Pub Date : 2022-03-14DOI: 10.1177/09750878221079816
H. Eiguedo-Okoeguale
This article interrogates the dynamics of cultural diplomacy. It focusses on the socio-cultural aspect of Indo-Nigerian diplomacy. It argues that since the beginning of the relations between Nigeria and India, the social contacts have been on the increase thereby reinforcing cultural diplomacy. It establishes that as creations of British colonial rule, both countries possess certain social and cultural legacies that foster unity between them. This common history has influenced their cultural, artistic, legal, educational and media institutions. The study argues that culture works as an element that can be projected beyond national boundaries as an instrument of diplomacy. Essentially, India, with a population of about 1.37 billion inhabitants, and Nigeria, the largest country in Africa with a population of about 200 million, are two different countries. Nevertheless, they have much in their historical legacy that connects them. These are past experience of British colonialism, struggle for national independence, and continued retention of English as their official language. The article provides an opportunity to explore the common heritage of the two countries and how the heritage influences and shapes the contours of their foreign policy goals. It is organised in five parts excluding the introduction and conclusion. The first part explores the concept of culture and cultural life in India and Nigeria. The second examined cultural identity and national interest, while the third aspect focussed on advancing national interest through culture. The fourth and fifth parts discussed Nigerian audience and Bollywood as well as the impact of Bollywood on Nigerian literature.
{"title":"The Dynamics of Cultural Diplomacy: A Discourse of Indo-Nigerian Socio-cultural Relations from the 1960s to the Present","authors":"H. Eiguedo-Okoeguale","doi":"10.1177/09750878221079816","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878221079816","url":null,"abstract":"This article interrogates the dynamics of cultural diplomacy. It focusses on the socio-cultural aspect of Indo-Nigerian diplomacy. It argues that since the beginning of the relations between Nigeria and India, the social contacts have been on the increase thereby reinforcing cultural diplomacy. It establishes that as creations of British colonial rule, both countries possess certain social and cultural legacies that foster unity between them. This common history has influenced their cultural, artistic, legal, educational and media institutions. The study argues that culture works as an element that can be projected beyond national boundaries as an instrument of diplomacy. Essentially, India, with a population of about 1.37 billion inhabitants, and Nigeria, the largest country in Africa with a population of about 200 million, are two different countries. Nevertheless, they have much in their historical legacy that connects them. These are past experience of British colonialism, struggle for national independence, and continued retention of English as their official language. The article provides an opportunity to explore the common heritage of the two countries and how the heritage influences and shapes the contours of their foreign policy goals. It is organised in five parts excluding the introduction and conclusion. The first part explores the concept of culture and cultural life in India and Nigeria. The second examined cultural identity and national interest, while the third aspect focussed on advancing national interest through culture. The fourth and fifth parts discussed Nigerian audience and Bollywood as well as the impact of Bollywood on Nigerian literature.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46561625","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 : 2022-01-01DOI: 10.1177/09750878211057125
T. Bayu
Though statehood nature traced back to ancient times, modern Ethiopia came into being in the second half of the nineteenth century under the military expansion of King Menelik II. Since then subsequent political systems in the country have failed to recognise and accommodate the country’s ethnolinguistic diversity. However, in 1991 the new government constitutionally recognised and institutionally accommodated the country’s diversity. While solving old problems of ethnic inequality and injustice, ethnic federalism has created new problems of ethnic tensions and conflict across Ethiopia. The article aims at investigating how and why ethnic federalism ended up being a source of ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia and suggests the way out. The article employed a qualitative research design and methods of data analysis and interpretation. The finding of the study shows the notion and implementation of federalism has to be blamed, which left unclear administration boundary, overlooked cross-cutting variables, Majority versus minority and Titular versus Settler problem, politicised ethnicity by transformed cultural communities into political communities, produced mega ethnic syndrome within the Ethiopian society, for the country’s ethnic troubles and conflicts. Reforming the federal system and its constitutions is the way forwarded to reduce ethnic tensions and create an inclusive society in Ethiopia.
