Showing papers in "Journal of Modern African Studies in 1984"
TL;DR: In this article, military coups d'etat are the principal form of regime change, and they can happen under any type of political system, such as a functioning democracy, a personalistic civilian dictatorship, or an already existing military junta.
Abstract: The August 1983 overthrow of Major Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo by Captain Thomas Sankara in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), the New Year's Eve abrupt termination in Nigeria of Black Africa's largest multi-party democracy, and the decision by the Guinean army in April 1984 to remove their party leaders after the death of President Sekou Toure, illustrate two of the most salient realities of contemporary African politics: (1) military coups d'etat are the principal form of regime change, and (2) they can happen under any type of political system–a functioning democracy, a personalistic civilian dictatorship, or an already existing military junta1
160 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the restraints placed on opposition in Kenya up to 1969, and the creation of a de facto one-party state since the abortive coup of 1982.
Abstract: Little exists to document the widespread repression of opposition in Africa since independence. Current studies of the rise of capitalism and the post-colonial state largely ignore institutionalised authoritarianism, which characterises the political side of this process. This article discusses the restraints placed on opposition in Kenya up to 1969. Its salience continues with the creation of a de jure one-party state since the abortive coup of 1982.
112 citations
TL;DR: The other-than-oil economy has not had any internal ebgine of growth as mentioned in this paper and the pattern of the growth that has been achieved suggests a passive response to an exogenous stimulus.
Abstract: Two these are presented in this article. The first is that since the great surge in oil revenues during 1973—1974, there has emerged in Nigeria an intert economy. By this I mean an economy which has reacted passively to the increased revenues, but which has had no growth-generating power of its own outside of the crude oil-producing sector. The other-than-oil economy has not had any internal ebgine of growth. In support of this thesis, I shall make three points: (1) the growth of Nigeria' economy, apart form oil, has been strikingly small, give the huge increase in oil revenues; (2) even the linited growth rate has been dwindling; and (3) the pattern of the growth that has been achieved suggests a passive response to an exogenous stimulus.
89 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors define internal legitimacy as the recognition of a state and its government as rightful by its population, which during the modern era has increasingly meant a popular recognition democratically expressed.
Abstract: The historical development of the modern state is marked by, among other important changes, the transformation of political legitimacy from the authority of princes to the mandate of the people, from dynastic to popular legitimacy. Since states are the creatures not only of their domestic environment but also of international society, we must distinguish between internal and international legitimacy. Martin Wight defines the latter as ‘the collective judgement of international society [i.e. other states] about rightful membership of the family of nations’. According to him, the convention of international legitimation that has predominated since 1945 is based on the combined and paradoxical principles of majority rule, which rejects the legitimacy of colonialism, and territorial integrity, which nevertheless accepts territorial divisions established under colonialism. We define internal legitimacy as the recognition of a state and its government as rightful by its population, which during the modern era has increasingly meant a popular recognition democratically expressed.
56 citations
TL;DR: The authors discusses the situation of Hausa women in the predominantly Muslim City of Kano, Nigeria, and speculates upon the possibilities for changes in their status and life options grounded in the realities of their social environment.
Abstract: This article discusses the situation of Hausa women in the predominantly Muslim City ofKano, Nigeria, and speculates upon the possibilities for changes in their status and life options grounded in the realities of their social environment.A strong trend in feminist scholarship focuses on the cultural aspects of the role of men and women, and relates their apparently universal asymmetries to the structural oppositions of ‘private’ and ‘public’ social spheres. In such studies, women are considered to be oppressed according to the extent that they are confined to a domestic life that excludes activities outside the home, which men control. Women are thus deemed to have gained stature, and to have realised a sense of their own value, only in so far as they are able to transcend the ‘private’ sphere and penetrate the predominantly male or ‘public’ world. In this context, a liberated society for women is posited as one in which men are routinely involved in domestic activities while women are free and able to participate effectively in public functions.
37 citations
TL;DR: The relatively peaceful decolonisation of British and French Africa in the 1950s and led, for the most part, to the capturing of state power by a new political elite rather than a throughgoing transformation of the state structures inherited at independence as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The relatively peaceful decolonisation of British and French Africa in the 1950s and led, for the most part, to the capturing of state power by a new political elite rather than a throughgoing transformation of the state structures inherited at independence. Instead of refashioning institution in ways that might increase political participation and social justice, existing state capacities tended to be marshalled for exclusionary and, in many cases, authoritarian purposes.
