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 27 (2009).... 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 27 (2009). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
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 25 (2009).... 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 25 (2009). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
Assortative matching occurs in many social contexts. We experimentally investigate gender assorting in sub-Saharan villages. In the experiment, co-villagers could form groups to share winnings in... Show moreAssortative matching occurs in many social contexts. We experimentally investigate gender assorting in sub-Saharan villages. In the experiment, co-villagers could form groups to share winnings in a gamble choice game. The extent to which grouping arrangements were or could be enforced and, hence, the distribution of interaction costs were exogenously varied. Thus, we can distinguish between the effects of homophily and interaction costs on the extent of observed gender assorting. We find that interaction costs matter - there is less gender assorting when grouping depends on trust. In part, this is due to trust based on co-memberships in gender-mixed religions Show less
In the early 1900s the motor-vehicle (car, bus, lorry or motorcycle) was introduced in sub-Saharan Africa. Initially the plaything and symbol of colonial domination, the motor-vehicle transformed... Show moreIn the early 1900s the motor-vehicle (car, bus, lorry or motorcycle) was introduced in sub-Saharan Africa. Initially the plaything and symbol of colonial domination, the motor-vehicle transformed the economic and social life of the continent. Indeed, the motor-vehicle is arguably the single most important factor for change in Africa in the twentieth century. A factor for change that thus far has been neglected in research and literature. Yet its impact extends across the totality of human existence; from ecological devastation to economic advancement, from cultural transformation to political change, through a myriad of other themes. This edited volume of eleven contributions by historians, anthropologists and social and political scientists explores aspects of the social history and anthropology of the motor-vehicle in Africa. Show less
Eighteen years after the change of power and the ushering in of the second Ethiopian republic in 1991, the political process in Ethiopia has, according to most observers, rigidified and largely... Show moreEighteen years after the change of power and the ushering in of the second Ethiopian republic in 1991, the political process in Ethiopia has, according to most observers, rigidified and largely closed the space for representative democracy. This paper looks at the main organizing political ideas of Ethiopia's Second Republic and at the nature of its governance techniques in the face of domestic and international challenges, with reference to the debate on "failing" or "fragile" States. It argues that the new "social contract" defined after 1991 and codified in the 1994 Constitution is precarious. Dissent and ethno-regional resistance to federal policies are dealt with mainly by coercion and discursive isolation. Oppositional forces voice the need for a rethinking of the organizing ideas and institutions of the Second Republic in order to enhance political consensus and a shared political arena, but get little response. The paper sketches an interpretation of governance in Ethiopia, focusing on the dilemma of reconciling local and modernist political practices, and discusses the status of "republican" ideas, in name important in Ethiopia but mostly absent in practice. Explicit debate of these ideas is usually sidelined - also in academic commentaries - in favour of a focus on the ethno-federal ideology of the Ethiopian State. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and German. [Journal abstract] Show less
This book is about engendering local governance. It explores the euphoria with which Uganda's decentralization policy took centre stage as a sufficient driver to engender local development... Show moreThis book is about engendering local governance. It explores the euphoria with which Uganda's decentralization policy took centre stage as a sufficient driver to engender local development responsiveness and accountability. Using a case study of AFARD in Nebbi district, it shows first that decentralized governance is gendered and technocratic as grassroots women's effective participation is lacking. Second, it shows that the insertion of women in local governance is merely a symbolic political gesture lacking the effective representation by women leaders of women's constituency. The book concludes that political capability and citizenship building is an effective bridge to engendering local governance. - Alfred Lakwo obtained his PhD in Social Sciences in 2007 at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Currently he is Programme Director of the NGO Agency for Accelerated Regional Development (AFARD) in West Nile, Uganda. Show less
Mobilization against apartheid in South Africa, the campaign against blood diamonds, the women's movement in Liberia where Africa's first female head of State was elected in 2005 - these are all... Show moreMobilization against apartheid in South Africa, the campaign against blood diamonds, the women's movement in Liberia where Africa's first female head of State was elected in 2005 - these are all examples of socially based movements that have had a major effect on Africa's recent history. Yet the most influential theories concerning social movements worldwide have paid little heed to Africa. This volume draws together contributions on social movements in Africa, setting empirical studies alongside a couple of theoretical chapters. The volume is the outcome of a conference held in Leiden on 23-24 October 2008. Contents: Theoretical perspectives: Introduction: African social movements or social movements in Africa? (Stephen EllisandIneke van Kessel); Social movement theory: past, presentandprospects (Jacquelien van Stekelenburg and Bert Klandermans); Speaking to global debates through a national and continental lens: South African and African social movements in comparative perspective (Adam Habib and Paul Opoku-Mensah). Case studies: African civil society, 'blood diamonds' and the Kimberley process (Lansana Gberie); The Islamic Courts Union: the ebb and flow of a Somali Islamist movement (Jon Abbink); Liberia's women acting for peace: collective action in a war-affected country (Veronika Fuest); Nurtured from the pulpit: the emergence and growth of Malawi's democracy movement (Boniface Dulani); Bare-foot activists: transformations in the Haratine movement in Mauritania (Zekeria Ould Ahmed Salem); An Islamic social movement in contemporary West Africa: NASFAT of Nigeria (Benjamin Soares); The United Democratic Front's legacy in South Africa: mission accomplished or vision betrayed? (Ineke van Kessel); 'Campus cults' in Nigeria: the development of an anti-social movement (Stephen Ellis). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
'We cannot imagine life now without a mobile phone' is a frequent comment when Africans are asked about mobile phones. They have become part and parcel of the communication landscape in many urban... Show more'We cannot imagine life now without a mobile phone' is a frequent comment when Africans are asked about mobile phones. They have become part and parcel of the communication landscape in many urban and rural areas of Africa and the growth of mobile telephony is amazing: from 1 in 50 people being users in 2000 to 1 in 3 in 2008. Such growth is impressive but it does not even begin to tell us about the many ways in which mobile phones are being appropriated by Africans and how they are transforming or are being transformed by society in Africa. This volume ventures into such appropriation and mutual shaping. Rich in theoretical innovation and empirical substantiation, it brings together reflections on developments around the mobile phone by scholars of six African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Sudan and Tanzania) who explore the economic, social and cultural contexts in which the mobile phone is being adopted, adapted and harnessed by mobile Africa. Show less
