Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Liberia: A Briefing Paper On The Trc Report, Emmanuel Aning, Thomas Jaye

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

The main purpose of this policy brief is to critically examine, and provide a capsule analysis and nuanced understanding of the context, mandate, reactions and key issues emerging out of the TRC report and recommendations. Subsequently, the essay puts forward some recommendations for immediate actions by the Government and people of Liberia as well as the broader international community of state and non-state actors in order to facilitate dialogue and informed social debates around the issues emerging out of the report.

Breaking Up A Monolithic State: Reflections Of Unarmed Ghanaian Military Observers In Kosovo And Bosnia, Fiifi Ed-Afful, Evelyn Avoxe, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

What this paper seeks to do is to analyze the personal experiences and contributions of Ghanaian military observers under UNPROFOR as an alternative to general media and official UN reports. It gives important insights into the role of military observers, with a view to drawing out important lessons for filling the knowledge gaps with respect to peace building and state building. The analysis is based on multiple faceto-face narratives drawn from interviews with four Ghanaian military officers posted as military observers to the Bosnian conflict between 1993 and 1995.

Compendium Of Ecowas Peace And Security Decisions: Protocols, Declarations And Peace Agreements, Emmanuel Aning, Emma Birikorang, Thomas Jaye

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

No abstract is currently available.

Conversations About Change And Identity, Caitlin Byrne

Caitlin Byrne

The unconventional and dramatic turn of political events that gripped the Australian Parliament, its media and the nation in the twenty four hours across June 23-24 have unexpectedly brought some interesting layers in the Australian story to the fore.

Security, The War On Terror, And Official Development Assistance, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States and the subsequent declaration of a War on Terror, several international issues have been affected, including the disbursement of official development assistance. This paper examines the connections between development aid, security, and the War on Terror and analyses the manner in which these linkages are impacting on the orientation, understanding, performance, and efficacy of existing official development assistance discourses, and assesses the emergence or otherwise of a new securitisation and politicisation of aid. The paper draws linkages between official development assistance, security, and terrorism, and applies this analysis to a discussion …

War In Pieces: Amia And The Triple Frontier In Argentine And American Discourse On Terrorism, Nathaniel Greenberg

Nathaniel Greenberg

July 18, 2010 marked yet another anniversary of the still unsolved terrorist attack that shook Argentina some sixteen years ago. Prior to September 11, Argentina in fact suffered two deadly terrorist attacks. The second of these, the bombing of La Asociación Mutual Israeli-Argentina (AMIA) on July 18, 1994, was the single largest attack targeting Jews since WWII and the largest terrorist attack in Latin American history. While the group “Islamic Jihad [Organization]” described by the FBI as “a covername” used by Hizbollah, claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992, explanations for the AMIA …

Organized Crime In West Africa: Options For Eu Engagement, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

Worldwide, organized crime is considered a major threat to human security. Organized crime impedes social, economic, cultural and democratic developments globally, with disproportionate effects on developing and fragile states. The threat and challenges of organized crime in Africa in general and West Africa in particular is enormous because of the high presence of fragile states serving as potential breeding grounds for such activities (Commission of the European Communities 2007: 5). In Africa, as in the rest of the world, organized criminal activities take the form of drug trafficking, advanced fee and Internet fraud, human trafficking, diamond smuggling, forgery, cigarette smuggling, …

Consulting And Evaluation With Nonprofit And Community-Based Organizations, Judah J. Viola, Susan D. Mcmahon

Judah J. Viola, Ph.D.