30 citations
TL;DR: By the early 1980s, it was becoming increasingly apparent to the Frelimo Government in Mozambique that its agricultural policies were not having the required effects as mentioned in this paper, and rationing was introduced in the capital, Maputo.
Abstract: By the early 1980s, it was becoming increasingly apparent to the Frelimo Government in Mozambique that its agricultural policies were not having the required effects. Production had not recovered to pre-independence levels as intended, agricultural exports remained generally low, and there was hunger in certain areas of the country. Queues and shortages were widespread in the cities, and rationing was introduced in the capital, Maputo. There were many exogenous factors accounting for these problems: alternating years of drought and floods, a constant state of war, first against the Smith regime in Rhodesia and then against South Africa and its client groups, and finally, of course, the world recession and worsening terms of trade.
26 citations
TL;DR: In Nigeria, on 4 February 1976, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria promulgated Decree No. 6, initiating the removal of the national capital from Lagos to Abuja, thus becoming the most recent developing country to arrange for a transfer of its centre of government as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: On 4 February 1976 the Federal Military Government of Nigeria promulgated Decree No. 6, initiating the removal of the national capital from Lagos to Abuja. Thus Nigeria followed Brazil, Botswana, Malawi, Pakistan, and Tanzania to become the most recent developing country to arrange for a transfer of its centre of government. The proliferation of new capitals constructed in the twentieth century has captured the world-wide attention of geographers, architects, planners, and demographers, but the literature on the subject examines these projects almost exclusively with a focus on planning for national development. This viewpoint too often neglects politics as the paramount force in the relocation of a nation's capital city.
26 citations
TL;DR: The authors discusses the relationship of missionaries and anthropologists in South Africa and presents historical perspectives on these and related matters, including ethnicity, linguistic group membership, denominationalism, and party political affiliation.
Abstract: This article discusses the relationship of missionaries and anthropologists in South Africa. Due to such important factors as ethnicity, linguistic group membership, denominationalism, and party political affiliation, it is essential to present historical perspectives on these and related matters. The vocation of missionary is almost exclusively a white enterprise as is that of professional anthropologist. Blacks have however had significant influences in both realms and are today entering these vocations.
21 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the class context for conflict with the figure most closely associated with the conservative, capitalistic, and pro-British tendency in Kenyan nationalism and conclude that Njonjo had been regarded as the third member of a ruling triumvirate with Moi and vice-president Mwai Kibaki.
Abstract: This article attempts to situate the recent power struggle between President Daniel arap Moi and the ex-Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Charles Njonjo, in the context of class antagonisms in the Kenyan state. Over the past few years, Moi survived a number of crises partly as a result of the consistent support he has received from Njonjo. During the run-up to the general election of 26 September 1983, however, Moi was hoping that he could mobilise sufficient support amongst Kenya's political elite to be able to dispense with Njonjo, and thereby remove the only politician powerful enough to pose any threat to his leadership. SinceJomo Kenyatta's death in 1978, Njonjo had been regarded as the third member of a ruling triumvirate, with Moi and Vice-President Mwai Kibaki. In the following analysis, we examine the class context for conflict with the figure most closely associated with the conservative, capitalistic, and pro-British tendency in Kenyan nationalism.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine some reported practices in the redistribution of earnings and other cash in Swaziland and conclude that these rules differ from one society to another, and we err in assuming otherwise.
Abstract: There are unwritten rules for the distribution of money in all societies, notably about from and to whom it is appropriate to give and receive money, and when. These rules differ from one society to another, and we err in assuming otherwise. This article examines some reported practices in the redistribution of earnings and other cash in Swaziland. It arises out of a reading of transcriptions of 118 recorded interviews, 49 with wage-earners conducted at their place of work, and 69 with earners or their dependents in the rural areas. These wide-ranging interviews covered many topics besides the giving and receiving of sums of money between kinsmen. From this evidence I attempt to spell out the detailed nature of these rules. To ignore or to be ignorant of their strength and complexity is to fail to recognise a powerful mechanism for redistribution, which goes some way to modify alleged inequalities between town and country, and between one homestead and another within Swaziland. Similar rules probably affect income distribution elsewhere in Africa.
