retrogressed her to the status of underdevelopment. To recue Europe from the ruins, the U.S. introduced Marshall Plan (MP)—a programme of actions and projects with huge financial aid aimed at reviving and restoring Europe from the aftermaths of the war. Through MP, Europe ‘miraculously’ recovered and developed again within a brief period, and since then, Europe has been sustaining the development till date. The article argued that MP did not restore Europe because of the huge amount committed to it as many scholars claim. Rather, because of the already-built political economy of quality human resource/capital, politico-administrative capabilities and patriotism already in existence. Unlike the third world countries that have received their own versions of MP in foreign aids, programmes, loans, projects, and so on, without commiserate development.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"169 - 183"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42693596","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 : 2023-02-05DOI: 10.1177/09750878221140555
A. I. Braimah, J. Forson
Liberal democracy is the most affectionate and all-embracing de facto and de jure form of constitutional governance worldwide. Unrepentant authoritarian regimes and other pseudo-democracies across Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa also purports to practice democracy and its imperatives. This is to achieve regime legitimacy and catch the eye of the proponents of democracy around the world. In the unique case of Africa, metropolitan states customarily evaluate the democratic credentials of peripheral states as a sine qua non to accessing international financial assistance. It is envisaged by proponents of democracy that its practice is the sidekick to national development, prosperity and human development. This paper is a reflection that thematically interrogates the efficacy of democracy as a coherent dissilient to Africa’s development. It concludes that, the argument of liberal democracy being pivotal to Africa’s development is dispiritingly distant and a hyperbole.
{"title":"Ref lections on Democracy and Development in Africa: A Hew Trail of Political Reforms","authors":"A. I. Braimah, J. Forson","doi":"10.1177/09750878221140555","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221140555","url":null,"abstract":"Liberal democracy is the most affectionate and all-embracing de facto and de jure form of constitutional governance worldwide. Unrepentant authoritarian regimes and other pseudo-democracies across Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa also purports to practice democracy and its imperatives. This is to achieve regime legitimacy and catch the eye of the proponents of democracy around the world. In the unique case of Africa, metropolitan states customarily evaluate the democratic credentials of peripheral states as a sine qua non to accessing international financial assistance. It is envisaged by proponents of democracy that its practice is the sidekick to national development, prosperity and human development. This paper is a reflection that thematically interrogates the efficacy of democracy as a coherent dissilient to Africa’s development. It concludes that, the argument of liberal democracy being pivotal to Africa’s development is dispiritingly distant and a hyperbole.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"218 - 232"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46051634","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 : 2023-01-07DOI: 10.1177/09750878221135078
Tebogo B. Sebeelo
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the world in unprecedented ways. To deal with the virus, countries across the world implemented COVID-19-related protocols that include social distancing, washing hands, wearing masks and restricting movements of people. While the literature on the impact of COVID-19 is emerging, it is still relatively unknown how the virus affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This article explores the impact of COVID-19 protocols in sub-Saharan Africa. The article broadly argues that an all-assuming and globalised approach of COVID-19 protocols is antithetical to the sub-Saharan African continent with its vast territories and unique populations. The article highlights that the African continent that houses the world’s poorest populations cannot be adequately served by COVID-19 protocols in similar ways to Western countries. It is further suggested that COVID-19 protocols that reify universalism may need to be adapted and domesticated to fit the African context. The article provides critical insights into the experience of COVID-19 protocols that has several policy implications for future pandemics and disease outbreaks in the African continent.
{"title":"Diffracting the Global: Exploring the Implementation of WHO’s COVID-19 Protocols in Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Tebogo B. Sebeelo","doi":"10.1177/09750878221135078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221135078","url":null,"abstract":"The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the world in unprecedented ways. To deal with the virus, countries across the world implemented COVID-19-related protocols that include social distancing, washing hands, wearing masks and restricting movements of people. While the literature on the impact of COVID-19 is emerging, it is still relatively unknown how the virus affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This article explores the impact of COVID-19 protocols in sub-Saharan Africa. The article broadly argues that an all-assuming and globalised approach of COVID-19 protocols is antithetical to the sub-Saharan African continent with its vast territories and unique populations. The article highlights that the African continent that houses the world’s poorest populations cannot be adequately served by COVID-19 protocols in similar ways to Western countries. It is further suggested that COVID-19 protocols that reify universalism may need to be adapted and domesticated to fit the African context. The article provides critical insights into the experience of COVID-19 protocols that has several policy implications for future pandemics and disease outbreaks in the African continent.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"203 - 217"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43868550","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 : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1177/09750878221134939
Jaya Jyotika
Flavia Gasbarri, US Foreign Policy and the End of the Cold War in Africa: A Bridge Between Global Conflict and the New World Order, 1988–1994, Routledge, Abingdon, 2020, 256 pp.
{"title":"Book review: Flavia Gasbarri, US Foreign Policy and the End of the Cold War in Africa: A Bridge Between Global Conflict and the New World Order, 1988–1994","authors":"Jaya Jyotika","doi":"10.1177/09750878221134939","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221134939","url":null,"abstract":"Flavia Gasbarri, US Foreign Policy and the End of the Cold War in Africa: A Bridge Between Global Conflict and the New World Order, 1988–1994, Routledge, Abingdon, 2020, 256 pp.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"128 - 130"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46235213","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 : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1177/09750878221135074
Daniel Assamah, Shaoyu Yuan
The conventional wisdom is that grand strategy has always been a great power phenomenon, and previous scholars have predominantly focused on countries with great military and economic capabilities. In this article, we propose that smaller states can have a grand strategy, considering how the country deploys national resources in response to external challenges and opportunities, and how this is largely impacted by the country’s historical memory. We explore how Rwanda defines grand strategy as a country, followed by an examination of the country’s major external challenges and possibilities, and then a discussion of the national pathologies that drive Rwanda’s grand strategy and decision-making process. Finally, we analyze the critical instruments Rwanda employs in its grand strategy and how the African nation dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic.
