Update on PREVAIL Vaccine Studies

This presentation provides an overview of the PREVAIL vaccine study and the Partnership for Research on Ebola VACcination (PREVAC) study, the goals of which are to develop a safe and effective Ebola vaccine to prevent future outbreaks

United States Foreign Policy and the Second Liberian Civil War

After about three years following the end of its first civil war in 1996, Liberia was again plunged into another civil war, when the Liberian United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), a group of rebels, attacked the country from neighbouring Guinea. The efforts by the Taylor regime to repel the attack occasioned a full-scale war. Initially, the war was confined to the western and north-western portions of the country. But, by early 2003, LURD’s forces had advanced to the outskirts of Monrovia, the capital city. For the initial four years of the war, the United States displayed a  nonchalant attitude. This was because Liberia was no longer of any strategic value to the US. Also, given the adversarial relationship between the Taylor regime and Washington, the latter thus had no empathy for the former. However, amid the escalation of the war and its attendant adverse consequences, especially the death of hundreds of civilians, ECOWAS, the AU, the EU, the UN and various actors within the American domestic setting, including Liberian Diaspora Groups, pressured the Bush administration to join the efforts to end the carnage. Consequently, the Bush administration obliged. After an ECOWAS-brokered agreement that led to the resignation of President Taylor and his subsequent departure to Nigeria in exile, the United States intervened by supporting ECOWAS’ peacekeeping operation. Against this backdrop, this article has interrelated purposes. First, it examines the nature and dynamics of American intervention in the second Liberian civil war. Second, it discusses the impact of the American intervention on the civil war. Third, it maps out the emerging trajectory of US– Liberia relations in the post-Taylor era. Fourth, it proffers ways of rethinking the relationship so that it would be mutually beneficial

The Bush Administration, Democracy Promotion and Elections in Africa

Since the emergence of the United States as a major global power, it has claimed to be the “leader of the free world” and the “champion of democracy.” During the Cold War, the pro-democracy rhetoric was a major staple on the United States‟ foreign policy menu. For example, the U.S. claimed that its support for democracy and the former Soviet Union‟s endorsement of authoritarianism was the main distinguishing feature between the ideological-political systems of the two superpowers. Thereafter, each succeeding American administration recited the pro-democracy rhetoric, which was elevated to new heights during President George W. Bush‟s second term. In his Second Inaugural Address, Bush declared the pursuance of a “freedom agenda” as a major cornerstone of American foreign policy. Using four allied African states of the United States—Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda—and an adversarial state—Zimbabwe—as case studies, this article examines the relationship between the rhetoric of “democracy promotion” through the holding of free and fair elections and praxis. In other words, how did the Bush administration respond to fraudulent elections in its allied and adversarial states, against the backdrop of its policy rhetoric through the promotion of democracy globally

An Anatomy of Conflict Resolution in Africa’s Civil Conflicts

The crises of the post-colonial state in Africa have led to civil wars in various African states. In several of these war affected countries, the state has disintegrated and occasioned myriad adverse consequences, including deaths, injuries, the mass displacement of people, and the collapse of the systems of governance. Against this background, this article examines the methods that have been used to terminate civil wars in Africa, and to set into motion the processes of peacebuilding. The article argues that in order to build durable peace in Africa’s post-conflict societies, the post-colonial state needs to be democratically reconstituted

The “Hegemonic Presidency” in African Politics

The post-colonial era in Africa has witnessed the emergence of the “hegemonic presidency,” which has been variously referred to as the “imperial presidency” and the “Big man/Big woman syndrome.” Essentially, the phenomenon entails the illegal exercise of presidential powers beyond both the constitutional and statutory boundaries. Against this background, this article examines three major interrelated issues. First, it interrogates the historical development of the phenomenon. Second, it probes the factors that have caused the emergence of the “hegemonic presidency.” Third, the study suggests some ways in which the phenomenon may be curtailed. In the case of the historical development of the phenomenon, the “hegemonic presidency” has its roots in colonialism, especially the ubiquity and the unfettered exercise of power by the chief colonial administrator—e.g. the governor-general. As for the major causes of the phenomenon, they include the constitution, statutes, weak public institutions, especially the legislature and the judiciary, and the acts of ultra vires, which are consequences of presidential arrogation of power. Finally, the article suggests various ways for curtailing the phenomenon, including constitutional redesign to limit the appointive and financial powers of the presidency and the strengthening of public institutions, particularly the legislative and judicial branches, so that they can play their effective rules as countervailing forces

The Bush Administration, U.S. Democracy Promotion, and Elections in Africa

Since the emergence of the United States as a major global power, it has claimed to be the “leader of the free world” and the “champion of democracy.” During the Cold War, the pro-democracy rhetoric was a major staple on the United States‟ foreign policy menu. For example, the U.S. claimed that its support for democracy and the former Soviet Union‟s endorsement of authoritarianism was the main distinguishing feature between the ideological-political systems of the two superpowers. Thereafter, each succeeding American administration recited the pro-democracy rhetoric, which was elevated to new heights during President George W. Bush‟s second term. In his Second Inaugural Address, Bush declared the pursuance of a “freedom agenda” as a major cornerstone of American foreign policy. Using four allied African states of the United States—Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda—and an adversarial state—Zimbabwe—as case studies, this article examines the relationship between the rhetoric of “democracy promotion” through the holding of free and fair elections and praxis. In other words, how did the Bush administration respond to fraudulent elections in its allied and adversarial states, against the backdrop of its policy rhetoric through the promotion of democracy globally

The African Union, the Responsibility to Protect and Conflict in Sudan’s Darfur Region

Article published in the Michigan State International Law Review

State versus society: Rethinking the state in Egypt

This work seeks to examine the nature and dynamics of authoritarianism in Africa and to suggest ways in which the states covered in the book can be democratically reconstituted