TL;DR: A case study of the Republic of Mali's readmission into L'Union monetaire ouest-africaine provides an illustration of some of the problems inherent in African economic integration as political concerns intrude on development issues as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A study of the Republic of Mali's readmission into L'Union monetaire ouest-africaine provides an illustration of some of the problems inherent in African economic integration as political concerns intrude on development issues. In a broader sense, this case-study displays the difficulties involved in achieving the goal expressed in the very name of the Organisation of African Unity. It also shows the dual pull felt by many post-independence states: a desire for greater autonomy, as well as the necessity of maintaining some important links with the erstwhile colonising power.
TL;DR: It is generally advisable to get a reasonably firm grasp of the past and present before attempting to achieve an approximate "fix" on the future as discussed by the authors, especially in reasonably unpredictable fields like science and technology, which can be demonstrated to have been congenitally immune to accurate predictions throughout history.
Abstract: It is generally advisable to get a reasonably firm grasp of the past and present before attempting to achieve an approximate ‘fix’ on the future. Prognostications about the furture are always risky and especially so in reasonably unpredictable fields like science and technology, which can be demonstrated to have been congenitally immune to accurate predictions throughout history. Scientific and technological break-throughs have often, in the past, produced unanticipated changes, and they have frequently led to the solution of heretofore unresolvable problems. History gives us instances of communities which have taken advantage remarkably quickly of advances in science and technology, but it also shows us instances of societies which for one reason or another failed to adapt. And one might add that while some scientific and technological innovations take on global relevance, others have remained specific and have been circumscribed by time and place.
TL;DR: In the middle 1970s, scholars and politicians agree, the Soviet Union began a major effort to penetrate Africa as discussed by the authors, and after a decade of relative indifference to African developments, Soviet arms and advisers, in support of Cuban troops, poured into Angola and Ethiopia.
Abstract: In the middle 1970s, scholars and politicians agree, the Soviet Union began a major effort to penetrate Africa. After a decade of relative indifference to African developments, Soviet arms and advisers, in support of Cuban troops, poured into Angola and Ethiopia. Involvement in these two countries was supplemented by further transfers of arms to a number of other African regimes, and this seemed to signal a dramatically heightened interest in the continent.
TL;DR: The conflict in the Horn of Africa and its internationalisation since 1977 has stimulated many arguments in Amercian policy-making circles on whether the costs of expanded involvement in the region are coming to outweigh the strategic and other benefits as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The conflict in the Horn of Africa and its internationalisation since 1977 has stimulated many arguments in Amercian policy-making circles on whether the costs of expanded involvement in the region are coming to outweigh the strategic and other benefits. The most intense phase of this controversy has followed the post-1978 realignment of forces in the region, which transformed Somalia into an ally of the United States, and Ethiopia, long a close friend, into a Soviet ally.
TL;DR: The attitude in many western quarters, including most governments, towards Soviet involvement in the continent, particularly Southern Africa, was summed up in an editorial in The Times as discussed by the authors, which followed the capture of a Soviet warrant officer by invading South African forces in southern Angola in September 1981.
Abstract: This extract from an editorial in The Times, which followed the capture of a Soviet warrant officer by invading South African forces in southern Angola in September 1981, sums up well the attitude in many western quarters, including most governments, towards Soviet involvement in the continent, particularly Southern Africa. It was widely assumed that the victory of the Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola led by Agostinho Neto, achieved with substantial Soviet and Cuban aid, would lead to the use of Angola as a springboard for communist intervention in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa. Those who supported this premise believed that Moscow's leaders wished to be in a position to control the sea-lanes off the South African coast, and that
TL;DR: In fact, to a considerable number of observers, it is asymmetry which characterises the ties between the industrialised and underdeveloped countries, based on a long historical process of incorporation into the western capitalist system as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: What is the precise nature of the relationship between the so-called Third World and the industrialised West? While a question of this sort was much more easily answered in the era of direct colonial control over vast non-European regions, there is much debate concerning the symmetry of economic and political relationships in the postindependence period. In fact, to a considerable number of observers, it is asymmetry which characterises the ties between the industrialised and ‘underdeveloped’ countries, based on a long historical process of incorporation into the western capitalist system. Political independence, these critics argue, has merely shifted a ‘colonial’ to a ‘neo-colonial’ relationship, leaving the unevenness basically intact.
