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":null,"pages":null},"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":null,"pages":null},"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":null,"pages":null},"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":null,"pages":null},"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":null,"pages":null},"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}
Pub Date : 2022-08-05DOI: 10.1177/09750878221114381
Sebastian Purwins
Ghana has gained international attention due to a controversial deal, which it has entered with the Chinese Sinohydro Corporation Limited. Sinohydro is investing $2 billion in infrastructure development, in return for refined bauxite over a 15-year period. When it comes to resource-backed loans between China and African governments, these types of cooperation are widely known as the Angola Model. Besides the criticism of resource-secured lending, in some African countries, these practices are declined, while in others it continues, but also evolve. For example in Guinea and in Ghana. This article takes a closer look at the structure and concerns regarding Ghana’s Sinohydro deal in comparison to the Angola Model. The main difference appears to be (a) the established para-state company charged with managing the extraction of bauxite and (b) the plans to develop an integrated bauxite–aluminum industry within Ghana. On the other side, environmental concerns regarding bypassing regulations or possible pollution remain the same.
{"title":"Same Same, but Different: Ghana’s Sinohydro Deal as Evolved ‘Angola Model’?","authors":"Sebastian Purwins","doi":"10.1177/09750878221114381","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221114381","url":null,"abstract":"Ghana has gained international attention due to a controversial deal, which it has entered with the Chinese Sinohydro Corporation Limited. Sinohydro is investing $2 billion in infrastructure development, in return for refined bauxite over a 15-year period. When it comes to resource-backed loans between China and African governments, these types of cooperation are widely known as the Angola Model. Besides the criticism of resource-secured lending, in some African countries, these practices are declined, while in others it continues, but also evolve. For example in Guinea and in Ghana. This article takes a closer look at the structure and concerns regarding Ghana’s Sinohydro deal in comparison to the Angola Model. The main difference appears to be (a) the established para-state company charged with managing the extraction of bauxite and (b) the plans to develop an integrated bauxite–aluminum industry within Ghana. On the other side, environmental concerns regarding bypassing regulations or possible pollution remain the same.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42266487","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 : 2022-08-05DOI: 10.1177/09750878221114378
Thomas Ameyaw-Brobbey, Dennis Senam Amable
Since the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, international relations (IR) literature on the pandemic’s implication on global politics has generally increased, while studies on small businesses and human developmental consequences in the developing world have lagged. In this context, through a micro-level analysis, this article investigates the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic affects the economically bottom-class citizens and their businesses, focusing on small-scale vendors in Ghana. It utilises content analysis to examine 384 small-scale vendors in four cities/towns (Accra, Tema, Sunyani, Ho) in Ghana between August and October 2021. We show that the pandemic has negatively affected economic life and ordinary living conditions by increasing poverty among economically bottom-class citizens, likely to have dire long-term consequences nationally. Further, we contend that the small-scale vendors and entrepreneurs recognise leveraging the increasing Chinese global economic influence. Thus, China provides an exit point through which the people can navigate themselves out of the COVID-19 predicaments. Our study is novel for its first-level—individual—analysis of the impact of COVID-19 in the Ghanaian market space from an IR perspective. It also provides policy relevance.
{"title":"A Micro-assessment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Realities on Small-Scale Vendors in Ghana: China as a Leveraging Resource","authors":"Thomas Ameyaw-Brobbey, Dennis Senam Amable","doi":"10.1177/09750878221114378","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221114378","url":null,"abstract":"Since the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, international relations (IR) literature on the pandemic’s implication on global politics has generally increased, while studies on small businesses and human developmental consequences in the developing world have lagged. In this context, through a micro-level analysis, this article investigates the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic affects the economically bottom-class citizens and their businesses, focusing on small-scale vendors in Ghana. It utilises content analysis to examine 384 small-scale vendors in four cities/towns (Accra, Tema, Sunyani, Ho) in Ghana between August and October 2021. We show that the pandemic has negatively affected economic life and ordinary living conditions by increasing poverty among economically bottom-class citizens, likely to have dire long-term consequences nationally. Further, we contend that the small-scale vendors and entrepreneurs recognise leveraging the increasing Chinese global economic influence. Thus, China provides an exit point through which the people can navigate themselves out of the COVID-19 predicaments. Our study is novel for its first-level—individual—analysis of the impact of COVID-19 in the Ghanaian market space from an IR perspective. It also provides policy relevance.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42436444","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 : 2022-08-04DOI: 10.1177/09750878221114375
Alta Grobbelaar
It is no surprise to come across information or video on social or mainstream media that was posted by a terrorist organisation like Al-Shabaab. In this regard, researchers have attempted to answer the question of what terrorist organisations aim to achieve by gaining a strong foothold in cyberspace. This article explores the evolution of Al-Shabaab in terms of their media usage and presence—from a local insurgency using magazines and radio stations, to what can be described as a media mogul in Africa. The author explores how and why this group chooses to pursue a strong cyber presence, and what, if anything, Africa and the international community can do about it.
