Download or read book Contesting Sovereignty written by Joel Ng and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-22 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines and compares diplomatic practices and normative change in the African Union and ASEAN.

Download or read book Strengthening Popular Participation in the African Union written by Oxfam and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2010 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The African Union (AU) has committed to a vision of Africa that is "integrated, prosperous and peaceful ... driven by its own citizens, a dynamic force in the global arena" (Vision and Mission of the African Union, May 2004). Strengthening Popular Participation in the African Union aims to take up the challenge of achieving this vision. It is a tool to assist activists to engage with AU policies and programmes. It describes the AU decision-making process and outlines the roles and responsibilities of the AU institutions. This guide aims to help those organizations that wish to engage the AU but do not currently know where to start by providing an outline of the key institutions and processes and suggesting ways to influence them. The guide is divided into three sections: *Part 1: A description of AU organs and institutions. *Part 2: Suggestions on how to influence AU decisions and policy processes. *Part 3: A summary of the debate to restructure the AU into a "Union Government."

Download or read book The New African Initiative and the African Union written by Henning Melber and published by Nordic Africa Institute. This book was released on 2001 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the year 2000 an initiative among the African states to transform the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU) gained momentum. It resulted in the ratification of the Constitutive Act and its adoption at the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka. Parallel to this process of reorganisation towards closer inter-state collaboration on the African continent in the spirit of Pan Africanism emerged the systematic effort to redefine developmental priorities and to claim a new common position of African states in the globalised world. The "African Renaissance" initiative of South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki resulted in a "Millenium Africa Recovery Programme", which was finally revised and presented as the "New Africa Initiative" (NAI). Adopted at the same OAU Summit in Lusaka in July 2001, the NAI serves as a blueprint for Africa's development strategy at the beginning of the 21st century. It was presented to the G8 summit in Genoa, where the leaders of the world's powerful countries decided on a follow up by appointing individual special advisers to explore support to the NAI and future collaboration on the basis of this document.

Download or read book African Agency in International Politics written by William Brown and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-03-20 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses the rapidly increasing role of African states, leaders and other political actors in international politics in the 21st Century. In contrast to the conventional approach of studying how external actors impacted on Africa’s international relations, this book seeks to open up a new approach, focusing on the impact of African political actors on international politics. It does this by analysing African agency – the degree to which African political actors have room to manoeuvre within the international system and exert influence internationally, and the uses they make of that room for manoeuvre. Bringing together leading scholars from Africa and Europe to explore the role and conception of African Agency, this book addresses a wide range of issues, from relations with western and non-western donors, Africa’s role in the UN and World Trade Organisation, negotiations over climate change, trade agreements with the European Union, regional diplomatic strategies, the character and extent of African state agency, and agency within corporate social responsibility initiatives. African Agency in International Politics will be of interest to scholars and students of Africa’s international relations, African politics, development, geography, diplomacy, trade, the environment, political science and security studies.

Download or read book Transforming Africa written by Dana T. Redford and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2022-01-26 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transforming Africa: How Savings Groups Foster Financial Inclusion, Resilience and Economic Development presents in-depth empirical research into current day savings group activities across Africa, exploring savings groups through the lens of financial inclusion and reflecting on formal finance, economic and social outcomes.

Download or read book The African Union and New Strategies for Development in Africa written by Said Adejumobi and published by Cambria Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The early twenty-first century witnessed remarkable attempts by Africa's political leadership to promote regional integration as a means of fast-tracking economic progress, facilitating peace and security, consolidating democratic gains, and promoting the general welfare of the African people. The transition of the Organization of Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU), as well as the foisting of a new economic blueprint for the continent-the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), combined with the growing role of the regional economic communities (RECs) in harmonizing and creating subregional norms and standards in the political and economic arena suggests a new trend towards regionalism in Africa. Indeed, in the new regional integration architecture, the RECs are considered to be the building blocks of the integration process led by the African Union. This new impetus of a regional development strategy was largely prompted by the slow pace of economic progress on the continent, the increasing marginalization of Africa in the global economy, and the need to create regional resources and standards that would benefit the continent in all spheres of social life. A painful realization became obvious that small micro-states in Africa sticking to their political independence and sovereignty would hardly make much progress in an increasingly globalised world. A macro-states' approach of regional integration has assumed Africa's new strategy to intervene in and integrate with a globalizing world. The current regional trend in Africa has received very little scholarly attention especially in a systematic and comprehensive way. This is due partly to the fact that the processes are currently unfolding and there is still uncertainty in the outcomes. Poor documentation and the dearth of primary materials (especially from the regional institutions) also contribute to the lack of scholarly work in this area. This study assembles the voices of some of the most seasoned African and Africanist scholars who have constantly, in one way or another, interacted with the integration process in Africa and kept abreast of the developments therein, and seeks to capture those developments in a nuanced manner in the economic, political and social spheres. The essence of this book is to analyze those processes--teasing out the issues, problems, challenges and major policy recommendations, with tentative conclusions on Africa's regional development trajectory. The book therefore fills major knowledge and policy gaps in Africa's regional development agenda. This book is a landmark contribution in a systematic attempt to comprehend Africa's regional development strategy led by the African Union. It examines the background, nuances, and dimensions of the process, which include the basis and historiography of pan-Africanism, the transition of the OAU to the AU, the issue of popular participation in development, the NEPAD and APRM initiatives, the evolving regional peace and security architecture, and the efforts of regional institutions to facilitate democracy, human rights, rule of law and good governance on the continent. The book underscores the fact that formidable obstacles and challenges abound in the trajectory, politics, and processes of this regional development paradigm, especially as Africa navigates an uncertain future in a deeply divided and unequal yet globalised World. The book constitutes a major reference material and compendium for a wide range of readers--students and scholars of African affairs and African development, policy makers both in Africa and the western countries, regional and international institutions and organizations, and all those interested in the past, present and future of Africa's development process.