The Politics Of Cultural And Ethnic Pluralism, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

What Bush Did Right - On China, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

Responsibility To Protect In Africa: An Analysis Of The African Union's Peace And Security Architecture, Emmanuel Aning, Samuel Atuobi

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

In this paper we argue that, since its birth, the African Union (AU) has established a set of norms and principles that mirror the tenets of R2P as agreed to by the Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit. These norms and principles coupled with the AU's peace and security architecture make it proactive in conflict prevention and the management of crisis situations on the continent. Collaborative ventures between the African Union (at the continental level), the regional economic communities (RECs) at the (sub-regional level) and the UN (at the global level), we argue, are thus the best options for …

The Role Of Private Military Companies In Us-Africa Policy, Emmanuel Aning, Thomas Jaye, Samuel Atuobi

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This article discusses the increasing use of private military companies (PMCs) in United States' security policy in Africa, and examines this phenomenon in relation to the US' various military training programmes on the continent. We argue that the increasing use of PMCs in US security policy has evolved due to two critical and mutually dependent developments; African state weakness and resource stringency on the one hand, and the US's overwhelming security commitments around the world, combined with military downsizing, on the other. The article further argues that the involvement of PMCs is to a large extent informed by US concerns …

From 'Voluntary' To A 'Binding' Process: Towards The Securitisation Of Small Arms, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This article analyses the issue of small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation in both Ghana and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Specifically, it assesses the extent to which both Ghana and ECOWAS have 'securitised' this particular issue through an initial 'voluntary' instrument first in 1998 and extended in 2001 until the signing in June 2006 of a legally and politically binding ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and Other Related Materials. To do so, the article begins by setting out the scope and a brief history of the SALW problem in West …

Us Peace-Operations Policy In Africa: From Acri To Africom, A. Sarjoh Bah, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This article examines the changing nature of US peacekeeping policy in Africa in the postcold war period. After an account of the failures in Somalia and Rwanda in the early 1990s, it traces the evolution of various training programmes, from the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) in the early 1990s to the African Command (AFRICOM). We argue that, while these initiatives had some characteristics that were welcomed by African states, the programmes never achieved their full potential. The United States was quick to replace one programme with another when it ran into difficulty with the recipients, leading to a shift …

Human Rights In The Arab World: Independent Voices, Anthony Chase, Amr Hamzawy

Anthony Chase

Human Rights In The Arab World: Independent Voices is an anthology of essays by learned authors about the unfortunate and longstanding marginalization of human rights in the Arab world, the obstacles that bar the way to implementing these rights, and pathways to improve human rights and welfare in the future. Individual essays also discuss the intersection of globalization and human rights, the especial plight of women's rights in the Arab world, case studies in Yemeni, Egypt, and Morocco, the difficulties faced by activists and NGOs pushing for human rights, and much more. A sober, serious-minded compilation of a vital current …

China’S Ventures In Africa, Emmanuel Aning, Delphine Lecroute

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

In this paper, we are guided by several questions of which the critical one is whether Sino-African relations are merely opportunistic and based on an ad hoc momentum, or whether they reflect a real strategy based on presence and territorial domination in the new context of competition and cooperation on the reconfigured African continent. We argue that any endeavour to appreciate the complexities of this relationship needs a more nuanced and differentiated appreciation and understanding of Sino-African relations. Such an approach will elucidate the complex relationship between Africa and China and, more importantly, emphasise the delicate nuances that are overlooked …

Are There Emerging West African Criminal Networks? The Case Of Ghana, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This paper situates discussions about emerging African Criminal Networks (ACN) within Ghana specifically, and West Africa generally, and seeks to present the initial results of an empirically based study on the activities of transnational organised criminal (TOCs) groups in Ghana. The paper argues that the nature of state and statehood in Africa and its inability to establish effective regulatory mechanisms contributes to the rise of these particular types of criminal groups. It begins by conceptualising the place of Ghanaian and West African criminal groups within the framework of international crime. Furthermore, it undertakes an indepth analysis of three types of …

Security, The War On Terror And Official Development Assistance, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

The objective of this paper is to examine the connections between development aid, security and the War on Terror. It examines the manner in which these linkages are impacting on the orientation, understanding, performance and efficacy of the existing ODA architecture. The paper discusses the characteristics and dynamics of the WOT after 9/11. It then compares the perceived shifting criteria for ODA disbursements from 1970 to 2005, assessing the emergence or otherwise of a new securitization and politicization of aid. It also analyses the extent to which there have been geographical shifts in the allocation of aid, and how what …