{"title":"Is Federalism the Source of Ethnic Identity-Based Conflict in Ethiopia?","authors":"T. Bayu","doi":"10.1177/09750878211057125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878211057125","url":null,"abstract":"Though statehood nature traced back to ancient times, modern Ethiopia came into being in the second half of the nineteenth century under the military expansion of King Menelik II. Since then subsequent political systems in the country have failed to recognise and accommodate the country’s ethnolinguistic diversity. However, in 1991 the new government constitutionally recognised and institutionally accommodated the country’s diversity. While solving old problems of ethnic inequality and injustice, ethnic federalism has created new problems of ethnic tensions and conflict across Ethiopia. The article aims at investigating how and why ethnic federalism ended up being a source of ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia and suggests the way out. The article employed a qualitative research design and methods of data analysis and interpretation. The finding of the study shows the notion and implementation of federalism has to be blamed, which left unclear administration boundary, overlooked cross-cutting variables, Majority versus minority and Titular versus Settler problem, politicised ethnicity by transformed cultural communities into political communities, produced mega ethnic syndrome within the Ethiopian society, for the country’s ethnic troubles and conflicts. Reforming the federal system and its constitutions is the way forwarded to reduce ethnic tensions and create an inclusive society in Ethiopia.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47961101","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 : 2021-12-03DOI: 10.1177/09750878211049224
R. Alsawalqa, D. Venter
There are a daunting number of maritime security threats and challenges in the north-western Indian Ocean region, both extant and potential. Indeed, the mere fact that the Indian Ocean constitutes the world’s largest swath of maritime space that is prone to the major menace of piracy (in the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off the north-east African coastline), as well as the sporadic threat of terrorism (by Islamic militias of Al-Shabaab in Somalia and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen), signifies that the region will arguably remain the maritime area with the greatest array of security challenges. However, while anti-piracy measures ought to have shaped regional policymaking, and the resources that a large and diverse group of states has devoted to addressing these maritime challenges have never been adequate to the task, largely successful coalition-building exercises and joint naval task-force operations have been encouraging. The transformation of Somali piracy from a haphazard activity into a highly organised, professionalised criminal enterprise is briefly elucidated by greed-grievance theory and supplemented by the theory of crime, also known as routine-activity theory.
{"title":"Piracy and Maritime Security in the North-Western Indian Ocean: From the Gulf of Oman to the Waters off the Somali Coast","authors":"R. Alsawalqa, D. Venter","doi":"10.1177/09750878211049224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878211049224","url":null,"abstract":"There are a daunting number of maritime security threats and challenges in the north-western Indian Ocean region, both extant and potential. Indeed, the mere fact that the Indian Ocean constitutes the world’s largest swath of maritime space that is prone to the major menace of piracy (in the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off the north-east African coastline), as well as the sporadic threat of terrorism (by Islamic militias of Al-Shabaab in Somalia and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen), signifies that the region will arguably remain the maritime area with the greatest array of security challenges. However, while anti-piracy measures ought to have shaped regional policymaking, and the resources that a large and diverse group of states has devoted to addressing these maritime challenges have never been adequate to the task, largely successful coalition-building exercises and joint naval task-force operations have been encouraging. The transformation of Somali piracy from a haphazard activity into a highly organised, professionalised criminal enterprise is briefly elucidated by greed-grievance theory and supplemented by the theory of crime, also known as routine-activity theory.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48422906","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 : 2021-10-28DOI: 10.1177/09750878211048161
Glen Segell
The Abraham Accords signed in September 2020 between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain was followed by ties between Israel and the African states of Sudan and Morocco. These were all unique with the common link and timing apparently only the broker American President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Looking deeper reveals another common element that is a shift in regional strategic dynamics both at ideological and strategic fronts. This prompts revisiting the Nasser style Pan-Arab and Pan-African ideologies in the context of the current unfolding situation. A primary finding is that government-to-government negotiations to establish multi-lateral forum based on ideological movements rarely achieve this and even when they do such forum tend to debate rather than act. Only with popular and grassroots support can ideological movements bring change and achieve objectives. Such lessons applied to the Abraham Accords, that is a different style of Pan-Arabism and Pan-Africanism, but also top–down at its origins, might lead to an evolution of a different kind of domestic and regional ambiance. The structure of the article is to provide definitions, then discuss the role of leaders, the distinct differences in geography and demography, revisit Nasser style Pan-Africanism, revisit Nasser style Pan-Arabism, and discuss the Qaddafi continuum of the Nasser style ideologies. The academic contributions giving new insight to Africa are the examination of the role of individual leaders and hegemonic leadership, and the shifts and evolution of ideologies where outcomes are not necessarily the desired ones or enduring.
