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332. Sudan at the Crossroads
- Author:
- Francis M. Deng
- Publication Date:
- 03-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- There is a tendency in the outside world to see the tragedy in the Darfur region of the Sudan in isolation from the regional conflicts that have been proliferating in the country for a half cen- tury. These conflicts reflect an acute crisis of national identity that is both a cause of genocidal wars and a factor in the state’s indif- ference to the resulting humanitarian consequences. This explains the Sudanese government’s resistance to international provision of protection and assistance to the affected populations. The conflicts in the Sudan indicate a nation in painful search of itself, striving to be free from historical discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, and culture. It is, therefore, necessary to combine a suitable humanitarian response with solutions that go to the roots of the national identity crisis and address its stratifying implications.
- Topic:
- Nationalism, Humanitarian Intervention, Conflict, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Sudan, and Darfur
333. Political Insecurity and State Failure in Contemporary Africa
- Author:
- Robert H. Bates
- Publication Date:
- 01-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Noting data that suggests that Africa oversupplies state failure, the paper probes the sources of political insecurity in the continent. It explores the logic that underlies an equilibrium in which governments employ force to protect rather than to predate and in which citizens engage in productive activity and refrain from military activity. It isolates the variables that define the region in which this conduct is in equilibrium values that lie outside that region define the conditions under which states fail. The analysis illuminates the impact of political and economic forces in contemporary Africa: political reform, economic collapse, and the increased relative importance of “loot-able” resources. In an effort to evaluate the arguments of the paper, it provides as well a series of statistical tests of its arguments.
- Topic:
- Development, Political Economy, Conflict, and Institutions
- Political Geography:
- Africa
334. Probing the Sources of Political Order
- Author:
- Robert H. Bates
- Publication Date:
- 10-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- As noted by Hobbes, political order makes possible the good things of life. It constitutes the political foundations for development. Motivated by the theory of the state and qualitative materials from Africa, this paper develops a model of the foundations of political order, which it then tests on data from 46 African countries over the period 1970-1995.
- Topic:
- Development, Political Economy, Conflict, and Institutions
- Political Geography:
- Africa