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2. A Very Ethiopian Tragedy: Tigray, the TPLF, and Cyclical History
- Author:
- Richard Reid
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- This article seeks to place the recent conflict in Ethiopia in deeper historical context. It traces the roots of Tigray province’s identity through various phases in Ethiopia’s history, and argues that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is the culmination of decades, even centuries, of a struggle for status within the Ethiopian nation-state. The article proposes that Ethiopia’s history, inseparable from that of neighboring Eritrea, is characterized by cyclical shifts in access to power, as well as conflicts over inclusivity and cohesion, and that crushing the TPLF militarily will not resolve those conflicts.
- Topic:
- Security, History, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Ethiopia, and Tigray
3. A New Type of Threat: Russia, China and Digital Authoritarianism in West Africa
- Author:
- Gabriel Delsol and Claire M. Metelits
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- For several decades, US security policy in West Africa focused on transnational terrorist organizations, domestic armed groups, and the general spread of instability. This article argues that an increase in digital authoritarianism in West Africa, facilitated by Russia and China, is an emerging threat and necessitates increased attention by the US security community.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Governance, Law, Authoritarianism, and Cybersecurity
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Russia, China, and West Africa
4. An Update on Preventing Violent Extremism in the Horn of Africa
- Author:
- Rahma Dualeh
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Five years have passed since the UN global mandate on preventing violent extremism (PVE) was launched and rapidly adopted by the Horn of Africa (HoA) countries. Since then, mostly small and medium international organizations funded by foreign, largely Western, donors have pioneered work in this space. Notably, the African Union (AU) Peace & Security Council has tried to lead the region’s path to PVE – it has championed the inclusion of youth and called for gender mainstreaming in programming. The AU has also attempted to connect East and West Africa’s lessons learned in combatting violent extremism. Yet, challenges remain with regard to implementing both regional and international PVE-related commitments.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, War, Violent Extremism, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Horn of Africa
5. State Authority Restoration in the Central African Republic: The Striking Gap Between Its Past, Its Potential, and People’s Expectations
- Author:
- Tim Glawion
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The Central African Republic (CAR) could be a case of hope. After years of violence, the main armed groups and the government signed a peace agreement last year. At the end of 2020, elections are set to take place that could strengthen the democratic credentials of the country and grant its institutions the legitimacy needed to rebuild the state. As surveys have shown the populace is tired of the armed groups scattered (and fighting) throughout the country and demand the return of the state. The state is building up its army and deploying troops across a growing part of the country’s territory with the help of international actors. However, the restoration of state authority in the CAR remains unlikely. The state’s history is one of neglect, meaning there remains little to be “restored” and much to be built in the first place. Whether the state is willing and able to live up to the population’s demands is questionable. The military approach to state authority restoration and the integration of armed actors risks marginalizing the calls for an emphasis on public services. Locals hope for the return of the state—and one that is robust and caring. The reality of a militarized and inefficient state would shatter these hopes.
- Topic:
- Development, Government, Governance, State, and Society
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Central African Republic
6. Civilians Versus Their Governments: China, the United States, and the Changing Nature of Conflict and Security in Africa
- Author:
- Obert Hodzi
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- With a few exceptions, armed civil wars are no longer commonplace in Africa, but anti-government protests are. Instead of armed rebels, unarmed civilians are challenging regimes across Africa to reconsider their governance practices and deliver both political and economic change. In their responses, regimes in countries like Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Rwanda, and Burundi have favored the combat mode—responding to dissent with military and repressive means. With few options, civilian movements look to the United States for protection and support while their governments look to China for reinforcement. If the United States seeks to reassert its influence in Africa and strengthen its democratic influence, its strategy needs to go beyond counterterrorism and respond to Africa’s pressing needs while supporting the African people in their quest for democracy and human rights.
- Topic:
- Security, Conflict, State Violence, and Civilians
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Asia, North America, and United States of America
7. Climate Change, Carbon Politics, and Kenya’s Democratic Future
- Author:
- Jacqueline M. Klopp and Abdullahi Boru Halakhe
- Publication Date:
- 10-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Carbon politics is playing out in oil-producing African countries with lethal consequences. Countries like Nigeria, Angola, Sudan, and South Sudan are conflict-ridden and economically unequal, and, as climate change concerns clash with new fossil fuel-driven development efforts, carbon politics is taking on ever-greater significance. While the scramble for fossil fuels could increase authoritarianism as it spreads in East Africa, an ecologically-driven imperative to address climate change could reinforce stronger democratic institutions.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Oil, Natural Resources, and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Sudan, Nigeria, Angola, East Africa, and South Sudan
8. LGBTIQ Rights in Kenya: On Artivism and Social Change
- Author:
- Deborah P. Amory
- Publication Date:
- 05-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The struggle for LGBTIQ rights in Kenya provides a unique and fascinating case study of the powerful social change taking place right now. On May 24, 2019, the High Court of Kenya will rule on whether to decriminalize same-sex relationships, which are currently punishable by up to fourteen years in prison. The court was originally scheduled to decide this case in February but delayed the ruling, citing mounds of documents that had still not been read. Activists pointed out that judges had already had several years to read the documents, and some worried that the delay was a sign of government interference with the judicial process.