Download or read book Peacekeeping and the African Union written by Jude Cocodia and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-27 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a detailed examination of the effectiveness of the peacekeeping operations of the African Union. Despite its growing reputation in peacekeeping and its status as the oldest continental peacekeeper, the performance of the African Union (AU) has hitherto not been assessed. This book fills that gap and analyses six case studies: Burundi, Comoros, Somalia, Mali, Darfur and the Central African Republic. From a methodological perspective it takes a problem-solving approach and utilises process tracing in its analysis, with its standard for success resting on achieving negative peace (the cessation of violence and provision of security). Theoretically, this study offers a comprehensive list of factors drawn from peace literature and field experience which influence the outcome of peacekeeping. Beyond the major issues, such as funding, international collaboration and mandate, this work also examines the impact of largely ignored factors such as force integrity and territory size. The book modifies the claim of peace literature on what matters for success and advocates the indispensability of domestic elite cooperation, local initiative and international political will. It recognises the necessity of factors such as lead state and force integrity for certain peace operations. In bringing these factors together, this study expands the peacekeeping debate on what matters for stability in conflict areas. This book will be of much interest to students of peacekeeping, African politics, war and conflict studies, and International Relations in general.

Download or read book Know the Beginning Well written by K. Y. Amoako and published by . This book was released on 2019-11 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With this book, the author offers a personal look at some of the landmark policies, people, and institutions that have shaped Africa's post-independence history - and will continue to shape its future. It is a true inside account - told from a very personal perspective - of the evolution of African development over the last five decades.

Download or read book China and Africa written by David H. Shinn and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2012-07-10 with total page 543 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The People's Republic of China once limited its involvement in African affairs to building an occasional railroad or port, supporting African liberation movements, and loudly proclaiming socialist solidarity with the downtrodden of the continent. Now Chinese diplomats and Chinese companies, both state-owned and private, along with an influx of Chinese workers, have spread throughout Africa. This shift is one of the most important geopolitical phenomena of our time. China and Africa: A Century of Engagement presents a comprehensive view of the relationship between this powerful Asian nation and the countries of Africa. This book, the first of its kind to be published since the 1970s, examines all facets of China's relationship with each of the fifty-four African nations. It reviews the history of China's relations with the continent, looking back past the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. It looks at a broad range of areas that define this relationship—politics, trade, investment, foreign aid, military, security, and culture—providing a significant historical backdrop for each. David H. Shinn and Joshua Eisenman's study combines careful observation, meticulous data analysis, and detailed understanding gained through diplomatic experience and extensive travel in China and Africa. China and Africa demonstrates that while China's connection to Africa is different from that of Western nations, it is no less complex. Africans and Chinese are still developing their perceptions of each other, and these changing views have both positive and negative dimensions.

Download or read book The State of Peacebuilding in Africa written by Terence McNamee and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-11-02 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book on the state of peacebuilding in Africa brings together the work of distinguished scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to reflect on key experiences and lessons learned in peacebuilding in Africa over the past half century. The core themes addressed by the contributors include conflict prevention, mediation, and management; post-conflict reconstruction, justice and Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration; the role of women, religion, humanitarianism, grassroots organizations, and early warning systems; and the impact of global, regional, and continental bodies. The book's thematic chapters are complemented by six country/region case studies: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan/South Sudan, Mozambique and the Sahel/Mali. Each chapter concludes with a set of key lessons learned that could be used to inform the building of a more sustainable peace in Africa. The State of Peacebuilding in Africa was born out of the activities of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP), a Carnegie-funded, continent-wide network of African organizations that works with the Wilson Center to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. The research for this book was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Download or read book Homegrown Development in Africa written by Chukwumerije Okereke and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-03-24 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Internationally driven development programmes have not been entirely successful in transforming the economic status of African countries. Since the late 1990s many African countries have started to take initiatives to develop an integrated framework that tackles poverty and promotes socio-economic development in their respective countries. This book provides a critical evaluation of ‘homegrown’ development initiatives in Africa, set up as alternatives to externally sponsored development. Focusing specifically on Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, the book takes a qualitative and comparative approach to offer the first ever in-depth analysis of indigenous development programmes. It examines: How far African states have moved towards more homegrown development strategies. The effects of the shift towards African homegrown socio-economic development strategies and the conditions needed to enhance their success and sustainability. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of development studies, international politics, political economy, public policy and African politics, sociology and economics.

