Africa articles from March 2003

Africa archives from March 2003

Powers in the village: rural Benin between democratisation and decentralization.
March 22, 2003... ABSTRACT The Republic of Benin has often been cited as a model democracy in the African context. After years of pressure from bilateral aid donors, particularly France and Germany, municipal elections were held in 2002. This article...

Rituals of verification: indigenous and imported accountability in Northern Tanzania.
March 22, 2003... ABSTRACT Holding people to account for their actions is a feature of all societies. This article examines two different mechanisms of accountability, both of which are used in the Arumeru District of Tanzania. The first is a form of ritual...

The politics of personal relations: beyond neopatrimonial practices in Northern Cameroon.(analysis of Minister Al Hjji Baba Hamadou's arrival and speech in his hometown of Ngaoundere)
March 22, 2003... ABSTRACT This article deals with political culture in northern Cameroon. By analysing two happenings--the arrival of a Minister in his home town and his speech to the traditional elites--it shows how neopatrimonial politics is practised in...

Reaching the larger world: new forms of social collaboration in Pikine, Senegal.(City Project or Projet de ville leads to greater collaboration of women, more economic possibilities)
March 22, 2003... ABSTRACT Actors in fluid African urban environments try to make collaborative social action work, collective responsibility enforceable, and instruments of power effective and legitimate. These efforts give rise to an uneasy tension...

African tourist encounters: effects of tourism on two West African societies.
March 22, 2003... ABSTRACT This article compares encounters with tourism in two African communities, the Dogon in Mali and the Kapsiki in north Cameroon. The societies are comparable in many respects, but the effects on them of the tourist presence quite...

Saint mediation in the era of transnationalism: the da'ira of the Jakhanke marabouts.(prayer ritual of Muslim community affected by international migration)
March 22, 2003... ABSTRACT The focus of this article is the intersection of the motivations for international migration and innovative new forms of religious organisation. An example is provided by the recent introduction of a prayer ritual called da'ira in...

Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong, Between the Sea and the Lagoon: an Eco-social History of the Anlo of Southeastern Ghana, c. 1850 to Recent Times.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... EMMANUEL KWAKU AKYEAMPONG, Between the Sea and the Lagoon: an Eco-social History of the Anlo of Southeastern Ghana, c. 1850 to Recent Times. Oxford: James Currey; Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 2002, 256 pp., US$44.95, 0 8214 1408 9 hard...

J. D. Y. Peel, Religious Encounter and the Making of the Yoruba.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... J. D. Y. PEEL, Religious Encounter and the Making of the Yoruba. Indianapolis IN: Indiana University Press, 2001, 431 pp., 35.50 [pounds sterling], ISBN 0 253 33794 1. The 'religious encounter' of the title is that between Christianity, as...

Barry Hallen, The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: Discourse about Values in Yoruba Culture.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... BARRY HALLEN, The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: Discourse about Values in Yoruba Culture. Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press, 2001, 256 pp., US39.95, ISBN 0 253 33806 9 hard covers, US$17.95 (12.95 [pounds sterling]), 0 253 21416 5...

Holger B. Hansen and Michael Twaddle (eds), Christian Missionaries and the State in the Third World.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... HOLGER B. HANSEN and MICHAEL TWADDLE (eds), Christian Missionaries and the State in the Third World. Oxford: James Currey, 2002, 307 pp., 19.95 [pounds sterling], ISBN 0 85255 783 3 paperback. This book covers an enormous geographical...

Thomas Spear and Isariah N. Kimambo (eds) East African Expressions of Christianity.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... THOMAS SPEAR and ISARIAH N. KIMAMBO (eds) East African Expressions of Christianity. Oxford: James Currey; Dar es Salaam: Mkuti na Nyota; Nairobi: EAEP; Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 1999, 340 pp., 40.00 [pounds sterling], ISBN 0 85255 7361...

Luise White, Speaking with Vampires: Rumor and History in Colonial Africa.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... LUISE WHITE, Speaking with Vampires: Rumor and History in Colonial Africa. Berkeley CA: University of California Press, 2000, 384 pp., US$50.00 (31.50 [pounds sterling]), ISBN 0 520 21703 9 hard covers, US$19.95 (12.50 [pounds sterling]), ISBN...

