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29441. Just Peace: Achieving Peace, Justice, and Development in Post-Conflict Africa

Author:
Dan Kuwali
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
The political realities of post-conflict situations present hard choices in the peacebuilding and reconstruction processes. Most post-conflict societies face the dilemma of how to deal with past atrocities, especially genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Where the perpetrators are the winners of the war or elections, victors’ justice has usually been rendered against the vanquished. Yet, even where this is not the case, national judicial systems in most post-conflict societies cannot immediately handle wide- scale prosecutions for atrocities in accordance with international standards of due process, and, in cases where a political compromise has taken place, the question is usually whether to forego justice for the sake of peace. The answer is often to offer amnesty to the perpetrators of atrocities, effectively giving them impunity. This discussion will explore a victim-oriented approach toward resolving the peace and justice dilemma while promoting reconciliation and development in post-conflict settings. The starting point is the assertion that mass atrocities such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity can brook no impunity, although each conflict is sui generis, and legal concerns must be balanced with political reality in determining the appropriate reaction to past atrocities. Following the analysis is an outline of the steps that should be taken to eradicate the root causes of conflicts leading to mass atrocities in Africa.
Topic:
Genocide, War Crimes, Peace, and Justice
Political Geography:
Africa

29442. Who says elections in Ghana are ‘free and fair’?

Author:
Sharon Parku
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Since 2000, elections in Ghana have been lauded by observers both internally and externally as being “free and fair.” The losing political party, however, has consistently contested the election results. After the 2004 presidential election, three key opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) members challenged the results announced by the Electoral Commission (EC), suing the EC to publish detailed data from the election. Similarly, at the end of the closely contested 2008 presidential election and the subsequent run-off, leading NDC members accused the EC of trying to manipulate results, and their frustrated supporters invaded the EC head office in Accra. When the NDC was eventually declared the winner, the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) accused the NDC of rigging the election. Again in the aftermath of the 2012 presidential election, the opposition NPP accused the winner – John Dramani Mahama and the NDC – of rigging the election, boycotted the inauguration of the president, and asked the Supreme Court to overturn the official results declared by the EC.
Topic:
Corruption, Elections, Democracy, Election watch, and Rigged Elections
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

29443. Women and Democracy in Zimbabwe

Author:
Tony Reeler
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Women are mostly marginalised in African political processes, but they have one key area of equality with their menfolk, and that is in voting: The ballot does not discriminate, even if the results of the balloting frequently do not meet the expectations of the voter. Though not the democracy, elections are an important component of democracy, and even though studies indicate that African citizens have been losing faith in the value of elections, elections offer the only peaceful path for attaining and consolidating democracy (Moehler, 2005; Moehler and Lindberg, 2007; Logan and Cho, 2009; Logan, 2008a). But in the largely patriarchal societies that make up most African countries, do women have the same voice and level of participation as their menfolk?
Topic:
Gender Issues, Elections, Democracy, and Feminism
Political Geography:
Africa and Zimbabwe

29444. Malian Democracy Recovering - Military Rule Still Admired

Author:
Boniface Dulani
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Democracy, in the famous words of the British politician Winston Churchill, “is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” After experiencing a twin crisis of separatist rebellion and a military coup in 2012, there were serious concerns about the future prospects of democracy in Mali. Would the short, but brutal, experience of authoritarian rule and a separatist struggle make the return to democracy possible in the short to medium term? Would the country rediscover its position as one of Africa’s promising democracies?
Topic:
Authoritarianism, Democracy, Coup, and Military Government
Political Geography:
Africa and Mali

29445. Demand for Democracy is Rising in Africa, but most Political Leaders Fail to Deliver

Author:
Michael Bratton and Richard Houessou
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Africans express growing attachment to democracy according to citizen attitude surveys conducted by the Afrobarometer in 34 countries1. Seven out of ten Africans prefer democracy to other political regimes, and the proportion of deeply committed democrats (that is, those who also reject authoritarian alternatives) has risen steadily over the past decade. These insights run counter to an emerging view that the impetus for democratization on the African continent has stalled. Influential analysts have suggested recently that “political reform left Africa ‘too democratic’ given the level of income… [and] that the continent has begun to regress to its expected level… by becoming less democratic.” Others have pointed to a global trend of “democratic retreat” that is driven in Africa by China’s economic expansion and the Western security response to spreading Islamic jihad.
Topic:
Civil Society, Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Africa

