Party System Competition and Private Sector Development in Africa

Democratic transitions by many African countries have generated much analysis of the organisational features of political parties or their role in voter mobilisation during elections. Yet, scholars have largely overlooked how parties negotiate economic policymaking or interact with the private sector in countries that are incipient democracies and emerging markets. This article argues that the stability or fragmentation of the party system affects patterns of private sector development and shapes linkages between the state, business and labour. It compares Mozambique and Zambia to demonstrate how variations in party system characteristics influence the relationship between economic and political interests.     

Development assistance: Ruined hopes and great expectations in Africa

This paper highlights the difficulties and complexities of development assistance projects through an analysis of 2 Urban Functions in Rural Development projects conducted by the US Agency for International Development (AID) in Upper Volta and northern Cameroon in 1977-82. The general objectives of the Upper Volta project were to carry out urban function studies, develop a plan for strengthening the contributions of urban centers to rural development, develop a list of investment priorities for facilities and services, and increase the capacities of the Ministry in planning processes and methods. The 2-year project was hindered by a 1-year delay in initiating assistance due to difficulties in locating a contractor. In addition, the contractor and other team members felt there was little justification for studies of spatial organization in a country with so much evident need; rather, they focused on a small rural works program and establishment of effective local government, producing an inconsistency between team activities and the original project agreement. A request by the team to extend the project 1 year beyond its official completion date to compensate for early delays was rejected by USAID. Nonetheless, there was agreement that the project had a small positive impact in Upper Volta. Key lessons from Upper Volta were transferred to the Cameroon project. Although this project was judged to have achieved its objective of preparing a regional plan and of identifying programs for facilities, services, and small-scale enterprises, it was beset by problems of inexperience and technical underqualification of team members, poor communication, inconsistency of USAID guidelines, and methodological confusion. It is suggested that a central challenge for such programs is to create a body of qualified Americans who can work with their local counterparts in meeting the challenges of development. A measure of the success or failure of these projects should be the degree to which learning contributes to improved performance.     

The Linkage between Security,Governance and Development: the European Union in Africa

The international community currently favours an approach to development that stresses a triangular linkage between security, good governance and economic development. This approach clearly informs the European Union's agenda in Africa, which has progressively integrated governance and security elements. This paper will show that this agenda is at least as much determined by the bureaucratic and national affiliations of the concerned EU actors as it is by African realities and international trends. African security indeed triggers a competition between the different European institutions, eager to be the driving force for a policy that can offer some additional resources and autonomy. The consistency and the credibility of the EU security policy in Africa will therefore depend on the responses provided to these institutional rivalries.     

Antiterrorism legislation in the United States: Problems and implications

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Jeffrey E. Garten, A Cold Peace: America, Japan, Germany and the Struggle for Supremacy. A Twentieth Century Fund Book. (New York: Times Books, 1992/1993). 276 pp.     

Assessing the Potential of ICTs for Participatory Development in Sub-Saharan Africa with Evidence from Urban Togo

As mobile phones are rapidly spreading across Sub-Saharan Africa, scholars and development practitioners are becoming increasingly interested in participatory, information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled initiatives to address the challenges of governance in the region. For such efforts to succeed, ICT interventions need to be custom-tailored to the characteristics of the politically marginalised groups they seek to empower. To advance the generation of the necessary empirical data, we surveyed 1498 respondents in Togo. Findings suggest that sociodemographic factors limiting political participation partially overlap with factors that limit access to ICT and the development of digital skills. Based on these findings, we formulate policy recommendations for the design of ICT-enabled projects that proactively seek to increase the participation of marginalised groups.     

难忘的非洲之旅--中国国际交流协会代表团访非侧记

2003年2月中旬,我有幸作为中国国际交流协会代表团的一员,随前全国政协副主席、交流协会副会长万国权先后访问了非洲的毛里求斯、津巴布韦和过境南非,亲身感受到了非洲那炽热、古老、神秘的风韵,其印象深刻难忘。 带着中国人民对非洲人民的深情厚意与热切的关注,2月14日我们踏上了飞往非洲这一神奇之旅。     

预防未成年人犯罪立法中的理论问题研究

未成年人犯罪重在预防,继《预防未成年人犯罪法》颁布实施后,越来越多的学者思考用法律预防的理念来遏制当前严峻的未成年人犯罪。本文将对未成年人犯罪法律预防所涉及的相关理论问题进行深入探讨。