New Occasional Paper: “Sudan–A Political Marketplace Framework Analysis”
Alex de Waal analyzes the development of Sudan’s political economy and political market.
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Research
Report: Strategies of the Coalition in the Yemen War
Discussing the impact of the Coalition bombing campaign on food production and distribution in Yemen.
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Children and Youth Staying Safe in Violent Conflict
How do conflict-affected, at-risk children and youth try and protect themselves and remain resilient, and how do these protection strategies
Read moreThe Ethiopian post-transition security sector reform experience
The Ethiopian state underwent major restructuring at the beginning of the 1990s. It replaced a once highly-centralised state with a federal system, adopting a democratic constitution, the transfer of power through elections, and the recognition of the rights associated with freedom of expression.
More specifically, the Ethiopian security sector was transformed from 1991 onwards; political changes led to a new conception of threats and security needs, and the institutional structure of the country’s security agencies was brought into alignment with the new federal arrangements. The defence review was developed in the context of this wider security sector transformation.
Read moreAfrican Peace Missions
In July 2016, the World Peace Foundation released its report, African Politics, African Peace. The most extensive review of the
Read moreCelebrities and the grotesque
The presentation by Veena Das, “Techniques of Power and the Rise of the Grotesque” made me reflect on how this
Read moreTheorizing (Dis)order: Exploratory Remarks
The philosopher Eric Heller wrote, ‘Be careful how you interpret the world; it is like that.’[29] One of the challenges facing the social scientist is that a deep knowledge of a particular issue, or a particular place, allows the scholar to write about it with an authoritative subjectivity. In my own writings on Sudan, I have approached the same topic (e.g. political violence) from different perspectives, each time with some explanatory purchase. These different frameworks of explanation may be incompatible with one another, but that has not hindered me from using them.
My concluding point in this paper is therefore, that (dis)order may be in the eye of the beholder, or the pen of the writer, as much as in the world that is being observed or described. However, rather than lapsing into an irretrievable subjectivity and a resigned agnosticism, I prefer to be cautious about what can and cannot be explained, and to insist on always bearing in mind the limitations of any particular point of view.
Read moreOutlining a research agenda on private militarism and political markets in Africa
This note briefly outlines a research agenda on mercenaries and private military companies (PMC’s)[1] in Africa’s political marketplaces. It is
Read moreA Social Science in Africa Fit for Purpose
In this presentation I will argue that African scholarship on Africa is operating at only a fraction of its true potential, and that it is hampered by the preferences, policies and politics of the western academy.
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