Assessing The Role Of The African Union In Preventing And Combating Terrorism In Africa, Martin Ewi, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

The period after 9/11 can be characterised as the terrorism moment in world history. Every actor in international relations—the state, regional, continental and international as well as civil society organisations—has been mobilised to combat what, apparently has been conceived as a common security threat to humanity. The transformation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU) was a divine coincidence at a time when multilateralism and international cooperation were being challenged by the threat of terrorism. In the post-9/11 period, the main concern of the Union has been to reinforce and implement existing counter-terrorism instruments adopted …

The Challenge Of Civil Wars To Multilateral Interventions – Un, Ecowas, And Complex Political Emergencies In West Africa: A Critical Analysis, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

Politically and economically weak states are often vulnerable to political disasters which pose considerable challenges to multilateral interveners. During such disasters, the infrastructure of a country can be paralysed and in the emerging chaos, forces of hostile opposition might mobilise in order to take over the government, or people might loose faith in government altogether. This article seeks to analyse the dynamics of such situations by using Liberia and Sierra Leone's complex political emergencies (CPEs) as empirical studies. Here, I analyse the impact of these two CPEs on the collaborative intervention schemes initiated by the Economic Community of West African …

Keeping The Peace In Africa: Challenges And Opportunities, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

Focuses on the challenges and opportunities for peacekeeping efforts in Africa. Shift in the approach to peacekeeping and the desirability of such efforts; Structural weaknesses that may continue to engender conflicts in Africa; Significance of the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

Investing In Peace And Security In Africa: The Case Of Ecowas Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This paper argues that, by investing in good governance and democratisation—two factors fundamental to West African security—ECOWAS is also contributing to sub-regional peace and stability. An inclusive approach is needed to forge effective relationships between governance and security in West Africa. ECOWAS has designed a strategic framework that identifies priority areas for conflict management. At issue, though, is its capacity to confront and deal with issues that straddle security, peace, good governance, and democratisation. This paper analyses the dynamics of ECOWAS’s security-sector reforms. The perception that the security sector itself is still a major source of insecurity in West Africa …

Standing With The Persecuted: Adjudicating Asylum Applications On Account Of Religion After The Enactment Of The International Religious Freedom Act Of 1998

Craig B. Mousin

No abstract provided.

African Commitments To Conflict Prevention And Peacemaking: A Review Of Eight Nepad Countries, Emmanuel Aning, Prosper Addo, Emma Birikorang, Emmanuel Sowatey

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

The African Human Security Initiative (AHSI) is a network of seven African non-governmental research organisations that have come together to measure the performance of key African governments in promoting human security. The project is inspired by a wish to contribute to the ambitions of the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Whereas the APRM process has defined a comprehensive set of objectives, standards, criteria and indicators that cover four broad areas, AHSI only engages with one of the four, namely issues of political governance in so far as these relate to human …

Politics, War, And Youth Culture In Sierra Leone: An Alternative Interpretation, Angela Mcintyre, Emmanuel Aning, Prosper Addo

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

Understanding the nature of armed conflict in Africa requires more than a political and military analysis of forms of warfare such as the employment of children as fighters. Children are seldom only instruments for other causes but can actively support their own agenda through the choices they make. Problems of governance, resource use and social organisation also need to be considered. There are often no clear lines between civilians and militaries and a simplistic ‘oppressor vs victim’ dichotomy is of limited use. The political character of youths can be better understood by considering the factors that shape their consciousness, as …

Eliciting Compliance From Warlords: The Ecowas Experience In Liberia, 1990–1997, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This article examines the strategies initiated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to elicit compliance with its disarmament policies from belligerents in Liberia's 1989–96 civil conflict. I propose to tackle the task within a linked and holistic four‐fold approach. First, I situate ECOWAS's intervention in Liberia from 1990 to 1997 within the changing context of international perceptions of multilateral organisation involvement in civil wars. ECOWAS's intervention had different diplomatic phases. The first phase under the Standing Mediation Committee lasted from May 1990‐June 1991, The Committee of Five Process from June 1991‐August 1992, and the Committee of Nine …