TL;DR: Maize is the third most important crop in the world after wheat and rice, being grown throughout the temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical zones wherever rainfall or irrigation is adequate as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Maize is the third most important crop in the world after wheat and rice, being grown throughout the temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical zones wherever rainfall or irrigation is adequate. In Nigeria, it also takes third place, albeit behind sorghum and millet, and occupies more hectarage than any of the cereal crops in the humid forest zone. Nigeria produces about I million tonnes of maize annually and nearly half as much again has to be imported to cope with local demands.' Maize is usually used for livestock feed but is also an important staple food crop, particularly in Africa, Asia, and in some South American countries. It is prepared and consumed in a variety of ways, namely: ground or pounded and then either boiled, baked, fried, or even fermented. Maize grain is a fattening feed, high in energy but low in fibre, and therefore very digestible, relished by livestock probably because of its relatively high oil content. Table I shows the nutritional composition of maize as compared to other cereals. Consumption per head is rising significantly in Nigeria, and planners need to know the magnitude of the consumer income that is spent on maize, in order to steer the direction of rural and urban development, and to improve the welfare of the people.
TL;DR: The old skewed land-holding structure has probably contributed to a particular pattern of rural settlement that is quite inappropriate to cope with the more equitable distribution of land, unless large private estates are directly converted into state or multi-member farms as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: It is generally acknowledged that a policy of agrarian reform involves much more than the mere redistribution of land to obtain an equitable system of production. A parallel and essential supporting range of complementary institutions usually need to be reorganised at the same time, concerned with credit, marketing, extension, and settlement, so that they can further rather than constrain and negate the reform. The old skewed land-holding structure, especially if involving latifundia estates, has probably contributed to a particular pattern of rural settlement that is quite inappropriate to cope with the more equitable distribution of land, unless large private estates are directly converted into state or multi-member farms. The beneficiaries of reform frequently need resettling on or near their newly-acquired land, and associated co-operative agencies for equipment, inputs, and marketing, together with programmes to provide basic social and commercial services, may well call for a nucleated form of settlement to be created.
TL;DR: The nature of the boides responsible for administering justice to Africans, and for settling disputes between them, was the subject of continual and sometimes heated debate in colonial Kenya, and indeed elsewhere in British Africa as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The nature of the boides responsible for administering justice to Africans, and for settling disputes between them, was the subject of continual and sometimes heated debate in colonial Kenya, and indeed elsewhere in British Africa. Nor have the old controversies completely lost their relevance in contemporary independent African states, as recent moves to reform the system of courts in Zimbabwe have clearly shown. Nevertheless, the debate has a rather timeworn air about it today, the arguments a tired familiarity which obviates the need to rehearse them in detail. They tend to centre on certain key issues: the composition, procedure, and administration of the courts, and the appellate system.
TL;DR: According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the region's share of world exports declined from 3-9 percent in 1970 to 3'4 per cent in 1979.
Abstract: THE performance of Africa's external sector during the I970s has been described in a number of important publications. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the continent's share of world exports declined from 3-9 per cent in 1970 to 3'4 per cent in 1979. The performance of the region's export sector had been sluggish throughout this period, growing at an annual rate of only o06 per cent in volume compared to 6 per cent during the last five years of the previous decade.1 The World Bank report on sub-Saharan Africa described the I970s as having been characterised by growing balanceof-payments deficits, attributable partly to external factors notably the two large oil-price shocks, the slow growth in world trade in primary commodities, and the persistently rising pricesofimported manufactured goods but partly caused also by domestic factors.2 Even within the group of developing countries, Africa's share of non-fuel exports is estimated to have declined from over i8 per cent in I970 to about 9 per cent in I978.3 During this decade the volume of imports expanded by an estimated 5-8 per cent annually although for the sub-Saharan region the growth rate was only 3 per cent while the terms of trade worsened significantly. Official development assistance rose substantially as a whole, but offset only a part of the growing deficit.
TL;DR: In the early 1970s, it was gradually realised that the industrialisation policies pursed by many developing countries would not be able to create enough employment as mentioned in this paper, and it was observed that a large part of the active population was engaged in petty trade and crafts, particularly in urban centres.