- Topic:
- Social Movement, Political Activism, Courts, and LGBT+
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
9. Kenyan Democracy and the Rule of Law
- Author:
- John Mukum Mbaku
- Publication Date:
- 03-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Certain characteristics and values have the power to make or break a democracy. The supremacy of law, for instance, is the foundation on which democracy is built; it is the heart and soul of a free society and the basis for peaceful coexistence. This holds particularly true in Kenya. To manage the conflicting interests of diverse subcultures, all citizens, regardless of their political, economic, and ethnocultural affiliation, must be subject to the law. Thus, a governing process undergirded by the rule of law is critical for a future of peace and development in Kenya.
- Topic:
- Development, Government, Democracy, and Rule of Law
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
10. Regions and Regionalism
- Author:
- Fredrik Soderbaum
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Over the last two decades there has been a veritable explosion of research and policy discussion on regional integration and regionalism all over the world. Some of the most influential thinkers in the field emphasize that regions and regionalism are now central to global politics. For instance, Peter Katzenstein rejects the “purportedly stubborn persistence of the nation-state or the inevitable march of globalization,” arguing that we are approaching a “world of regions.” Similarly, Amitav Acharya examines the “emerging regional architecture of world politics,” whereas Barry Buzan and Ole Weaver speak about a “global order of strong regions.” “Regions are now everywhere across the globe and are increasingly fundamental to the functioning of all aspects of world affairs from trade to conflict management, and can even be said to now constitute world order,” Rick Fawn writes. While there is a strong tendency in both policy and academia to acknowledge the importance of regions and regionalism, the approach of different academic specializations varies considerably, and regionalism/regional integration means different things to different people in different contexts. Such diversity could be productive. However, the prevailing diversity is a sign of both weakness and fragmentation. We are witnessing a general lack of dialogue among academic disciplines and regional specializations (European integration, Latin American, Asian, and African regionalism) as well as theoretical traditions (rationalism, institutionalism, constructivism, critical and postmodern approaches). There is also thematic fragmentation in the sense that various forms of regionalism, such as economic, security, and environmental regionalism, are only rarely related to one another. Such fragmentation undermines further generation of cumulative knowledge as well as theoretical innovation. It also leads to unproductive contestations, among both academics and policy makers, about the meaning of regionalism, its causes and effects, how it should be studied, what to compare and how, and not least, what are the costs and benefits of regionalism and regional integration
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America
11. Mali: This is Only the Beginning
- Author:
- Baz Lecocq
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Finally, the situation in Mali was rotten enough for international intervention. First because the mujahideen of Ansar Dine, the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA), along with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), only had to exercise a little pressure at the front in Konna, to let the last remnants of the Malian Army fall apart.1 Second because the Malian Interim President, Dioncounda Traoré, installed after the coup d'état against President Amadou Toumani Touré of 22 March 2012, faced yet another coup d'état from this same decrepit army, set heavily against foreign intervention as it might upset its power within Mali, which led him to formally ask France for military support, believing he had nothing to lose.2 Undoubtedly, the French Ministry of Defense and French Military HQ État-Major des Armées had a plan ready despite President Hollande's public assurances that France would not pursue a neocolonial intervention in a sovereign state. France has historically intervened militarily in West Africa whenever the situation allowed.3 In the past decade, Mali had become more and more part of the U.S. sphere of influence in Africa as U.S. armed forces trained Malian troops in counter terrorism operations. This was without much success, as is now clear, but France must have looked with disquiet upon their loss of influence. Then there are the uranium mines at Imouraren in neighboring Niger, only a few hundred kilometers from the mujahideen controlled zone in Mali. A further degradation of the security situation in Mali would certainly pose a threat to these French strategic interests
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, France, West Africa, and Mali
12. The Technologist's Dilemma: Ethical Challenges of Using Crowdsourcing Technology in Conflict and Disaster-Affected Regions
- Author:
- Charles Martin-Shields
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The growth of mobile phone technology and Internet access globally has affected peoples' lives in various ways. For the field of governance and conflict management, this has meant unprecedented levels of information sharing from within conflict and crisis zones. As Internet access has expanded across Africa, entities like Kenya's Ushahidi—which build digital maps to publicly display real-time SMS text messages and social media feeds geographically—have been changing the way that citizens share their experiences of violence as they are happening. Probably the most important of these technologies—mobile phones— have expanded exponentially across the developing world; many countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific have mobile phone market saturation rates of over 100 percent. The international development community has been actively developing tools and methods for using mobile phones for outreach and project monitoring for years; the governance and conflict management fields are beginning to find effective ways to use mobile phones and SMS text messaging. While there has been excitement about the way these technologies can improve the work of conflict resolution and governance professionals, less popular attention has been paid to the unique risks and ethical challenges associated with using these tools in highly unstable political and social environments such as conflict zones. In these types of situations, crowdsourcing raises ethical issues of privacy, transparency of purpose and data protection. However, having secure technical data collection and storage procedures are not sufficient because most security failures are due to human error. To ethically run a crowdsourcing program in a conflict or disaster-affected environment, organizations need to ensure that their staffs and the “crowd” participating in the project have been trained to use the technologies and assess the unique risks of the digital information environment. This article will review the literature on digital information regulation, explore how the crisis response and crowdsourcing fields have evolved their data protection procedures and review the current state of practice for humanitarian crowdsourcing ethics and data security
