Democracy in Africa
Democracy in Africa

Author: Nic Cheeseman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-05-12

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1316239489

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This book provides the first comprehensive overview of the history of democracy in Africa and explains why the continent's democratic experiments have so often failed, as well as how they could succeed. Nic Cheeseman grapples with some of the most important questions facing Africa and democracy today, including whether international actors should try and promote democracy abroad, how to design political systems that manage ethnic diversity, and why democratic governments often make bad policy decisions. Beginning in the colonial period with the introduction of multi-party elections and ending in 2013 with the collapse of democracy in Mali and South Sudan, the book describes the rise of authoritarian states in the 1970s; the attempts of trade unions and some religious groups to check the abuse of power in the 1980s; the remarkable return of multiparty politics in the 1990s; and finally, the tragic tendency for elections to exacerbate corruption and violence.

Parliament in Ethiopia
Parliament in Ethiopia

Author: Mercy Fekadu Mulugeta

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-08-15

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 100091853X

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African legislatures remain understudied, yet democratisation, development and peacebuilding all depend on these key political institutions. This book provides an in-depth analysis of Ethiopia’s parliament, a country of key political and strategic importance to the whole region. In 1931, Ethiopia’s monarchical government introduced a system of parliamentary democracy with seemingly contradictory objectives; it wanted to legitimize its rule in a changing world, and also needed to provide a respectable retirement vocation (as senators and deputies) to sections of the aristocracy it ousted from power. This paradox of recognizing the parliament as essential to modern governance yet deliberately seeking weak institutions that are unable or unwilling to challenge those in power continues to haunt the parliament to this day. Ethiopia continues to struggle to maintain political stability, and the separation of power between government and parliament and a system of checks and balances are yet to substantially flourish. Drawing on extensive original data gathered from interviews and surveys, this book investigates the legal and practical status of federal representative institutions in Ethiopia from 1931 up to and including 2021. It delves into the rules and routines of parliament, its contextually and historically grounded culture of representation, and the techniques of manoeuvring executive bureaucracies. The book also aims to understand the extent of civil dis/engagement and the perceptions and role of citizens in shaping parliament, and how the mandates and functions of individual MPs are also determined by cultural and socio-economic factors such as gender, population, inequality and conflict. This book’s in-depth and original analysis will be of interest to researchers across African studies, politics, development, and governance.

War and Conflict in Africa
War and Conflict in Africa

Author: Paul D. Williams

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-04-16

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0745672876

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After the Cold War, Africa earned the dubious distinction of being the world's most bloody continent. But how can we explain this proliferation of armed conflicts? What caused them and what were their main characteristics? And what did the world's governments do to stop them? In this fully revised and updated second edition of his popular text, Paul Williams offers an in-depth and wide-ranging assessment of more than six hundred armed conflicts which took place in Africa from 1990 to the present day - from the continental catastrophe in the Great Lakes region to the sprawling conflicts across the Sahel and the web of wars in the Horn of Africa. Taking a broad comparative approach to examine the political contexts in which these wars occurred, he explores the major patterns of organized violence, the key ingredients that provoked them and the major international responses undertaken to deliver lasting peace. Part I, Contexts provides an overview of the most important attempts to measure the number, scale and location of Africa's armed conflicts and provides a conceptual and political sketch of the terrain of struggle upon which these wars were waged. Part II, Ingredients analyses the role of five widely debated features of Africa's wars: the dynamics of neopatrimonial systems of governance; the construction and manipulation of ethnic identities; questions of sovereignty and self-determination; as well as the impact of natural resources and religion. Part III, Responses, discusses four major international reactions to Africa's wars: attempts to build a new institutional architecture to help promote peace and security on the continent; this architecture's two main policy instruments, peacemaking initiatives and peace operations; and efforts to develop the continent. War and Conflict in Africa will be essential reading for all students of international peace and security studies as well as Africa's international relations.

The Politics of Contemporary Ethiopia
The Politics of Contemporary Ethiopia

Author: Yohannes Gedamu

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-07-22

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 1000411931

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This book investigates the role of ethnic federalism in Ethiopian politics, reflecting on a long history of division amongst the country’s political elites. The book argues that these patterns have enabled the resilience and survival of authoritarianism in the country, and have led to the failure of democratization. Ethnic conflict in Ethiopia stretches back to the country’s imperial history. Competing nationalisms begin to emerge towards the end of the imperial era, but were formalized by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) from the 1990s onwards. Under the EPRDF, ethnicity and language classifications formed the main organizing principles for political parties and organizations, and the country’s new federal arrangement was also designed along ethnic fault lines. This book argues that this ethnic federal arrangement, and the continuation of an elite political culture are major factors in explaining the continuation of authoritarianism in Ethiopia. Focusing largely on the last 27 years under the EPRDF and on the political changes of the last few years, but also stretching back to historical narratives of ethnic grievances and division, this book is an important guide to the ethnic politics of Ethiopia and will be of interest to researchers of African politics, authoritarianism and ethnic conflict.

A Global Security Triangle
A Global Security Triangle

Author: Valeria Bello

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-10-16

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 1135239347

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This book considers the interactions between Africa, Asia and Europe, analysing the short and long term strategies various states have adopted to external relations. The urgency attached to the agenda of international terrorism and human and drugs- trafficking has forced the European Union into new cooperation with Africa and Asia. These inter-regional relations have taken on new dimensions in the context of contemporary international politics framed by new security challenges, and new competitive forces particularly from Asia. This book provides both conceptual and empirical arguments to offer an innovative perspective on the EU as a global actor. It demonstrates how these three regions interact politically and economically to address global challenges as well as global opportunities, and thus provides an assessment of the multilateralism which the EU clearly stated in its Security Strategy paper. Addressing a broad range of topical issues, the book features chapters on European Security; European Migration Policy; African Union and its peace and security policy; Terrorism and international security; China and its fast growing global role; India, the biggest democracy in the world; and the impact of the Asian economic growth on the global economy. Further it compares the different backgrounds, forms and priorities of regional integrations. A Global Security Triangle will be of interest to all scholars of European politics, security studies, African and Asian studies, and International Relations.

Public Administration in Ethiopia
Public Administration in Ethiopia

Author: Bacha Kebede Debela

Publisher: Leuven University Press

Published: 2020-12-01

Total Pages: 703

ISBN-13: 946270256X

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Building an effective, inclusive, and accountable public administration has become a major point of attention for policymakers and academics in Ethiopia who want to realise sustainable development. This first handbook on Ethiopian Public Administration is written by Ethiopian academics and practitioner-academics and builds on PhD studies and conference papers, including studies presented at the meetings of the Ethiopian Public Administration Association (EPAA), established in 2016. Public Administration in Ethiopia presents a wide range of timely issues in four thematic parts: Governance, Human Resources, Performance and Quality, and Governance of Policies. Each of the individual chapters in this volume contributes in a different way to the overarching research questions: How can we describe and explain the contexts, the processes and the results of the post-1990 politico-administrative reforms in Ethiopia? And what are the implications for sustainable development? This book is essential for students, practitioners, and theorists interested in public administration, public policy, and sustainable development. Moreover, the volume is a valuable stepping stone for PA teaching and PA research in Ethiopia.