Major powers and the new scramble for Africa in the 21st century: Interrogating China-Nigeria engagements
November 2024
The study examined China’s increased infrastructure development and investment in Nigeria within the broader context of the new scramble for Africa. The 21st century has witnessed a resurgence of interest among major global powers in Africa, reminiscent of the colonial-era scramble for the continent's resources. This contemporary scramble, however, is characterized by economic and strategic engagements rather...
Turkey-UAE rivalry in Somalia and its implications on regional dynamics
November 2024
This study analyzes the rivalry between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Somalia, focusing on its implications for regional dynamics through the lens of constructivist theory. Constructivism asserts that international relations are shaped by social structures, identities, and norms rather than mere material power. In this context, the study explores how Turkey’s historical ties from the Ottoman era and...
Encumbrances in African regional integration architecture
October 2024
Regional integration forms institutions whose primary objective is political economy cooperation. Governments often see the closer integration of neighboring economies as the first step in creating a larger regional market for trade and investment. This is contended to spur greater efficiency, productivity gain, and competitiveness, not just by lowering border barriers, but by reducing other costs and risks of...
Rwanda-Uganda border closure: The border-users socio-economic and security experiences
September 2024
This paper explores socio-economic, political and security dilemmas experienced by border users during Rwanda-Uganda border closure. As members of the East African Community, Rwanda and Uganda are equally responsible for sustainable cross-border diplomatic relations and its benefits. However, due to suspicion and mistrust, Rwanda closed its border with Uganda thus, complicating cross-border mobility for socioeconomic...
Post-conflict challenges and aspirations of Tigray Youth, Ethiopia: A needs assessment and recovery roadmap
August 2024
This article presents the results of a rapid needs assessment conducted to determine the postwar status, needs, challenges, and aspirations of Tigray youth. The study was sponsored by the Tigray Youth Association (TYA) and aimed at designing a recovery roadmap. This article is thus an excerpt of the wider study with a practical touch of reality. Using mixed-methods approaches, researchers from Mekelle University...
The impediments of electoral management in the 2007 general election on interethnic relations in Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia counties
August 2024
Interethnic violence has significantly impacted the social and political dynamics among communities residing in the cosmopolitan counties of Trans Nzoia and Uasin Gishu, during the recurring electioneering period every five years. The study's main purpose was to examine the impediments of electoral management in the 2007 General Election on interethnic relations in Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia Counties. The theory of...
Haile Selassie’s selected global visits: Personal, national and regional implications of his diplomacy, 1916-1974
August 2024
Haile Selassie, the Ethiopian Emperor who ruled the country for more than 50 years, has been both a celebrity and a controversial figure. He undertook more official missions abroad than any other leader in Ethiopia, making both the country and the person very well-known throughout the world. This paper argues that while the statesmanship and royalty of the Emperor have been extensively studied, there is limited coverage...
Lessons from West Africa: Strategies for preventing coups in the East African community
July 2024
This article investigates the interregional ramifications of West African coups and their implications for the East African Community (EAC) security strategy. The paper uses a rigorous analytical approach based on empirical evidence and theoretical underpinnings to understand the complex dynamics of political upheaval and its spillover consequences on regional security systems. The investigation focuses on the causal...
Understanding the drivers of violent extremism in the African Sahel: A historical perspective
May 2024
This article analyzes the historical drivers of violent extremism in the African Sahel, with a focus on Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. It examines how historical factors have evolved to nurture a plethora of violent extremist organizations (VEOs) operating in the region, making it the epicenter of violent extremism in 2023. These historical factors include the influence of religion, Tuareg rebellions (1963, 1990, and...
Protracted war amid Southern African Development Community (SADC) intervention in the Mozambique insurgency
April 2024
States in a regional security complex have formed ad hoc missions, which are meant to sidestep the challenges that regional economic communities (RECs) encounter in combating transnational insurgents. Ad hoc missions have made significant tactical gains in combating transnational insurgencies but have failed to achieve a complete victory in several regions of Africa. The paper examines the Southern African Development...
