Since the mid-eighties, Cameron has been going through a serious economic crisis. In the same years it has witnessed the proliferation and flourishing of Pentecostal groups-most of them coming in... Show moreSince the mid-eighties, Cameron has been going through a serious economic crisis. In the same years it has witnessed the proliferation and flourishing of Pentecostal groups-most of them coming in from Nigeria and with a gospel of prosperity as opposed to the gospel of asceticism of classical Pentecostalism. Earlier Pentecostal groups, which had adopted asceticism, are shifting to this new gospel. The rise and spread of Pentecostalism during this period of the crisis, coupled with the mass defection from the established churches could be interpreted as a public sign of dissatisfaction by Christians with the way the established churches have gone about addressing the spiritual and material needs of their followers. As a strategy of not loosing members to Pentecostal groups, mainline churches are gradually adopting the attractive doctrines and practices of Pentecostal groups. Within this period, Cameroon has also been going through a difficult democratization process, which most observers and the public attribute to government__s reluctance to introduce genuine democratic institutions. Mainline churches have been at the forefront of efforts to see a truly democratic society take root in Cameroon. While these churches are making this contribution, Pentecostal churches maintain a more or less neutral position on political issues. Show less
Spanish influenza remains a touchstone for pandemics. Fear of a coming influenza pandemic has led a number of commentators to draw parallels with the Spanish flu of 1918-1920. However, the... Show moreSpanish influenza remains a touchstone for pandemics. Fear of a coming influenza pandemic has led a number of commentators to draw parallels with the Spanish flu of 1918-1920. However, the majority of observers have chosen to base their findings on data from comparatively accessible North American and Northern European sources, and have excluded African data. This absence of African data has not prevented them from making bold statements about Africa's future. In response to these statements, the present paper draws attention to the social impact of Spanish influenza in Africa, thereby emphasizing the importance of the pandemic for Africa's history in the first half of the 20th century and suggesting further research opportunities. The paper also shows that there is ample material available which would allow for the development of the arguments made by those who choose to exclude African data from their analyses. In particular, the paper uses a sample of material gleaned from the National Archives in Kew to illustrate the course of the Spanish influenza pandemic in three of Britain's West African colonies - Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Nigeria. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This book is about the relationship between donors and aid recipients in bilateral development cooperation programmes. Using the example of the Dutch District Rural Development Programmes (DRDPs)... Show moreThis book is about the relationship between donors and aid recipients in bilateral development cooperation programmes. Using the example of the Dutch District Rural Development Programmes (DRDPs) in Bukoba, Tanzania, it examines the processes in which the aid beneficiaries are engaged, so that they can appropriate opportunities that accrue from the donors' projects. Carried out from 1987 until 2004, the programmes have not been evaluated as successful. However, instead of being guided by the pessimism of a perspective of failures, this thesis focuses on the processes in which aid is made relevant by the recipients. Aid recipients engage in organizing practices, that is, manoeuvre in a power-charged relationship in order to access and make use of the opportunities in an aid fabric. The overall conclusion of the study is that even though donor-funded development projects may not have achieved the donors' objectives, the resources (material and financial) that have come along with the projects have proven useful to the beneficiaries through the use of organizing practices with respect to livelihoods promotion. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
In the 1990s a livelihood approach to poverty in Africa emerged, with an emphasis on agency as opposed to structure. Situated in an actor-oriented perspective, the livelihood approach focuses on ... Show moreIn the 1990s a livelihood approach to poverty in Africa emerged, with an emphasis on agency as opposed to structure. Situated in an actor-oriented perspective, the livelihood approach focuses on (poor) individuals and households, aiming at a dynamic and holistic understanding of their actions. This chapter outlines the disciplinary roots of the livelihood approach and its modern articulations. It then argues that a new generation of livelihood studies is needed which politicizes issues of livelihood by putting more emphasis on the analysis of power relations, both on the micro and the meso/macro levels. In addition, the increasing multilocality of African livelihoods, associated with income diversification, multitasking and growing mobility, should be taken into account. The new multilocal networks of African livelihoods could constitute an important undercurrent for the strengthening of African development. Bibliogr. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Focusing on the relationship between people and transport, this paper presents an overview of the manner in which transport was organized before and after the introduction of the motor vehicle in... Show moreFocusing on the relationship between people and transport, this paper presents an overview of the manner in which transport was organized before and after the introduction of the motor vehicle in what has become the central African State of Zambia. It describes the forms of human muscle powered transport that existed prior to the introduction of mechanized transport, such as portage and waterborne transport, as well as the use of animal traction outside the tsetse fly belts. It further deals with the use of steam (trains), bicycles, and motorcycles before discussing the implications of the introduction of motor vehicles for central African societies. The paper concludes that Zambian rural impoverishment in the course of the 1920s and 1930s was a consequence of a change in the modes of transport and the collapse of long-distance trading networks based on human labour power. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2007
