African Studies Commons^™

The Return Of Moral Equivalence, J. Peter Pham

Human Rights & Human Welfare

During the latter stages of the Cold War, one school of ethical analysis, ultimately labeled as “moral equivalence” by the late Jeane Kirkpatrick, measured Western liberal democracies against utopian standards in a radical critique which redefined the political discourse, erasing distinctions between the Soviet Union and its satellites on the one hand and the United States and its allies on the other.

Missing The Point, Colin Thomas-Jensen

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“What would happen if we thought of Darfur as we do of Iraq, as a place with a history and politics—a messy politics of insurgency and counterinsurgency?” (§4). This is the most telling question posed by Professor Mahmood Mamdani in “The Politics of Naming: Genocide, Civil War, Insurgency.” The implication is that the growing public demand for strong international action—military or otherwise—to halt the atrocities in Darfur is somehow unwarranted because people have failed to understand that the systematic crimes against humanity committed against civilians in Darfur (and indeed Iraq) are an inevitability of “the messy politics of insurgency and …

Politics Of Naming And Politics Of Responsibility, Rhoda Howard-Hassmann

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Mahmood Mamdani is right to complain that the American—and international—public is unaware of the political complexity of the Darfur conflict. He is also right to point out that selective or inconsistent uses of the terms “genocide,” “civil war,” and “insurgency” can mask covert, or even overt, political agendas. His comparison of Darfur to Iraq is telling. And he is right to point out that even with the best of humanitarian intentions, the presentation of a simplified version of Darfur, in which “Arabs” persecute “Africans,” can play into the “war on terror,” insofar as, in the minds of at least some …

Human Rights And The War On Terror: Complete 2005 - 2007 Topical Research Digest, Jack Donnelly, Simon Amajuru, Susannah Compton, Robin Davey, Syd Dillard, Amanda Donahoe, Charles Hess, Sydney Fisher, Kelley Laird, Victoria Lowdon, Chris Maggard, Alexandra Nichols, Travis Ning, Toni Panetta, Greg Sanders, James Smithwick, Angela Woolliams, Chris Saeger, Sarah Bania-Dobyns, Eric Dibbern, David Gillespie, Latife Bulur, Katie Friesen, Arika Long, Arianna Nowakowski, Joel R. Pruce

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“9/11 changed everything.” Not really. In fact, there has been far more continuity than change over the past six years in both international and domestic politics. Nonetheless, human rights often have been harmed—although not by terrorism but by “the war on terror.”

Making Sense Of A Senseless War, J. Peter Pham

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone by Lansana Gberie. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2005.

and

Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight by Rachel Brett and Irma Specht. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005.

A Survey Of Terrorism And Human Rights In Uganda, Arika Long

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Tragically, Uganda is a primary example of a country dominated by terror and human rights violations. In a 2006 interview with Integrated Regional Information Networks IRIN, the news department of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, called the conflict in Uganda “the worst form of terrorism in the world.” Defining terrorism as indiscriminate violence against civilians, he declares that nowhere in the world is there a more concentrated area where so many people are being terrorized, and have been for such a long period of time. According to …

Sudan: A Survey Of Terrorism And Human Rights, Arika Long

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sudan is a primary example of a country dominated by terror and human rights violations. Upon the release of Amnesty International’s 2007 annual report, Secretary General Khan described the continuing conflict in Sudan's Darfur region as a “bleeding wound on the world’s conscience.” In the report, the authors declare that the world has been “impotent” in the face of major crises like Darfur. They state that policies linked to the “War on Terror” are creating a more polarized and dangerous world, with grave effects in Sudan. In addition to the terror and human rights violations permeating the North, frustration also …

Murambi Et Moisson De Crânes Ou Comment La Fiction Raconte Un Génocide, Josias Semujanga

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

This article shows how literary fiction is able to narrate the event of genocide so as to shatter the rational explanations of the world that are the accepted framework for discourse. It studies two texts written on the Rwandan genocide: Murambi by Boubacar Boris Diop and Moisson de crânes by Abdourahman Waberi.

Les Enfants De La Guerre : Adolescence Et Violence Postcoloniale Chez Badjoko, Dongala, Kourouma Et Monénembo, Koffi Anyinefa

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

This essay deals with the representation of African child-soldiers in three novels and an autobiography. Why do children take part in African postcolonial civil wars? How are they portrayed? These children are not —as public opinion would often have it— only the victims of postcolonial violence, but are also agents of social change. Their violent involvement in political affairs constitutes the most radical form of their determination to be heard, and the most eloquent form of their protest against their precarious living conditions in a postcolonial Africa in crisis.

The African Union, Makaria Green

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The African Union (AU) was established on July 8, 2001. Its predecessor was the Organization for African Unity (OAU)—established in 1963. The charter that created the OAU was the result of several multinational African conferences held in the 1950s and 1960s aimed at supporting Africans who were still under colonial rule to incite change through non-violent means. The OAU had just four organs: the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the Council of Ministers, the General Secretariat and the Commission of Mediation, and Conciliation and Arbitration. On September 9, 1999, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government issued …

Uganda, Simon Amajuru

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The war in northern Uganda is one against civilians. Although the government purports to be targeting Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, it is well known that more than 80% of the current rebels were conscripted against their will. The war has continued for more than 17 years, caused displacement of more than 1. 6 million people, and left more than 100,000 people dead. Over 20,000 children have been abducted and forced to join the LRW ranks or become sex slaves, while over 50,000 children have turned into “night commuters” for fear of abductions.