Download or read book Fighting for Peace in Somalia written by Paul D. Williams and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-20 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fighting for Peace in Somalia provides the first comprehensive analysis of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), an operation deployed in 2007 to stabilize the country and defend its fledgling government from one of the world's deadliest militant organizations, Harakat al-Shabaab. The book's two parts provide a history of the mission from its genesis in an earlier, failed regional initiative in 2005 up to mid-2017, as well as an analysis of the mission's six most important challenges, namely, logistics, security sector reform, civilian protection, strategic communications, stabilization, and developing a successful exit strategy. These issues are all central to the broader debates about how to design effective peace operations in Africa and beyond. AMISOM was remarkable in several respects: it would become the African Union's (AU) largest peace operation by a considerable margin deploying over 22,000 soldiers; it became the longest running mission under AU command and control, outlasting the nearest contender by over seven years; it also became the AU's most expensive operation, at its peak costing approximately US$1 billion per year; and, sadly, AMISOM became the AU's deadliest mission. Although often referred to as a peacekeeping operation, AMISOM's troops were given a range of daunting tasks that went well beyond the realm of peacekeeping, including VIP protection, war-fighting, counterinsurgency, stabilization, and state-building as well as supporting electoral processes and facilitating humanitarian assistance.

Download or read book Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals written by Maano Ramutsindela and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-06-13 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book draws upon the expertise and international research collaborations forged by the Worldwide Universities Network Global Africa Group to critically engage with the intersection, in theory and practice, of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa’s development agendas and needs. Further, it argues that – and demonstrates how – the SDGs should be understood as an aspirational blueprint for development with multiple meanings that are situated in dynamic and contested terrains. As the SDGs have substantial implications for development policy and resourcing at both the macro and micro levels, their relevance is not only context-specific but should also be assessed in terms of the aspirations and needs of ordinary citizens across the continent. Drawing on analyses and evidence from both the natural and social sciences, the book demonstrates that progress towards the SDGs must meet demands for improving human well-being under diverse and challenging socio-economic, political and environmental conditions. Examples include those from the mining industry, public health, employment and the media. In closing, it highlights how international collaboration in the form of research networks can enhance the production of critical knowledge on and engagement with the SDGs in Africa.

Download or read book Reflections on African Cities in Transition written by Purshottama Sivanarain Reddy and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume describes African cities in transition, and the economic, socio-political, and environmental challenges resulting from rapid post-colonial urbanization. As the African continent continues to transition from urban configurations inherited from colonial influences and history, it faces issues such as urban slum expansion, increased demands for energy and clean water, lack of adequate public transportation, high levels of inequality among different socio-economic population strata, and inadequate urban governance, planning, and policies. African cities in transition need to reconsider current policies and developmental trajectories to facilitate and sustain economic growth and Africa’s strategic repositioning in the world. Written by an international team of scholars and practitioners, this volume uses case studies to focus on key issues and developmental challenges in selected African cities. Topics include but are not limited to, smart cities, changing notions of democracy, the city’s role in attaining the SDGs, local governance, alternative models for governance and management, corruption, urbanisation and future cities.

Download or read book Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization A Framework for Africa written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-03-13 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.

Download or read book Our Continent Our Future written by P. Thandika Mkandawire and published by IDRC. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our Continent, Our Future presents the emerging African perspective on this complex issue. The authors use as background their own extensive experience and a collection of 30 individual studies, 25 of which were from African economists, to summarize this African perspective and articulate a path for the future. They underscore the need to be sensitive to each country's unique history and current condition. They argue for a broader policy agenda and for a much more active role for the state within what is largely a market economy. Finally, they stress that Africa must, and can, compete in an increasingly globalized world and, perhaps most importantly, that Africans must assume the leading role in defining the continent's development agenda.

Download or read book The African Union s Africa written by Rita Kiki Edozie and published by MSU Press. This book was released on 2014-11-01 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The African Union’s Africa: New Pan-African Initiatives in Global Governance examines the initiatives of the Pan-African global governance institution the African Union (AU) as the organization and its precursor commemorate their Jubilee as international actors. Taking a unique approach, the book seeks to explain the AU through a theoretical framework referred to as “the African Union phenomenon,” capturing the international organization’s efforts to transform the national politics of Africa as well as to globalize the practice of African politics. The authors examine Africa’s self-determined international norms and values such as Pan-Africanism, African Solutions to African Problems, Hybrid Democracy, Pax Africana, and the African Economic Community to demonstrate that Africa—the world’s least developed region—is composed of crucial values, institutions, agents, actors, and forces that are, through the AU, contributing to the advancement of contemporary global development. The book reveals how in the areas of cultural identity, democracy, security, and economic development Africans are infusing new politics, economics, and cultures into globalization representing the collective will and imprint of African agency, decisions, ideas, identities, practices, and contexts. Via a Pan-African vision, the AU is having both regional and global impact, generating exciting possibilities and complicated challenges.