Towards a New Map of Africa

by Wisner, Ben; Toulmin, Camilla; Chitiga, Rutendo; Robinson, Mary

• ISBN13: 9781844070923
• ISBN10: 1844070921
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This ground-breaking book, with a foreword by former President of Ireland (1990-1997) and UN Human Rights Commissioner (1997-2002) Mary Robinson, uniquely distils the complex issues surrounding Africa at the beginning of the 21st century.

Table of Contents

List of Boxes, Figures and Tables	p. xi
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations	p. xiii
Acknowledgements	p. xvii
Notes on Contributors	p. xviii
Foreword	p. xxii
Introduction	p. 1
Need for a Replacement for Africa in Crisis	p. 1
Homogenizing Complexity	p. 3
Twenty Years on from Africa in Crisis	p. 4
What's Happened to the Crisis since Africa in Crisis was Published?	p. 6
Arguments Old and New	p. 29
Signs of Success	p. 33
Running Out of Time?	p. 34
How Can Our Book Contribute?	p. 35
Human Ecology	p. 51
Land-based Livelihoods	p. 53
Introduction	p. 53
What are Rural Livelihoods?	p. 53
Unfolding Livelihoods in West Africa	p. 55
Two Cases	p. 57
Conclusion	p. 65
Fishing Livelihoods: Successful Diversification, or Sinking into Poverty?	p. 71
Introduction	p. 71
Diverse People and Livelihoods	p. 71
Fisheries as a Growing Livelihood Opportunity	p. 72
The Attraction of the Fisheries Sector	p. 76
Effects on Livelihood Security and Sustainability	p. 82
Coping Strategies at Micro and Macro Levels	p. 85
Conclusions	p. 92
Urban Livelihoods	p. 97
Introduction	p. 97
Framing Urban Livelihoods	p. 98
Making a Living	p. 101
Maintaining Social Networks and Urban Communities	p. 103
Mounting Collective Action	p. 105
Conclusions	p. 107
The Challenge of HIV/AIDS	p. 113
Introduction	p. 113
HIV/AIDS and its Potentially Devastating Impacts	p. 114
Positive Anomalies	p. 119
Avoiding the Trap	p. 121
Conclusion	p. 127
Food Security	p. 133
Introduction	p. 133
Food Security: The Definitional Quandary	p. 134
Vulnerability Discourse, Monitoring Practice and Food Aid	p. 135
Description of Famine Early Warning Systems in Africa	p. 141
Critical Assessment of Early Warning Systems in Africa	p. 143
Recommendations for Best Practice	p. 146
Institutional Change	p. 153
The Global Economic Context	p. 155
Introduction	p. 155
The Promise of Globalization and Achievements	p. 156
The Failed Promise of Growth	p. 161
Explaining the Poor Performance: Has Africa Adjusted?	p. 161
Africa Maladjusted: The Low-growth Path	p. 166
Concluding Remarks	p. 174
Legal Frameworks	p. 183
Introduction	p. 183
The Roots of African Poverty and Vulnerability	p. 184
Can African Governments Use Law to Restructure Dysfunctional Institutions?	p. 187
How Africans Designed Laws	p. 188
Legislative Theory and the Use of Law for Institutional Transformation	p. 190
Gathering the Facts	p. 197
Summary and Conclusion	p. 201
The Politics of Decentralization	p. 205
Introduction	p. 205
Fetters on Decentralization	p. 206
Means of Resistance: Powers Transfer and Institutional Choice	p. 209
Conclusions	p. 216
National Institutions for Development: The Case of Botswana	p. 229
Introduction	p. 229
Theorizing the Botswana State	p. 232
Elite Unity, Underdevelopment and State Autonomy	p. 233
Conscious Leadership and Class Unity: The Foundation of State Capacity	p. 239
Conclusion	p. 255
Identity and National Governance	p. 265
The Colonial State and Legally Inscribed Identities	p. 267
Post-colonial Dilemmas	p. 271
Political Identity: A Methodological Consideration	p. 275
Democracy and Institutions: A Conclusion	p. 278
Regional Economic and Political Institutions	p. 281
Introduction	p. 281
The Southern African Development Community (SADC): A Historical Overview	p. 283
Regional Transformations in the 1990s: Implications for SADC	p. 284
Conclusion	p. 293
Institutions for Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking	p. 299
Introduction	p. 299
Human Rights and Conflict Management in Africa: Five Propositions	p. 299
Enhancing Understanding	p. 315
Conclusion	p. 318
Conclusions	p. 327
Agenda for Action	p. 329
Introduction	p. 329
What African Civil Society can Do	p. 331
What African Governments can Do	p. 335
What Donors and International Organizations can Do	p. 338
What Non-governmental Organizations can Do	p. 341
Conclusion	p. 344
Index	p. 347
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