African’s sub-regional bloc’s challenges in coordinating collective security amidst the influence of external state powers in African security governance: The case of ECOWAS and the roles of Nigeria, France, and the UNSC in the civil wars of Liberia and Mali
March 2024
This paper analyzed regional collective security cooperation and ownership challenges under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) vis-à-vis regional organizations' responsibilities as outlined in the UN Charter. The paper situated these challenges in the conflicting interests of Nigeria, a sub-regional hegemon or aspiring hegemon, France as an extra-regional counter-hegemony,...
The paradox of silencing the guns and increasing conflicts: A critical appraisal of the role of the African Union institutions
January 2024
This paper aims to highlight the reasons behind the escalating conflicts in Africa in recent years. Through a desk review of the literature on ongoing conflicts, the paper attempts to unpack the paradox surrounding the goal of silencing guns in Africa by the year 2020 and beyond. The objective is to uncover the reasons causing and contributing to conflicts in Africa. The study concludes that the sources of violent...
Kenya's evolving recognition and non-recognition policy under moi: A case of China and Taiwan (1990-1998)
December 2023
This study delves into the transformation of Kenya's foreign policy with regard to recognition and non-recognition, with a particular focus on its handling of China and Taiwan during the period spanning 1990 to 1998. Historically, Kenya's recognition policy adhered to the conventional norm of emphasizing the recognition of sovereign states over specific governments, as exemplified by Dr. Njoroge Mungai's...
Low wages - corruption nexus: The Sokoto state of Nigeria civil service dilemmas
November 2023
This paper examines the nexus between low wages and corruption in the Nigerian civil service. Methodologically, the paper adopted the survey research design. The unit of analysis of this study is the civil servant. The population of this study was drawn from the civil servants in Sokoto State totaling twenty-nine thousand five hundred and eighty-three (29,583). The paper anchored on “clash of morality...
Power-sharing and electoral conflict management in Zanzibar: Focusing on electoral institutions
October 2023
Zanzibar adopted a power-sharing in 2010 to solve the tumultuous electoral conflict that resulted in bloodshed and social upheaval. In a unique case, the adoption involves a referendum vote and a subsequent constitutional change. The aim was to make the arrangement reliable and stable for peace and democracy on the Island. The expectation, though, fades into obscurity. The public witnessed election violence in 2020, a...
International policy coups d'état in Francophone African countries causes, consequences and international responses
October 2023
This article examines recent coups d'état in Francophone African countries, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and explores their causes, implications and international responses. To fully understand these events, the article begins by contextualizing the independence of these nations and their complex relationships with France. In the 1950s, France granted independence to its African colonies but...
Debunking “The New Dawn” Myth: A comparative analysis of South Africa and Zimbabwe
July 2023
This paper is a comparative analysis of the politics of South Africa and Zimbabwe. It aims to demystify “The New Dawn” phenomenon espoused by the presidents of the two countries. On 24 November 2017, Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s President. This followed the forced resignation of President Robert Mugabe by the country’s military after spending over three decades in office. In...
An initial exploration of the adaptation status of African new residents in Taiwan
July 2023
While the presence of African new residents in Taiwan may not be as pronounced as that of Southeast Asian counterparts, a noteworthy number have settled in diverse regions of the island in recent years. The adaptation experiences of these African residents remain under-explored in academic literature, rendering this study a pioneering effort in examining this pertinent subject. Through meticulous in-depth interviews...
The frustration of political choice and voter anguish in recent elections in Nigeria
May 2023
Voters are essential to democracy, as they wield the authority to select government leaders through their choices during elections. Election in Nigeria is usually marred by issues that hinder the smoothness of the electoral and voting process, constituting a cause of dissatisfaction and anguish for voters. Relying on an extensive review of literature and secondary sources of data, this article exposes problems that...
China-Cameroon: A win-lose relationship in the Mining sector?