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
13. Investment Power in Africa: Where from and where to?
- Author:
- Anton Eberhard and Katharine Nawaal Gratwick
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Economic and social development depends critically on infrastructure, for which electricity may be among the most important inputs. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has among the lowest rates of electricity access in the world - less than 30 percent. Furthermore, excluding South Africa, SSA is the only region for which per capita consumption of electricity is falling. The total installed capacity in the region amounts to less than South Korea's, and this limited supply is costly and unpredictable, imposing heavy tolls on social and economic development. It has been estimated that about 7,000 megawatts (MW) need to be added each year (2005-2015) to meet suppressed demand and provide additional capacity for electrification expansion. Such an investment would cost approximately $27 billion per year. Presently, funding to the electricity sector (for capital expenditure) is estimated at just $4.6 billion a year; hence, an annual funding gap of more than $20 billion exists. Public sources - utility income and fiscal transfers - contribute only about one-half of current capital investments, highlighting the urgent need for increased private investment, including public-private partnerships. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, the push towards private investment in electrical generation dates to the early 1990s, but the journey has not been smooth. Significant lessons may be identified, including: understanding the limited pool of investments, together with the importance of public stakeholders in equity and debt alike; the increasing application of partial risk guarantees (PRGs) to mobilize finance; and the emergence of more non-OECD partners. We note a number of success stories, including Kenya, South Africa and (potentially) Nigeria, whose policy innovations have replication potential in other Sub-Saharan African countries and beyond.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Africa, South Korea, South Africa, and Nigeria
14. Clash of Elites: What Lies Behind the Defamation Debates
- Author:
- Mark P. Lagon and Ryan Kaminski
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Since Samuel Huntington's 1993 article warning of inter-civilizational conflict, pundits and policymakers alike have been quick to forecast a so-called “clash of civilizations.” This has become especially common following 9/11, with warnings of a unitary Islam pitted against a unified West. Yet a clear-eyed assessment reveals that the West includes Muslim-majority regions and the often fractious United Nations; this divisive vision is as incorrect as it is unhelpful. In his address to the UN General Assembly in September 2012, President Barack Obama argued that freedom of speech and tolerance transcends civilizational, cultural, and religious fault lines. “Together, we must work towards a world where we are strengthened by our differences and not defined by them. That is what America embodies, that's the vision we will support,” declared Obama. In direct opposition to those favoring limitations on the freedom of expression or the imposition of blasphemy charges, the president noted, “The strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech – the voices of tolerance that rally against bigotry and blasphemy and lift up the values of understanding and mutual respect.” Setting the stage for Obama's remarks was what can roughly be termed as a global panic attack with peaceful, semi-violent, and violent protests about a video spreading from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. In the face of the unmistakable energy and vigor associated with protests, however, many were left confused how a shabbily crafted video, Innocence of Muslims, with a skeletal budget, and miniscule opening audience to match, could instigate such a worldwide conflagration.
