Download or read book Governing Africa s Forests in a Globalized World written by Laura Anne German and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-12-01 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many countries around the world are engaged in decentralization processes, and most African countries face serious problems with forest governance, from benefits sharing to illegality and sustainable forest management. This book summarizes experiences to date on the extent and nature of decentralization and its outcomes - most of which suggest an underperformance of governance reforms - and explores the viability of different governance instruments in the context of weak governance and expanding commercial pressures over forests. Findings are grouped into two thematic areas: decentralization, livelihoods and sustainable forest management; and international trade, finance and forest sector governance reforms. The authors examine diverse forces shaping the forest sector, including the theory and practice of decentralization, usurpation of authority, corruption and illegality, inequitable patterns of benefits capture and expansion of international trade in timber and carbon credits, and discuss related outcomes on livelihoods, forest condition and equity. The book builds on earlier volumes exploring different dimensions of decentralization and perspectives from other world regions, and distills dimensions of forest governance that are both unique to Africa and representative of broader global patterns. The authors ground their analysis in relevant theory while drawing out implications of their findings for policy and practice.

Download or read book Managing the Undesirables written by Michel Agier and published by Polity. This book was released on 2011-01-25 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Official figures classify some fifty million of the world’s people as 'victims of forced displacement'. Refugees, asylum seekers, disaster victims, the internally displaced and the temporarily tolerated - categories of the excluded proliferate, but many more are left out of count. In the face of this tragedy, humanitarian action increasingly seems the only possible response. On the ground, however, the 'facilities' put in place are more reminiscent of the logic of totalitarianism. In a situation of permanent catastrophe and endless emergency, 'undesirables' are kept apart and out of sight, while the care dispensed is designed to control, filter and confine. How should we interpret the disturbing symbiosis between the hand that cares and the hand that strikes? After seven years of study in the refugee camps, Michel Agier reveals their 'disquieting ambiguity' and stresses the imperative need to take into account forms of improvisation and challenge that are currently transforming the camps, sometimes making them into towns and heralding the emergence of political subjects. A radical critique of the foundations, contexts, and political effects of humanitarian action.

Download or read book Revised Treaty written by Economic Community of West African States and published by Presses de L'Ub. This book was released on 1995 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Great African War written by Filip Reyntjens and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-08-24 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines a decade-long period of instability, violence and state decay in Central Africa from 1996, when the war started, to 2006, when elections formally ended the political transition in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A unique combination of circumstances explain the unravelling of the conflicts: the collapsed Zairian/Congolese state; the continuation of the Rwandan civil war across borders; the shifting alliances in the region; the politics of identity in Rwanda, Burundi and eastern DRC; the ineptitude of the international community; and the emergence of privatized and criminalized public spaces and economies, linked to the global economy, but largely disconnected from the state - on whose territory the "entrepreneurs of insecurity" function. As a complement to the existing literature, this book seeks to provide an in-depth analysis of concurrent developments in Zaire/DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda in African and international contexts. By adopting a non-chronological approach, it attempts to show the dynamics of the inter-relationships between these realms and offers a toolkit for understanding the past and future of Central Africa.

Download or read book Detention in Non International Armed Conflict written by Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-03-24 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: International law has long differentiated between international and non-international armed conflicts, traditionally regulating the former far more comprehensively than the latter. This is particularly stark in the case of detention, where the law of non-international armed conflict contains no rules on who may be detained, what processes must be provided to review their detention, and when they must be released. Given that non-international armed conflicts are now the most common form of conflict, this is especially worrying, and the consequences of this have been seen in the detention practices of states such as the US and UK in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book provides a comprehensive examination of the procedural rules that apply to detention in non-international armed conflict, with the focus on preventive security detention, or 'internment'. All relevant areas of international law, most notably international humanitarian law and international human rights law, are analysed in detail and the interaction between them explored. The book gives an original account of the relationship between the relevant rules of IHL and IHRL, which is firmly grounded in general international law scholarship, treating the issue as a matter of treaty interpretation. With that in mind, and with reference to State practice in specific non-international armed conflicts - including those in Sri Lanka, Colombia, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Iraq - it is demonstrated that the customary and treaty obligations of States under human rights law continue, absent derogation, to apply to detention in non-international armed conflicts. The practical operation of those rules is then explored in detail. The volume ends with a set of concrete proposals for developing the law in this area, in a manner that builds upon, rather than replaces, the existing obligations of States and non-State armed groups.