January 2023
As one of the key drivers of the African international political economy of the last two decades, China growing economic involvement on the continent has sparked mixed responses. Is Beijing South-South Cooperation model just a rebranded version of the old North-South relationship or China is actually contributing to helping Africa securing and playing a more important new position on the global scene? This paper...
Rational call from developing countries: China phobia brings unbearable weight to the world
December 2022
Re-assessment of transition justice in Southern African States: Challenges and prospects
November 2022
This paper outlines the origin, meaning and benefits of Transitional Justice (TJ). It looks at the various mechanisms or processes used to implement transitional justice. The paper also re-assessed transitional justice in Southern African states with focus on South Africa, Mozambique, and Angola. The historical background to transitional justice in these countries is given then their various TJ mechanisms examined....
Russia and China strategies in the Central African Republic
June 2022
In more than six years, Russia expanded its presence in Africa sevenfold, starting with four (4) countries in 2015 and reaching 25 by 2021, including the Central African Republic (CAR). In the CAR, Russia became a major actor alongside the fourteen (14) armed groups, the United Nations Blue Helmets, and the Central African Army forces. While Moscow is involved in security issues and military diplomacy with lucrative...
Presidential election petitions in Ghana: A catalyst for democratic maturity
April 2022
Ghana’s multiparty democracy continues to attract global attention. While every election comes with its dynamics, it also provides valuable lessons for the country’s democratic maturity. Drawing mainly from desk study and using Linz and Stepan’s three dimensions of democratic consolidation, the study examined how the two presidential election petitions, 2012 and 2020, have catapulted the democratic...
Beyond arms investment: Interrogating the silent drivers of protracted chieftaincy conflicts in Ghana
January 2022
In Ghana, scholarly works on conflict financing, which sustains most conflicts is very much limited. Against this background, the Yendi chieftaincy conflict was purposely selected with the objective of examining the various resources invested in by the belligerents and other interested parties aside arms and ammunitions, which protracted the conflict and its resolution. A combined 59 respondents were purposely selected...
Generating fresh vision on federalism for Nigeria: The position of South-south Nigeria on economic and political restructuring
January 2022
The stability and viability of Nigeria has been threatened by lack of political will by the federal government to implement concrete policies and programmes on socio-economic and political integration of the 250 ethnic nationalities in the country. The problem is traced to the practice of a defective federal structure inherited from British colonial government since 1954; and it has resulted in several agitations led by...
Tracing rhetoric to comprehend contemporary Sino-Ghana economic policy initiatives
November 2021
Theories advanced in the political economy literature concerning China’s presence in Africa have often focused on Beijing’s motive, leaving under-theorized the dynamics that may be causing the responsiveness and embrace of China by these African states. The president of Ghana at the 73rd UN General Assembly defended Chinese investment in Africa and described China as the new avenue that Africans can resort...
Secession and border disputes in Africa: The case of Sudan and South Sudan border
October 2021
Conflicts in Africa are increasingly becoming violent and endemic. Many of these conflicts are related to crises of identities, struggles for resources and power contestations. A few of these conflicts escalate to self-determination, separatist movements, and secession. These conflicts mostly transcend national borders and trigger the alteration and redesigning of national borders, which itself becomes a source of...
From the end of history to the end of neo-liberalism: From Fukuyama to Fukuyama
October 2021
The emergence of neo-liberalism as a hegemonic ideological doctrine followed both the awkwardness of social democracy and the demise of communism, during the 1970s and 1990s. The main objective of neo-liberalism was to achieve socioeconomic development and political stability; using its unique instruments of liberalization, deregulation and privatization policies. To achieve these objectives, ideological indoctrination...
A critical evaluation of thirty years of state-civil society relations in Zambia, 1991 - 2021
August 2021
This paper aimed to assess the relations between the state and civil society in Zambia in the last thirty years of the country’s plural political dispensation. The study sought to establish the extent to which the state and civil society regard each other as genuine associates to the cause of national development. The areas of study focused on human rights protection, adherence to the rule of law, economic...