{"title":"Can Smaller Powers Have Grand Strategies? The Case of Rwanda","authors":"Daniel Assamah, Shaoyu Yuan","doi":"10.1177/09750878221135074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221135074","url":null,"abstract":"The conventional wisdom is that grand strategy has always been a great power phenomenon, and previous scholars have predominantly focused on countries with great military and economic capabilities. In this article, we propose that smaller states can have a grand strategy, considering how the country deploys national resources in response to external challenges and opportunities, and how this is largely impacted by the country’s historical memory. We explore how Rwanda defines grand strategy as a country, followed by an examination of the country’s major external challenges and possibilities, and then a discussion of the national pathologies that drive Rwanda’s grand strategy and decision-making process. Finally, we analyze the critical instruments Rwanda employs in its grand strategy and how the African nation dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"108 - 127"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48644933","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}
{"title":"Book review: Peter Martell, First Raise a Flag: How South Sudan Won the Longest War but Lost the Peace","authors":"A. Anshu","doi":"10.1177/09750878221134976","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221134976","url":null,"abstract":"Peter Martell, First Raise a Flag: How South Sudan Won the Longest War but Lost the Peace, Oxford University Press, 2019, 332 pp.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"130 - 132"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43940190","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 : 2022-08-21DOI: 10.1177/09750878221114377
J. Cocodia
Inadequate attention is given to the influence of local women in fostering peace. Scholars and policymakers in striving to plug this deficit now pay more attention to the contributions women make to peace. This article supports this reorientation and makes a case for encouraging local women in peace processes by pointing out the difficulties in ending conflict when they channel their efforts to conflict exacerbation out of being denied formal spaces to contribute to peace. Using events from the conflict in Liberia (1989–2003), Burundi (1993–2005) and Sudan’s Darfur (2007 to date), this study points to the significance of harnessing the energies of local women in forging peace during conflict and sustaining it post conflict. Using descriptive analysis, this article argues in support of conventional feminist thought that the absence of women from peace initiatives conjures a vital missing link in achieving stability.
{"title":"Local Women and Building the Peace: Narratives from Africa","authors":"J. Cocodia","doi":"10.1177/09750878221114377","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221114377","url":null,"abstract":"Inadequate attention is given to the influence of local women in fostering peace. Scholars and policymakers in striving to plug this deficit now pay more attention to the contributions women make to peace. This article supports this reorientation and makes a case for encouraging local women in peace processes by pointing out the difficulties in ending conflict when they channel their efforts to conflict exacerbation out of being denied formal spaces to contribute to peace. Using events from the conflict in Liberia (1989–2003), Burundi (1993–2005) and Sudan’s Darfur (2007 to date), this study points to the significance of harnessing the energies of local women in forging peace during conflict and sustaining it post conflict. Using descriptive analysis, this article argues in support of conventional feminist thought that the absence of women from peace initiatives conjures a vital missing link in achieving stability.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"71 - 87"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47807341","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 : 2022-08-06DOI: 10.1177/09750878221114384
Yihenew Misrak, Yayew Genet, K. Muluye
The objective of this article is to explain the existing demands and contestations on the amendment of the current constitution of Ethiopia. It also aims at analysing the effects of the un-amendable constitution on the political system of the state. A qualitative study was employed to collect and analyse the required data. Both primary and secondary sources of data was collected through interview and the analysis of documents. Accordingly, the study indicated that the demands of constitutional amendment on the part of FDRE constitution is related to the illegitimate constitutional-making process, inadequate constitutional provisions and the presence of new emerging political dynamics. The rigid amendment rules, undemocratic nature of the regime and the deviation among political actors on the issue of amendment are the main contestations against the stated demands. At the end, the investigation showed that the political insecurity and declining of constitutional legitimacy are major effects of the un-amendable aspects of the FDRE constitution, which in turn undermine the required political reforms in the country.
{"title":"The Demands and Contests of Constitutional Amendment in Ethiopia: Analysis on the 1995 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Constitution","authors":"Yihenew Misrak, Yayew Genet, K. Muluye","doi":"10.1177/09750878221114384","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221114384","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of this article is to explain the existing demands and contestations on the amendment of the current constitution of Ethiopia. It also aims at analysing the effects of the un-amendable constitution on the political system of the state. A qualitative study was employed to collect and analyse the required data. Both primary and secondary sources of data was collected through interview and the analysis of documents. Accordingly, the study indicated that the demands of constitutional amendment on the part of FDRE constitution is related to the illegitimate constitutional-making process, inadequate constitutional provisions and the presence of new emerging political dynamics. The rigid amendment rules, undemocratic nature of the regime and the deviation among political actors on the issue of amendment are the main contestations against the stated demands. At the end, the investigation showed that the political insecurity and declining of constitutional legitimacy are major effects of the un-amendable aspects of the FDRE constitution, which in turn undermine the required political reforms in the country.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":"15 1","pages":"88 - 107"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41591355","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}