African Studies Commons^™

Natural Resource Conflict: The Bakassi Lesson For Sudan And The Republic Of South Sudan Over Abyei, Chux Ibekwe

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The split of Sudan into two sovereign states, Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan, in July 20 II did not come as a surprise to many interested parties to the Sudanese conflict. Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan have intensified their dispute over an oil rich border region of Abyei. This article looks at the history of another border dispute between Nigeria and Cameroun over Bakassi peninsula with the aim of identifying mistakes made by the two neighbors, Nigeria and Cameroun, in trying to resolve the dispute. Specifically, this study suggests paths Sudan and the Republic of South …

Introduction: The Year Of Ghana At Kennesaw State University, Dan Paracka, Sam Abaidoo

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Introduction to the issue.

Analysis Of Technology Integration In Teacher Education In Ghana, Douglas D. Agyei

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Ghana’s Education Reforms launched in June 2007 introduced Computer literacy not on-ly as a new subject, but also as a tool to enhance teaching and learning. This study pro-vides a situational analysis of the pedagogical issues associated with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use in teacher education in Ghana. The methodology used in the study focused on meta-data analysis in which issues associated with integrat-ing ICT in Ghana’s education were re-examined to provide a better picture that will sup-port future achievement of teaching and learning with ICT. The evidence suggests that the challenges of ICT use in education do not …

Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices Of Mothers In Duakor, A Traditional Migrant Community In Cape Coast, Ghana, Solomon Sika-Bright, Georgina Yaa Oduro

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Ensuring child health and well-being is critical in Ghana’s development. Central to initia-tives for ensuring child health is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended exclusive breastfeeding, which is increasingly being promoted in Ghana. As the name connotes, the practice requires that babies from age zero to six months are breastfed. This practice is however interpreted and practiced differently in line with the traditional mode of feeding babies in most communities in Ghana. This paper presents the findings of a study that examined how mothers breastfeed their babies in the first six months at Dua-kor, a traditional migrant community in Cape …

Rural Women's Role In The Socio-Economic Growth And Well-Being Of Ghana: A Case Study Of Women Operating Within The Informal Sector, Raphael Avornyo

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper examines women’s contributions to Ghana’s economic growth and well-being. Data for the study were collected using interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) with women operating in the informal sector of the Twifo-Hemang-Lower Denkyira District. The main findings of the study showed that even though women con-tribute to socio-economic growth and well-being, most of them do not have adequate ac-cess to the resources needed to expand their impact. The paper recommends policies aimed at addressing women’s issues regarding the socio-economic system, so that they can create wealth and improve well-being for themselves, their children, and society at large.

About The Contributors, Dan Paracka

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

No abstract provided.

Terrorism In Nigeria: Culmination Of Economic Disenfranchisement, Social Marginalization And Political Instability, Olalekan Afolabi

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Odious Debt System, Andrew Hanauer

Master's Theses

Over the past forty years, African countries have accumulated enormous quantities of external debt. Today, this debt is heavily burdensome; money spent on debt service is money that cannot be invested into infrastructure development, health, education, or other areas that might benefit the large number of Africans who live in poverty. Calls for debt forgiveness have led western institutions to forgive a portion of this debt, but have not addressed the question of whether or not this debt is legitimate in the first place.

Similarly, academic proposals for the classification and subsequent repudiation or forgiveness of so-called "odious debt" have …

Re-Evaluating Peacebuilding In The Democratic Republic Of Congo: A Case Study In Dongo, Wilita Sanguma

Master's Theses

Re-evaluating Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A case study in Dongo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) is a country rich with natural resources centered in the heart of Africa. Since the colonial era, the country has seen more bloodshed than peace and development. From 1996 to 2003, Congo experienced the worst conflict since World War II, with over six million people dead. Despite having the largest United Nations peacekeeping troops present; Congo continues to be plagued by violence. This research thesis argues that the international community failed to promote a lasting peace in Congo because the international …

A Tale Of Two Superpowers: Nigeria And China Relations, Faouziatou Aboudou Kabassi

Master's Theses

The study discusses the historical development of the Sino-Nigerian bilateral relations. The paper provides a detailed view of china's FDI in Nigeria and the diverse challenges faced by the oil rich country to develop its own economy through NEEDS as a result of china's economic power. China’s partnership with Nigeria is ideally for economic growth but practically poisonous to Nigeria’s development goals as China is solely pursuing its own interest and diverting its partner from working toward its NEEDS goal. A deep investigation of the relations should be reviewed for both countries. This will be needed to produce vital economic …