{"title":"Revisiting Nasser Style Pan-Arabism and Pan-Africanism Prompted by the Abraham Accords","authors":"Glen Segell","doi":"10.1177/09750878211048161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878211048161","url":null,"abstract":"The Abraham Accords signed in September 2020 between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain was followed by ties between Israel and the African states of Sudan and Morocco. These were all unique with the common link and timing apparently only the broker American President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Looking deeper reveals another common element that is a shift in regional strategic dynamics both at ideological and strategic fronts. This prompts revisiting the Nasser style Pan-Arab and Pan-African ideologies in the context of the current unfolding situation. A primary finding is that government-to-government negotiations to establish multi-lateral forum based on ideological movements rarely achieve this and even when they do such forum tend to debate rather than act. Only with popular and grassroots support can ideological movements bring change and achieve objectives. Such lessons applied to the Abraham Accords, that is a different style of Pan-Arabism and Pan-Africanism, but also top–down at its origins, might lead to an evolution of a different kind of domestic and regional ambiance. The structure of the article is to provide definitions, then discuss the role of leaders, the distinct differences in geography and demography, revisit Nasser style Pan-Africanism, revisit Nasser style Pan-Arabism, and discuss the Qaddafi continuum of the Nasser style ideologies. The academic contributions giving new insight to Africa are the examination of the role of individual leaders and hegemonic leadership, and the shifts and evolution of ideologies where outcomes are not necessarily the desired ones or enduring.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43175679","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 : 2021-10-28DOI: 10.1177/09750878211048169
D. Govender, K. Pillay
High crime rates, use of violence by criminals, police brutality, corruption, rape by police officials and other forms of criminal misconduct against the police including the centralisation of specific specialised functions of policing, which was tantamount to taking away policing from the people at police station level, are some of the allegations which affects the image of the police as a legitimate organisation. Much of these allegations levelled by the community and the mass media are directed at the external and internal environments of the police. The aim of this article is to critically evaluate policing in South Africa, so that respect for the country and its citizens can be restored. For this discussion, the researcher collected qualitative information by means of a literature study and drew on his personal experience as a former senior police officer with the South African Police Service (SAPS). Prior to 1994, the call was for the rationalisation, restructuring and amalgamation of the police into a single police service that would enjoy legitimacy among all the communities of South Africa. Although the country embraced a new democratic dispensation in 1994, very little was done to implement transformational policies and processes to bring about systemic change in policing. A need for the change of the functioning of the police service in South Africa was identified, so that police officers may perform their role within the context of democratic principles and restore respect for the country and its citizens.
{"title":"Policing in South Africa: A Critical Evaluation","authors":"D. Govender, K. Pillay","doi":"10.1177/09750878211048169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878211048169","url":null,"abstract":"High crime rates, use of violence by criminals, police brutality, corruption, rape by police officials and other forms of criminal misconduct against the police including the centralisation of specific specialised functions of policing, which was tantamount to taking away policing from the people at police station level, are some of the allegations which affects the image of the police as a legitimate organisation. Much of these allegations levelled by the community and the mass media are directed at the external and internal environments of the police. The aim of this article is to critically evaluate policing in South Africa, so that respect for the country and its citizens can be restored. For this discussion, the researcher collected qualitative information by means of a literature study and drew on his personal experience as a former senior police officer with the South African Police Service (SAPS). Prior to 1994, the call was for the rationalisation, restructuring and amalgamation of the police into a single police service that would enjoy legitimacy among all the communities of South Africa. Although the country embraced a new democratic dispensation in 1994, very little was done to implement transformational policies and processes to bring about systemic change in policing. A need for the change of the functioning of the police service in South Africa was identified, so that police officers may perform their role within the context of democratic principles and restore respect for the country and its citizens.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41746143","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 : 2021-10-28DOI: 10.1177/09750878211049484
M. Rapanyane
The African National Congress (ANC) has ruled post-apartheid South Africa since the dawn of democratic rule in 1994. Since then, the ANC enjoyed fluctuating majority voter turn-out until recently when the party won the elections with less than 60% in the 2019 general elections. The genesis of this neglected swing is attributed to the rise of the alternative left, economic freedom fighters, unemployment rate and corruption scandals witnessed during the administration of Jacob Zuma and his cronies (the Gupta brothers) who championed state capture. Emerging heavily from the above sentiment, this study reviews the major challenges facing the ANC-led South African government. These are challenges that the Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration (incumbent) is still facing. The adoption of Afrocentricity in the study is indicated by the Afrocentric drive of casting out the demonic spirits of ignorance and arrogance in those who lead the ANC. The objective of this study is to highlight the significant challenges facing the ANC. Methodologically, this study relied on document reviews.
