Land is a crucial yet scarce resource in Rwanda, where about 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming, and access to land is increasingly becoming a source of conflict. This study... Show moreLand is a crucial yet scarce resource in Rwanda, where about 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming, and access to land is increasingly becoming a source of conflict. This study examines the effects of land-access and land-tenure policies on local community relations, including ethnicity, and land conflicts in post-conflict rural Rwanda. Social relations have been characterized by (ethnic) tensions, mistrust, grief and frustration since the end of the 1990-1994 civil war and the 1994 genocide. Focusing on southeastern Rwanda, the study describes the negative consequences on social and inter-ethnic relations of a land-sharing agreement that was imposed on Tutsi returnees and the Hutu population in 1996-1997 and the villagization policy that was introduced at the same time. More recent land reforms, such as land registration and crop specialization, appear to have negatively affected land tenure and food security and have aggravated land conflicts. In addition, programmes and policies that the population have to comply with are leading to widespread poverty among peasants and aggravating communal tensions. Violence has historically often been linked to land, and the current growing resentment and fear surrounding these land-related policies and the ever-increasing land conflicts could jeopardize Rwanda's recovery and stability. Show less
This book is based on an ethnographic study during an ongoing civil war in northern Uganda. It examines children's suffering as well as their attempts to restore normality. Data shows that there is... Show moreThis book is based on an ethnographic study during an ongoing civil war in northern Uganda. It examines children's suffering as well as their attempts to restore normality. Data shows that there is a high burden of illnesses among the children, both infectious diseases and complaints related to emotional distress. The study describes children's short-term curative approaches to these illnesses, and the ensuing misuse of, and dependencies on, pharmaceuticals. Although children are approached as social actors and their perspectives are privileged, their quests for therapy are shown to be influenced by many other factors as well. The focus therefore lies on children's vulnerability within existing healthcare structures and life conditions. Through this focus, the book critiques the narrow policies regarding healthcare interventions for children above five years, and underscores the importance of addressing wider socio-economic factors in preventive approaches to infectious diseases and emotional suffering.Grace Akello, PhD, is a medical anthropologist trained at the Universities of Amsterdam and Leiden. She is currently employed as senior lecturer at Gulu University, northern Uganda. Show less
The history of development cooperation has attracted very little research to date. This volume offers an innovative interpretation by considering the history of SNV Netherlands Development... Show moreThe history of development cooperation has attracted very little research to date. This volume offers an innovative interpretation by considering the history of SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, which has been in existence for over forty years now. Through SNV's history, an analysis emerges of the role of the Netherlands in development cooperation and the attitudes of Dutch society towards it over the last fifty years as well as the changing ideas, practices and policies in development work more generally. The views and expectations of (former) SNV staff and those of local participants who were ultimately to benefit from the development activities were the focus of this historical research. This has resulted in a socio-cultural history 'from below' rather than a dry description of the organisation's administrative changes and formal bureaucratic structures. Show less
When discussing development issues in Africa, it is not sufficient to simply stress the ubiquity of failure, malnutrition, disease, predatory states and war, one also has to recognize that... Show moreWhen discussing development issues in Africa, it is not sufficient to simply stress the ubiquity of failure, malnutrition, disease, predatory states and war, one also has to recognize that important aspects in the lives of millions of ordinary people have been transformed over the last five decades. The contributions in this book are rooted in extensive empirical research, some at a local, regional and/or national level in different African countries (Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa and Uganda), while others take a pan-African view. All, however, offer insight from different analytical perspectives into the heterogeneity of poverty and development processes in Sub-Saharan African and confront the ideas, concepts and assumptions that lie behind pro-poor policies. The volume also encourages policy makers to choose realistic policy prescriptions in an attempt to move people out of poverty. Show less
Democracy is about competing "truths". This is why "rhetoric"- the study of public deliberation and the training in public debate and argumentation - is part of democracy in development. This... Show moreDemocracy is about competing "truths". This is why "rhetoric"- the study of public deliberation and the training in public debate and argumentation - is part of democracy in development. This volume acclimatizes "rhetoric" to the philosophical scene in South Africa, and more in general in Africa as a whole, and reflects on the emergence of public deliberation in the South African democracy through a reading of the 1995-1998 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in terms of Aristotelian rhetoric. Four papers (part 1) tackle, from four different angles, the re-telling of private truths about a public regimen of affairs in front of the TRC. In Part 2, public deliberation and the fashioning of truth are approached from a variety of perspectives, examples and situations of "rhetorical democracy" from elsewhere in Africa (Nigeria) and beyond. Part 3 offers examples of how rhetoric may be brought to bear upon politics in order to understand how dialogue between different levels of agency creates democratic negotiation and, in the process, shapes policy, as for example in the case of the African Renaissance, the land redistribution programme in postapartheid South Africa and the 1991 National Conference of Congo-Brazzaville. The volume closes on a philosophical analysis of the "ethical" dimension inherent to public deliberation as well as to the contest of beliefs, and on an examination of the volume's contents in the light of long-standing concerns of African philosophy and of the journal 'Quest'. Contributors: Charles Calder, Barbara Cassin, Mary Jane Collier, Erik Doxtader, Eugene Garver, Yehoshua Gitay, Lisa Hajjar, Darrin Hicks, Johnson Segun Ige, Abel Kouvouama, Andrea Lollini, Reingard Nethersole, Sanya Osha, Philippe-Joseph Salazar, Lydia Samarbakhsh-Liberge, Wim van Binsbergen, Charles Villa-Vicencio. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Since the early 1980s the majority of countries in sub-Saharan Africa embarked on the implementation of IMF/World Bank designed 'structural adjustment programmes' (SAPs). This paper examines the... Show moreSince the early 1980s the majority of countries in sub-Saharan Africa embarked on the implementation of IMF/World Bank designed 'structural adjustment programmes' (SAPs). This paper examines the theoretical underpinnings of the SAPs. It shows that IMF policies are based on a theoretical framework that goes back to J.J. Polak's analysis of 1957 which adopted a number of assumptions far removed from economic conditions on the African continent. Focusing on the demand side of the economy, the IMF has neglected another important cause of the financial imbalances in African economies, namely the loss of import capacity and the related reduction in output resulting from external shocks. Furthermore, the IMF policy underestimates the fragmentation of markets and the inflexibilities in African economies. The World Bank policies are based on the Revised Minimum Standard Model that can be traced back to the Harrod-Domar model of the 1940s. A serious shortcoming of the model is that foreign exchange flows are assumed to be fully and automatically used in a productive manner in the recipient country. Another critical shortcoming of the model is the absence of distributional concerns. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Although Ghanaians have formed a substantial immigrant community in the Netherlands for decades, the relationship between the Dutch State and the Ghanaian community remains tense. Not only is... Show moreAlthough Ghanaians have formed a substantial immigrant community in the Netherlands for decades, the relationship between the Dutch State and the Ghanaian community remains tense. Not only is Ghanaian life in the Netherlands generally marked by a high level of suspicion with regard to the Dutch State, but the community itself has long taken over certain functions that are otherwise provided by the State. This chapter explores the dimensions of this tense relationship. It pays specific attention to the many Ghanaian churches that have emerged in the Netherlands and the role they play in the creation of a notion of self-reliance and self-esteem. There is some evidence to suggest that religious structures in Ghana have a history of antagonism with regard to State policies. This feature seems to have been carried over into the Netherlands. The Ghanaian churches do not take part in the formal contacts between the government and Ghanaian interest groups, and hardly take part in the formal structures of Dutch religious life. The moral authority they represent within the Ghanaian community is a distinctive one. The chapter first examines aspects of Ghanaian immigration, before focusing on the position of Ghanaian churches in the migrant community. Bibliogr Show less
This book brings together studies on the broad theme of elections and democratization in Africa since roughly 1989. It is based on a seminar held in The Netherlands in February 1997, and includes... Show moreThis book brings together studies on the broad theme of elections and democratization in Africa since roughly 1989. It is based on a seminar held in The Netherlands in February 1997, and includes chapters on both electoral processes, especially the role of foreign observers therein, and the historical and sociocultural backgrounds or contexts of democratization, elections and political legitimacy. Part 1 deals with elections and election observation in Africa in general (contributions by O. van Cranenburgh, S. Ellis, I. van Kessel, B. de Gaay Fortman). Part 2 consists of country studies (M. Doornbos on Uganda, D. Foeken en T. Dietz on Kenya, J. Abbink on Ethiopia, R. van Dijk on Malawi, R. Buijtenhuijs on Chad, and M.-F. Lange on Mali). Part 3 includes a chapter that reflects the discussions held at the seminar between observers, academics and policymakers in the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (W. van Binsbergen en J. Abbink); a review of Dutch policies on election observation in Africa during the period 1992-1997 (O. van Cranenburgh); and a discussion of the 1997 general elections in Kenya, where a new approach of election observation was introduced (M. Rutten). Show less
This book brings together studies on the broad theme of elections and democratization in Africa since roughly 1989. It is based on a seminar held in The Netherlands in February 1997, and includes... Show moreThis book brings together studies on the broad theme of elections and democratization in Africa since roughly 1989. It is based on a seminar held in The Netherlands in February 1997, and includes chapters on both electoral processes, especially the role of foreign observers therein, and the historical and sociocultural backgrounds or contexts of democratization, elections and political legitimacy. Part 1 deals with elections and election observation in Africa in general (contributions by O. van Cranenburgh, S. Ellis, I. van Kessel, B. de Gaay Fortman). Part 2 consists of country studies (M. Doornbos on Uganda, D. Foeken en T. Dietz on Kenya, J. Abbink on Ethiopia, R. van Dijk on Malawi, R. Buijtenhuijs on Chad, and M.-F. Lange on Mali). Part 3 includes a chapter that reflects the discussions held at the seminar between observers, academics and policymakers in the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (W. van Binsbergen en J. Abbink); a review of Dutch policies on election observation in Africa during the period 1992-1997 (O. van Cranenburgh); and a discussion of the 1997 general elections in Kenya, where a new approach of election observation was introduced (M. Rutten) Show less