Perspectives on state funding of political parties and the consolidation of constitutional democracy in Ghana, Africa
August 2021
Across Africa, as in Ghana, state funding of political parties continues to generate debates across academic and policy circles. Against this background, three constituencies in the Upper West Region of Ghana were selected purposely to interrogate views of the public on this development. A combined 78 participants were selected in a mixed study design through purposive and quota sampling techniques. Primary data were...
Politics by other means: Protests in Ethiopia (2015 -2018)
August 2021
Protest has been employed by those who lack access to the resources of organized pressure groups and/or by those whose values conflict sharply with those of the dominant elite. It has been a means of politics by other means. The use of protest as other means of politics in Ethiopia was more pronounced and recurring between the years 2015 and 2018. However, the problem still is little is known about the root...
East is Red (Ink): China aid and debt diplomacy in Sub-Saharan Africa
April 2021
Using fixed-effects regression analysis, this article demonstrates that China donates more aid dollars to countries which have higher degrees of ethno political competition. This article advances a theory of foreign aid that links domestic political considerations of recipient countries with the desire of donor nations to leverage foreign aid for political gain. States where ethnic identity functions as a relevant...
Political opportunism, impunity and the perpetuation of Victor’s Justice: A case of the Rwandan Genocide
April 2021
The genocide in Rwanda remains one of the most tragic and horrendous events witnessed in Africa, and an important case study in the exploits of transitional justice. An approximated number of one million people were subjected to systematic rape, murder and torture with several thousands of people being displaced in the process of ethnic conflict in Rwanda-evidencing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity....
Electoral institutions and management of elections in Nigeria and Ghana: A comparative assessment
April 2021
Since the arrival of new democratic train in West Africa, elections have been characterized with naked violence and irregularities which have negatively manifested in economic underdevelopment and political instability. To this end, understanding the dominant nature and character of the electoral management bodies of Nigeria and Ghana to identify a body that is substantially functioning well is central to this paper....
Fiscal federalism, sub-national revolts and internal colonialism in Nigeria
April 2021
One subject that has remained contentious since the introduction of federalism in Nigeria has been how the revenue accruing to the nation will be shared between the federating units, namely, the federal, state and local government and among the states and the local government councils. The over centralization of power and resources in the first tier of government, has weakened other levels of governments, and undermined...
Attitudes of the Sudanese people towards the performance of new transitional government: An exploratory study
April 2021
The article is exploratory in nature and uses descriptive statistical tools to describe the attitudes of Sudanese people towards certain policy issues faced by the Transitional Government in Sudan, which has emerged after the popular revolution of December 19, 2019, that ousted Bashir’s Islamite military regime. The new Transitional Government is now less than two-year-old. Hence it is difficult to...
Globalisation and COVID-2019 pandemic: The nexus and impact on development in Africa
January 2021
Since the dawn of the 21st century, which coincides with the renewed forces of globalisation, the world has witnessed outbreak of major pandemics with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the most recent. This study therefore, examines the relationship between globalisation and COVID-19 pandemic as well as impact on development in Africa. The paper adopts the descriptive and analytical methods while purposive sampling...
The travails of Nigerian federalism 1951-1999: A federation in crisis of constitutional engineering
January 2021
Federalism in Nigeria dates back to 1951 (69 years), but in spite of the long period of experience with federalism as a political system, Nigerians are still in search of an acceptable, truly and functional federal constitution. Today, the clamor for the restructuring of the Nigerian federal system, another way of asking for a new constitution, is so rife that it has assumed a crisis proportion. This paper therefore...
Manifest destiny and foreign relations: Examining the Nigeria-South Africa contradiction
January 2021
This article analyses the dichotomy between potentials and capabilities with respect to Nigeria-South Africa relations and how this impinges on the leadership contest majorly involving the two countries. It observed that the international recognition accorded South Africa pitched it against Nigeria though, there are other contenders including Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Rwanda to mention a few for the leadership slot....
India and China in Africa: Rivalry or catching up?