Download or read book Understanding Peacekeeping written by Paul D. Williams and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-12-18 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peace operations remain a principal tool for managing armed conflict and protecting civilians. The fully revised, expanded and updated third edition of Understanding Peacekeeping provides a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the theory, history, and politics of peace operations. Drawing on a dataset of nearly two hundred historical and contemporary missions, this book evaluates the changing characteristics of the contemporary international environment in which peace operations are deployed, the strategic purposes peace operations are intended to achieve, and the major challenges facing today’s peacekeepers. All the chapters have been revised and updated, and five new chapters have been added – on stabilization, organized crime, exit strategies, force generation, and the use of force. Part 1 summarizes the central concepts and issues related to peace operations. Part 2 charts the historical development of peacekeeping, from 1945 through to 2020. Part 3 analyses the strategic purposes that United Nations and other peace operations are intended to achieve – namely, prevention, observation, assistance, enforcement, stabilization, and administration. Part 4 looks forward and examines the central challenges facing today’s peacekeepers: force generation, the regionalization and privatization of peace operations, the use of force, civilian protection, gender issues, policing and organized crime, and exit strategies.

Download or read book Politics Property and Production in the West African Sahel written by Tor Arve Benjaminsen and published by Nordic Africa Institute. This book was released on 2001 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through a number of case studies from the West African Sahel, this book links and explores natural resources management from the perspectives of politics, property and production.

Download or read book Mining in Africa written by Bonnie Campbell and published by IDRC. This book was released on 2009-06-15 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The continent of Africa is rich in minerals needed by Western economies, but rather than forming the basis for economic growth the mining industry contributes very little to African development Investigating the impact of the 2003 Extractive Industries Review on a number of African countries, the contributors find the root of the problem in the controls imposed on the African countries by the IMF and World Bank. They aim to convince academics, governments and industry that regulation needs to be reformed to create a mining industry favourable towards social, economic and environmental development. The book takes a multidisciplinary approach and provides a historical perspective of each country, making it ideal for students of development studies and development organizations.

Download or read book Philosophy in a Time of Terror written by Giovanna Borradori and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-05-28 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea for Philosophy in a Time of Terror was born hours after the attacks on 9/11 and was realized just weeks later when Giovanna Borradori sat down with Jürgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida in New York City, in separate interviews, to evaluate the significance of the most destructive terrorist act ever perpetrated. This book marks an unprecedented encounter between two of the most influential thinkers of our age as here, for the first time, Habermas and Derrida overcome their mutual antagonism and agree to appear side by side. As the two philosophers disassemble and reassemble what we think we know about terrorism, they break from the familiar social and political rhetoric increasingly polarized between good and evil. In this process, we watch two of the greatest intellects of the century at work.

Download or read book Africa s Critical Choices written by Dunod Editeur and published by Europa Regional Perspectives. This book was released on 2019 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines contemporary Africa, a vast continent which, while entering the era of globalization, is also confronted by a number of issues, including the environment and climate change, demographics, trade issues, internal and external migration, education, economic Issues, governance, and the influence of other countries. Written by former Prime Minister of Niger and current Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, this book offers an overview of Africa, and looks to the next generation of leaders in the continent, aiming to offer a manifesto for future change.

Download or read book On the Postcolony written by Achille Mbembe and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2001-06-17 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Refreshing a stale debate about power in the postcolonial state, this book addresses a topic debated across the humanities and social sciences: how to define, discuss, and address power and the subjective experience of ordinary people in the face of power?

Download or read book Understanding Civil War Africa written by Paul Collier and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication is part of a two volume set which builds upon previous World Bank research into the causes and characteristics of civil war onset, particularly the model developed by Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler regarding the relationship between violent political conflict and economic development. This volume considers the variables identified in the Collier-Hoeffler model and applies them to a set of case studies from a range of African countries, and then goes on to trace the process of conflict escalation in order to draw conclusions as to why civil war is likely to occur. The publication seeks to advance theoretical and empirical knowledge of civil war, in order to help further the objective of developing appropriate policy interventions. Another volume with case studies from a range of non-African countries is available separately (ISBN 0821360493).

Download or read book Climate Change Security Risks and Conflict Reduction in Africa written by Charlène Cabot and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-04 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of people are already affected by weather-related shocks every year in West Africa and climate change is highly likely to increase these threats. In the wake of climate change, rising temperatures, increasingly irregular rainfall and more frequent natural hazards will endanger the ways of life of vulnerable population groups in this region and destabilize their human security. A surge in violence and conflicts could take place. One of the conflict constellations could be between farmers and herders. These groups are highly vulnerable to climate change due to their dependence on natural resources Millions of people are already affected by weather-related shocks every year in West Africa and climate change is highly likely to increase these threats. In the wake of climate change, rising temperatures, increasingly irregular rainfall and more frequent natural hazards will endanger the ways of life of vulnerable population groups in this region and destabilize their human security. A surge in violence and conflicts could take place. One of the conflict constellations could be between farmers and herders. These groups are highly vulnerable to climate change due to their dependence on natural resources for their subsistence. Furthermore, they are historically prone to enter into conflict over issues of access to natural resources. However, social, economic and political circumstances fundamentally influence environmental conflicts. There might thus be opportunities to face the societal challenges of climate change in a peaceful way and the political and institutional framework could play an important role in reducing conflict and violence. In order to explore such a path, this study analyses the potential of political factors (policies and institutions) for the reduction of climate-change-induced or aggravated conflicts between farmers and herders. After a theoretical demonstration, a case study of agro-pastoral conflicts in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana is conducted. their subsistence. Furthermore, they are historically prone to enter into conflict over issues of access to natural resources. However, social, economic and political circumstances fundamentally influence environmental conflicts. There might thus be opportunities to face the societal challenges of climate change in a peaceful way and the political and institutional framework could play an important role in reducing conflict and violence. In order to explore such a path, this study analyses the potential of political factors (policies and institutions) for the reduction of climate-change-induced or ‐aggravated conflicts between farmers and herders. After a theoretical demonstration, a case study of agro-pastoral conflicts in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana is conducted.

