On 16 December 1961, an underground army commanded by Nelson Mandela,known as Umkhonto we Sizwe, publicly announced its presence in South Africa with a series of bomb explosions and the publication... Show moreOn 16 December 1961, an underground army commanded by Nelson Mandela,known as Umkhonto we Sizwe, publicly announced its presence in South Africa with a series of bomb explosions and the publication of a manifesto. Umkhonto we Sizwe was later adopted by the African National Congress as its armed wing, run jointly by the South African Communist Party (SACP). This article, using newly opened archives, demonstrates the degree to which Umkhonto we Sizwe was a SACP creation. It also examines in detail the circumstances in which Mandela joined the SACP central committee. Show less
There is increasing international concern about the growth of organized crime in Africa. Important criminal organizations and professional criminals are present in Africa, but we argue that the... Show moreThere is increasing international concern about the growth of organized crime in Africa. Important criminal organizations and professional criminals are present in Africa, but we argue that the term "organized crime" is not a very useful description of their activity, since what we are actually witnessing is a reformulation of politics and crime into networks that transcend the state/non-state boundary in ways that are hardly subsumed in standard concepts of organized crime. Similar processes are taking place in various parts of the world, and thus African countries are not exceptional in this regard. The process, however, does take particular forms in Africa that arise out of the histories of individual countries. The article describes the evolution in countries as diverse as Libya, Guinea-Bissau, and Zimbabwe of a market for protection, as business people - legitimate and otherwise - seek protection for their activities and their personnel. This market for protection is created by making private arrangements, often with state officials working in private capacities. The implications are profound: they could amount to a new mode of governance connecting Africa to international markets and institutions in which the distinctions between licit and illicit economic activity become difficult to detect. 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
This article is a repsonse to Thandika Mkandawire's article on violence against the African peasantry in Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 40, no. 2 (2002). In this article, Mkandawire takes... Show moreThis article is a repsonse to Thandika Mkandawire's article on violence against the African peasantry in Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 40, no. 2 (2002). In this article, Mkandawire takes exception to suggestions by the author concerning the antecedents of the 1990s civil war in Liberia, describing his views as 'essentialist' and 'poorly veiled racist'. The author argues that these tags are inaccurate. He suggests that the method he has used to analyse the violence of the Liberian civil war could be usefully applied to any violent situation in any part of the world. Accordingly, he first considers Mkandawire's suggestion as to why particular forms of violence occur in African wars, explaining why it is generally unsatisfactory, after which he considers an alternative method for examining the question of large-scale violence in Africa. Bibliogr., notes. (Rejoinder by Mkandawire, p. 477-483.) [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