January 2021
The South-South cooperation has been experiencing a second youth with the deepening of Sino-Africa and Indo-Africa relations. In order to secure an important part of the Black continent’s enormous natural resources, China and India have pledged to build mutual beneficial partnerships with Africa. In the process, both Asian growing economies are infusing the continent with capital, infrastructure and jobs. If the...
China’s engagement in the promotion of peace and security in the Horn of Africa: An interplay of big power responsibility and geopolitical interest
October 2020
The Horn of Africa is a term given to the geographic map in the North East part of the African continent. The region connects Africa to the outside world like the Middle East, Europe and Asia that indicates its geopolitical significance. Despite its geopolitical significance, the region remains one of the most unstable, underdeveloped and security wise volatile than any other region of Africa. These multiple challenges...
The role of regional parliaments in conflict resolution: The case of the Pan-African Parliament (2004-2011)
October 2020
How do regional Parliaments contribute to conflict resolution? At what point in time do they intervene and with what impact? These are the key questions pursued in this paper. The ultimate purpose is to stimulate further discussion on the subject. The methodology employed is qualitative, historical and discourse analysis based on desk reviews. The study was conducted in 2011 and 12 with a focus on the experiences of the...
“Mother tongue won’t help you eatâ€: Language politics in Sierra Leone
October 2020
This article addresses the question, how does Sierra Leone’s language regime, moderated through formal and informal education, contribute to post-war globalization dynamics? Since Sierra Leonean independence from Britain in 1961, Krio, a type of Creole, has gone from being the mother tongue of a small ethnic minority to the lingua franca, particularly in Freetown, the state capital. English has been Sierra...
Democratic illiteracy: A threat to sustainable democracy and peace in Ghana
October 2020
Following the political instabilities that have characterised Ghana few years after independence from British colonialists, many were those who thought multiparty democratic governance was the surest way to good governance and sustainable human development. The paper argues that citizens’ uncooperative attitude in governance issues, and leaders’ unpreparedness to be accountable to the citizenry result from...
The politics of the coronavirus and its impact on international relations
July 2020
Pandemic outbreaks are not a new phenomenon globally. There is plethora of evidence to substantiate this view. However, each epidemic has its own defining features, magnitude, and discernible impact. Societies are affected differently. The coronavirus or COVID-19 is not an incongruity. Although it is still active, thus making detailed empirical data inconclusive, it has already impacted societies in many ways - leaving...
African compliance with state fragility to gain agency in the international system: A case study of Uganda
July 2020
Most states in Africa, due to their unique history of state formation, do not satisfy the established (western-centric) pre-requisites of statehood. This incongruity results in Africa being framed as a place of fragile states with African agency discounted in the process. The discourse on state fragility is instrumental in insidiously granting legitimacy for western governmental interventions in Africa. Meanwhile, the...
The United Nations (UN) and human rights: Challenges and prospects
July 2020
The two World Wars (1914-18, 1939-1945) cannot be forgotten easily. This is because of their uncanny brutality and imponderable consequences which in no small measure demonstrated man’s capacity to destroy himself and decimate the environment. This assertion is predicated on the millions of people who were gruesomely killed, maimed and properties wantonly destroyed. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction...
Transformations in Nigeria’s foreign policy: From Balewa to Obasanjo
July 2020
This article re-examines and reassesses Nigeria’s foreign policy from 1960 to 1979. From independence in 1960, all the administrations in Nigeria had similar foreign policy objectives until 1975 when General Murtala Mohammed became the Head of State. General Mohammed was killed in a failed military coup d’état and General Olusegun Obasanjo, his deputy, became the head of state; hence, the usage of...
Stay at home: Coronavirus (COVID-19), isolationism and the future of globalization
July 2020
The novel Corona Virus (Covid-19) is creating havoc in the world. It is causing greatest damage to the health and economic fabrics of societies with considerable impact on individuals, families, communities, and nations in unprecedented scale. At the same time countries are taking desperate measures to curb its spread and limit its negative consequences. Some of these measures include stay at home and closed door...
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