"The securitization of Africa has changed academic discourse in several ways by broadening the concept of “security” and its role in reshaping the relationship between the continent and global powers. And yet,…
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Essays
The South Sudan Peace Deal and Prospects for Peacebuilding
by Prof. Kenneth Omeje and Dr. Nicodemus Minde
"Post-conflict peacebuilding and reconstruction present a complex challenge to any nascent state emerging from war. In South Sudan, negotiated tradeoffs among political elites were inevitable. Although the war has had a devastating impact, the IGAD peace agreement offers a renewal and a platform for rebuilding the state."
Elections & Governance
The Path to the Ivoirian Presidential Elections: Past Strife and Current Challenges
by Peace A. Medie
"The next few weeks will see heightened political tensions in Côte d’Ivoire, and key actors, particularly the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), will have to pay close attention to unfolding events. The threats to political stability will also not disappear with the election of a president."
Essays
Development and Justice in the Polluted Waterscape of the Niger Delta
by Victor Ogbonnaya Okorie
"Narratives of resource control and ownership in the Niger Delta have not adequately addressed its water crises, especially with respect to a newly emergent neoliberal water market, social justice, and development; instead, most studies of the region have focused on oil. This essay, therefore, draws on a four-year ethnographic study in the region to examine how the emergent water market, driven by an 'invisible hand,' reconfigures contours of social justice and development in the affected communities."
Elections & Governance
Mediating Electoral Violence in a Polarized Society: The Case of Zimbabwe
by Admire Mare and Stanley Tsarwe
"Although the media...are expected to observe, investigate, and subsequently report news as objectively as possible, these institutions are powerful political and cultural actors, influenced by political and economic forces to take subjective positions. In a polarized environment such as Zimbabwe, they are not neutral arbiters of electoral information and images. Rather, the media carry the most basic characteristics of the journalism of war and violence: their reporting is propaganda oriented, elite oriented, and victory oriented."
Elections & Governance
Peace at Stake in Burundi: Could the Crisis Escalate, and Is There a Way Out?
by John Mwangi Githigaro
"The commitment of a section of the opposition to unseating Nkurunziza’s regime, coupled with divisions within the military and the police, could turn the conflict into a civil war, while state responses to repress the opposition could lead to the spreading of violence across the country...Hope remains that peace can be achieved in Burundi, but the window of opportunity is closing fast."
Viewpoint
APN Grantee on the Future of Democracy and Peace in West Africa
by African Peacebuilding Network
The following is an interview with APN 2013 grantee Professor Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam, on the sidelines of a policy dialogue jointly organized by the African Peacebuilding Network (APN), the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) West Africa, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The event, which took place in Abuja, Nigeria, July 27–28, 2015, highlighted the current state of democracy, peace, and stability in West Africa. It also examined the role ECOWAS has played in the region and the challenges it faces, and offered practical suggestions to consolidating peace and democracy in the future.
AU-UN Cooperation
African Peace Support Operations: Sites for Deepening the United Nations’ Cooperation with Regional Organizations