About the publication This Compendium of documents relating to regional and sub-regional peace and security in Africa is the second edition to the 2006 Compendium of key documents related to peace and security in Africa (edited by Dr Monica Juma). It is both an updated and expanded attempt at consolidating the vast legal instruments broadly relating to peace and security on the African continent. More specifically, the Compendium aims to consolidate, both on the regional and sub-regional level, treaties and decisions of regional organisations pertaining to conflict prevention, management and resolution in the African regional and sub-regional context. It ultimately aims to serve as a useful research guide to those involved with matters of peace and security in Africa. Documents and legal instruments included in this Compendium focus on the Organisation of African Unity, the African Union, and its eight Regional Economic Communities: the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This edition also includes additional documents from sub-regional organisations, including documents from the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa Conference on the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, the Gulf of Guinea Commission, the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, the Eastern Africa Standby Force, the G5 Sahel, the Indian Ocean Commission, and the Mano River Union. Additionally, each chapter outlines the organisation in question, its principal institutions relating to peace and security, relevant documents and legal instruments, and listed topical decisions, declarations and communiqués by that organisation and its institutions. It also briefly puts forward the details of any military interventions or peacekeeping missions undertaken by each organisation. Finally, the Compendium’s indexes include a list of peace and ceasefire agreements (listed by country), chart of ratifications, a list of useful websites and a selected bibliography.
After decades of civil war, the people of southern Sudan voted to secede from the north in an attempt to escape the seemingly endless violence. On declaring independence, South Sudan was one of the least developed places on earth, but with the ability to draw upon significant oil reserves worth $150 million a month, the foundation for a successful future was firmly in place. How, then, did the state of the new nation deteriorate even further, to the point that a new civil war broke out two years later? Today, with both Sudans still hostage to the aspirations of their military and political leaders, how can their people escape the violence that has dominated the two countries’ recent history? By giving voice to those who, after the break-up of Sudan, have had to find ways to live, trade and communicate with one another, Jok Madut Jok provides a moving insight into a crisis that has only rarely made it into our headlines. Breaking Sudan is a meticulous account, analyzing why violence became so deeply entrenched in Sudanese society and exploring what can be done to find peace in two countries ravaged by war.
This is the fourth in the Series of Select Proceedings of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) featuring the most important and interesting papers presented at the Fifth Biennial Conference on 'Regionalism and International Law', organised by ESIL and the University of Valencia in 2012. As usual, the best papers from that conference have been re-written, edited and drawn together by the two editors to present a perspective on what is a flourishing forum for the discussion of new ideas and scholarship on international law.
The main theme of this study is chosen in response to the general consensus on the importance of conducting a comprehensive study that may shape the economic policies and promote the business sector as well as the government and other organizations. However, the key question posed by this study is whether the theory that political stability fosters economic development is simply the wishful thinking of people who value both stability and growth or whether it is a delusion of those who believe that most developing countries may enjoy rapid growth if they are stable. The importance of this study is clear: South Sudan is confronted with enormous challenges of administrative, ethnic, political, and economic development. In light of this, the current study addresses the following issues: "What is the impact of the political system in South Sudan on economic development? What is the impact of oil resources on sustainable development? What is the impact of the oil shutdown on political and economic stability, and what is the possibility of deficit financing? Is there any possibility for cooperation between Sudan and South Sudan?" In this context, the major objective of this study is to analyze the political development of the country to verify that political stability fosters the achievement of economic and social development. It also seeks to analyse the political history of Sudan in general and South Sudan in particular, emphasising the importance of political stability, among other considerations, as a precondition for socioeconomic development. Furthermore, other objectives of the study include suggestions on how political stability could be ensured in South Sudan and how good governance may promote political and economic stability. In light of the above, this study focuses on the issues of the political transition and policies that will improve the economic, political, and social well-being of the people of South Sudan. It seeks ways of setting up policies that will raise the standard of living of people with sustained growth and move from a simple, low-income economy to a modern, high-income economy. It also attempts to develop a framework for cooperation between Sudan and South Sudan. The methodology that is adopted to address these issues is collecting, sorting, and analysing primary and secondary information relating to the history of political and economic development in South Sudan, using empirical approaches such as SWOT analysis, information sources, references, and books. However, this study is organized as follows: chapter 1 discusses political stability and economic development in a theoretical framework through which we explore the empirical analysis; it is divided into four sections. Section 1 focuses on definition, causes, and measurement of political stability with an aim to assess the effect of political stability on growth-related variables. In section 2, we define