African Conflicts and Informal Power Big Men and Networks

by Utas, Matt; Utas, Mats

• ISBN13: 9781848138827
• ISBN10: 1848138822
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-03-15
• Publisher: ZED BOOKS

Summary

In the aftermath of an armed conflict in Africa, the international community both produces and demands from local partners a variety of blueprints on how to reconstruct state and society. The aim is to re-formalize the state after what is viewed as a brief or extended period of fragmentation and informalization caused by armed conflict. In reality, both African economies and politics are very much informal in character, with informal actors (including so-called "Big Men") often using their positions in the formal structure as a means to reach informal goals. Through a variety of in-depth case studies - from DRC to Somali to Liberia among others - this book shows how important informal political and economic networks are in many of the continent's conflict areas. More than this, it demonstrated that without a proper understanding of their impacts in areas such as borderlands and in "narco-states" such as Guinne-Bissau, attempts to "formalize" African states, particularly those emerging from wars, will be in vain.

Author Biography

Matt Utas is Senior Researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala, Sweden.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Matt Utas *1. 'The politics of confusion': Mapping violent labour in post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire - Karel Arnaut * 2. Informal political structures, resources and the Ugandan army in the DRC - Koen Vlassenroot and Sandrine Perot * 3. Cocaine connections and developmental disasters in Guinea Bissau - Henrik Vigh * 4. ‘Castles in the sand’: Informal networks and power brokers in the Northern Mali periphery - Morten Böås  * 5. The Governor’s Red Tractors: trade, aid and global shadows in Angola - Carolyn Nordstrom * 6. Liberia’s remaining rebel structures: the use of ex-combatants in informal post-war security settings - Mariam Persson * 7. Big-Man Business in the Borderland: the militarization of politics in Sierra Leone - Maya Christensen * 8. Bullets and Business: War and Implications of Trade in Somalia - Mats Utas and Awes Mio * 9. Soldiers and Traders in War and Peace: The Resilience and Diversity of Conflict Resources - Ruben de Koning * 10. Informal Military Structures and Mid-level Commanders – an African Outlook - Anders Nilsson * 11. Understanding the AU and its Political Culture: ‘Big Men’ and Decision-Making Processes - Kwesi Aning