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 18 (2007).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 18 (2007). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
Cameroon's economic crisis has led to widespread unemployment and poverty since the 1980s. Civil society organizations, including the churches, believe that bad governance is at the heart of the... Show moreCameroon's economic crisis has led to widespread unemployment and poverty since the 1980s. Civil society organizations, including the churches, believe that bad governance is at the heart of the country's economic problems and are calling for the introduction of democratic institutions. However, a growing number of Pentecostal churches, especially in Anglophone Cameroon, are also offering an attractive message of salvation to the suffering masses. This study considers how the new gospel of accumulation and prosperity relates to the material predicaments of Cameroonians. It investigates the transition from 'classical' to 'modern' Pentecostalism and the continuous defection of members of the mainline churches to the new Pentecostal groups that are propagating this gospel of prosperity as opposed to the ascetic doctrine of mainline groups. The book consists of five published articles and a general introduction. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This study is an extension of an earlier interdisciplinary study on the impact of the adoption of high-yielding varieties of maize on poverty reduction in Mupfurudzi resettlement area in Shamva,... Show moreThis study is an extension of an earlier interdisciplinary study on the impact of the adoption of high-yielding varieties of maize on poverty reduction in Mupfurudzi resettlement area in Shamva, Zimbabwe, carried out in 2001. The present study focuses on how farmers in resettlement areas produce and internalize knowledge and technology, and how these processes transform their livelihoods. Although the fact that the resettlement scheme became a melting pot of different knowledge makes the term 'local' problematic, farmers in the area still use and produce knowledge that is considered 'local'. The study examines how gender dynamics, politics, power, conflicts, resistance, religious beliefs and government policies impact on farming knowledge and on farming in general. It also unravels how local knowledge makes use of scientifically based State organized interventions. It dispels the notion that the government is able to direct the production and dissemination of knowledge through its experts. Instead, farmers make strategic use of experts, employing linking and delinking strategies in an attempt to maximize their gains. A recurrent theme in the investigation is the central position of witchcraft and witchcraft accusations. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This book analyses changes in the use of the landscape and the nature of rural livelihoods in two South African villages - Guquka and Koloni in the former Ciskei homeland. Taking an... Show moreThis book analyses changes in the use of the landscape and the nature of rural livelihoods in two South African villages - Guquka and Koloni in the former Ciskei homeland. Taking an interdisciplinary approach on how livelihoods and landscapes in the Eastern Cape link the book provides a study of the patterns of land use over time. It depicts the steady deterioration in agricultural production and the corresponding increase in dependence on social grants and wages. It shows that despite this trend remnants of a peasantry do exist. Contributions: Investigating rural livelihoods and landscapes in Guquka and Koloni: an introduction (Paul Hebinck); Rural transformation in the Eastern Cape (Paul Hebinck and Wim van Averbeke); Agro-ecology, land use and smallholder farming in the central Eastern Cape (Wim van Averbeke and James Bennett); A social history of Guquka and Koloni: settlement and resources (Paul Hebinck and Lothar Smith); Natural resource base and agricultural potentials (Peter C. Lent); Local governance and institutions (Wim van Averbeke and James Bennett); The view from above: a history of land use in Guquka and Koloni, 1938-1996) (Peter C. Lent and Guilty Mupakati); Production of crops in arable fields and home gardens (Paul Hebinck and Nomakaya Monde); Livestock production and forage resources (James Bennett and Peter C. Lent); Gathering from the land (Peter C. Lent); Mobility and population dynamics (Lothar Smith and Paul Hebinck); Contemporary livelihoods (Wim van Averbeke and Paul Hebinck); Life histories and livelihood trajectories (Paul Hebinck et al.); Livelihoods and landscapes: people, resources and land use (Paul Hebinck and Wim van Averbeke). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Pastoralist societies in Africa are claimed to be prone to violence due to structural conditions of environmental vulnerability, scarcity of resources and decentralized sociopolitical organization... Show morePastoralist societies in Africa are claimed to be prone to violence due to structural conditions of environmental vulnerability, scarcity of resources and decentralized sociopolitical organization. Their contacts with expanding State structures and with neighbouring groups in different socioeconomic conditions are seen to add to instability, due to the underlying hegemonic project of national States, while major economic and demographic changes also play a role. This paper presents a comparative overview of factors that come into play in the 'production of conflict' in and between pastoral societies, focusing on Northeast Africa. It contends that while conflict was a regular feature of life in traditional pastoral societies, its nature and frequency have significantly changed in the confrontation with State forces, whereby unresolved tensions between traditional and 'modern' judicial conflict regulation mechanisms play a role. External agencies approach these pastoral societies in conflict without paying proper attention to the larger political-economic context in which they operate and which constrains them in a political and ideological sense. A number of case studies reveal that structural instability in contemporary pastoral societies is usually not properly interpreted by outside agencies and not easily 'resolved'. App., bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract] Show less