A Thematic Content Analysis Of National Anthems: Europe Vs. Members Of The Arab League, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The authors conduct a political psychological analysis of national anthems from European, African, and Middle Eastern nations. Their results focus on the difference between anthems of European nations and members of the Arab League, and potential reasons behind those differences.

Time To Make History, Time To Educate Women: A Narrative Of The Life And Work Of Christiana Thorpe Of Sierra Leone, Whitney Mcintyre Miller

Education Faculty Articles and Research

An examination of the life of Christiana Thorpe, a former nun from Sierra Leone who worked to improve education for girls and served as the only woman in a cabinet of nineteen members (as Minister of Education), then worked with the United Nations Development Programme and UNESCO amidst war and rebellion in her country.

Trends. The Paradise Hotel Bombing: Trouble In Judicial Paradise, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discussed the bombing of the Kenyan Hotel Paradise in November 2002, and the detention of suspects.

Selected Factors That Influenced A State's Collapse: A Historical Analysis Of The Case Of Sierra Leone, I. Betty Williams Conteh

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Throughout the 1990s the United Nations Human Development Index, an annual report that measures human development, depicted Sierra Leone as one of, if not the poorest nation on the planet. In 2001, the same report depicted 162 countries in terms of human development and Sierra Leone ranked 162. This Sub-Saharan nation experienced a total collapse of its state and society beginning in 1990. The United Nations and the rest of the international community are only now beginning to work towards putting Sierra Leone together again.

This study investigate factors that led to the collapse of Sierra Leone--factors such as …

Ibpp Research Associates: Uganda, Staff Writer – The Monitor Online (Uganda)

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article - Issue joint statement against bombs, by a newspaper staff writer - was originally posted on The Monitor [Online] (Uganda) on January 30, 2001. It presents information about the 2001 elections in Uganda, comparing the current events to the violence- and tension-filled elections of 1996.

The full article is not available for download due to copyright restrictions. Please contact Daily Monitor for details.

Daily Monitor was established as an independent daily newspaper, The Monitor, and relaunched as Daily Monitor in June 2005. Daily Monitor is a subsidiary of Monitor Publications Ltd, which is owned by The Nation Media …

A Future Of Human And Civil Rights In Zimbabwe: Ideology And Outcome Research, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes two common approaches to achieving human and civil rights and what may be needed to select among these and other approaches.

The Political Psychology Of Embargoes: An Example From The Eritrean-Ethiopian War, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes psychological inferences embraced by supporters and opponents of embargoes as tools to prevent, end, or moderate political violence between nation-states.

Neutrality, Peacekeeping, And Globalization: Problems For The United Nations In Africa, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes problems facing the United Nations as it seeks to effect its global mandate to foster peace, resolve conflict, and otherwise contribute to human welfare.

Trends. Does Ethnic Cleansing Have Pros And Cons? An Example From Burundi, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses ethnic cleansing (using Burundi as a case study) in the context of physical security.

Ibpp Research Associates: Nigeria, Staff Writer - The Post Express

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author - a staff writer at The Post Express - discusses The Express, describing it as an independent newspaper based out of Ogun, Nigeria and dedicated to promoting the prospects of democracy and justice in Nigeria and to reaching those who have not abandoned the faith that human affairs are best administered in the spirit of reason and in a climate of true democracy. This description led into a short article - Senate Honours Abiola - which described the honoring of the late Chief Abiola, presumed winner of the 6/12/1993 presidential election who died in detention.

Copyright permission for …

From The Ibpp Research Associates. Eritrea/Ethiopia: Pan African News Agency, Staff Writer - Pan African News Agency (Pana)

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article - Ethiopia, Eritrea Fighting Enters Sixth Day. February 11, 1999 by a staff writer of the Pan African News Agency (PANA) - provides a report that organization. It was submitted anonymously, and it has been provided here with permission.

The article discusses the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. IBPP commentary expands the scope of the article, discussing Western uses of resources in the prevention of political violence in Europe but not Africa.

The Struggle For Justice: South African Apartheid; The Palestinian 'Intifadah', St Mary's University

President's Peace Commission - Programs

The President’s Peace Commission existed from 1984 to 2013 at St. Mary's University. The Commission fostered an ethical commitment to participate in the establishment of world peace and social justice.

This program is about resistance movements in the Middle East.

Alienation Of Youth As An Unintended Consequence Of Military Assistance In Africa: Illustrations From The Ethiopian Experience, Quentin F. Schenk

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The development of global competition between Russia and the United States led to a dramatic diversion of the resources of the United States to military and quasi-military programs. Some of the objectives of the competition were to maintain United States influence and power over its empire in the Middle East and Africa: to monitor the Red Sea; to have a presence near Egypt, especially in view of the development of the Aswan Dam by the Russians; to have proximity to its Asian colony, Israel; to keep watch over its oil in Saudi Arabia; to establish and man satellite tracking stations …

Alienation Of Youth As An Unintended Consequence Of Military Assistance In Africa: Illustrations From The Ethiopian Experience, Quentin F. Schenk

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The development of global competition between Russia and the United States led to a dramatic diversion of the resources of the United States to military and quasi-military programs. Some of the objectives of the competition were to maintain United States influence and power over its empire in the Middle East and Africa: to monitor the Red Sea; to have a presence near Egypt, especially in view of the development of the Aswan Dam by the Russians; to have proximity to its Asian colony, Israel; to keep watch over its oil in Saudi Arabia; to establish and man satellite tracking stations …