African History Commons^™

Oil Wealth, Resource Curse And Development: Any Lessons For Ghana?, Felix Kumah-Abiwu, Edward Brenya, James Agbodzakey

Felix Kumah-Abiwu

Ghana’s new status as an oil-producing country has invigorated the scholarly debate on the resource curse theory, which assumes that countries with vast natural resource wealth like oil, diamond and gold are likely to experience slow economic growth and development as compared to countries with scarce natural resources. Although the development literature is well endowed with cases of countries with huge natural resources that have experienced slow economic growth, the literature is also clear on few other countries with enormous natural resources that continue to experience high economic growth due to strong political institutions and democratic practices. Norway and Botswana …

Rough Terrain. Review Of Dane Kennedy, The Last Blank Spaces, Tobias J. Harper

Tobias Harper

No abstract provided.

The Sumerian Grammar: Affixation And Reconstruction Technique, Matthias Ifejika

Matthias Ifejika

The Affixation and Reconstruction Technique (ART) is a method of reconstructing fragmented Sumerian words by affixing the missing vowel to the CV or VC fragment in order to arrive at the exact rendering and remove the problem of ambiguity. Quite a lot of Sumerian words had been restored as fragments and we often assume that such fragments are whole words although they are parts of the whole word. Although the CV fragment can stand on its feet as free morphemes unlike the VC fragment, there is always the need to restore the full word.

Book Review. 2014. Foreign Intervention In Africa: From The Cold War To The War On Terrror, Felix Kumah-Abiwu

Felix Kumah-Abiwu

No abstract provided.

Smart Power For Hard Problems: The Role Of Special Operation Forces Strengthening The Rule Of Law And Human Rights In Africa, Kevin H. Govern

Kevin H. Govern

This article will assess the roles and responsibilities of Special Operations Forces (SOF) within the newly created U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) as an active proponent of a so-called “smart power” national security strategy. In particular, it will outline the economic, political, and military challenges faced in Africa; specifically, how and why SOCAFRICA is the U.S. force of choice for promoting human rights and rule of law in Africa. With the goals of the U.S. military in mind, questions will necessarily arise as to “what success looks like” for both the U.S. and African nations, and the roles of each in …

Black Boys And Their Behavior, Edward Earl Bell

Edward Earl Bell

While societal and cultural expectations bend towards positive schooling experiences, black boys are falling short in terms of graduating from high school—and for that matter—college!

Confounding Identity: Exploring The Life And Discourse Of Lucy E. Parsons, Michelle Diane Wright

Michelle Diane Wright

Despite the vast research conducted on radical activist history of late nineteenth century Chicago, there is very little that examines political and social ideologies that diverged from the westernized male archetype of the era. Furthermore, the contrived disciplinary divide that separates scholarly study into artificial and static compartments such as labor history, anarchist history, women’s studies or others, oversimplifies the contributions of individuals that straddle all categories of endeavor. Lucy Parsons, a woman of color, was born in Waco, Texas in 1853 but moved to Chicago in 1873 and became a pivotal figure in the labor and anarchist movements well …

Diabolical Frivolity Of Neoliberal Fundamentalism, Sefik Tatlic

Sefik Tatlic

Today, we cannot talk just about plain control, but we must talk about the nature of the interaction of the one who is being controlled and the one who controls, an interaction where the one that is “controlled” is asking for more control over himself/herself while expecting to be compensated by a surplus of freedom to satisfy trivial needs and wishes. Such a liberty for the fulfillment of trivial needs is being declared as freedom. But this implies as well the freedom to choose not to be engaged in any kind of socially sensible or politically articulated struggle.

Resgate E Mercadorias: Uma Análise Comparada Do Tráfico Luso-Brasileiro De Escravos Em Angola E Na Costa Da Mina (Século Xviii), Gustavo Acioli Lopes, Maximiliano M. Menz

Gustavo Acioli Lopes

No abstract provided.

Broken Utterances, Michelle Diane Wright

Michelle Diane Wright

Preface to the book "Broken Utterances"

“The Natives.” [Special Issue – The Mountain Men], Jay H. Buckley

Jay H. Buckley

No abstract provided.

“Scientific Explorers: A Review Of Literature On Lewis And Clark’S Ethnography, Botany, And Zoology.”, Jay H. Buckley, Julie A. Harris

Jay H. Buckley

No abstract provided.

“Rocky Mountain Entrepreneur: Robert Campbell As A Fur Trade Capitalist.”, Jay H. Buckley

Jay H. Buckley

No abstract provided.

“The Plains Commence: Lewis And Clark On The Middle Missouri.”, Jay H. Buckley

Jay H. Buckley

No abstract provided.

“The Price Of Used Paper: How A Treasure Trove Of William Clark Documents Was Rescued From The Scrap Heap.”, Jay H. Buckley

Jay H. Buckley

No abstract provided.

Timbuktu: A Lesson In Underdevelopment, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

Th e purpose of the present paper is to investigate Timbuktu’s economic decline in the three centuries elapsed between 1526, when Leo Africanus reached the Mysterious City, and 1830, when the fi rst European explorers arrived in Timbuktu. It is argued that Timbuktu’s decline was neither an accident nor the result of inevitable natural conditions. Timbuktu’s decay was the product of historical and social forces. Specifi cally, it is argued that Timbuktu lost power and prestige because its market decayed. However, it is also suggested that no single factor can account individually for this event. Th e crisis of Timbuktu’s …

From Military Politization To Militarization Of Power In Guinea-Conakry, Mohamed S. Camara

Mohamed S. Camara

This historical analysis of state-military society relationship in Guinea focuses on Sékou Touré's political survival due in part to his political indoctrination of an army constantly involved in Pan-African battles and overshadowed by the National Militia. It also addresses this army's transition from a single-party regime to multiparty politics via a bloodless coup. Particularly underlined in the discussion, Touré's intelligent exploitation of Cold War localized manueuvers lays the ground for a conceptual framework envisioning the Guinean military as a revolutionary army. This theoretical argument is made in light of the sociological debate on the military and politics as sustained by …

Notes On Historical Materialism And Social Formation, Pengsheng Chiu

Pengsheng Chiu

I have made some notes on several papers related to the issues about historical materialism and social formation.

“Crossing The Great Plains: A Sesquicentennial Look At The 1847 Mormon Pioneer Trek West.”, Jay H. Buckley

Jay H. Buckley

No abstract provided.

Relativism, Reflective Equilibrium, And Justice, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

THIS PAPER IS THE CO-WINNER OF THE FRED BERGER PRIZE IN PHILOSOPHY OF LAW FOR THE 1999 AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE BEST PUBLISHED PAPER IN THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS.

The conflict between liberal legal theory and critical legal studies (CLS) is often framed as a matter of whether there is a theory of justice that the law should embody which all rational people could or must accept. In a divided society, the CLS critique of this view is overwhelming: there is no such justice that can command universal assent. But the liberal critique of CLS, that it degenerates into …