This study traces the history of the Sawaba movement in Niger and its rebellion against the French-protected regime during the 1960s. Tracing the story from a social history perspective, the book... Show moreThis study traces the history of the Sawaba movement in Niger and its rebellion against the French-protected regime during the 1960s. Tracing the story from a social history perspective, the book places an entire generation of activists, removed from the offical record, back into mainstream Nig‚rien history. It analyses Sawaba's guerrilla campaign and failure, followed by the movement's destruction. The book is based on interviews with survivors and a vast range of archival resources, including those of France's secret service. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Gewald, J.B.; Luning, S.W.J.; Walraven, K. van 2009
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
Abbink, G.J.; Bruijn, M.E. de; Walraven, K. van 2003
This collective volume reinterprets the genre of resistance studies, introduces recent conceptual perspectives and considers examples of African (civil) wars and insurgent movements. Contributions... Show moreThis collective volume reinterprets the genre of resistance studies, introduces recent conceptual perspectives and considers examples of African (civil) wars and insurgent movements. Contributions: Rethinking resistance in African history, an introduction, by Klaas van Walraven and Jon Abbink. Part I (Historical perspectives): Resistance to Fulbe hegemony in nineteenth-century West Africa, by Mirjam de Bruijn and Han van Dijk; Colonial conquest in central Madagascar: who resisted what?, by Stephen Ellis; Revisiting resistance in Italian-occupied Ethiopia: the Patriots' Movement (1936-1941) and the redefinition of post-war Ethiopia, by Aregawi Berhe. Part 2 (Social inequalities and colonial hierarchies): Ambiguities of resistance and collaboration on the Eastern Cape Frontier: the Kat River Settlement 1829-1856, by Robert Ross; African mutinies in the Netherlands East Indies: a nineteenth-century colonial paradox, by Ineke van Kessel; Absence of evidence is no proof: slave resistance under German colonial rule in East Africa, by Jan-Georg Deutsch. Part 3 (Violence, meaning and ideology in resistance): The Kawousan War reconsidered, by Kimba Idrissa; 'Sawaba''s rebellion in Niger (1964-1965): narrative and meaning, by Klaas van Walraven; The vagaries of violence and power in post-colonial Mozambique, by Gerhard Seibert. Part 4 (Resistance as heritage and memory): Herero genocide in the twentieth century: politics and memory, by Jan-Bart Gewald; 'Namibia, land of the brave': selective memories on war and violence within nation building, by Henning Melber; Dervishes, 'moryaan' and freedom fighters: cycles of rebellion and the fragmentation of Somali society, 1900-2000, by Jon Abbink Show less
Although ECOWAS was never intended as a regional security structure and its official mandate lies primarily in the economic realm, ECOWAS has developed a high profile with regard to cooperation on... Show moreAlthough ECOWAS was never intended as a regional security structure and its official mandate lies primarily in the economic realm, ECOWAS has developed a high profile with regard to cooperation on political and security issues. This has come about primarily through the intervention, under ECOWAS auspices, in the Liberian civil war. Although this intervention was protracted and controversial and suffered numerous setbacks, the countries responsible managed to see it through. The result was that the intervention force Ecomog (ECOWAS Cease-fire Monitoring Group) stayed in Liberia and finally was able, in 1997, to put a peaceful end to the civil war by way of internationally supervised elections. This study analyses ECOWAS's intervention in the Liberian civil war, with an emphasis on its role as a multilateral, third party actor. The chapters deal successively with the institutions involved in the Liberian operation; the mandates concerned and the working methods employed by, or in the cadre of, ECOWAS; and the actual practice of the intervention. The final chapter extrapolates, from Ecomog's vicissitudes, certain key factors that conditioned its successes and failures Show less
This study analyses Dutch foreign policy towards Liberia during the civil war between 1990 and 1997 with the aim of identifying policy options for the improvement of the Dutch contribution to... Show moreThis study analyses Dutch foreign policy towards Liberia during the civil war between 1990 and 1997 with the aim of identifying policy options for the improvement of the Dutch contribution to international interventions in violent conflicts in Third World countries. An introductory chapter on sources and concepts is followed by a chapter on the background and causes of the civil war in Liberia. Ch. 3 deals with interventions by other external actors - the United States, the OAU and the United Nations, and Ecomog (ECOWAS Cease-Fire Monitoring Group). Ch. 4 focuses on the role of the Netherlands, paying attention to both project interventions and political and diplomatic initiatives. The Dutch policy is assessed and conclusions are presented in ch. 5. Show less