Abstract: Interest in the real potential of small-scale enterprise dates from the early 1970s, when it was gradually realised that the industrialisation policies pursed by many developing countries would not be able to create enough employment. It was observed, moreover, that a large part of the active population was engaged in petty trade and crafts, particularly in urban centres. Thus, in addition to the modern, ‘formal’ type of economic activity, an ‘informal’ sector was identified with the following distinctive features: (1) The production processes are labour-intensive, based on simple technology. (2) The smallness of the various industries enables their owners to work as managers as well as producers, and to have direct contact with their employees, while some relationships may be based on non-economic considerations. (3) The enterprises often break the law — that is, they seldom adhere to legally fixed minimum wages, they frequently neglect to observe safety and other regulations, and they tend to evade registration and tax obligations.
TL;DR: According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, Japan strongly condemns the continuation of racial discrimination in South Africa and has demanded that the Government of South Africa abolish such discrimination as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: What is Japan's basic policy towards South Africa? According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo: Japan, which firmly supports the self-determination of the African people and strongly opposes racial discrimination, has earnestly desired a solution to the problems in southern Africa. Japan strongly condemns the continuation of racial discrimination in South Africa and has demanded that the Government of South Africa abolish such discrimination. From this standpoint, Japan maintains no diplomatic relations with South Africa and has prohibited such direct investment as the establishment of joint ventures by Japanese firms in that country. Furthermore it has imposed restrictions on cultural, educational and sport exchanges between Japanese and South Africans, respecting the relevant United Nations resolutions.
TL;DR: For example, the last American troops withdrew from Vietnam during 1975, and since then, the strategic value of Africa to the United States has steadily risen as mentioned in this paper, and as a result of the renewal of cold-war hostilities between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, the African continent is now a principal battlefield for competition involving the United states, Western Europe (particularly France), Cuba, and the Soviet Union.
Abstract: Since the last American troops withdrew from Vietnam during 1975, the strategic value of Africa to the United States has steadily risen. As a result of the renewal of cold-war hostilities between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and an escalating series of crises for American foreign policy in the Third World, the African continent is now a principal battlefield for competition involving the United States, Western Europe (particularly France), Cuba, and the Soviet Union. After the end of the Vietnam war, direct American military intervention in Africa was precluded for a short time by legislative restraints – notably the ‘Clark Amendment’ of December 1975 that blocked involvement in Angola – and by the public's reluctance to become entangled in another military commitment overseas, a phenomenon often referred to in Washington as the ‘Vietnam syndrome’. Furthermore, the United States lacked the military capacity to engage in such adventures, having suffered such heavy losses in Indochina and being preoccupied with the creation of a new all-volunteer army. Over the past five years, however, two Administrations in Washington have worked assiduously to ‘cure’ the so-called ‘Vietnam syndrome’ and restore America's military position abroad.
TL;DR: The distinction between domestic and foreign politics appears both conventional and appropriate as mentioned in this paper, and it has been argued by Robert Jackson and Carl Rosberg that, contrary to the situation elsewhere, Africa's international politics have assumed an order which is sadly lacking in the domestic affairs of many states.
Abstract: In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in international politics in Africa. After the initial post-independence discussion of pan-Africanism the international dimension seemed overshadowed by the concern to account for domestic developments in many new states, and it is this imbalance which is now being redressed. Indeed, it has recently been argued by Robert Jackson and Carl Rosberg that, contrary to the situation elsewhere, Africa's international politics have assumed an order which is sadly lacking in the domestic affairs of many states: ‘At the level of international society, a framework of rules and conventions governing the relations of the states in the region has been bounded and sustained for almost two decades.’ If the contrast between internal anarchy and international order seems somewhat exaggerated, the distinction between domestic and foreign politics appears both conventional and appropriate.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors deal with the results obtained by analysis of interview schedules collected during I966-7 among a sample of local elites in one of the Districts of the then Barotse Province (now called Western Province).
Abstract: As part of a broader study concerned with tribal-national relations in modern Zambia, the research reported here deals with a complex, indigenous state, the Barotse Kingdom, in which adjustments to post-colonial arrangements have been fraught with difficulties.' Here I deal with the results obtained by analysis of interview schedules collected during I966-7 among a sample of local elites in one of the Districts of the then Barotse Province (now called Western Province). Employing a conceptual framework which emphasises the distribution of information what Theodore Schwartz calls a distributive model of