Do Constitutions Matter? The Dilemma of a Radical Lawyer

Constitutions do not make revolutions. Revolutions make constitutions. No constitution envisages its own death for that is what a revolution entail. But constitutions matter. Some of the finest constitutions have been erected on ugly socio-economic formations wrought with extreme inequalities and inequities. South Africa and Kenya are examples. But constitutions do matter. Constitutions rarely herald fundamental transformations. They are the product of major transformations to consolidate the new status quo. Yet constitutions do matter. Why do constitutions matter? Why do we need constitutions? Why does every revolution and major change in modern societies birth new constitutions

Vuta N'Kuvute (A Tug of War)

Vuta nkuvute (A Tug of War) is a feature-length fiction screenplay based on Adam Shafis award-winning Swahili novel, which is taught in high school literature classes across Tanzania. The story explores a forbidden romance between star-crossed lovers against the backdrop of 1950s colonial Zanzibar. Yasmin, a young Indian-Zanzibari runaway bride is intrigued by Denge, an African communist whose youthful rebelliousness lands him in trouble with the British colonial regime. Their passionate but forlorn relationship is coupled with their daily struggles of finding their place in the resistance movement for independence

Briefings: The Life and Times of A.M. Babu: Personal Reflections

No abstract available Democracy & Development Vol.3(2) 2003: 85-9

Trajectories of accumulation: how neoliberal primitive accumulation is planting the seeds of suicide

The disparity we see between workers and owners, between rural and urban areas and between colonised and metropolitan countries is the result of a process of unequal exchange that goes back several centuries. Prof Shivji traces the wretched path of expropriation that has shaped social and economic relations over this period and up to the present with a grim warning of how this mode of exchange threatens the very source of life on earth: the seeds we use to grow our food

Accumulation in an African Periphery : A Theoretical Framework

The 'Washington consensus' which ushered in neo-liberal policies in Africa is over. It was buried at the G20 meeting in London in early April, 2009. The world capitalist system is in shambles. The champions of capitalism in the global North are rewriting the rules of the game to save it. The crisis creates an opening for the global South, in particular Africa, to refuse to play the capitalist-imperialist game, whatever the rules. It is time to rethink and revisit the development direction and strategies on the continent. This is the central message of this intensely argued book. Issa Shivji demonstrates the need to go back to the basics of radical political economy and ask fundamental questions: who produces the society's surplus product, who appropriates and accumulates it and how is this done. What is the character of accumulation and what is the social agency of change? The book provides an alternative theoretical framework to help African researchers and intellectuals to understand their societies better and contribute towards changing them in the interest of the working people