29446. Popular Perceptions of the Causes and Consequences of the Conflict in Mali

Author:
Massa Coulibaly
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
In the December 2012 Afrobarometer survey, Malians highlighted the primary causes of the serious sociopolitical crisis that their country was going through, as lack of patriotism on the part of the leaders and weakness of the State. At that time, most Malians had lost trust in the political class and in politicians. One year later (December 2013), however, a follow-up Afrobarometer survey revealed that foreign terrorists and corruption are rather the two primary causes of the Northern conflict and occupation. The change in perceptions on this question in the space of a year is explained by the change in the nature and scale of the crisis. The crisis went from the occupation of two-thirds of the territory to war via the intensified radicalism in the occupants’ management of the occupied areas and their many acts of banning and punishment. Next, the change in perceptions is also explained by the peaceful organization of presidential and legislative elections with record participation rates of Malian citizens since the advent of democracy in 1992, more than 50% in the presidential ones and a little less than 50% in the legislative ones. These elections deemed free and honest explain in turn that the need to resort to violence for a good cause is perceived by close to one out of five Malians versus close to one out of three Malians one year prior. One of the major challenges of the governance in Mali is still maintaining and deepening confidence between Malians and their ruling class. To do so, measuring the populations’ perceptions helps to track the will of the people and ensure that policies serve this will and not the reverse.
Topic:
Nationalism, Governance, Elections, Democracy, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Africa and Mali

29447. Mali’s Public Mood Reflects Newfound Hope

Author:
Michael Bratton and Peter Penar
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
In an Afrobarometer survey in December 2012, three quarters of adult Malians were worried that the country was moving in “the wrong direction.” At that time, at the depths of a profound national crisis, most Malians thought the future looked bleak. A year later, however, a follow-up survey reveals newfound hope in the future. By December 2013, two thirds of all Malians now consider that that the country is headed in the “right direction.” What explains this remarkable turnaround in the public mood? The upswing in the country’s collective frame of mind within the space of a single year is traced to several positive developments. These include an improved security situation, the restoration of a freely elected government, and rising confidence in economic recovery.
Topic:
Security, Development, Public Opinion, Internal Displacement, and Economic Recovery
Political Geography:
Africa and Mali

29448. Africa's Willing Taxpayers Thwarted by Opaque Tax systems, Corruption

Author:
Rose Aiko and Carolyn Logan
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Afrobarometer survey data, covering 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa reveal widespread citizen commitment to the principle of taxation and to taking responsibility – by paying their taxes – for national development. But taxation systems across the continent remain opaque to large majorities. Most find it difficult to know what they owe, and the public is even more in the dark when it comes to understanding how tax revenues are actually used by governments. Moreover, perceived corruption among tax authorities remains significant, and evidence suggests these perceptions undermine public commitment to the integrity of the tax system and increase the likelihood of non-compliance.
Topic:
Corruption, Governance, Tax Systems, and Bureaucracy
Political Geography:
Africa

29449. Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium Afghanistan Research Programme

Author:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
Decades worth of attempts to engineer a social transformation in Afghanistan from its existing social order to one more reflective of Western norms have largely failed to take root and have often helped consolidate a rule of patronage and personalized relationships.
Topic:
Civil Society, Corruption, Leadership, and Social Order
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

29450. The Contribution of BRAC’s Life Skills Education and Livelihoods Trainings to Social Inclusion in Afghanistan

Author:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
This study adopts a social exclusion lens to analyse the effects of BRAC’s life skills education and livelihoods trainings for young women in Afghanistan and tests assumptions about the role labour programmes can play in contributing to social inclusion. It used mixed methods and employed a quasi-experimental impact evaluation.
Topic:
Education, Labor Issues, Quality of Life, and Social Order
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East