Download or read book The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa written by Rene Lemarchand and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2012-04-18 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Endowed with natural resources, majestic bodies of fresh water, and a relatively mild climate, the Great Lakes region of Central Africa has also been the site of some of the world's bloodiest atrocities. In Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo-Kinshasa, decades of colonial subjugation—most infamously under Belgium's Leopold II—were followed by decades of civil warfare that spilled into neighboring countries. When these conflicts lead to horrors such as the 1994 Rwandan genocide, ethnic difference and postcolonial legacies are commonly blamed, but, with so much at stake, such simple explanations cannot take the place of detailed, dispassionate analysis. The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa provides a thorough exploration of the contemporary crises in the region. By focusing on the historical and social forces behind the cycles of bloodshed in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo-Kinshasa, René Lemarchand challenges much of the conventional wisdom about the roots of civil strife in former Belgian Africa. He offers telling insights into the appalling cycle of genocidal violence, ethnic strife, and civil war that has made the Great Lakes region of Central Africa the most violent on the continent, and he sheds new light on the dynamics of conflict in the region. Building on a full career of scholarship and fieldwork, Lemarchand's analysis breaks new ground in our understanding of the complex historical forces that continue to shape the destinies of one of Africa's most important regions.

Download or read book Pathways for Peace written by United Nations;World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2018-04-13 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Violent conflicts today are complex and increasingly protracted, involving more nonstate groups and regional and international actors. It is estimated that by 2030—the horizon set by the international community for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals—more than half of the world’s poor will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence. Information and communication technology, population movements, and climate change are also creating shared risks that must be managed at both national and international levels. Pathways for Peace is a joint United Nations†“World Bank Group study that originates from the conviction that the international community’s attention must urgently be refocused on prevention. A scaled-up system for preventive action would save between US$5 billion and US$70 billion per year, which could be reinvested in reducing poverty and improving the well-being of populations. The study aims to improve the way in which domestic development processes interact with security, diplomacy, mediation, and other efforts to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. It stresses the importance of grievances related to exclusion—from access to power, natural resources, security and justice, for example—that are at the root of many violent conflicts today. Based on a review of cases in which prevention has been successful, the study makes recommendations for countries facing emerging risks of violent conflict as well as for the international community. Development policies and programs must be a core part of preventive efforts; when risks are high or building up, inclusive solutions through dialogue, adapted macroeconomic policies, institutional reform, and redistributive policies are required. Inclusion is key, and preventive action needs to adopt a more people-centered approach that includes mainstreaming citizen engagement. Enhancing the participation of women and youth in decision making is fundamental to sustaining peace, as well as long-term policies to address the aspirations of women and young people.

Download or read book African Conflicts and Informal Power written by Mats Utas and published by Zed Books Ltd.. This book was released on 2012-09-13 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the aftermath of an armed conflict in Africa, the international community both produces and demands from local partners a variety of blueprints for reconstructing state and society. The aim is to re-formalize the state after what is viewed as a period of fragmentation. In reality, African economies and polities are very much informal in character, with informal actors, including so-called Big Men, often using their positions in the formal structure as a means to reach their own goals. Through a variety of in-depth case studies, including the DRC, Sierra Leone and Liberia, this comprehensive volume shows how important informal political and economic networks are in many of the continent’s conflict areas. Moreover, it demonstrates that without a proper understanding of the impact of these networks, attempts to formalize African states, particularly those emerging from wars, will be in vain.

Download or read book Security Sector Reform in Challenging Environments written by Hans Born and published by Lit Verlag. This book was released on 2009 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More often than not Security Sector Reform (SSR) takes place against many odds, in barely enabling political, security, economic and social environments. Such difficult contexts may be characterised by widespread corruption, ongoing violence, imprecise, open-ended or non-inclusive peace agreements and post-conflict architectures, lack of resources, 'stolen' or impending elections or referenda - all circumstances that stand in the way of full-fledged, holistic and sustainable SSR efforts. Following an overview of 'ideal' SSR requirements, contrasted with typical obstacles inhibiting SSR efforts, the main body of this volume offers evidence-based analyses of positive and negative SSR records in barely enabling environments, drawing on the experiences of specific national and international SSR programmes and experiences in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. Lessons learned from these experiences are intended to feed into theoretical re-thinking of SSR policy frameworks as well as to help practitioners in designing and implementing effective and sustainable SSR in challenging environments.