Tackling Tax Evasion: Transfer Price Manipulation, Extractive Natural Resources And A Strategy For The Southern African Customs Union, Patrick Grant Mclennan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An increase in the number of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has increased the attention on cross-border challenges, such as transfer price manipulation (TPM). TPM is a development issue - it undermines institutions as well as siphons money from government revenues that could be directed towards programs for human development. Pervasive corruption in the natural resource sector supports an environment where TPM can flourish. This paper develops a strategy for combating TPM within the countries of the Southern African Customs Union. It does this by 1) defining the terrain of illicit flows, both generally and specifically to the abuse of transfer pricing …

Review Of Daniel Mockli's "Strategic Trends 2012: Key Developments In Global Affairs, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This review essay describes and analyzes the content of this annual compilation of international affairs essays published by the Zurich-based Center for Strategic Studies.

September Roundtable: "The Syrian Spring" And Human Rights, Introduction, Raslan Ibrahim

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The UN Security Council's Pro-Syrian 'Defiance Coalition' Crumbles”. By Raghida Dergham. Huffington Post, August 2011.

April Roundtable: Responsibility To Protect And Human Rights Protection In The Ivory Coast, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

Article under review: “The Case for Intervention in the Ivory Coast” by Corinne Dufka. Foreign Policy. March 25 2011.

Double Standards Demystified, Jonas Claes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

At the time Ms. Corinne Dufka’s op-Ed about the crisis in Côte D’Ivoire appeared, few would have predicted that three days later UN troops, with the support of the French military, would act forcefully to protect civilians and tip the balance in favor of the fighters loyal to Alassane Ouattara, eventually leading to the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo. The odds were not favoring this scenario.

A Structural Solution To Africa’S Wayward Presidents, Devin K. Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The current crisis in the Ivory Coast unfortunately resembles a number of crises in Western and Central Africa over the last few decades. Whereas the international community has generally been more willing to intervene in Europe and the Middle East, there has been a tendency to “wait and watch” while humanitarian crises unfold in middle Africa. In the last several years, as in the Ivory Coast right now, however, global awareness of the brutality of such crises has expanded tremendously.

Pandora’S Box Of Humanitarian Intervention, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“The Case for Intervention in the Ivory Coast” reminded me of the discussion that my undergraduate students had during the previous academic term on the conundrums surrounding humanitarian intervention. They innately responded to the intense suffering of individuals and groups facing gross human rights violations and initially argued that inaction in the face of suffering cannot be justified on any grounds. However, with their international relations hats on, many of them soon realized that putting an end to such a state of affairs is not as easy or straightforward as they had hoped.

March Roundtable: Libya And The Responsibility To Protect, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

Article under review: “It’s Time to Intervene” by Shadi Hamid. Slate. February 23 2011.

I Will Survive, Robert Funk

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Academics do not often quote 70s disco tunes. At least not in print. But if there is one thing that has been striking about the events in Libya in recent weeks—and indeed looking back over decades—it is the sheer ability of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to survive. He is, perhaps with Fidel Castro, the world’s greatest survivor. He has indeed learned how to carry on.

Is It Really Time To Intervene In Libya?, Christina Cerna

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Shadi Hamid, in “It’s Time to Intervene,” suggests that the international community—specifically, the United States, the United Nations, and NATO—must intervene in Libya because Muammar Gaddafi has declared that he is ready and willing to slaughter his own people if his survival depends on it. The author considered Gaddafi’s speech otherwise “bizarre” and “incoherent.”

Feminism And Democracy, Louis Edgar Esparza

Human Rights & Human Welfare

After work on December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks walked onto a bus that was to take her home that night. She ended up on a trip to jail instead, for refusing to give her seat to a white passenger. The event triggered resistance to bus segregation, the founding of the Montgomery Improvement Association, and the election of the then-unknown Dr. Martin Luther King as its leader. The success of the campaign is an integral battle in our historical retellings of the US African American Civil Rights Movement. Fewer recount the sexual harassment against black women by white …

We Do Indeed Reap What We Sow, Walter Lotze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

When violence first broke out in Tunisia in January 2011, few observers would have predicted that waves of unrest would engulf North Africa and the Arab world. When demonstrations swiftly spread to Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and Jordan, observers hastened to place bets on which regime would be the next to fall. That Hosni Mubarak would be felled next came perhaps as no surprise; Egypt had for years been on a knife’s edge, liberalizing and modernizing society while closing all space for political and social participation. Most analysts then turned their attention to Sudan, Yemen, and Bahrain, predicting that …

February Roundtable: The Arab Revolutions And Human Rights, Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Failure of Governance in the Arab World” by Simon Tisdall. The Guardian. January 11 2011.