Intercontinental migration from rural areas in Ghana has become a common strategy in the social security provision of family members who stay behind. Focusing on the Ashanti region, this study... Show moreIntercontinental migration from rural areas in Ghana has become a common strategy in the social security provision of family members who stay behind. Focusing on the Ashanti region, this study examines how rural dwellers with social networks that include (international) migrants, shape their social security and how they use relations in their social networks to achieve this. Forty-nine villagers in five rural Akan communities were interviewed and observed during a one-year period (August 2003-July 2004). The study analyses social security issues interpreted as development both at the community level and at the indiviual level, with emphasis on the role that remittance recipients must play in order to obtain support from migrants. The findings show that rural people, through their ties with migrants, can be agents of change in the development of their local communities. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2007
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 20 (2007).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 20 (2007). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
This book provides an in-depth exploraton of how transnational relationships of urban dwellers with (international) migrants influence economic activities in Accra, the capital of Ghana. These... Show moreThis book provides an in-depth exploraton of how transnational relationships of urban dwellers with (international) migrants influence economic activities in Accra, the capital of Ghana. These transnational relationships enable urban people to avoid - or else overcome - crises and help them establish or expand businesses. The same relationships also enable migrants to invest theirs savings in an urban economy in their country of origin, aiding their eventual return. The book argues that it is of crucial importance to take into account the role that local people - here those based in Accra - play in migrant activities in their countries of origin. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
The rich corpus of material produced by anthropologists of the Rhodes Livingstone Institute (RLI) in Lusaka has come to dominate our understanding of Zambian societies and Zambia's past. The RLI... Show moreThe rich corpus of material produced by anthropologists of the Rhodes Livingstone Institute (RLI) in Lusaka has come to dominate our understanding of Zambian societies and Zambia's past. The RLI was primarily concerned with the sociocultural effects of migrant labour. This paper argues that the anthropologists of the RLI worked from within a paradigm that was dominated by the experience of colonial conquest in South Africa. RLI anthropologists transferred their understanding of colonial conquest in South Africa to the Northern Rhodesian situation, without ever truly analysing the manner in which colonial rule had come to be established in Northern Rhodesia. As such the RLI anthropologists operated within a flawed understanding of the past. The paper argues that a historical paradigm of colonial conquest that was applicable to the South African situation came to be unquestioningly applied to the Northern Rhodesian situation. It concludes that current historiography dealing with the colonization of Zambia between 1890 and 1920 is seriously flawed and needs to be revised. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Most research on urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa has concentrated on farming by individual urban households, while farming by urban institutions has been largely overlooked. Probably the... Show moreMost research on urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa has concentrated on farming by individual urban households, while farming by urban institutions has been largely overlooked. Probably the most prevalent and important type of institutional urban agriculture is school farming, the focus of this paper. The authors examine school farming and school feeding in Nakuru town in Kenya on the basis of a survey among primary and secondary schools carried out in June 2006. A largely structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on school characteristics, school farming activities, and school feeding practices. Moreover, anthropometric data were gathered for all class 1 primary school pupils. The study shows that school farming is very common in Nakuru town. Almost all primary and secondary schools are engaged in flower gardening and tree growing, over half of the schools practise crop cultivation and a number of schools keep some livestock. The majority of crop-cultivating schools also have a school feeding programme. Two 'success stories' demonstrate that schools in Nakuru can reach a high degree of self-sufficiency for their feeding programmes. Factors contributing to this success are the availability of land and water, and external support for school farming. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
The African continent and its people occupy a 'subaltern' position in global politics where voices from the African continent remain on the peripheries of global governance. Since the United... Show moreThe African continent and its people occupy a 'subaltern' position in global politics where voices from the African continent remain on the peripheries of global governance. Since the United Nations Human Rights Council, set up in 1996, is envisaged to be a forum for dialogue on thematic issues on all human rights, Africans need to seize the opportunity to be heard, rather than remaining as a problem to be solved. This paper presents three key arguments that need to be taken into account during the process of the remaking of the world order and re-creation of a new global governance architecture. Firstly, it raises the key issue of the African continent and the African people being perceived as a problem to be solved rather than a voice to be heard within global politics. Secondly, it makes a case for the use of oral history as an ideal medium to bring the voices of the subaltern to the notice of the Human Rights Council and as a key methodology in the current endeavour to understand different situations of human rights violations. In particular, it examines three cases where oral history was utilized to highlight human rights issues, including one instance where oral testimonies led to the crafting of a democratic freedom charter (in South Africa). Thirdly, the paper grapples with the question of whose values and whose voice should underpin the universal human rights discourse and global governance. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