- Topic:
- United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Africa, America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia
15. China in Sudan: The Challenge of Non-Interference in a Failed State
- Author:
- Andrew W. Natsios
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- China has encountered increasing difficulty maintaining its foreign policy directive of 'non-interference' in Sudan, as complex internal conflicts lend an inescapably political dimension to the superpower's economic activities within the developing African country.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, and Sudan
16. Business and Knowledge Opportunities for Africa's Rise
- Author:
- Uzoechi Nwagbara
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Fareed Zakaria's insightful and fascinating book, The Post-American World (2008) deals with the gradual demise of America's power and global dominance and the consequent rise of marginal or regional powers, which include Africa. Zakaria's hypothesis about the ''post- American world'' resides principally in America's weakening domestic and international prowess associated with her fighting prolonged wars in recent time, dwindling manufacturing scale, weakening domestic economy and the rise of Asian Tigers as well as China. This postulation also deals with the gradual manifestation of periphery countries' potential or ability to lead the global economy with their natural endowments, rapid wave of industrialisation in regional economies and the impact of globalization, which has significantly shifted global power loci, by taking jobs away from the United States through foreign direct investment (FDI). More than all of this, Zakaria's '' post-American world'' thesis has brought to the fore an unprecedented way of re-thinking development of Africa's resources (human capital) given the pressures of this phenomenon in determining growth in the contemporary global power equation.
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, America, and Asia
17. Fighting a Pandemic: The World's Effort to Control Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis
- Author:
- Alex Bozzette
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- "Sitienes el dinero, puedas hacer maravillas." If you have the money, you can do wonders. Those were some of the first words Dr. Clara Friele, coordinator of Ecuador's National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program, said to me last summer. The disease she and so many others are fighting is fully curable. It has been documented for millennia-recorded in the bones of Egyptian mummies, the pages of the Hindu Vedas, and the scenes of countless films, plays, and operas (from Tombstone to La Traviata).TB claimed 1.4 million lives in 2010 and is the leading killer of people with AIDS. It infects the lungs before spreading throughout the body and, if untreated, kills almost two-thirds of those with the severe active disease. Supported by a generous travel-study grant, I spent June through August 2011 in South America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia learning from those who fight this TB pandemic firsthand.
- Political Geography:
- Africa, South America, Egypt, and Southeast Asia
18. Converging Africa: The 21st Century Development Dilemma
- Author:
- Rosa Whitaker
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is the cornerstone of a U.S. policy that seeks, through a market-based approach, to integrate Africa into the global economy. Over the past ten years, AGOA has made tangible contributions on the continent and has helped to shift the global discussion from Africa as aid-dependent to Africa as a destination for investment. Capitalizing on Africa's opportunities and momentum requires policy tools acutely tuned to private sector needs.
- Political Geography:
- Africa and United States
19. Sudan Between Peace and War
- Author:
- Jon Temin
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- In a historic referendum that took place in January, the people in southern Sudan voted whether to remain part of a united Sudan or to secede. Possibilities of creation of the first new state in Africa since 1993 were high. The article discusses the events leading up to the scheduled vote, possible outcomes, and responses to the post-referendum situation in the region.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Sudan
20. A Smart Use of Intelligence: Preventing Genocide and Mass Killing
- Author:
- Lawrence Woocher
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Each year, the top American intelligence official appears before Congress to present the intelligence community.' s assessment of worldwide threats to U.S. national security. In his 2010 testimony, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dennis Blair included something new. Under the heading ."Mass Killings,." Blair wrote, ."Looking ahead over the next five years, a number of countries in Africa and Asia are at significant risk for a new outbreak of mass killing." He defined mass killing as ."the deliberate killing of at least 1,000 unarmed civilians of a particular political identity by state or state-sponsored actors in a single event or over a sustained period." This appeared to be the first time the senior-most U.S. intelligence official had called attention to the general phenomenon of mass killing.-or the closely related and more common notions of genocide or mass atrocities.-in his annual threat assessment.
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, America, and Asia
21. Ghana's Fragile Elections: Consolidating African Democracy through E-Voting
- Author:
- Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Despite being heralded as a democratic success story, Ghana's elections are prone to irregularities, which undermine its prospects for democracy. Civil society organizations are therefore promoting a biometric registration and electronic voting system to ensure credible elections and political stability.
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ghana
22. The Search for the Killer App: Precision Farming in Africa
- Author:
- James Lowenberg-Deboer and Bruce Erickson
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Precision agriculture, in its many forms, has had a significant impact on crop production worldwide. Although it is still searching for its “killer app,” it appears that GPS will become the most valuable type of technology in the field.
- Political Geography:
- Africa
23. Africa and Anger: Algeria Remembers
- Author:
- James Jay Carafano
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The publication of Martin Evans and John Phillips' Algeria: Anger of the Dispossessed could not be more timely or necessary. Recently, the Pentagon established the U.S. Africa Command—AFRICOM. Its creation was not due to plans by the military to invade any African nation. In fact, the motivation for creating the command was the opposite: to disprove the notion that the outside world needs to solve the problems of Africans for them. Establishing AFRICOM will make the United States a more knowledgeable and more effective partner in the region, and will not only preclude the need for armed intervention but will also support African solutions to Africa's issues.
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, and Algeria