Gauthier De Villers with Jean Omasombo and Erik Kennes, Republique Democratique du Congo. Guerre et politique : les trente derniers mois de L. D. Kabila (aout 1998-janvier 2001).(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... GAUTHIER DE VILLERS with JEAN OMASOMBO and ERIK KENNES, Republique Democratique du Congo. Guerre et politique : les trente derniers mois de L. D. Kabila (aout 1998-janvier 2001), Cahiers Africains 47-48 (serie 2000). Tervuren: Institut...

Laurent Monnier, Bogumil Jewsiewicki and Gauthier De Villers (eds), Chasse au diamant au Congo/Zaire.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... LAURENT MONNIER, BOGUMIL JEWSIEWICKI and GAUTHIER DE VILLERS (eds), Chasse au diamant au Congo/Zaire, Cahiers Africains 45-6 (serie 2000). Tervuren: Institut Africain-CEDAF; Paris: Harmattan, 2001, 240 pp., 18.59 [euro], ISBN 2 7475 0972 9...

K. N. Getachew, Among the Pastoral Afar in Ethiopia: Tradition, Continuity and Socio-economic Change.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... K. N. GETACHEW, Among the Pastoral Afar in Ethiopia: Tradition, Continuity and Socio-economic Change. Utrecht: International Books; Addis Ababa: OSSREA, 2001, 208 pp., 14.95 [pounds sterling], ISBN 90 5727 039 0 paperback. This book is a...

Michael L. Fleisher, Kuria Cattle Raiders: Violence and Vigilantism on the Tanzania--Kenya Frontier.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... MICHAEL L. FLEISHER, Kuria Cattle Raiders: Violence and Vigilantism on the Tanzania-Kenya Frontier. Ann Arbor MI: Michigan University Press, 2000, 214 pp., 37.00 [pounds sterling] (US$59.50), ISBN 0 472 11152 3 hard covers, 12.50 [pounds...

A. H. Abdel Salam and Alex De Waal (eds), The Phoenix State: Civil Society and the Future of Sudan.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... A. H. ABDEL SALAM and ALEX DE WAAL (eds), The Phoenix State: Civil Society and the Future of Sudan. Asmara: Justice Africa and the Committee of the Civil Project; Lawrenceville NJ: Red Sea Press, 2001, 302 pp., US$24.95, ISBN 1 56902 143 0. ...

Jean-Michel Mabeko-Tali, Dissidencias e poder de estado: o MPLA perante si proprio (1962-1977): ensaio de historia politica.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... JEAN-MICHEL MABEKO-TALI, Dissidencias e poder de estado: o MPLA perante si proprio (1962-1977): ensaio de historia politica. Luanda: Nzila, 2001, two volumes, 471 pp. and 374 pp., paperback (orders from nzila@hotmail.com). Jean-Michel...

Eugene L. Mendonsa, Continuity and Change in a West African Society: Globalization's Impact on the Sisala of Ghana.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... EUGENE L. MENDONSA, Continuity and Change in a West African Society: Globalization's Impact on the Sisala of Ghana. Durham NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2001, 425 pp., US$40.00, ISBN 0 89089 637 2 paperback. Given the paucity of literature...

A. I. Asiwaju (ed.), West African Transformations: Comparative Impacts of French and British Colonialism.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... A. I. ASIWAJU (ed.), West African Transformations: Comparative Impacts of French and British Colonialism. Ikeja: Malthouse Press; Oxford: African Books Collective, 2001, 275 pp., 14.95 [pounds sterling], ISBN 978 023 146 3 paperback. A. I....

Joseph R. A. Ayee, Deepening Democracy in Ghana: Politics of the 2000 Elections.(Book Review)
March 22, 2003... JOSEPH R. A. AYEE, Deepening Democracy in Ghana: Politics of the 2000 Elections. Accra: Freedom Publications; Oxford: African Books Collective, 2001, two volumes, 202 pp., ISBN 9988 7716 3 0, and 480 pp., ISBN 9988 7716 4 9, 29.95 [pounds...