He's Our Son Of A Bitch, Robert Funk

Human Rights & Human Welfare

It is said that Franklin Delano Roosevelt defended the US tendency to support dictators by remarking, “He may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch.” The recent events in Tunisia and Egypt indicate that almost seventy years later, this unfortunate phrase seems to continue to guide US foreign policy.

A Little Respect, Please, Christina Cerna

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Simon Tisdall suggests that last month, when Mohammed Bouazizi (twenty-six years old), “an unemployed graduate, set himself on fire outside a government building in protest at police harassment,” his act became the “rallying cause for Tunisia’s disaffected legions of unemployed students, impoverished workers, trade unionists, lawyers and human rights activists.” The reaction to his act of self-immolation and death on January 4th led to the flight of President Ben Ali ten days later to Saudi Arabia and to the end of Ali's twenty-three-year rule of Tunisia. Time reported the event as follows: “When Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight on Dec. …

Abeyance And Spontaneity In Tunisia, Louis Edgar Esparza

Human Rights & Human Welfare

On August 16, 1819, tens of thousands of workers gathered in what is now St. Peter’s Square in Manchester to demand suffrage. Entire families, parishes, and townships assembled, fueled by increasing commodity prices and political disenfranchisement. They had spread the word from town to town, and from church to church, that this previously banned meeting was indeed to occur. It was the culmination of months of agitation on the part of common people to achieve economic and political reform. The government responded violently to the challenge of its authority, as governments so often do, leading to a score of deaths …

Those Pesky Winds Of Change..., Walter Lotze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

When a police officer slapped a fruit seller by the name of Mohammed Bouazizi in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, nobody could have anticipated that a revolution had commenced. Bouazizi, a twenty-six-year-old computer science graduate unable to find work, had resorted to selling fruit from a street cart in an attempt to support himself and his seven siblings. Slapped by the police officer and ordered to pack up his goods, Bouazizi himself snapped. He marched to the local governor’s office and demanded an appointment, threatening to set himself alight if the governor did not meet with him. In frustration, …

The Irony Of Refuge: Gender-Based Violence Against Female Refugees In Africa, Liz Miller

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Sudanese soldiers and the Janjawid invaded her village. When she tried to escape, they gang-raped her. At that time, she was eight months pregnant and described giving birth to a dead baby afterward and being very sick. She could not make it with her group to the border to flee to Chad so she had to walk alone. Once she got to Chad, she was raped by a Chadian soldier outside of the camp and became pregnant. Afterwards, her husband divorced her, and she now lives with the stigma of being a rape victim. She has been expelled from …

Security Now: Addressing The Needs Of Darfur’S Children, Nicole Judd

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In the Darfur region of Sudan, over 2.3 million children have been affected by the ongoing genocide (UNICEF 2008). Unlike their adult counterparts, children are impacted more severely by the consequences of warfare as they are undergoing a fragile developmental process. While each one of the affected children has had their basic human rights violated in some form, the narrative of trauma differs between groups. Sexually-exploited girls, boy soldiers, unaccompanied children, and those who remain in under-resourced camps have experienced the protracted violence in unique ways. To mitigate the effects of war, each group should receive individualized humanitarian assistance as …

History Education And Identity Formation: A Case Study Of Uganda, Takako Mino

CMC Senior Theses

History education builds the foundation of a common past necessary for the formation of group identity. Evaluating History curricula is important because group identity guides people’s political behavior. This Uganda case study demonstrates how different actors have manipulated History education in order to enhance the saliency of ethnic, national, and regional identities. The expansion of nationalized education and the teaching of Ugandan, East African, and African history have contributed to fostering the rise of national consciousness in Uganda. Greater awareness of national identity has promoted national integration while marginalizing non-school educated people.