Contemporary social life in the Horn region is generally a state-orchestrated experience that terrorizes the majority of the people. The essays in this collection examine the social experience of this terror, which is often manifested in the violation of human rights, democracy, justice and freedom.
The most dangerous corner of Africa is its north-eastern Horn where instability reigns and terrorism thrives on the antagonisms of all it governments. The Horn of Africa comprising Ethiopia,Sudan and now South Sudan,Somalia,Djibouti,Eritrea,and stretching to include Kenya and Uganda, is a pivotal geopolitical pressure point in world politics.It stands at the hinge of Africa and the Middle East.It was of vital interest to the superpowers during the Cold War,attracting constant and unprofitable intervention.In the post-Cold War period regional political chaos,including failed states,terrorism and international piracy,has struck the death blow to the ambitions of the International Community's New World Order. The problems of the Horn,political,ideological,religious and ethnic, are compounded by natural disasters of widespread drought and famine,and have invited intervention by governments and NGOs.Tony Blair in his speech on the 'Doctrine of the International Community' referred to the suffering of Africa as 'a scar on the conscience of humanity'.But the New World Order's aim of 'good governance'-free elections,a free press,independent judiciary,recognition of human rights,gender equality and effective government free of corruption- seems as far off as ever. Of the many striking examples perhaps Somalia stands out as a failed state- and predatory state to the majority of its peoples-and as a seat of international terror and a society which has even spawned the present scourge of international piracy.International attention on the Horn is not limited to altruism in face of suffering with the burgeoning economic superpowers,China and India,exploiting mineral and land resources.So international rivalry-a traditional factor in the Horn's instability-will continue to haunt both its peoples and the international community. Peter Woodward's survey of the history, and regional and international relations of the Horn of Africa shows the crises have deep historical roots predating present state boundaries. These have been shaped by imperialism, sharpened by independence and by the Cold War. Chaos in the Horn has frustrated the ambitions of the post-Cold War's New World Order. This book is essential reading for all students of history, international relations and policy planners.
Contemporary social life in the Horn of Africa is generally a state-orchestrated experience that terrorizes the majority of the people. This collection of carefully selected essays, explores the different aspects of the current crisis in the Horn region of Africa, where to marginalized indigenous groups the crisis materializes itself as social experiences of terror. The result is a far-reaching and important book which critically examines a state terror manifested in the violation of human rights, democracy, justice and freedom.
As the so-called Arab Spring has slid into political uncertainty, lingering insecurity and civil conflict, European and American initial enthusiasm for anti-authoritarian protests has given way to growing concerns that revolutionary turmoil in North Africa may in fact have exposed the West to new risks. Critical in cementing this conviction has been the realisation that developments originated from Arab Mediterranean countries and spread to the Sahel have now such a potential to affect Western security and interests as to warrant even military intervention, as France’s operation in Mali attests. EU and US involvement in fighting piracy off the Horn of Africa had already laid bare the nexus between their security interests and protracted crises in sub-Saharan Africa. But the new centrality acquired by the Sahel after the Arab uprisings – particularly after Libya’s civil war – has elevated this nexus to a new, larger dimension. The centre of gravity of Europe’s security may be swinging to Africa, encompassing a wide portion of the continental landmass extending south of Mediterranean coastal states. The recrudescence of the terrorist threat from Mali to Algeria might pave the way to an American pivot to Africa, thus requiring fresh thinking on how the European Union and the United States can better collaborate with each other and with relevant regional actors.
Part of a series, this work is concerned with international terrorism, and deals with its manifestation in Africa. Among the events and topics covered are: the Entebbe rescue mission; African guerillas and indigenous governments; South Africa, terrorism and state disintegration; and more.
This book chronicles foreign political and military interventions in Africa from 1956 to 2010, helping readers understand the historical roots of Africa's problems.
This book brings to fruition the research done during the CEA-ISCTE project ‘’Monitoring Conflicts in the Horn of Africa’’, reference PTDC/AFR/100460/2008. The Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) provided funding for this project. The chapters are based on first-hand data collected through fieldwork in the region’s countries between 4 January 2010 and 3 June 2013. The project’s team members and consultants debated their final research findings in a one-day Conference at ISCTE-IUL on 29 April 2013. The following authors contributed to the project’s final publication: Alexandra M. Dias, Alexandre de Sousa Carvalho, Aleksi Ylönen, Ana Elisa Cascão, Elsa González Aimé, Manuel João Ramos, Patrick Ferras, Pedro Barge Cunha and Ricardo Real P. Sousa.
The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa delves into the business of politics in the turbulent, war-torn countries of north-east Africa. It is a contemporary history of how politicians, generals and insurgents bargain over money and power, and use of war to achieve their goals. Drawing on a thirty-year career in Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, including experience as a participant in high-level peace talks, Alex de Waal provides a unique and compelling account of how these countries’ leaders run their governments, conduct their business, fight their wars and, occasionally, make peace. De Waal shows how leaders operate on a business model, securing funds for their ‘political budgets’ which they use to rent the provisional allegiances of army officers, militia commanders, tribal chiefs and party officials at the going rate. This political marketplace is eroding the institutions of government and reversing statebuildingÑand it is fuelled in large part by oil exports, aid funds and western military assistance for counter-terrorism and peacekeeping. The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa is a sharp and disturbing book with profound implications for international relations, development and peacemaking in the Horn of Africa and beyond.