{"title":"Key Challenges Facing the African National Congress-led Government in South Africa: An Afrocentric Perspective","authors":"M. Rapanyane","doi":"10.1177/09750878211049484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878211049484","url":null,"abstract":"The African National Congress (ANC) has ruled post-apartheid South Africa since the dawn of democratic rule in 1994. Since then, the ANC enjoyed fluctuating majority voter turn-out until recently when the party won the elections with less than 60% in the 2019 general elections. The genesis of this neglected swing is attributed to the rise of the alternative left, economic freedom fighters, unemployment rate and corruption scandals witnessed during the administration of Jacob Zuma and his cronies (the Gupta brothers) who championed state capture. Emerging heavily from the above sentiment, this study reviews the major challenges facing the ANC-led South African government. These are challenges that the Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration (incumbent) is still facing. The adoption of Afrocentricity in the study is indicated by the Afrocentric drive of casting out the demonic spirits of ignorance and arrogance in those who lead the ANC. The objective of this study is to highlight the significant challenges facing the ANC. Methodologically, this study relied on document reviews.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49097406","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 : 2021-10-26DOI: 10.1177/09750878211052546
Sushmita Rajwar
Irene Yuan Sun, The Next Factory of the World: How Chinese Investment is Reshaping Africa, Harvard Business Review Press, Massachusetts, 2017, 211 pp., ₹1717.83.
{"title":"Book review: Irene Yuan Sun, The Next Factory of the World: How Chinese Investment is Reshaping Africa","authors":"Sushmita Rajwar","doi":"10.1177/09750878211052546","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878211052546","url":null,"abstract":"Irene Yuan Sun, The Next Factory of the World: How Chinese Investment is Reshaping Africa, Harvard Business Review Press, Massachusetts, 2017, 211 pp., ₹1717.83.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43129234","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 : 2021-10-26DOI: 10.1177/09750878211052539
Randhir Kumar
Tom Burgis, The Looting Machine, Public Affairs, New York, U.S., 2015, 321 pp., ₹1,596.
Tom Burgis,《织机》,《公共事务》,美国纽约,2015年,321页。,₹1596年。
{"title":"Book review: Tom Burgis, The Looting Machine, Public Affairs","authors":"Randhir Kumar","doi":"10.1177/09750878211052539","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878211052539","url":null,"abstract":"Tom Burgis, The Looting Machine, Public Affairs, New York, U.S., 2015, 321 pp., ₹1,596.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47283184","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 : 2021-10-21DOI: 10.1177/09750878211049485
Michael B. Aleyomi
The quest for a complementary regional hegemonic dispensation has been an enduring component in Africa. While studies have recognised the increase in power assets of some states within the continent, literature is replete with the idea that no state can equal or defeat Nigeria and South Africa in contesting for regional powers. Though, this impression appears plausible. However, there are limited scholarly contributions to the devastating conditions that undermined the regional powers’ influential position to enhance legitimacy and positive image-making for African rebirth in global politics. It is against this backdrop that the current effort examines the constraints that hinder the credibility and attractive assets of the two regional powers in African policy. Relying on key-informant interview and secondary sources for the collection of data and the interpretive qualitative method for data analysis, the findings reveal that domestic limitations are major impediments to regional hegemonic powers’ dispensation. This article argues that possession of remarkable material capabilities without corresponding legitimacy and diplomatic means of ‘appealing’ to other states is not enough in the pursuit of hegemonic status. It, therefore, concludes that Nigeria and South Africa must tackle the domestic crises that consistently decline the credibility and continental leadership to curb the global inequality against Africa.