the concept of political instability and measure it by using indicators like the number of coups d'état, the number of major government crises, the number of cabinet changes, and the number of political revolutions as well as political assassinations. Section 3 discusses the concept and definition of economic development and summarizes the major theories of economic development in five fundamental elements. The last section explores the implications of financing economic development by discussing domestic resources (including deficit financing) and foreign financial resources and the role of each of them in achieving economic development. Chapter 2 presents the political and social background of South Sudan is divided into three sections. Section 1 discusses South Sudan's ability to function and successfully implement its policies and strategic vision for the year 2040. Section 2 focuses on the demographic structure of South Sudan in terms of population, education, languages, and culture. Section 3 discusses the social indicators such as infrastructure, poverty, and corruption which affect improving social welfare as well as the political stability and economic development of the Republic of South Sudan. Chapter 3 focuses on the South Sudan economy and the challenges. Here we discuss the political and development challenges facing South Sudan as well as the investment opportunities. This chapter discusses the major challenges which face South Sudan, especially issues such as border demarcation, political reform, and oil shutdown as well as investment opportunities in oil and agriculture. In chapter 4, we discuss South Sudan's oil and economic development. It focuses on oil resources and their impact on sustainable development, the impact of oil shutdown on political and economic development and the possibility of deficit financing. In chapter 5, we discuss the future of stability and prosperity in South Sudan. It discusses how good governance and cooperation can be enormously beneficial to South Sudan in the process of building sustainable political and economic stability and what South Sudan can learn from other countries. The major findings of this study are as follows: - Political stability plays an important role in determining economic growth and economic development in many economies. - The degree of political stability is high if there is a high degree of democracy or autocracy. - Strong democracies or strong autocracies are best equipped to provide political stability that may lead to economic development. It is then the level of political stability within a given country, regardless of regime type, that results in economic growth. - Long-term sustainable economic growth depends on the ability to raise the rates of accumulation of physical and human capital by securing necessary sources (domestic, foreign, or deficit finance) to use efficiently for financing economic development. - Most economists view corruption as a major obstacle to development. It is seen as one of the causes of low income and is believed to play a critical role in generating poverty traps (e.g., Blackburn et al. 2006). Thus, corruption, according to this view, "sands" the wheels of development and it makes economic and political transitions difficult. - Not only is good governance critical to development, but it is also the most important factor in determining whether a country has the capacity to use resources effectively to promote economic growth and reduce poverty.
This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that South Sudan’s economic performance has been mixed in recent years. Real GDP growth has displayed high volatility, the result of changes in oil and agricultural production. Inflation rose in an initial period of economic instability in 2011–12 but was contained in 2013–14 thanks to fiscal and monetary restraint and lower food prices. Serious challenges remain, including distortions in the foreign exchange market and in budget execution, lower international oil prices, and subdued oil production. As a result, financing the budget for FY2014/15 is challenging and will likely require policy decisions given the otherwise potentially adverse impact on economic stability and inflation.
This paper analyzes the effect of an IMF Staff-Monitored Program for Chad to enhance economic development. Weak institutional capacity and governance concerns have limited economic development and donor support in Chad. It is highlighted that the reduction in the nonoil primary deficit envisaged in the 2013 budget appears appropriate, but expenditures linked to the regional security situation and lower than anticipated oil revenues imply large financing needs. There are significant economic and political risks to program implementation,; the regional security situation remains volatile, and the economy is highly dependent on volatile oil revenue.
"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.
Remote Sensing of Drought: Innovative Monitoring Approaches presents emerging remote sensing-based tools and techniques that can be applied to operational drought monitoring and early warning around the world. The first book to focus on remote sensing and drought monitoring, it brings together a wealth of information that has been scattered throughout the literature and across many disciplines. Featuring contributions by leading scientists, it assembles a cross-section of globally applicable techniques that are currently operational or have potential to be operational in the near future. The book explores a range of applications for monitoring four critical components of the hydrological cycle related to drought: vegetation health, evapotranspiration, soil moisture and groundwater, and precipitation. These applications use remotely sensed optical, thermal, microwave, radar, and gravity data from instruments such as AMSR-E, GOES, GRACE, MERIS, MODIS, and Landsat and implement several advanced modeling and data assimilation techniques. Examples show how to integrate this information into routine drought products. The book also examines the role of satellite remote sensing within traditional drought monitoring, as well as current challenges and future prospects. Improving drought monitoring is becoming increasingly important in addressing a wide range of societal issues, from food security and water scarcity to human health, ecosystem services, and energy production. This unique book surveys innovative remote sensing approaches to provide you with new perspectives on large-area drought monitoring and early warning.