{"title":"Media and Terrorism in Africa: Al-Shabaab’s Evolution from Militant Group to Media Mogul","authors":"Alta Grobbelaar","doi":"10.1177/09750878221114375","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221114375","url":null,"abstract":"It is no surprise to come across information or video on social or mainstream media that was posted by a terrorist organisation like Al-Shabaab. In this regard, researchers have attempted to answer the question of what terrorist organisations aim to achieve by gaining a strong foothold in cyberspace. This article explores the evolution of Al-Shabaab in terms of their media usage and presence—from a local insurgency using magazines and radio stations, to what can be described as a media mogul in Africa. The author explores how and why this group chooses to pursue a strong cyber presence, and what, if anything, Africa and the international community can do about it.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48256702","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 : 2022-04-04DOI: 10.1177/09750878221079807
A. Shola
The incidence of armed banditry has exacerbated the security conundrum in Nigeria to create a multidimensional security quandary. Meanwhile, the extant studies on the matter offer insubstantial theoretical explanations. This study attempts an extensive approach that captures the necessitating factors for banditry from an opportunistic standpoint. This is heralded on the presupposition that crime occurs as a result of the opportunities presented to carry it out. Therefore, this study adopts the theories of crime opportunities, such as routine activity theory, rational choice and crime pattern to expound on the incidence of armed banditry in Nigeria. It was found out that opportunities play a role in banditry; the phenomenon is concentrated in time and space; the opportunities for the menace is highly specific and that the incidence produces opportunities for other crimes. Solutions rooted in the theoretical proposition of situational crime prevention and crime prevention through environmental design theories are thence proffered.
{"title":"Crime of Opportunity? A Theoretical Exploration of the Incidence of Armed Banditry in Nigeria","authors":"A. Shola","doi":"10.1177/09750878221079807","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221079807","url":null,"abstract":"The incidence of armed banditry has exacerbated the security conundrum in Nigeria to create a multidimensional security quandary. Meanwhile, the extant studies on the matter offer insubstantial theoretical explanations. This study attempts an extensive approach that captures the necessitating factors for banditry from an opportunistic standpoint. This is heralded on the presupposition that crime occurs as a result of the opportunities presented to carry it out. Therefore, this study adopts the theories of crime opportunities, such as routine activity theory, rational choice and crime pattern to expound on the incidence of armed banditry in Nigeria. It was found out that opportunities play a role in banditry; the phenomenon is concentrated in time and space; the opportunities for the menace is highly specific and that the incidence produces opportunities for other crimes. Solutions rooted in the theoretical proposition of situational crime prevention and crime prevention through environmental design theories are thence proffered.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42446196","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 : 2022-04-04DOI: 10.1177/09750878221079803
S. A. Olofinbiyi
Xenophobia has been described as one of the most endemic life-threatening obstacles confronting foreign nationals in the contemporary South Africa. The spate of this hate crime has increased unabatedly in the Kwa Zulu-Natal province of the country in recent years, diffusing to other regions such as Johannesburg, Pretoria, Limpopo and Cape Town. The study aims at establishing xenophobia as an untreated anti-immigrant violence and potential snag for national development in South Africa. It utilised data collected from previous research inquiries to achieve the expected results. The phenomenon was discussed within a criminological framework. The study projects that until South Africans are drawn back the memory lane to realise the benefits of pan-Africanism, the terroristic culture will continue to recur and eat deep into the socio-economic fabric of the nation.
{"title":"Anti-immigrant Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa: Untreated Malady and Potential Snag for National Development","authors":"S. A. Olofinbiyi","doi":"10.1177/09750878221079803","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221079803","url":null,"abstract":"Xenophobia has been described as one of the most endemic life-threatening obstacles confronting foreign nationals in the contemporary South Africa. The spate of this hate crime has increased unabatedly in the Kwa Zulu-Natal province of the country in recent years, diffusing to other regions such as Johannesburg, Pretoria, Limpopo and Cape Town. The study aims at establishing xenophobia as an untreated anti-immigrant violence and potential snag for national development in South Africa. It utilised data collected from previous research inquiries to achieve the expected results. The phenomenon was discussed within a criminological framework. The study projects that until South Africans are drawn back the memory lane to realise the benefits of pan-Africanism, the terroristic culture will continue to recur and eat deep into the socio-economic fabric of the nation.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41472639","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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