{"title":"Major Constraints for Regional Hegemony: Nigeria and South Africa in Perspective","authors":"Michael B. Aleyomi","doi":"10.1177/09750878211049485","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878211049485","url":null,"abstract":"The quest for a complementary regional hegemonic dispensation has been an enduring component in Africa. While studies have recognised the increase in power assets of some states within the continent, literature is replete with the idea that no state can equal or defeat Nigeria and South Africa in contesting for regional powers. Though, this impression appears plausible. However, there are limited scholarly contributions to the devastating conditions that undermined the regional powers’ influential position to enhance legitimacy and positive image-making for African rebirth in global politics. It is against this backdrop that the current effort examines the constraints that hinder the credibility and attractive assets of the two regional powers in African policy. Relying on key-informant interview and secondary sources for the collection of data and the interpretive qualitative method for data analysis, the findings reveal that domestic limitations are major impediments to regional hegemonic powers’ dispensation. This article argues that possession of remarkable material capabilities without corresponding legitimacy and diplomatic means of ‘appealing’ to other states is not enough in the pursuit of hegemonic status. It, therefore, concludes that Nigeria and South Africa must tackle the domestic crises that consistently decline the credibility and continental leadership to curb the global inequality against Africa.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43893110","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 : 2021-10-17DOI: 10.1177/09750878211042618
J. Olanrewaju, A. Nwozor
Nigeria’s claim as the giant of Africa is evident in her foreign policy articulation of African Centre Piece. From 1960, Nigeria has championed the project of Africa through different diplomatic engagements across the continent of Africa most especially under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s civilian administration. Nigeria’s unwavering support against the apartheid regime in South Africa led to the termination of apartheid government in 1994. However, the post- apartheid politics in Africa as well as the post-Cold War politics changed the dynamics of African politics. Nigeria’s claim as the giant of Africa became more contested and hypothetical with the emergence of notable countries such as Ethiopia and South Africa posing serious challenges to Nigeria’s hegemony in the continent. The most viable and notable threats came from South Africa following the end of apartheid regime in South Africa and coupled with its good governance rating, which had heightened the status of the country as a notable continental leader. This article attempts to explain the leadership roles of Nigeria and South Africa in a peripheral region of Africa with the view of analysing who has the sway to lead the affairs of Africa to the path of prosperity. Through the secondary method of data collection and qualitative method of data analysis (discourse analysis), the study concludes that Nigeria and South Africa roles in Africa were motivated by realist considerations. The study, however, recommends concerted efforts between Nigeria and South Africa in addressing socio-economic challenges in the African continent.
{"title":"Hegemonic Rivalry in a Peripheral Region: An Assessment of Nigeria–South Africa’s Role in African Politics","authors":"J. Olanrewaju, A. Nwozor","doi":"10.1177/09750878211042618","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878211042618","url":null,"abstract":"Nigeria’s claim as the giant of Africa is evident in her foreign policy articulation of African Centre Piece. From 1960, Nigeria has championed the project of Africa through different diplomatic engagements across the continent of Africa most especially under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s civilian administration. Nigeria’s unwavering support against the apartheid regime in South Africa led to the termination of apartheid government in 1994. However, the post- apartheid politics in Africa as well as the post-Cold War politics changed the dynamics of African politics. Nigeria’s claim as the giant of Africa became more contested and hypothetical with the emergence of notable countries such as Ethiopia and South Africa posing serious challenges to Nigeria’s hegemony in the continent. The most viable and notable threats came from South Africa following the end of apartheid regime in South Africa and coupled with its good governance rating, which had heightened the status of the country as a notable continental leader. This article attempts to explain the leadership roles of Nigeria and South Africa in a peripheral region of Africa with the view of analysing who has the sway to lead the affairs of Africa to the path of prosperity. Through the secondary method of data collection and qualitative method of data analysis (discourse analysis), the study concludes that Nigeria and South Africa roles in Africa were motivated by realist considerations. The study, however, recommends concerted efforts between Nigeria and South Africa in addressing socio-economic challenges in the African continent.","PeriodicalId":42199,"journal":{"name":"Insight on Africa","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47066087","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}